A pilgrimage in Europe and America, leading to the discovery of the sources of the Mississippi and Bloody River : with a description of the whole course of the former, and of the Ohio

A

PILGRIMAGE

IN

EUROPE AND AMERICA,

LEADING TO

THE DISCOVERY

OF

THE SOURCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI
AND BLOODY RIVER;

WITH A DESCRIPTION OF

THE WHOLE COURSE OF THE FORMER,

AND OF

THE OHIO.

BY J. C. BELTRAMI, ESQ.

FORMERLY JUDGE OF A ROYAL COURT IN THE EX-KINGDOM OF ITALY.

IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. II.

LONDON:
PRINTED FOR HUNT AND CLARKE,

YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN.

1828.

641

LETTER X.

Philadelphia, February 2Stk, 1823.

WHERE shall I begin, my dear Madam ? Where
I ought to end, — with myself ; for you are im-
patient to hear what is become of me. I know
your friendship, and anticipate its wishes.

I am now in America. My hand-writing
ought to convince you that I am alive ; but,
since a very reverend father has made the dead
write letters, it is become necessary to explain
whether one is still in the land of the living, and
particularly when one writes from another world,
and has been many times near the gates of eter-
nity.

For a description of our terrible passage, I
must trust entirely to my memory ; for, during
the whole voyage, I was so ill, that neither my

VOL. IT. B

2 VOYAGE TO AMERICA.

stomach nor my head allowed me to write a
single line. Besides, being as ignorant of naval
affairs as a Tartar, any attempt to describe the
nautical occurrences of the voyage would only
tire out your patience, and expose my awkward-
ness and presumption, by a vain parade of hard
technical words; it would be only a useless
addition to that deluge of notes, narratives, voy-
ages, adventures, observations, discoveries, and so
forth, with which so many intrepid navigators
from Calais to Dover, from Reggio to Messina,
from Gibraltar to Ceuta, from one side of the
Sound, or of the Dardanelles, to the other, have
enriched and inundated the world. I will give
you only a slight sketch of what was most re-
markable during this passage, although it was
protracted to a period of more than three months
and a half of suffering ; and I shall be the more
laconic, because my hand is weak and unfit for
writing. Let us return, therefore, to where we
should have begun.

At Liverpool, my intention, at first, was to
embark for New York, the packets of which are
very comfortable ; but, being informed that the
yellow fever had committed considerable ra-
vages there during the summer, and that it still
prevailed, I determined to sail for Philadelphia.
The persons to whom I was recommended,
exerted themselves to secure a comfortable pas-

EMBARKATION. 3

sage for me ; but, having been deceived respect-
ing the accommodations of the ship and the
character of her captain, they thought no other
provisions necessary than wine and liquors. I
therefore embarked with confidence ; — and mi-
serably was I disappointed.

We left Prince's dock on the 3rd of Novem-
ber, at about five o'clock in the morning. The
weather was beautiful, and, as I was told, fa-
vourable.

The names of the crew having been called
over, it was discovered that the cook had de-
serted. This beginning was not propitious. A
cook is an important personage everywhere ;
but the resources of his art are particularly de-
sirable, when the contingencies of scarcity of
provisions, and other viatic incidents, demand an
extra portion of skill and industry.

The steward or servant of the cabin was ap-
pointed to fulfil these important functions, and
his portfeuille was handed over to James, a
young American sailor, about twenty years of age,
equally insolent and careless ; and thus we had
two novices, in situations of great difficulty on
board ship. The hour of dinner discovered to us
that we had neither steward nor cook, and
enabled us to form some idea of what we might
expect in future. Among other things that
threatened us, was uncleanliness, the greatest

4 KILLALA BAY.

torment that can be inflicted upon my stomach
and senses. The larder and the wardrobe were
equally ill-supplied, and dirty ; and I was
laughed at for asking for implements to wash
myself with.

The first day the wind was neither fair nor
foul. The second, our passage between the
island of Anglesea and the coast of Ireland, was
a little opposed by contrary winds ; and a storm,
which the captain told us was very dangerous
on this coast, assailed us on the third, near
Cape Clear ; from which period I date the be-
ginning of my dreadful sea- sickness. On the
seventh the wind subsided; but we made no
progress. On the tenth it blew with greater
fury than ever, and drove us on the western
coast of Ireland. The captain seemed not much
delighted, and I was still less so, for the sea tore
me to pieces. Fortunately, Killala bay afforded
us shelter; but in our endeavours to avoid Scylla,
we ran into Charybdis. All this coast is inha-
bited by a semi-barbarous people, who had risen
against the government, because they were
starving; and this was precisely the focus of the
insurrection of the island. My companions had,
however, only the fear of an attack. For my own
part, I had not even that ; on the contrary, consi-
dering the dreadful state of my health and the ap-
palling aspect of everything on board the vessel,

CREW OF THE VESSEL. 5

and of this sea, (which is always stormy at this
season,) I ought to have landed at any risk. I
could lose nothing by passing from one set of bar-
barians to another; I must gain by a change of
element, and in every other respect ; but my re-
solution is naturally as inflexible as my destiny.
On the thirteenth we continued our voyage.

The sea was still very rough, but the wind
was fair for America, and we made some way;
this was my only consolation in a state that
became daily more terrible. Stretched upon a
wretched flock-bed, which the bones of my atte-
nuated body penetrated even to the floor, my
only relief was derived from resignation to my
fate, and from that courage which, thanks to
heaven, does not easily forsake me. My fellow-
passengers were Spanish Americans. They
were dressed as gentlemen, for which they were
indebted to their former profession of piracy.
Their mariners were in perfect unison with the
atrocious character of their countenances, and
gave no hope that they possessed a spark of hu-
manity. The appearance of the captain was
calculated to alarm a man who was going to
visit his country, with a view to admire and to
learn free and generous sentiments. The newly
appointed cook, a hideous negro, covered with
filth from head to foot, had only to show himself
to disgust the most intrepid and chivalrous sto-

0 PROVISIONS.

mach, and to render his absence much more de-
sirable than his presence. Little James was
a most extraordinary fellow; a non-descript.
At first I called out to him, "Steward!"— "I
am not a steward," replied he, " my name is
James."— " Well then, James !"— " What do
you mean by James? My name is Mr James."

" Very well, Mr James, will you

— will you — will you " "I am not a

servant to any body." I then asked the cap-
tain who, and where, was the servant. To this
question he replied with one of his usual civil
looks, and, laughing in my face, turned his back
upon me.

By the short sketch I have given you of this
delightful company, you may judge of the situa-
tion of an unfortunate being, who from complete
exhaustion could not even stand. If I left my
den I was obliged to drag myself along on my
hands and knees ; but this excited no pity in
these selfish and unfeeling wretches. Nor was
my state of animal existence less deplorable
than that of my social feelings.

The little fresh meat that remained was be-
come completely putrid, and spoiled the onions,
leeks, &c. with which it was cooked. I could
not obtain a chicken, because it was first neces-
sary that the whole of this delicious meat should
be consumed. I offered, and made presents for

CREW. 7

good broth, but received only some made from
salt meat. I was reduced to the miserable
pittance of a few boiled potatoes, with which I
had no other sauce than vinegar, for there was
no oil.

I had very good wine, both French and Ma-
deira; but these gentlemen did not confine
themselves to accepting the offer I voluntarily
made of sharing every bottle with them; they
had opened, and already emptied a considerable
number. Mr James and the cook, thinking
probably that I had nothing more to do either
with this world or with wine, joined most effec-
tively in the shameful rapacity of the honourable
captain and my amiable fellow passengers. I
saw this ; I might have' stopped it ; for my mind
was not then enfeebled, although rny physical
strength was utterly exhausted; but I con-
tented myself with heartily despising them
all, and suffered them to act as they pleased.
Their conduct supplied me with abundant
matter for meditation on human life and human
nature.

I saw in these wretches a perfect picture of
heirs, nephews, friends and servants, who sur-
round the death-bed of their fathers, uncles,
friends, and masters, like birds of prey, plunder
them both before and after their death, and
exhaust every expedient for the gratification of

STORM.

their avarice and rapacity. And yet we accu-
mulate, all our lives, at the expense even of
justice and humanity — deaf to the groans of the
widow, the orphan, and the wretched — and for
no other purpose than to feed the profligacy,
vices, and voracity of these vultures.

We were now, my dear Madam, ploughing
the ocean to the right and left, but without
making any progress; the contrary winds had
re-assumed the command of our vessel and
drove us from our destination. The storms
which succeeded left us only just such inter-
vals of calm as allowed us to estimate the dif-
ferent degrees of their violence. The storm
which came on during the night of the twenty-
sixth was truly terrible.

The waves beat with such force against the
ship, that they produced an effect similar to
that of the most dreadful earthquakes upon our
houses. The shocks were so repeated and vio-
lent that they loosened several casks of fresh
water which dashed against each other, broke,
and inundated the space between the deck and
the cabin, occasioned the greatest disorder,
drowned almost all the poultry, and spoiled a
great part of what still remained of our wretched
provisions'. I patiently resigned myself to Pro-
vidence, and repeated — Fiat voluntas tua. But
my situation brought to my remembrance the

AMERICAN CAPTAIN. 9

saying of a good king, whose name I cannot
recollect :

" Purche il reo non si salvi, il giusto pera."

This king must either have lived before the
time of Justinian, or he was unacquainted with
his maxim — Melius est, centum reos absolvere,
quhm unum innocentem condemnare; — but let us
return to our delightful voyage.

We proceeded sometimes to the south, some-
times to the north, sometimes to the east, but
never to the west, which was our Colchis.
Meantime, my sufferings increased. There was
nothing but salt meat, and the water, which by
the bye was very bad, was measured out to us
in a bird-glass. I know not what would have
become of me — for my stomach rejected all their
dishes, rendered more disgusting by filth — had
. not a sailor sold me some rice.

Observe, my dear Madam, that American
ships are always well provided with rice, which
is so abundant with them ; but our captain, who
had consumed his whole stock during his long
stay at Liverpool, where it is much dearer,
judged it expedient to defer purchasing any
more till his arrival in America. You see there-
fore that I had embarked with a man who per-
fectly understood his interest, if not his duty. The
difficulty however was to find some charitable
person who would undertake to dress it, though

10 AUTHOR'S ILLNESS.

I only wanted to have it boiled in water with a
little salt. I could expect no kindness or hu-
manity from my own unfeeling sex ; I therefore
applied to that which we are not ashamed to
oppress and to calumniate in every possible
way. There was an Englishwoman on board,
who was going to join her husband in America.
She offered me her assistance; the more wil-
lingly as she had, during her sea-sickness,
received relief from my wine, which, as well as
my medicine-chest, had been at the service of
the whole community. I had now therefore
some chance of humane treatment, when I was
suddenly seized with a putrid fever.

It is really astonishing that I could resist all
these attacks, or support the effects of violent
emetics, debilitated as I was by sea-sickness,
destitute of every kind of restorative, of all phy-
sical or moral aid, and abandoned by all my
powers except the energy of my mind.

I know not what that is which is called soul ;
for as I have already said, I am neither a meta-
physician, nor a theologian ; but it is unques-
tionably some divine faculty acting within us,
without which it would be impossible for man,
by his own unaided strength, to support some
of the vicissitudes of life. I was more power-
fully than ever impressed with this truth, in the
terrible situation in which I found myself in this
vessel; and it is principally for the benefit of

AUTHOR'S ILLXESS. 11

this moral inference, that I have occupied your
attention so long with this recital of grievances.
Yes, my dear Countess, man is a mere puppet,
acted upon by Providence, against which all
human systems and all human powers are vain.
How could the extraordinary, the incompre-
hensible genius of Archimedes, of Galileo, of
Descartes, of Newton, operate by the unassisted
energy and/ree will of man ? They were only ma-
chines moved by superior springs ; and Provi-
dence puts them in motion, more or less, in pro-
portion as it j udges them more or less necessary.

At the moment I am writing to you, dear
Madam, with a body almost completely restored
to its former strength, I feel that my mind is
weak, and that T could not now support what I
then sustained with so much heroism. I believe
that Providence will not again grant me the
same firmness, unless it should see fit to place
me again in the same dreadful situation. But
I forget myself; for although I am writing from
Philadelphia, we are still at a great distance
from it. The idea of reverting to my subject
frightens me, and leads me to indulge in these
long digressions : this also will prove to you
how much more feeble my mind is now than it
was then.

I am sorry to return to my wretched bed.
This is perhaps not less painful to you than dis-
gusting to me ; but it is the only stage upon

12 AUTHOR'S ILLNESS.

which I acted during the whole of my voyage;
and the Epopea requires unity of place as well
as of action. I hung between life and death
till the llth of December, when I began to
revive a little. During the whole of this time,
I had eaten nothing but rice, which however
my good English nurse had not economized ;
she and the rest of the passengers had probably
little scruple on this head, for she afterwards
repeatedly told me that every one on board had
completely given me over. I one day saw the
captain carefully remove all my effects into his
closet, under pretence of protecting them, as he
said, "from the wolves." I could not help
laughing ; and thanking him for this first mark
of care so voluntarily bestowed. I just told him
that his expectations would be disappointed,
and that I should not die yet, in spite of all
the sufferings and hardships I had experienced.
Indeed I never for a moment thought I should
die, so convinced was I that some superior power
watched over my existence, as a proof of which,
I tell you the following incident.

I was reduced to my last pittance of rice, and
no more was to be had. I caused myself to
be dragged upon the deck to breathe a little
fresh air. I observed a pig with an ear of
maize in his mouth. I asked the captain if
he would have the goodness to allow me a
little of this maize. "What shall I give my

AUTHOR'S ILLNESS. 13

pig then?" was his philanthropic reply. The
same evening a storm arose. During the
night it raged with great fury; the waves
washed over the deck ; one broke into the sty,
which it carried away together with my rival,
as an offering to the offended deities of ocean.
By priority of demand, I became the rightful heir
to his pittance, and this pittance kept me alive
till we entered the Delaware. But, to make
the hand of Providence more clear in the matter,
while a sailor was endeavouring to save the
captain's pet from the first wave, a second
rolled over him, as if to punish him for his pre-
sumption ; and, had it not been for the cordage
of the mast, he would have shared the fate of
the pig. The poor captain was inconsolable; he
was very fond of it, and scratched it every day
with great tenderness ; he declared it was very
intelligent. I had some thoughts of recom-
mending myself to his favor, by imitating the
courtiers of Madame de Pampadour, who asked
her every morning if she and her Mouflet had
slept well.

The captain himself and all on board now
seemed convinced that some superintending deity
interposed its protection in my favour ; and if I
had before obliged them to treat me with some
degree of respect, I was from that time regarded
with a species of veneration.

14 WHALES.

It is useless to repeat how often contrary
winds drove us, sometimes towards Greenland,
and sometimes towards the Azores. One day
we were only sixty miles from the latter. I re-
quested the captain to put into one of them
that he might give us the opportunity of re-
cruiting our strength, and provide a supply of
provisions and fresh water ; for that which was
in the casks had been so agitated by the storms
that it was scarcely drinkable. He gave us a
good reason for his refusal, viz. that he was
forbidden to deviate from his course, unless on
account of injury sustained by the ship, or loss
of masts, or from being driven upon a dangerous
coast ; so that my first lesson in navigation was,
that we were not permitted to save ourselves
till we were first at the bottom of the seas, or
swallowed up by a whale. Apropos of whales ;
I have been often very near realizing the pro-
mise I made you, in my last, from Liverpool, for
we saw a great number of them towards the
coast of Greenland. Here however the great
question arises .... Can one be swallowed by
a whale ? I think the Inquisition ought to settle
this as it did the question of the motion of
the earth, which, Galileo would have it, moved
round the sun, though Joshua makes the sun
turn round the earth.

Naturalists assert that the whale feeds upon

A STORM. 15

a small marine insect, that its throat is so
narrow that it could not swallow a fish so big
as a herring, and that it can only swallow its
food, having no power of mastication. How then
did Jonah find his way down ? To accommodate
matters with the holy office, the naturalists
must adopt some other hypothesis. But let us
leave them to settle the question, and continue
our voyage.

We had not gone far before we were assailed
by another terrible storm : the night of the 26th
of December — it was terrific. A chain belong-
ing to the rudder broke. The waves broke into
the body of the vessel, swept over it, and so
completely drenched it every instant, that every-
thing in our cabin was afloat. One of our pi-
rates was thrown out of bed, and received so
severe a bruise in the leg, that he did not reco-
ver from it during the whole voyage. All was
confusion and tumult. Several resigned them-
selves to despair; and even the captain con-
fessed, that this was a case which would justify
his putting into port : but the Azores were not
now within reach. The two pirates wept with
all the cowardice of the base and sordid. I told
them that, as they had boasted so much of hav-
ing been sailors, they had better assist the crew ;
but they were too busy with St Jago de Com-
postella, and our Lady of Cuba, to attend to
worldly affairs. My poor Englishwoman was

16 APPEARANCE OF THE SEA.

almost dead with fear ; I felt nothing like dying,
for having been preserved so long, I had a per-
suasion that I should not die during this voyage.
Everything was in disorder : in short, the cap-
tain determined to resign the ship to the winds
and waves and let her drift; for, in the latitude
and longitude in which we then were, he had
nothing to apprehend, either from the rocks or
the coast.

We were between the Old and the New
World ; each seemed to drive us from its shores
towards the abyss.

There were but a few inches of timber be-
tween me and eternity ; — but when our hour is
not come, eternity itself must recede; — and thus
it did recede from before my eyes.

The following day, although the storm had
not subsided, there was the serenest sky I ever
beheld. I dragged myself on deck, to enjoy
the scene which the sea and the ship, still the
sport of the waves, presented. It was indeed
truly grand. We were sometimes upon a moun-
tain, then in a plain, and then in an abyss.
It was a perfect representation of our country,
diversified by the most varied features of na-
ture. Sometimes I saw the beautiful plateau of
your Cimerella, and the illusion which painted
you to my imagination was a delightful relief
from this terrific picture. But a most extra-
ordinary phenomenon presented itself, both to

REMARKABLE SHOWER. 17

my eyes and to my mouth. I will make a pre-
sent of it to the naturalists, to atone for having
set them by the ears with the inquisition.

A north-west wind passed with such force
over the surface of the waves, that it blew up
the water in a kind of fine dust into the air,
where it was penetrated by the rays of a most
refulgent sun, and fell again in a shower of
brilliants, far more beautiful than the golden one
which fell on Danae. So much for the eyes ;
now for the mouth.

This shower in its descent was changed into
fresh water, though there could be no doubt that
it was the very identical sea-water which the
winds had dispersed in the air, for not the
smallest cloud was perceptible in the whole
firmament; the weather was perfectly clear,
and nothing was seen in the air but the tourbil-
lons occasioned by this great conflict between
the two elements. This is a fact, my dear
Countess, and was recorded by the captain in
his log-book. Au reste, — as people have believed
in showers of blood, stones, &c. I think they may
very fairly believe in this ; such a transforma-
tion is not difficult to account for, if it be true
that the saline particles are lost at a certain ele-
vation from the earth, as some naturalists pre-
tend. Icarus, or Simon the magician, or some
aeronaut, may perhaps have made some experi-

VOL. II. C

18 BANK OF NEWFOUNDLAND.

ments on this subject. Learned men and na-
turalists, who are very happy at conjectures,
may extricate this difficulty from the obscurity
in which I leave it. I am not versed in natural
philosophy ; I am a naturalist only in the sense
of wishing to leave nature to herself, or at most
only to aid her operations. I am but the herald
at arms, who opens the lists for them, and
retires.

January 6th 1823, we passed the southern
point of the bank of Newfoundland ; we had,
therefore, performed two-thirds of our voyage.
This, Madam, is the famous bank which has so
often been the apple of discord. The Ameri-
cans, the French, and the English, contended for
the exclusive privilege of the fishery, which is
very valuable. The riches of this bank are one
of the causes of our poverty : its cod, stock-fish,
&c. which come and infect our country, lower
the price of our produce and cattle, our princi-
pal commercial resources : our money thus goes
into the pockets of foreigners, and our produce
sells for nothing. This also is one of the bles-
sings we owe our governments. But what is
most singular is, that orthodox Catholics impo-
verish true believers to enrich orthodox heretics ;
for this trade is now monopolized by the English
and Americans. Well, my dear Countess,
would you believe it? This bank, which has

CONDUCT OF THE CREW. 19

so often poisoned my meals during Lent, refused
to give me one "of its myriads of fishes when it
would have contributed to restore my health.
All our efforts to catch any were vain. I must,
however, acknowledge that our ship was not
better supplied with the necessary implements
for fishing than with other articles.

I passed the bank without giving it one salve,
although it told me that my trials were near
their close. These trials were rendered more
endurable by my improved fare : the maize held
out, and the bouillie was my ambrosia. As to
nectar, I cannot say much ; the water was be-
come more bitter than gall ; and unfortunately,
the pirates, the captain, Mr James, the cook,
with the assistance of the lady and her mate, had
drained all my bottles of Cognac brandy. The
captain one day drank so liberally of it in pri-
vate, that he was ill for a week of an inflam-
mation in the throat, which nearly killed him :
they had fallen foul even of the whole stock of
spirituous liquors, elixirs, &c. in my medicine
chest. I was sometimes tempted to be angry,
but having from the beginning discovered what
sort of company I was in, I had always had
sufficient self-command to look upon them with
an eye of pity and contempt, and sometimes
even to laugh at them. I mention these trifling
incidents for the pleasure of indulging that
unreserved communication which your friend-

20 CONDUCT OF THE CREW.

ship allows, and to give such hints to our
common friends as may induce them, in si-
milar circumstances, to be more cautious than
I was in ascertaining the accommodations of the
ship, the character of the captain, the company,
£c. ; that they may avoid the situation in which
I was placed. I have described it en badinant
that I might not wound your sensibility : but it
was really dreadful. The stench alone, which,
from the dirt and the destitution to which we
were compelled to submit, infected everything,
even our own persons, was sufficient to kill a
man, however enured to all the vicissitudes of
life. It is said that we may accustom ourselves to
anything, and this I can now attest from expe-
rience ; but I assure you I often wished myself
an oyster, which, according to naturalists, is
destitute of the sense of smell.

But we will turn from this disgusting picture,
and, whilst advancing with a tolerably favour-
able wind, direct our attention to our pirates,
who were arrayed in battle against Mr James
and the captain.

It would be difficult in any monastery to find
a greater glutton than this Mr James. Our
pirates carefully concealed their dry provisions ;
and to escape the danger of either having to offer,
or being asked for, any, they ate them in secret
during the night, or clandestinely in their berths
during the day. Mr James, however, found an

BATTLE ON BOARD. 21

opportunity of making a skilful and successful
attack upon these eatables, in which he was
greatly favoured by the dampness and the stench
of the room, which obliged them to expose their
stores to view. James, moreover, was like the rat
in the fable : " I do not want eyes to know where
there is anything good, — my nose is sufficient."
These gentlemen had perceived his exploits.
One day they caught him in the act, and a
severe kicking was the consequence. The cap-
tain ran to ascertain the cause of the disturbance,
and took the part of his servant, or rather that of
the offended sovereignty of the American people.
The Spanish Americans would have been in a dis-
agreeable situation if the mate had come to the
assistance of his Anglo-Americans, for he would
have brought the whole crew with him ; but,
fortunately for them, he was jealous of the cap-
tain's attentions to my good Englishwoman, and
left him and Mr James to sustain the brunt of the
battle. So long as the only weapons employed
were fists, I forbore to interfere ; but when the
Spaniards threatened to terminate the quarrel
after their fashion, with knives, I used every
means of conciliation. I must observe, that a
considerable degree of irritation had for some time
prevailed between the belligerent parties : the
captain was not pleased to see his adversaries
eat their provisions without inviting him to par-

22 STORM.

take of them ; and they were equally dissatisfied
with his solitary visits to his beer. These ridi-
culous scenes, together with the undisturbed
enjoyment of my bouillie, had contributed a little
to the recovery of my spirits and strength.

One more storm, my dear Countess ; it was
the last, and it procured us a supply of food.
It came on in the night of the 13th January,
1823, and continued almost the whole of the fol-
lowing day. As our vessel was much damaged,
the waves washed over the deck at their plea-
sure, and sometimes brought with them the in-
habitants of ocean ; but as they met with no
obstruction, they generally returned the way
they came. That night however we succeeded
in capturing three that were entangled in the
cordage, &c. I can give no description of them,
for I did not see them till the following day,
when they were cut into pieces and salted ; but
they were of the cetaceous genus, which is very
extensive. Their oily flesh, under any other
circumstances, would have been insupportable;
but I thought it pretty good in such a famine ;
the very idea of anything fresh was sufficient
to stimulate the appetite, and give a relish to
the food.

The captain was more alarmed by this, than
by any former storms, though comparatively
slight, for the vessel was in a most shattered

BIRDS. 23

condition, and he was apprehensive of being
thrown against St George's bank, which was
not very distant, and the shoals of which are
numerous and dangerous.

The 28th was a beautiful day and brought
with it a ray of hope which revived our drooping
spirits. Heaven sent us two beneficent
messengers, to announce to us that the land,
which had so long seemed to recede before us,
was at length at hand. But alas! my dear
Madam, like the unfortunate son of Idomeneus,
they received death from the hands of those
whom they came to console, and to congratulate
on their arrival at the desired port, and at the
termination of their sufferings. They were two
of those lovely beings which embellish our forests
and enliven our rural walks ; which cheer and
amuse us in the gloom of solitude and in the
splendour of a palace, and divert the mind from
its oppressive load of thought and care ; which
speak the language of harmony and innocent
love ; which never inspire fear, and whose plea-
sures, desires, and even little animosities add
new attractions to the magnificent picture of
nature, and impart unspeakable delight by the
sweet emotions they excite. They were two little
birds of the continent of North America : — they
were devoured. By the bills and feet I found
that they were of the passerine tribe, and of the

24 SIGHT OF LAND.

species of greenfinches ; which in America are
redbreasts.

From the arrival of these unfortunate guests,
our course was, for a considerable time, tole-
rably good and undisturbed by storms. Had
the sea again visited our cabins, I know not
how we should have resisted the cold, which
was already most piercing, destitute as we were
of fire, or any means of warming ourselves.

At length on the 6th of February, feeble as
I was, I climbed up the main-mast and called
out " Mountains ! " The captain, with a sarcastic
smile and his usual civility, replied that the
mountains I saw were clouds. I confess I de-
served to be laughed at, for the mountains in
that part of America are at more than 200 miles
from the coast, which was not very near us ; but
a mountaineer dreams only of mountains, as a
fisherman does of nets and hooks.

On the 8th we saw, not mountains but forests,
which, from the flatness of the ground, seemed
to rise out of the ocean. We also discovered the
mouth of the Delaware, between Cape May on
the north, and Cape Henlopen on the south; but
from contrary winds we were not able to double
the latter before the llth. We had a pilot
who steered the vessel from thence, between the
dangerous banks of the bay and river, as far as
Philadelphia. Thus we arrived at the last act of

SECOND BATTLE. 25

this tragi-comedy, and the denouement was assez
plaisant. It was a true Epopea; and, what is bet-
ter, a Helen was the causa mail tanti. You must
have understood before now, my dear Countess,
that my good Englishwoman had not discouraged
the attentions of the mate. To do her justice,
however, I must confess that he was an attrac-
tive young fellow, and the opportunity was ex-
tremely proximate. Besides, confined as she
had so long been in this terrible prison, subject
to every species of privation, and to every
temptation that could beset her, it was to be
expected that a little gallantry would be the
effect of so many powerful causes. I had fore-
seen that this was to be an episode in the
drama : but, as she had not purchased a right
to occupy a place in the cabin, and as the cap-
tain had, in a few days, generously offered it to
her, she had not been able to resist the tender
declarations with which he also every now and
then entertained her. The accursed and almost
inseparable companion of love, who spares
neither the cottage nor the palace, neither the
crew of a ship nor the inmates of a family,
took posession of the heart of the mate ; and,
as she was extremely free in the use of her
tongue, and not very delicate as to the senti-
ments she inspired, she provoked him to strike
her. Not being disposed patiently to bear this

26 SECOND BATTLE.

outrage, she courageously returned his blows,
and hence ensued a noisy scuffle, which at-
tracted the attention of the persons in the ship.
The captain undertook, as it might be expected,
the defence of his Dulcinea more warmly than
he had before undertaken that of his Sancho
Panza. Thus our champions valiantly entered
the field of battle, and as, to the honour of the
English, there is no danger of their having re-
course to the stiletto, I let them take their fill
of fighting. As to our pirates, no suffering
inflicted on the whole species would have in-
duced them to raise a finger : at last, however,
Mr James interfered, and effected a separation
in a manner which added much to the interest
of the scene. He happened to have his plates
in his hand, preparing to lay the cloth. The
two gladiators came in contact with him, — the
shock, together with the rolling of the ship,
caused him to lose the centre of gravity, and
laid him prostrate : the awful sound of broken
plates was the signal of retreat, and put an end
to the battle. Providence, by this last incident,
harmonized all around us ; for what is the use
of plates, without something to eat ? They were
an, insult to our misery. For my own part, I
rejoiced at it, and the cause made me laugh.

It is a pity that Calliope turned her back upon
me ; otherwise I might, en badinant, have had a

DELAWARE BAY. 27

fine opportunity of introducing myself to the
notice of the world, by a grand poem, adorned
with every diversity of colour ; an epobaterion-
propemptico - ekgiaco - epicedion - threno - soterico -
epithalamico - genethliaco - exegetico - nautico - epic
poem. After this long word, my dear Countess,
you must take breath.

Some ill-natured critics might perhaps find
fault with my poem for deficiency in great cha-
racters and a moral. To a philosopher, how-
ever, the heroes of Homer, and most other poets,
are little better than my pirates, my captain,
mate, Mr James, and my Helen : and, as for a
moral, it is probably to be found only in Tele-
machus.

We are now in the bay of the Delaware ;
a large basin about twenty-four miles in width
and length, which is considered the mouth of
this river. At length then we are upon the
shores of this great continent, the honour of
naming which was snatched from its Genoese
discoverer by a Florentine, and which awa-
kens in the heart of an Italian that national
pride, which the stranger, not content with op-
pressing our unhappy land, has always striven
to degrade and to stifle. This continent, as
well as Europe, Asia, and Africa, will ever
recall to the memory the bold enterprizes, the

28 THE DELAWARE.

important discoveries, the courage, and the glory
of our ancestors.

Cape May, and the countries to the right, as
far as the river Hudson, in ascending the bay
and the river, belong to New Jersey : Cape
Henlopen (formerly Cape St James's) and all
the country to the left, as far as the bay of
Chesapeake, once belonged to Pennsylvania,
but now form the state of Delaware, created
since the formation of these colonies, into a con-
federate and independent republic.

At the bottom of the bay the bed of the river
contracts, though still in some places three or
four miles in breadth. But the view of the
country speaks to the mind only by the ideas
and reflections it suggests. The eye sees nothing
but a flat country and vast forests, intersected
at considerable intervals, by a few scattered
farms or hamlets, almost as far as Newcastle,
where the country begins to be more populous,
more flourishing, and more diversified by plain,
hill, and valley.

From Newcastle, a delightful little commercial
town belonging also to the state of Delaware,
you ascend the river forty-five miles ; and there,
amid the windings of the Delaware, and, as
it were, from the bosom of a majestic forest,
emerges that stately city which is considered

CHARACTER OF THE CAPTAIN. 29

the largest and most important in all America ;
and on whose site, before the time of Penn, the
savage chased the bear and the panther. Two
miles farther, it rises before you in all its majesty
and extent, from north to south, commanding
this superb river, which is still above a mile in
breadth, although more than one hundred and
fifty miles from its mouth ; and which, with the
tide, conveys large three-mast vessels to the
very doors of the opulent inhabitants. There we
received the visit of the proprietors of the vessel,
of the arrival of which they had been informed
by signal from Cape Henlopen. They believed
she had experienced the fate of many others,
which had been lost during the last two months ;
and although they knew that she was in the
river, the floating masses of ice which covered its
surface made them very uneasy ; so that, in spite
of her shattered condition, they thought them-
selves happy at seeing her at all. And here I
must stop one moment to pronounce the parting
eulogium on my friend the captain.

I cannot advise the Americans to send him
forth as a specimen of the nation, or of the gene-
rous sentiments which they so proudly arrogate ;
if they do, they will stand a chance of being
considered as Turks, or perhaps worse. But
as a sailor, prepared to battle with every storm,
he may justify their boast of the probability that

30 MATE.

America will become one of the most formidable
maritime powers in the world. I spoke to him
very plainly about his barbarian manners ; but
I willingly forgave him, in consideration of his
address and courage in those dreadful storms,
when the elements seemed every instant to
threaten our destruction ; I therefore forgot my
indignation, and converted a notice of his private
behaviour, which in my wrath I had intended to
insert in the newspapers, into an honourable cer-
tificate to his public conduct. The only revenge
in which I indulged was, to pay him my passage
without any discussion or allusion to the shame-
ful violation of his engagements, which he obvi-
ously expected ; in short, without saying a
single word, good or bad ; and when he saw
this accompanied by his certificate, which cer-
tainly he did not expect, he looked extremely
mortified. As for the mate, my dear Countess,
it is impossible to describe to you his indefatiga-
ble activity, his courage, intelligence, and expe-
rience, at the early age of twenty-one. He quite
captivated me. Is it, therefore, surprising that
he should have captivated one of that sex whose
hearts are so much more tender and impressible ?
For this unhappy woman I feel real and deep
compassion : she is in despair at the prospect
of meeting her husband in a situation which
reveals her fault. Let us drop the curtain on

CONCLUSION. 31

our drama, before we reach the catastrophe of
the heroine, which will, I fear, be truly tragical,
or behold the miseries which the pirates, who
have already sailed for Cuba, are preparing to
inflict.

Thus then, my dear Madam, the 21st instant,
after three months and a half of suffering and
vicissitudes, ordinary and extraordinary, brings
us to the end of this voyage ; which, although
three thousand five hundred miles, is generally
performed in thirty or forty days. Happy shall
I be if I am permitted to tell you the end of my
future wanderings. I wish this letter may find
the elements more propitious than I did, and
that it may convey to you, without delay, the
expression of my Transatlantic friendship.

LETTER XI.

Pittsburg, March 3lst 1823.

I WRITE to you from a place, my dear Madam,
which only fifty years ago even the colonists
of America regarded as the end of the civilized
world; in which white men and red men
hunted each other by turns like wild beasts ;
a place where I am opposite to you on the other
side of a branch of the Apalachian mountains,
the highest in North America, as you are op-
posite to me on the other side of a branch of the
Apennines, some of the highest in Europe. In
short, Madam, we are pretty nearly foot to foot,
if the world be really a ball. I do not like this.
I had much rather be face to face ; and am
tempted to go over to the party of the reverend
father inquisitor, who, in his zeal for burning,
wanted to burn the antipodes ; — perhaps for the
same reason.

Formerly a man who had wandered hither

UNITED STATES. 33

would have been given up for lost; now that
there is no such thing as travelling, now that
what used to be a journey is a promenade, I seem
only to have come a few steps since my last
letter, and here I am in one of the most flou-
rishing countries in the world : it is so, because
the earth is still under the dominion of nature,
and but little reclaimed by art ; and it is one of
the most civilized, precisely because not over-
civilized. After all, since the happy invention of
letter-writing, distance, my dear Countess, is
rather imaginary than real. But we must go
back to show you Philadelphia, and to teach
you the road hither.

I hope you are not going to question me as
yet about people, manners, sects, &c. &c. for
you must be sensible that, in forty days, I can-
not be prepared with very satisfactory answers.
If ever I return to these parts I will endeavour
to satisfy your curiosity ; but, for the present, we
must content ourselves with rambling about a
little, and must only pause long enough to look
back upon a few historical facts, that we may
know where we are ; and to observe en passant the
most striking and interesting objects of nature
and art, so that we may just be able to say, " I
have been there!" until the time shall come
when I can tell you at length the result of all

VOL. II. D

34 PENNSYLVANIA.

my researches and reflexions into the character
and institutions of the people.

Let us begin with Pennsylvania, — if it be
but to know the derivation of its name.

This state forms a part of those immense re-
gions, the coasts of which were discovered in the
reign of Elizabeth, by the celebrated Italian na-
vigator, Sebastian Cabotto, who was also the first
to set on foot a commercial intercourse between
Russia and England. These regions now com-
prise South Labrador, Lower Canada, Nova
Scotia, and all the eastern states of the Union.

He planted a colony, first in the island which
he called Terra Nuova, a name which it still re-
tains ; afterwards in that part of the continent
called the Carolinas ; and lastly, in that which
he himself christened Virginia, in honour of the
Virgin Queen, in whose behalf all these disco-
veries were made.

This latter colony was the only one which
prospered at the time, and all these countries
were then dependencies of Virginia ; so that a
little colony possessed an extent of territory
greater than the whole of Europe. What was
afterwards called Pennsylvania belonged there-
fore originally to Virginia.

Hudson afterwards ascended the river which
bears his name, and discovered the country

PENNSYLVANIA. 35

through which it flows, afterwards called New
York. He thought himself proprietor of it —
perhaps under the auspices and sanction of Alex-
ander VTs bull, — and ceded it all to the Dutch,
together with much unexplored country, part
of which was the district now forming the states
of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware ;
which the Dutch called New Belgium.

James I, and Virginia on his behalf, protested
against this sale : the peace of Breda revoked
it, and it reverted to the English. A great part
of the land was afterwards granted to the heir of
Penn, an English admiral, in payment of sums
due to him from the government, and from him
it was called Pennsylvania, or Penn's forests ; for
at that time it was all forest, inhabited only by
savages and wild beasts.

The history of Penn and of Pennsylvania, is in-
timately connected with that of the Quakers.
It is the history of a true patriarch, and a good
legislator; of the gentle and humane manners of
the best ages of the world ; of the true morality
of the Gospel. I think therefore you will not be
displeased if I give you a slight sketch of it.
You might otherwise think I passed with insen-
sibility and indifference over a country which is
perhaps the only true theatre of that golden age,
which everybody talks of, though nobody knows
when or where to place its existence.

Quakerism, if we are to believe its votaries, is

3G QUAKERS.

as old as Christianity. They go so far as to say
that Jesus Christ was the first Quaker, and that
they do but tread in his footsteps. Thence they
trace their austere morals, their simple and
patriarchal manners, their hospitality, their hu-
mility, their truly Christian charity, their aversion
to all the pleasures of worldly vanity, to pomp,
luxury, and intemperance ; their horror for war ;
(and not from fear of death, which they, living in
justitia et equitate, have, perhaps less reason to
dread than any other persons, but from genuine
humanity and philanthropy ;) thence that har-
mony, that true brotherhood, which reigns among
them, and which ought to serve as an example
and model to those who pretend to excel in
the Christian virtues, and who demand that
all the rest of the world should take them as
models only because they demand it.

The Quakers say that they do not baptize,
because Jesus Christ never baptized as we do ;
that they should be disciples of John and not
of Christ if they did : — that John himself said
that another would come who would baptize by
fire ; and that Christ did baptize his apostles in
the tabernacle by the fire of the Holy Spirit ; —
that they believe themselves baptized by this same
spirit, and inspired with what they ought to say
and to do, rectum et divinum, on earth ; that Jesus
Christ never made obeisances with his hat, nor
required others to make them to him ; — that he

PENN. 37

never used any other appellative than the second
person singular ; — and that they do not find in the
Bible, or in any other sacred book, the titles of
our terrestrial divinities, — majesty, highness, emi-
nence, excellence, grace, reverence, &c. &c. They
assert that after the death of our divine master,
his principles became corrupted, but that there
were always some few good Quakers dispersed
about the world who kept alive the sacred fire ;
until Fox arose in 1G42, and kindled it into fresh
brightness and vigour in England. It was pre-
cisely the period at which three or four hostile
sects tore Great Britain with civil wars, as cruel
as they were fanatical, which gave birth to the
most tolerant, the most humane of all which
have sprung from Christianity — the sect of the
Quakers.

The young and ardent Penn, though educated
in the orthodox principles of the University of
Oxford, was warmed by this sacred flame, and
became one of the most zealous proselytes of the
new apostle of England. His eloquence made
many converts among the men, and his beauty and
sweet expression still more among the women.
His father's interest and money were often em-
ployed to rescue him from prison and from per-
secution. He even quarrelled with his father,
who was of the orthodox faith, but their mutual
affection re-united them ; at length, being left

38 PENN.

sole heir of his father's property, which was
considerable, and absolute proprietor of an im-
mense territory in America, he turned his back
on persecutions and persecutors, and came hither
with Fox and a great number of his followers
to plant the standard of his faith, and of the
generous and humane principles which charac-
terized it.

Here then, my dear Madam, you have a
Quaker turned sovereign; — invested with the
right of making laws, of establishing a govern-
ment, of granting lands, of levying taxes, &c.
The use which Penn made of this right, places
him in the rank of the greatest benefactors of
his race. He converted the whole of the vast
province which had been granted to his father,
and which, as I have already told you, he called
Pennsylvania, into one great theatre of benefi-
cence, industry, and of the purest morality.

After he had rendered this country a secure
asylum for himself and his brethren, he turned
his attention to the means of providing for their
future wants, without molestation to the Swedish
and Dutch settlers, who already cultivated a
part of it, and who readily submitted to a ruler
as just as he was benevolent.

He granted a thousand acres of land to any
man who applied for it (for twenty pounds, and
a small yearly rent) ; he gave fifty acres to every

PENN. 39

young man and young woman, who had been
engaged for some time, and had completed their
term of service ; and the same quantity to every
married couple, who had no means of paying for
it. An equitable treaty protected the colonists
against the incursions of the Indians, and wise
laws secured them in the enjoyment of their
liberty and property. He decreed that every man
who acknowledged the existence of a God, might
be admitted a citizen, and that every Christian
was eligible to every office of state ; that every
one was at liberty to invoke the Great Being in
the manner most satisfactory to his own con-
science ; that no one was compelled to furnish
contributions or tithes for the building of temples.
In order to deserve the most perfect protection
the colony could afford, it was only necessary to
take an oath of obedience to the crown, and
fidelity to the lord proprietor. The Quakers,
who never mingle the Deity in human affairs,
and consequently do not take oaths, merely pro-
mise by a yes or a no, and their simple affirma-
tion is more sacred and inviolable than the
pretended religious formula of many other
Christians, who perjure themselves upon the
Gospels.

Lastly, Penn resolved that no tax should be
imposed, or law enacted, without the consent of
all the inhabitants of the colony, whose age and

40 PENN.

sex rendered them fit to vote, and reserved no
other power to himself than that of watching
over the security and happiness of his province.

He divided it into counties, in each of which
he established a court, where justice was to be
administered gratis ; justices of the peace, arbi-
trators, £c. ; in order, as far as possible, to banish
or to prevent chicanery and litigation. Such, in
a word, were his justice and generosity, that,
not thinking his right to the possession of these
lands established by the cession of England
alone, he treated with the Indians for theirs, and
purchased it on equitable terms, and by the
common consent of all the contracting parties.
So just was his conduct in this treaty, that the
name of Penn is still held in the greatest reve-
rence among the Indians ; and, when they have
any treaty to conclude with the present Ameri-
can nation, they always invoke the same spirit
of loyalty and sanctity which dictated that of
Penn with their ancestors.

You may readily imagine, my dear Madam,
that everybody would be eager to live under the
protection of such a government and such a
legislator; equal, perhaps superior, to any whom
antiquity can boast : — a legislator, who founded
all his institutions on the solemn guarantees of
property and liberty, and of the most extensive
toleration. Pennsylvania accordingly was soon

PENNSYLVANIA. 41

the resort of numerous European and American
families, who brought with them industry, arts,
manufactures, and commerce ; and rendered it
the most flourishing colony in the world. It is
now one of the most important states of the
Union.

The diversity of nations, religions, and lan-
guages, might have given cause to apprehend
that jealousy, and those hostile feelings which
are frequently the ruin of ancient establish-
ments and the great obstacle to the formation
of new ones ; but, such was the wisdom of the
legislator, that the utmost concord and harmony
prevailed. Every individual readily contributed
his own labours in the Lord's vineyard, to ensure
the well-being, physical and moral, of the great
family.

As all enjoyed an unrestrained and equal
freedom, no man envied the liberty of another.
Though the Quakers were the most numerous of
the various sects assembled round the banner
of toleration, though the legislator was himself
a Quaker, they enjoyed no other precedency or
supremacy over others than what they obtained
by the excellence of their example and the prac-
tice of all the Christian virtues. If there was
not unity of opinion, there was perfect co-opera-
tion in beneficence ; and even where there was
not the common bond of Christianity, that of

42 PHILADELPHIA.

humanity was sufficient to check the spirit of
fanaticism, persecution, and intolerance. Such,
in short, were their union, their mutual senti-
ments of philanthropy, that they took or re-
ceived the name of the Philadelphi.

It was necessary to build some great and per-
manerit monument, as a lasting record of the
foundation of this holy colony, and accordingly,
Penn planned and built its capital, Philadelphia.
During the war of independence, it was the ca-
pital of the whole Union, and is now that of the
state of Pennsylvania ; that is to say, it is the
centre of the most important business and com-
merce and institutions of the state ; but Harris-
burg is the true capital. Harrisburg is more
central, and American wisdom supplies the de-
ficiency of commerce by the resources necessa-
rily arising from the seat of the magistracy and
the bustle of a metropolitan city.

I shall not detain you long at Philadelphia or
anywhere else, for, to reach this place (Pittsburg)
in the short time that has elapsed, it is clear that
we must not stay long, nor observe minutely.
For the present, then, we will content ourselves
with a superficial glance at what falls in our
way in the country through which we pass,
and with noting its origin and progress.

Philadelphia is built in the form of a paral-
lelogram, lying north and south, in a peninsula

PHILADELPHIA. 43

formed by the Delaware and the Schulkyll,
which meet five miles lower down, where a fort,
built by the Union, commands both these rivers.
Having told you how recently it has emerged from
its surrounding forests, you will learn with sur-
prise that it already contains 1 15,000 inhabitants.
Ask the countries under the sway of intolerance,
whether population encreases thus with them ?

It contains large squares, which are laid out
like those of England with grass-plats and trees ;
almost everything about them is English. If
one could sleep through the whole passage,
and wake in the United States, one might be-
lieve oneself still in England, at least so far as
externals go. The houses are English. The
Americans have constructed some large build-
ings, to be more d, rAnglaise, and have com-
pleted the resemblance by similar architectural
extravagances. Like the English, they will
insist on knowing everything of themselves,
without being in the slightest degree indebted
to foreigners. This sort of conceit is not very
favourable to their architecture, though exceed-
ingly so to their patriotism : they would how-
ever do wisely to keep to the simple. If they
will ascend to the heights of Pantheons, Par-
thenons, Capitols, &c. they must learn, and
they must go and study in those countries where

44 PHILADELPHIA.

the art is understood, or get foreigners to come
and teach them what they do not know.

There is a university which enjoys some re-
putation; there is a philosophical society for
the encouragement of science and letters; a
museum of natural history; a public library
bequeathed to the town by the celebrated
Franklin; hospitals, which are not, at present,
very well managed, except that of Pennsyl-
vania, in which the patients pay for attendance.
In this hospital, West has left his country a
splendid memorial of his talents ; his picture of
Christ Healing the Sick is certainly one of the
chef d* (zuvres of modern art.

There are many handsome churches for va-
rious modes of worship. The Catholic church
of St Mary has lately been the scene of great
scandal. The congregation actually came to
open blows about a priest who was the choice
of the people, but rejected by the bishop and
his partisans ; this is the way in which our holy
religion is everywhere honoured and recom-
mended by the conduct of its professors.

The institutions for public education are very
numerous. They build as many schools as
churches, and manufactures and arts have
already made astonishing progress.

I have reserved the markets as a bonne bouche>

SUSQUEHANA. 45

for they are really beautiful, and the quantity
and excellence of the provisions, and game of
every description, is a novel and striking sight to
a stranger. The great building on the Schulkyll,
containing the engines for raising all the water for
the use of the town, is a grand work and deserves
a volume to itself : it is therefore out of the reach
of a man who flies along like the stage coaches
of England, or of the steam boats of America.
The season was moreover very unfavourable to
any examination of a work of this kind, for all
the water was frozen, and one walked upon the
Schulkyll and Delaware just as securely as in
the Tuilleries. If we had arrived a week later,
I should have ascended the Delaware in a car-
riage or on horseback. Your curiosity about
Philadelphia is not satisfied, I know; — so much
the better. You will be the more glad to return.

Let us set out for Washington, and travel
with all expedition, that we may reach it before
the dissolution of Congress.

At the distance of a mile from Philadelphia
we cross the Schulkyll by a magnificent wooden
bridge of bold and wonderful construction.

At Chester, fifteen miles from Philadelphia, is
a fine manufactory of cloth, established by a
Frenchman, and worked by the Chester river.
But of these you have seen enough in France.

We crossed the Susquehana on the ice. It
is a great river, sixty-six miles from Philadel-

46 BALTIMORE.

phia. Its western sources are in the Appalachian,
and its northern in the Chenectady mountains.
It flows into the Chesapeake.

You want to stop a moment at Baltimore.
Well, one moment; — but take care we do not
forget ourselves, for it is a delightful town ; —
I prefer it, on every account, greatly to Philadel-
phia. It might easily seduce us into a long
stay.

This province was also part of Virginia.
Charles I. gave lord Baltimore all the land lying
between thePotowmac, which was its boundary
on the side of Virginia, and the Susquehana, which
divided, and still divides it from Pennsylvania, on
the other. Lord Baltimore called it Maryland, in
honour of Queen Mary, and built a town, which
he also called Mary, or St Mary. He was a Ca-
tholic, and converted this territory into a refuge
for Catholics; but by a fatality, which seems to
attend Catholicism, that colonies founded under
its auspices never prosper in this world, (perhaps
because the prosperity of the faithful is reserved
until their final migration to another), division and
discord found their way among the inhabitants ;
the town, instead of encreasing, shrunk to a mise-
rable village ; the colonists were poor and lazy ;
busied in nothing but attempts to convert the
savages to a religion which they prophaned and
dishonoured, instead of recommending it by
evangelical morality, union, and courage. Such,

BALTIMORE. 47

in short, was the state of the colony, that the
lord found himself compelled to get an act ap-
proved by the general assembly, by which every
man who was a Christian was admitted to an
enjoyment of all the advantages common to the
ancient colonists, and of perfect indulgence and
toleration for his political and religious opinions.
This act attracted a great number of families of
different creeds. The colony prospered, the city
encreased, and the Indians retired at the sight
of these new auxiliaries, whose orderly habits,
good morals, and firm measures of defence, awed
them into respect and submission.

But, my dear Countess, you must not fall into
the mistake of thinking that the city of Balti-
more, though thriving, was really a city. Any
place was then called a city which was the seat
of a colonial establishment. Fifty years ago it
did not perhaps contain a hundred houses ; it
now contains one hundred thousand inhabitants,
and is one of the most flourishing towns in the
union. It commands the northern side of the
great bay of Chesapeake, more than two hun-
dred miles from the sea, and is surrounded by
beautiful hills and magnificent country-houses.
It is the most important town of Maryland,
though Anapolis is the capital ; and is the entre-
pot and the seat of a considerable commerce with
all parts of the world.

48 BALTIMORE.

It has been called Baltimore ever since it be-
came part of the union. The Catholic church
alone, which has a bishop, has retained the name
of St Mary's.

The town is pretty and cheerful in all parts.
The streets and houses are perfectly brilliant
with neatness ; the churches are handsome, and
some magnificent; the exchange, surmounted
by a large tent- shaped cupola, is a large and
rich building. The column erected to the me-
mory of Washington is perhaps the most gigantic
existing, but it is very ill placed ; and the ascent
to the gallery round the capital is by an internal
staircase, without the least air-hole ; so that you
are almost dead before you reach the top, from
the foulness of the air. A colossal statue of
Washington is to be. placed, I know not when,
on a plinth upon the capital.

In a pretty little square, surrounded by the
handsomest houses in the town, public and pri-
vate, is another monument, in commemoration
of the battle of North Point, fought five miles to
the south-east of Baltimore in the last war be-
tween the English and Americans. It cannot be
to commemorate thet*ctor$r, for certainly this was
not the best scene of their valour or their glory.
With fifteen or sixteen thousand men, who had
the choice of their ground, and time for prepara-
tion, it surely could not be very difficult to take

WASHINGTON. 49

five or six thousand English, whom general
Ross's imprudence had delivered into their hands.
This imprudence, however, cost only his life ; for
the Americans suffered nearly the whole of his
little army to escape, and to re-embark nearly
as easily as they landed. When I was shew-
ing you the monument at the Seven Mountains
on the Rhine, I remarked that nothing blinds
princes so effectually as flattery ; here we find
it has the same effect on republics.

Baltimore has a great number of philanthro-
pical institutions, and of places of public instruc-
tion : it is a very interesting town in every
respect; and, if I were to live in the United
States, I had rather live at Baltimore than at
Philadelphia. The latter has many noble recol-
lections and associations, but apparently the
inhabitants are contented with this stock, for
it does Hot seem to me that they are in the way
to add to it. Philadelphia is not the place to go
to for amiable or courteous manners ; and in the
higher classes I thought I perceived symptoms
of an illiberal and spiteful ambition. Let us
go on to Washington.

The road from Baltimore to Washington has
nothing interesting. Washington has not long
been to be found in the map of America. It
stands on the northern shore of the Potowmac.
It arose, together with the prosperity of the

VOL. II. E

50 CAPITOL.

United States, after the termination of the war
of independence, under the auspices of the great
citizen whose name it bears. The ground on
which it stands belonged to Maryland. This
state consented to give it for the site of the
capital of the whole union. Virginia also granted
a portion on the southern bank, and thus was
formed the district of Columbia, that is to say,
a certain circumference round the city, which
serves as a sort of appanage or anti-chamber to
the queen-city of America. Perhaps I am using
this epithet rather rashly ; but the influence she
exercises on this new world, already so asto-
nishingly mature, seems to justify me even at
this moment, and time will justify me yet more
fully. There are some things in which rash-
ness is more shewn in rejecting too much than
in believing too much.

The Capitol is a large building, in a situation
worthy of a name of such awful grandeur. It
commands the whole city, which, like all infant
cities whose origin is to be found in political
causes alone, and whose growth is not hastened
and directed by commerce, still consists of
scattered sections. From its western balcony
you look down the whole of the High street,
which begins at the foot of this building, and,
crossing the city for nearly two miles, terminates
at another elevation, upon which, directly .front-

CAPITOL. 51

ing the Capitol, stands the president's house.
This edifice (the Capitol) is vast, and might have
been rendered grand, if the Bostonian architect
had not preferred the new to the regular ; — if he
had not thought extravagancies more striking than
the rules of art, harmony too monotonous, and
fantastic embellishments grand and magnificent.
Such probably were the tastes that induced him
to place on the outside the grand staircase lead-
ing to the dome which rises majestically in
the centre of the eastern facade. So grand an
edifice, and one bearing so stately a name, ought
to have had a majestic entrance, where carriages
might have set down the members of congress at
the foot of a grand interior staircase, then crossed
a court and passed out on the other side. The
architect probably thought this too aristocratical
an indulgence, and accordingly he makes them
alight democratically in the rain.

The great dome is handsome, but would be
more so if it were not so dark in the inside.
On either side of it is a large hall, one for the
lower chamber, or representatives, the other for
the upper, or senators. The first is a magnifi-
cent room, in the form of a crescent, and a fora-
men, after the manner of the ancients, lights it
from the top of the ceiling ; but thick columns,
perfectly idle and useless, and galleries of too
great depth, round the whole concave part, im-
pede and absorb the voice, so that it is ex-

52 CAPITOL.

tremely difficult to hear in it. The statue of
Liberty, which presides in this truly august
congress, is placed in a most singular situation.
She is reposing on the cornice which runs quite
round the hall above the great pillars. You see
her, but you cannot distinguish her. The sta-
tue itself was only a model which the Italian
artist, whom they sent for on purpose, pre-
sented for approbation ; but the honourable gen-
tlemen apparently thought it so beautiful, that
they contented themselves with the plaster,
so that the poor artist is still waiting, and pro-
bably will long remain so, for the order to
execute it in marble. And indeed a statue of
marble on a cornice would have a most threaten-
ing appearance, and might endanger the head
of the speaker who sits directly under it.

The hall of the senate is much smaller and
more modest, but it is also handsome. The su-
preme court, which has cognizance of all the law
affairs of the union, holds its sittings there, in a
room which -is well-contrived, if not magnificent.
There is even a little closet in which the attorney-
general keeps his breakfast, which I saw him eat
in very good earnest and without the slightest
constraint, in full court and in the midst of the
audience. The library, which is still without
books, is a fine room : all the rest has rather the
air of a monastery than a palace.

The English, as you know, made a descent

CONGRESS. 53

upon Washington in the last war, and burnt this
national monument of a rebellious people ; a
Vandalism which certainly is not one of the
brightest pages of the history of England. It
has arisen, therefore, under a new form from
its ruins. It might have been rebuilt better;
but it must always be regarded as a grand
structure, — the earnest of a transatlantic Rome.
To aid this allusion, the Americans have given
the name of Tiber to a little muddy stream which
creeps humbly at its foot, and soon hides its ob-
scurity and its shame in the Potowmac.

I guess your thoughts, dear lady ; you want
to know what these representatives and senators
are about. But this is not an affair for a passing
spectator to meddle with. All I can tell you is,
that they assemble there to defend and maintain,
valorously and powerfully, the rights and liber-
ties of their constituents ; the independence,
honour, and glory of their country, against all
assailants. You think I may at least tell you
with what sort of air these gentlemen sit in their
arm chairs. To form any idea of the moral
habits which influence their manners is very
difficult for a rambler ; mere external appearance
will hardly perhaps satisfy your question. But
I can tell you just what I saw, and how it struck
me. They do not sit with such perfect noncha-
lance as the gentlemen of St Stephen's Chapel :

54 PRESIDENT MONROE.

they have to do with a people more jealous, more
suspicious, more vigilant, and this keeps them a
little in order ; nor are elections bought so easily
as in England : nevertheless one sees that they
have an extreme mind to ape them if they dared.
Perhaps they will succeed when they are richer,
and the people more docile and more habituated
to regard them as demi-sovereigns.

This is no place, too, to enter into a disquisi-
tion on the details of the government, much as
I know you desire to hear all you can on that
interesting subject. Its fundamental basis you
doubtless know ; I will give you such a slight
idea of its composition as I have been able to
form for myself.

The twenty-four states which compose the
union have, by a perfectly new political system,
the sovereignty of this vast empire divided among
themselves ; at the same time concentrating the
general government in the neutral city of Wash-
ington, which belongs to all and to none ; and in
which the Americans meet yearly, as the Am-
phictyonic council met at Delphi ; whilst, like
the members of the Achaean league, each state
has its particular government. You must under-
stand me as well as you can ; for the present I
cannot explain myself better.

I must say a word about the President, were
it only to have the pleasure of telling you the

PRESIDENT MONROE. 55

strange way in which I entered his apartment.
I went to the door of the President's house, — I
found it open, and walked in ; I turned in vain
on every side to find some one of whom to en-
quire for him ; there was nobody. Nearly
opposite the entrance of the vestibule I saw a
door open; — I advanced, crossed a room, asked
at another door whether I might go in ; — nobody
answered. I asked again and again, like a Swiss ;
— at last an old man, in leather-breeches, top-
boots, and spurs, with a riding- whip in his hand,
came up to me : " Is the president at home?"
said I; " can I have the honour of seeing him?"
'" You do see him," replied he, " I am the pre-
sident, at your service." I found that I was still
the mountaineer who comes gaping down to
the low-lands full of admiration and awe for
everything superior and venerable ; I could not
utter a word. But his kind courtesy soon re-
lieved me from the embarrassment into which
I was thrown by his unexpected presence : I
gave him my letter of recommendation. He re-
ceived and talked to me with the greatest kind-
ness, and our conversation would perhaps have
been a long one, had not a senator, wrapped in a
great boat cloak, and very muddy, come in loaded
with papers, and interrupted it. His manners
were as coarse as those of the president were po-
lite. I went out by the same way as I had gone

56 ROAD TO PITTSBURG.

in, and quitted this illustrious chief magistrate
with an impression of the deepest respect and
veneration.

What a difference, my dear Madam, between
his noble manners and the disgusting morgue of
a miserable French diplomatist, to whom I was
afterwards ashamed to have presented a letter
of introduction ! What a difference between the
frank and liberal tone of conversation of the one,
and the pitiful inquisitiveness of the other ! You
know, doubtless, that the present president is
James Monroe. We must quit Washington ; but
it is impossible to do so without being struck
with a sort of amazement and admiration, and
filled with a crowd of secret and busy thoughts
which it is difficult to define.

The principal interest of the road from Wash-
ington to Pittsburg arises from the reflection,
that all these fields, these villages and towns,
have just arisen, as it were, out of nothing, and
that they are all the seat of the greatest pros-
perity and the most perfect and solid liberty.
The sight of poverty would here be considered a
phenomenon ; competence and comfort are uni-
versal.

The country is diversified by forests, prairies,
tilled fields, plains, hills, vallies, mountains,
rivers, and torrents, so that there is no room for
monotony, and the eye is continually solicited

AMERICAN ROADS. 57

by boundless variety. It passes rapidly from
the gloomy to the gay, from the lovely to
the terrific, and vice versa. It is one continuous
gallery of the finest pictures from the hand of
Nature.

The most considerable town on the road is
Frederick's-town in Maryland, forty-five miles
from Washington. It already contains four
thousand inhabitants, and is a delightful little
town. Here I was compelled to halt. We were
packed like red herrings, in a bad stage-coach,
full of Kentuckians, whom it is really impossi-
ble to endure. It is a pity that a people so
brave, industrious, and active, should be so
coarse and insolent : one can and must esteem
them, but it is a difficult matter to like them.
As this is the season of their annual migration
from east to west, and consequently all the
stages swarm with them, I hired a kind of wag-
gon and went to Chambersburg in Pennsylva-
nia, on the road from Philadelphia to Pittsburg.
It is a much larger town than Frederick's-town.
Here begins the eastern ascent of the Apalachian
mountains, which are neither so high nor so hor-
rible as some geographers represent them. On
this road they divide into three distinct ridges,
from north to south.

The line of the great road, which crosses them
up to this point, is well chosen, but the road

58 AMERICAN WOMEN.

itself is detestable, as are almost all American
roads ; indeed any reasonable man must see that
some time must elapse before an easy circulation
can be opened through this mighty body. The
descent of the western side of the mountains is
worse than that on the east, which also was to be
expected ; it is farther from the centre of civili-
zation, and nearer to the region where things are
yet in statu quo. However, one finds good inns
everywhere ; and with their fine horses, which
for strength and fire perhaps surpass the Eng-
lish, the stages do get along.

I was surprised to find so little snow at this
season on mountains which make so much noise
in the world, and in a country where the cold is
more intense at a latitude of 40° than it is at 50°
in Europe. This cold is the very thing which
brings my ramble to a close ; — and closed it is.
What, — without a word of the American wo-
men ? Indeed, my dear Countess, they deserve
that I should bespeak your esteem for them,
though in so short a time I do not pretend to
appreciate all their merits.

They are generally pretty — at least their coun-
tenances are extremely interesting to me ; they
are agreeable without forwardness, modest with-
out affectation, well-informed without pedantry ;
and are excellent housewives. In all respects,
they are very superior to the men.

JOSEPH BUONAPARTE. 59

You are astonished, are you not, dear Madam,
that an European should come to America, pass
very often by Joseph Buonaparte's door, and
not say a word about him.

It is my system never to mention individuals
if I can say no good ; you know, besides, that
the name of Buonaparte died — as it was born —
with Napoleon ; unless indeed it should revive
in his son.

Au revoir, my dear Countess — a little farther
— but where I know not.

P. S. Continue, if you please, to send your
letters through Baring, Brothers, and Co. Lon-
don.

LETTER XII.

Confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi,
April 20th, 1823.

I HAVE made another very long and beautiful
excursion, my dear Countess, since I wrote to
you from Pittsburg. How much do I wish that
I possessed the pencil of Claude or the pen of
Delille, to place so enchanting a picture before
your eyes ; or that I were gifted with the saga-
city of Anacharsis and the wisdom of Mentor ; I
could then select and appreciate whatever is cal-
culated to arrest the attention of the present, or
excite the hopes of future generations, in the
country through which I have passed.

I must entreat you to receive with indulgence
the communications of a man, whose mind so

PITTSBURG. 61

often wanders back to those scenes whither the
love of country and of home are continually re-
calling him ; where the admiration of the most
extraordinary virtue, the consolations of the
noblest friendship, so long and so delightfully
occupied him ; and whose eyes would fain rest
only upon what are most difficult to describe, —
objects which interest his heart. But let us
return to Pittsburg.

Pittsburg, before the war of independence,
was only a small port, called by the name of
du Qufone, when these wilds belonged to the
French; and by that of Pitt, when the English
took possession of it under the ministry of that
man whom Mr Nicoll, one of his coadjutors in
parliament, has described better than fame did.
This fort was at that time one of the bulwarks
which defended the western frontier of the Eu-
ropean colonies. At that time, the savages or
aborigines inhabited all the vast regions which
now constitute the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illi-
nois, Mississippi, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ala-
bama, and a great part of those of Louisiana,
Georgia, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virgi-
nia; Pittsburg is now a city, containing about
twelve thousand inhabitants.

The rapidity with which the human species
has multiplied in these countries is astonishing ;
it seems as if death had lost his empire in this

62 PITTSBURG.

country ; but now it is rich and flourishing, and
physicians are flocking hither in abundance.

It would be difficult to find a situation so far
inland, and at the same time so favourable to
internal and external commerce.

Pittsburg belongs to the state of Pennsylva-
nia, and is situated at the foot of the western
slope of the Apalachian or Alleghany mountains,
which, from Canada to the gulph of Mexico,
from N.N.E. to S.S.W., divide the United
States into Eastern and Western. Here, the
Alleghany and Monongahela rivers unite, and,
losing their respective names, take that of Ohio,
which, in the Algonquine or aboriginal language,
signifies " beautiful river." The former, which
flows from the north, affords a safe navigation
as far as Presqu'isle, where, by means of a very
short land carriage, there is a communication
with lake Erie. The latter also conveys large
boats along a course of about two hundred
miles, to within a short distance from its sources
towards the S. E. in the Apalachian moun-
tains.

Pittsburg is already in a flourishing state ; it
has a number of manufactories all in great acti-
vity, and moved by steam. So powerful is the
mechanism employed in the manufacture of
nails, that, with my watch in my hand, I have
seen more than three hundred made in a minute

STEAM-BOATS. 63

with the aid of one man ; and in the iron-foun-
dry, the metal is reduced perhaps in still less
time, from its primitive state to that of a polished
bar of any dimensions or size. In countries
where it will soon be attempted, as in former
times, to make the sun move and the earth stand
still, the inventors of these machines would be
considered as sorcerers, and exposed to the cruel
punishment inflicted upon our celebrated Ga-
lileo. Pittsburg is the little Birmingham of the
United States.

This city receives goods from the Atlantic by
way of New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore,
and sends them to the western states by the
Ohio, the Muskingum, the Kentucky, the Ten-
nessee, the Cumberland, the Mississippi, the
Missouri, the Illinois, &c. ; and to the countries
situated upon the gulf of Mexico, by the canal
of New Orleans, lying upon the Mississippi, at
a short distance from its mouths ; and receives
the produce of all the countries washed by
these great rivers, as well as that of the West
Indies.

The steam-boats and other vessels by which
they are conveyed, cross these vast countries of
the new world in every direction. The former
are fitted up with every possible accommoda-
tion, and a tolerable degree of neatness. The
passengers are provided with plain but plentiful

64 BRIDGES.

breakfasts and dinners; with suppers, which
are rendered less heavy by tea ; -with beds, to
which the noise of the water and the machinery
imparts a soporific virtue not to be found else-
where ; and there is a numerous company,
which is almost always enlivened by some ori-
ginal character.

I embarked in one of these steam-boats on
the morning of the 1st of April ; and I had ar-
rived at some distance from Pittsburg, before I
perceived that the weather was serene, and the
sky brilliantly illuminated with the rays of the
ancient God of the land ; for the coal- smoke,
the only incense which the manufacturing and
heretical inhabitants offer to their two divi-
nities, Avarice and Industry, enshrouds the
sun by day and the stars by night. But for
this thick cloud, the prospect, at the point
where these two great rivers meet, surrounded
by hills, intersected by vallies, and losing itself
in the romantic distance, would have been much
more picturesque and surprising.

The appearance of the two bridges by which
the city communicates with the opposite banks
of the two rivers, was quite enchanting, aided as
it was by the effect of the mist. The bridges are
built entirely of wood, resting upon stone pillars,
and are chefs-d'oeuvre of their kind. The tim-
ber-work is admirably united, and supports, as

BRIDGES. 65

by magic, the flat arches, which, although held
together by the sole effect of pressure, are of a
considerable span. They are beautiful proofs
of the progress of mechanism among the Ameri -
cans. It appears, that they build much better
bridges than Parthenons and Capitols.

Each of these bridges has a trottoir on both
sides, where foot-passengers cannot be incom-
moded by the horses or carriages, for which
there are separate entrances ; they are like spa-
cious galleries which afford a shelter from the
wind and rain. That over the Monongahela is
about half a mile long ; that over the Alleghany
somewhat less. They are both lighted by
glazed windows at equal distances ; the lat-
tices with which they are adorned add to their
beauty, and when the sun raises the vapour
from the water to the top of the pillars, it
gives them the appearance of floating palaces.

The bridges belong to a company of specula-
tors, whom the toll, though high, will probably
never repay for the sums they have expended
upon them ; for the numerous facilities which so
many navigable rivers afford to commerce and
to travellers, and the bad state of the roads, are
great obstacles to the interests and profits of the
constructors of bridges.

You would be astonished, my dear Countess,
in a country where everything seems rapidly

VOL. II. F

66 RIVALRY OF THE STATES.

advancing towards civilization, to find roads
which seem to belong to a slate of savage wild-
ness. Nor do I believe they will be improved
whilst the influence of the several states in the
general government continues to be so unwisely
distributed ; that is to say, whilst the number of
the representatives in congress is in proportion
to the population of each state, by which means
the four or five most populous have a preponde-
rance over all the others. This great Union is
consequently always disunited when legislating
on a matter which, like high-ways, is more be-
neficial to one state than to another. This must
indeed be the case, unless the measure happen
to interest the three states of Virginia, Pennsyl-
vania and New York, which can always com-
mand a majority over the twenty-one others.
Generally speaking, they are unanimous only in
one point, that is, the jealousy with which they
watch each other.

If this jealousy never transgressed the bounds
of moderation, it might perhaps contribute to the
safety of the republic : but, as the western
states manifest on all occasions a violent oppo-
sition to those of the east, and as the federa-
lists or aristocrats are often at open variance
with the popular or democratical party, rivalry
may be strengthened into hatred, and may be-
come fatal to the Union and advantageous to

LONG ISLAND. 67

their common enemy, who has his eye upon
them, and, I believe, leaves no means untried
to foment divisions among the leaders of the
different parties. All parties are alike to the
cabinet of St James's, provided they promote
discord and anarchy, which its machiavelism
has made the strong-hold of the political ex-
istence of England, and to which it is, in a man-
ner, obliged to condemn every nation that gives
it cause for jealousy or alarm.

Almost immediately after we had passed this
great confluence, we saw a delightful little
island, in which a clump of lofty tufted trees
seems to offer its leafy homage to the majesty of
the newly-formed river.

Eight miles farther, another island, named
from its extent Long Island, divides it in the
middle. The pretty little houses and cottages
scattered over it form a delightful landscape,
which was softened into tender tints by the
smoke curling amid the trees.

Neither time nor my pen would suffice to de-
scribe to you all the impressions which the dif-
ferent aspects of this magnificent river produce
upon the mind ; and a detailed description of the
immense tract of country through which it flows
would fatigue your magination, which I wish to
keep unsated I shall therefore only give you a
sketch of the principal places it washes, and of

68 WEELING.

the most considerable rivers that flow into it;
after which, I will take a rapid survey of the
whole valley it embellishes in its course.

As the direction of the Ohio, from Pittsburg to
its mouth, is nearly from E.N.E. to W.S.W.,
to avoid confusion and ambiguity, (notwith-
standing its frequent deviations from this line,)
we will call the right bank the northern, and the
left the southern, whenever we have occasion
to distinguish them.

The vast state of Pennsylvania extends upon
these two banks forty-one miles southward to
Grape Island, and continues forty-four north-
ward to Little Beaver Creek, which separates it
on one side from the state of Virginia, on the
other from that of Ohio.

We arrived in the evening at Weeling, on the
southern bank, as by enchantment. Although
ninety-one miles from Pittsburg, I was uncon-
scious of the distance, so much were my eyes
and my imagination occupied and delighted by
the charms of this river.

Weeling is the great rival of Pittsburg, as Vir-
ginia, to which it belongs, is of Pennsylvania.
Its situation is very favourable. Almost all the
inhabitants of the west, going eastward, come to
this place to take the stage-coach, which arrives
three times a week, and sets out again regularly
for Washington, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsyl-

MARIETTA. 69

vania, &c. But it has by no means all the ad-
vantages of Pittsburg, whence the trade of the
Delta, of the Monangahela and of the Alleghany,
extends to all points, and where the abundance
and cheapness of coals greatly facilitate manu-
factures.

Marietta, eighty-four miles lower than Weeling,
on the northern bank, has not been long built ;
nevertheless it is the chief town of the county of
Washington, in the state of the Ohio. In 1800
this place contained only a few families ; it is
now adorned with beautiful public and private
buildings. General Putnam, the father of the
colony, is still living. Education is promoted
by an academy erected for that purpose, and a
pretty good library is open to the citizens. It
has a printing press which is nev7er idle; for in
the United States, the public papers are as
much read in small villages as in great towns, —
in the cottage as in the palace. A Presbyterian
church, although large, is scarcely sufficient to
contain the population, which now amounts to
2,000 persons, and increases prodigiously every
year with the growth of the city. Its situation
is most delightful, and the Muskingum, which
falls into the Ohio, gives it the advantage of an
extensive inland navigation. By a very short
land journey from near the source of the Musk-
ingum, you reach the river Cuyahoga, which
runs into lake Erie.

70 GENERAL PUTNAM.

The current of the Muskingum is so gentle
that, when the Ohio is swollen, its waters are
driven back to a considerable distance. This oc-
casioned a curious incident. A flat boat, laden
with provisions for New Orleans, had arrived
near the confluence of the Muskingum and the
Ohio. The latter having swelled prodigiously
during the night, turned the current of the Mus-
kingum back towards its source. From the
darkness of the night, the boat followed the
same direction. The day after, a thick fog,
which concealed the banks of the river, con-
curred with the carelessness of the boatman to
favour the mistake which continued the whole
of the second night; but the following day, the
fog having dispersed sufficiently to render the
boat visible from shore, they were hailed with the
usual questions, — whence they came, — where
they were going, — and what their boat was laden
with? They then made the discovery that, in-
stead of going to New Orleans, they had been
carried up the Muskingum.

General Putnam is the patriarch of the colony
of Marietta. He is a venerable old man, and
has a claim to honourable mention in the inter-
esting, and hitherto entirely neglected history
of these western parts of the United States. An
humble individual like myself can only pay
him the tribute of a few words expressive of the
respect with which he filled me. He has

GENERAL PUTNAM. 71

watched the growth of this country from the
time when no sounds were heard but the roaring
of wild beasts, the croaking of the raven, or the
death-song of the savages against whom he
fought. He has seen the trees of these forests
fall under the axe of the cultivator, and their
places supplied by the alternate succession of log-
houses, then of cottages, and lastly of the beau-
tiful houses which now adorn the surrounding
scenery. He has beheld the whole country in-
undated by an extraordinary rise of the Ohio and
the Muskingum ; all the cattle, and many men,
drowned ; and watched the desolation, disease,
and death, consequent upon such an event. He
has witnessed all the horrors of the vindictive
incursions of the savages, and seen the exhaust-
less fertility and natural advantages of the soil
triumph over the ravages of fire and sword. In
this place he witnessed the construction of the
first steam-boat that traversed these vast regions,
and from this spot he himself has sent vessels
to the gulf of Mexico, a distance of more than
2,000 miles. He has survived all the vicissi-
tudes of an infant colony; and in this peaceful
seclusion he awaits the termination of that mor-
tal career, in which he has distinguished himself
as one of the great men of the revolution, and as
the most skilful and enterprising of settlers. He
is simple and unostentatious in his manners ; he

72 BLENNERHASSET.

has acted upon Cato's precept — Melius est esse
quam videri.

The situation of Belpre upon the north bank,
and in the same country, is very agreeably in
unison with its name. It was given to it by
some Frenchmen, who, after fighting for Ame-
rican independence, settled in this place to
enjoy the fruits of their valour in peace. When
one considers how much the French have
achieved for the liberty of others, — that they
sacrificed their good king to the vain phantom of
their own, — and that they are now forging chains
for Spain and Portugal, and perhaps for them-
selves, with the same alacrity with which they
offered hecatombs to the terrorism of the saw-
culottes, — one is filled with a thousand mingled
and contending feelings.

The island of Blennerhasset claims the atten-
tion'of the traveller from its length, which is
three miles, from its enchanting beauty, and
from the recollection of the unhappy catastrophe
to which it owes its name.

An Irish gentleman, flying from the horrors
with which the rebellion of 1801 filled his country,
took refuge in America, and settled in this island
with all his family. Rich, and an admirer of the
beautiful, he converted it into a perfect Tivoli.
In December 1810, a terrible fire buried his
only daughter under the ruins of the beautiful

GALLIPOLIS. 73

house which he had built. He immediately
quitted this abode of sorrow, and the island
now retains no other memorial of his splendid
residence than the name of the unfortunate
girl who perished in it : with her, perished every-
thing. What a wound must this cruel loss have
inflicted upon the feelings of the wretched
parent! Having afterwards engaged in a conspi-
racy, the object of which was to break up the
Great Union, he was obliged to quit America.

The Great Kenhawa is the first great river
that flows into the Ohio from the south. It
descends from the western Apalachians of north
Carolina, and is navigable to a considerable dis-
tance from its mouth.

Gallipolis, also founded by Frenchmen, who
fled at the approach of the first terrors of the
revolution to the state of Ohio, is now the chief
town of a county, although it was not in exist-
ence before 1790: but the most astonishing
place is Burlington, which, though built only
five years ago, is the metropolis of the county
of Lawrence and the seat of a court of justice.

The only remarkable circumstance in the little
river Sandy is, that it fixes the boundaries of
the state of Virginia and that of Kentucky upon
the southern bank, at about 300 miles from
Pittsburg.

Portsmouth, upon the northern bank in the

74 CINCINNATI.

state of Ohio, is situated at the confluence of
Scioto, a considerable river, and navigable to
the interior of the state.

Maysville, or Limestone, upon the southern
bank, is one of the most flourishing towns in the
state of Kentucky. I walked about its envi-
rons, and the varied prospects and enchanting-
scenes which every instant presented them-
selves so occupied my rnind and invited my
steps, that the steam-boat, after having waited
for me a long time, sailed without me. Fortu-
nately a raft passed, by means of which I over-
took it at Cincinnati, where it stopped to un-
load goods and take in others. I passed the
whole night in rowing, to protect myself from
the frost.

The infancy of Cincinnati promises much. Al-
though Columbia is the capital of the state of
Ohio, Cincinnati is its largest and most com-
mercial town ; it is inferior only to Pittsburg in
riches and manufactures, but is much prettier
and more agreeable. It is conspicuous from its
situation on three plateaux, which rise gradually
from the bank of the Ohio ; it is enclosed by
hills on the north, and the Ohio washes it in a
semicircle on the south. It is our own Genoa
in miniature, and its environs are equally embel-
lished with beautiful villas. Its steam-boats
navigate the Ohio and the Mississippi. Activity

THE RIVER MIAMI. 75

and industry are everywhere obvious. An aca-
demy and museum shew the love of the inhabi-
tants for science and literature; and five hun-
dred scholars whom 1 saw at the school, con-
ducted upon the system of mutual instruction,
proved the wide diffusion of education. I was
surprised to see the girls mixed pUe mUe with
boys. Notwithstanding the respect due to the
morals of the Americans, one cannot help fearing
that opportunity will prevail over the most
austere principles. There may be the most
primitive simplicity and purity, but nature
speaks a still more seducing language than the
corruptions of society. I have been told that it
owes its illustrious name to Mr Wergenton, who
first settled there towards the end of the last
century, and whose virtue gave him a just claim
to the surname of Cincinnatus. I am inclined to
believe the name of so illustrious and so repub-
lican a Roman may have contributed, among a
people just emerging into republicanism, to at-
tract a number of persons and thus to render it
so soon flourishing. It has a population of about
14,000, the greater part emigrants from New
England. It is about 450 miles from Pittsburg.
The river Miami, which descends from the
north, separates the state of Ohio from that of
Indiana. It is navigable far up the country, and
communicates with other rivers which consider-

76 VEVAY.

ably extend the navigation into the interior of
the two states. It is four hundred and seventy
miles from Pittsburg, and nearly midway of the
course of the Ohio.

I cannot help detaining you an instant, my
dear Countess, at the small village of Rising
Sun, situated upon a little eminence. Its bril-
liant beauty and picturesque situation perfectly
justify its name. It is in the state of Indiana,
upon the northern shore of the Ohio.

It is impossible to pass Vevay without travel-
ling back in thought to Europe, and to that
wondrous work in which the great citizen of
Geneva, whilst he unfolds the weaknesses of the
human heart, shews how completely virtue tri-
umphs over them ; in which he proves that love
may be as pure and irreproachable as it is ardent
and elevated ; in which human nature is painted
under an aspect at once extraordinary and na-
tural, and the heroine is the model of the wife,
the mother, and the friend. This little town,
although in the bosom of America, is, like the
Pays de Vaud, inhabited by Swiss who are very
successful agriculturists. It is situated upon
the northern bank, and in the state of Indiana^
five hundred and fourteen miles from Pittsburg.
These Swiss cultivate the vine : they are the
only settlers who have hitherto had any success
in this branch of agriculture.

THE FALLS. 77

We are now arrived at one of the greatest tri-
butaries of the Ohio — the river Kentucky. It
descends to the south from a branch of the Apa-
lachian mountains, which forms a kind of cher-
sonese towards the west, and separates the
state of Kentucky on the north from that of
Alabama on the south. This branch is called
the Cumberland Mountains. The river Ken-
tucky crosses the state to which it has given its
name, and falls into the Ohio, at about five
hundred and twenty-five miles from Pittsburg ;
between Port Williams on the right, and Pres-
tonville on the left. It is daily productive
of new advantages to these two infant towns,
as well as to the country in the interior, by
the facility with which it enables them to ex-
change their surplus produce for foreign com-
modities.

At five hundred and eighty miles from Pitts-
burg, you arrive at what are called the Falls, i. e.
the cascades of the Ohio.

I make it a rule never to ask questions before-
hand about any great exhibitions either of art or
nature, that I may secure to my curiosity the
gratification of a surprise either more agreeable
or more intense ; and that my eyes and my judg-
ment may be under the influence of no other im-
pressions than their own. But here my expecta-
tions, raised by the idea of the fall of so large
a volume of water, were grievously disappointed ;

78 THE FALLS.

and my only astonishment was, that there was
nothing to be astonished at.

These falls are nothing more than an inclined
plane of only twenty-two feet in the space of
two miles; which in fact produces no other
effect than that of rendering the current more
rapid. I observed, however, a phenomenon
which appears extraordinary.

I thought that the velocity impressed upon
such a volume of water by this descent, must
have given it an irresistible force, and have ac-
celerated the current to a considerable distance ;
but this was not the fact ; the river, at the
bottom of this inclined plane, immediately re-
sumes, as if by magic, its level and its ordinary
rapidity, without the least reflux. We, my dear
Countess, who are only inquisitive observers,
must leave the solution of this problem to the
learned.

These rapids, besides the check which they
might oppose to the progress of an invading
army, have been extremely beneficial in giving
birth to two commercial entrepots for goods : one
where they begin, the other where they termi-
nate. They are the two flourishing towns,
Louisville, where all vessels coming down, and
Shipping-port, where those going up the Ohio,
stop. They are both on the southern bank.
When, however, the waters are high, the rapids
may be ascended without danger.

LOUISVILLE. 79

Other small towns and villages have sprung
up on the opposite bank, and form similar entre-
pots for the state of Indiana. In my opinion, a
canal, which has been projected, between Ship-
ping-port and Louisville, would be in many
respects very disadvantageous.

Louisville is the principal key to the com-
merce of the state of Kentucky. If Pittsburg
be the Tyre, and Cincinnati the Carthage of the
Ohio, Louisville is its Syracuse.

A short time before the beginning of this cen-
tury, it was only a small fort of observation,
built by general Clark, who was the terror of the
Indians. He was one of the first who drove
back these savage tribes to the north and west;
or rather, one of the first who invaded and
usurped their lands. This town contains already
more than 8000 inhabitants. What renders the
population more astonishing is, that a great
number of the inhabitants yearly fall a sacrifice
to the pestilential exhalations of the surrounding
marshes, as well as to the contradictory systems
of the swarm of medical men by whom it is in-
fested. On first entering the city, I inferred,
from the bills which these gentlemen post up in
every corner of the streets, that the country
must be a dangerous one; just as the traveller
who had long wandered in deserts and among
barbarous nations, perceived that he was got

80 THE WABASH.

back to civilized lands by the appearance of a
man hanging on a gibbet in the square of the
first city he came to. Such however is the
thirst for gold, that it daily attracts new victims,
who die off in regular succession.

Shipping-port is not more healthy than Louis-
ville and is much smaller ; for the speculators
of this place prefer living upon the right bank
of the river in the pretty little towns of Clarks-
burg, Albany, and Jefferson, the elevation of
which above the river affords them delightful
views and salubrious air ; to which may be
added, that there are only two gentlemen of the
faculty, — that their theories are in complete uni-
son,— and consequently do not compel them to
try experiments upon their patients.

If I were to advert to every object that struck
my eye or touched my heart, language would not
furnish me with a sufficient variety of expres-
sions, and you would be doomed to tedious repe-
titions. I shall, therefore, pass by those scenes
which offer nothing more interesting than what
we have already seen ; and after having pointed
out to you the Wabash, which descends from the
north and separates the state of Indiana from
that of Illinois, eight hundred and twenty-five
miles from Pittsburg; and on the south, the
Green river, the Tennessee, and the Cumberland,
four large rivers, important for their navigation ;

WILKINSONVILLE. 81

we will stop at the little place called Wilkinson-
ville, to talk a few minutes on a matter which
its name suggests, and which deserves a place
in the history — whenever there is one — of the
United States.

This town had its origin in a little fort built
against the Red men by general Wilkinson, who,
after having been the Marcellus, wished to become
the Caesar of his country. He distinguished him-
self by his courage in all the wars, both against
the English and the Indians ; but, like the
conqueror of the Gauls, has been accused of
conspiring against the liberty of his country.

He was commander in chief of all these western
regions, at the time colonel Burr, under pretence
of commercial speculations, was lurking about
the country, and holding secret meetings, which,
as 1 have been informed, had very little to
do with commerce. Colonel Burr, you must
observe, had been vice-president, and, being
extremely ambitious, could ill brook the neces-
sity of yielding his pretensions to the presidency,
to his illustrious competitor Thomas Jefferson.

A correspondence long kept up between Wil-
kinson and Burr excited suspicion ; I know not
how well founded. They were accused of a con-
spiracy against the government, for the purpose
of separating the eastern from the western states ;

VOL. II. G

82 AN ADVENTURE.

and were even suspected of some secret intelli-
gence with the cabinet of St James's. But,
after a long trial and interminable debates, they
were both acquitted ; Wilkinson by a court-
martial, Burr by a court of justice ; but neither by
public opinion. It is lamentable that two men of
distinguished talents, who had done good service
to their country and the cause of liberty, should
have incurred the stigma of such an accusation.

We have not made much progress, my dear
Madam, and we are still stopping at a place
which, although it contains only two cats and a
chimney, is called America. It is an embryo
entrepdt of Lower Illinois : the steam-boat touched
there to take in flour, of which this state already
grows a quantity much beyond its consumption.
I availed myself of this opportunity to ramble a
little in the woods, the attractions of which I
can never resist. These primeval forests are
extremely inviting to a man born in the midst
of the gardens of the beautiful but over-culti-
vated Hesperia. One of the passengers of the
steam-boat accompanied me ; and we returned
with a stock of laughter which lasted us and the
company for a long time. I send you your por-
tion of it.

I was behind a large oak watching a squir-
rel, when suddenly my companion called out,

AN ADVENTURE. 83

"A deer!" I asked where ? He replied, " Upon a
tree." Wishing to return the jest, I desired him to
get some bird-lime and catch it, like a beccafigo ;
but seeing that he actually believed what he
wished me to believe, I suspected there was some
strange blunder ; I therefore approached it :— it
was a panther ! I cannot tell which became the
paler of the two, but certainly the face of my Ame-
rican friend was not blooming. Our guns were
loaded with small-shot, so that to fire would only
have been to irritate her. We were perfectly
agreed as to the propriety of not disturbing her,
since she was so obliging as not to stir. We retired,
and, borne upon the wings of fear, with the sun
for our compass, we soon reached our steam-
boat, though we had plunged into a very thick,
pathless forest.

We immediately returned to the spot, accom-
panied by some huntsmen of the village, and
better armed ; but the animal was gone.

When we first saw her she was carelessly
lying upon the junction of two large arms of one
of those venerable maples which still abound in
these regions. There are a great many panthers
in these immense forests : they remain thus
motionless upon the trees that they may more
easily fall upon the squirrels which abound
there, and which are their favourite food.

They are very different from those of Africa

84 THE OHIO.

and Asia; at a distance their skin resembles
that of a deer : — but a deer grazing upon a tree!
I leave you to judge, my dear Countess, whether
this, with the bird-lime, and our surprise, were
not sufficient to make us laugh. I cannot help
laughing still, when I think of the whole scene.

A vast wooden house, which performs the
functions of an inn, built upon stakes driven
into the water, marks the place called the Mouth;
that is to say, the mouth of the Ohio, where it
joins the Mississippi. The current of these two
rivers is, as it were, paralyzed for about twenty
miles above their confluence, which seems to
shew that the volume of the Ohio is as powerful
at this place as that of the Mississippi.

This junction is one of the grandest spectacles
of nature; and the theories of gravitation and
pressure, of attraction and repulsion, of inclina-
tion and equilibrium, — in short, all that concerns
the general laws of the motion of fluids, — here
offer a vast field of battle to the learned in hy-
draulics, hydrometrics, hydrostatics, hydrody-
namics, and a whole dictionary of such hard
words. I give place to them ; for all this is worse
than Greek to me ; and whilst the savans are
fighting, I will return to Pittsburg to give you a
slight sketch of the Tempe of this great Peneus of
the United States.

The valley of the Ohio appears to be only the

THE OHIO. 85

bed which it has formed for itself by the gradual
wearing away of the land by its waters. From
Pittsburg to its mouth, it winds between small
hills, which are almost always of equal height,
and the tops of which are generally on a level
with the immense plain which it penetrates and
divides ; for all that vast tract inclosed by the
Apalachian and Rocky Mountains, from east
to west, is nearly a flat, intersected with small
hills, which seem to have the same character
and the same origin as those which inclose the
valley of the Ohio ; and it is the general level
of this region, joined to their small degree of
elevation, which facilitates the navigation of the
many considerable rivers intersecting it in every
direction. Another circumstance concurs to
support the opinion which I have before ad-
vanced ; I mean the great number of islands
in this river. I think I counted about sixty.

The banks have the varied aspect of a country
which has been but a few years opened to the
eye of man ; where art and civilization have pro-
duced but slight changes in the picture, which it
still exhibits of its primitive state ; and the re-
flections and feelings arising from it heighten
the charms with which it delights the eye and
the imagination. The places which bear traces
of the hand of man form the most striking con-

86 THE OHIO.

trast with those in which nature is still uncul-
tivated. The most smiling towns and villages are
often separated by an interval of gloomy solitude.
Fields and meadows of extraordinary luxuriance
and beauty are intersected by gloomy woods
and impenetrable forests ; the log-houses and
cottages, the farms and hamlets, scattered here
and there, diffuse over the scene a variety so in-
teresting, that it is impossible for the coldest
heart to be insensible to it.

Few rivers, I think, afford such diversity of
pleasing objects as the Ohio. The most lively
fancy and the most profound meditation find per-
petual food and exercise, and one may be in turn
a poet, a political economist, and a philosopher,
and always a wondering admirer. Thirty years
ago all this extent of country washed by the
Ohio, which has been only recently formed into
states and incorporated with the union, was in-
habited only by ferocious beasts, or by people
still more ferocious ; especially the part compre-
hended in the states of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.

It was the property and the abode of the
Sawanoes, Miamis, Piankiciawoes, Wayaoes*
Kaskasias, Delawares, and Illinois ; nations
which have been partly annihilated and partly
incorporated with the Owatawas, the Sawkis,
the Foxes, &c. The river Alleghany was inha-

LEXINGTON. 87

bited by the Senekis, a part of whom have
merged in the Six Nations ; and Kentucky itself,
when Boon first penetrated thither with a com-
pany of Virginia huntsmen, in 1770, was marked
by no track, no path, except those which had
been made by the savages, the buffaloes, wolves,
bears, and panthers. It was in Kentucky, after
the forests were felled and the bosom of the
earth laid open, that were found those gigantic
monsters which excite the wonder of an observer
in the museums of Philadelphia, Baltimore, and
Cincinnati. They extremely resemble the ele-
phant, and modern naturalists have given them
the name of Mammoth.

Lexington, one of the principal towns of the
state, and the one which those who believe in the
possibility of a political separation already desig-
nate as the capital of all the western states, was
then the centre of those savage nations, a part of
whom have been driven back, and now inhabit
the river Osage which flows into the Missouri
three hundred miles above its mouth. The first
civilized men who descended the Ohio from Fort
Pitt, so late as 1773, were doctor Wood and
Simon Kenton, according to a manuscript which
I saw at Pittsburg.

These countries afterwards became the scene
of those atrocious wars which the Americans had
to sustain against these savage nations ; and not-

88 TREATIES WITH THE INDIANS.

withstanding the peace concluded with them
in 1806, they were not able entirely to expel
them till after that of 1814 with England ; and
even then it was by purchasing their claim or
right of property on these lands ; but principally
by establishing military posts and forts upon
lakes Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario ;
upon the rivers Mississippi, Missouri, Illinois,
Wabash, Miami, Arkansas, &c. A lady at
Louisville herself told me, that in 1809 her three
sons were butchered before her eyes by these
barbarians, and the fourth, whom she held in
her arms, threatened with the same fate.

You will no doubt conjecture, my dear
Madam, that these reiterated incursions on the
part of the Indians, were not quite unconnected
with the influence of the cabinet of St James's ;
but you will find it difficult to conceive the
truly machiavelian devices by which this cabinet
endeavoured to keep up the hatred and cruel
hostilities of the savages against the Americans,
whom it cannot yet accustom itself to consider
in any other light than that of colonists and
rebellious subjects.

All the treaties which the Americans con-
cluded with the savages, either for restoring peace
or for fixing the boundaries of the respective terri-
tories, were commented upon by the English;
they, of course always found something which

INDIAN PROPHET. 89

they could turn against the Americans, upon
which the savages immediately violated their
treaties, and renewed their devastations.

It is one of the fundamental principles of all
cabinets, — and a fortiori of that of St James's,—
that every nation must have a religion; not that
ministers and kings wish their people to go to
heaven, which, I believe, they consider as exclu-
sively their property as the earth ; but because a
people without religion cannot be worked upon
by fanaticism or superstition ; two ingredients
necessary in their political recipes, and without
which they could not bend them to their wishes.
The cabinet of St James's therefore sought
and found means to give a religion, no matter
how transitory, to these' savages. But it was
indispensable that the mobile — like that of
the heaven of ancient astronomers, which en-
circled and put in motion the other heavens — •
should be sufficiently powerful to give impulse
to this new Congrevian machine. The cabinet
of St James's is never at a loss ; it therefore
immediately created, ipso facto, a prophet, with
the same facility as it restored the Jesuits ; and
naturally found him in the man of the greatest
ability, and the most powerful connections of
his tribe ; — in the brother of the famous The-
cumseh, the most valiant and formidable of all
the Indian chiefs. By the pretended credulity of

90 BATTLE WITH THE INDIANS.

some hired believers, he was first represented as
inspired. He was then made to preach that the
Great Manitou, or spirit, had commanded him
to collect all the tribes into one single family
of concord and fraternity, and to march against
the Americans who were plotting their total
destruction, as well as that of their Manltous.
He was afterwards made to raise a standard, in
which all their superstitious emblems were
blended ; for in such a case, every nation, every
sect, has its cross. More than 3000 savages,
with all the ardour of fanatics, flocked to this
new " oriflamme," and fire and sword soon
laid waste the American territory. General
Harrison marched with superior forces against
these crusaders, and, like another Saladin, de-
feated them; but never was a battle between
savage and civilized people more obstinately or
more bravely contested than that of the 6th
Nov. 1811, at the confluence of the Tippacanoe
and the Wabash. The prophet encouraged his
warriors to battle by displaying his standard
and his Manitous ; but as, in his character of high
priest, it became him to act with discretion, he
carefully kept himself at a great distance from
danger, upon a little eminence, whilst his brother
fought like a lion at the head of his savages. At
last he prudently fled with those who were able
to make their escape, and left the field of battle

BRITISH INTRIGUES. 91

covered with his faithful believers and with their
arms and baggage, which were of English manu-
factory.

Before the attack, he assured his heroes, — by
the inspiration, I suppose, of the Manitou of
Westminster, — that those who might happen to
perish in the battle, were expected at dinner
with the great spirit; for there are paradises of
every kind, and for every people.

The savage of New Mexico, from ignorance,
promises one to his horse, when he aids him in
the commission of his crimes, and extricates him
from danger; but it is to serve the ends of a
crooked and selfish policy, that we prostitute
this sacred name by promising the rewards of
virtue to every villain. '

But to come to the denouement. The Ame-
ricans, although almost always conquerors, have
suffered much from these cruel wars, during
which their English half-brothers compelled them
by tyrannical maritime prohibitions, to sustain
another struggle, which terminated only in 1814,
at the treaty of Ghent. It was also at that time,
that, taking advantage of the situation to which
the Indians were reduced, they threatened to
abandon them to the vengeance of the Ame-
ricans, which they represented as terrible; and
by this stratagem easily drew them over to
their side. They were thus all enlisted under

92 KENTUCKY.

the British standard, with the pompous title of
the allies of his Britannic Majesty George III.
Tecumseh received a brevet of general in the
service, and was decorated, together with other
chiefs, with a rnedal in which the king was re-
presented on one side as a hero, and on the other
as extending the hand of friendship arid frater-
nity.

These details, my dear Madam, though per-
haps too long for a letter on the Ohio, are neces-
sary preliminaries to heighten the surprise with
which you will learn the actual prosperity of
these countries, notwithstanding the recent date
of their civilization and the evils which desolated
their infancy.

Kentucky, which is the Eden of the United
States, possesses the necessaries of life in abun-
dance, exports largely its surplus produce, and
contains about 600,000 inhabitants. They are
industrious, enterprising, and brave; but, as I
have before observed, they are insupportable
from their insolence and coarseness. They are
sometimes amusing, but always exceed all bounds
of decent manners.

The inhabitants of the state of Ohio are more
numerous, although they were not incorporated
with the Union before 1803. The rapidity with
which the population has increased is a suffi-
cient proof of the abundant means of subsistence;

ILLINOIS. 93

for in 1790 it had only 3000 inhabitants, and
in 1800 the number did not exceed 43,000;
while they are now calculated at 700,000. This
is perfectly unparalleled in the history of coloni-
zation, or of the most flourishing nations. Never
did any country, at its first rise into political
existence, advance with such gigantic strides.
Its progress will be more and more astonishing ;
for it is inhabited by a people more addicted
than any other to the pursuits of agriculture.
You recollect the opinions I have already ex-
pressed in one of my letters on England, on the
superiority of agriculture to manufactures as a per-
manent source of national wealth and happiness.

The state of Indiana, whose very name sug-
gests the idea of a new creation, was not admitted
to the federation before 1810, and now contains
a population of more than 150,000 souls. You
have seen at Shipping-port that its cities and
villages are worthy of a civilized country. You
must observe that a colony or province cannot
be admitted as a member of the great union,
as a state, until it has 30,000 inhabitants.

The state of Illinois did not form part of the
Union till 1818 : it has more than 60,000 inha-
bitants. It is distinguished for its industry and
its agriculture. Its capital, called Vandalia, is a
memorial of the state of barbarism from which it
has so lately emerged. In short, my dear Coun-

94 FERTILITY OF THE SOIL.

tess, in your course along this river, you see
pretty houses and smiling towns springing in all
directions from the depth of primeval woods and
the gloom of solitude, just as the superb Venice
and the formidable Holland sprung from the
bosom of the deep.

It appears incredible, that a country possessing
a soil enriched with vegetable juices which have
been accumulating ever since the creation of the
world, and a climate whose just proportion of heat
and cold promises to render it an exhaustless
source of the riches of Ceres, Flora, Pomona,
and even of Bacchus, (for the vine, which grows
here as in its native soil, seems to invite the
hand of man to cultivate it) ; — a country, where
the prodigious number of navigable rivers raises
the value of labour, and facilitates exportation
and importation over such an immense extent ;- —
a country which, in spite of its vast quantity of
water, enjoys, by a singular exception, a salu-
brious climate (of which its population is an
incontestable proof) ; — could remain concealed
from mankind during a period of more than
fifty centuries. But Providence had, perhaps,
reserved it for times of public calamity, that
it might afford an asylum and a consolation
to the victims of despotism and tyranny. It is
in fact inhabited by a great number of European
emigrants. This is one of the cases which

YANKEES. 95

would tempt one to believe that everything is
foreseen and predisposed by fate, if there were
not dogmas which we are bound to respect, and
which teach that everything depends upon the
will of man, and that this will is free even when
he is fettered by the chains of slavery.

But permit me, my dear Countess, to say one
word concerning the other emigrants, who con-
tribute in so extraordinary a manner to the
prosperity of this New World.

These are the Yankees : a few words will
make you acquainted with their origin and cha-
racter.

The north-eastern states, — New York, Con-
necticut, Rhode Island, Massachussets, Vermont,
&c. are very populous, and consist entirely of
free people. Their inhabitants already think
they have not room enough, though in Europe
each state would form a kingdom ; or they per-
haps think it not sufficiently fertile ; so that
when a young man arrives at a certain age and
is able by his own strength and intelligence,
which are early matured, to provide for himself,
his father says to him, " Go, my son, and make
money." If the son ask, " How ? " he only re-
peats, " Go, and make money." The only patri-
mony he gives him is an axe, a pick, a cord,
and a bridle. You will understand by these
symbolical implements, that he must fell forests

96 YANKEES.

with his axe, and open the ground necessary to
his subsistence with his pickaxe ; that the cord
and bridle signify that he must provide himself
with a cow and a horse ; and that he must seek
all these requisites wherever fortune may direct
his steps. Every year, accordingly, multitudes
of Yankees survey, from the tops of the Alle-
ghanies, these immense regions of the west,
which they consider as a common patrimony ;
and each descends into the plain to provide
himself with the necessaries suggested by his
father's advice and gifts. The first thing he
does, after building a house of trunks of trees,
is to marry ; for a wife is not less indispensa-
ble to him than a horse and a cow. The human
animal, unfettered by the fear of wanting bread,
is as prolific as the soil. In a few years,
the spot which only swarmed with insects,
swarms with children ; the log-house becomes
a hamlet, a village, a town, the capital of a
province ; and states are formed, as by enchant-
ment, from an axe, a pickaxe, a cord, a bridle,
a man, and a woman. The creation of a new
world, and the history of Adam and Eve, are
continually renewed here ; here, more than in
any other country, the prodigies of nature are
manifest; here, the created comes forth visibly
from the hand of the Creator. But it appears
that man can never escape the scourges which

THE OHIO. 97

afflict humanity ! Herds of doctors and lawyers
follow these industrious people, and chicanery
and death have already established their empire
there. Unfortunately there is no Chinese wall to
prevent the incursions of these terrible Tartars.

The Yankees were so called, I believe, from
the name of the savages who inhabited the east
at the time of the conquest. They are a people
as laborious as the Swiss ; as frugal and econo-
mical as the Tyrolese and the inhabitants of
the Lucchese mountains ; as cunning and in-
dustrious as the Genoese ; as droll as the Gas-
cons ; as cold and proud as the English ; and
as selfish and avaricious as those men of all
nations who banish themselves from their
country to make money.

The same phenomenon, which I remarked to
you in my letter on the Rhine, has attracted
my observations during the whole course of the
Ohio. Here, as in the former river, the water
loses itself. The Alleghany and the Monon-
gahela are, I believe, about as large as the Tiber.
The Kentucky, the Cumberland, and the Ten-
nessee, are much larger. The Kenhawa, the
Muskingum, the Scioto, the Miamy, the Green
River, and the Wabash, are but little smaller ;
it receives the waters of more than sixty other
tributary rivers, and yet it nowhere presents
that enormous volume of water, which it would

VOL. II. H

98 THE OHIOj

be reasonable to expect from the influx of so
many streams. I am of opinion that subterra-
nean falls and swallows carry off a great part
of it. May not the extraordinary paratysation
of its current at the rapids of Shippingport be
an indication that this is the fact ?

There are other characteristic features which,
in my opinion, are striking proofs that its bed
was much more extensive.

In those places where rocks overhang the
banks of the river, there are horizontal abra-
sions which run in a parallel direction, and at
the same elevation, on both sides. They are
caused by the violence of the current, or more
probably by the breaking up of the ice. The
soil of the valley is alluvial, whilst that of the
heights which border it is diluvial. Lastly,
the sands at the back and on both sides of
Louisville bear obvious traces that they once
formed a branch of the river, and that conse-
quently the elevated ground upon which the
city is built, was an island. I firmly believe
that the greater part of the waters which fill
the great basins called oceans, flow invisibly
to the eye of man, and penetrate through the
bosom of the earth ; which is, perhaps, the still
unknown cause of their saltness.

Kant, in his sublime Physical Geography,
declares that he found this saltness greater in

THE OHIO. 99

some seas than in others. This circumstance
seems to indicate that the waters pass through
strata more or less salt, and confirms my opinion.
We are now got back to the log-house,
where I am expecting a steam-boat for New
Orleans. I am informed that there is one in
sight. I must be at my post when it arrives :
farewell, therefore, dear Madam.

LETTER XIII.

St Louis, May 1st, 1823.

IN my last, I left you at the confluence of the
Ohio and the Mississippi, where I was waiting
for a steam-boat. It arrived, and gave my excur-
sion a direction quite contrary to that which
seemed determined. At last, my dear Countess,
you will assent to the justice of my profession
of ignorance of the future ; a profession,
however, which has no influence either on my
conduct or my principles, unless to render me
more cautious in declaring my plans ; though
some persons have very unjustly represented
it as fatalism.

All my letters of recommendation and of
credit, — the company with whom I had asso-
ciated,— the United States steam-boat, which was

INDIANS. 101

soon to return, — in short everything seemed to
concur to lead me to New Orleans, to the
mouths of the Mississippi, where I was ex-
pected on my way to Mexico. Well, my dear
Countess, I am now on my way towards its
sources.

The steam-boat which arrived, was the Cal-
houn; it was bound for this place. General
Clark, the worthy brother of him I mentioned in
my last, and major Tagliaware, were among the
passengers. I learned that they had often been
among the Indians, having been sent by govern-
ment on some mission into their territory. This
was sufficient to induce me to besiege them with
questions respecting that people. The descrip-
tions I had read of their extraordinary character
had, from infancy, excited both my astonish-
ment and my incredulity; what these gentle-
men had the goodness to communicate justified
both, and re-awakened a curiosity which I had
always intended to gratify before my departure
from America: never could a better opportu-
nity arise, nor could anything, I thought, be
more interesting to a foreigner ; I therefore de-
termined to accompany them.

But before I take you up this river, — the Queen
of North America, — we must ascertain clearly
where we are ; for things, you know, like men,
sometimes change their names, when they

102 LOUISIANA.

change their masters. You have not forgotten
what became of Napoleonville, swallowed up by
the Restoration ; — Last year at Paris I inquired
for several days for a gentleman with whom I
was formerly intimately acquainted, under the
name of Mr L . . . . but in vain ; the Restora-
tion had changed him into the Comte de la
G . . ; and the same Restoration has given our
poor departed kingdom of Italy as many names
as masters.

We have now, my dear Madam, entered the
country which was discovered under the reign
of the Mazarins and Louvois, — the Montespans
and the Maintenons,— -and to which flattery gave
the name of Louisiana, in honour of a king who
was great only in the panegyrics of his cour-
tiers, and the verses of his pensioners ; and whose
bon-mots, which have been so puffed, and which
were so often made for him, afford but poor
atonement for the evils he inflicted. A part of
this country, to the east of the Mississippi, was
ceded with Canada to the English by the treaty
of Fontainbleau, in 1762, after that unhappy
war in which Louis XV lost New France in
America, and ruined Old France in Europe. It
was one of the hot-beds of that revolution from
which the mother country has so long suffered
and has yet to suffer.

The western part, with New Orleans, was

LOUISIANA. 103

ceded to Spain by a secret treaty, in 1763; as
an indemnification for the great sacrifices she
had made to France by her co-operation, agree-
ably to the family compact of 1761.

The war of independence, in which the United
States triumphed over the English, and which
ended with the peace of 1783, transferred that
part of Louisiana which had been yielded to
the latter by the French, into the hands of the
Americans.

In 1801, Napoleon acquired all the territory
belonging to Spain; that is, Lower Louisiana
and New Orleans.

As the great preparations he had made to carry
these important projects into execution were
stopped, in the ports of Holland, by the war
which immediately succeeded the peace of
Amiens, — a peace, which the English con-
cluded for no other purpose than to gain time,
— he sold all the rights he had obtained there to
the United States, in 1803, by a treaty of cession.
The latter are thus become the exclusive masters
of the whole course of this river, and conse-
quently of all Louisiana.

This was the most important of all acquisi-
tions to the United States ; for a foreign nation,
possessing the mouths of the Mississippi, might
ruin all these western and northern countries by
a blockade. The name of Louisiana is now con-

104 LOUISIANA.

fined to the small state of which New Orleans
is the capita] ; the rest of this immense province
has been divided into states and territories.

The French gave the name of Louisiana to the
whole tract of country extending from the
sources to the mouths of the Mississippi, from
north to south; and from the Alleghanys to the
mountains of New Mexico, from east to west.
Profiting by the bull, so celebrated for its jus-
tice, which Alexander VI had granted to the
Spaniards, they appropriated, by right of dis-
covery, all the countries which were then, or
might subsequently be discovered, and even
re-baptised the Mississippi under the name of
the river St Louis. The ancients would have
placed this mighty river among their gods, and
its aboriginal name would have been inscribed
in the celestial hierarchy.

The Americans, heretics as they are, and
rebels to the authority of the popes, have re-
cently done nearly the same thing with respect
to the countries which extend from the sources
of the Colombia to its mouths in the Pacific
Ocean ; for what is expedient seems easily re-
conciled to every system of religion, or of
policy.

By this great accession, much superior in ex-
tent to that which the English colonies possessed
before the war of independence, you may form an

BIRD'S ISLAND. 105

idea of the vast territory over which the United
States possess dominion in the manner I men-
tioned to you when at Washington. You may
also judge of the immense losses France has sus-
tained since 1763. Now, my dear .Countess,
we may pursue our journey with more certainty.

We set out, on the 21st of April, from the
mouth of the Ohio ; — from that fairy land which,
like the island of Calypso, enchants by the
beauty of its inhabitants; happily, however,
there is no need of the wisdom of Mentor, to
induce one to leave it : their bills are quite
sufficient. On quitting it, the grand and terrific
scenery which surrounded us was truly magical,
imposing, and novel. The waters, extremely in-
creased by a flood, covered the piles of this
singular building, and formed an ocean around
it; the rain fell in torrents, so that, in the midst
of the deepest silence and solitude, it was easy
to fancy a new deluge and a new ark. Seated,
as if entranced, on the deck of the steam-boat,
you may more easily conceive than I can de-
scribe, the thoughts awakened within me by this
extraordinary scene.

Bird's Island leads the way, and prepares
the eyes and the mind for the impressive views,
delightful emotions, and heart- stirring wonder
with which the majesty of this river affects

106 CAPE GIRARDEAU.

them, at varied intervals throughout the whole
space I have hitherto traversed.

The Two Sisters and Dog-tooth Islands, dif-
fering in form, come next in succession, and
insensibly lead you to English Island, remark-
able as the first place where the English formed
a small settlement on this river, in 1765, to es-
tablish a claim to it by right of possession. This
settlement was almost entirely destroyed by the
savages, who liked and still like the French for
their manners, and detest every conqueror that
has succeeded them.

Cape La Croix, a picturesque promontory at
about forty miles from the confluence, rises
upon the western bank ; and, at a short dis-
tance on the same side, Cape Girardeau is not
less interesting. These two places were named
by the first Frenchmen who saw them in 1674.
They had been sent by M. deFrontenac, gover-
nor of Canada, who had learnt from the savages,
that a great river jftowed from the, north, and went
neither towards the place where the Great Spirit
rises, nor towards that where he disappears. The
little town just formed at Cape Girardeau, is
entirely the offspring of the United States. It
is a thriving place, and has more than doubled its
population in the course of a few years. This
is one of the salutary effects of religious and

REPUBLICS. 107

political toleration. It contains many foreigners,
and the despotism of Europe will supply it with
a still greater number.

You know, Madam, that I am no friend to
republics, which often end in sans-culottism and
factions, — the greatest scourges of society and of
the prosperity of nations. Of the two kinds of
despotism, the republican and monarchical, the
latter is the less dangerous ; it is more easy
to subdue the passions of one, than of many.
The violent acts of republican despotism are
generally more atrocious and cruel, because
they are the effects and the causes of a greater
aggregate of private passions and private inte-
rests. In republics, the tyranny scarcely ever
perishes with the tyrants, and their demagogues
are generally worse than the most profligate of
kings. Of this truth, history furnishes con-
vincing proof ; and the thirty tyrants of Greece,
the triumvirs of Rome, the Cordeliers, Jaco-
bins, Girondins, and Marseillois of France, sanc-
tion the belief that their succession is more
uninterrupted. Besides, the people of Turkey
and Morocco, who know under what despotism
they are doomed to live, sometimes succeed in
protecting themselves, if not entirely, at least
partially, against its cruelty and oppression ;
whilst the Greeks, the Romans, and the French,
who fancied themselves free, were blinded to

108 REPUBLICS.

their danger, and neglected the means of de-
fending themselves against the Lysanders and
Callibiuses, the Syllas and Mariuses, the Marc
Antonys and Octaviuses, the Petions, the Bris-
sots, the Dantons, and the Robespierres.

Some men seem to think they can plant re-
publics in all directions as easily as carrots. I
like republics when there are no obstacles to
their establishment; but in Europe, I think,
they are not likely to be productive of any good.
It is indisputable that when men become kings
they generally become wicked ; and it is equally
so that it would be difficult now-a-days to find
a Leonidas, an Agesilaus, a Marcus Aurelius, a
Trajan, an Alfred, or a Henry IV. It must,
however, be admitted that the government best
adapted to the actual state of Europe is a con-
stitutional monarchy, in which the liberty of
the press, the balance of the three powers, and
consequently an opposition, which is to empires
what light is to darkness, form one combined,
harmonious system.

As to republics, we are too old and decrepid.
Sis pueri, in infantid et in senectute. In the
first case, though we do not walk firmly, our
physical and moral faculties are free to unfold
themselves, unfettered by long-established pre-
judices ; in the second, we walk with crutches,
which, like the vices of inveterate habit, shew

REPUBLICS. 109

at once feebleness and decline. Republics
are, therefore, adapted only to a new people,
who still retain some traces of patriarchal and
domestic government ; who are strangers to the
tumultuous conflicts of passion, to luxury, and to
the prestige of titles, dignities and privileges ;
whose necks have never bent under the yoke of
theocracy and superstition ;

Et oil Fair de la cour, et son souffle infecte
N'altera de leur coeur 1'austere purete.

The history both of ancient and modern times
confirms my opinion : a republic would be fatal
even to England ; it would alarm the prejudices,
the habits, the privileges, and the aristocratical
spirit, which are so firmly rooted in the country ;
it would convert the whole kingdom into one
scene of anarchy, and would eventually substi-
tute slavery for that rational liberty which 'alone
is durable, and in which she now so justly glories.
It appears to me, therefore, that the inhabitants
of the United States are at present the only
people who can live under the order of things
which they so happily enjoy, the duration of
which must depend upon their own conduct and
wisdom.

But if I detest the anarchy of republics, I
must yet wish that monarchs were more virtu-
ous, just, and consistent ; more disposed to

110 LIMITED MONARCHY.

recollect that their subjects are men like them-
selves, and to admit that plus vident oculi qudm
oculus. I was at Rome, when our celebrated
abb6 Mai' discovered upon some ancient palimp-
sesta, the fragments De Republica of Cicero.
The words which attracted my attention, in this
sublime work, were " Optimam puto esse rem-
publicam, quce ex tribus ordinibus constitute est;
regali9 equestriy et populari" What I value in
this form of government is, that, while it provides
for the happiness of the people, it secures that
of the sovereign, accurately defines his duties,
and thus tends to keep his mind in that tranquil
state which has the most beneficial influence on
his subjects. A king under the guidance of these
three oracles, which are rendered almost in-
fallible by the check they exercise on each
other, is invested, as Fenelon says, with abso-
lute power to do good, but is powerless to do
evil. The laws confide a nation to him, — the
most precious of all deposits, — on condition that
he become the father of his subjects. An in-
spired voice seems to address him in these
words : " Favourite of heaven, to whom the sons
of men, thy equals, have entrusted sovereign
power, — to whom they have assigned the office
of their leader, — consider less the splendour of
the rank, than the importance of the deposit.
The purple is thy garment, and the throne thy

ST GENEVIEVE. Ill

seat ; the crown of majesty decks thy brow ;
the sceptre of power adorns thy hand ; but from
these thou derivest no other lustre than in as far
as they are emblems of thy high services to the
state."

A prince (said some one whose name I cannot
recollect) who aspires to despotic power, aspires
to die of ennui. If you wish, in any kingdom
whatever, to find the most miserable man in it,
go straight to the sovereign, — above all if he be
absolute. It is an admirable piece of calculation,
to be sure, to render so many persons discon-
tented and unhappy, only to live surrounded
by suspicion, fear, and hatred ; feelings not
less dangerous to the happiness of the state,
than to the security of the throne.

Still preaching, my dear Countess, and what
is worse, preaching like St John in the wilder-
ness ; but a desire for the public good, and for
some degree of individual tranquillity, speaks as
eloquently in forests and steam-boats, as in great
cities and parliaments.

The town of St Genevi£ve, at about sixty
miles from the east, and also upon the western
bank, bears the same appearance of aisance and
population we have already remarked, and
suggests the same reflections and the same con-
jectures.

The policy of Castlereagh in giving a trium-

112 THE KASKASKIA.

virate to Europe, has, I think, sealed one of the
greatest faults of the cabinet of St James's ; for
while he inflicted this cruel wound on the rights
and liberties of the people of the several Euro-
pean powers, he not only put formidable wea-
pons into the hands of their despots, but, by
encouraging, or rather forcing emigration, opened
to the United States, the great rivals of England,
an exhaustless source of population, industry,
talents, opulence, and physical and moral
strength.

Between Cape Girardeau and St Genevieve
is the afflux of the river Kaskaskia, which des-
cends from the east and gives its name to a
village five miles from its mouth. This was
one of the first establishments formed by the
French in the valley of the Mississippi. Almost
immediately after the English made themselves
masters of it in 1763, it began to decline from its
prosperity. The settlers, who hated their new
masters, abandoned it, and joined the Spanish
settlements on the opposite bank.

Fort Chartres, which the French built at a
great expense, on the eastern bank, and which
the Americans abandoned as useless, is now of
no value but as a subject for a picture of roman-
tic ruins.

Groups of islands scattered here and there,
frequently formed most delightful views ; they

HERCULANEUM. 113

seemed embedded in liquid fire, as the golden
rays of the sun were reflected in the water.

At one hundred and forty-five miles from
Ohio, a lovely distance — rendered still more
lovely by the softening shades of aerial per-
spective— opens upon you, as by enchantment,
for five miles, to the village of Herculaneum,
which, in its turn, delights you with the most
beautifully varied landscape. If it were crowned
too by a Vesuvius, it would be as interesting, and
more picturesque than that Herculaneum whose
venerable ruins lie hidden under Portici and
Resina. Towers built upon the rock, by which
it is irregularly encircled, while they enhance
its natural beauties, excite an interest and sur-
prise by the use to which they are applied.

From the tops of these towers, which project
from the perpendicular rock, is thrown melted
lead, that cools in its descent through the air,
becomes round, and falls in a shower of pearls,
or, in other words, of shot. The large or small
holes of the iron sieve through which the boiling
metal is poured, regulate the sizes required.
A lead mine gave birth to this village, which
daily increases in extent and prosperity.

At a short distance from Herculaneum the
steam-boat stopped at a little cottage, built with
trunks of trees, placed horizontally one upon
another, the interstices being filled with a ce-

VOL. ir. i

114 LUXURY IN A LOG-HOUSE.

ment of earth, intermixed with straw. It con-
sisted of a ground floor only, and its roof was
formed of pieces of wood cleft with a wedge.

I saw a lady come out, very well dressed, and
followed by a negress carrying a child wrapped
up in very fine linen ; she was going by the
steam-boat. I thought I was dreaming one of
the tales of the Noyer de Benevento, when in-
formed that this hut was her habitation.

I immediately jumped on shore, and asked
for a glass of spring water ; this gave me an op-
portunity of entering the only door it had, and
which made me bow very low. The interior
and exterior presented as striking a contrast as
that of a lady and a cottage. Her husband,
to whom the house belonged, had a small farm,
out of which he had to provide for the main-
tenance of a mother, a sister, and two children
of his own.

The luxury in this log-house astonished me ;
and reminded me of what I had observed in the
eastern states : it also led me to reflect, that
the decline of this nation might be as sudden
as its rise, were not the natural resources of the
country so unbounded that its improvement
keeps pace with the encreasing wants of the
people.

At one hundred and fifty miles from the Ohio
is the river Marimak, which descends from the

X
ST LOUIS. 115

west, and leads to some lead-mines, enriching
the banks to a considerable extent in the in-
terior.

On the morning of the 24th, pretty country
houses, on the tops of smiling hills, command-
ing the river — lands cleared for cultivation,
interspersed with woods and forests, and the
distant view of a number of houses, shewed that
we were approaching the principal town of
Upper Louisiana, which we reached at eight
o'clock in the morning. It is about one hundred
and seventy miles from the mouth of the Ohio.

Houses with Chinese projecting roofs, that
cover the galleries round each story, and which
are rather pretty, though in a whimsical style of
architecture, prove that St Louis was a town of
some importance even under the Spaniards ; but
new streets, a new market-place, large stores,
busy manufactures, gay gardens, all of recent
date, shew that it is greatly encreased since it
belonged to a government under whose aus-
pices, merit is the sole distinction ; which asks
no more than is necessary for the supply of the
real and known exigencies of the state, and
whose executive is vigilantly watched by a
senate, a congress, and by the jealousy of a sus-
picious and distrustful people.

It is true that there are many abuses in the
United States, particularly in the provinces re-

116 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF AMERICA.

mote from the capital. This is more especially
true with relation to the administration of j us-
tice, to the appalling number and chicanery of
the lawyers, and to the laws which afford secu-
rity and encouragement to the frequently im-
pudent frauds of merchants. It is true that in-
dividuals are not always the representatives of
those liberal principles that form the basis of
the government; but it is indisputable that their
constitution bears the stamp of wisdom and of
magnanimity, that it affords the people ample
security for person and property, and for their
privileges as citizens ; and even to foreigners, not
only a safe asylum, but a new country, with the
free exercise of their religion, talents, and in-
dustry, and a perfect independence.

A slight historical sketch will show that it
was the restless desire for change, and thirst for
gold, which first prostrated these regions, and
that perseverance and enlightened principles
have now rendered them flourishing settle-
ments.

Father Marguette was the first person sent by
the governor of Canada, in 1673, to explore the
Mississippi. From lake Michigan, he entered
Green Bay on the west, ascended Fox's river,
that communicates by a short land passage
with the Owisconsin, which he coasted until its
confluence with the Mississippi, and descended

HISTORICAL SKETCH. 117

the latter river as far as the mouth of the Mis-
souri. But as he did not find what he sought, —
that is to say, gold and silver mines, — and as he
had then neither time nor means for attempting
the conversion of the savages, he abandoned his
mission, and returned to Quebec without having
accomplished any of the projects of the specu-
lators of that place.

Some time after, De la Salle, who was
more greedy perhaps of glory than of money,
voluntarily undertook to examine this coun-
try more accurately. He crossed lakes On-
tario and Erie, traversed a desart, and came
out at the southern extremity of lake Michigan ;
he descended the Illinois, but finding nothing
answerable to his hopes, he stopped midway in
his course, at the point where that river swells
into a lake ; built a little fort, the name of which
(Creve-Cceur) was probably but too expressive
of the result of his expedition, and soon returned
to Canada.

The chevalier Tonti, to whom De la Salle had
left the command of this little settlement, was
soon weary of enduring all that its name im-
ported, and followed him; while father Hanne-
pin, whom he had sent up the Mississippi, was
not long absent from his neophytes at Quebec,
whither he brought home no better treasures to
the expecting and disappointed governor, than

118 FREE GOVERNMENTS

the hope of winning Indian souls to the Ca-
tholic religion and to Paradise.

In a subsequent expedition, the French gave
the name of Pain-court to the spot where St
Louis now stands, and that of Vides-Poches to a
little village five miles from hence, which still
bears that name. These names, like that of
Creve-Cceur, were not very encouraging ; and
accordingly their settlements had fallen almost
to nothing, towards the middle of the last cen-
tury.

The taking of them by the Spaniards— resisted
by the settlers, who did not choose to have any
masters but the French — was so marked by
perfidy and cruelty, that the name of O'Reilly
is never uttered by the people without the epi-
thet, the cruel; and they were henceforth subject
to the most unbridled licentiousness and the most
arbitrary despotism. It is therefore only since
they possess a constitution founded on respect
for popular rights, and for the general welfare
of society, that they have begun to prosper;
appearances now promise them ample indemni-
fication for their past calamities.

When we see so many benefits flow from a
free government, our surprise is equal to our
disgust at the efforts made by sovereigns to
strengthen their power by arbitrary principles.
A free government invites, encourages, ani-

AND DESPOTISM. 119

mates ; a despotic one enfeebles, degrades, pa-
ralyzes. The former attaches people to their
country, where they can live tranquilly, sur-
rounded by the objects of their dearest affec-
tions ; the latter forces them into exile, or em-
bitters their lives by fear, or compels them to
live in dreary celibacy rather than furnish new
subjects for slavery. The former affords security
and content to all ; the latter renders even kings
insecure, and makes them and the flatterers, the
courtiers and the ministers who delude them, a
prey to continual alarm ; their lives are beset
by agitations and dangers ; their minds are tor-
mented by remorse, — that terrific chastisement
of heaven, which no human power can avert; —
the public wait eagerly for their death, to load
their memory with louder execration and deeper
infamy : while the monarch who spontaneously
and sincerely grants a constitution to his sub-
jects, consonant with the claims of reason and of
justice, reaps the first and best fruits of the
happiness it bestows, both in the benedictions
of his people, in the delightful sight of the bene-
fits he has conferred, in the tranquillity which
attends every hour of his life, and in the hope
that history will immortalize his name ; a hope
so animating and so ennobling, that Plato took
it as the foundation of his system of future
rewards.

120 ST LOUIS.

Thus, as I have told you, the king of Bavaria
and the grand duke of Baden can walk through
the streets, market places, and public walks
of their dominions, without any guard but the
testimony of their own consciences, and the love
of their subjects. In such a manner, with such
principles, under the guardianship of public
veneration, and at peace with heaven and earth,
it is indeed worth while to bear the burthen of
royalty.

All these vast western regions have been much
neglected in the history of America : indeed a
new one is greatly wanted ; for the most recent
is obsolete : the country is continually changing
its aspect, and furnishing new materials. Few
Europeans take such a ramble twice in their
lives, and the last comer always knows more of
the country than any of his predecessors ; who
could not see what did not yet exist. This
induces me to depart a little from my plan of
describing only what I see, and to detain your at-
tention and my pen a little more on these regions.
St Louis, after Napoleon ceded it to the United
States, became the residence of the governor, and
the metropolis of those vast regions constituting
the territory of the Missouri.

Since a part of this territory has been erected
into a state, St Louis is only the seat of a district
court of justice. St Charles's, on the Missouri,

TRADE OF ST LOUIS. 121

is the capital, and is already a small town, though
it was but a little village two years ago (1 82 1 ) the
time at which the state was received as a member
of the federate body under the name of the State
of Missouri. The territory, which still exists,
is governed by a separate administration, ap-
pointed by the executive of the general govern-
ment of the union.

The trade of St Louis is prodigiously en-
creased. The merchandize which it furnishes
to the traders with the Indians of the north and
west, in exchange for their furs, which are
almost all sent hither, — the provisions with
which it supplies all the garrisons and new
settlements over the whole extent of this vast
country, — are sources of great profit, as well as
of constant employment for all classes. The
beneficial effects of its prosperity are widely felt.
From New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore,
it receives all the products of Europe or Asia,
while New Orleans furnishes it with all that it re-
quires from the West Indies and South America.
The savages, instigated by the great enemies of
America, have committed extensive ravages here
at various times ; but now, with a population of
more than seven thousand souls, and defended
by several distant forts, built on the principal
rivers which flow through their tribes, it has
little to fear from their tomahawks.

122 ANTIQUITIES OF ST LOUIS.

St Louis has likewise its antiquities. There
is no proof that the ancients had any knowledge
of the existence of America. Plato's Atlantis
appears to me only a dream or allegorical fable ;
and those who have imagined allusions to Ame-
rica in Aristotle, Diodorus, Theopompus, Seneca,
&c., did not perhaps consider that with vessels
like those of the Phoenicians, Greeks, and Ro-
mans, it was impossible to perform so long and
difficult a voyage; particularly without the guid-
ance of the mariner's compass, which was not
known till the beginning of the fourteenth cen-
tury. We are likewise completely at a loss as
to whence and how this continent (or island) was
peopled ; and all the contradictory conjectures
of different writers have but shed additional
darkness on the subject. It is however certain,
that Columbus, Cortez, Pizarro, Verazani, (a
Florentine, who first led the French into Ame-
rica,) and Cabot, or Gaboto, all found traces of
ancient civilization. To the times when this
civilization existed, I think myself warranted in
referring the elevations or mounds, in the neigh-
bourhood of St Louis and elsewhere, evidently
the work of art, and which attracted my atten-
tion, and excited my surprise.

The ancients paid greater honours to their
gods than we do; and also to the manes of their
heroes or their kindred. Persepolis and Palmira

ANTIQUITIES OF ST LOUIS. 123

in Asia, Memphis and Thebes in Africa, Rome
and Athens in Europe, still bear witness to this
by their magnificent ruins, while history gives
concurrent testimony to the same fact. The
mounds of St Louis appear to me to prove the
same in favour of the aborigines of America.
Some of them are parallelograms, like the Par-
thenon and the Basilica at Peestum ; others
circular, like the ancient temples of the sun;
others are pyramidal, or in the form of the sarco-
phagi of the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans.
One of them is particularly worthy of mention :
it is of an oblong form ; its circumference at its
base is about three hundred feet, it is sixty feet
high, and its summit is a plateau, also oblong,
five feet wide and forty-five feet long. A stage of
triangular form, which rises to the height of
seven or eight feet, embraces the whole eastern
side of its base. This is exactly like the altar
which the Persians consecrated to their god
Mithra; and the great altar of the Olympic
Games, and others in Elis were simply mounds
of earth.

The gods of ancient idolaters were probably
only beneficent heroes, who were first the objects
of their gratitude, and gradually of their adora-
tion. The simple heap of earth which covered
their remains would thus become an altar ; and

124 RELIGIOUS TOLERATION.

such perhaps was the origin of these Indian
monuments.

From the top of this great sanctuary, the eye
commands a delightful and extensive prospect
over land and water.

As the population of St Louis is an assemblage
of various nations, society is less cold and formal
than in purely American towns. The evening
before last I was at a very brilliant ball, where
the ladies were so pretty, and so well dressed,
that they made me forget I was on the threshold
of savage life.

I saw some of the Indians land yesterday from
their canoes ; I was surprised at their grotesque
appearance ; for being a little given to pyrrho-
nism, I had always doubted the accounts I had
read of them. However, my dear Madam, I
hope soon to see them more closely, and to
observe the workings of their minds and the
habits of their lives, and I shall then be able to
judge better of them than by books ; for writers
often follow the fashion of an artist I once saw at
Rome : he was painting a valley of St Bernard,
which he had never seen, and without a sketch.

Here, as in the cities of the east, all sorts of
religions are permitted. America is a perfect
Babel in this respect; it exceeds even England ;
and the emulation among all these different sects

RELIGIOUS TOLERATION. 125

will be still more advantageous to industry and
to morals than in that country, from their perfect
equality in the eye of the law. The government
affords equal protection to all, and recognizes
no dominant faith. It has reserved to itself only
the right of punishing any who might dare to
raise the standard of intolerance.

The Catholics are the most numerous at St
Louis ; but their priests here, as everywhere else,
bring shame and contempt on Catholicism. They
arrogate a spiritual jurisdiction over balls, polite
amusements, &c., and pry into family secrets ;
then they sow discord among some, disgust others
with their interference, and thus scatter schism
and scandal in all directions: instead of gaining
proselytes, they make apostates. It appears
that even here they are resolved to justify the
often-repeated accusation, that bishops and Je-
suits are the fittest instruments for the oppres-
sion and degradation of mankind. It is to be
hoped, however, that more enlightened clergy
will arise, and will see the danger of defiling
religion, and irritating the people ; and, like
St Chrysostom, Massillon, and other fathers of
the church, will denounce the vices of Tartuffts
and the ambition and tyranny of princes.

Adieu, my dear Countess.

LETTER XIV.

Fort St Anthony, at the confluence of rivers
St Peter and Mississippi,

May 24th, 1823.

ONE comes to America, my dear Countess, to
see a new world ; but it is only here, in these
desarts, that it is to be found in all the extension
of the term.

A river of vast extent, of a majesty which it
is difficult to conceive ; a country presenting
extraordinary features at every step ; a race of
men entirely different from those of Europe ;
afford abundance of new and important subjects
for philosophical meditation, gratify the curiosity
with the most agreeable surprise, and divert the
afflicted mind from the subject of its regrets.
I have felt every impression which so novel a

THE MISSISSIPPI. 127

scene is capable of producing ; but it opens a
field of reflection and conjecture beyond the
extent of my limited understanding, and acces-
sible only to minds of the highest attainments in
knowledge.

I will, however, tell you, my dear Madam,
what I have seen and felt : you will sympathise
in it all.

On the 2nd inst. I set out with major Tagli-
awar from St Louis, where general Clark, who
resides there, remained. Our antiquaries will,
I think, this time be satisfied with me. I re-
commended to his special protection the savage
antiquities by which he is surrounded ; one of
which, a presumptuous hand has already pro-
faned. As an additional gratification, I will tell
them that these are by some persons believed to
be the military posts of the Indians ; but erro-
neously, for elevations completely exposed, like
these, are in direct opposition to their whole
system of warfare.

Our passage to this place forms, I think, an
epoch in the history of navigation. It was an
enterprise of the boldest, of the most extraordi-
nary nature ; and probably unparalleled. Nev.er
before did a steam-boat ascend a river twenty- two
thousand miles above its mouth. The vessel
which conveyed us was the Virginia, one hundred
and eighteen feet long, and twenty-two wide,

128 THE MISSISSIPPI.

drawing six feet water, and of two thousand tons
burthen.

The name of captain Perston deserves to be
proclaimed by one of the hundred mouths of
Fame. He is justly entitled to the admiration
of mankind, to the gratitude of his fellow-
citizens, and of his government.

To add to the novelty, the Great Eagle, a
chief of a tribe of the Saukis, was of our party.
General Clark, with whom he had come to hold
a conference, persuaded him, with much diffi-
culty, to consign his canoe to some other savages,
and join our company. The first, thing he did,
when we were some distance from shore, was to
take off the uniform which had been given him
by the general, as a present from the Great
Father, (the name used by the savages to desig-
nate the president of the United States.) He
shewed great satisfaction at finding himself once
more in statu quo of our first parents. The
youngest of his two children had not even a fig-
leaf, or bit of cloth round the loins, whilst we
were shivering with cold, though wrapped in our
winter flannel and great coats.

At six miles from St Louis, the current of the
Mississippi becomes very rapid. We were ap-
proaching the mouth of the Missouri, which is
only eighteen miles from that town ; and, not-
withstanding the power of our steam-boat, we

THE MISSOURI. 129

did not come in sight of this river before eight
o'clock the following morning.

An island, which obstructs the flow of this
mass of water at the very point where it falls
into the Mississippi, protects the boats which
pass behind it, and breaks the pressure of its
enormous volume : but for this precaution pro-
vided by nature, it would perhaps be dangerous
to pass when the river is full.

Notwithstanding the travels of Messrs Lewis
and Clark, (the general Clark just mentioned)
and the subsequent accounts of Messrs Braken-
ridge and Bradbury, the sources of the Missouri
are still unknown : it appears certain, however,
that its course, from its confluence up to the
highest known point, is almost as long as that
of the Mississippi, and perhaps the liquid vo-
lume of each is equally powerful at their junc-
tion. The Missouri should therefore, I think,
have retained its name as far as that part where
the Mississippi loses its own in the Gulf of
Mexico ; its course would then have been about
four thousand five hundred miles. But a great
part of the Mississippi was known when the
Missouri was undiscovered ; and all the rivers of
Louisiana flowing into it, as into a central basin,
had already been declared its tributaries. His-
tory and geography had already settled its
name, so that there was no appeal. But per-

VOL. II. K

130 THE ILLINOIS.

haps it has juster claims to its sovereignty. If
I can survey the whole of its course, I will en-
deavour, as far as my attention and knowledge
permit, to fill up this chasm in history and geo-
graphy.

If, however, the Missouri must resign its pre-
eminence to the Mississippi, no one will dispute
its supremacy over all the tributary rivers in the
world.

The afflux of the Illinois, which is also a very
considerable river, is twenty-one miles higher,
towards the east. At about two hundred miles
above its mouth, Mr La Salle built the fort
Cr&ve-Cceur. This name appears not to have
been more propitious in the estimation of the
Americans than in that of the French, for they
soon abandoned and demolished the fort. The
Illinois took its name from the savage nation
that dwelt upon its banks ; a nation which, like
that of the Missouris, has ceased to exist, or
has merged in others. The eastern bank of the
Mississippi, opposite the village called the Por-
tage des Sioux, leading from the Illinois to the
Missouri, rises in abrupt rocks, hewn by nature
into perpendicular pillars. They are so like the
substructures of the palaces of Pompey and
Domitian in the Villa Barberini upon Lake Al-
bano, as to be a perfect illusion. I almost ima-
gined I was there.

PRAIRIE AUX LIARDS. 131

This excursion, my dear Madam, is nearly as
long as that on the Ohio. It is much more fertile
in incidents, and in scenes but slightly known
even in America. This may sometimes retard
our progress, but I will confine myself to what
is most essential or most singular ; to the most
interesting points, and to the distances most
necessary to be known ; lest my letter should be
converted into a volume, and your patience into
martyrdom.

Clarksville and Louisiana are two pretty rising
villages ; the latter is a hundred and twelve miles
from St Louis.

From the top of a pretty hill which overlooks
it, the eye rests on nothing but immense and
impenetrable woods, the only asylum we have
henceforth to expect ; for, with the exception of
the forts established upon the Mississippi, and a
small village called the Prairie du Chien, this is
the last vestige of civilization towards the north.

The morning of the 6th presented to our view
one of those great natural features which mark
many districts on the north-west of North Ame-
rica, and especially in Upper Mississippi; — the
Prairie aux Liards, — one hundred and eighty
miles from St Louis.

The United States and Canada, with all their
immense dependencies, exhibit one continued
forest, the largest perhaps in the world ; inter-

132 PRAIRIES.

rupted only by vast glades inlaid with villages,
market- towns, cities, fields, ponds, and inter-
sected in every direction by rivers. Eighteen
parts out of twenty, perhaps, still remain in a
wild, uncultivated state ; of these the forests of
the Mississippi are a continuation.

In the midst of these impenetrable masses of
trees which cover the face of the earth, and
whose birth, life and death are exclusively in
the hand of nature, one meets with extensive
and beautiful tracts of meadow land, destitute
not only of trees, but even of shrubs or bushes ;
or they sometimes exhibit the still more re-
markable appearance of groves and clumps of
trees, disposed with so much art and symmetry,
that, but for the death-like silence which per-
vades this vast solitude, it would be impossible
not to think that they had been placed there by
the hand of man. It is evident too that the grass
in these places has never fallen under any scythe
but that of Time. This, my dear Countess, is a
phenomenon which bewildered my eyes and my
imagination.

On the 9th, whilst the steam-boat was taking
in wood, I wandered into a forest which bounded
one of these beautiful caprices of nature. The
varied forms and tints which this contrast im-
parted to the landscape, whilst they continually
arrested my steps, insensibly led me on ; and a

AN ADVENTURE. 133

flock of wild turkeys, which eluded my pursuit,
induced me to go so far that I was unable to re-
gain the place where the steam-boat had stopped.
In this dilemma my compass was my guide ; but
what was my suprise at finding the vessel
gone! A bend of the Mississippi concealed
every signal I could make ; and the discharges
of my gun resounded vainly in the forest, and
under the canopy of heaven. At last I betook
myself to my last resource — my legs ; but the
speed of Atalanta would have been useless
among the brushwood and the ruins of pre-
adamite trees, scattered around like the ancient
monuments of Egypt, Greece, and Rome : all
my efforts would have been vain, but fortu-
nately, the steam-boat ran a-ground on a sand-
bank. At this moment my companions made
the discovery that I was missing. The canoe
which was dispatched to meet me arrived just
in time, for I was so completely out of breath
that I must have given up the pursuit. It
seemed as if the moment of my appearance had
been appointed as that of her extrication ; for I
had scarcely arrived when she was a- float. If
I had been as ready to believe in divine interpo-
sitions as some good people, I should certainly
not have let slip this opportunity of proclaiming
a miracle in favour of a Catholic over a number of
heretics, who seemed plotting his destruction.

134 THE GREAT EAGLE.

You are a little angry, dear Lady, with the
captain of the steam-boat ; but I must, in some
measure, take his part. The Americans have
a sort of evasive " Yes," very convenient for
settling doubts or shuffling off troublesome en-
quiries; and with a yes of this kind he had
been made to believe that I was on board.
But be this as it may, it is a good lesson for
those who, like me, are not punctual when
they travel by a public conveyance. For-
tune, too, seemed willing to compensate me for
any little ill-humour I might have felt at a mark
of indifference which certainly seemed un pea
sauvage. A scene was preparing which afforded
me abundant cause for laughter. The Great
Eagle, vexed and angry that the pilot had not
taken his advice respecting the choice of the
channel, jumped into the river and swam to the
western bank, whence he spoke to his children ;
and disdaining to remain any longer in the
steam-boat, returned home, that is to say, into
the forest. This was the first incident that gave
me an insight into the character of these people.
The following day we found him surrounded by
his tribe at Fort Edward, where he had arrived
before us. They had formed a temporary en-
campment and were exchanging furs with the
traders of the South-west Company.

Scarcely were we within sight of the encamp-

FORT EDWARD. 135

merit, when the children of the Great Eagle
plunged into the river and swam to their den
with all the eagerness of wild beasts escaping
from a menagerie into their native forests. The
Great Eagle came on board to take his bow,
quiver, and gun; and although he was exas-
perated against the people of the boat, he put
out his hand to me as a mark of friendship, and
as a proof that I had no share in the resentment
which he felt for the others. I availed myself
of this favourable moment to ask him for a
scalp suspended by the hair to the handle of
his tomahawk. It was the pericranium of a
chief of the Sioux, whom he had killed with his
own hand the preceding year. Savages have no
control over the impulse of the moment ; and as
the Great Eagle was now as much softened
as he had been the day before irritated, he
could not refuse my request. This scalp is as
honourable a trophy to an Indian, as a horse's
tail is to a Turk, a Tartar, or a Chinese.

Fort Edward is built upon a promontory on
the eastern bank of the Mississippi ; its situation,
which is very pleasant, commands a great ex-
tent of the river and the surrounding country^
as well as the mouth of the river Le Moine
which descends from the west and is navigable
for three hundred miles into the interior. The
banks of this river are inhabited by the Yawohas,

136 SAVAGE LANDS.

a savage people, who have been almost entirely
destroyed by the Sioux.

Fort Edward is two hundred and twelve miles
from St Louis ; it is on the boundary of the two
states of Illinois and Missouri.

It will be necessary, before we proceed, to
endeavour to form some notion of the geogra-
phical and statistical divisions of the countries
we are preparing to visit. Without this preli-
minary information we should often be quite at
sea.

The American government, after having in-
corporated the whole of Louisiana with the
Union, divided into Territories all those coun-
tries not sufficiently populous to be formed into
States. The whole extent of country beyond
Fort Edward, on the east of the Mississippi as
far as its sources, belongs to the territory of Mi-
chigan, which also comprises all the regions along
the western banks of lakes Erie, St Clair, Huron
and Superior. All the country beyond the fort
just mentioned, on the west of the Mississippi
as far as its. sources, arid even still farther, which
belonged to the territory of the Missouri be-
fore it was formed into a state, is now distin-
guished only under the name of Savage Lands;
for throughout their whole extent there are no
other traces of civilization than a few scattered
huts belonging to traders, who are themselves

INTENDANCIES. 137

the descendants of savages. Arkansau and
Florida form two other territories. Each terri-
tory is entirely subject to the general govern-
ment of the United States, at Washington ; that
is to say, it is under its immediate jurisdiction,
and receives from it a governor, judges, and
receivers of taxes, as a country still in the in-
fancy of civilization. A territory has the right
of sending only one representative to the national
congress, who has no vote but in discussions
concerning his own territory.

As all these territories are chiefly inhabited
by savage tribes, the government has had the
wisdom to organize in each of them an inten-
dancy and mbintendancies, whose business it is
to watch over and protect these people ; to pre-
vent abuses on the part of those who are autho-
rized to trade with them, and to oppose the
usurpation of that right by foreigners.

This measure was particularly necessary,
because the English North-west company had
already extended its establishments very far into
the territory of the United States, which enabled
the cabinet of St James's to excite and direct,
as opportunity offered, the passions of the sa-
vages against the United States.

The governors of the different territories are,
ex officio, the intendants of the Indians within their
jurisdiction, and general Clark is the intendant

138 PONTIAC, THE SAUK1S CHIEF.

of all the Indian tribes lying upon the Missouri
and Mississippi above St Louis.

After this brief sketch of what is most essen-
tial we might more advantageously pursue our
excursion ; but it will not be amiss to stop an
instant longer for the purpose of taking a tran-
sient view of these Indians, — the first we meet
with towards the north.

The Saukis, half a century ago, were one of
the most numerous and powerful Indian nations.
The famous Pontiac, the bravest and most formi-
dable savage ever known, was their principal
chief. Next to the Montezumas, and the Incas,
no one among the aborigines of America has an
equal claim to historical celebrity, yet his
name is nowhere recorded. He was the im-
placable enemy of the English, who in vain
exerted every effort to bring him over to their
interests. He continually harassed them in
their conquests of those countries from the
French, to whom he showed the most devoted
and unshaken attachment.

With a cunning, courage, and ferocity more
than savage, he repeatedly massacred their gar-
risons in several forts, and particularly in those
of Detroit on Lake St Clair, and Michilima-
kinak on lake Huron. At the moment when
with unconquerable hatred he was meditating
other acts of hostility, he was assassinated by

HABITATIONS. 139

an Ottawais, an emissary in the pay of the
English.

His tragical end was the signal for an atro-
cious war between his nation, who determined
to avenge him, and the Ottawais, the Wine-
begos, and the Potomawais, — savage nations
which still exist in small numbers upon lakes
Michigan, Erie, Huron, and in the countries
east of the Mississippi, — who formed a coalition
against them in favour of the English. The
greater part of the Saukis were destroyed: their
number now scarcely amounts to 4,800.

I visited their camp : their flying tents or
huts, which are their only houses, are covered
with mats or skins. The Canadians, who may
be considered as the classical nomenclators of
these countries, call them lodges. They are
elliptical. Each of them generally contains a
family, sometimes two, with or without their
relations; they sleep in a circle upon skins,
mats, or dried grass. The fire is made in the
centre, as among the ancients, who gave the
name of imagines fumosce to the pictures and
statues placed in the room containing the fire,
from their being blackened by the smoke. In
the Indian huts the smoke passes through the
round opening in the centre of the roof, the
foramina vel oculi, by which the light was ad-

140 FURNITURE.

mitted into the temples and houses of the
Romans.

A copper or tin boiler which they get in ex-
change from the traders, often supported only
by a wooden fork stuck in the ground, pieces of
wood hollowed into spoons, bits of the bark
of trees formed into plates and dishes, the horns
of buffalos or other animals cut into cups, con-
stitute the whole of their batterie de cuisine, their
plate, and their table service. A stake supplies
the place of a spit, their fingers serve for forks,
the earth for a table, and a skin or the beau-
tiful carpet of nature for their table-cloth.

They all sit indiscriminately around the food
with which Providence and their guns supply
them. Neither kings, ministers, nor courtiers
are treated with any distinction.

In this perfect republic, equality is not less
the privilege of animals than men. The dogs,
although illegitimate and descended from wolves,
are seated at the same table with the savages,
and at the same divan; they partake of the same
dishes and sleep on the same beds. I have
seen young bears and otters treated as a part of
the community.

The faces of the Saukis, although exhibiting
features characteristic of their savage state,
are not disagreeable; and they are rather well

PERSONAL APPEARANCE. 141

made than otherwise. Their size and structure,
which are of the middle kind, indicate neither
peculiar strength nor weakness. Their heads
are rather small; that part called by French
anatomists voute orbitaire, has in general no hair
except a small tuft upon the pineal gland, like
that of the Turks ; this gives the forehead an
appearance of great elevation. Their eyes are
small, and their eye-brows thin ; the cornea ap-
proaches rather to yellow, the pupil to red ; they
are the link between those of the Orang-outang
and ours. Their ears are sufficiently large to
bear all the jewels, &c. with which they are
adorned : two foxes' tails dangled from those of
the Great Eagle. I have seen others to which
were hung bells, heads of birds and dozens of
buckles, which penetrated the whole cartilagi-
nous part from top to bottom. Their noses are
large and flat, like those of the nations of eastern
Asia ; their nostrils are pierced and ornamented
like their ears. The maxillary bones, or pom-
mettes, are very prominent. The under jaw
extends outwards on both sides. Their mouths
are rather large, their teeth close set, and of
the finest enamel; their lips a little inverted.
Their necks are regularly formed : they have
large bellies and narrow chests, so that their
bodies are generally larger below than above.
Their feet and hands are well proportioned ;

142 SUPERSTITIONS.

their arms are slender : this may be attributed to
want of exercise, which checks the development
of the muscles; the only part of the body which
savages inure to fatigue is the legs, which are
therefore more robust than the rest of their
frame. Their complexion is copper-coloured,
whence they call themselves the red people, as a
distinction both from whites and blacks. Ex-
cept the tuft in the head, which we have already
remarked, they have no hair on any part of the
body. Books, which deal greatly in the mar-
vellous, convert this into an extraordinary phe-
nomenon; but the fact is that, from a supersti-
tion common to all savages, they pluck it out,
and as they begin at an early age and use the
most persevering means for its extirpation,
nothing is left but a soft down.

You know that many of our drivers and
coachmen believe that the manes of their
horses are haunted by devils who make their
nests in them, and that they employ conjura-
tions to drive them away : the Indians, who
have the same creed on this point and have
neither saints nor holy water wherewith to exor-
cise them, prevent the effect by tearing up the
cause by the roots. The Greeks and Romans had
similar superstitions, and the Egyptian kings,
like others, carefully infused them into the minds,
of the people the better to enslave them.

CLOTHING AND WEAPONS. 143

You would be astonished, my dear Madam,
at the striking coincidences between the cha-
racter and habits of the Indians and those of
the ancient and modern people of the old world,
though their country was entirely unknown to
the former, and very imperfectly to the latter.

Notwithstanding the continuance of the cold
weather, the men had nothing but a single co-
vering of wool or skin, which serves them by
day and by night. They throw it about them
with extraordinary grace and dexterity, as the
Romans did their pallium. Their coverings for
the feet and legs, which they call mokasins, are
made of the skin of the roe-buck, buffalo, or
elk, and are precisely like the perones, cothurni,
mulei and calcei of the Greeks and Romans ;
but in summer they generally go barefoot. In
winter they wear a kind of skin or cloth gaiters,
like those of the Cimbri in the time of Marius,
which they call mytas. They wear a covering
round the loins; all the rest of the body,
even the head, is naked, whether it rains, hails,
or freezes, or the earth is parched with the
burning heat of the dog-days.

Their offensive weapons are the bow, the
arrow, the pike, the lance, as among the an-
cients ; the axe, the club, the dagger, as among
the combatants of the middle ages ; the casse-t£te,

144 CLOTHING AND WEAPONS.

the tomahawk, as used by the Tartars of Tamer-
lane; and the gun used by modern nations.

The shield is their only defensive weapon. It
is precisely like that of the early Romans, of
leather, round like the clypeus, or oval like the
scutum ; but the most singular instance of resem-
blance is that they paint it as the Romans did,
and, like them, trace the origin of their armo-
rial bearings from it; they have already begun
to paint upon their tents and elsewhere, — as
we do upon the doors or walls of our mansions,
— those glorious hieroglyphics formerly painted
only upon shields. I have one in my possession
which is ornamented with plumes, and bears
the head of the Manitou or peculiar god of the
hero from whom I received it. It is the head of
a wild duck, by means of which he expected
perhaps to petrify his enemies, as Perseus did
with the head of Medusa.

The ephod, from the Hebrew word aphad,
which signifies to dress, was a kind of short
tunic with large sleeves. It was first confined to
the Jewish high priest, who could not perform
his sacerdotal functions without it ; and was
afterwards in a manner profaned by David, who
had the presumption to wear it; after him it
was irreverently worn by the whole family of
Gideon ; and when this nation addicted itself to

DRESS OF THE INDIAN WOMEN. 145

idolatry, it became a part of the fashionable
dress of every woman of rank. It passed from
Asia to Greece, thence to Rome, and lastly to
these savage countries ; for the species of short
tunic with large sleeves which comes down to
the girdle of the female Saukis, is precisely like
the ephod : plates of white metal, fixed upon
the part which covers the breast, seem an imita-
tion ofihejibultf of the ancients. By their round-
ness they appear to be an emblem of the sun,
which the Peruvians also wore upon their breasts.
A petticoat, fitting close to the body, descends
to the bottom of the knees, and their legs are
covered with a kind of gaiters, resembling those
of the ancient Scythian women. The covering
for the feet and legs is distinguished from that
of the men only by its elegance: in summer,
however, their feet and legs are always unco-
vered. During the period of youth their forms
are attractive, but these flowers soon fade : the
evening succeeds to the morning without the
interval of noon; for these poor women are the
porters, the beasts of burden of the men, who,
they say, would lose all dignity and become as
vile, abject, and despicable, as the whites, if they
condescended to submit to any other occupa-
tions than those of hunting and war. There is no
slavery more abject than that of the Indian wo-
men. They are looked upon with such contempt,

VOL. II. L

146 INDIAN WOMEN.

that the greatest insult to an Indian is to say
to him " Go, you are a squaw (a woman.)" It
frequently happens that these victims of the
instinctive tyranny of man have such a horror
of the fate of their sex, that they destroy their
daughters at their birth, to save them from the
wretched, miserable life which awaits them.

They have very luxuriant hair which they tie
into what some people call catogans, like the
carters and poissards of the south of France. Their
heads, like those of the men, are uncovered, and,
like them, they wear a covering for the body,
consisting of a piece of coarse blue or red cloth.
This is a recent fashion.

The men and women daub their faces with
red, yellow, white, or blue. When they are in
mourning they paint the whole face, and even
the body, black, during a year ; the second year
they paint only half; and, at last, merely streak
themselves with it in various patterns. Both
men and women wear ornaments on the neck
and arms : some wear what we call marga-
ritines, that is to say, small glass beads, or
composition trinkets, which the traders sell
them in exchange ; others, the teeth or claws of
wild beasts : — here, you will admit, is some-
thing of every age — the most antique, the an-
cient, the middle ages, the modern, and the
very modern.

INDIAN WOMEN. 147

Enoch tells us that, before the deluge, the
angel Azaliel taught young women the art of
painting their persons. Isaiah alludes to the
same fact in respect to those of Sion ; the Greek
and Roman women borrowed it from the Asiatics,
and Juvenal represents the effeminate priests of
Athens as painted with white and red. Ambrose
exclaims loudly against the vanity of this custom ;
the famous monk Hildebrand, (Gregory VII,)
imputes this vice with many others to the women
of his time, the more highly to exalt the virtues
of Matilda, who gave him pretty substantial
proofs of her gratitude. Before the time of Peter
the Great, the Muscovites striped their faces
with all sorts of colours : even in our time, this is
practised by many of the ,nations of Asia ; and
our ladies, and even our dandies, seldom blow
their noses without leaving some of their com-
plexion upon their handkerchiefs. It is not a
little singular that antimony is an ingredient in
the most ancient rouge, as well as of that which
the Indians regard as the paint de grand parade.

That the female savages should wear neck-
laces, like the Greeks and Romans, is not extra-
ordinary, for they are worn everywhere ; but
what does surprise one is, that like the women
of antiquity they offer them to the departed
spirits. of their relations, of which I have been
an eye-witness.

148 INDIAN CANOES.

The custom of wearing necklaces, prevalent
among the men, reminds us of that of the
Egyptians ; it is still more singular, that their
bracelets are precisely like the armillce of the
Romans, and that they wear them on the upper
part of the arm, as they did.

I saw one of these tribes break up their tents
to go in quest of a new domicile, or forest. In
half an hour everything was ready for their
departure.

The lustres, wardrobe, sideboard, equipage,
plate, kitchen utensils, £c. occupied the centre
of the canoe; the house, that is to say, the mats
and skins for the tent, served to cover them ;
the children, the dogs, the bears, &c. were
placed opposite ; the men on either side ; and
the women, at the two extremities, exercised
the functions of pilots and sailors : sometimes,
however, the men row too.

Their vessel is the hollowed trunk of a tree,
and the oars resemble those of our ancestors,—
such as artists put into the hands of painted or
sculptured deities of rivers. The ease with
which they manage these liburnica is astonish-
ing ; and considering how narrow they are, how
unsteady on the water, and how heavily they
are laden, it is surprising that they so seldom
upset.

On the evening of the 6th we set out from

RAPIDS OF THE MOINE.

149

Fort Edward, where we were treated by the
officers with much politeness ; we soon returned,
however, for the steam-boat, being too heavily
laden, was unable to make a very difficult and
dangerous passage at £ place called the Middle
of the Rapids of the Moine, nine miles above the
Fort. By great good luck we escaped from a
rock which might have dashed our steam-boat
to pieces ; it was only slightly damaged.

On the 7th, while the steam-boat was getting
ready, I made a little shooting excursion. I
killed a monstrous serpent, almost entirely
black, spotted with yellow ; it is called by the
Indians piacoiba (i. e. terrible animal.) They
dread it more than the rattle-snake, though
its bite is not so dangerous, because it glides
silently and insidiously among the briars and
grass, and its attacks are unexpected ; whereas,
the other gives notice of its approach by the sound
of that substance with which nature has provi-
dentially furnished its tail, that man may have
time to escape its pursuit. I have preserved its
skin, because I do not recollect to have seen one
like it in the museums I have visited, either in
this world or our own.

The Indians, at the sight of my prize, wel-
comed me as if I had been a beneficent Manitou.
Their nakedness and their wandering life ren-
der wamenduska (reptiles) objects of great terror

150 FORT MADISON.

to them, and yet no one dares kill them, for
they believe that they are malevolent spirits,
who would visit their families and camps with
every kind of misfortune if they attempted to
destroy them.

The next day we ascended, though not with-
out difficulty, these rapids, which continue for
the space of twenty-one miles, when we saw
another encampment of Saukis upon the eastern
bank.

Nine miles higher, on the western bank, are
the ruins of the old Fort Madison.

The president of that name had established an
entrepot of the most necessary articles for the
Indians, to be exchanged for their peltry. The
object of the government was not speculation,
but, by its example, to fix reasonable prices
among the traders; for, in the United States,
everybody traffics except the government. Fear-
ing, however, the effect of any restraint on
the trade of private individuals, it has with-
drawn its factories and agents, and left the
field open to the South West Company, which
has been joined by a rival company, and
now monopolizes the commerce of almost the
whole savage region of the valleys of the Mis-
sissippi and the Missouri. Its two principal
centres of operations are St Louis and Michili-
makinac, on lake Huron.

YAHOWA RIVER. 151

At a short distance from this fort, on the same
side, is the river of the B£te Puante, and farther
on, that of the Yahowas, so called from the name
of the savage tribes which inhabited its banks.
It is ninety- seven miles from Fort Edward, and
three hundred from St Louis.

The fields were beginning to resume their
verdure ; the meadows, groves, and forests were
reviving at the return of spring. Never had I
seen nature more beautiful, more majestic, than
in this vast domain of silence and solitude.
Never did the warbling of the birds so expres-
sively declare the renewal of their innocent
loves. Every object was as new to my imagi-
nation as to my eye.

All around me breathed that melancholy,
which, by turns sweet and bitter, exercises so
powerful an influence over minds endowed with
sensibility. How ardently, how often, did I long
to be alone!

Wooded islands, disposed in beautiful order
by the hand of nature, continually varied the
picture : the course of the river, which had
become calm and smooth, reflected the daz-
zling rays of the sun like glass ; smiling hills
formed a delightful contrast with the immense
prairies, which are like oceans, and the mo-
notony of which is relieved by isolated clusters
of thick and massy trees. These enchanting-
scenes lasted from the river Yahowa till we

152 FORT ARMSTRONG.

reached a place which presents a distant and
exquisitely blended view of what is called
Rocky Island, three hundred and seventy-two
miles from St Louis, and one hundred and sixty
from Fort Edward. Fort Armstrong, at this spot,
is constructed upon a plateau, at an elevation of
about fifty feet above the level of the river, and re-
wards the spectator who ascends it with the most
magical variety of scenery. It takes its name
from Mr Armstrong, who was secretary at war
at the time of its construction.

The eastern bank at the mouth of Rocky River
was lined with an encampment of Indians, called
Foxes. Their features, dress, weapons, customs,
and language, are similar to those of the Saukis,
whose allies they are, in peace and war. On the
western shore of the Mississippi, a semicircular
hill, clothed with trees and underwood, encloses
a fertile spot carefully cultivated by the gar-
rison, and formed into fields and kitchen gardens.
The fort saluted us on our arrival with four
discharges of cannon, and the Indians paid us
the same compliment with their muskets. The
echo, which repeated 'them a thousand times,
was most striking from its contrast with the
deep repose of these deserts.

We arrived on the 10th, about noon. After
dinner I visited the Saukis, three miles to the
east, on the north bank of the Rocky River. Here
they had formed their most extensive encamp-

MEDICINE DANCE. 153

ment, the only one they constantly inhabit
during the summer months.

In this village, if I may call it so, I witnessed,
for the first time, the dexterity with which the
Indians handle their bows. Children, nine or ten
years of age, hit a small piece of money of six
sous, which I had fixed up for them to aim at,
at a distance of twenty-five paces,— often at the
second trial. At last I was obliged to remove
it to thirty-five, or they would soon have ex-
hausted the little purse I had filled for this visit.
The chiefs offered us a slight refreshment ; it
consisted of bear's flesh dried in the smoke,
which I thought more delicious than our hams,
and of roots, resembling chicory, but less bitter
and very highly flavoured : they call them po-
kinota.

They had completed their toilet, so that their
faces exhibited every variety of colour. Some,
by the hieroglyphics painted on their bodies,
reminded me of the mysteries of the ancient
Egyptian priests. Those who favoured us with
the dance called the Medicine Dance, or Wakaw
Wata, had their bodies covered with them.

As the only people the Indians ever heard of
are the French, English, Spaniards, and Ame-
ricans, and as their conception of the world is
confined to those nations, the Saukis were much
astonished when I told them that I did not

154 MEDICINE DANCE.

belong to any one of them. I made them
believe that I came from the moon : their as-
tonishment was then converted into veneration ;
for they adore this planet as a beneficent deity,
whose rays enable them to hunt, fish, and
travel, during the night. Whatever is useful
seems to be an object of worship in every part
of the world.

This medicine dance is the offspring of political
knavery and superstitious folly and credulity.
It has some analogy with the mysteries of
Eleusis, and with others which turn the brains
of some of the moderns. The initiated are en-
closed within a parallelogram, formed by a small
barricade covered with skins : the profane may
witness the ceremony, but at a distance.

As I wished to know the whole secret, I deter-
mined to try the result of a clandestine en-
trance ; accordingly, I glided into the enclosure,
but was turned out, although a son or inhabitant
of the moon. A sort of president, whose head
is adorned with plumes and with the horns of
a buffalo, the points of which are turned inwards
like those on the mitre of Aaron and Melchise-
deck, takes his station, surrounded by a band
of musicians, east of the enclosure. At the west,
two warriors, armed with bows and arrows,
guard the entrance. A master of the ceremonies,
with a club in his hand, stands in the centre, and

MEDICINE DANCE. 155

receives the orders of the president. The elect,
male and female, (for some were of the latter
sex,) are seated on the north and south, accord-
ing to his or her seniority or respective rank.

An orator, (for there must be one everywhere,)
placed at some distance on the left of the presi-
dent, every now and then raised his eyebrows,
as if under the influence of celestial inspiration,
and shewed by every movement of his agitated
body his impatience to speak, — perhaps to hear
the delightful sound of bravo or encore. As
they have no written language, there is no
secretary ; this is a great defect : in any other
country, a session without a proces verbal would
be absolutely null and void.

I cannot tell what the president said in his
opening speech, for nobody could understand
him, not even, I think, his neophytes ; but the
orator, who almost immediately addressed the
assembly, must unquestionably have spoken
well, for he equalled in eloquent emphasis
the greatest orators of Greece or Rome. The
vehemence and animation of the oratory of
savages excite astonishment, when contrasted
with their taciturnity and apathy in the common
transactions of life. Sometimes the inspiration
is so powerful, that they tremble in every limb,
like the Shakers. I could neither understand

156 MEDICINE DANCE.

nor guess the meaning of his speech ; but I
conclude that with these superstitious people, as
with many others, fanaticism holds the place of
reason, and blindness, of belief.

On a signal given by the president, the musi-
cians then played upon their horns and drums ;
the latter, beaten with a stick covered with
leather, produce a very touching sound ; but the
nenice and ululatus to which they beat time, were
torturing to the ears, and truly terrific.

At this beautiful music, the president, the
door-keepers, the orator, the male and female
elect, form a circle ; and the master of the cere-
monies, from the centre, directs the necessary
formalities. Each carries in his right hand the
skin of an otter, beaver, or some other favourite
animal, made in the form of a bag, open at the
two ends; and at the moment the president
raises his in the air, the great ceremony begins.

The president, making frightful contortions,
and fervently stammering out a few ejaculatory
prayers, first blows into one end of his bag, the
other end of which is turned towards his right-
hand neighbour. At this instant, the latter
suddenly falls to the ground ; no matter in what
direction, or whether he break his neck or not,
for he is considered dead.

He is only restored to life by degrees, and in

MEDICINE DANCE. 157

proportion as his exorcist — the same person by
whose influence he fell — pronounces some expi-
atory formulae, which operate upon him like
galvanism : the resuscitated person is then com-
pletely ' purified ab omni macula. Although he
retains the same body, the bag and the ceremony
have given him a new soul : a doctrine quite
contrary to that of the metempsichosis, which
transfuses an old soul into a new body ; it is
also opposed to the creed of the savages of
several nations, who seem to hold the Pythago-
rean hypothesis about death.

If I may presume to give my opinion on this
farce, I think the medicine dance is only a spiritual
medicine, given in this transitory life to prepare
the soul for a more successful aspiration to a
celestial and eternal one.

The president and his neighbours, and the
other persons of the mystic chain, become
successively active and passive, until the presi-
dent himself falls, dies, and is restored to life in
his turn ; he then closes the dance by declaring
that la seance est levee.

I expected that my philharmonical friends
and the master of the ceremonies would have
acted the same part ; but either they have
some other mode of purification, or they purify
themselves by sympathy, like bodies attracted
by the force of electricity.

158 MEDICINE DANCE.

Would that I were a painter ! But then per-
haps my observations would have been superfi-
cial. Let people say what they please, Pangloss
is a great man ; everything is certainly for the
best. There is only one exception .... with
that you are acquainted, my dear Countess.

In the midst of this laughable scene, I suffered
much from not being allowed to laugh. My in-
terpreter, who saw what I endured from the
violence I did to my inclination, intimated to me
that its indulgence might condemn me to an auto
dafe. One of the actors threw himself into such
violent contortions, that he tore his face ; perhaps
to serve as a proch verbal (in default of secretary)
of the session, till a renewal of the ceremonies.

I have been told that no one can obtain admis-
sion into this fraternity without the requisite
qualities, of which that of a fortunate dreamer is
the most meritorious. Our lottery gamblers,
and dealers in political systems, might become
successful candidates.

I have also been told that those who propose
themselves for admission make large offerings,
and that they are sometimes obliged to give all
they possess to the order. Religious systems
are to be found at all times, and in all places ;
but it appears that the salvation of the soul must
be paid for under all ; — in modern as well as in
ancient times, in the new world and in the old,

ROCKY ISLAND. 159

among savage and among civilized nations. I
was told, and I believe it, that in this camp, and
in others where they are stationary during part
of the year, there are houses in which young girls
are appointed to watch over a fire which burns
in the centre ; like the Roman and Peruvian ves-
tals, the guardians of the Prytaneum at Athens,
and the Guebres. It appears that they conse-
crate it to the sun, or consider it as the emblem
of that life-giving luminary.

A bag of such miraculous properties as the
medicine bag, deserved all my attention ; I there-
fore exerted every effort to obtain one. Vain,
however, would have been the veneration I ex-
pressed for the prodigies it performed, had I not
made a present of good whiskey both to the
person who gave it me, and to the high-priest,
as a bribe for his sanction. This was the first
convincing proof I saw of the resistless, and,
as you will soon perceive, fatal allurement of
spirituous liquors to the savages.

The next day we quitted Rocky Island, where
the gentlemen of the garrison were as polite to
us as those of Fort Edward.

The rapids above this island, which is three
miles in length from north to south, are stronger
and extend farther than those of the Moine ;
and had not Providence come to our aid and

160 RATTLE-SNAKE.

swelled the waters of the river for two days, the
steam-boat would perhaps have remained nailed
to the rock upon which it had already struck.

Whilst the captain allowed some repose to the
crew, who were exhausted with fatigue, I paid
a visit to the forests as usual. It was generally
thought that I should turn savage, and the cap-
tain, as you have seen, had done his best to convert
it into a reality : but this time I acted with more
precaution.

Chance almost immediately threw a rattle-
snake in my way. At first it fled from me ; it then
stopped, and was in the act of looking at me,
when I shot it through the head . I have pre-
served its skin. It is almost five feet in length,
and has six rows of rattles, which indicate its age
by the same number of years. Although the head
is crushed, the organization of the mouth is still
visible : it inflicts the mortal wound with a
tooth, which it uses as a cat does its claws. It
dips it in the poison by passing it, at the moment
it bites, across the vesicle which contains the
liquid.

At the distance of six miles from the rapids,
we met with another tribe of Foxes encamped
on the western bank. Higher up, after passing
the rivers la Pomme and la Garde, which run
westward, we saw a place called the Death's-

LEAD MINES. 161

heads; a field of battle where the Foxes de-
feated the Kikassias, whose heads they fixed
upon poles as trophies of their victory. We
stopped at the entrance of the river la Fievre,
a name in perfect conformity with the effect of
the bad air which prevails there. It flows from
the east, and is navigable for about one hundred
miles.

At seven miles from its mouth the Indians
formerly collected lead, which they found in
abundance scattered over the surface of the earth.
They converted it to no other use than that of
making bullets, as they wanted them. The
government, which never loses sight of its inte-
rests when opportunity offers, purchased, or
rather obliged the Foxes to sell, these lands,
consisting of fifteen square miles; it has thus
secured to itself the rich mines, which it has
granted out to adventurers, who pay the tenth
of the net produce of the lead. It has established
an agent there to watch over its rights.

A whole family from the interior of Kentucky
have come to establish themselves at a distance
of thirteen or fourteen hundred miles from their
home. They were in the steam-boat, with their
arms and baggage, cats and dogs, hens and tur-
keys ; the children too had their own stock. The
facility, the indifference with which the Ameri-
cans undertake distant and difficult emigrations,

VOL. u. M ,

162 ANOTHER RATTLE-SNAKE.

are perfectly amazing. Their spirit of specula-
tion would carry them to the infernal regions,
if another Sybil led the way with a golden
bough.

A cross-road soon brought me to the mines.
The rocks are almost one mass of lead, and the
ore produces from seventy-five to eighty per
cent. The site is a perfect Thebais. I congra-
tulated this good family upon the prosperity
they seemed to anticipate ; and I wished Mrs
R . . . . much more success in her intended
biblical missions among the savages than she had
met with in the steam-boat. A young man had
turned into utter ridicule both her and her
attempt to convert him. She was one of those
good women who devote themselves to God
when they have lost all hope of pleasing men,
and whose fervour, like that of almost all bigots,
is mysticism. I must detain you one instant
longer at these mines, to describe to you, as I
heard it, one of the most remarkable phenomena
of nature.

A rattle-snake was killed there with a hun-
dred and forty young ones in its belly, several of
which contained other young ones. Major An-
derson, agent of the mines and a man of unim-
peachable veracity, told me this as a positive
fact, of which he had been an eye-witness. I
was also informed by some of the traders that
this was not the first instance of the kind.

MINES OF DUBUQUES. 163

Twelve miles higher, upon the western bank
of the Mississippi, are other lead mines, called
the mines of Dubuques.

A Canadian of that name was the friend of a
tribe of the Foxes, who have a kind of village
here. In 1788, these Indians granted him per-
mission to work the mines. His establishment
flourished ; but the fatal sisters cut the thread
of his days and of his fortune.

He had no children. The attachment of the
Indians was confined to him; and, to get rid as
soon as possible of the importunities of those who
wanted to succeed him, they burnt his furnaces,
warehouses, and dwelling-house; and by this
energetic measure, expressed the determination
of the red people to have no other whites among
them than such as they liked.

The relations and creditors of Dubuques ap-
pealed to the congress of the United States to
secure to themselves the adjudication of the
property of these mines. It is said, that their
claim was founded upon a treaty of cession or
acquisition between Dubuques and the Indians ;
that this treaty had been sanctioned by an act of
the baron de Carondelet, the Spanish governor
of Louisiana, west of the Mississippi, — and that
general Harrison had confirmed it when he took
possession of it for the United States, in 1804 :
but the congress decided in favour of the Indians.

164 MINES OF DUBUQUES.

What belongs to the Indians does, in fact, belong
to the United States ; and it is not usual to give
judgment against our own interests. Augustus
refused to decide in a case in which he would
have been both party and judge, and lost his
cause. So liberal a government as the United
States should have imitated his example.

The Indians still keep exclusive possession of
these mines, and with such jealousy, that I
was obliged to have recourse to the all-powerful
whiskey to obtain permission to see them.

They melt the lead into holes which they dig
in the rock, to reduce it into pigs. They ex-
change it with the traders for articles of the
greatest necessity ; but they carry it themselves
to the other side of the river, which they will not
suffer them to pass. Notwithstanding these pre-
cautions, the mines are so valuable, and the
Americans so enterprising, that I much question
whether the Indians will long retain possession
of them .

Dubuques reposes, with royal state, in a
leaden chest contained in a mausoleum of wood,
which the Indians erected to him upon the sum-
mit of a small hill that overlooks their camps
and commands the river.

This man was become their idol, because he
possessed, or pretended to possess, an antidote to
the bite of the rattle-snake. Nothing but artifice

INDIAN SUPERSTITION. 165

and delusion can render the red people friendly
to the whites ; for, both from instinct, and
from feelings transmitted from father to son, they
cordially despise and hate them.

A very respectable gentleman, a friend of
Dubuques, attempted to persuade me that this
juggler was in the habit of taking rattle-snakes
into his hands, and that by speaking to them
authoritatively, in a language which they under-
stood, he could tame them and render them as
gentle as doves. I merely observed that I be-
lieved what he asserted, because he said he had
seen it ; but that if I saw it with my own eyes
I should not believe it.

These people, proud as they are of their inde-
pendence, are so inclined to superstition (the
inseparable companion of implicit subjection)
that they would become tlie most abject slaves,
if they were civilized after the fashion of the
Jesuits. In fact, these reverend fathers had
rendered the Indians of la Plata so subservient
to their will, that they induced them to revolt
against legitimacy. Whenever this mystical body
of men present themselves to my thoughts, even
in these wild regions, I cannot help lamenting
the blindness and false policy which are endea-
vouring to re-establish their domination over the
world.

To form a correct opinion of what has been,

166 THE JESUITS.

it would be sufficient to recollect what all the
potentates of Christendom, and an enlightened
pope, unanimously declared against them ; and
what had been said at an earlier period by Urban
VIII, when, in 1630, he suppressed the scan-
dalous order of the Jesuitesses : but the know-
ledge that the Loyolists were the mortal ene-
mies of all other religious bodies, only because
they were more religious than themselves, and
opposed the universal despotism which it was
their policy to organize over consciences and
over empires ; — this knowledge might surely
convince the most obstinate and fanatical per-
sons of the nature and purpose of the zeal which
influences these gentlemen.

I neither am, nor can be, the personal enemy
of the Jesuits ; for I was not in being when they
were expelled from the whole Catholic world ;
but as I am the friend of public tranquillity and of
religion, I cannot be theirs. While they professed
poverty and humility and called themselves the
company of Jesus, they insinuated themselves
into courts, and encouraged every vice that pre-
vailed in them ; perhaps for the very purpose of
bringing them into contempt, and thus promoting
the accomplishment of their ambitious views ;
they have been one of the grand causes of every
revolution which has convulsed society, and have
vitally wounded religion by the scandal they

THE JESUITS. 167

have occasioned, and by their efforts to secure
to themselves the monopoly both of commerce
and of faith.

" The morality of Jesus Christ," says a holy
father of the church, " is pure and severe, but
simple and popular; it is not propounded as
a deep and exclusive science : he reduces it to
maxims, adapts it to the comprehension of the
most ignorant, and confirms it by his example.
Mild and condescending, indulgent, merciful, cha-
ritable, the friend of the poor and the oppressed ;
he affects neither the pomp of eloquence, nor
the rigour of asceticism ; neither austere manners,
nor a reserved, mysterious deportment. He
promises peace and happiness to those who will
practise his precepts, but he does not pretend to
compel them. The faith he requires is rational
and free ; he has no object but the glory of God,
his father, the sanctification of man, the salvation
and the final happiness of the world. He is poor
and humble, and his kingdom is not of this
world." Let any one decide how far the morality
of the Jesuits accords with this.

It is urged that they are necessary to the
world, in its present state of corruption. It was
not, however, by the ministry of obstinate, in-
tolerant, ambitious men, that Jesus Christ un-
dertook to reform mankind : the choice of his
apostles shews the contrary. Such men, where-

168 LONGUE VUE.

ever they have any influence over kings or na-
tions, are calculated only to plunge the world
still more deeply into disorder and misery ; and
which accounts for the English re-establishing
the Jesuits on the continent.

My pen was struck motionless during about
forty miles ; nor amidst the variety of objects
that every moment solicited my attention and
excited my astonishment, could I determine
where to fix my choice : at length a place which
might very appropriately be called Longue Vue,
decided me at once. Twelve small isolated
mountains present themselves in defile, and
project one behind another, like side-scenes.
They are intersected by small valleys ; each has
its rivulet, which divides it, and reflects from its
limpid streams the beauty of the trees by which
its banks are adorned. These hills exhibit a
mixture of the gloomy and the gay, while those
which appear at the back of the scene are
veiled with magical effect in the transparent
mist of the horizon. On the eastern bank a
verdant meadow rises with gentle slope to a
distant prospect, formed and bounded by a small
chain of abrupt mountains . Little islands, studded
with clumps of trees, among which the steam-
boat was winding its course, appeared like the
most enchanting gardens. It would be difficult
anywhere to find a picture in which the pleasing

THE (WISCONSIN. 169

and the romantic predominate with such delight-
ful alternation, and such perfect harmony. One
would think that it had been designed by art
aided by the resources of nature, or by nature
aided by the devices of art.

A little above the river Turkey, which flows
from the west, and is navigable to a considerable
distance inland, is an old village which the
Foxes have deserted. Here terminates the pre-
tended territorial jurisdiction of these savages ;
I say pretended, for savages hunt wherever they
find no obstacle ; which is sometimes the cause
of, or at least the pretext for, the bloody wars
by which they are continually destroying each
other.

The true name of these savages is Outhagamis.
That of Foxes (Renards) is a nick-name, given
them by the first Frenchmen who discovered
these countries : it was probably significant of
their resemblance to these animals ; and indeed
they are no blockheads. Their number is much
diminished. It scarcely amounts to more than
sixteen hundred, who, like the Saukis, are dis-
tributed into four tribes.

The Owisconsin is a large river, which flows
from the east. At three hundred miles from
its mouth it communicates, by means of a
portage, with the Foxes' river, which falls into
Green bay, in lake Michigan. This river is

170 PRAIRIE DU CHIEN.

therefore the principal channel of the fur trade
carried on by all these savage countries, by way
of Michilimakinak and the lakes, with Canada
and New York ; of which the village of the
Prairie du Chien, at the distance of six miles
higher on the same eastern bank, is a consider-
able entrepot.

After passing through a space of about six
hundred and seventy miles of desert, this village
comes upon one as by enchantment, and the
contrast is the more striking as it bespeaks a
certain degree of civilization; French is the
prevailing language, and strangers are well
received. It takes its name from an Indian
family whom the first Frenchmen met there,
called Kigigad, or dog, for almost all the savages
are distinguished by the name of some animal,
which is often their peculiar Manitou.

The Americans ought to regard this village as
one of the most interesting scenes of the last war
against the English. This is the only place
where the Anglo-savage army observed the
terms of a capitulation during that war.

The American garrison, which general Clark
had placed there in a wretched wooden fort,
named fort Crawford, in order to neutralize as
much as possible the influence and intrigues by
which the English emissaries in these forests en-
deavoured to encrease the number of the allies of

INDIAN ATROCITIES. 171

Great Britain, after having opposed an heroic
resistance, was forced to surrender, but on ho-
nourable conditions. Of these, the principal was
intended to prevent the massacres so often per-
petrated by the savages, their commilitones, upon
defenceless prisoners who confided in the faith
and sanctity of treaties.

The English colonel who commanded the
expedition kept his promise, although acting
under the famous general ******* who saw
with the utmost indifference the tomahawk and
knife of these barbarians daily reeking with
American blood. I wish I knew the name of
this respectable officer, that I might hold it up
to public admiration.

Cikago, Pigeon-roost, French town, forts
Milden and Meigs, were the scenes of cruelty
which would make you shudder. The heart of
captain Wells was roasted and eaten ; the whole
body of a surgeon was served up as a banquet
to a numerous party of guests ; nor could even
the innocent children whom nature held con-
cealed in the bosoms of their mothers, escape
the relentless fury of these cannibals. Such was
the horrible scene of massacre and slaughter,
that Thecumseh, the general of king George,
and the brother of the great prophet whom I
mentioned to you upon the Ohio, felt himself
more than once compelled to exclaim, " Stop!

172 WINEBEGOS.

in the name of the Great Spirit, our brothers
are sufficiently avenged."

Not only did this barbarian savage show him-
self less cruel than *******, but at the battle of
the Thames, where general Harrison triumphed
over this sanguinary army, he died the death of
a hero, while ******* fled like a coward, aban-
doning both the Indians and his own soldiers to
the fury of that vengeance, the whole weight of
which ought to have fallen upon himself. His
horse, the interpreter of his conscience, saved
him from that ignominious end, which ought to
have served as a warning to all monsters who
trample under foot the laws of nations and the
claims of humanity.

I am convinced that the people of England
have never known these horrors, or they would
have held them up to public execration. They
will perhaps thank me for the information.

The Prairie du Chien is the rendezvous of a
number of Indians who come there in autumn to
lay in winter provisions, and in spring to settle
with their creditors, who receive skins in pay-
ment. They are much more punctual than the
whites would be if they had no other guide than
the law of nature, nor any other argument than
their bow and arrow, their knife and gun.

I also saw there some of the Winebegos, who
are distinguished from all the other Indians by

MENOMENIS. 173

their gloomy and ferocious countenances. They
are regarded as the most malignant, and in
fact they were most intimately connected with
*******. Their chief, Mai-Pock, paid his court
to him by always appearing before him with a
necklace composed of the ears, noses, and scalps
of Americans. I saw him, but refused to shake
hands with him ; an expression of contempt the
most severe and humiliating an Indian can re-
ceive. He it was who regaled his friends with
human flesh.

It is supposed that this nation came from the
northern parts of Mexico ; and, indeed, they
speak a language peculiar to themselves, and
are the only friends of the Sioux, who seem also
to have emigrated from Mexico. They roam
and hunt towards the sources of Rocky River,
upon the Owisconsin, Fox River, Green Bay,
and upon lake Michigan. They are divided into
seven tribes, who disperse their small summer
encampments upon these rivers. Their number
is about sixteen hundred. The first Frenchmen
that arrived among them called them Pu-ans,
from the disagreeable odour that exhales from
their bodies.

I met there some of the Menomenis, whom
the French distinguish by the name of Folk
Avoine ; because, with more prudence than most
other savages, they collect in summer a quantity

174 CANADIANS.

of wild oats, which grow in great abundance
upon lake Hinlin, the Kakalin, and the river
La Cross, where they hunt and often pitch their
tents, which much resemble those of the Saukis,
Foxes, and Winebegos. They have nearly the
same habits and customs, but are considered
more industrious and less barbarous. In the
last war, they repeatedly refused to join the
standards of the English. They replied to the
emissaries who endeavoured to persuade them
to enlist, "What have the Americans done to us,
that we should go and plunge our tomahawks
into their bosoms ?" This is a savage lesson to
civilized people. Their number does not exceed
twelve hundred.

I cannot take leave of the Prairie du Chien
without mentioning the many civilities I re-
ceived from Mr Roulet, an agent, and one of the
principals of the South West Company.

The Americans generally consider the Cana-
dians as ignorant. Whether this be true, I
know not ; but I do know that I invariably found
them very polite and obliging, even among the
lower classes.

Heretics always think they know more than
Catholics. I am not skilled in controversy : as
to religious tenets, therefore, I shall merely ob-
serve that, as the sects which have abjured Ca-
tholicism are still without a common centre of

SACRED ROCK. 175

union, and are continually wandering from error
to error, in pursuit of that true credo which they
never find, the inference seems to be that they
know much less than we. But, in point of
learning, it would be easy to prove, from the
history of science and literature, that the Catho-
lics were as well informed before the existence
of an heretical church, as they are now, and that
even since that period they have continued to
furnish a large contingent to the literary world.

When ministers, faithless to the laws of the
divine legislator, and princes, rebellious to God
and the people who confide the sceptre to them,
that they may govern in justitid et equitate,
conceal, or disfigure the heavenly maxims of
the Gospel, in order to render ignorance sub-
servient to their political views, they are the
only persons against whom the voice of censure
should be raised : but respect is due to the
professor of the most august of all religions.

Nine miles above the Prairie, at a spot where
the savages pay their adorations to a rock which
they annually paint with red and yellow, the
Mississippi presents scenes of peculiar novelty.

The hills disappear, the number of islands in-
creases, the waters divide into various branches,
and the bed of the river in some places extends
to a breadth of nearly three miles, which is
greater by one half than at St Louis ; and, what
is very remarkable, its depth is not diminished ;

17G CONFLAGRATION.

for from the Prairie to Fort St Peter we ran
a-ground only once, whereas, from St Louis to
the Prairie, it occurred four times. This is an
additional proof of the correctness of my obser-
vations, in our first excursion, respecting the
waters of the Ohio. Of three parts of the fluid
which compose the ocean, two certainly filter
through subterranean passages.

We arrived very late on the 16th, but though
it was night — vi si vedea. I am going to intro-
duce you to a spectacle, my dear Madam, which,
I assure you, I had not dreamt of in my wan-
dering anticipations.

The vigorous fertility of these countries im-
parts such strength to the vegetation of the grass
and brushwood with which they are overspread,
that they obstruct the march of the Indians, and
in spite of every precaution produce a rustling
which awakens the wild beasts in their co-
verts.

The Indians, who are not easily stopped by
difficulties, set fire once a year to the brush-
wood, so that the surface of all the vast regions
they traverse is successively consumed by the
flames.

It was perfectly dark, and we were at the
mouth of the river Yahowa, — the second of that
name, which, like the first, descends from the
west, — when we saw at a great distance all the
combined images of the infernal regions in full

CONFLAGRATION. 177

perfection. I was on the point of exclaiming,
with Michael Angelo, " Haw terrible! but yet how
beautiful!"

The venerable trees of these eternal forests
were on fire, which had communicated to the
grass and brushwood, and these had been borne
by a violent north- west wind to the adjacent plains
and valleys. The flames towering above the tops
of the hills and mountains, where the wind raged
with most violence, gave them the appearance of
volcanoes, at the moment of their most terrific
eruptions; and the fire winding in its descent
through places covered with grass, exhibited an
exact resemblance of the undulating lava of Vesu-
vius or .ffitna. Ceres was perhaps seeking a new
Proserpina: — we had one in the steam-boat, but
certainly no one had the least intention of car-
rying her off. This fire accompanied us with
some variations for fifteen miles. The great
conflagration which was one of the causes that
accelerated the fall of rHomme des sleeks might
be more terrific, but it would convey only a very
faint conception of the sublime and awful ap-
pearance of this. I have no doubt the devil
himself was jealous of it; and the moon blushed
at her powerless attempts to shine.

A good old woman in our Bucentaur, who
appeared to me the image of our poor Venice,
really believed that the day of judgment was

VOL. IT. N

178 CASSE-FUSILS.

come. Showers of large sparks, which fell upon
us, excited terror in some, and laughter in
others. I do not believe that I shall ever again
witness such astonishing contrasts of light and
darkness, of the pathetic and the comic, the for-
midable and the amusing, the wonderful and the
grotesque.

But to repeat the burden of Pangloss — •" tout
est pour le mieux:" — these conflagrations de-
stroy a number of serpents and other reptiles,
which would otherwise infest the whole earth ;
for I have been told that they, like fishes, cross
the sea without compass or pilot: and you may
judge of their fecundity by the serpent of major
Anderson.

As we had travelled almost all night by the
light of this superb torch, the steam-boat was
tired, and ran a- ground in the morning upon a
sand bank by way of resting itself. The place
is called FEmbarras, from a river of that name
which runs towards the west. Here we may
apply, conveniunt rebus nomina stepe suis.

During the night we passed before the mouths
of the rivers la Mauvaise Hache, la Treille, et de
Racoon, which descend from the east.

Six miles above the river aux Ratines, at the
west, on the same side, is a place called by the
Indians Casse-Fusils. It alludes to a very re-
markable event in the history of these people.

PRAIRIE AUX AILES. 179

The first time that guns were given to the sa-
vages by the English, much jealousy was excited
among those who did not receive them. It hap-
pened that a small party provided with those
weapons, was attacked by another more nu-
merous who had none, and had all their muskets
broken. It is one hundred and eighteen miles
from the Prairie.

From this spot a chain of mountains, whose
romantic character reminds one of the valley of
the Rhine, between Bingen and Coblentz, leads
to the Mountain which dips into the water. This
place would exhaust all my powers of expres-
sion if I had not seen Longue Vue. Amid a
number of delightful little islands, encircled
by the river, rises a mountain of a conical form
equally isolated. You climb amid cedars and
cypresses, strikingly contrasted with the rocks
which intersect them, and from the summit you
command a view of valleys, prairies, and dis-
tances in which the eye loses itself. From this
point I saw both the last and the first rays of a
splendid sun gild the lovely picture. The wes-
tern bank presents another illusion to the eye.
Mountains, ruggedly broken into abrupt rocks,
which appear cut perpendicularly into towers,-
steeples, cottages, &c., appear precisely like
towns and villages.
A little higher on the same side, is a large prairie,

180 SIOUX INDIANS*

called la Prairie aux Ailes, at which begins the
tract inhabited by the Sioux. The Great Wabis-
cihouwa, who is regarded as the Ulysses of the
whole nation, has pitched his summer camp there.
It is also the commencement of major Tagliawar's
jurisdiction. The Indian tribes whom we have
already seen are under the inspection of two
other agents of the government, established at
Rocky Island, and at the Prairie du Chien.

The Sioux are the most numerous and power-
ful of all the savage nations of North America.
It appears, indeed, from their language, that
they are not natives of the country, but have
established themselves in it by conquest : and,
indeed, they are to the Aborigines what the
Greeks were in Asia, the Romans in Greece, the
Goths in Italy, and the English in the East Indies.

To obtain any accurate knowledge of these
regions, or of their inhabitants, one must see and
examine them oneself; for though a great deal
has been written about the new world, — often
either from mere distant guesses, or for the
sake of making a book, — it seems that we are
still in uncertainty or in ignorance as to the
most important facts concerning it. But as
my researches have hitherto been impeded
by jealousy, I have not yet been able to
prosecute them far. I shall therefore defer
telling you about the Sioux till a future letter,

WABISCIHOUWA CHIEF. 181

when I may perhaps have succeeded by time
and perseverance in taming or lulling to sleep my
Arguses. Meanwhile let us continue our ramble.
The Great Wabiscihouwa came on board the
steam-boat with his suite of patres conscripti,
and the customary high ceremonies were gone
through between him and his father, — the name
which the Indians are taught to apply to the
agent of government. Major Tagliawar accord-
ingly gave them plenty of shakes by the hand,
and smoked the calumet of peace and amity,
and I was the ape to this troop of comedians.

Wabiscihouwa, though wrapped in a wretched
buffalo's skin, had perfectly the air and aspect of
a man of quality. His countenance, his arched
eyebrows, his large nose, which he blew with
great noise though without a handkerchief, — the
motion of his right hand, with which he frequently
stroked his forehead and chin, — his thoughtful
air, — his eyes fixed as if entranced, — and his
imposing manner of sitting, although on the
ground, all marked him for a great states-
man ; he wanted nothing to complete the resem-
blance but an embroidered coat, a large portfolio
under his arm, and spectacles.

The tents of the Sioux are quite different from
any we have seen. They are in the form of a
cone, covered with skins of buffalos, or elks;
the smoke goes out at the top, and almost all

182 SIOUX DRESSES.

are painted in hieroglyphics. For some cha-
racteristic features which mark their untutored
state, the painter and sculptor might recognise
in the countenances of these savages a model of
the Roman face ; the noses, of the men espe-
cially, are quite Roman, while those of the
women are perfectly Grecian. The Sioux of
both sexes have fine heads of hair, generally
black, like their eyes, but almost as coarse and
rough as horse-hair. The women, in imitation
of those of the Saukis, wear the catogan. The
men, on occasions of ceremony, or when they
are in full dress, generally wear it parted, or in
small tresses. These tresses fall upon the
shoulders, the breast, the two sides, and the
back, and are interlaced with small paste buckles,
which the traders give them in exchange for
skins. I counted twenty in a single lock of
hair.

Their wardrobe and furniture, as well as their
canoes and their arms, are very like those of
the Saukis. The women would be more attrac-
tive than those of the Saukis, if they were not
much more dirty in their persons.

This encampment is about one hundred and
fifty-four miles from the Prairie du Chien. From
this encampment as far as lake Pepin, a distance
of about fifty miles, the country is pleasant, and
diversified by hills, plains, meadows, and forests.

OHOLOAITHA'S HISTORY. 183

The only two considerable rivers which flow
into the Mississippi, within this space, are those
of the Buffaloes and the Cypewais : they descend
from the east, and are navigable to a considera-
ble distance up the country.

Near the mouth of the latter begins lake
Pepin, which is only a deep valley filled by the
Mississippi. But before we enter it, my dear
Countess, let us give our attention and sympa-
thy a moment to a subject which is interesting,
from the proof it affords of noble qualities in the
savages.

A rock, which projects over the eastern side
of the lake, precisely where it begins, is remark-
able for the same physical and historical fea-
tures as that of Leucadia. There, the Muse of
Mitylene, who was more distinguished for her
learning than her beauty, precipitated herself
as the only means of curing a passion, which
Phaon requited with contempt; here, Oholoditha,
who was beautiful but not less unhappy, resigned
a life which was become insupportable to her,
separated from her loved and loving Anikigi.

If I did not write letters on my rambles, I
would write her history, out of which I might
make a novel ; but a few facts are sometimes
much more valuable than whole volumes decked
out with fiction.

184 OHOLOAITHA'S DEATH.

The tribe of Oholoaitha was surprised by a
hostile band, of which the father of Anikigi is
the chief. She escaped the massacre, but was
made prisoner. Brought up in the house of
the victorious chief, from the age of ten to that of
eighteen, the most impressible period of existence,
her heart was touched with sentiments of grati-
tude and love for his son, who had saved her life,
and who returned her affection with equal ardour.
On the conclusion of a peace, of that kind which
both savages and non- savages so often confirm
with their lips and belie in their hearts, she was
restored to her tribe, and at the same time de-
manded in marriage for Anikigi. Her father, a
barbarous Sioux, and an irreconcileable enemy,
obstinately refused to comply with the request of
the good Cypewais, who wished at once to gratify
his paternal tenderness and the passion of his
son, and to consolidate the peace of the two
families and of the two nations. Poor Oholoaitha,
seeing the obstinacy of her father, gave herself up
to despair, and took the fatal leap : she precipi-
tated herself from this rock, the very day her
father intended to sacrifice her to a union which she
detested. Heaven knows how many noble minds
are concealed under this rude exterior, notwith-
standing the vices which their contact with civi-
lized nations has already planted in their hearts.

LAKE PEPIN. 185

The Indians devoted her memory to infamy :
with them, murder is a meritorious act, but self-
murder the greatest of crimes.

Lake Pepin, as you enter it, presents the ap-
pearance of an elliptical amphitheatre. It is
encircled by little hills of equal height, which,
gradually lessening as they ascend, are the Cunei ;
an elevated bank extending completely round
it, is the exact representation of the Podium.
The passages through which the river enters
and flows out, are the two porta triumphales—*-
exactly at the north and south, like those
of the amphitheatres of antiquity. The waters
of the lake formed the Euripus, and we were
the combatants in the naval games, or naumachia ;
for we found to our cost that the common notion
of the savage is not, as is generally thought,
a mere prejudice. It is a fact that vessels on
this lake are exposed in the daytime to a dan-
gerous sort of whirlwind ; we were obliged to
resort to some dexterous manosuvres to avoid
its consequences. The Indians, who looked at
us with astonishment from the banks, were the
spectators.

Nature gave the first lessons in architecture;
and it is very probable that one of the basins,
called lakes, supplied the first model of an am-
phitheatre. Rome had two of great beauty in

186 POISON OF THE RATTLE-SNAKE.

the lakes of Albano and Nemi: in the Coli-
seum, the great amphitheatre of Vespasian, I
think I can trace a perfect resemblance to the
latter.

Lake Pepin is the head quarters of rattle-
snakes. I must detain you an instant to give
you some new information, which I have just
received, respecting the phenomena of their
poison.

The poison of the rattle- snake produces no
effect upon pigs ; they eat it, thrive and fatten :
yet it is fatal to itself; when it is held down
with a forked stick, if it can turn its head, it
bites itself, swells, and dies. It is an excellent
tonic to any one who has courage to swallow
it; but it is proved that a wound from its tooth
is fatal years after the death of the serpent ;
nor can chemical agents rob it of its poisonous
qualities, although long exposed to the action
of the sun, wind, rain or snow.

Four or five miles above the termination of
the lake towards the west, we met with another
tribe of the Sioux, whose chief is named Tantan-
gamani, celebrated as one of the bravest war-
riors of his nation. He was one of the most
ferocious agents of Proctor, and the unnatural
father of the unhappy Oholoaitha.

He came on board 'the steam-boat to shake

TANTANGAMANI CHIEF. 187

hands with major Tagliawar. He is an old man
of hideous aspect, bent under the weight of
years and atrocities; but still, the scars with
which his naked body was covered, — the dignity
with which he wore his buffalo-skin, hung on
his shoulders like the clamis of the Romans, —
his bow and quiver slung across his back, — a
club, which added to the imposing gesticulations
of his right hand; — and his Indian followers,
who, with an air of pride and independance,
formed a circle around him, gave him more eclat
and maj esty than are possessed by sceptered kings
amidst the splendour of heartless pomp, decked
with the spoils of their subjects, surrounded by
base slaves who flatter to deceive them, and by
mercenary Praetorians, who, like the Romans of
Jugurtha and Vitellius, sell themselves to the
highest bidder.

He spoke with frankness, though dissimula-
tion is by no means uncommon even among the
Indians.

, " My father," said he to the agent, " I thank
the Great Spirit, that he has granted me another
year to behold you once more ; for you see that
I am very old, and expecting every instant to go
to inhabit another earth. I again repeat, that
I have been the fierce enemy to your nation,
because I had bad advisers, who made me be-
lieve that you were coming to deprive us of the

188 TANTANGAMANI.

liberty of hunting, and to kill our wives and
children. But from the time we promised you
our friendship, our hearts have been as white as
this — (pointing to the agent's shirt.) Give us some
assistance ; (this is the amen of all their speeches)
for in this season we can obtain nothing by
hunting, and you know that we have no other
dependence; be our friends, smoke with us,
and in a few days I will pay you a visit at the
Fort."

This chief, although seventy, and almost worn
out, is still much respected by his tribe, and al-
most feared. This is the sole effect of the power
which true merit exercises over the minds
of barbarians, of which this chief is a me-
morable example ; for savages generally neglect
their old men, and abandon them to perish with
hunger. The Winebegos carry their barbarity
so far as to kill them. Probably, however, they
consider it a meritorious act to terminate a life,
which others spare, only to expose the object
of their compassion to the most cruel sufferings,
and to a dreadful and lingering death.

I tried to obtain his bow and quiver, by flatter-
ing him with the notion that I would immortalize
his name by shewing them to everybody in my
own country (the moon), and whatever others I
should pass through ; but finding that this sort
of Paradise had but little attraction for him, I

WONDERFUL SCENERY. 189

offered him in exchange some tobacco and
gunpowder. Upon this he immediately grew
generous, and gave them to me. Red people give
nothing for nothing, any more than white ones.
The place where this tribe was encamped, is
called the Mountain of the Gange. Its summit,
which is of a flat form, commands a view equal
in beauty to those with which I have almost ex-
hausted your admiration. Below me, lay lake
Pepin, — the river, — undulating hills and valleys,
— forests, — meadows, intermixed with small
lakes scattered here and there reflecting every
object from their crystal surface, — and lastly,
the Gange, which, winding its course along
the foot of this lovely mountain, brings the
tribute of its waters to the Great River : it was
perfect enchantment. I could not satisfy the
ardour and impatience of my eyes, and was at
length glad to seek repose in the steam-boat,
where an atmosphere of Asiatic apathy operated
upon me like an opiate. In the midst of these
impressive scenes, I heard no other expressions
of admiration than — "Very fine weather!" "A
very pleasant day!"

The river Canon, which flows from the west,
has its sources in the extensive prairies which
separate it from the Missouri. The Indians na-
vigate it in their canoes nearly throughout its
whole course.

190 THE ST CROIX.

Between the mouth of this river and that of the
StCroix, the Mississippi becomes narrower, and
less studded with islands. It is frequently con-
fined between steep rocks, which give an awfully
romantic character to its banks. Abrasions,
which run horizontally along them, indicate that
the waters of this river were formerly more
copious ; and the traditions of some of the abori-
ginal savages support this conjecture. Some
think that the Otter's Tail river, which now flows
from the south-east to the north into Hudson's
Bay, formerly discharged itself, from the north-
west to the south, into the Mississippi, by com-
municating with the Crows' river, which arises
a little to the east of it. These horizontal abra-
sions frequently assume the striking appearance
of friezes, cornices, &c. They were, I have no
doubt, the first models of these architectural
decorations. Nature is the mistress in every-
thing: art only polishes and perfects.

The river St Croix flows from the eastward.
It is a large river, and affords an easy and exten-
sive navigation. The country in which it rises is
inhabited by the Cypewais ; but the Sioux claim
sovereignty over it, which is the cause or pre-
text for perpetual wars with that nation. This
river, I think, received its name from father Hane-
pin, who probably discovered it on the festival
of the cross. It is fifty miles from lake Pepin.

A CAVERN. 191

Twenty-two miles higher, at a place called
the Marsh, on the same shore, is another tribe
of Sioux, governed by Chatewaconamani, or the
Little Raven. He was gone on a hunting excur-
sion with the principal part of his warriors ; — or
on the track of the enemy ; for when they have
no beasts to kill, they kill each other. Perhaps
they would prefer to amuse themselves in this
way with the whites ; but the Americans are be-
come too powerful, and have stationed military
posts between their tribes. There is no union
among these Indians ; and, if I mistake not, the
United States think it would be dangerous to
them if there were.

War with the savages will ever be defensive.
Victories obtained over them would have no
other effect than to drive them into their forests,
where they are impregnable ; whilst the Ame-
ricans would see their cities and their villages,
their fields and cattle, laid waste by fire and
sword.

On the 19th we stopped to take in wood. I
was told of a cavern, which was only at a short
distance from there, and about twelve miles
above the encampment of the Marsh.

A small valley on the east leads to it.
Cedars, firs, and cypresses, seem to have been
purposely placed there by nature, that the ap-
proach might bespeak the venerable majesty of

192 INDIAN LUSTRATIONS.

this sacred retreat. The entrance is spacious,
and formed in lime-stone rock, as white as
snow. A rivulet, as transparent as air, flows
through the middle. One may walk on with
perfect ease for five or six fathoms, after which
a narrow passage, which however is no obstacle,
except to those apathetic beings whom nothing can
excite, conducts to a vast elliptical cavern, where
the waters of the rivulet, precipitating them-
selves from a cascade, and reflecting the gleam
of our torches, produced an indescribable effect.
You climb to the top of a small rock to reach
the level of the bed of this Castalian spring,
whose captivating murmur allures you onwards,
in spite of the difficulties which impede your pro-
gress, and you arrive at its source, which is at
the very end of the cavern. It is calculated that
it is about a mile in length.

The ancients had yearly lustrationes, to purify
themselves, their cities, fields, flocks, houses,
and armies. The Peruvians used them nearly
for the same purpose. The Catholic church has
its rogationes, by means of which it implores the
same mercies of the true god ; and in like manner
the savages assemble yearly in this cavern, to
perform their lustrationes ; and, what is more re-
markable, at the same season, that is to say, in
the spring ; and in the same manner, by water
and fire, as the Catholics, the Peruvians, and

TROPHONIAN CAVE. 193

the ancients. They plunge their clothes, arms,
medicine bags, and persons, in the water of this
rivulet; they afterwards pass their arms and
clothes, together with their medicine bags, through
a large fire, which was not extinguished at the
time of my visit. This ceremony is always ac-
companied with a dance round the sacred fire,
in a mystic circle, like the medicine dance. It
appears that this lustratio is their corporeal
purification.

The cave is appropriated to other ceremonies
in the course of the year.

The Indians assemble there to consult either
the Great Manitou or their particular Manitous ;
and their chiefs, like Numa Pompilius, can
make their nymph Egeria speak whenever they
want to prevail on a reluctant people to obey
them. They perform all their lustrationes before
they consult the oracle, as the Greeks did before
they entered the cave of Trophonius. The
Sioux call this cave Whakoon-Thiiby , or the abode
of the Manitous. Its walls are covered with
hieroglyphics : these are perhaps their ex-voto
inscriptions.

This cavern has one great advantage over
those of antiquity ; credulity is not here an
object of traffic. Some religion there must be
everywhere, and the one freest from this vice is
perhaps the best.

VOL. II. O

194 AMERICAN CURIOSITY.

On the 20th we arrived here, where I could
not excuse myself from lodging at the colonel's,
the commandant of the fort. The extreme
politeness with which he opposed my wish to
shut myself up, in some independant little
room, at first excited my suspicion that his
object was to keep a stricter watch upon me;
and I confess that I was so malicious as to laugh
at this idea, and to make it a subject of laughter
to others ; but I have since had reason to believe
that his intention was to pay me respect, for
which I am truly grateful. If any restraint is
occasionally imposed upon my curiosity or my
enquiries, it is only the effect of that petty
jealousy which is to be found everywhere, and
particularly in republics ; unless they are afraid
that I am come to make myself master of these
savage regions.

In America you meet with nothing of that
hideous police which impedes and molests every
movement all over the continent of Europe; and
if every individual American choose to exercise
the functions of a police officer in his own per-
son, his only object is to know if you are rich,
(primo) ; what rank you hold in society, — for it
is utterly false that they are indifferent to that
consideration ; — what your political opinions are ;
what business brings you to America; and a
number of other trifles, which are rather gossip-

RUSE CONTRE RUSE. 195

ping than inquisitorial. In America, people are
as free and independent as the air they breathe.

However, we may perform the comedy of
Ruse contre Ruse ; and, if the author of the Ca-
racteres Nationaux is right in the type he gives
the Italians, I shall beat the Americans,

Let us rest a little, my dear Countess, for
this ramble has been a very long one ; nearly
nine hundred and twenty-five miles. I hope at
least it may have been an agreeable one to you.
As for myself, it ought to have given me pleasure
and relief; but, though the mind may be diverted
from its pains for a moment, it soon relapses.

P. S. To give you a proof of my patience, in
which you have not much . faith, I send you a
table of the distances we have just traversed; a
task which would exhaust the patience of a
hermit. It may be of some use to any of our
friends who are inclined to undertake a similar
ramble.

196

TABLE OF DISTANCES.

TABLE

OF SHORT DISTANCES FROM ST LOUIS TO
FORT ST ANTHONY.

NAMES OF PLACES.

Bear-
ings
of the
bank
of the
river.

Miles.

OBSERVATIONS.

From St Louis to the mouths of the

Missouri,

w.

21

To the Portage of the Sioux,

w.

12

To the River Illinois,

E.

9

To the Great Cape Gray,

E.

13

To Clarksville,

W.

46

To Louisianaville,

W.

18

To the Salt River,

W.

4

To the Establishment of Mr Gilbert,

W.

13

To another small Establishment,

E.

8

To the Two Rivers,

W.

28

To the Prairie des Liards,

W.

22

To the Channel of the Foxes,

E.

16

To Fort Edward,

E.

12

To the top of the Rapids,

22

To Old Fort Madison,

W.

10

To the River B£te Puante,

W.

10

To the Yellow Hills,

E.

22

To the River Yawoha,

W.

28

To the Grande Prairie Mascotin,

W.

16

To the end of the same,

W.

17

To the River la Roche, or Rocky,

E.

31

To Fort Armstrong,

Isle

4

To the top of the Rapids,
To the Village of the Foxes,

W.

16
9

To the Marais d'Oge,
To the old Village Sauvage,

E.
W.

16
10

Formerly inhabited by a
savage of the same

To the Potatoe Prairie,

W.

9

name.

To the Prairie du Frappeur,
To the River la Pomme,
To the Che"niere,

W.
E.
W.

10
18
10

Formerly inhabited by a
savage of that name.

To the River la Garde,

W.

10

To the Te'tes des Morts,

W.

16

To the River aux Fievres,

E.

4

To the Dubuques Mines,

W.

13

To the Prairie Macotche,

W.

16

From the name of a sa-

vage who inhabited it.

To the old Village du B&tard,
To the Turkies' River,

W.
W.

10
16

A place formerly inhabit-
ed by savages, whose

To the old Village de la Port,

W.

10

chief was called the

To the River O Wisconsin,

E.

10

Bastard.

To the Prairie du Chien,

E.

6

To the Pointed Rock,

W.

9

To Cape Winebegos,

W.

18

G18

CONTINUATION OF THE TABLE.

197

NAMES OF PLACES.

Bear-

offfie
bank
of the
river.

Miles.

OBSERVATIONS.

Brought forward

618

To Cape k 1' Ail Sauvage,
To the Upper River Yawoha,
To the River de la Mauvaise Hache,

w.
w.

E.

10

19
7

To the Treille,

E.

10

To the River Racoon,

E.

10

To the River aux Racines,

W.

12

To the Prairie la Crosse,

E.

7

To the Casse Fusils,

W.

14

To the Black River,

E.

9

To the Mountain qui trempe a VEau,
To the Prairie aux Aile$y

Isle
W.

10
10

To the River aux Embarras,

W.

22

To the Prairie of Cypresses,

W.

7

To the Buffalos River,

E.

11

To the Great Encampment,

W.

8

To the River Cypawais,

E.

10

Lake Pepin to the end,

21

To the River Gange,

W.

6

To the River Canon,

W.

9

To the River St Croix,

E.

25

To the Medicine Wood,

Isle

19

This is a beech, a tree un-

To the Detour des Pins,

W.

10

known in these coun-

To the Great March,

E.

13

tries, and which the

To the Cave de Carver,

E.

- 7

savages venerate as a

To the Cave of the Manitous,

E.

6

God.

To the River St Peter,

W.

6

Where is situated Fort

To the River of the Little Falls,

W.

4

St Anthony.

To the Falls of St Anthony,

5

925

LETTER XV.

Fort St Peter, Mississippi?
June 10^, 1823.

How delightful it is to find that the sentiments
of friendship can meet us even across the wide
extent of sea and land which divides us from our
household gods, and can cheer us amid the pains
and privations of absence ! I have just received
your dear letter of the 12th November 1822.
The tidings you give me of yourself, — of those
belonging to you or to me, and of our common
friends, are so interesting to me, that I read it
over and over, and know not how to lay it down.
How little did we think, even when we parted,
that your letters would follow me into the cen-
tral wilds of North America, among savages, of
whom we had not even an idea. But such is
the wayward lot of man.

. STEAM-BOATS. 199

You enquire kindly about the state of my
spirits. The novelty of the objects which sur-
round me, the silence, the immensity of the
regions through which I pass, occasionally stop
the usual current of my thoughts, or charm them
into momentary slumber ; but the instant they
awake, they fly back to their mournful centre,
and leave me once more a prey to melancholy
recollections.

You ask me if I have forgotten the use of my
pen? My Arguses would tell you that it is
always in my hand. When you have read all I
have written to you in the short time I have
spent in America, you will perhaps beg me to
desist. As, however, I have led you into savage
lands, I must not let you, quit them without
making you in some degree acquainted with
them.

Let us return to our steam-boat, which has
marked a memorable epoch in this Indian terri-
tory, as well as in the history of navigation
generally.

I know not what impression the first sight of
the Phoenician vessels might make on the inha-
bitants of the coasts of Greece ; or the Triremi
of the Romans on the wild natives of Iberia,
Gaul, or Britain ; but I am sure it could not be
stronger than that which I saw on the counte-
nances of these savages at the arrival of our
steam-boat.

200 FORT ST PETER.

When they saw it cut its way without oars or
sails against the current of the great river, some
thought it a monster vomiting fire, others the
dwelling of the Manitous, but all approached
it with reverence or fear.

All the persons on board were in their eyes
something more than human. Major Taglia-
war, the agent, was astonished at the extraor-
dinary marks of respect with which he was
received. The Indians thought he was in the
company of spirits ; — it matters little whether
they took us for gods or devils, for savages pay
equal reverence to both ; nay, they pray more
to the evil spirits than to the good ; for, say they,
the latter, who are perfectly good, can do only
good, but we must take great care not to offend
the wicked, that they may do us no harm. If
this is not orthodox, it shews at least that the
savages are not bad logicians.

Our present ramble, my dear Madam, will
begin and end around this fort. I have not been
able as yet to go far. But I have no reason to
regret either loss of time or absence of interest-
ing incidents.

This fort is in latitude 45°. The river St Peter
falls into the Mississippi near the promontory
upon which it is built ; the two streams make it
a peninsula, the former washing it on the S. S. W.
side, the latter on the N.E. The fort commands
them both admirably, and is delightfully situ-

FORT ST PETER. 201

ated. On the south and east it has beautiful and
diversified country, and on the north and west
immense prairies, whose monotony is relieved
by little lakes and groves. This is the last
military station of the United States on the
north-west of their territory.

Although these frontiers cannot be invaded
by a foreign power, unless its armies fall from
the skies, yet, being a central point to a great
number of Indian tribes, it is a very important
post; chiefly as a means of preventing the En-
glish from gaining any fresh influence over their
commerce or their minds. This is probably the
reason that the garrison consists of six compa-
nies, and is commanded by a colonel, who is
also the military chief of forts Edward, Arm-
strong, and Arthur, which, on emergency, could
send succours to, or receive them from this.

The building of these forts, at such a distance
from all possibility of surveillance by the govern-
ment, in any other country would make the for-
tunes of contractors, and contribute to the ruin
of the public finances. Here it does no more than
furnish the soldiers' knapsacks a little better :
by entrusting the construction of them to their
respective commanders, government dispenses
with the services of that crowd of engineers who
often build and rebuild on an understanding
with the contractors. Colonel Snelling's activity

202 FORT ST PETER.

and vigilance hardly repose even by night, and
one sees walls spring up as if Amphion's lyre
had called them into existence.

There are no buildings round the fort, ex-
cept three or four log-houses on the banks of
the river, in which some subaltern agents of the
South-west Company live among the frogs.
There is no other lodging to be had than in the
fort ; so here I am following the rule of these
Cenobites, to the sound of the drum. I would
rather it were the bell of the Paraclete, or of
Ranc6, or Cominge.

The land around the fort is cultivated by the
soldiers, whom the colonel thus keeps out of
idleness, which is dangerous to all classes of
men, but particularly to this. It yields as much
as sixty to one of wheat, and God knows what
proportion of maize. Each officer, each com-
pany, each employe, has a garden, and might
have a farm if there were hands to cultivate it.

Every fort built on the Indian territory has an
extent of nine square miles. These lots have
been sold or ceded by the Indians to the United
States. Though these contracts are perhaps
defective in the two imperative conditions re-
quired by the law de emendo of the Justinian code,
that is to say, pretium cequum et consensus (sine
quibus non,) yet it ought to be said, to the honour
of the American government, that by this act of

FORT ST PETER. 203

acquisition it has shewn that it recognizes the
respect due to the property even of savages,
who utterly disregard it themselves. Moreover,
the chief sovereignty of all this territory belongs
to the United States directly, in virtue of the
treaty of 1783 with England, and that of 1803
with France.

The first conquerors are the only people who*
can be accused of usurpation, and as they
were justified by bulls, it follows of course that
nobody is to blame; or, if anybody, it can only
be the Indians, as being the weakest.

The colonel has rendered the view of the
prairies and forests around the fort much more
agreeable, by the introduction of cattle. The
country becomes insipid and heartless in time
without these animated objects. He has brought
oxen, cows, and horses. There are no sheep,
owing probably to the too great severity of the
winters.

In all the immense tracts we have traversed ,.
from the environs of St Louis to this spot, we
have not seen one of those creatures which give
animation and interest to the great picture of
nature. There is not a single Indian who has
a cow, an ox, or a sheep, and very few have
horses: this renders it a matter of indifference
to them to burn their grass every year, nor do
they care if everything else is burnt too ; they
have nothing to lose, and if the fire approach

204 CASCATELLE OF TIVOLI.

their camp, their houses are soon transported,
either on their heads, like snails, or in their
canoes, as the aquatic birds transport their
nests when they are threatened by an inun-
dation.

The fort is surrounded by fifteen lakes, all
abounding in delicious fish. The one named
after Mr Calhoun, the present secretary at war,
is the pleasantest, and its conical depth, the
character of its banks, and of its neighbourhood,
seem to prove that it was the crater of a volcano.
It is to the east of the fort. There are two
others near it, which communicate ; their com-
bined waters are brought through a canal, four
miles long, to the edge of a precipice, down
which they fall in a most picturesque cascade,
which strongly reminded me of one of the
Cascatelle of Tivoli. One can meet with nothing
grand or beautiful which does not recall some
spot of that heavenly country where I first saw
the light — that Helen, who is desired and des-
poiled by everybody — whose charms are con-
tinually renewed, and with them her miseries.

" O fosii tu men bella, o almen piti forte!"

These two lakes, as well as the others to the
east and south, are named after ladies who in-
habit, or who have inhabited, the fort.

What a new scene presents itself to my eyes,

GREAT FALLS OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 205

my dear Madam ! How shall I bring it before
you without the aid of either painting or poetry?
I will give you the best outline I can, and your
imagination must fill it up. Seated on the top
of an elevated promontory, I see, at half a mile
distance, two great masses of water unite at the
foot of an island which they encircle, and whose
majestic trees deck them with the loveliest hues,
in which all the magic play of light and shade are
reflected on their brilliant surface. From this
point they rush down a rapid descent about two
hundred feet long, and, breaking against the scat-
tered rocks which obstruct their passage, they
spray up and dash together in a thousand varied
forms. They then fall into a transverse basin, in
the form of a cradle, and are urged upwards by
the force of gravitation against the side of a pre-
cipice, which seems to stop them a moment only
to encrease the violence with which they fling
themselves down a depth of twenty feet. The
rocks against which these great volumes of
water dash, throw them back in white foam
and glittering spray; then, plunging into the
cavities which this mighty fall has hollowed,
they rush forth again in tumultuous waves, and
once more break against a great mass of sand-
stone forming a little island in the midst of
their bed, on which two thick maples spread
their shady branches.
This is the spot called the Falls of St Anthony,

206 INDIAN TRIBES.

eight miles above the fort ; a name which, I be*
lieve, was given to it by father Hanepin to com-
memorate the day of the discovery of the great
falls of the Mississippi.

A mill and a few little cottages, built by the
colonel for the use of the garrison, and the sur-
rounding country adorned with romantic scenes,
complete the magnificent picture.

Let us return to the savages, my dear Madam;
we will first try to ascertain the number of their
bands, the distribution of their tribes, their ordi-
nary haunts, their population and warlike force.

The Sioux are subdivided into six bands, the
Madewakan Tuam, or people of the Spirit's
lake. The Wakapetohan, or people of the Leaf.
The Wapecothee, or people of the Plucked Leaf.
The Sissisthoana or Sussistons. The Yancthoana,
or Yanktons. The Pitowana, or the Titons.
The former is divided into seven tribes.

ON THE MISSISSIPPI.

The tribe of the Prairie aux Ailes, or Memy-
noe, governed by the chief Wabiscihouwa, or
the Leaf, of whom we have already spoken, is
about 400 strong

Tribe of the Gauge, or Gremignieyas,-
chief, Tatangamani, or the Red Wing . 200

Tribe of the Marsh, or Ciakantanga,—
chief, Cetauwacoamani, or the Little
Raven 500

INDIAN TRIBES. 207

ON THE ST PETER.

Tribe of the Great Avenull, or Wakas-
ka-atha, — chief, Wamenitanka, or the
Black Dog 400

Tribe of the old Village, or Othoetouni,
— chief, Tocokoquipesceni, orPanisciowa 400

Tribe of the Prairie des Francais, or
Theawatpa, — chief, Sclakape, or the Six 500

Tribe of the Battue aux Fievres, or
Wuiakaothi, — chief, Ki-han, or Red
Quilliou 1 50

The second band forms one single tribe,
it is always wandering, but generally
makes a halt near the Rapids of the St
Peter ; its chief is the Wopokian, or the
Little Stag. Number 1000

The third band also consists of a single
tribe likewise always wandering, it is
often seen on the Canon river ; its chief
is the Kariwassician, or French Raven.
Its number is 150

The fourth is divided into two tribes,
under two chiefs, Akant-hoo, or the Blue
Spirit, and Tatankanathi, or the Standing-
Ox. They wander about the river of the
Blue Earth, or Makatohose. Their num-
ber is 3000

The fifth is composed of eight tribes,
all wandering about the sources of the St
Peter towards the Red river, about the

208 INDIAN TRIBES.

country which lies between these two
rivers and the Missouri, &c. The Wa-
natha, or the Plunger, is chief of the first,
the number of which is 1800

He is however a sort of chief sovereign
of the Yanctons, and has as great an in-
fluence over the whole Sioux nation,
from his valour and his exploits, as
Wabiscihuowa, from his cunning and
policy.

The chief of the second is the Tuimo-
haconte, or the Little Beaver-Killer.
Number / .1800

The third, the Ciaka-hapi, or the Lancer 1 500

The fourth, the Thaona-hape, or the
Running Original 800

The seventh, the Wawaka-hana, or
the Broken Leg .1000

The eighth, the Waha-koon, or the
Medicine Man 1000

The sixth, or the band of Ty tons, con-
sists of two tribes, which wander over the
country about the Missouri. They are
very powerful. The chief of the one is
the Cianothepeta, or Heart of Fire ; and
of the other Ciakahapapi, or the Drum-
mer. Their numbers are calculated at
about 28,000

44,950

INDIAN HELEN. 209

All these details have been derived from
sources to which even my Arguses never had
access. They are the purest — indeed, I will ven-
ture to say — the only, authentic.

The Assiniboins, a savage people, who wan-
der over those vast prairies which extend from
the northern sources of the Missouri to near
Hudson's Bay, and who are known under the
general appellation of the people of the plains,
might likewise be considered as Sioux ; for, from
the information I procured through the same chan-
nel,— information which throws great light on
the origin of their names, — it appears certain that
the Sioux and they were formerly one nation.

A great nation, which came from Mexico,
established itself on this side the Cypowais
mountains, which separate the sources of the
Missouri from the sources of the Colombia, and
New Mexico from the western frontier of the
United States. These Indians were called
Dacotas.

One finds Helens everywhere. The Dacotas
had theirs, and she was the cause of as great
evils as the beautiful Greek.

Ozolapaida, wife of Winahoa-appa, was car-
ried off by Ohatam-pa, who killed her husband
and her two brothers, who came to reclaim
her. Discord and vengeance arose between these
two tribes, the most powerful of the nation.

VOL. II. p

210 ASSINIBOINS.

The relations, friends, and partisans of each,
took up the quarrel; one act of revenge begat
another, until the whole nation was drawn
into a bloody civil war, which eventually divided
it into two factions, under the names of Assini-
boina, the partisans of the offender's family, and
Siowae", those of the offended ; — like the Bianchi
and the Neri, the Uberti and the Buondel-
monti, &c. &c.

When they wanted greater extent of country
they split into two nations, the Sioux and the
Assiniboins : but separation and distance did
not put an end to their wars, which continued
for a long period of time ; it is but lately that
they have made peace. The event which gave
birth to their divisions happened, according to
their calculations, about two hundred years ago ;
and the identity of their language, manners, and
habits, adds weight to their respective traditions.
I can vouch for the authenticity of these details,
though they are perfectly new and totally un-
known even to the garrison of the fort.

The Assiniboins always keep together in large
bands. When they hunt the buffalo, which is
almost their only means of subsistence, they as-
semble in great numbers, and sometimes form an
encampment of a thousand tents. They are sup-
posed to be about twenty-five thousand strong.

The military force of the red men is gene-

INDIAN LANGUAGES. 211

rally in the ratio of a fifth of their population.
This is the body which they call the men of
war; but on emergency they all fight, — men,
women, and children.

The Sioux are all united by a confederation,
but their tribes are independent of each other.
Each tribe makes war at its own discretion, and
deliberates about its own affairs. They all
assemble in a general council on those occasions
solely which interest the whole nation. In this
case each tribe sends a deputy by whom it is
represented in the wood or forest where they
hold their meeting. If the resolution of the
council is of any importance, and deserves to be
registered and transmitted to posterity, a tree
serves them as both register 'and archive ; they
engrave hieroglyphics, relative to the subject of
their deliberations, with a knife or hatchet on its
trunk) and each deputy adds the armorial bear-
ings of his tribe.

It appears that four principal or parent lan-
guages may still be distinguished in North
America; the Algonquine on the North, the
Cherokee on the South, the Iroquois on the
East, arid the Nordowekies, or Nackotahn, on
the West. The Sioux speak the latter, which
is an additional proof of their Mexican origin ;
especially as that language is quite different
from the others.

212 CROSSES.

It is also said that their religion differs
from that of the Saukis, Cypowais, &c. Before
we affect to distinguish the differences, we
ought to know what each consists in. This, I
think, is truly problematical, nor do I see how it
can be cleared up, unless religions are all
dreams. Without drawing you into disserta-
tions which would only weary you, you will
see from what will fall naturally under our ob-
servation, what sort of judgment can be formed
of their faith. I confess that, from the little I
have already seen, I should be tempted to
think they have traditions without divinities,
ceremonies without worship, and superstitions
without religion: the homage they pay to the
sun and moon, if it deserve the name of reli-
gious worship, is certainly the only one which
exists among them.

If we were to judge. of religions by external
signs, we might come to the conclusion that
these savages are Catholics, or at least Chris-
tians; for almost all of them, particularly the
women, wear crosses. I have counted not fewer
than thirty-seven on one woman; she had even
one hanging from her nose ! This may appear
extraordinary, but is, I think, easily explained.
The first missionaries sent by the French into
Canada, to convert and civilize these people, in
all probability sought to win their good-will by

IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 213

presents, of which crosses would of course be
the first. The Indians, though abandoned anew
to their ignorance and their instincts, were per-
haps attached to a sign which reminded them
of former hopes, or of the piety of the Black
Robes, (for so they called the first Catholic
missionaries) and made them their favourite
ornaments. The traders, who only try to allure
them by the things which please them most, in
order to get their furs cheaper, have continued
to bring them crosses ; and vanity has succeeded
to religion, here as in many other countries.

Some travellers have affirmed that the Indians
believe in the immortality of the soul. Of this
also you shall judge for yourself hereafter; I
will only repeat to you here what I myself heard
at that awful moment when man, for once in his
life, speaks the language of his conscience.

A . dying father said to the children and rela-
tives who surrounded him, " I have been brave — •
be so likewise : I have killed many enemies —
kill as many as you can : I have always avenged
myself — never forgive the murderers of your
kindred." He then recounted to them all his
exploits, his battles, his wounds, &c. with as
much detail as his situation permitted, and to
his last moment talked to them of nothing but
his past life, without an allusion to the future ;
nor did anybody present allude to it.

214 COUNCILS OF THE SAVAGES.

Another Indian ordered that his clog should be
buried with him. As this animal had been faith-
ful to him through life, he wished that it should
bear him company even in death. This testa-
mentary disposition seemed indeed to show that
he believed in the immortality not only of his own
soul, but of his dog's; but system-makers would
find themselves surrounded by incongruities
they would vainly attempt to reconcile, and by
darkness they could never penetrate. I was
greatly amused on this latter occasion at the
conduct of his wife, who, while she made the
customary and proper grimaces and howlings,
shewed great satisfaction at the preference he
had given to his dog's company over hers. It
sometimes happens that these women are com-
pelled either by complaisance, or in deference to
public opinion, to follow their husbands to the
grave, like the women of Malabar.

I attended some of the meetings of the In-
dians held in the presence of the agent of go-
vernment, who is also called the savage agent.

These meetings are called councils, and all
the tribes or deputations, headed by their
respective chiefs, come annually, — generally at
this season, — to offer, or to renew, their assu-
rances of peace and amity with the United
States. They likewise come to treat of affairs
peculiar to each band, or to each tribe respect-

COUNCILS OF THE SAVAGES. 215

ively, and to make their complaints (if they
have any to make) of the traders : they receive
any annuities yet due to them from the ceded
lands ; but their great motive for coming is, to
lay their necessities and their miseries before
the government, and to receive the presents
which it has annually made them for some years
past of gunpowder, lead, tobacco, and other
articles of necessity or ornament. The object
of these presents is, probably, to counterba-
lance the effect of the captious bounties of the
English. Perhaps these measures, which appear
liberal and philanthropical, are merely politic ;
but whatever be the causes, we must admire the
effects when they are beneficial to mankind. If
the first conquerors of America had employed
similar means, their conquests would perhaps
have been more secure, and they would have
spared the Indians the sufferings, and them-
selves the infamy, of their bloody victories. It
will perhaps be objected that it was the policy
of the time to slaughter the savages in a mass,
whereas it is now sufficient to look on and let
them destroy one another : but it may be per-
mitted to question whether nature or religion
sanction conquests which can be obtained at no
other price than human butcheries.

When any question is agitated which interests
all the tribes who are under the superinten-

216 JEALOUSIES AND DIFFICULTIES.

dance of one agent, the chiefs and orators of
each tribe assemble in the usual council-cham-
ber to debate in his presence and with his
assistance. But if the affair regard tribes in
the jurisdiction of different agencies, the discus-
sion is carried in the same representative man-
ner before the superintendant-general of the
territory. The respective agents then generally
form part of the assembly, as being the persons
best qualified to give information to the super-
intendant and the parties respectively.

This is all I have been able to discover as to
these different jurisdictions, in the cautious
silence which reigns around me.

It certainly is not agreeable to have takers of
notes about one, so that I am not in the least
surprised at the reserve of these gentlemen, nor
at the impediments they throw in the way; but
they labour under a strange mistake if they fancy
that people will come such a distance, and into
such a country, only to shake hands with them
and say "How do you do?" They ought to
have too good an opinion of themselves to think
I can enter into any rivalry with them ; it would
be madness in a poor and solitary rambler to
pretend to compete with national expeditions,
provided with sextants, graphometers, savans,
money, men, horses, flotillas, &c. And, if they
are as clear-sighted as they appear jealous and

COUNCIL-HALL. 2J7

distrustful, they might discover that my cha-
racter and principles would not allow me to
commit them by any indiscretions.

The council-hall is, as it ought to be, a great
room built of trunks of trees. The flag of the
United States waves in the centre, surrounded
by English colours, and medals hung to the
walls. They are presented by the Indians to
their Father, the agent, as a proof that they
abjure all cabal or alliance with the English.
Pipes, or calumets, and other little Indian pre-
sents, offered by the various tribes as pledges of
their friendship, decorate the walls and give a
remarkable and characteristic air to the room.
A table without an inkstand, — for it would be a
breach of politeness to write in the presence of
those who are ignorant of the art, — three or four
seats for the agents, the interpreter and any spec-
tator who may not like to sit, like the savages,
on the ground, compose the whole furniture.

The chiefs, the venerable old men whom the
renown of their past exploits still renders re-
spectable in the eyes of the young, the prophets,
the orators, and the principal warriors, generally
attend these meetings.

No formalities are observed, for the Indians
use not even a salutation; they touch your
hand perhaps if they know you, and consider

218 FORMALITIES OF THE COUNCIL.

you as a friend, but always without speaking,
and often without looking at you.

There is no demand for masters of the cere-
monies, chamberlains, gentlemen-ushers, and
the like useful and important functionaries ; they
come in and go out as they please; they sit or
recline as they find it most commodious ; neither
do they want an ambassador or minister to pre-
sent them as gentlemen savages, or distinguished,
or illustrious savages.

The seance opens with a speech of the chief,
who rises and addresses the agent. He gene-
rally begins with the Great Spirit, or the sun,
or the moon " whose purity is equalled by that
of his own heart," &c. &c. always finishing with
a petition for presents; — whiskey is sure to find
honourable mention : these are what English law-
yers call the common counts. The agent replies
by the mouth of the interpreter. He begins by
a favourable acknowledgment of their friendly
sentiments, after which he expounds to them
their true interests and the policy it behoves
them to follow ; he gives them paternal advice,
and ends with a flourish about the power, the
valour, and the strength of his great nation.
Here the scene closes.

The second act begins with the ceremony of
the sky blue pipe, or calumet, which the In-

SACRED CALUMET. 219

dians venerate as a Manitou, or Good Spirit of
peace ; they, however, pay it much less respect
than they do to the evil spirit of war, repre-
sented by a red pipe.

This calumet is presented by one of the
bravest warriors, and by a war chief, who, on
this occasion, performs the functions of aide-de-
camp of the chief on his right. The agent
smokes first, the colonel or commandant of the
place (if present) second; the interpreter and
other whites follow in succession. The pipe is
then passed on to all the red men, beginning
by the chief, till it has gone through every
mouth.

There is then another pause between the acts,
during which the agent and the interpreter are
busied in the store-house, preparing for the third
and last act. This opens with the ceremony of
bringing the presents which the father gives
them in the name of the great father.

The chief receives them without speaking a
word or making a sign in evidence of gratitude,
or even of the slightest satisfaction. He delivers
them to his savages, who depart still more si-
lently than they came, without doing either the
father, or the strangers who surround him, the
honour to cast a look at them. Those who re-
main in the hall maintain the same air of indif-
ference. The chief afterwards shakes hands with

220 GENEROSITY OF THEIR KINGS.

the agent as if to do him a favour, and every one
goes his own way. The abb6 Casti would not
find here either the Lecca Zampa, or any other
court ceremonies, to represent.

As soon a» the tribe returns to its home in
the woods, the chief distributes the presents ;
and those who have killed the greatest number
of enemies in the year, — those who have given
other proofs of valour, — those who have proved
themselves most unwearied and skilful in the
chace, are proportionately rewarded. The chief
himself is always the last, whatever be his merits,
and if nothing remain for him he utters no
complaint. The kings among these people
think only of their subjects, and they and their
families are the poorest among them. If you
see a savage, simple in his deportment, sober in
his habits, and distinguished by a certain Spar-
tan plainness in his attire, you may conclude
that he is a king or a king's son.

Wabiscihuowa, who, though he has not the
vices of Agamemnon, has his rank and title;
the King of kings of the Sioux was perfectly
astonished, and would not believe his ears when
I told him that it was not quite usual among our
chiefs to give all to their subjects, and leave
nothing for themselves ; that, indeed, the very
reverse sometimes happened. "How," said he
to me one day, " you are then more barbarous

ATTITUDES AND COUNTENANCES. 221

than those you call barbarians, if your civiliza-
tion teaches you only to be either stupid slaves
or unjust chiefs! we are right then in thinking
you inferior to ourselves." I had the mortifica-
tion to be obliged to hold my tongue before un-
tutored Truth.

Though every meeting is attended with pretty
nearly the same forms, though the Indians al-
ways preserve the same taciturnity, the same
melancholy and sombre countenance, yet very
interesting varieties and incidents sometimes
occur. Their faces and attitudes are far beyond
the reach of the most picturesque or poetical
imagination.

I have seen many Hells and Purgatories,
Limbos and Paradises, Deluges and Last Judg-
ments. I have seen the camere, the logge, the
sale of Raphael and his scholars at the Vatican,
and his cartoons in England. I have seen the
frescos of Dominichino, Guido Reni, Guercino,
Giotto, Cimabue, &c. I have seen Salvator
Rosa's Conspiracy of Catiline, and all the most
beautiful or most extravagant productions of the
Flemish school ; but all that is most sublime,
horrible, original, and grotesque in them united,
cannot equal the strange and extraordinary mix-
ture which is found in the faces, gestures and
attitudes of these savages. They would alone
suffice to characterize a new world.

222 PORTRAITS.

Some wrapped in skins with their faces resting
on their hands, remind one of the gravity of the
senators and magistrates of Greece and Rome:
others, when addressing their father or their
children, unfold their pallium with such dig-
nity, their attitudes are so imposing, and their
gesticulations so energetic and expressive, that
they would be really awfully grand, if one
could forget that they are savages.

I was forcibly struck with the resemblance
of the chief Wamenitouka to that famous statue
of Aristides in the museum at Naples, which has
so often held me captive for hours to see, —
almost to hear, — him harangue the corrupt
Athenians. In the chief Cetamwacomani I be-
held that of Cato predicting to the Romans that
their vices, their luxury, and their avarice would
soon reduce them to slavery. Among those who
surround the orator, some listen with signs of
approbation, some maintain a haughty and elo-
quent silence, others appear to attend very little
to what he says, and to ridicule both the listening
father and the haranguing son. Some, resting
their right elbow on the ground and smoking their
pipe with an affected nonchalance, seem as if they
despised the whole ceremony ; others remaining
neutral, like the deputies of the centre, sleep
quietly through the business of the nation, and
leave care for the future to those who like it. The

SPEECHES. 223

faces of some are like pallettes filled with every
variety of colour, while others, besmeared wholly
either with white or black, look like coalheavers
or millers ; some paint their bodies with winged
angels, others with horned devils : every man
according to his taste or his devotion. Some
decorate themselves with the bones, teeth and
claws of wild beasts, the tufts of the buffalo's
head, or the feathers of birds ; others, with
necklaces of glass beads, with ribbons, brace-
lets, rings and crosses. Some mingle the
exotic with the indigenous; others preserve the
naked simplicity of nature ; and these, though
not the most grotesque, are the most interesting.

As they are forbidden to enter the fort with
fire-arms, they have only their bows, clubs and
tomahawks, which render the whole scene more
completely strange and savage.

When the chiefs pronounce a speech, they
make frequently very marked pauses, at which all
who wish to signify their approbation, call out
uhoa ; i. e. bravo. They do the same when the
interpreter recites to them, sentence by sentence,
the speech of the agent ; if indeed they do him
the honour to listen and approve it.

Every Indian is at liberty to speak to the
agent, as to the common father ; but as presump-
tion and gossipping are vices unknown among
the Red people, it rarely happens that the agent

224 INTERCOURSE WITH THE WHITES.

has to reply to any but the chiefs, civil and
military, the orators, or the prophets. Every
individual may also lay complaints before him,
either in public or private, against the traders ;
but this is a privilege rarely used, for the In-
dians will revenge themselves, but will not
descend to the office of accuser. There is great
dignity and magnanimity in the silence they
observe with regard to the traders, who are
not ashamed to cheat them in every possible
way. This is one powerful cause of their con-
stant and encreasing hostility to civilized people.
The Red men, who are most in contact with the
whites, are uniformly the worst. The Red
women are completely corrupted by their inter-
course with the white men. They have all the
vices of both races ; nor can they find a single
virtue to imitate in men who come among them
only to sate their sensuality and their avarice.

The North West Company, that is, the En-
glish, did worse. In the infancy of the United
States, when they had succeeded in getting
possession of all the trade with the Indians, they
constantly tried to sow discord between the
different nations, in order that the rumours of
their ferocious wars, and the dread of the tre-
mendous dangers, might deter all competitors
from the fur trade; and by this means they
obtained the absolute monopoly of it. They

ARRIVAL OF THE CYPOWAIS. 225

were certainly excellent disciples of the British
cabinet.

Chance, my dear Madam, is more generous
to me than men. It throws facts and informa-
tion in my way as assiduously as they try to
conceal them from me. Never since this fort
was begun, three years ago, have so many Indians
resorted to it as this year. Within these few
days I have likewise had the good luck to witness
a presentation, in form, of a great band of Cypo-
wais, composed of a number of tribes, many of
whom had not yet done homage to the United
States.

Their whole camp was with them, for they
always march with arms and baggage, women,
children, and dogs. Their houses are wherever
they happen to be.

The arrival of their extraordinary flotilla was
the most novel spectacle that could be conceived.
Never did I see the Mississippi present so busy
a scene. Their canoes are of a very elegant
form ; they are so light and slender, that one
wonders how they can carry five or six people,
their dogs, their tents, and all their moveables.
I have seen them lifted on shore with one hand
as easily as a basket. Rods of light wood, not
above half as thick as my finger, form all the
timbering of them, and the outside is covered with
the very thin bark of a tree. It is exactly the

VOL. II. Q

226 CANOES.

papyrus of the ancients ; it splits into leaves as
thin as paper, and I can write upon it perfectly
well. It is the bark of the birch. No nails, nor
any metallic fastenings are used. The bark is
sewed with threads of other bark, and the joints
are then smeared with a kind of tar, which is
very tenacious, and resists the strongest heat of
the sun. They make it themselves of a resin
which they extract from trees, and of some other
ingredients : the secret of this composition is
kept with great jealousy.

This bark reminds one of the extremely thin
planks with which the early Greeks faced their
vessels, which were also very light ; and the
descriptions we find in their poets of the fleets
of the Xanthus and the Simois, would apply per-
fectly to the form of the Cypowais canoes. I
have got them to make me a model, and to give
me a specimen of their tar, which forms part of
my little collection of Indian curiosities. It
would seem that a breath would upset so frail a
bark, and the slightest shock break it ; yet in
such as these the savages traverse thousands of
miles. Their tents are, I might almost say,
portraits of their canoes turned bottom upwards.
They stick poles in the earth arched towards
the top, and cover them with the same bark,
which they carry in rolls, like those of papyrus
at Herculaneum. Their camps are accordingly
as interesting as their fleets.

I

CYPOWAIS TERRITORY. 227

The Cypowais is one of the most powerful
Indian nations, though very inferior to the
Sioux. It must indeed necessarily be weaker,
from its being more dispersed, and the confede-
ration among its parts less perfect. These are
the true aborigines of the country, and their lan-
guage is pure Algonquine.

They are scattered over those immense regions
from lake Ontario to the lake Winepeg, near
Hudson's Bay, a tract of about two thousand
miles from east south-east, to north-west. It is
difficult to calculate the circumference of the
country over which they roam. A great part of
the Cypowais inhabit the English possessions.
Those who came hither live in the American
territory, on the high lands of the Mississippi.

Though their noses are rather too flat and too
wide, their cheek-bones prominent, and lips
thick (like the other Indian tribes,) and their eyes
smaller than those of the Sioux, their faces are
by no means disagreeable. Their chests and
shoulders are better proportioned and stronger,
and their whole body better made. Their more
rigorous climate and hardier life must greatly
contribute to this difference.

All their heads were crowned with garlands of
flowers, leaves, grass, or the hair of different
animals. These were the favourite Manitous,
for their superstitions are the same as those of
the other Red people.

228 MANITOUS,

The Saukis, the Foxes, the Winebigos, the
Menomenis, the Sioux, and the Cypowais, all
perhaps believe in a Great Spirit ; but there is
not an individual among them who has not his
peculiar Manitou, of his own choice ; either an
animal, a tree, a plant, or a root ; and it rarely
happens that two in a tribe have the same.
Whether this arise from difference of taste, or
whether they think it discreet for every man to
have his own god, that he may not be distracted
and bored with the prayers of others, I cannot
take upon me to decide.

One day when I was fishing, a Sioux was
greatly offended at my asking him to get me
some frogs for bait ; the frog, it appeared, was
his Manitou — as among the ancient Egyptians ;
while others of his nation roasted and ate them
like all modern nations. An Indian never fires
at the animal which has the honour of being his
Manitou, even if it is a wild beast coming to de-
vour him. I have in my possession a magnificent
skin of a yellow bear, who was on the point of
making a dinner of his faithful worshipper, when
happily a Dissenter, or Nonconformist, came up
and shot him. If ever an Indian does kill his
Manitou by accident, he begs for pardon, and
says, " It is better that you should have been
killed by me than by another man, for he would
sell your skin, whereas I shall keep it with the

DETHRONEMENT OF A CYPOWAIS KING. 229

greatest devotion :" and accordingly it takes its
station among the divinities in the medicine bag.
The buffalo is the only animal that is spared by
nobody; they all argue that he is the Great
Spirit, who presents himself under this shape to
provide for all their wants ; and indeed every
part of the buffalo is useful to them, from the
horns, which serve them for a thousand purposes,
to the fibres which they use as thread. This
doctrine is very fruitful in reflections ; I leave it
to you to make them. Let us return to the
Cypowais.

The assemblies of this nation in the council
hall, were more noisy than those of the Sioux,
because they were divided into two parties, one
of which wished to re tain -the chiefs now in
power, and the other to elect new ones. I
should be most happy to give you some account
of this comical and truly interesting drama,
but I should very likely have allusions fathered
upon me which never entered my head. I shall,
therefore, only tell you that in the course of
their debates I heard bits of eloquence worthy
of Athens or of Rome; — that M. B. Constant
never employed more resistless arguments
against M. de Villele ; — that Peskawe descended
from the throne with Spartan dignity, and that
Kendouswa extended his hand to him, as he
mounted it, with the noble air of a truly generous

230 TREATY OF PEACE.

spirit. I am sometimes astonished at finding
the grand incidents of ancient and modern his-
tory in these wilds.

General Cass, governor of Michigan territory,
undertook, I think three years ago, an expedition
across the lakes and country of the savages, in
search of the sources of the Mississippi, which
Mr Pike had left in great uncertainty ; and after
fixing them at Upper Red Cedar lake, passed
by this fort on his return. He was accompanied
by some Cypowais chiefs ; and to enhance the
glory and utility of his expedition, he used
every effort to make peace between them and
the Sioux. He succeeded ; but the peace was,
as usual, as transient as the smoke of the calu-
met which celebrated it.

Major Tagliawar, animated by a philanthropy
which does him honour, and by a truly paternal
love for his untutored children, took advantage
of the great number of Cypowais now congre-
gated here, solemnly to renew it.

The great hall of the council was full. The
Sioux, headed by their chiefs Catewacomani,
Wamenitonka, and Penisehiouwa, were seated
on the right. The Cypowais, with their chiefs
Kendouswa, Moshomene and Pasheskonoepe,
on the left.

After mutual accusations and excuses con-
cerning the infraction of the treaties ; after some

FORMALITIES OF THE TREATY. 231

fatherly reproofs and counsels from the Father,
Wamenitonka, assisted by a war-chief, lighted
the great calumet of eternal peace and amity.
It devolved upon the Sioux to present it first,
since it appeared they had been the first to
profane it by their perfidy.

The grave and dignified figure of Wamenitonka
greatly contributed to the majesty of the cere-
mony ; on this occasion he assumed a sacerdotal
kind of air. He consecrated the calumet, turn-
ing the tube first horizontally to the east and
west, then perpendicularly to heaven and earth,
thus invoking the Great Spirit, or the sun, and
the good and evil spirits. He then sent it by
the chief of his warriors, to the chief delegated
by the Cypowais ; he gave it to Pasheskonoepe,
the oldest chief, who, after handing it to the
agent of government, smoked it himself, and all
did the same in rotation, according to their
respective ranks. I performed the part of wit-
ness; and certainly I witnessed a monstrous
act of perjury. The Cypowais repeated the
same formalities towards the Sioux, after which
all shook hands, as a pledge of their reciprocal
good faith. The ceremony closed with whiskey,
which the good Father distributed to them.
The calumets remained as pledges of the sanctity
of the treaty, in the hands of the two representa-
tive chieftains, who act, I fancy, on that occasion,

232 INFRACTION OF THE TREATY,

as keepers of the seals of their respective na-
tions.

When the savages make peace without any
foreign mediation, the conference is usually held
in the forest. The plenipotentiaries of the high
contracting parties assemble there, and the treaty
being concluded, it is registered in hieroglyphics
in their customary archive, i. e. on the trunk of
a tree ; which comes to the same thing as our
pace celebrata, die, &c., loco, Sec. &c. &c.

The peace was concluded on the 4th inst. ; —
on the 6th, war was on the point of breaking out
again with the greatest fury.

Eskibugekoge", or Flat Mouth, the chief who
holds the same rank among the Cypowais as
Wabiscihuowa among the Sioux, did not arrive
till the morning of the 5th. Ignorant of the in-
tentions of the agent, he took leave of his family
and tribe with a promise that he would never
touch the hand of one of those dogs of Sioux;
which meant that he would never make peace
with them. The first person he met on approach-
ing the fort, before he could be informed of what
had passed, was Paniscihowa, who held out his
hand, warmed with the scene of the preceding
evening, and was met by a disdainful repulse.

The Sioux, as ill-disposed as he was cowardly,
immediately gave the alarm. All the Sioux
who were still in the vicinity of the fort flocked

IMMINENT WAll. 233

together, they sent heralds at arms to the neigh-
bouring encampments, and the next day they
surrounded the camp of the Cypowais in great
force. The latter had already concealed their
women and children behind the ruins of the old
fort, which had served as an asylum to the
garrison while the new one was building : and
sent a message to the Sioux that, though very
inferior in numbers, they did not fear them, and
steadily awaited their attack.

At first the agent and the colonel appeared
not to choose to take any part in their quarrel.
They have perhaps the power of making up a
peace among them, but not of preventing a war.
They reflected, however, that to suffer them to
come to open hostilities, would be to permit an
insult to the American flag, and a violation of
their territory, declared neutral, sacred and in-
violable to all Indians ; more especially when
they came to treat with their Father. They
were therefore warned to disperse, which they
accordingly did.,

Everything conspired against my poor notes ;
I had already perched myself on an eminence
for the purpose of enriching them with an Indian
battle, and behold I have nothing to write but this
miserable article ! In the afternoon, Eskibuge-
koge shook hands in all the requisite forms, both
with the Sioux chiefs and with all who had a mind.

234 PEACE RESTORED.

They smoked again perfectly en regie, — re-
peated with great good-will and alacrity the
libations of whiskey, and all walked away the
best friends in the world.

The next day it was reported that the Sioux
had attacked the Cypowais at the falls of St An-
thony. I instantly set out on horseback, but it
was decreed that I was not to witness that
extraordinary spectacle. While the serjeant
who commanded the posts was exhorting them
to peace, (for fear they should lay waste the
settlement,) the express he had sent to the
fort returned with troops, and so the affair
ended. I had half a mind to ask them to be so
obliging as to fight in jest, as they would not
fight in earnest. I almost suspected that the
savages were in a league with the gentlemen of
the fort to disappoint me. But here one may
sincerely say, " All is for the best." What
frightful carnage should I have witnessed !

This tragi-comedy, however, procured me
what I stand so much in need of, — a hearty
laugh ; and it was at the expense of 'the traders.
These worthy men trembled for at least four
days afterwards, at the recollection of the danger
they had run, — of losing the advances they had
made to the Indians. They thought it scandal-
ously dishonest in them to kill one another before
they had killed the beasts whose skins were to

CAUSES OF HOSTILITY. 235

constitute the payment. And I do really believe
that, on the day of the alarm, they sincerely
wished they had been brave enough to go among
the Indians and try to pacify them.

One would say, that the pest of usurers and
brokers, who are the curse of Europe and the
ruin of so many young men of family, has spread
to the forests and deserts of America.

You will doubtless be astonished, my dear
Madam, at the irreconcileable hatred which
exists between these two savage nations. I will
tell you all I know about it.

Territorial claims are mere pretexts; their
countries, or rather their worlds, are so vast,
that there is room for all ; and they hardly ever
meet, unless they lay in wait for each other for
the express purpose of righting. These wars
are only an inheritance they have received from
their fathers. The first thing a dying Cypowais
recommends to his children, relatives, friends,
and all his tribe, is to preserve perpetual enmity
to the Sioux; who, on their side, preach the
same sort of crusade against the Cypowais. In
my endeavours to trace this inveterate hostility
to its sources, I succeeded also in throwing some
light on the emigration of the Sioux into these
countries.

Eskibugekoge assured me that they (the Cy-
powais) had been at war with the Sioux for

236 CAUSES OF HOSTILITY.

more than three thousand moons ; with which
the great Sioux, Wabiscihouwa's, statement con-
curred.

Reckoning twelve moons to a year, as they
do, more than three thousand moons, adding the
complementary days, bring us pretty nearly to
the time of the conquest of Mexico by the
Spaniards. It was therefore, in all probability,
at that period that the Sioux, or Dacotas, flying
from the cruelties of the conquerors, invaded the
country of the Cypowais, of which they have
retained possession ; and the Cypowais, mass-
acred or driven from their accustomed haunts,
would naturally enough swear eternal vengeance
on their aggressors. This sentiment, carefully
transmitted from father to son, became a nati-
onal one, perpetuated through all generations,
and now blindly followed as an inspiration or a
duty. And as revenge is the predominant
passion of all savages, the Sioux are equally
inveterate against the Cypowais, and carry on a
war of instinct, equally indifferent about the
cause or the effects.

Another convincing proof, that the countries
now inhabited by the Sioux, the Assiniboins,
and other savage nations, who, like them, emi-
grated from Mexico, formerly belonged to the
Cypowais, is, that the mountains which separate
these countries from New Mexico, were called the

CYPOWAIS WOMEN. 237

Cypowaises Mountains ; and would be called so
to this day, if those most illustrious expeditions,
which would turn the world topsy-turvy for the
sake of being talked of, had not re-baptized them
under the name of the Rocky Mountains. Before
we take leave of the Cypowais, I must tell you
a little about their women.

They are much better looking than the Sioux
women, and some of them might almost be
called pretty. Their persons are fine ; their
flesh is firmer and in better preservation, and
their complexions less red. The cold climate
they inhabit has nearly the same effect upon
the men. Their mouths and teeth are almost
beautiful. Their character appears more simple
and less savage ; their dress is quite different,
and very singular.

When the Egyptians had made sufficient pro-
gress in the art of sculpture, to detach the arms
and legs of the statues from the block of which
their first efforts, the Theuts or Hermes, were
composed, they ornamented them with two bands
hanging from the shoulders over the bosom ;
they afterwards added a third, joining horizon-
tally to the ends of the two former. This is
precisely the sort of thing which supports a kind
of cuirass, of leather or cloth, which covers the
bosom and the back of the Cypowais women.
Their round and well-turned arms are perfectly

238 CYPOWAIS WOMEN.

naked, and are painted with hieroglyphics to
match their faces. Their shoes are of a more
antique form than those we have seen ; their
coverings for the legs, and their petticoats are
not much unlike those of the Sioux but are
more simple. They wear a great many crosses,
all hanging from their nostrils.

Their hatred to the Sioux is still more furious
and inveterate than that of the men. This
is easily explained. Their camps being nearly
always taken by surprise, the poor women
are much more exposed to cruelty and carnage
than the men ; this has also the effect of making
them all heroines. During the alarm of the
6th, they all swore, with knives in their hands,
to sell dearly their own lives and those of their
children, whom they hung over and shielded
with their own bodies. I was deeply affected
at seeing, even among savages, the force of the
tenderest and strongest of all human affections —
maternal love.

Au revoir, dear Madam, — I wish it may be
farther on ; — but I doubt it.

LETTER XVI.

Fort St Peter, on the Upper Mississippi,
June 28th, 1823.

THIS is my third letter to you dated from this
place ; a sufficient indication, my dear Countess,
of the difficulties and impediments which I still
experience in my progress.

Major Tagliawar had led me to entertain the
hope that we should have proceeded together
up the river St Peter, which has never yet been
explored, the sources of which are occupied by
the most wild and powerful tribes of the Sioux,
and as yet only vaguely defined; while the
surrounding territory abounds in buffalos, the
hunting of which furnishes the genuine sports-
man with the most interesting as well as curious
diversion. It was my intention to proceed

240 ENCREASING DIFFICULTIES.

thence towards the sources of the Mississippi,
which are still absolutely unknown ; but Mr
Tagliawar now feels his health weak, and can
proceed no farther. I cannot help fancying that
it is intended to lull my projects into lethargy.
I am not, however, so easily hushed into inac-
tion and forge tfulness. My constancy against
difficulties perpetually increases. The lists are
always open ; I feel as yet firm in the saddle,
and shall sustain, be assured, many a shock and
conflict before I surrender. In the meantime,
my dear Countess, let us take a social excur-
sion among the neighbouring tribes, to learn
something of the manners and customs of these
Indians. Let nothing stop or discourage our
efforts.

Let us recur to dancing, which among the
Indians is a formality of indispensable import-
ance, as with it they open and conclude every
description of business, public and private, civil
and sacred. It has part in every transaction,
like the priest in our own country, like gas in
chemistry, like bleeding among the disciples of
our celebrated Thomasini.

In order to avoid useless repetition as much as
possible, it may be advisable to mention, once
for all, that their instrumental music is always
the same, and that its tone is seldom changed.
With respect to what is properly called vocal

INDIAN WAR-DANCE. 241

music, they have nothing that can be called
such ; for, when they pretend to sing, they
either bawl or scream.

Their instruments consist of tabors, a species
of castanets, and small leather or parchment
globes, containing within them a few grains of
hard seeds. Each dancer holds one of these
globes in his right hand, agitating it as he
dances, in order to mark the cadence. From
the sound produced by them they are called
ddkoics.

The war-dance can be performed only by
warriors. It is this which they exhibit before
the agent, when they come in a body to make
him a formal visit.

Women and old men stajtion themselves be-
hind the performers, and join chorus in the
canticle which each person present utters in ac-
companiment to the instruments. To give you
any idea, however, of the clatter and hubbub of
music thus produced, it would be necessary to
be either an Indian or a Jew.

They open the dance by advancing in a spa-
cious area, in two files if the party be large, but
in one if it happen to be small. A child
advances before them with its castanets, or
ddkoics, in its hand. This is the dreaming or
vision-visited child, in whom good and evil spi-
rits sometimes pass the Anight, making him the

VOL. II. R

242 INDIAN ORACLES.

depositary of their good or evil presages. The
prophet or augur of the tribe collects these pre-
sages every morning, and, like the rest of his pro-
fession, whether in ancient or in modern times,
converts them dextrously to his own purposes ;
—and while moving in the dance behind the
files of the performers, this important personage
explains to the brave exhibitants that the Mani-
tous, the good or evil spirits, are well acquainted
with their valour, and engage to crown it with
everlasting glory, if they remain constant in the
sentiments of hatred and vengeance against their
enemies. After this, my dear Countess, you
will see how difficult it is to pronounce on the
nature and character of their religion !

Animated by this consoling and heart-invi-
gorating promise, the dancers form in close
circle, and set up a sort of hoarse bellowing,
while the inspired child, the young demi-deity,
with eyes bent down to the earth, utters some-
thing which none of those to whom it is ad-
dressed comprehend, and which indeed is not
understood either by himself or the prophet:
for the child is merely the organ through which
the Manitous speak ; and oracles, you are well
aware, are never meant to be clear and intel-
ligible to all the world. The moment the child's
eyes are raised from the ground, the whole com-
pany of these fanatics set up a series of clumsy

INDIAN MUSIC. 243

and antic leapings, marking the cadence with
renewed and still more vigorous bellowings.
So violent are their movements and contortions
that, in a short time, they absolutely reek with
perspiration, and the force with which their feet
strike the ground is such, as to leave marks
similar to those made by the evolutions of a re-
giment of cavalry.

Under the influence of this mystic and gloomy
paroxysm, they devote themselves to hate and
vengeance, invoking the Manitous in whose pre-
sence, in the person of the child, they then
consider themselves, to witness their sincerity.

Their music appears to be somewhat mono-
tonous, but still, notwithstanding its uniformity,
is not destitute of the power to rouse or to melt
the soul ; and, from its very extravagance, it
derives a capability of exciting in a high degree
different passions. Indeed, both their music and
their dance strongly recall those of antiquity.

Like them, the primitive Greeks had their
parchment globes and their castanets ; the lat-
ter, made precisely in the same manner as those
of the Indians, of shells or the bones of animals.
The most popular music of the Greeks was
formed, like that of the Indian tribes, by the
union of the voice and instruments ; and it was
expressly this description of music which con-

244 INDIAN WAR-DANCE.

stituted an indispensable part of the worship
they paid to their divinities.

Like the Romans, they mark the cadence
by a kind of little bells fixed to their feet, —
podarii, pcdicularu ; and, like the same people,
they have also their Corypheus, in the Indian
who strikes the tabor or tamborine ; and also
their manuductor in the person who regulates the
dance. One circumstance to be observed, mo-
dern and peculiar, is, that the Indian manuductor
carries in his hand a large whip, like a wag-
goner, or like a negro-driver in the southern
States of the Union.

These devotees of Terpsichore distinguish
themselves also by the emblems of Mars. They
all carry their bow, quiver, and arrows ; as well
as a plume of feathers on their head, the exclu-
sive distinction of warriors of renown. The
feathers are from a bird which the Canadians
call killiou, and the Indians wamend-hi.

These birds are so rare and so highly valued
by the Indians in general, that whoever has the
good fortune to kill one of them, receives the
formal compliments of the whole camp on his
success, and is entitled to the privilege of wear-
ing one of its plumes.

Every warrior is authorised to wear as many
of them as he has killed of his enemies ; and

INDIAN CONTEMPT FOR WOMEN. 245

every time he destroys one of these birds, he
adds a plume to his previous honours. These
feathers have certainly nothing very beautiful
about them ; but I have attached a value to
them on the principle of the Peruvians, who felt
no regard or anxiety for gold till they perceived
the Europeans so eager to acquire it; and I
have directed my efforts with the desired suc-
cess to obtain some of them.

The Indians dance at marriages, on which
occasions the women dance also, and with a
grace and agility which you would not expect
from their appearance.

But males and females never dance together
excepting in their religious solemnities. Indian
hauteur condemns the fair sex to contempt and
humiliation as decidedly as we regard it with
the most ardent esteem and devotion.

It is unquestionably this contempt for wo-
men which retards the civilization and increases
the ferocity of these unfortunate tribes. The
man who feels no moral sensibility, no moral
attachment, towards that being whom heaven
has destined to participate in our consolations
and our difficulties, in our smiles and our best
affections ; towards the being by whom we are
born in pain and reared with extreme tenderness
and self-denial, — who enables a man to live again
in his posterity, and whose graces, and love,

246 DANCE OF PEACE.

and genuine friendship, constitute the very ex-
tract and essence of human happiness — such a
man must inevitably be a barbarian or a brute,
and his soul dead to every sentiment of virtue.

When they smoke the calumet of friendship
with a stranger on a visit to them, with an am-
bassador from another tribe or from a civilized
state, whose object is to negociate a peace or
any description of treaty, they introduce it by a
dance and a ceremony, which must be consi-
dered as the supposed means of consecrating the
calumet before it is presented to the honoured
guest. They dance round a sacred fire, and
purify it by the rapid motion given it by each
person in succession over the flames or in the
air, after which it is delivered into the hands of
the chief, who then presents it to the stranger
with all due formality. This is the dance which
appears to me to display most dignity and ex-
pression. The war- dance is terrible.

Before marching to meet the enemy, the
whole number of warriors form in a circle, fully
armed. The chief addresses them by recalling
to their recollections the exploits of their ances-
tors, those performed by themselves, and even,
without overstepping the bounds of a modest
pride, his own. He excites them by a rude but
powerful eloquence to intrepidity, indignation,
and carnage. To increase the impression upon

WAR-DANCE. 247

their minds, he advances into the midst of the
circle, brandishes his club or tomahawk with an
air of menace and fury, and strikes with the
utmost violence at a human figure sketched in
their rough manner on the ground, or at the
head of some animal, whichever it may be, re-
presenting the figure or the head of the enemy.
The whole body of warriors, performing around
him the dance of cannibals, imitate his example ;
and the figure or the head soon disappears under
the ponderous and fatal blows successively le-
velled at it. They then assume all the fero-
cious and cruel attitudes with which they are
habituated to rush upon the enemy. They wield
their firelocks, if they happen to have any, their
bows, their cutlasses, with the same rapidity
and ardour as if the enemy were actually before
them. It often happens, however, that under
this convulsive excitement the blows meant for
the enemy are actually directed against a friend,
and that the first blood drawn is not from the
enemy, but from their own party.

A bow, which they denominate the bow of
medicine, or the bow of the Manitous, and which
is kept hung up in the Great Medicine-hut,
closes the ceremony, by being successively
passed through the hands of all the actors in the
scene. I have a very beautiful one in my pos-
session.

248 DREADFUL DANCE.

On returning from war, dancing again takes
place; and if the spectator be not himself an
Indian, the exhibition on this occasion is abso-
lutely appalling.

They dance round pikes and poles, at the ends
of which are hung heads, ears, tongues, hearts,
and scalps, with the still pendent hair of men,
women, and children ; and the wretched captives,
whom they have spared either for the purpose
of slavery or sacrifice, as was the practice with
nations of the most remote antiquity, are con-
demned to witness this scene of horror, recalling
to their minds massacre and carnage — present-
ing before their eyes the bleeding remains of
their fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, wives,
and husbands !

Lastly, they dance also on occasion of sacri-
fices, both public and private ; when they give
entertainments ; and when they administer me-
dicine to the sick.

Public sacrifices are considered indispensable
by the Indians when they hold their grand
assemblies for deliberating on the question of
peace or war. Here also we trace the resem-
blance to antiquity.

The ceremony uniformly commences with smok-
ing the sacred pipe ; and, previously to forming
their determination, they invoke their Manitous,
offering them in sacrifice some defective skin or

SACRIFICES. 249

ragged rug. It seems as if the Indians had
adopted the maxim of Lycurgus, who always
offered to the gods victims of little value, that
the Spartans might ever retain the means of
honouring their deities. It is certain that the
Indians neither enrich the altar nor its ministers.
Their divinities appear to prefer purity of heart
to the number and cost of sacrifices.

The gods of antiquity, with their various
claims and pretensions, would fare but ill in the
worship of the Indians ; for they have no bulls,
whether black or white, for Jupiter ; nor cows
or heifers for his stately consort ; nor sows, bar-
ren or prolific, for his venerable mother ; nor
lambs, stags, pigeons, rams, pigs, or bucks, nor
gilded horns, &c., for the worthless mob of his
illegitimate or legitimate offspring; neither
calves of gold nor calves of lead.

These sacrifices are offered by every Indian
according to his own particular temper or ca-
price : some offer them to the good Manitous,
others to the evil ; some to one particular divi-
nity, and others to another ; and some probably
without having a very clear idea to which or to
whom : and here again we might trace ancient
and modern resemblances.

They perform sacrifices also in spring and in
autumn, but most certainly not, as some have
pretended, to Ceres or to Bacchus, for the

250 PUBLIC SACRIFICES.

Indians never rear the vine or cultivate the land,
and the names just mentioned are Greek to
them ; but their objects are self-purification, as
has been already noticed, in spring ; and, in au-
tumn, obtaining from their respective Manitous
success in the chase during winter.

The scene of public sacrifices is always on
the bank of a river. This is not done for the
purpose of furnishing a spectacle to the Naiads,
but from an apprehension of surprise by the
enemy. This also I consider as the true reason
for their encamping either on the banks of
rivers or in the open country ; as thus they
have time for flight or for embarkation when they
perceive their enemy at a distance, and feel
themselves not strong enough to resist him.
What has tended to confirm me in this opinion,
although disclaimed by the Indians, (who, like
all other men, are desirous to conceal their weak-
nesses) is, that wherever they can discover a
tongue of land between a river and a marsh, there
they invariably encamp.

The stage of a private sacrifice is the tent of
the individual who performs it. I was a spectator
of one of these sacrifices, and enquired what was
the motive of it. I was answered that it was an
inspiration, but that it was impossible to reveal
it. You must, therefore, my dear Countess, try
to content yourself with the same answer.

PRIVATE SACRIFICES. 251

The tent is cleared of all the rags and tatters,
the fetid state of which might present an ill- smel-
ling odour to the divinity. Even the profane cin-
ders are removed, and a new and hallowed fire
purifies it by the burning of a few herbs or roots,
or a little tobacco, consecrated to him by a vow.
The peristyle, atrium, and the floor or ground of
the hut, are strewed with foliage and flowers,
like the temple of Vesta, or our modern churches.
The ceremony concludes with dancing.

None of the sacred festivals of the Indians are
celebrated in the winter months ; during which
they are wholly occupied in hunting, in feasting
on the animals they have killed, and in paying,
with their furs, the various traders who follow
them like so many harpies through woods and
forests, and endure a life which only the love of
money can render supportable.

I have been present at one of their dinners.
As there was a mystic solemnity connected with
it, every individual was obliged to eat, or make
some other eat, the allowance set before him ;
to leave a single morsel on the bark trencher on
which the repast was served, would have been
an insufferable insult to the divinity to which it
was consecrated. One of the guests, after de-
vouring in a twinkling all that was upon his own
plate, swallowed nearly the whole of what was
placed for me, the greatest part of the allowances

252 INDIAN BANQUETINGS.

of two officers of the fort, and if the interpreter
had not possessed the appetite he did, and would
have given him (as we did) a little tobacco or
powder, he could have induced the cormorant
to swallow his also.

It is difficult to imagine, my dear Countess,
what these Indian bodies are capable of devour-
ing and digesting in a day : sometimes they will
not lie down to sleep till they have swallowed
everything eatable that they possess. The In-
dian, in order to render himself as free and
independant as possible, seems desirous to throw
off all anxiety and care even for the ensuing day.
They are capable of devouring like wolves, and
of fasting like camels ; perhaps, like the last-
mentioned animals, they have also the faculty of
rumination.

The entertainment concluded with a dance ;
and the women likewise performed theirs ; but
the sister and daughter of the chief, who are far
from being the plainest of the tribe, were not
present, and did not make their appearance any
part of the day. They were said to be unclean,
which was explained by a reference to periodical
affections, supposed to correspond with lunar
renovations. During the influence of these affec-
tions, both wives and daughters strictly withdraw
from society, abstaining from the slightest con-
tact with the huts or utensils ; exhibiting in this

MYSTERIOUS DANCE. 253

respect a correspondence with the practice not
only of profane antiquity, but of the Old Testa-
ment.

A sick female expressed a desire to have the
medicine administered to her, and the doctor
assented to her request. This is a dance different
from what you saw at the Rocky River.

A number of those who had been previously
initiated in this mystery were speedily brought
together, and formed a circle about the patient.
Herbs, bark of trees, and roots, were thrown
upon her by them as they danced around, arid
every dancer blew on those parts of the body
supposed to be affected with the tube of a pipe,
which in all circumstances and ceremonies is an
object of veneration, and indeed a Manitou. They
then shook her, and the doctor blew into her
mouth to drive out the evil spirit by which she
was possessed ; the latter, however, proved
stronger than his own, and in the midst of all
this infernal bustle and racket the poor woman
died. This was, with implicit faith, ascribed to
her evil spirit. When the patient recovers it is
ascribed to miraculous power.

Although the Indians allege that the sole
object of this dance is to remove the disease of
the patient, yet I thought I could trace in the
ceremony the proficiscere of our ritual, and the
evtremum spiritum ore excipere of the Romans.

254 INDIAN PHYSICIANS.

Thus far, my dear Countess, you have seen
not a little of the charlatanism among these In-
dian physicians ; they are by no means, however,
destitute of the knowledge of medicines, or of
successful remedies; and certainly they kill
fewer of their patients than ours, at least when
superstition and jugglery do not form part of
their operations.

Their medicaments consist entirely of what
the great physicians of antiquity, Chiron and
Esculapius, exclusively employed — in short, of
simples. Experience was, with these great lights
and ornaments of the profession, the sole guide ;
and so it is with the Indians. When Hippocrates
began to mix theories with the practice of me-
dicine, its healing power began to wane ; im-
posture usurped the place of simplicity and
wisdom ; and contradictory reasonings and doc-
trines involved the clear evidence of facts in the
darkness of sectarian and homicidal systems,
which ravage the world to the present day.

There are certain herbs and roots made use of
by the Indian physicians which are ascertained
to be highly salutary and of astonishing efficacy.
Every head of a family, moreover, every old
woman, indeed almost every individual Indian,
possesses a collection of medicinal roots and
herbs, which they denominate the medicine bag,
and which they regard as the sanctuary of a

INDIAN MEDICINES. 255

number of divinities. The Jews, the Greeks,
and the Romans, possessed their amulets ; the
Arabs and Turks have them still; and the
Negroes possess something of the same kind
in their gris-gris. We have our bags of relics,
the contents of which are more numerous than
the roots of the Indians. At Cologne, as I for-
merly mentioned to you, I saw in a single bag,
St Ursula with her eleven thousand virgins, the
three royal Magi, and a considerable number of
other matters equally holy and efficacious.

The Indians carefully preserve this bag in
their huts ; and when on a march, or engaged in
war, they are never without it. They consider
it indeed as a sort of Palladium.

They possess remedies, for every species of

disease, including even siphilitic ones. For

even the Indians are not without their Laises

and Phrynes; nor indeed, however deplorable

it may be, without their Antinouses and Adrians.

They are acquainted both with the high and

low systems of surgery ; the last of which is

exercised even by women. They bleed their

patient, or, to give a better idea of the process,

they lacerate his skin with a knife, or a

sharpened bone, and sometimes even with a

gun-flint ; then, applying the large end of a

horn to the incision, they suck the blood through

the other end, discharging it from their mouths

256 FOREIGN PHYSICIANS.

as successive repletions require it, till they
have drawn the quantity prescribed. Wounds,
sprains, &c. are all healed by the application
of natural simples, applied internally, or by
cataplasm or lotion.

They despise our physicians generally, yet
regard with great deference the one residing at
the fort, who has cured a considerable num-
ber of them after they had exhausted their own
medicine-bags. Indeed, it is scarcely possible
that he should be without merit, as he is to-
tally without presumption. I have been in-
formed that, in the course of the last year, after
having effected a cure of some difficulty, the
chief of the tribe among whom he resided en-
treated him with great earnestness to leave
something of his race among them, and that the
means offered for the accomplishment of this
end were worthy of his acceptance. I should
have considered this statement as fabulous, if I
had not heard from unquestionable authority
that the first negro seen in these territories re-
ceived a similar invitation from the Indians.
They regarded him as an evil spirit or devil ;
and conceived that if they could but succeed in
having a family of the breed in their society,
the other demons would fraternise with them,
or at least would never venture to molest them.
You recollect, my dear Countess, my former

INDIAN RELIGION. 257

remark, that the Indians have more respect for
devils than for angels.

After exhibiting such a mass of superstition
and extravagance ; after displaying such a
jumble of credulity and of divinities, what can
be said of their religion ? How is it possible
to form it into a system? Amidst all their
ridiculous ceremonies, and absurd and often
contradictory doctrines, amidst all the multi-
plicity and respective peculiarities of their spirits,
we are not without difficulty led to conjecture
that the Indians acknowledge one supreme being.
The Kitechi-Manitou of the Cypowais, and the
Tango- Wakoon of the Nardowkies, or the Sioux ; —
the Great Spirit seems to be the sun ; but it is
not known whether they adore it only as the
emblem of a God, or as that God himself.

I am at length then, my dear Countess, arrived
at the point where your curiosity has been long
expecting me, and which I have not reached
without hesitation and apprehension ; for we
have before us a question of somewhat difficult
solution, whatever facility a number of writers
may have attached to it. Book-makers have the
art of turning everything to account, while a
plain observer, like myself, possesses no such
advantage. Professed travellers often obtain by
their investigations a mighty name, which confers
on them the reputation of little less than infalli-

VOL. II. S

258 ORIGIN OF INDIANS.

bility, while such a superficial sketcher as myself
can scarcely screen himself from the charge of
incompetence. However sorry I should be to
bewilder you in the mazes of speculation,
the worst that I can accuse myself of on the
subject on which I am entering will be, that I
,have added to the number of conjectures. I
will therefore proceed to give you my thoughts
on the origin of the first possessors of this vast
continent.

Different authors have brought them hither
from all the different parts of the world. There
is no virgin land now in existence to which their
origin can be ascribed, unless it be Botany Bay;
under the banners, therefore, of one or other of
these learned guessers, I have long foreseen the
necessity of enlisting.

I was at first induced to join with those who
derived them from the Jews ; for it must be
admitted that that nation, ill-used and perse-
cuted as it has been by the whole world, has
some reason for boasting, as it does, of giving
birth to all the nations, as well as to nearly
all the religions, of mankind. It seemed im-
possible for me to doubt that by so doing I
should be building on an impregnable founda-
tion. But this hypothesis is too general, and
perhaps evasive. It is necessary to specify and
detail ; I adopted, therefore, the idea of those

CONJECTURES OF SAVANS. 259

who deduce the origin of these Indians from
Asia. And indeed a variety of circumstances
concur to authorise it.

Their resemblance in numerous respects to
the Asiatic tribes ; their principal divinity, the
sun, worshipped alike by the Guebres, Tibetians,
Indians, Japanese, Chinese, and various others ;
the facility of passing to this country from the
Asiatic territories by the narrow streights of
Behring, while immense oceans roll between it
and the two other quarters of the globe ; all
these circumstances, it must be allowed, speak
strongly in favour of the Asiatic origin ; and a
new discovery of the highest interest must be
considered as affording evidence nearly amount-
ing to conviction.

The skeletons of mammoths which have been
found in the states of Kentucky, and Missouri,
and other parts of America, have been ascer-
tained to resemble precisely those which have
been found in Siberia and the eastern parts of
Asia.

The pens and brains of many men of science
were put in exercise upon the subject before the
museum of St Petersburg had informed the
south of Europe that similar remains had been
found in Asia. They imagined at first that the
mammoths discovered in America were ele-
phants which had migrated from Africa; but it

260 INDIAN TRADITION.

is now universally admitted that those mam-
moths are elephants of Asiatic origin.

You perceive therefore, that this very in-
teresting discovery in the animal kingdom has
been also eminently valuable, by throwing light
on the origin of the nations of America. I
availed myself of it with no little eagerness in
order to corroborate my conjecture of their
being derived from Asia. I had indeed con-
sulted the genealogists, and nearly fixed on the
individual son of Noah, whom the American
tribes might look up to as their ancestor. I had
almost obtained, as I thought, decisive and satis-
factory evidence on the subject, when a new
incident threw me into new uncertainty.

Some chiefs, from whom I endeavoured to
learn from what egg their ancestors sprung,
allege that, if not pre- Adamites, as some civi-
lized nations have actually professed to be, they
are at least Antediluvians. They stated to me,
with an air of confidence that, " when worlds
were overwhelmed by a tremendous deluge,
their own was spared ; and that while a wicked
race was totally cut off, they beheld the sun
rise every day from the bosom of those waters
in which it had perished." The presumption
seems not a little in their favour, when we
consider that, as God bestowed on Noah only
three sons, for the re-peopling of Asia, Africa,

GOVERNMENT OF THE INDIANS. 261

and Europe, it seems to be a fair inference that
America was not included in the plans of his
vengeance ; as in that case he would have given
the patriarch four.

You must extricate yourself, my dear friend,
from this difficulty as well as you can. For my
own part, I could merely communicate to you
all I know and all I think upon the subject; and
in good truth, after all that has been said, it is
a little mortifying to find that one knows no-
thing.— We will now return to the camps and
huts which we had left.

The government of the Indians is regulated
merely by usages, which are, however, very
frequently disregarded.

Each body of Indians constitutes a tribe.
Each tribe, as you have already perceived, has
its civil chief, who is hereditary as long as the
tribe considers the honour to be merited ; it has
also a military chief, whose elevation is solely
the consequences of his services.

Every father of a family is chief of his own
hut: if that habitation contain two or three
families, the presidency attaches to seniority;
but the chiefs of huts are frequently wholly dis-
regarded, and every individual does just as he
pleases. Sons have, generally speaking, no
respect for their fathers, and fathers no affec-
tion for their sons. The apparent agitation and

262 GENERAL COUNCILS.

contortions of grief which are frequently dis-
played by Indians in cases of death, are rather
conventional than sincere. There is frequently
found among them some particular chief whose
talents or reputation give him considerable in-
fluence over other tribes, and even over the
whole nation.

As each nation, band, or tribe, has a distinct
and peculiar name, so has it likewise a parti-
cular mark or emblem to distinguish it — as an
eagle, a panther, a bear, or a buffalo ; and
they exhibit them in their hieroglyphics at
general or particular councils.

General councils consist of all the chiefs, both
civil and military, of the orators, prophets, doc-
tors, diviners, &c. of all the tribes of the nation:
particular councils, or those of the tribe, are
formed also out of all the above-named descrip-
tions in the tribe ; and, in addition, of one mem-
ber of every family.

But we always come round again to the same
point; for the whole of this hierarchy and all
these councils are frequently found to terminate
in nothing. The Indian knows nothing of sub-
ordination, whether civil or military: every
man lives in the manner and the place he likes
best; goes to war or stays behind according
to his own fancy, continues on the scene of war-
fare, or returns from it at his own good plea-

LAWS. 263

sure. He is so jealous of his liberty, that the
slightest appearance of command or dependance
excites offence and irritation.

As they possess no other property than the
four rags which5 constitute their hut, and the
snares and weapons with which they carry on
war against beasts and men; and as they never
dispute about the possession of a territory for
which they have no use, they feel no occasion
for distributive laws ; and, in fact, have none.
And, as vengeance is at once their code and their
judge, they dispense also with all laws repres-
sive of malignity and violence.

Every Indian is the executioner of the man
who has committed an offence against himself
or against his family. No such public officer of
justice therefore is required. The offender
who dies under the arm of vengeance is never
avenged ; as were this not the case, vengeance
would follow vengeance, and discord succeed to
discord, till in a short time the whole nation
would be extirpated by its own members.

The homicidal offender is sometimes seized in
the very act of guilt, and delivered up to the
family of the slaughtered victim ; sometimes he
delivers himself up voluntarily, and receives the
mortal stroke of the avenger with the same
coolness and indifference with which it is in-
flicted.

264 INDIAN REVENGE.

Sometimes he flies from the rage of his pur-
suers to distant regions ; but it is seldom that he
escapes falling by their hands sooner or later.
They have an energy and perseverance which
impel them onward in the pursuit through the
whole of the Indian world : they rush in search of
him even into the midst of their enemies ; and,
in many cases, these enemies will grant a truce
on an occasion that calls up the universal sym-
pathy. In some instances the avengers have
been treated by these enemies with liberal hospi-
tality, and permitted to sacrifice their victim in
the sight and in the tent of these previously
confirmed and inveterate foes.

It seldom happens that the offender defends
himself against the attack of him whom he has
wronged ; even in cases in which he has fled to
avoid his vengeance, or in which he would be
capable of effectually resisting it. The manner
of accomplishing their vengeance is regulated
entirely by the grief felt for the loss sustained,
and by the degree of the avenger's ferocity.

In the exercise of their vengeance they fre-
quently surpass the cruelty of a Nero, a Cali-
gula, or a Maximin. Sometimes even children
themselves take part in it. They pierce the
victim with pointed and lacerating pieces of
wood, tear off pieces of his skin, and bite off
parts of his flesh. Even women (and I state the

CRUELTY OF THEIR EXECUTIONS. 265

fact with deep regret) sometimes engage in this
inhuman work, and shew themselves the most
relentless of the tormentors. No one, however,
considers the work inhuman, but, on the con-
trary, it is deemed a most incumbent and sacred
duty.

The martyr not unfrequently expires without
having uttered a single sigh : sometimes he even
stimulates and exasperates the rage of his exe-
cutioners. What a contrast is thus exhibited in
the character of the Indian, who at times dis-
plays no equivocal symptoms of cowardice !
And, even in the scene we are contemplating,
cowardice in the executioners is contrasted with
the firmest constancy in their victim.

If the homicide has taken the life of another
solely in order to preserve his own, it sometimes
happens that the affair is arranged by a family
treaty, which is always sealed with presents on
the part of the homicide : his life however is in
perpetual danger.

What has been stated in the few last pages,
contains nearly everything that constitutes what
is called government among the Indians, and is
common to all the different nations of them.

After having viewed the dying Indian, let us
now consider him in the state of actual death,
and proceed to follow him to the grave.

The deceased, dressed, or, to speak more cor-

266 INDIAN FUNERALS.

rectly, covered, as he generally was during life,
placed in a sitting attitude upon a mat or skin
in the middle of his hut, with all his weapons at
his side ; his face is turned towards the east, and
decked and ornamented most elaborately.

All his relations are seated around him, and
for a certain time observe a profound silence,
exhibiting countenances indicative at once of
seriousness and grief. Each person then ad-
dresses him, some in pathetic tones but with-
out tears, others more emphatically but still
calmly, and all uttering some eulogium on his
virtues, or some expression of regret for his loss.

I will just give you a sketch of what appeared
most interesting in the account given by the
interpreter of these addresses.

"Where are you, my beloved husband ? You
are present, indeed, but you speak not to me.
You are now entirely in the society of the
spirits, and can no longer interest yourself about
your wife, but your wife will never cease to in-
terest herself about you ; — look on me once more,
if only for a moment; but your eyes are em-
ployed in looking upon something much more
handsome and pleasing than your wife. Perhaps
you will not even have it in your power to re-
member me. Your wife however will remember
you. The sun and moon and stars will ever see
me deploring your loss, and I will make no delay

FUNERAL ADDRESSES. 267

in joining you." Catalani could not sing Ombra
adorata aspettami with more expression, than
the Indian widow delivered the above address.

The interpreter told me that she uttered her
genuine feelings ; of this however I cannot but
entertain some doubt, because the poetic style
is always more flattering than sincere ; and I
happen to know that she was very ill-treated by
her husband.

Another speaker said, " You are still among
us, my brother ; your person still has its usual
appearance, like our own ; not the slightest
alteration; nothing wanting but action. But
where is that heaving breast, which only a few
hours since inhaled the smoke, and then wafted
it to the Great Spirit? Why is there silence now
on those lips which so lately spoke a language
so energetic and expressive? Why are now mo-
tionless those valiant arms which discharged the
farthest-flying arrows ; arms which were the terror
of our enemies? You are gone to the place
where you were before you came into these
countries, but your glory will remain with us for

ever."

A third speaker added, "Alas! alas! alas!
that form which was viewed with such high
admiration is now become as inanimate as it
was three hundred winters ago. But you will
not be for ever lost to us, we will go and rejoin

268 THREE HUNDRED WINTERS.

you in the grand region of spirits — again we
will unite in the chase — again we will march
together against the enemy. In the mean time,
full of respect for your virtues and your valour,
we come to offer you a tribute of kindness;
your body shall not be exposed in the fields as
the prey of beasts, but we will take care that
it, like yourself, shall be united to your prede-
cessors." By his commencement I imagined
this orator to be a Frenchman, but he concluded
like a Greek or a Roman. The most singular
circumstance relating to these three discourses
is, that they contain three different professions
of faith.

I asked the interpreter the meaning of the
three hundred winters. He said that it was not
in his power to explain it, and that probably the
Indian himself knew less about it, if possible,
than ourselves — who certainly knew nothing at
all.

All the friends of the deceased, as they arrive,
move on by his side, each expressing his regret
and the praises of the departed.

When these funeral addresses are concluded,
the body of the deceased is wrapped in his rug
or skin, and enclosed in the bark of trees, which
serves for a coffin ; and as, in cases of public or
family ceremonies, the Indians always do what
is done by others, whatever be their own indivi-

FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 269

dual faith, it is customary with all the tribes to
place in the coffin all the arms of the deceased,
whether they believe that he will follow war
and the chase in another world or not ; and in
that they are very ancient and very modern.

On the following morning at sun-rise, the body
is placed outside the tent and raised upon two
supporters, and then the scene changes.

All the relations begin to cry and yell as if
they were frantic, till they lose their voices,
when they set up a sort of low bellowing.

They throw away whatever they are in pos-
session of, without exception, from their orna-
ments, with which they begin, to their very
cooking vessels. One would imagine that they
wished to survive the deceased, merely to la-
ment him ; and his friends, exhibiting at the
same time every appearance of grief, collect
together the various articles, and take posses-
sion of them in order to do honour to his memory.

They prepare a repast of all their provisions.
If they have none, which is frequently the case
when they are not engaged in hunting, the feast
consists of a dog ; they sacrifice it to the manes
of their kinsman, and the friends eat ; all the
liquors also which they possess are placed out-
side the tent, and the friends drink. Here we
may observe something of Roman customs,
and something perfectly modern.

270 BURIAL.

Sun-set now arrives, and constitutes another
epoch in the etiquette of lamentation, when the
screams and bellowings of the morning must be
renewed ; the friends then leave the relatives to
cry and bellow by themselves, and retire to sleep.

The corpse remains in this situation, com-
monly for three or four days, till it has received
the customary attentions, and the adieus of all
who pass it. Here we trace the practice of the
Egyptians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Chris-
tians in the age of Tertullian, of several kings,
of the popes and cardinals in modern times, and
of the Arabs and Chinese. Sometimes, however,
it becomes necessary to keep at a considera-
ble distance in paying these attentions ; for, in
summer, the putrefaction becomes frightfully
noisome ; and this circumstance attending the ce-
remony must be considered peculiarly modern.

The due period being completed, the good
friends again make their appearance, and con-
duct the coffin to the Champs-Elystes. In this
procession again, we are reminded of the Roman
Nemcz, &c. ; all present feel, or affect to feel,
the desolation of grief; for I am perfectly con-
vinced that affectation is not a little concerned in
the matter here, as in other countries, where, as
I have already told you, all the contortions of
tragic grimace are speedily succeeded by the
lively waggery of some broad farce.

INDIAN COFFIN^ AND CIPPUS. 271

The Sioux generally raise the coffins upon four
stakes, about ten feet high, fixed in the earth ;
the other Indians inter their dead, and form over
them hillocks similar to those we have noticed
at St Louis, but not so large. The face of the
corpse is always turned towards the east, a
custom which has existed and still prevails
among many nations, and which was observed
by the Christians of the primitive church.

If the deceased be a person of distinguished
renown, a large piece of wood, painted or rather
daubed with red, (resembling the cippus of the
Romans,) is fixed at the side of the coffin, and
hieroglyphics are attached to it, transmitting to
posterity his achievements and glory ; a practice
conformable to every age* and to every nation.

The relations, on returning to the camp, re-
commence their lamentations at the appointed
hour. They pierce their legs and arms, some with
thorns and pointed pieces of wood, others with
knives and arrows. I am convinced that many
among them would willingly dispense with this
unpleasant formality ; but it is the usage, and
must of course be complied with. Some there
are who wound themselves with no little pre-
caution and skill ; and who, in fact, seem to
have studied anatomy a little, in order to learn
where the flesh is best guarded by the thick-

272 DURATION OF MOURNING.

ness of the integuments ; but others, destitute
of this convenient knowledge, or eager to display
their grief more vehemently than the rest, in-
flict serious, and sometimes even fatal injuries
on themselves.

The lamentations for the deceased continue
for more than a month, and periodically, at the
rising and setting of the sun. They celebrate
the mournful anniversary for some years, re-
minding us of the infer ic^ and parentalia of the
Romans. Only a few days since, I was out
with a hunting party, when our ears were as-
sailed by dreadful howlings from a neighbouring
forest. I imagined that they were made by
wolves ; they proceeded, however, in reality
from Indians, who were thus lamenting a rela-
tion who had been dead more than three years.

I believe I have already mentioned to you
that during full mourning they black their faces
completely over, and in second mourning black
only half of them.

When an Indian dies in the winter hunting
season, his body is carefully preserved : for this
purpose it is dried and covered with leaves and
herbs, which are their medical balsams, and
after being enclosed in the bark of trees (thus
resembling the mummies of Egypt) it is elevated
to a considerable height for more complete ex-

MODE OF CALCULATING TIME. 273

posure to the air. When in the season of spring
they proceed to establish themselves in their
summer encampment, they go through all the
ceremonies which we have detailed, and on these
occasions the friends generally come off better
in their entertainments. They find both provi-
sions and skins, and consequently have much
more to collect and much more to eat. The
cries and lamentations take place just as if the
deceased had expired only a few days or hours
before ; for, during the hunt, nothing but that is
at all attended to. From all circumstances, I
cannot help being convinced that, in their vari-
ous and continued lamentations, there is more of
grimace, custom, and formality, than of affection
and religion, and that hypocrisy finds its way
into every part of the earth.

You have already seen that the Indians divide
the year into twelve moons, like the early
Greeks; but they give themselves very little
anxiety about intercalating, as the Greeks did ;
so that, properly speaking, they have no year,
but merely months or moons.

The year of the Sioux commences at the vernal
equinox, like that of Romulus ; that of the
Cypowais at the summer solstice, as among
the Greeks when they instituted the Olympic
Games, which were celebrated every four years
it the same epoch.

VOL. u. T

274 NAMES OF MONTHS.

The months or moons of the Sioux have different
names from those of the Cypowais : it is proper
therefore to take distinct notice of both. We
will first mention those of the Sioux, beginning
with the first moon.

March . . . the moon of bad eyes . . . Wisthaocia-oui

April .... the moon of game Mograhoandi-oui

May .... the moon of nests Mograhocanda-oui

June .... the moon of strawberries Wojusticiascia-oui

July .... the moon of cherries . . . Champaseia-oui

August . . the moon of buffaloes . . . Yanlankakiocu-oui

September, the moon of oats Wasipi-oui

October . . the second moon of oats . Sciwostapi-oul

November, the moon of the roebuck . Takiouka-oul

December, the moon of the budding ) .

.,,,,, ? Abesciatakiouska-oui

of the roebuck s horns 3

January . . the moon of valour .... Onwikari-oui
February . the moon of wild-cats . . Owiciata-oul

The Cypowais months are as follow :

June .... the moon of strawberries Hodheimin-quisls

July .... the moon of blue fruits . . Mikin-quisis

August . . the moon of yellow leaves Wathebaqui-quisis

September, the moon of falling leaves Inaqui-quisls

October . . the moon of migratory 1

> Bima-hamo-quisis
game >

November, the moon of snow Kaskadin6-quisis

December . the moon of the Little )

> Mamto-quisis
Spirit 3

January, .the moon of the Great ) .

> Kitci-Mamto-quisis
Spirit )

MODE OF STEERING. 275

February . the moon of the coming- ) TI7

> Wamejinm-quisis
of eagles 3

March .. the moon of hardened snow Onabanni-quisis
April . . . the moon of snow-shoes . Pokaodaquimi- quisis
May .... the moon of flowers .... Wabigon-quisis

The Indians have no division of the week.
They reckon the days only by sleepings. They
divide the day into halves and quarters, mea-
suring the time by the course of the sun from
its rising to its setting.

Though the Indians are completely ignorant
of geography, as well as of every other science,
they have a method of denoting by hieroglyphics
on the bark of certain papyriferous trees, all
the countries with which they, are acquainted.
These maps want only the degrees of latitude
and longitude to be more correct than those of
some of our own visionary geographers.

The polar- star is their only astronomical guide,
or at least their most certain guide, when they
travel by night. The course of the sun directs
them by day. But even though the sun or the
polar-star should be eclipsed, they are equally
able to distinguish, both by day and night,
the four cardinal points ; and consequently the
direction which they want to follow, whether in
the thickest forests or the widest prairies. Their
secret is this : — the tips of the blades of grass
always incline towards the south, and it is

276 MODE OF RECKONING.

less green on the side towards the north : this
is their guide in prairies. The tops of trees
also incline towards the south, and the moss
which frequently covers their trunks is always
found on the north side; the bark is more
smooth and supple on the east side than on the
west : this is their compass in the forests.

They measure distances only by the number
of days required to travel over them ; and as
they are very well acquainted with the territories
they inhabit, immense as they are, they can fix
on their maps the precise time requisite for
going to attack an enemy's post, or for a new
and more excursive chase.

They have also hieroglyphics to express all
the numbers for which their language has words.

They know nothing of milliards or of millions,
because they have neither our desires nor wants ;
even a thousand is beyond the requirement of
any of their transactions. I conceive, however,
that, as they can reckon up to a thousand, they
would be able to reckon ten thousand, a hundred
thousand, &c.

The marriages of the Indians have been very
variously described. I will communicate to
you, on this subject, simply what I have myself
seen arid been informed of on the spot.

When an Indian feels any attachment or inclina-
tion for any individual female, he endeavours to

INDIAN MARRIAGES. 277

obtain her consent to their union. As to sound-
ing the state of her heart, that he considers of
little or no consequence. He then asks the
consent of her father, which is the more neces-
sary, as the bridegroom goes to reside with the
bride : the mother, as among the Greeks, is
never consulted on the subject. These prelimi-
naries being completed, the friends of both par-
ties, women on the bride's part, and men on
that of her suitor, meet together in the hut of
one of his old relations, where a feast is provided
for the occasion. They dance, and sing, and
eat and drink, if they have the means ; and the
friends of the parties are sure to be present.
The company at length retire, leaving behind
only three or four of those most intimate with
he bride and bridegroom. The bride soon after
knocks at the door, and announcing her name,
enquires if her betrothed husband is within : the
door is opened, and her female friends, like the
pronubce, of the Romans, present her in form to
him, while he stands in the middle of them to
pay her the compliments usual on such occa-
sions, and then sits down with her upon a skin.
The Romans seated their betrothed females upon
the fleece of a sacrificed sheep, to intimate the
obligation they were about to enter into to pre-
pare clothing for their husbands and children.
The Indians, perhaps, by means of the skin just

278 INDIAN MARRIAGES.

mentioned, equally indicate the duties about to
be entered upon.

The aged relative makes a suitable address
on the occasion ; after which the husband pre-
sents his wife with a small truss of herbage,
possibly to hint to her that her sole business will
consist in bearing, like a beast of burden, the
baggage of the whole family. Thus the Romans
presented to their brides the colum comptum et
fusum cum stamine, to remind them that Caia the
wife of the elder Tarquin was constantly em-
ployed in spinning. The truss or bundle just
mentioned is made up of herbs of such delicate
fragrance, and arranged in so ingenious a man-
ner, as in my opinion quite to eclipse the florists
and perfumers of Paris itself : I have kept one
of them as a .very valuable curiosity. The
dancing, and eating and drinking are now re-
peated, after which the wife, attended by her
pronubce, returns to the hut of her father.

As Indian girls are not in possession of the

jlammeum, a covering for the head which the

Roman brides wore on the marriage-day, they

throw over theirs the coverlet which is their

usual garment.

The bridegroom follows her the day after,
and, instead of asking her father for a dower,
which among civilized nations frequently in-
volves families in ruin, and seems to turn the

INDIAN MARRIAGES. 279

fair sex into a subject of bargain and sale, makes
him a number of presents, and again requests
the bestowment of his daughter on him. The
father grants his request on condition of his
remaining with him, and hunting for him for
a year or longer. Such are the usages of the
Sioux. Among the Cypowais, he is not at
liberty to remove till he has obtained offspring
by his marriage. Here we see the case of
Jacob and Laban.

It might be imagined, that this species of pro-
bation was intended to prove the character of
the husband, and the sentiments he entertained
towards his wife; but I cannot help thinking
that it is in reality a speculation of the father-
in-law to benefit by the exertions and fatigues
of his new relative. And, in fact, a good hunter
is in great request with all families.

On the day after their union has been sanc-
tioned by this paternal consent, they offer some
sacrifice to their respective Manitous ; as the Ro-
mans, on like occasions, consecrated gifts and
offerings to Jupiter, Juno, Venus, Diana, and
the goddess of persuasion, denominated Suada,
whose propitious influence on married life would,
in my humble opinion, be of more value than
that of all the rest, even among civilized people.

Such are the ceremonies generally observed
by the Indians, when they are inclined to trans-

280 INDIAN MARRIAGES.

act the matter according to rule and order. But
they more frequently marry without any other
formality than that practised by the Greeks and
Romans in their marriages per mum; that is,
they take a wife for the satisfaction and services
she can bestow on them, and to obtain from her
children, who are considered as legitimate, pre-
cisely like those of the marriages of antiquity
just mentioned. The patria potestas is not even
consulted on the occasion, or, at the utmost,
means are found, by presents, of rendering it a
dead letter. And, in fact, as polygamy is very
prevalent among the Indians, who sometimes
have five or six wives, they would nearly ex-
haust the whole year in going through their va-
rious ceremonies, were they, on occasion of every
marriage, scrupulously to perform those which I
have just detailed.

The act of divorce is attended with no more
difficulty than that of marriage. When both
parties have come to an agreement, every thing-
is completed, without recurring to lawyers, who
would devour the patrimony of both, or to judges
who, after consulting a million of contradictory
commentaries, would encumber the text by still
adding a new one, and conclude by deciding-
according to the fluctuation of their own preju-
dices. The children, if very young, generally
continue with the mother, because, without

INDIAN JEALOUSY. 281

having studied the Justinian code profoundly,
or entering deeply into scandalous researches
on paternity, the Indians consider the relation-
ship of maternity as more traceable and clear :
if the children are grown up, they either remain,
or go wherever they please. The only paternal
abode they have is the forest, and that has
room enough for all.

There are among them some husbands who,
without having read St Augustin, Diderot, or
Helvetius, and following merely the suggestions
of their own minds, mutually accommodate each
other by the loan of their wives, and it rarely
happens that their wives give occasion for quar-
rels or revenge. There are, moreover, some
tribes or huts in which, as among the Arabs, a
single wife is considered sufficient for the whole
family, and in which she is treated as a mere
article of household furniture, as was the case
with the ancient Britons.

A husband who has many wives seldom keeps
more than two of them in his hut ; the remainder
continue with their relations, or sometimes even
in the hut of another man. They very rarely
quarrel: devoid of affection, they are fortu-
nately also devoid of jealousy ; and the eldest
of the number becomes the mother-abbess.
It has been repeatedly stated by writers, that

282 MODE OF WARFARE.

the Sioux are jealous of their wives. This may
possibly be the case ; but perhaps it is only —
on the principle of monsieur de Montespan — that
they may be better paid for their wives, their
silence, and their virtue.

Others have made statements directly con-
trary, and asserted that the Indians volunteer
the favours of their wives and daughters. I
admit that there is no great difficulty in obtain-
ing them ; but I am not aware that the Indians
whom we have hitherto seen, practice this species
of prostitution, except when they desire to ob-
tain, as in a case I mentioned, a race of good
or evil spirits. I am informed that the Indians,
who are stated to be so far advanced in polite
civilization and liberal hospitality, are the Man-
danes who inhabit the Missouri, and the Snegs,
a wandering tribe near the sources of the Co-
lumbia.

I have mentioned to you, my dear Countess,
their manner of making peace : I must now give
you some information on their mode of making
war, although, as you recollect, they have not
been inclined to engage in it in my presence.

The motives from which their wars originate
we have already seen; and we have noticed
also their councils to deliberate on it, the smok-
ing of their red pipe, the preliminary war-dance,

MODE OF WARFARE. 283

and the weapons they make use of. We will
proceed to view them now on their march against
the enemy.

Indians generally commence their career of
warfare at the age of fifteen. Under the firm
conviction that war is the grand duty of their
lives, that they are born for no other purpose,
little is requisite to kindle in them a suffi-
cient degree of ardour. Their chiefs, however,
often represent to them that the bones of their
relations, their brothers, remain unburied and
bleaching on the hostile territory ; that they
call aloud for vengeance, which they are bound
to inflict; that the Spirit may be heard in the
breezes and the winds reproaching them for
their cowardice, and that they should hasten to
appease their wrath ; that the genii, the guardian
angels of their honour, urge and stimulate them
to the mortal conflict. " Come on, then, my
children," adds the warrior- chief, " let us tear
asunder with our teeth those who have pierced
the hearts of our brethren. Let your youth no
longer waste away in inaction. Give free vent
to the impulses of your noble valour. Anoint
your hair, paint your faces, charge your quivers.
Call on Echo to repeat the terror of your shout.
Console the spirits of the dead, and stay not
your hand till you have avenged them."

Roused by this energetic language (for the

284 MODE OF WARFARE.

Indians are much more eloquent on the subject
of war than on that of peace) the young Indians
feel themselves as it were warriors before they
have had experience to become such ; every
delay appears intolerable ; and they burn with
impatience to imbrue their weapons and their
hands in the blood of their enemies. The war-
dance increases the exasperation of their rage,
and also instructs them how to encounter the foe
with most dexterity and success.

The bravest and most experienced warrior of
the nation is chosen for their commander, (and
in the same manner respectively in bands and
tribes,) after which the whole nation marches off
in a mass.

It sometimes occurs that a troop of warriors, or
young men, excited by some brave leader or some
supposed inspired individual, march off against
the enemy, without the authority of their tribe,
or the consent of their chiefs. Only a few days
since, one of these prophets, after having stated
that the Great Spirit had commanded him in a
dream to march against a party of Cypowais,
who were then scouring the neighbouring terri-
tory, threw on the ground his belt, (which the In-
dians consider as a Manitou,) exclaiming, "The
first that takes up that belt shall be next in
command to myself, and those who follow us
will be ranked among the chosen." He marched

MODE OF WARFARE. 285

away with about thirty of his tribe, and as yet
no intelligence has been received of him.

Their declaration of war is by attack. The
custom formerly was to send a tomahawk, or an
arrow dipped in the blood of a prisoner whom
they sacrificed on the occasion to the Manitou of
War ; as the Fedalis of the Romans in similar
cases threw a javelin into the territory of the
enemy : but as the herald-at-arms thus em-
ployed never returned with an answer, the
ceremony is now dispensed with, and thereby
one victim saved.

As they are free from any incumbrance of
plunder or military stores, their surprises are
effected with great facility ; and the precaution,
skill, and stratagem with which they are con-
certed and executed, are of a truly extraordinary
character.

When the Indians are advancing to the ene-
my's territories, they are able to proceed for
whole days together dragging themselves for-
ward on their bellies, and in such profound
silence that, at the distance of ten paces, not
the slightest sound would strike the ear from a
hundred men thus toiling out their progress.
They kindle no fires, or pipes, and sustain them-
selves on what they may happen to have about
them, or on roots which they find in their way.

286 MODE OF WARFARE.

Even frogs occasionally cease to be Manitous,
and are converted from divinities into provisions.

When they discover their enemy they wind
their way like reptiles through brambles, grass,
and ditches, and pounce upon their prey when
least of all expected. If they perceive that they
are discovered, and that they are unequal to
making resistance, they disperse in an instant ;
they conceal themselves in their flight, and re-
unite at a spot fixed on as a place of rendezvous
previously to their advance. This is a fresh
reason for the assertion often made, that civilized
nations can obtain nothing but loss by going to
war with Indians.

The scenes of horror presented by a hostile en-
campment completely taken by surprise, baffle
all description.

The hatred and rage of the assailants, urged
on, as they conceive, by the manes of their
slaughtered kinsman demanding vengeance ; the
fury and desperation of their adversaries, aware
as they are of the dreadful fate awaiting them ;
all these murderous passions let loose a ferocity
and occasion a carnage, which I should hesitate
to believe possible, if I had not in a certain de-
gree been a witness of the scene myself.

Massacres extend even far beyond the scene
of battle with the rapidity of the electric shock.

CONDUCT AFTER VICTORY. 287

On the 7th of June, a day of which I gave
you some account in my preceding letter, a
false report was circulated that Panischiowa (the
chief) had been killed by the Cypowais at the
falls of St Anthony. His mother, on hear-
ing it, instantly seized a little girl of that na-
tion who had been preserved from the period
when she had been made a captive in her cra-
dle, and who was the delight both of the family
and the camp, and with a single stroke of a
hatchet cleft her in two. Panischiowa, however,
returned and thanked his mother for this testi-
mony of her maternal love and of her hatred of
the Cypowais.

Though the Indians are not cannibals, it is
nevertheless true that they sometimes devour
their enemies, and they almost always drink of
their blood, smearing their bodies with it in evi-
dence and triumph of their massacre.

When they have been successful in an expe-
dition they immediately return to their camp,
carrying as trophies the spoils of their foes ; as
the Romans exhibited their spolia opima.

In order to avoid pursuits by any enemy who
might possibly succeed to the one they have
overthrown, they employ every species of finesse
and stratagem, displaying singular sagacity and
ingenuity; and, if apprehensive of being fol-

288 TREATMENT OF PRISONERS.

lowed into their camp, and of being considerably
inferior in numbers, they embark with incon-
ceivable rapidity, their town, houses, families,
dogs and the whole of their property, and move
away to remoter regions, where they may expe-
rience greater security.

When they think they are not pursued, they
always preserve some of their prisoners that
their death may furnish a spectacle to the en-
campment on their return. The prisoners, who
well know the fate that awaits them, are con-
stantly singing on their march the death song :
" We are going to die, &c. but you shall see us
die without trembling, &c."

On the route, they are so ill-treated that it
might be supposed a frame of iron would be ne-
cessary to endure it. They are bound with
cords made of the bark of trees, which some-
times cut their flesh through to the bone. At
night they are extended in a trough made in the
earth, and by means of forked branches of trees
fixed deeply in the ground, their persecutors
nail down, as it were, their bodies, arms, legs
and even their necks. This must indeed be
torture.

When the victorious band approaches the camp,
it announces in loud shouts, and in the custo-
mary forms, the success of the expedition, the

DREADFUL CRUELTY TO PRISONERS. 289

number of men whom they have lost, and the
number of prisoners they are bringing with
them.

All who are present in the camp begin then
to pour forth the most frightful lamentations
and yells ; and, ranging themselves in two files,
with their knotted staves or sticks in their hands,
strike the prisoners, as they pass along between
them, with great violence and cruelty; but as
they are obliged to husband their ferocity, in
order to extend the duration of this delightful
spectacle, as to them it is, of human suffering,
they apply their blows with critical judgment,
and take care not to make them mortal. They
paint their bodies with the blood of the sufferers,
and the camp presents the image of a great
butchery.

A kind of council is now formed at which the
prisoners may be said to be tried ; sometimes a
few of them are spared, and especially women
and children. Those who are condemned, are
delivered over to their executioners, that is, to
the whole camp. The decree of the council is
expressed in the following terms: " Let those
who are devoted to vengeance be led to the
house of death; let the others be conveyed to
the house of mercy."

The victims are scorched at a slow fire, their
limbs are lacerated and pierced by pieces of

VOL. II. U

290 HUMAN SACRIFICES.

pointed wood, and all sorts of cutting instru-
ments. Under the infliction of these frightful
tortures, the bare idea of which produces shud-
dering, some close their eyes, preserving an
heroic courage and calmness to the last ; others
insult their executioners, and lavish upon them
expressions of contempt and defiance even to
their expiring sigh.

Some of the prisoners are sacrificed to the
honour of their Manitous of War, or their infernal
gods. Thus Achilles sacrificed them to Pa-
troclus, and the Mexicans to their idol deities.
The place of punishment or torture is the centre
of the camp.

The herald at arms then proclaims that the
prisoners who have been spared are about to
be distributed to those who have just claims to
them as slaves. The council bestows these on
such as have lost some relation in the contest,
and the grant is in proportion to the loss.

The children are very well treated, at least
when it does not happen that they are made
sacrifices to vengeance, like the unfortunate
little Cypowais girl given in revenge for the
supposed death of Panisciowa. The women pri-
soners are well off in proportion as they succeed
in exciting interest. If any man is spared, it is
in order to bestow him on some woman whom
the expedition has made a widow. If he be

MILITARY HONOURS. 291

fortunate enough to please her, she becomes
his mate; if not, she sacrifices him with her
own hands to the manes of her husband.

The dead bodies of the victims are left ex-
posed to birds of prey and wild beasts, and
frequently to the dogs of their executioners.
Their bones are deprived of the honours of sepul-
ture. Such also was the practice of antiquity.
Priam could scarcely obtain from Achilles the
body of Hector.

The same council which superintends these
honours, decrees also the military honours, and
the Corona Castremis, the Vexillum, the Phalera,
the Armilloe, the Exuvice of the Romans, are the
distinctions which the Indians grant to military
merit.

The amount of enemies killed forms the test
by which this merit is decided ; and the manner
in. which each claimant proves his pretensions is
not a little extraordinary.

Every individual marks his own arrows, and
the owner of the fatal arrow is consequently
with ease ascertained. The end of it being
fixed to the shaft only by a species of mastic,
which is melted by the animal heat of the body
into which it passes, and being barbed, it al-
ways remains in the wound, though the shaft be
withdrawn ; it can be found only by cutting open

292 OPERATION OF SCALPING.

the body pierced by it: sometimes they lace-
rate and cut open the living subject.

If the enemy has been killed by discharges of
fire-arms, or by cutting weapons, the glory is
adjudged to him who presents the scalp. This
is the hair and skin which cover that part of the
skull called the occiput, or vertex a vertendo ;
as the hair in that part of the head forms in a
circle.

Even though the enemy may have been
knocked down by any other person than the
man who exhibits his scalp, the honour always
belongs to the latter, and for the following rea-
son. The enemy who falls might, as the Indians
say, merely pretend to be dead in order to
destroy with more ease and security his pur-
suer; and upon this principle they decide that
the person who scalped the fallen foe, by being
first to come in close contact with him, incurred
the greatest danger, and consequently has a fair
title to the honour of the triumph.

There is no enemy, whether killed or only
wounded, who, on falling into the hands of In-
dians, escapes this terrible operation of scalping;
and all Indians are so firmly convinced of the
fate awaiting this part of the head, that they con-
stantly keep on it a lock of hair which they pre-
serve, as it were, ever ready for presentation to the

INDIAN WARFARE. 293

scalping-knife of the foe. This assertion I make
only after very particular attention, and I have
found it confirmed in every part of the Indian
territories in which I have travelled.

I cannot help thinking, my dear Countess,
that you are curious to learn, as I was myself,
what extravagant caprice determined the ferocity
of these people to this region of the brain ; but I
am unable to give you any satisfaction, for my
enquiries have terminated merely in confirming
what I have already stated, that they consider
the scalp as the most glorious trophy of their
victories and achievements. I can only farther
suggest one conjecture, that perhaps they en-
tertain the same opinion as the great philoso-
phers who fix upon this spot as the seat of the
soul, — the sensorium ; and that, consequently, by
opening the door for it by the shortest way,
they think their enemy must be really and irre-
coverably dead, no particle of hope being thus
left him from miracles themselves, — not even
from those of galvanism.

You have now seen the Indians make war
by ambuscades and surprises. The most inte-
resting spectacle, however, is the sight of them
when encountering their foe in the open plain,
in those immense prairies where, if it were not
for their verdure, one would imagine himself in
the deserts of Arabia. It is in this situation

294 INDIAN WARFARE.

that intrepidity, subtlety, and address, are more
than ever required and displayed by them.

If the two parties be equal in point of
numbers, they fight openly ; if one be much
weaker than the other, and possess no means
of flight, they with wonderful speed dig holes in
the ground with their nails, and fight within
them. While some are intensely working at
this operation, the rest surround and protect
them

When the assailants have no more ammunition,
they make use of their bows ; and their manner
of fighting under such circumstances is truly
astonishing.

As their arrows, if discharged horizontally,
can scarcely strike their enemy, whose head
even is not perceivable without some difficulty,
they discharge them in the same manner as shells
are discharged from bombs ; and the parabola
which they describe is often so accurate that they
enter the body of the foe in their fall. I have
myself seen these holes, and Indians obtaining
the most brilliant and wonderful success against
those entrenched in them. The angel of death
is active everywhere ; but I was not aware that
he could exhibit in his work of destruction such
dexterity and address.

Lastly, to conclude what relates to the wars
of these extraordinary people, the prisoners who

INDIAN HUNTING. 295

by any means get back to their tribe are no
longer considered as members of it ; for the In-
dians consider those who have been taken by
the enemy, as dead, and will recollect only those
who are determined to conquer or die.

Thus far you have seen the Indians uncivilized,
indolent and cruel. I will now afford you a
little relief, by exhibiting them in the fairer as-
pect of their nature or character, as active, sober,
and industrious. I will now conduct you to the
chase.

This is their principal occupation, I may in-
deed say their only one ; for I know not what
characteristic designation to apply to war. It
is the chase which supplies exercise for their
childhood, their youth, their manhood, and
their declining life. It is as conducive to their
renown as it is necessary to their existence. A
good hunter is among the Indians as much dis-
tinguished as a yaliant warrior, and is always
more wise and less depraved.

When hunting, every Indian is attentive to his
duty, and nothing but his duty. He forgets quar-
relling, gaming, (which also is one of his vices,)
and even his ferocity. Some of the traders, who
follow every year in their train, have assured me
that the winter Indian and the summer Indian
are totally different beings. During summer,
he is always in a state of indolence, which

296 SUFFERINGS OF INDIAN WOMEN.

degrades and brutifies man in his most civilized
and best educated state : the winter he passes
in labour, which tames and softens characters
the most reckless and ferocious. In hunting, the
Indians are indefatigable, though engaged in
exercise incessant and most laborious ; and the
success with which they pursue their various
game through both prairies and forests, in lakes
and rivers, displays strongly the acuteness of
their understandings.

The fatigue endured by the women in the
chase exceeds all imagination. They carry the
tents ; they go in search of the animals the men
have killed ; they prepare the skins of them, and
dry and smoke the flesh : every household duty
is included in their department, and frequently
an infant at the breast, or in the womb, adds
to the burthen of their laborious life. These
poor women, even when in the state of preg-
nancy, are not on that account the more spared.
Sometimes, in order to avoid the tediousness and
difficulties of parturition, they press their sto-
machs against an horizontal bar, their head
and legs hanging downwards to the ground, and
almost immediately after their delivery return
to their toilsome and painful occupations.

The animals which the Indians hunt are the cas-
tor, the musk-rat, the otter, the marten, the wild-
cat, the beaver, the stag-wolf, the badger, the ra-

INDIAN GAME. 297

coon, the grey, yellow, and red fox, the pecan, the
grey and white hare, a few ermines, the gopher,
many descriptions of the squirrel, the prairie dog,
the black, yellow, and white bear, and the wolf of
various species ; the skins of all which are con-
sidered as coming under the denomination of pel-
try. Those which supply skins for the tanner are
buffaloes, roebucks, deer, antelopes, elks, orig-
nals, (exceedingly rare) mountain- sheep, rein-
deer, &c. Their flesh serves the Indians for food,
and a portion of it is smoked and preserved for
the summer, if the chase prove a favourable one ;
the skins are stored in packages, to dispose of
them in payment for articles of indispensable
necessity and of luxury, with which the traders
supply, or have already supplied them. Indians
never dispose of anything for real money, of the
value of which they know nothing.

Before departing from the chase they again
dance, and purify themselves in the presence of
their Manitous, like the ancients before their
idols, on occasions of great importance and
enterprise; and, like the moderns before the
priests and, the altar, previously to their under-
taking a voyage or their exposure to great
danger. The pigment used by them on these
occasions is black.

I should have rejoiced to have had it in my
power, and it was my intention, to detail to you

298 CONTRADICTORY QUALITIES.

regularly some of their most interesting hunts.
My constancy is still unshaken, but the symp-
toms of my being able to extend my active
researches much farther are still far from flat-
tering.

I have exhibited the Indians to you exactly as
they appeared to myself. On viev/ing their
various qualities, physical and moral in combi-
nation, they present a mass of contradictions
sufficient, I conceive, to embarrass the judgment
of the profoundest observer.

They are very warm in their affections to the
dead, and very indifferent towards the living ; a
father of a family, a son, or a husband, returns
home after a very long absence and enters his
hut without even raising his eyes towards his
relations, and his relations exhibit precisely the
same conduct towards him. On the one hand
they are extremely avaricious, and always grasp-
ing; while on the other they are excessively
prodigal, lavishing everything in presents to their
friends. They appear to reverence a million
of Manitous ; and they die without invoking, or
apparently even calling to their recollection, a
single individual of them. Some offer sacrifices
to gods, and others to devils. They complain of
never having anything to eat, and devour in a
single day what would supply them abundantly
for a whole week. They are sometimes indolent

INDIAN CHARACTER. 299

and sluggish, sometimes active and indefatigable,
vicious and virtuous, sober and intemperate. They
never say what they feel, and they never feel
what they say ; in this respect resembling many
other people of all countries and times. Revenge
appears to be with them a passion absolutely
irresistible, yet presents sometimes moderate
and qualify it. They salute you to-day as
friends, to-morrow they will lie in wait for you
and murder you as enemies. They always ex-
pect gratitude from others, but never exhibit any
themselves. They promise you favours, but you
never obtain them. In their manners, their cus-
toms, and their ceremonies, we see traces of the
ancients, the moderns, all times, and all nations ;
but they resemble no other nation in the world.
After such a contrast of sentiments and actions,
of propensities and devotions, I leave it to those
who can compress everything into a system,
to decide on the character and the religion of
the Indians. I hope they will be more fortunate
than he who while attempting to catch the moon
in a fountain was drowned in it himself.

With regard to myself I can only repeat what
I have already shewn, both respecting the reli-
gion and character of these singular people. I
will merely add, that the Indian, as long as he
remains such, will ever be his own master and
sovereign, and bear his independence proudly

300 INDIAN CHARACTER.

about him ; but that as soon as he becomes
civilized, he will be capable of being converted
even into the vilest of slaves ; that his heart is
by its nature the seat of dissimulation and
mischief, of inhumanity and cruelty, and that
civilization will meet with powerful obstacles in
the state or structure of his mind, and only with
great difficulty be enabled to make him truly
good.

Before I quit the Indian territory, my dear
Countess, I will endeavour to learn, and to the
best of my power to communicate to you what-
ever may be most likely to attract your attention
and aid your decision respecting these people.
My attempts are incessant to grapple with the
difficulties which constantly arise to thwart my
designs. If heaven should favour my intentions,
I should still have to combat a crowd of melan-
choly recollections. My heart is ever reverting
to my beloved and, alas, my deplored Italy!
What a conflict is there in a mind ill at ease ! It
can find rest only in that which agitates it.

LETTER XVII.

Lake La Crosse, or Lake Tr avers, near the
Sources of the river St Peter,

July 26, 1823.

I ADDRESS you now, my dear Countess, from a
place which has not yet found its way into the
maps. By constantly moving on we get farther
than we should have imagined, as by perseve-
rance water hollows out the rock.

Incessantly thwarted in my project of going
farther to the north, I was upon the point of
changing my direction for the south, intending
to traverse by land, with a Canadian interpreter
and an Indian guide, the desert tracts which
separate Fort St Peter from Fort Council
Bluff, on the Missouri ; to descend that great
river as far as St Charles ; to return thence to
St Louis, and then follow the Mississippi to its

302 RESOLUTION OF DEPARTING.

mouths. It is not likely that I should have met
with any obstacle to this design ; for my Argus
observers, considering me by this plan as appa-
rently on my return, and through countries indif-
ferent to them, would have lost all their anxiety
and apprehension. But at this period major
Long arrived at Fort St Peter, charged with an
expedition to the northern boundary territories
of the vast empire of the United States.

In this event I thought I perceived an end
to all the difficulties which had till then impeded
my curiosity. I participated, however, in the
very great surprise manifested by the officers of
the fort at the arrival of an expedition so com-
pletely unknown to the garrison.

The ardent desire which I had shewn of
pushing my rambles farther, was naturally men-
tioned, and I seized the opportunity of asking
permission to follow the major, simply in the
character of a wanderer who had come thus far
to see Indian lands and Indian people. They
first set before me the sufferings, the dangers,
&c. which I must encounter ; but as I laughed at
these childish terrors, they saw that they had no
power over my mind, and that the attempts
were wholly vain.

They next attacked me on what they thought
my weak side, — my purse. After so long a
digression from the route which was to lead me

MAJOR LONG'S EXPEDITION. 303

direct from Philadelphia to New Orleans, — a
digression which has filled the whole time from
the month of March, — it might reasonably be
supposed to be rather in a declining state ; the
more so, as the curiosities I had bought of the
savages had greatly contributed to diminish its
contents. But a little fund which I kept in reserve
disconcerted this attack also: I even sacrificed
my beautiful repeater that I might have this still
untouched ; and bought a horse, and all provisions
that were said to be necessary, with the proceeds.
I contrived, by means of a few little trinkets
and articles of luxury I had with me, to give
myself the pleasure of offering some slight tokens
of my gratitude to the amiable Snelling family,
and to major Tagliawar, for the civilities they
had lavished upon me during the two months I
spent amongst them. When they saw I was
determined to go, they even carried their polite-
ness so far as to offer me pecuniary assistance
with the most honourable and disinterested con-
fidence ; a thing by no means common among
an extremely commercial people, especially
towards a person of whom they knew nothing
but what they had seen.

So many imaginary difficulties were not au-
spicious. Major Long did not cut a very noble
figure in the affair ; I foresaw all the disgusts and
vexations I should have to experience, and under

304 DEPARTURE OF THE EXPEDITION.

other circumstances I should have known what
to do. But there I was, — and the point was how
to carry into effect a plan which had been con-
tinually thwarted by others, and which I could
not execute in any other way. My first inten-
tion, that of going in search of the real sources
of the Mississippi, was always before my eyes.
I was therefore obliged to sacrifice my pride
and my feeling of what was due to me, to the
desire of seeing places which one can hardly
expect to visit twice in one's life, and of gaining
information one can gain nowhere else ; and I
gave myself up to all I foresaw I should have to
endure from littleness and jealousy.

We set out from Fort St Peter on the evening
of the 7th instant. The expedition consisted of
major Long, as chief, an astronomer, a minera-
logist, a physician, a zoologist, an artist, Mr
Renville, interpreter for the Sioux, a young
Canadian, interpreter for the Algonquine lan-
guage, twenty-eight men, one officer, and Mr
Snelling, son of the colonel.

It was divided into two bodies, one of which
went by land with twenty-two horses and
mules ; the other embarked on the river St
Peter in five Indian canoes. The major accom-
panied the latter detachment, and I followed
him with the intention of going sometimes by
land and sometimes by water, according to the

WAMENITONKA CAMPS. 305

curious or interesting objects, either route might
offer. It was determined that the two parties
should meet every evening.

The river St Peter, called by the Sioux
Watpa-menisothe, tracing it from its mouth, has
at first a S. S. W. direction; it then bends
to the south, and its constant windings turn to
every point of the compass ; but as its course,
from its sources to the place where it falls into
the Mississippi, is almost directly from N.N.W.
to E. S. E., I shall distinguish the two banks as
northern and southern every time I have occasion
to designate them.

After all I have said in my preceding rambles
about savages, it might appear that the subject
is pretty well exhausted ; but besides that the
new country which opens before us has fresh
sources of interest, it seems that the things we
meet with here are admirably calculated to serve
as appendices to what we have seen before. If
any repetition occur, it will only serve to con-
firm us in the belief of what had perhaps at first
appeared too marvellous.

The first evening we encamped on the south-
ern bank, above the tribe of the chieftain Wame-
nitonka, or the Black Dog. I had seen this camp
extremely populous a few days before, and now
we found it a desert; hunger had roused these
savages from their habitual indolence, and had

VOL. n. x

306 PANISCIHOWA'S CAMPS.

driven them to hunt deer and buffalos in more
distant forests and prairies. A hut which was
shut, and which we opened, afforded us some
shelter from the musquitos which attacked us
on every side, and against the rain which has
attended us ever since our departure. Behind
the oak-bark which slightly fastened the door,
we found, hung like a curtain, a deer-skin which
the savages looked upon as the guardian Ma-
nitou of their house. When they return they
will probably choose some more trusty Swiss,
and the deer will lose their confidence and his
own divinity at the same time.

The encampment of Paniscihowa on the east-
ern bank, where we stopped to breakfast on the
morning of the eighth, was equally deserted, and
for the same reason ; but the chief, who is as
lazy as he is gluttonous, had retired to the
neighbourhood of the fort, to revel in Capuan
luxury, and to shelter himself in that sacred and
inviolable land from the incursions which the
Cypowais, justly indignant at his conduct on the
seventh of June, might make upon his castle.

We dined at the Prairie des Francois, so called
from the first Frenchmen who pushed their dis-
coveries from Canada to this spot, where they
were killed by the Indians. It is thirty miles
above the fort.

The chief Siacapfc has his summer encamp-

SIACAPE'S CAMP. 307

ment on the east bank. The huts of this tribe
are of a singular construction. The walls and
roof are of oak bark, interwoven with split rods
in so solid a manner, that the most violent hur-
ricane could scarcely penetrate them. Every-
thing here was also deserted. We found only a
dog hanged, and thus consecrated to their penates
or tutelary deities. To render the offering more
acceptable, they had decorated his head with a
plume of killow of which I stripped him to en-
rich my savage collection.

Next to the women, the dogs are the most
unhappy animals in these regions. After being-
half starved and well worked at the chase, the
truck, and the sledge, they end their days as a
dinner or as a sacrifice.

On the opposite shore of the river, a meadow
studded with little thickets and scattered with
bones and tumuli, like those I remarked at St
Louis and elsewhere, is an image of the Elysian
Fields of antiquity; and though one tread on a
wild soil, and bones of savages, the pathetic cha-
racter of the spot strikes one with involuntary
veneration, and the mind is agitated by varied
feelings which carry it far into other worlds.
Here I saw a most singular union : one of these
graves was surmounted by a cross, whilst upon
another close to it a trunk of a tree was raised,

308 FALLS OF ST PETER.

covered with hieroglyphics, recording the number
of enemies slain by the tenant of the tomb, and
several of his tutelary Manitous. Here present-
ing a fresh hint to those who are fond of system-
making on the subject of the religion of these
people, to be cautious in their inductions.

Sixty miles from the fort is a fall, or to speak
more accurately, a violent rapid. We pulled
up our canoes, dragging them ourselves through
the water. This is the first interesting point
we met with on this river. Rocks pictu-
resquely grouped, between which the winding
stream rushes and breaks with violence ; a little
woody island in the middle ; banks clothed with
shady trees on the one side, and broken into
steep and rugged rocks on the other, composed
a varied and romantic picture, to which I con-
trived to add a touch of the grotesque. Being
obliged to get on board the canoe to cross a
deep gulf, my sailors were so deficient either in
strength or in skill, that they suffered it to be
carried away by the current and dashed in
pieces against a rock, upon which I remained
perched.

In the evening we halted at the Indian camp
of the Battue au jief, where I witnessed a most
curious contrast. A woman in the deepest
affliction was tearing off her hair, which she

HIEROGLYPHICS OF THE INDIANS. 309

offered as a sacrifice to the manes of some re-
lative, whose lifeless remains were stretched
upon a scaffold ; while a group of savages were
eating, drinking, singing and dancing around
another body, exposed in the same manner to
the view of passengers, like those of the heroes
of antiquity. Here again I must beg you .to
observe the extreme difficulty of forming any ac-
curate opinion as to their usages or ceremonies.

The next day I quitted the canoe, and got on
horseback; the passage of Bois-Franc, in the
Indian tongue Cianthote, excited my curiosity,
and amply repaid it. For thirty miles there is
a continual series of trees of every kind, and
of delicious fruit-bearing shrubs; little smiling
meadows ; lakes covered with swans and other
aquatic birds ; delightful plains, and picturesque
hills. It seems a fit haunt for nymphs and
dryads ; unfortunately, however, we found it
inhabited by nothing more agreeable than mus-
quitos and gadflies, which excoriated man and
beast. I cannot describe the impression which
such a solitude, without a human creature to
enjoy its beauty or its riches, makes upon the
mind.

We saw hieroglyphics engraven on a tree;
they signified that the tribe of the Red Hawk—
(the Sussitons) had passed that way with their
chief. Everything was recorded; the number

310 INDIAN SANCTUARY.

of men and of women, — whence they came, —
whither they were going, — where they had been
hunting, &c. By this means the Indians reci-
procally convey much useful information; in
the present instance, here was an avviso to
others not to throw away their trouble on ground
which had just been beaten. This passage is a
labyrinth; and had we not been accompanied by
Mr Renville, who had quitted the canoe party to
act as guide, we should not easily have found our
way out. The forest extends over the country
towards the Missouri to an immense distance.
We emerged from it on the west, where we
found a vast and magnificent prairie, called by
the Indians Wayo-Thee, or the Arrow. A great
block of granite, which is visible from a consi-
derable distance on the left, serves the wan-
dering savages at once as a temple and a tute-
lary deity in their hunting parties. It was
painted with a nose, eyes and mouth, as the sun
and moon frequently were among civilized na-
tions, until Maria, the preceptor of Copernicus
at Bologna, and Bianchini, robbed them of these
features. All the tribes which pass that way
go to pay it homage and offerings.

At the spot where we encamped, Mr Ren-
ville, who has the most perfect acquaintance
with the Sioux, being bom and having lived
among them, pointed out to me a very singular

INDIAN HYPOCAUSTON. 311

thing, 'an Indian Hypocauston, or Sudatoria.
When their physicians wish to throw a patient
into a perspiration, they shut him up in a little
hut between four massy stones of different
colours, heated by fire, which they regard as so
many divinities. The red is the god of war,
the black of death, the green of health, the
white of fine weather. The patient remains
there until he gives notice, by fainting, that he
can stay no longer ; it would be a sacrilege to
utter a single syllable in order to be let out. It
often happens that he is stifled in this manner,
particularly if the priests of the Grande Medicine
have any reason for wishing to get rid of him.
An Indian Esculapius is like those of anti-
quity, both high-priest and physician, so that he
is armed with double shears to cut short the
life of his superstitious patients. There were also
other traces of offerings, which equally indicated
the multiplicity of their Manitous.

On the llth, I returned to the canoes, where
we met with nothing very extraordinary ex-
cept a terrible storm, which upset one, and
made us lose a part of our powder and to-
bacco: it followed us to our camp, where we
were deluged by it all night, our tent being
open on both sides. I was more thoroughly
drenched than any of the others, because the
major, faithful to the rules of bienseance and
politeness, which allot the place of honour to

312 MAJOR LONG'S POLITENESS.

the stranger, had had the attention to place me
on one of the two sides of the tent; in order, no
doubt, that I might observe the weather at my
ease, and reap the glory of struggling valiantly
against the fury of the wind, rain, hail, thunder
and lightning.

We travelled very slowly by water up the river,
which gradually became narrower and more
rapid. The major at length saw the necessity
of sending back the canoes with a number of the
men, who only encreased the dearth of provi-
sions we already began to experience. Though
I had laid in an abundant store, which I had
thrown into the common stock, yet, at no more
than a hundred miles from Fort St Peter, hunger
made me envy the hermit of the Thebais the
daily morsel of bread brought him by the raven.
These soldiers were moreover of no use what-
ever. The major feared the Sussitons, who are
not very friendly to the Americans, but we were
too few to make any effectual resistance against
a horde of Indians of the most warlike and for-
midable tribe, and too many for an expedition
which had no hostile intentions, and which was
already reduced to have its daily portion of food
doled out.

I have told you, that they were afraid of the
Sussitons. Not to let your curiosity languish, I
must tell you the reasons, were it only to throw
additional light on the Indian character, and on

SUSSITONS. 313

the resistless power the passion of revenge
exercises over them.

One of these Sussitons lost two relations who
served in the last war under the English banners
against the United States . He resolved to revenge
himself upon the two first Americans who fell
into his hands. But as some time elapsed
without any such opportunity for vengeance
occurring, he set out with his cousin; they
made a landing by night at Rocky Island,
near Fort Armstrong, seven hundred miles from
their own haunts ; there they lay in wait, and
seized the moment when two soldiers of the gar-
rison were walking at some distance from the
fort, and killed them both with two well-aimed
muskets.

The government, under pretence of holding a
council and giving presents, allured a band of
the. Sussitons to Council Bluff, and seized two
of them, who were never seen again. A govern-
ment founded upon wise and liberal laws ought
to be more generous than savages; but either it
had no other means of reprisal and of punish-
ment, without engaging in a murderous war
with the whole Sioux nation, or its agents acted
in an arbitrary and unauthorized manner.

On the 13th we all proceeded by land. A
prairie studded with thickets and clumps of
trees, which broke the distance in the most en-

314 BLUE-EARTH RIVER.

chanting manner, was the first prospect that lay
before our eyes. The artificial parks of St
Cloud, Versailles, Richmond, or Windsor, are not
comparable to this superb work of nature.

In the middle of this terrestrial paradise we
found an Indian sarcophagus, about fifteen feet
in height. Here Mr Renville shewed us the
direction, towards the south west, in which the
river of the Blue Earth, Muskatohose- Watpd, falls
into the St Peter. This* is the highest point of
the river reached by Father Hannepin and other
travellers after him.

The river of the Blue Earth is very celebrated
among the Indians. They perform an annual
pilgrimage to it, to collect the blue earth of its
banks, of which they make dye and paint. At
some distance from its sources, in the direction
of the Missouri, they dig up a kind of red stone,
which hardens on exposure to the air ; of this
they make their sacred calumets. It is said
that these two spots are inviolable, and that the
most implacable enemies meet there in peace ;
but this is a mere fable. The Indian never lays
aside the pursuit of vengeance : if ever he re-
frains from the open expression of it, it is only
when he is withheld by superior force.

In the evening we halted near a little wood
which lies along the banks of the Lake of Swans.
It was the season at which these beautiful

LAKE OF SWANS. 315

birds cannot fly, — the old ones, because they are
changing their feathers ; the young, because they
have as yet only a soft down. We might have
had some good shooting, and the savans among
us might have gained new and valuable Ornitho-
logical information, but the major was intent on
making an expedition, and consulted nothing but
his compass : it was sufficient for him to say,
" I have been there." On the morning of the
14th we traversed another prairie of a perfectly
different character. Little hillocks of the green-
est turf formed the undulations of a sea which
Vernet or Verdstapen would have vainly tried
to imitate. Isolated hills rose in the distance,
like the pyramids of Egypt.

At noon we passed the river St Peter at the
spot where the river des Liards, Wagahosa
Watpa, joins it from the south. It is navigable
for canoes a considerable way inland.

In the evening, after crossing a region of equal
beauty, consisting of alternate prairies and little
woods, and wearing the appearance of a culti-
vated country, we halted near a marsh which
was covered with the dwellings of the musk rats.
They are formed of rushes and the bark of trees ;
they rise three or four feet out of the water, and
these upper stories are their bedchambers. The
part under the water serves them as a winter
storehouse, which they fill during summer with

316 ANOTHER SANCTUARY.

the bark of fruit trees. They dig a subterranean
passage, the mouth of which is at a distance from
the dwelling and in the centre of the marsh ; by
this means they escape the vigilance of the
hunter ; but they fall into the snares which he
spreads around them, and into which he entices
them by a bait of some favourite food.

The Red Wood was our inn on the 15th. It
is so called from a tree which the savages paint
red every year, and for which they have a pecu-
liar veneration. It has nothing remarkable to
distinguish it from other trees, but every tribe
has its favourite images, though they all repre-
sent the same divinity, the same object of wor-
ship. Whilst one shrine overflows with offerings,
another has not so much as a candle burning
before it. The fortune of the god, among the
antients, often depended on the address of his
minister ; perhaps it is the same among the
Indians.

In this tree they adore the thunder which, as
they think, comes from the Rocky Mountains,
separating, as we have already seen, Louisiana
from New Mexico. This wood is situated on
the south bank of the St Peter, and another
river which flows into it through the centre of
the wood descends from the same point. The
natives call it Ciangagappy Watpa, i. e. the river
of the Red Wood. I was told that the English

INDIAN LATIUM. 317

emissaries came here to offer prayers and in-
cense, and to invoke the protection of this
savage divinity, when, during the last war, they
stirred up the Sioux against the United States.
It is worth while to observe, that the pious
British cabinet was accusing Bonaparte of apos-
tacy to Islamism at the very time it was playing
the part of the knavish teacher of idolatry in
America. Opposite to this spot the Ciatambe
Watpa, or Brandy river, which flows from the
north, falls into the St Peter.

We now reached a valley of the most lovely
and interesting character. Never did a more
striking illusion transport my imagination back to
the classic lands of Latium and Magna Grecia.
Rocks scattered, as if by art, over the plain, on
plateaux, and on hills, were at a little distance
perfect representations of every varied form of
the ruins of antiquity. In one place you might
think you saw thermal substructures, or those
of an amphitheatre, a circus, or a forum; in
another, the remains of a temple, a cenotaph, a
basilicon, or a triumphal arch. I took advan-
tage of the time which chance procured me, to
survey this enchanted ground ; but I went alone,
that the delicious reverie it threw me into might
not be broken by cold-heartedness or pre-
sumption. My eyes continually met new images :
at length they rested on a sort of tomb, which for

318 WONDERFUL VALLEY.

some time held me motionless. A thousand afflict-
ing recollections rushed to my heart : I thought 1
beheld the tomb of Virtue and of Friendship; I
rested my head upon it, and tears filled my eyes.
The spot was of a kind to soften and embellish
grief, and I should have long given myself up to
its sweet influence had I not been with people
who had no idea of stopping for anything but
a broken saddle or some such important in-
cident.

These rocks are granitic, and of so beautiful and
varied a quality, that the tricking dealers of the
Piazza Navona, at Rome, would sell them to the
most enthusiastic, and, — in their own opinion, —
the most learned antiquarians, as oriental and
Egyptian porphyry or basalt, which are now gene-
rally admitted to be merely granite more elabo-
rated by time and by water. Nature seems to
have lavished all her treasures on this beautiful
valley : watered by the river St Peter, it pos-
sesses a fertile soil, a salubrious climate, hills
and plains adapted to every sort of cultivation,
rivers and lakes abounding in fish, shell-fish, and
game ; delicious groves and forests swarming
with deer and with animals of the richest fur,
and furnishing every variety of timber for build-
ing and cabinet work ; and, added to all these
riches, magnificent stone, which might be worked
with the greatest facility, and fitted for building

RIVER OF THE YELLOW MEDICINE. 319

barns, houses, temples, or palaces. Here might
arise the Urbs Marmorea of Augustus, as the Euro-
peans found the Domus Aurea of Nero at Peru ;
and the immense blocks of granite scattered here
and there with such picturesque negligence,
might with small aid from the chisel be raised to
rival the pyramids of Memphis or Palmyra. When
I awoke from the dream of all that this favoured
valley might become, I was struck by feelings I
cannot describe at its awful and desert stillness
— feelings which perhaps no other scene could
awaken. Here Zimmerman or la Fontaine might
indeed have painted solitude, with less meta-
physical refinement and more truth. Perhaps
however they would be less read ; for in all that
concerns human affections and emotions, fashion-
able caricature and affectation will always be
more popular than nature and simplicity.

On the 16th, we came to a prairie, which on
the south had no boundary but the horizon, on
the north the valley of the St Peter, on the
west the winding valley of the river of the Yel-
low Medicine, Pepeothaziziapi- Watpat which de-
scends from the south-west and falls into the St
Peter on its southern shore. On the opposite
side is the river of the Jumpers, Maiioakan-
Watpa, which flows from the north. In this
prairie we met two Indians : they told us some

320 BEAVERS' RIVER.

buffalos had been killed the day before, but we
saw only scattered bones, while our miserable
diet was a little biscuit and a semi-diaphonous
slice of bad salt meat. The river of the Yellow
Medicine is so called from a root of that colour,
which imposture and credulity have invested
with mystical properties for curing both soul
and body. This place is calculated to be about
one hundred and eighty miles from Fort St
Peter.

Twenty miles from thence, we passed the
Watpa-Danitpti or Beavers' river, which for-
merly abounded in those animals, and which
descends from the west. At a short distance from
its mouth is the Medeyethaan, or the Speaking
Lake, which is only a narrow basin about six-
teen miles in length, filled by the St Peter,
which enters it in the north-west and flows out
on the south-east. Between this lake and the
mouth of the Yellow Medicine, are rapids which
interrupt the navigation, and compel those who
are ascending to quit the river and travel by
land for about a mile.

After passing the river of Precipices, Skeiva-
kan-Watpa, the river aux Grais, Issonya-hose-
Watpa, on the southern bank, and the Potatoes
river, Stoobodathe- Watpii, on the opposite side, we
came to the lake of the Big Rock, Hiakiakia-ya-

MAJOR LONG'S SPEECH. 321

Mede, also formed by the St Peter, which runs
in on the north, and out on the E. S. E. It is
larger and wider than the preceding one.

A numerous party of that tribe of the Sioux
called the Wakapetohan, or People of the Leaf,
who were encamped there, came to meet us and
invite us to a feast. I was very sorry that the
haste in which it was prepared had unfortu-
nately deprived us of the dish of etiquette — a
dog — which they had not had time to flay and
season. The hunger by which we were tor-
tured made us feel this as a most cruel priva-
tion. We devoured whatever they gave us, and
everything appeared to me delicious, even some
roots which they call prairie-potatoes, and which
I had before thought detestable.

The major pronounced a speech, which ap-
peared probably very good to his government,
whose power, greatness, and generosity, he
greatly extolled ; but very bad to the Indians,
since it concluded with the information that he
had nothing to give them ; and accordingly
neither the chiefs nor anybody else made the
slightest answer. When the interpreter ex-
plained to them that " the United States were
composed of twenty-four fires, (meaning thereby
twenty-four states,) without reckoning the dis-
trict of Colombia, in which is the seat of the
grand congress and of the grand general admi-

VOL. II. Y

322 WHITE HERONS' RIVER.

nistration, and the residence of the great father,
the president; — that they were peopled with so
many millions of men, who were thriving by
means of commerce and agriculture, and lived
in wealth and plenty," &c. &c. — some yawned,
others looked contemptuous ; and when he added
that " the expedition was going to trace the
remote boundaries of the American territory,"
all looked greatly annoyed. Even savages, it
seems, are not very fond of seeing other people
play the master in their country.

These Indians have a very ferocious and war-
like aspect. A great proportion of them are
mounted, but, like the nations of the remotest
antiquity, have neither saddle nor stirrups ; they
have only a skin girt over the horse's back, like
the vestis stragula, or the strata of the Romans.

On the evening of the 17th, we stopped at the
middle of the lake, just where it takes a northern
direction, where a magnificent wood and a mi-
serable little trader's settlement are crossed by the
river of the White Herons, or Hokazambc- Watpd,
which falls into the lake on the southern side.
The soft murmur of these limpid waters, the
sight of Indian tents and huts scattered here
and there, and shaded by majestic trees, added
to the charms of this truly picturesque spot.

Three miles above the end of the lake, still
keeping on to the northward, we crossed the

FUR COLOMBIAN AMERICAN COMPANY. 323

St Peter, now a mere ditch. At this point
all the canoes stop and unload their merchan-
dize ; it is transported hither across a prairie of
six miles to the N. N. W., where we arrived on
the 18th.

We landed at the only hut ; it is an establish-
ment formed by some Scotchmen, who have
deserted the English North- West and Hudson's
Bay Companies. Mr Renville is one of the
partners.

As these gentlemen naturally come in compe-
tition with the South- West American Company,
they must have sunk at the very outset under
the weight of its powerful jealousy; but with
the address and cunning for which their nation
is so pre-eminent, wherever money is to be
made, they have got some Americans to join
them and to lend their names, and have chris-
tened this the Fur Colombian American Com-
pany : they have consequently obtained a licence
to trade from the superintendant of the savages.
In spite of all their dexterity, however, I think
they will be obliged in the end to capitulate with
the South- West Company, and to put them-
selves under its protection.

This situation is extremely advantageous for
the fur trade ; the traders are quite in the midst
of the Sioux, and can push their speculations up
to the Missouri and the Colombia, provided that

324 SOURCES OF THE ST PETER.

the Russians, who have taken possession of the
mouth of the latter river, will let them.

The sources of the St Peter are situated at
about twenty miles from this lake, towards the
north-west. It would have been interesting to
reconnoitre them, were it merely to fix the lati-
tude and longitude, and for the glory of being
the first to behold them, — but they were not on
the route of the expedition, and were therefore
neglected.

They spring from the foot of a chain of hills,
which the Indians call the Hills of the Prairies,
because they run due north and south across
those vast prairies lying between the Missouri
and the St Peter, from the mountains of the
Great Eagle to the sources of Blue Earth river.

I am likewise deprived of the satisfaction of
informing you of the exact geographical posi-
tion of this place (Lake Travers,) for the major
carefully concealed it from me : he no doubt had
his reasons for this, which I shall not enquire
into.

The distance from Fort St Peter is nearly two
hundred and eighty miles by land N. N. W.
and four hundred by the river, which is very
winding.

This lake and the sources of the St Peter are
upon the high lands which separate the waters
flowing southward from those which .take a

LAKE TRAVERS. 325

northward course; and, in fact, the waters of
the lake and those of the St Peter cross in op-
posite directions — the former flows into the Red
river, and consequently into Hudson's Bay, the
latter by the Mississippi into the Gulph of Mexico.

Lake Travers is on one of the highest points
of North America, and is not formed by any af-
fluence or confluence of tributary streams. All
around it are prairies and eternal plains ; nor can
one guess whence it can derive its waters. This
surprise is augmented by the total absence of all
traces of an extinct volcano, and indeed the
shallowness of its bed excludes all conjecture of
the kind. Its length from south to north is
about fifteen miles ; its greatest width two miles.
Two islands, frequently inhabited by Indians,
form a beautiful ornament to it, and its banks,
diversified by wood and meadow, are extremely
pleasant.

The great Wanatha, whom I introduced to
your acquaintance when I gave you the numbers
of the Sioux, came to receive us on our arrival,
and invited us to a feast. He had been informed
of our coming before-hand, so that a dog had
been immolated, and already smoked on the altar
of the god of hospitality. Famished as we were,
we should have thought it delicious, and should
probably not have left even that portion which
the Indians distribute after the banquet among

326 BANQUET OF THE GREAT WANATHA.

the physically and morally diseased, as a re-
medy for all evils, had not the flesh of the
buffalo carried off all our votes. I ought here
to remark to you, that the dog, on whatever
occasion they sacrifice; it, is always an offer-
ing to the Manitous, and the eating of it is no
less an act of devotion, just as the priests of
antiquity lived jollily on the victims offered by
true believers on the altars of their divinities.
We should therefore have given great scandal
by the preference we showed for buffalo flesh,
had we not fortunately been at the table of a
king, who, like most kings, was not over scru-
pulous in religious matters, except where his
interests required that he should be so.

The major preached him a sermon, as acade-
mical as the former, touching the sublime quali-
ties, physical and moral, of his government — for
I must do the Americans the justice to say that,
as to modesty, they have not in the least dege-
nerated from that which distinguishes the mother
country. But as the conclusion of this harangue
was not more satisfactory than that of the other*
his majesty did not even deign to look at him;
and while the interpreter was explaining the
doctrines of political economy, he amused him-
self by laughing, with an air of right royal non-
chalance, with his highness the hereditary prince,
who was lying on the ground by his side.

INDIAN WIVES. 327

The gentlemen of the Colombian Company re-
ceived us with great politeness, and during the
three days we spent there hunger was softened
into appetite; but new as they are in these places,
and cramped for room in their huts, they are
worse lodged than the Indians, who, at any rate,
can change their dwelling every day. Beset
moreover by the Indian women, who are their
wives, a la mode du pays, it is impossible for them
to avoid the filth these fair ones import. I had
such a horror of their dirt, that I entreated to be
allowed to lodge in one of our tents ; but the
major, who wishes to train me to the virtue of
patience, refused to have it pitched ; and fleas
and other vermin concurred with him in pushing
the trial to the verge of martyrdom. He thinks
this perhaps a good way of carrying off any bad
blood his conduct might occasion.

I leave you, my dear Countess, to give you
time to recruit yourself after a ramble through
which I have hurried you as rapidly as I was
compelled to perform it myself, and the descrip-
tion of which must shew the haste with which I
am obliged to put my thoughts on paper. But
you, dear Madam, seek the friend, and not the

author, in

Yours, &c.

LETTER XVI1L

Selkirk Colony, Bloody River,
August IQth, 1823.

THOUGH you must be prepared to follow me a
little farther, my dear Countess, and into regions
where nature exhibits features less interesting
than those we have recently beheld, yet as I lead
you towards the cool breezes of the Pole, and
as our adventures will be more varied, I hope
you will find this ramble less wearisome than the
last.

The country we are about to traverse is one
eternal prairie, intersected only by rivers and
belts of wood, which edge their banks. The
horizon is the only boundary of these immense
plains, and the direction which every individual
may choose towards, or between, the four cardi-

BUFFALO HUNT. 329

nal points, the only road he can follow. We
turned our faces towards the north, and have
steadily pursued it up to this place.

We set out on the 24th July from Lake Tra-
vers, of which we took leave with a salute of
musketry ; this same day the buffalos made
their appearance. My horse gave notice of their
approach by the ardour with which he was ani-
mated. He was the finest horse of the party,
and as I had often dismounted and walked a
little to rest him, he was in the best condition,
and the most spirited in this extraordinary
chace.

Following the traces of Mr Renville, who is
renowned as a hunter, even among the Indians,
I gave my horse the reins and let him go in pur_
suit of the first buffalo we saw. I soon came up
with and passed him, though he was two miles
off, and having turned him, we drove him to-
wards our people to give them the pleasure of so
new a scene, and I shot him before their eyes.
At the same time Mr Yeffray, one of the gen-
tlemen of Lake Travers, who was our guide,
killed another at a little distance ; and in the
evening the driver, who carried my baggage in
his waggon, brought us a third. For the first
time, plenty reigned in our camp ; — there was
no wood, but the buffalo's dung, which lay scat-
tered about in abundance, formed an admirable

330 INDIAN BUFFALO HUNT.

substitute. It makes an astonishingly strong
fire.

The surprise I felt on a near view of this ani-
mal was equal to my pleasure in hunting it ; its
appearance is truly formidable. In size it ap-
proaches the elephant. Its flowing mane, and
the long hair which covers its neck and head and
falls over its eyes, are like those of the lion. It
has a hump like a camel, its hind quarters and
tail are like those of the hippopotamus, its horns
like those of the large goat of the Rocky Moun-
tains, and its legs like those of an ox.

The following day we found the great chief
encamped in this prairie, near the Sioux river,
Cidntapa-Watpd, which serves as an outlet to
the waters of Lake Travers. He was in a new
and very clean tent ; he offered us the tongues
and humps of buffalos, which are great delica-
cies, very nicely cured ; but he preserved a most
invincible gravity and taciturnity. Whenever
we turned our eyes, we saw innumerable herds
of buffalos. I begged the major to endeavour
to induce the chief to give us the sight of a buf-
falo hunt with bows and arrows, but he replied,
with his usual complaisance, that he could not
stop.

I let him go on : and Mr Renville prevailed
on the chief to satisfy my curiosity. We gal-
loped towards a meadow which was perfectly

GRACE OF THE CHIEF. 331

black with them. My horse, who now regarded
neither rein nor voice, plunged into the centre of
the herd, dividing it into halves, and turned
several of them. The chief, who followed me
with Mr Renville, let fly his arrow and shot a
female buffalo ; she still endeavoured to escape,
but the motion of her body in running caused the
arrow to sink deeper into the wound, and when
she fell the whole barb had entered.

Never did I see attitudes so graceful as those of
the chief. They alternately reminded me of the
equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius on the Ca-
pitol, and that of the great Numidian king. Al-
together it was the most astonishing spectacle I
ever saw. I thought I beheld the games and com-
bats of the ancients. I played nearly the same
part as the Indians of former ages, who thought
the first European they saw on horseback was a
being of a superior order ; while the chief with his
quiver, his horse, and his victim, formed a group
worthy the pencil of Raphael or the chisel of
Canova. I was so enchanted by this living model
of classical beauty, that I forgot my part in the
chace, and was only aroused to a recollection of it
by the voice of the chief, who pointed to a young
buffalo, which I fired at and killed. His majesty
did me the honour to say I was an excellent
shot. Any one of our grands veneurs who should
receive such a compliment from one of our kings,

332 STRATAGEMS OF THE WOLVES.

would be immortalized, and the court poets
would dispute the honour of celebrating his glo-
ries. Mr Renville killed a buffalo.

Wolves also appeared on the scene, and formed
very curious episodes intimately connected with
the principal action, according to all the rules of
the Epopea.

These animals are as fond of the delicious flesh
of the buffalo as man ; but as they are too weak
to attack, they employ cunning to entrap him.
Wherever they see hunters, they immediately
follow in their track and take whatever advantage
circumstances may chance to afford. Sometimes
they regale themselves upon the offal which is
left on the field ; sometimes they follow those
which they see have been wounded, and which
the hunters do not go in pursuit of; on this occa-
sion they showed quite a new contrivance. Three
of them joined our charge upon the great herd,
and at the moment the females were so occupied
in making their own escape that they could not
defend their young ones, each wolf seized upon
a calf, strangled it, and dragged it off the field :
when we had got to a little distance they re-
turned and regaled themselves with their prey.
When they are pressed by hunger, and no hun-
ters come to their aid, they have recourse to
another stratagem still more surprising. They
approach five or six of a herd without appearing

SIOUX RIVER. 333

to have any design of attacking them. The
buffalos, who do not condescend to be afraid,
pay no attention to them whatever — they
neither avoid nor attack them. The wolves
then single out their victim, which is always
a female, as the most delicious food, and
invariably the fattest of the herd. Whilst two
or three keep her attention engaged in front
by pretending to play with her, one of the
strongest and most active seizes her behind
by the teats, and when she turns round to drive
him off, those in front fly at her throat and
strangle her. Sometimes, however, all their
wiles are abortive. But we must rejoin our party ;
they are getting on, while we loiter wondering
at the ceaseless varieties of nature. Mr Ren-
ville put me upon their track and returned to
rejoin the chief, who meanwhile was procuring
a larger supply of victims for his family to flay
and cure.

At this place Mr Renville took his leave of
the expedition ; business prevented his accom-
panying us farther. I found them encamped
near a little wood, which occurred most provi-
dentially to furnish us with the means of drying
ourselves after a terrible storm which had
drenched us to the skin.

On the 27th at noon, we reached the conflu-
ence of the Sioux river, and what is called the

334 GEOGRAPHICAL FRAUD.

Red river; and here I must detain you a mo-
ment to point out a geographical error, or rather
fraud.

Charles II, king of England, by a charter of
the year 1670, granted what did not belong to
him; and as men willingly profit by abuses
which favour their views, he sheltered himself
under the authority of Borgia, that is to say,
under the right of discovery, which that infamous
pontiff had proclaimed. Sanctioned by such a
principle and such a charter, prince Robert and
his associates, under the name of the Hudson's
Bay Company, appropriated not only the exclu-
sive fur trade of these countries, but also all the
lands lying near or beyond Hudson's Bay ;
though that bay had been discovered by the
Danish navigator Auschild, before Hudson visited
it, and though parliament refused to confirm the
charter.

They afterwards affected to consider this pro-
perty as extending to the sources of the Red
river, and over all the lands washed by the
various rivers which fall into it ; and as the
course of the Red river was not long enough and
did not receive a sufficient number of tributary
streams for the wishes of these gentlemen, they
baptized the river we are now considering under
the same name ; and geographers, who often lay
down maps without having been out of their

REIN DEER CHACE. 335

own parish, or with venal instruments, have
sanctioned the cheat. According to them there
are consequently two Red rivers, at no great
distance, the one of which flows into the other.
This then into which the Sioux river falls, is
not the Red river, but the river Neguiquanosibi,
as the Cypowais call it, or the river of the
Otter's-tail, from its having its source in the
lake of that name. The Sioux know it under
the name Kakaweuapi-Watpd, or the river of
the Falls, from the number of them which occur
on its issuing from the lake.

In the afternoon we descried a herd of deer
grazing at a distance. Mr Yeffray followed me,
and as my horse with all his speed could not
have overtaken them, we had recourse, like the
wolves, to stratagem. We crept towards them
on our hands and knees, and hung our bridles on
our right arms, our horses followed us, and so
effectually engaged their attention, that we were
enabled to approach them near enough, though
on the middle of the meadow, to fire upon them.
We killed one. It was a magnificent animal of
the most exquisitely beautiful and graceful form.
It is one of the same family as the rein-deer,
and like them may be tamed and trained for the
cart or the sledge. It was a female, and being
consequently without horns, was precisely like
a fine English horse. Mr Yeffray skinned it, and

336 MAJOR LONG'S ALARM.

we carried off as much of the flesh as we could ;
it is delicious food. You ask which of us had
the honours of the chace. We fired at the same
instant, on my giving the word ; so that the size
of the ball alone could decide : and on this
evidence the glory was adjudged to me.

Night overtook us, and the distant fires of the
camp were our only guide to the expedition.
On our arrival we found it in great consterna-
tion. Our companions had met a band of Sioux.
The major thought he read hostile intentions in
their faces ; he even thought they had threatened
him ; — of course everybody else thought so too
— like Casti's courtiers, who perfectly agreed
with his majesty that it rained torrents, though
the sun was then shining in all its brilliancy. It
was incumbent on me, therefore, to be very
much alarmed too ; and, for the first time since I
had been in America, I girded on my sword in a
warlike manner. But as in spite of the major's
indiscretion in telling these Indians that we
were behind with our horses, (the greatest
temptation to their cupidity) they had not at-
tacked us, which they might have done with
the greatest ease ; and as he had stationed four
or five sentinels round the camp, who made
noise enough for three times their number, I
thought the danger could not be very great, and
lay down quietly to sleep under a cart. At

FLIGHT OF THE CAMP. 337

midnight, however, I was awakened. The camp
had begun its march, or rather flight. The
major's agitation was not yet calmed, nor did
we halt until the 28th at noon, when we stopped
on the banks of the Otter's-tail river, at the
point where the Wild Oats river, or Sau- Watpd,
falls into it from the west. During the night we
had crossed two other small rivers, which
descend from the east, the Perelle, or Wayecei-
aoshu- Watpd, and the Strong Wood river, or
Ciontanka- Watpd. The heat was terrible, and
we felt it the more from the extreme coldness of
the nights. Fahrenheit's thermometer some-
times reached 94, 96, and 98, in the day, and
fell to 58 in the same night.

I reposed again under the shelter of a cart,
for in the woods the musquitos are perfectly de-
vouring. To crown all, I could not bathe; the
river is so muddy that one sinks up to the neck
in the bottom.

The Indians, who gave us such a breathing,
were the very same who had feasted us at the
lake of the Big Rock. I rather think the
fright they threw the major into was in revenge
for his giving them nothing but boring speeches.
If they meant it so, they had every reason to be
satisfied ; for from that time forward he would
not suffer us to hunt buffalos, for fear of irritating
the Indians ; and in order to station advanced

VOL. ir. z

338 RIVER OF PLUMS.

posts and vedettes round the camp, he had
levied a general conscription on the whole party,
which lasted till within a day's march of
Pembenar.

You would have laughed heartily, my dear
Countess, to hear me call " Who goes there?"
and " All's well," when I was sentinel. The
geese who saved the Capitol did not give the
word better. I never thought it would be my
lot to mount guard in English — but it is the
fate of us poor Italians, when under arms, to use
all watch- words but our own.

Regions which have never been traversed by
any other wanderer, nor by any former expedi-
tions, demand greater geographical detail than
is consistent with the limits of a letter, or with
my ordinary indolence. I therefore tell you of
all the rivers in our route, and I have even the
patience and the courage to make you read all
their savage names. I am anxious to give the
savans, the Hellenists, the Orientalists, &c.
who swarm in your circles, an opportunity of
guessing or inventing an origin for these tribes
from some analogy of language.

The rivers we crossed on the 29th and the
30th, days very barren in incidents, are the
Kauta-Watpa, or river of Plums — where not
only there were no plums but no water, and we
were dying of thirst; and the Katapa-Watpd, or

THE TRUE RED RIVER. 339

river of Buffalos. This, unlike the former, was
appropriately named, so that my horse would
have several times disregarded the Major's pro-
hibition, if I had not called him strictly to order.
We also crossed a third, the river of Wild Oats ;
these all fall into the Otter's-tail river on the
eastern side. The Cayenne river, or Kayoes-
Watpd, so called from the name of the people who
formerly inhabited its shores, and whom the Sioux
have driven in the direction of Columbia ; — the
river of Elms, or Kousion- Watpd, from the num-
ber of trees of that species, of extraordinary
height, which shade its banks ; — and the Bus-
tard's river, or Magassan- Watpd, from the birds
which frequent it, all flow from the west : the
Kayoe's river is of considerable size.

On the 31st of July we reached the real Red
river, which descends from the east from the
lake of the same name, and receives, fifteen
miles below the spot where we crossed it, the
Otter's- tail river, miscalled the Red river by the
Hudson's Bay Company, the sources of which
are to the S.S.E. of its confluence.

Geographers tell us that it takes its name
from the red sand or gravel which covers its
bed; but there is nothing red about it. The
origin of its name is widely different : red, to be
sure, had something to do with it, but a red
arising from very different causes.

340 BLOODY RIVER.

This river, and the lake from which it springs,
form the frontier line which separates the terri-
tory, or pretended territory, of the Sioux from that
of the Cypowais, or at least the line upon which
they have always met and still most frequently
meet. It may easily be imagined then that the
waters of a stream so situated, must have often
been " red with the blood of the slain," and
that it has thus received from both the contend-
ing parties the name of the Bloody river, — in
the Sioux language Maniscia- Watpd ; in the
Cypowais, Sahaguiaigney-Sibi. The lake is in
like manner called the Bloody lake.

Beyond this river we saw no more buifalos.
The country becomes less open ; the underwood
and scattered thickets make them fear the am-
bushed hunter ; but in winter, when they find
no food in the vast prairies, — bare of all trees and
shrubs, and the grass of which is yearly burnt
down by the Indians, — they frequently repair
thither to browse on the buds and sprouts, which
form their principal food, as well that of the
horses, when the terrible frosts destroy all other
vegetation.

Hitherto, my dear Madam, you have only
seen the manner in which buffalos are hunted
on horseback ; but, as the Indians are not all
mounted, there are other very curious modes.
Before we leave these regions, therefore, which

EXTRAORDINARY BUFFALO HUNTING. 341

I shall in all probability never see again, let us
sit down on the banks of this delightful river,
under the shade of these beautiful trees, and
study the singular characteristics of this animal ;
let us also observe its haunts, since fate has led
us to them, and we shall have more correct and
vivid conceptions of both than we could form
from the books of the most learned naturalists.

You have seen that buffalos feed in the midst
of wolves without fear, either because they dis-
dain them, or because beasts, like men, must
fulfil their destiny. The Indians take advantage
of this fact to disguise themselves like wolves,
creep near them on hands and knees, and pierce
them with their arrows. They choose these
weapons for the ease with which they can hide
their quivers under their bodies, while, on the
contrary, their gun is in the way. Besides, the
noiseless stroke of the arrow does not alarm,
and enables them to multiply their victims ;
they spare powder and shot, and always recover
their arrows when they flay their prey. When
the savages hunt in this manner in a party, each
has his arrows marked as in battle, and by
this means it is afterwards ascertained who have
been the most valiant and successful marksmen ;
and, if any individual hunts apart, he takes pos-
session of the animal which has been killed by
the arrow bearing his mark.

342 HEROIC LOVE OF THE BUFFALO.

In the season when nature renews their loves,
the Indians wrap themselves in buffalo's skins,
and imitating their lowing, entice the females,
who approach without fear, but meet with
wounds and death. Sometimes, under the
same disguise, they decoy them into an enclo-
sure, where they slaughter them.

When the ice on a river is not very thick,
they go behind a herd and terrify them by
firing guns, while one of them, disguised like
a buffalo, gets in front and runs across the
river to the opposite bank. The whole herd
follows ; for they are like the sheep of Panurge,
where one goes, all go ; the ice, which is not
strong enough to bear such a multitude, breaks,
and the confusion which ensues affords abundant
opportunity to the Indians to rush out of their
hiding places and seize their prey. The Indians
also creep on all-fours through the grass, as we
did, and shoot them with muskets or bows.

In whichever way the buffalo is hunted, it is
necessary to come upon him against the wind,
otherwise he scents his human pursuer from afar,
and avoids, even without seeing him.

It is very dangerous to fire at him when
asleep, for if he is only wounded, he rises with
a bound and rushes on the hunter with resistless
force. When he sees one of his favourites
wounded, he sometimes combats as if to protect

BUFFALO DANCE. 343

her flight, covers her with his body if she cannot
escape, and dies at her side, the victim of heroic
love.

The female is faithful to her chosen companion
until the birth of the fruit of their union ; while
he, on the contrary, divides his affections among
a seraglio of mistresses. This is a distribution
of nature to secure the perpetuity of the species ;
for, by one of her incomprehensible laws, the
number of males in proportion to the females is
prodigiously small, although the latter, both by
the delicacy of the flesh and the superior quality
of the skins, are the only marks for both wolves
and hunters ; out of a hundred killed, there are
not perhaps three males. This month is the
season of their courtship^ It is very curious to
see the buffalo pay his court to the sultana of
the moment. He dances round her in a circle
like a horse in the manege, while she stands still
in the centre and expresses her approbation of
his suit in gentle lowings.

The Indians, especially those who are called
the People of the Wide Country, those, namely,
who roam to the remotest parts of these im-
mense prairies, and who, as I have already told
you, find almost all their wants supplied by the
buffalo, venerate this dance as the harbinger of
plenty and the palladium of their independence.
Indeed, in the absence of all other animals, and

344 MIGRATION OF THE BUFFALO.

in so open a country, they would often be re-
duced to the extremity of famine were it not for
the resources furnished them by this invaluable
creature. By a very natural association, it be-
comes an object of religious observance and
celebration, and the dance which they call the
buffalo dance, in which they imitate its gestures
and lowing, can be performed by none but those
who have been initiated into the mysteries of
the Grand Medicine.

There are seasons in which the buffalos dis-
appear. They migrate like birds of passage,
but less regularly, and sometimes the time of
their return is looked for in vain. Then follows
a year of scarcity.

The Indians have not yet discovered to what
cause to attribute these absences. Sometimes
also it happens that they suddenly vanish in a
most incomprehensible manner. These peculi-
arities in the buffalo's movements rouse the In-
dians from their usual habits of inertness, and
of living from day to day, into some exertions
to guard against the consequences, — which are
not only famine, but total want of tent, bed and
clothing, — by preserving the flesh and the hides.
They prepare the latter better than our tanners,
with no other implements than the bones of the
animal. The flesh they cut into very long and
slender strips, which they dry in the sun or

RIVER OF THE MARSH. 345

smoke, and roll them up into balls so closely
that they keep perfectly well for years.

We must proceed on our way, dear Madam.
It is hard to leave these beautiful limpid wa-
ters, falsely said to be red ; but perhaps we
shall find them again higher up, for the project
of wandering on in quest of the sources of the
Mississippi has always been the principal whet-
stone to my ardour and perseverance.

You must have been puzzled to guess how I
have found time for this long chat with you . Every-
body, you know, has his good genius. Mine
upset two waggons belonging to the expedition
in very troublesome places, so that I gained all
the time the Major lost.

The 1st of August was tremendously hot,
though the night had been very cold. This was
the more unwelcome, as we were without water
all day. The river Ciokan - Watpd, i. e. the
river of the Marsh, at which we hoped to slake
our thirst at noon, was partly dry ; even mud
would have been very acceptable, but there was
none. In the evening, when we reached a stink-
ing ditch, we acted the pendant of Domenichino's
wonderful picture of the Hebrews thirsting in
the desert. We fell upon this ditch pble-mele, —
men, dogs, and horses. One threw himself flat
on his belly and dipped his mouth into it, ano-
ther his cap, another his hands or his hat. We

346 PEMBENAR.

quarrelled for precedence, but the horses had
decidedly the most powerful means of enforcing*
their pretensions, of which I retained convincing
proofs in my right foot for at least ten days
afterwards. The mud decorated our faces most
beautifully, and the filthy water left us a pair of
mustaches ; to complete our graceful air, we
were almost all lamed by the kicks we got from
our horses. What an accommodation it would
be to expeditions of this kind, if the Jews of
Amsterdam would lend them the tip of Moses'
rod, which they keep in their sanctum sancto-
rum. Perhaps, on moderate terms, they would.

On the 2nd, we crossed the river called the
Two Rivers, Nipa- Watpd; and on the 3rd arrived
at the celebrated colony, called Pembenar, from
the name of a river which descends from the
west and falls into the Red river at this spot.
The Indians call it Wettada- Watpd.

Reckoning from the confluence of the Otter's-
tail, the Red river also receives on the same
side (the west) the Tortoise river, Atkasia-
Watpd, — the river of Salt, Meniscouya- Watpd,
and the Menissiceya- Watpd, or river of the
Park, so called from one of the Indian enclo-
sures I described to you above.

This colony, or its skeleton, has been the
scene of every species of fraud, crime, and atro-
city. It is one of those hideous monsters which

HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY. 347

avarice and selfishness give birth to wherever
they direct their steps.

It is a pity, my dear Madam, that I am
not a traveller dans les regies ; I should have a
fine field for eternal narrations in these remote
settlements, which are as little exposed to the
view of morality or authority as of the world at
large ; but as it is, I can give you nothing but a
slight sketch. You will be the better able to
judge of the incidents I am going to relate to
you, if I first trace out the scene of action.

The Red river divides the colony, which
extended to this spot, but which began sixty
miles lower down, directly on the north, near
the place where the river of the Assiniboins falls
into the Red river from the west. From this
confluence the Red river flows on thirty miles
farther, still in a northerly direction, and falls
into lake Winipeg. This lake at its farther
extremity in length, (which is three hundred
miles from the south to the N. N. W.) discharges
itself into Hudson's Bay by a great outlet or
natural canal, which flows to the N. N. E. for
about two hundred miles, and which the Eng-
lish called Nelson river, from the captain who
first built a fort at its mouth.

The Hudson's Bay Company, in spite of the
great concessions it had claimed and obtained in
virtue of the charter I have mentioned, had not

348 SELKIRK'S COMPANY.

extended its commerce much above lake Wini-
peg before the year 1806: but its members,
jealous of the thriving state of the North-
West Company, which, as you have seen in my
third and fourth rambles, was daily gaining
ground, at length devised means to check its
progress and to push their own speculations.
The project of a colony was found to offer the
most certain means of accomplishing both these
ends. The times were propitious ; for a great
number of people were quitting England, Scot-
land, and Ireland. It was the policy of the
English government to favour the scheme, in
order that this torrent of emigrants might not
encrease the population of the United States,
already a source of alarm to England.

But to impose on the credulity of adventurers
and speculators, something brilliant must be got
up to dazzle and excite the imagination. Accord-
ingly, lord Selkirk, a Scotch earl, of high birth
and great fortune, was made choice of, and pre-
tended to be associated in the enterprise. He was
publicly given out to be possessed of greater
wealth and higher qualities than he actually pos-
sessed; he was proclaimed a tender father of other
colonies formed by him in Canada ; colonies
which (par parenthese) had all failed. In 1811,
the company pretended to sell him a vast tract
of land on the Red river. To this land their title

NORTH WEST COMPANY. 349

was still worse than that of Charles II, inasmuch
as the charter granted only " the lands within
the entrance of the streights commonly called
Hudson's Streight;" nor had the aboriginal in-
habitants ever given their consent to the occu-
pation of them.

This farce was very well calculated to impose
on the blind ; but the North- West Company, who
were very clear-sighted, and had their agents in
the very centre of government, were not so easily
gulled. They quickly perceived that the great
lord was only a puppet moved at the will of the
Hudson's Bay Company. They beheld this
scheme in the light of a premeditated attack
upon their interests, and an attempt at esta-
blishing an exclusive and arbitrary monopoly.

They could not however prevent the founda-
tions of a settlement being laid by Mr Miles
Macdonnell, and a few Highlanders from lord Sel-
kirk's Scotch estates. This took place in 1812,
near the confluence of the Assiniboin, where
the North- West Company had for many years
had a fort; but they immediately set to work to
undermine the new settlement in every possible
way, and, in the first instance, by exciting the
animosity and jealousy of the savages against the
settlers. But as the savages now received a
double share of bounties, and as the company
discovered that half measures are good for no-

350 DREADFUL WAR.

thing, a large meeting of the partners assembled
in 1814 at Fort William on lake Superior, one
of their large establishments, where they con-
certed a plan for the destruction of the rival
settlement.

From its very origin the North- West Com-
pany had obliged every Canadian in its service
to marry (a la mode du pays) one of the Indian
women, hoping by this means to attach them
for ever to these deserts and forests, and to raise
up a breed of obsequious emissaries and slaves.
They succeeded; and it was to this execrable
race, called the Bois-Brules, from their com-
plexions,— of a darker brown than that of the
savages; — and to leaders, the most honest of
whom had been two or three times under
sentence of the laws, that the execution of
this plan was entrusted. From that time the
mask was thrown off, and war declared on both
sides.

I will spare your benevolent heart the recital
of horrors committed by both parties, from which
humanity recoils. It is sufficient to know that
the colony was beaten and dispersed in the June
of 1815; and that, having rallied, it was finally
destroyed in the same month of the following
year. Governor Semple, the successor of Mr
Macdonnell, who had been made prisoner the
preceding year, was massacred, together with

UNION OF THE TWO COMPANIES. 351

twenty of his men, and the fort taken and
pillaged.

Meanwhile his lordship had arrived in Canada
from England. He asked for troops to go to
the succour of his colony, which he declared to
be under the protection of government, and to
arrest the offenders who had polluted the Eng-
lish territory by such horrible crimes. But the
governor-general, who lent a more favourable
ear to the golden arguments of the North- West
Company than to the feeble voice of his lord-
ship, would grant him no assistance. Lord Sel-
kirk then instituted legal proceedings, but means
were taken to place men upon the judgment-
seat who were parties interested in the cause.

Two powerful enemies may mutually injure
each other, at the same time that they labour,
without suspecting it, in favour of a third party,
who perhaps is the friend ,of neither, and who
keeps vigilant watch on all their errors. In this
case, Machiavel, I think, advises them to unite ;
so thought the two emperors Alexander and Na-
poleon, at Erfurth, and the Hudson's Bay and
North- West Companies prudently followed their
example. They saw that the Americans re-
joiced at their dissensions, and were ready to
take advantage of them ; and by an act of obli-
vion, concord, and alliance, they have concealed
from the public and the government their crimes

352 CLIMATE OF CANADA.

and the falsehood of their pretended rights. But
who committed the massacres? The Indians.
And the brutal violations? The Indians. And
the pillagings, &c. &c. It was all the Indians,
who had never appeared on the scene. To keep
up appearances, two or three of the unfortunate
Bois-Brules were given up to the authorities,
who wished to make a parade of justice ; for, as
La Fontaine says, " according as you are pow-
erful or wretched, the judgments of courts of
justice will make you black or white." And so
the affair ended.

The United Companies, however, found that
this colony was very convenient and useful. It
was a nursery for men, of whom they stood in
great need for the numerous stations of their im-
mense trade, which extends its ramifications as
far as the Colombia ; as well as for their trans-
ports, their internal navigation, &c. &c. These
men too, they would pay as slaves, whereas
Canadian labour was very costly.

But the English, Scotch, and Irish, had al-
ready discovered that the only fortune to be
made in this colony was a bare maintenance,
and that of the poorest kind; that sometimes
food was not to be got; that if the soil was good,
the locusts, or the storms, or the frosts, destroyed
all the produce in the bud; that though only
in the fiftieth degree, the cold was as intense as

FATE OF THE SELKIRK COLONISTS. 353

in Siberia ; that men were frozen to death, and
that trees and rocks were split by the frost. It
was necessary therefore to look about among
other nations, and they accordingly caught some
good and credulous Germans and greedy Swiss,
by means of the grand Prospectus, which you
will find annexed.

A part of these poor people died of cold or of
distress ; . others escaped, as they could, through
fatigue, hunger and danger, and took refuge in
the United States. I met some myself at the
lake of the Big Rock, who were in a deplorable
condition, as also at Fort St Peter, where the
colonel and his officers assisted them in a truly
philanthropic manner, and had the goodness to
allow me a share in the heart-cheering satisfac-
tion— (the only substantial one on earth, and
the best offering to the divinity) — of alleviating
the sufferings of fellow-creatures. The few
who remain watch, eagerly for any opportunity
of escaping. But this is a step which cunning
and avarice have rendered very difficult, by
means which I will endeavour to explain.

Whenever any money makes its appearance
the Company carefully get it into its possession.
It has adopted a curious " circulating medium."
They pay and are paid in handkerchiefs, stock-
ings, breeches, petticoats, shirts, shifts, &c.

VOL. II. A A

354 ANOTHER RED RIVER.

and if they make a fortune it must be all in
clothes.

These trumpery things are fixed at an exorbi-
tant price, so that if they could succeed (which
would be very difficult) in turning them into
money, they would get not more than a fifth
or sixth of what they cost. It is thus rendered
impossible for them to get away. These poor
people have thus been reduced to a level with
the savages, without sharing their advantages
or enjoying their independence. This is a
stretch of cunning which avarice alone could
enable men to reach.

The colony was at first, as you have seen,
established near the confluence of the Assiniboin,
also called by the Hudson's Bay Company the
Red river; but during the great troubles, de-
tachments of it had been transplanted hither on
account of the greater fertility of the soil, and
the greater vicinity to the buffalos. The only
people, however, now remaining are the Bois-
brules, who have taken possession of the huts
which the settlers abandoned.

Two Catholic priests had also established
themselves here, but as neither the government
nor the Company gave them any means of sub-
sistence, they went away ; and the church, con-
structed, like all the other buildings, of trunks
of trees, is already falling into ruins.

SPANISH AND FRENCH MISSIONARIES. 355

Their departure is the more to be regretted as
not only does it deprive these regions of every
source of instruction, which could be derived
from these ecclesiastics alone, but the Bois-
brulis will relapse into their former state of bar-
barism, by losing whatever good they had gained
from their evangelical precepts. To be just,
we must admit that the French missionaries,
when not Jesuits, have always and in all coun-
tries, distinguished themselves by their exem-
plary lives, truly conformable to their vocation.
Their religious sincerity, their apostolic charity,
their persuasive mildness, their heroic patience,
and their freedom from all fanaticism and asceti-
cism, in every country they have visited, deserve
to be recorded in the annals of the Christian
church. So long as the memory of Del Verde,
Vodilla, &c. shall be held in execration by all
true Christians, so long will those of Daniel,
Breboeuf, &c. be regarded with that veneration
with which they are so justly recorded in the
history of discoveries and missions. Hence
the predilection of the Indians for the French;
a predilection which they find almost instinc-
tive at the bottom of their hearts, nourished
by the traditions their fathers have bequeathed
to them in favour of the first Apostles of Ca-
nada, then New France, and which have tra-
velled by way of lake Superior to this point.

356 BISHOP PROVEN£A1S.

Lower down, at Fort Douglas, there is still a
bishop, Monsieur Proven^ais. His merit and
virtues are the theme of general praise. I was
told that he does not mingle politics with reli-
gion, that .his zeal is not the offspring of ambi-
tion, that his piety is pure, his heart simple
and generous. He does not give ostentatious
bounties at the expense of his creditors ; he is
hospitable to strangers ; and dissimulation never
sullies his mind or his holy and paternal mi-
nistry. But as he cannot, of course, preach to
Catholics in a manner to please the Company, it
is much to be feared that the unfortunate inha-
bitants will soon be deprived of their excellent
pastor.

Yesterday Charles II's charter was mutilated
nearly by one half. The Major took possession
of this place. The boundary which separates
the territories of the two nations was formally
laid down, in the name of the Government and
President of the United States. A number of
Bois-brules were present, and seemed to ridi-
cule the ceremony.

There is a great division of opinions and incli-
nations among them. An address which they
have been recommended to present to their new
masters, for a judge, a priest, &c. is still with-
out signatures. They will be the partisans of
whoever will pay them best ; I think, therefore,

LATITUDE OF PEMBENAR. 357

they will most probably desert to Fort Douglas ;
some indeed are already gone thither. The
English, individually, are avaricious, but their
government and public bodies, when they have
an end to accomplish, know how to unite the
resistless power of gold to the magic influence
of their intrigues ; whilst the Americans are yet
very backward in this art.

It would be very interesting to know where-
about we are with relation to the North Pole,
but the Major conceals this from me with more
care than the priests of Thibet conceal their
Grand Lama. I know, however, that by an
agreement between England and the United
States, the boundary of the two territories on
this side is fixed at the fiftieth degree. We are
about two hundred and sixty miles from lake
Traverse.

I shall conclude this letter by a scene which is
interesting and perfectly new. The Bois-brules,
who call themselves the free people when they
are not in the service of the Company, are
compelled to live the same sort of life as the
savages, in order to obtain the means of subsis-
tence ; and when urged by hunger, they unite
in numerous bands to hunt the buffalo, in which
they are sometimes joined by the hunters in the
regular pay of the Company. Sometimes their
toils are fruitless, but the day before yesterday

358 EXTRAORDINARY SPECTACLE.

they returned very rich, after two months ab-
sence.

A hundred men on horseback opened the
march, a hundred and fourteen carts, heavily
laden with dried meat, formed the centre; wo-
men and children, carried or dragged by large
dogs, brought up the rear ; for the whole family
accompanies them, and during their hunting sea-
son they all grow fat and strong; but they return
to the village, and soon lose their good plight.
It was a curious sight, the details of which
I leave to your imagination. They ranged
themselves in order of battle at the place
where we were encamped, and the fair com-
menced.

Several of these poor devils soon saw their
carts emptied : either the Company which had
advanced him some money, or one man who had
let him have powder and shot, or another who
offered him the clothes he wanted in exchange ;
or the tinker, the carpenter, the barber, the apo-
thecary, the tax-gatherer, all fall upon him at
once. The meat disappears, his numerous
family remains around him, and the usual state
of misery and famine returns.

The dogs deserve a few minutes of your at-
tention. They are a great resource in this coun-
try. In winter they perform those labours on
the ice and frozen snow, which the horses, who

DOGS' BOARDING-SCHOOL. 359

perish of cold and hunger, cannot endure.
During the summer, when they are not hunting
and their owners have no food for them, they put
them out to board with jobbers, who feed them
on bad fish, with which the river abounds, and
thus swell the number of creditors who await
the return of the owners from the chase.

I have seen some very numerous boarding-
schools of this sort : the order and discipline
which prevail there are curious and surprising ;
they might serve as models for some of our
establishments of education. But a still more
curious thing is, to see these poor animals go
a-fishing themselves when they find that the
dinner-bell is inconveniently delayed. They
onclude that they have nothing to hope for from
the head of the establishment; they therefore
betake themselves to the banks of the river, and
dart with the rapidity of lightning on the fish
which swim near the shore, or on any which
by chance may have carried off the fisherman's
hook and line, and float dead upon the water.

And now my dear Countess, rest awhile; for
if I succeed in bending my steps towards the
point which has been the object of my constant
wishes ever since I entered these wild regions,
we shall have long walks and much fatigue to
encounter.

PROSPECTUS

OF A
PLAN FOR SENDING

SETTLERS TO THE COLONY

OF THE

RED RIVER

IN

NORTH AMERICA.

EARL SELKIRK, a Scottish nobleman, of high rank and large
fortune, has purchased a great extent of very fertile lands,
situated upon the banks of the Red River, which falls into
the great Lake Winipeg, in North America. These he pos-
sesses with all the seignorial rights attached to them, in full
and absolute sovereignty. Lord Selkirk is desirous of peo-
pling these beautiful and fertile countries with honest and
industrious inhabitants, and particularly with Swiss and Ger-
mans. To effect this object, his lordship has commissioned,
and invested with full power, Captain R. May, of Uzistorf, a
citizen of Berne, in the British service, to engage persons in
Switzerland to repair to his colony. Captain May fulfils a
pleasing duty in communicating this information to his coun-
trymen, persuaded that such of them as may avail themselves
of the present opportunity, will find, in the country to which
they are invited, whatever can contribute to their comfort,

LOUD SELKIRK'S PROSPECTUS. 361

success, or happiness, provided they are industrious and
economical.

This colony is situated between the 49th and 50th degrees
of north latitude, about two hundred and thirty leagues south
of Hudson's Bay, not far from the sources of the Mississippi.
The climate is mild and very healthy; the winter is not
colder nor longer than in our mountainous countries, but the
summer is much hotter. The country consists of extensive
plains, interspersed with mountains, not high, by no means
rugged, and generally covered with beautiful forests.

These immense plains are clothed with the most luxuriant
herbage, thus forming fine natural meadows, easy of cultiva-
tion, the settler having nothing to do but to throw up the turf
with the plough or spade, after which he may immediately
sow or plant ; the soil is remarkably fertile, the first crop
producing from thirty-five to forty-five times the quantity of
seed. Every species of corn, potatoes, pulse, vegetable, hemp,
flax, tobacco, and all kinds of fruit-trees, even the most deli-
cate, grow and thrive there in perfection: Wood, either for
fuel or building, in short for all the purposes of life, is in the
greatest plenty. These immense meadows maintain a pro-
digious quantity of game of every description, and particu-
larly innumerable herds of wild oxen, which any person is
at liberty to kill, or to take alive and tame, thus providing
himself with as much meat and leather as he may want.
The country abounds in lakes and rivers filled with excellent
fish, at the disposal of every one, both for food and traffic.
Numerous salt pits afford to the settler an easy and abun-
dant supply of this essential article of life and rural economy.
The country also produces the sugar-maple, from which is
prepared a sugar equal to the cane. In short, whatever is
necessary to life may be attained in great plenty, with much
facility and little labour: so that few counties offer so

362 LORD SELKIRK'S PROSPECTUS.

many natural sources of comfort, wealth and happiness to
new settlers.

The number of families is, at present, about three hundred.
A fortress, more than two hundred houses, saw and flour-
mills, are already built; and, as there is no deficiency of
artisans of every description, any one, on his arrival, may
procure whatever is necessary to his establishment. European
cattle, pigs, sheep, even those of the Merino breed, have
been conveyed thither, and thrive remarkably well : the Me-
rinos, in particular, encrease with great rapidity ; and as in
these immense meadows every planter is at liberty to graze
his flocks or mow the grass, he may multiply this breed of
sheep to any extent he pleases. It is easy to form an idea
of the sources of riches which this single article offers to the
planter. Excellent native horses may be purchased of the
Indians, in any number, at eight or ten crowns each. In
short, the country supplies in profusion whatever can be re-
quired for the convenience, pleasure, or comfort of life. It
is also provided with great facilities for the sale of its pro-
duce. The first market open to the settlers, is that of the
new comers, who annually and constantly flock thither from
all parts, and who, for many years to come, will consume
nearly all that the settlers can produce. Besides this, the
English Hudson's Bay Company has entered into an engage-
ment with Earl Selkirk, to purchase from the settlers of this
colony all the provisions or commodities it may want for its
immense fur trade, and to pay for them the same prices as in
England ; and, as in that country provisions are very dear,
it is easy to conceive the profit and advantage which this ar-
rangement offers to the planters. The same Company has
engaged to become the agents of the colony, to export and
convey, on the most moderate terms, all the productions of
the colony, such as hemp, flax, wool, tobacco, &c. in its ships

LORD SELKIRK'S PROSPECTUS. 363

to England, to sell them there for the settlers, and to remit
the amount, either in money or goods, at their option.

The conditions on which the planters are received and en-
gaged are moderate, and not burdensome.

As to the conveyance of the Swiss to the colony, each
individual of either sex, above fifteen years of age, is to pay
twenty-one louis, at fifteen livres, of which, however, only ten
louis ready money are to be paid at the time of sailing ; the
remaining eleven louis may be paid by instalments, and at the
convenience of the person after his arrival at the colony,
during a term of four or five years, at an interest of five per
cent.

Each child between ten and sixteen, is to pay seven louis
ready money, and afterwards eight, as above.

Each child between two and ten to pay five louis, and
afterwards six, as above.

For this sum, Earl Selkirk engages and promises —

1st. To convey the planters from Switzerland to Rotter-
dam at his own expense; to provide and have ready for
them, a good ship, supplied with good provision and in suf-
ficient quantity ; the embarkation to take place on their arri-
val at Rotterdam and the vessel to sail immediately. Captain
May engages to accompany the planters to Rotterdam ; to
take care of them during the voyage ; to conduct them on
board the ship, distributing and arranging them in such a
manner as to secure them sufficient room ; to inspect the pro-
visions, taking care that they are in sufficient quantity and of
good quality ; in short, to adopt every measure and precau-
tion essential to their comfort during the voyage, which, he
assures his countrymen, he will exert every effort to render
as agreeable as possible.

2nd. On their arrival at Hudson's Bay, where they will
disembark, they will find a sufficient number of boats and

364 LORD SELKIRK'S PROSPECTUS.

boatmen, supplied with necessary provisions, ready to receive
them and convey them up Nelson River and Lake Winipeg
to the colony there, as they will be distributed in the houses
of the settlers already established, till they have built their
own, for which they will receive every instruction, and the
requisite supply of wood.

3rd. Such persons as are too poor to purchase food, will
be supplied with provisions during the first year, or till the
first crop. These, with their industry, will enable them to
live, provided, however, that they contribute as much as pos-
sible to the support of their families, by hunting and fishing,
for which they will receive instruction and whatever else is
necessary; otherwise they will have no claim on this assis-
tance.

4th. They shall be supplied with grain, potatoes, and other
seed necessary for the first sowing and planting of their
lands; for these they shall pay in kind, at the first crop.

5th. They shall be supplied on credit, and at the most
reasonable prices, with whatever they may want for their
first establishment, whether furniture, kitchen -utensils, or
implements of husbandry, &c. They shall be allowed suffi-
cient time to repay the amount of these advances, and the
interest at five per cent.

Gthly. To every father of a family, to every young married
couple, and to every adult, desirous of having an establish-
ment of his own, shall be assigned a hundred acres of land,
to become for ever his property, and that of his descendants
without any purchase-money or charge whatever ; for which
an annual and regular rent, equally moderate, reasonable,
and easy to the settler, is to be paid in kind, according to
tho following proportions : —

For the first year, nothing.

For the second year, twenty English bushels of wheat.

LORD SELKIRK'S PROSPECTUS. 365

For the third year, thirty English bushels of wheat.

For the fourth year, forty ditto.

For the fifth and following years, fifty ditto ; —
making half a bushel per acre; which, considering the
great fertility of the soil, is certainly very moderate, and by
no means burdensome to the settler, particularly as this is
the only ground-rent or charge which he will have to pay to
the proprietor of the land : besides, he may release himself
from this charge whenever he pleases, by a single payment
of five hundred bushels of wheat, in consequence of which
he will be for ever freed from this rent, and possess his land
exempt from all claims whatever.

Should a settler bring property with him, and wish to
purchase land instead of renting it, Earl Selkirk will sell
him a lot, which cannot be less than one hundred, nor more
than five hundred acres, at seventy-two baches per acre,
which he will assign to him as his property and that of his
heirs for ever, free from all rent charge ; and he may choose
his lot wherever he may think proper.

If the whole purchase-money is paid before departure,
twenty per cent shall be deducted for prompt payment;
otherwise a third of the sum shall be paid before departure,
the other two thirds to be paid in three instalments, with an
interest of five per cent upon the sum remaining unpaid; one
every year for three years.

The number of settlers for the ensuing year may amount to
five hundred persons, including fifty young unmarried women,
healthy, strong, and robust, to be married to an equal num-
ber of Swiss young men, who are already settlers at the
colony.

A contract shall be regularly drawn up between Captain
May, in the name of Earl Selkirk, and each settler. This
contract shall contain whatever each party engages to per-
form, that every one may know what he has to do, and what

366 LORD SELKIRK'S PROSPECTUS.

to expect. Each party shall have a duplicate, signed by the
said Captain May and the respective settler, in presence of
two legal witnessess ; and this contract shall be written or
printed on stamped paper.

The departure shall take place at the end of April, next
year. Whoever intends to engage is requested to apply by
letter, post-paid, or personally, as soon as possible, to
Captain May d'Uzistorf, at Berne.

Berne, May 20th, 1820.

(Signed) R. MAY D'UZISTORF,

Captain in his Britannic Majesty's service, and
Agent Plenipotentiary to Lord Selkirk.

LETTER XIX.

Julian Sources of the Mississippi
and the Bloody River,

August 31st, 1823.

I WRITE to you from the midst of deserts, under
the vault of heaven ; a large maple is the only
roof which shelters, the only closet which se-
cludes me : the solitude — the deep silence
around me, is interrupted only by unknown
birds or strange and savage beasts. In this re-
mote and central wilderness, my heart and mind
are filled with the most delightful emotions.
Like another Colossus of Rhodes, I can almost
touch with either foot two of the most interest-
ing spots on the surface of the globe : I find
myself in a place which has been the object of
so" many researches, but which has till now

368 BOLD RESOLUTION.

never been pressed by the foot of civilized man.
This moment, next to that which taught me to
appreciate the treasure of friendship that I have
lost, is the finest of my life.

The situation of Pembenar clearly pointed out
to me that towards the south-east I should per-
haps find what had been the object of my
wanderings in these wild and remote regions ;
and I immediately resolved to follow that direc-
tion. But I had great difficulties to conquer.
Not an individual in that place knew either the
way, or even the Red river above the point
at which the Robber's river falls into it. Every-
body represented to me the dangers which I was
going to brave among the Indians, who are
generally described as being very ferocious, and
who are still very unfriendly to the Americans.
I however found two Cypowais, who, having
lost one of their companions at the Cayenne
river, were going precisely to Red lake, to sti-
mulate and rouse his relatives and their nation
to avenge him on the Sioux, (the Yanctons,)
who had killed and quartered him. One of the
Bois- brutes, or Fire-brands, offered to accom-
pany me as far as the Robber's river with his
train of dogs, to carry a small quantity of dry
provisions which I had purchased, and my small
luggage, and to act likewise as my interpreter.
I instantly engaged the whole. I smothered

MR SNELLING. 369

the rising apprehensions which some were eager
to excite in my mind in order to intimidate me
from my design, and on the 9th ult. left behind
me Pembenar, the Major, and my horse. I sold
the last, as useless and burthensome in an ex-
cursion through unknown regions, thick forests,
lakes, and deep rivers. With no slight regret
I quitted this faithful friend Buffalo, the fearless
companion of so many chaces and dangers : I
should have been not a little glad to have kept
him and taken him back with me to Italy. He
would have been a living memorial to me of in-
teresting events, and would have excited the
jealousy of my Bucharest, whom, if he be still in
existence, I should thus have punished for having
broken my thigh : could I have enclosed him in
my portfolio, he would unquestionably have re-
turned with me. I can safely assert, that this
beautiful animal would appear a second Buce-
phalus were he mounted by another Alexander,
and would be thought by no means the most
contemptible of senators if he belonged to ano-
ther Caligula. I substituted for him a small
mule, used to the country, which I hired of
another Bois-brule.

I cannot but gratefully acknowledge the kind-
ness felt for me in this situation by colonel
Snelling's son, who shewed the most friendly
concern and apprehensions for me. He also left

VOL. II. B B

370 DR SAY AND THE MAJOR.

the Major at the same time, not without violent
altercation, and went back to Fort St Peter,
by way of lake Traverse. He quitted me in
tears, exclaiming, " What will my father say ?"
With considerable regret I parted from Dr Say,
one of the naturalists attached to the expedition,
the only one who deserved the designation. He
is Professor of Zoology at Philadelphia, and dis-
tinguished at once by modesty and merit.

The expedition was intended to descend as
far as lake Winipeg; pass up the river Wini-
peg, and that of the woods ; ascend Rain river,
and from Rain lake descend to lake/Superior;
then to cross lakes Huron, St Clair, and Erie, to
Buffalo canal, and return by that and the New
York road to Philadelphia. I now leave these
gentlemen to the care of a good providence, and
return to the subject of my own concerns and
progress.

The two first days after our separation I ex-
perienced only a few difficulties in passing along
places infested by wolves, in which my Indian
guides had to strike out for themselves the
quickest road to accelerate the completion of their
vengeance. Their natural compass was as exact
as the most finished production of art and science :
I have already mentioned with what facility they
discover their proper route both by day and by
night, even when the stars are concealed.

DELIGHTFUL SPORTING. 371

On the third day my poor dogs, which were by
that time exhausted by fatigue, found insur-
mountable obstacles in the marshes and woods.
We were compelled, therefore, to load my mule
with nearly the whole of my baggage ; and
I consequently proceeded in the style of St
Francis.

The interpreter informed me that it was ne-
cessary to follow blindly and implicitly the
savages whom we liad connected ourselves with ;
for on the least contradiction they would have left
us on the spot. I therefore in every possible way
consulted their humours : we halted when they
pleased ; we smoked when they desired it,
although I never smoke myself but for form and
ceremony ; they partook whenever they liked of
everything eatable that I had with me ; and,
even more than that, I frequently regaled them
with heath-cocks, which I killed in considerable
numbers on our way. The Indian, having
neither powder nor ball to throw away, and
rarely aiming at game when on the wing, is but
little expert at this description of sport. My
companions were, therefore, extremely aston-
ished at the dexterity with which I brought
down my game at almost every fire ; and I of
course exerted my best efforts to justify the
name which they had bestowed upon me, and
inspire them with an imposing opinion of my

372 KITCY OKIMAN.

powers. I was desirous, like the first Spaniards
in America, to appear as a superhuman being in
their eyes, in order to excite their respect and
submission : but the most subtle and refined
malice has now succeeded to that species of
simplicity which formerly distinguished them ;
and they have become more cruel and ferocious
in proportion as they have discovered that white
men regard them as an inferior caste to themselves,
appropriate their lands under pretence of de-
fending them, and, while affecting to confer
favours by engaging in commerce with them,
degrade them into mere slaves of their own
avarice. They denominated me the Great
Warrior ; and when an explanation was asked
of them, at my request, they answered that they
had dreamed I was such ; and their dreams are
ever considered by them as infallible. You
must now, therefore, regard me as Kitcy Oki-
man.

On the fourth day I killed a young white bear,
and one of the Indians killed another : the dam
had apparently incurred the same fate, for we
sought for her in vain. With a little bread I
should have had a feast for an epicure, for heath-
cocks and the cubs of bears are high dainties : but
all Pembenar was unable to furnish me with a
grain of wheat or an ounce of flour meal.

The white bear is the only wild beast of these

WHITE AND BLACK BEARS. 373

regions that is dangerous. He almost always
attacks the traveller, and when hungry never
fails to do so. One of these animals, last year,
rushed into the canoe of two Bois-brules while
they were resting near the bank, and seizing
one of them, dragged him into the forest,
while the other, whose musket had become wet,
was totally disabled from assisting him. For-
tunately, however, a party of Indians were
hunting near the spot, who ran to his assistance
and killed the bear while still grasping his prey.
The unfortunate man was merely wounded, and
gave me the recital of the circumstance himself,
and likewise sold me the animal's skin. The
black bear, on the contrary, is extremely timid,
and always on the approach of man betakes
itself to flight. Next to the buffalo it is the most
valuable of all animals to the Indians. Its skin,
its. flesh, its fat, its tendons, even its nails and
teeth, are all convertible to purposes of utility.

Nature has distinguished this animal by pe-
culiar characters. He feeds entirely on fruits
during summer and autumn, and it is at those
seasons that the Indians go in search of him in
places where fruits are abundant, and destroy
him. When the cold weather commences he
proceeds to hide himself in the hollow of some
tree, or in a hole which he digs for himself in the
earth. Here he remains completely motionless,

374 PECULIAR CHARACTER OF BEARS.

apparently under the influence of the soundest
sleep, for the whole of the winter. He sustains
himself by sucking his paws, from which the fat
with which his body is covered seems to pass
for his nourishment. The Indians discover his
abode sometimes by means of dogs which scent
him, sometimes by the place which his breathing
marks in the snow, and they destroy him with-
out his making the least resistance or even mo-
tion, so that a single pike or lance is sufficient
for the purpose. In the spring, the season when
he quits his den, he in the first place exerts
himself to regain possession as it were of those
natural powers which have remained suspended-
or paralysed during the whole winter. He
cleanses himself by purgative and diuretic sim-
ples, which nature points out to him with more
clearness than they are indicated by our physi-
cians and botanists. As, however, so long an
abstinence, and this succeeding purgation, must
necessarily have weakened his stomach, and it
is consequently necessary for him to follow a
light regimen, he commences with fish.

The manner of his conducting his fishing is
truly extraordinary. Sitting on his hind paws
on the bank of a river or a lake, he continues so
perfectly motionless that he might be mistaken
for a burnt trunk of some tree, which frequently
deceives even the keen and practised eye of an

ROBBER'S RIVER. 375

Indian himself. With his right paw he seizes
with incredible celerity and skill the fish which
unsuspectingly pass under his eyes, and throws
them on the bank. When he has obtained a
plentiful supply for his table, he regales himself
on a portion of it, and conceals the rest, that he
may have sure recourse to it, as appetite serves,
during the day : he appears perfectly to know
that morning and evening are the only times for
fishing. He afterwards proceeds to a more
substantial fare, to the flesh of beasts which he
hunts, or finds dead, and at length he returns
to his diet of fruits. Thus, at successive pe-
riods of the year, he is a piscivorous, carnivorous,
and frugivorous animal .

On the fifth day we arrived at Robber's river
(called Wamans-Watpa by the Sioux and Po-
wisci-sibi, by the Cypowais), so denominated
because one of the Sioux, in his flight from the
vengeance which had been denounced against
him for murder, kept himself concealed, and
robbed on this spot for many years, escaping
the observation of his persecutors and enemies,
by whom he was completely surrounded. We
passed along its bank for two or three miles,
to the place where it falls into the Red river,
and there my Indian attendants discovered
their canoe, which was concealed among the
brambles.

376 SACRIFICE TO MICILIKI.

I had been informed at Pembenar, that a
number of Bois-bruiles had proceeded to this
confluence in order to erect huts for their winter-
hunting establishment, and that some one of
them would certainly be able to accompany me,
and act as my interpreter, as far as Red lake,
and, if I desired it, still farther; but we
found none there. The Cypowais had driven
them away, as we were informed by one of the
latter, and they were gone to establish them-
selves about a hundred miles lower down. On
the other hand, my interpreter from Pembenar
could not possibly continue with me : besides
his having to conduct back the mule, other pow-
erful reasons operated to prevent him. I was
therefore compelled to decide; and I delivered
myself over to the care of my two Indians.

We had not again proceeded up the river more
than two miles before they stopped, and pre-
sented an offering of dry provisions and tobacco
to Miciliki, the Manitou of Waters. This was a
stake painted red, and fixed under a kind of
sacellum, like those of antiquity, and the cere-
mony is by no means modern. They were, for
this once, more generous towards their deities
than Indians in such circumstances generally
are: the reason is, that their offering was at
my expense.

The frequent rapids which we had met with

DANGEROUS ADVENTURE. 377

in the course of five or six miles, and which had
compelled us to walk continually in the water,
and over pointed and cutting rocks, in order to
preserve our canoe from injury, had very much
fatigued us, and our appetite also induced us to
make a halt : we accordingly did so, and after
eating my repast, I went to sleep beneath a tree,
recommending myself to the care of providence.
I was awakened by discharges of fire-arms,
and on starting up perceived five or six Indians
on the opposite bank of the river, apparently
desirous to cross it. On seeing me they seemed
struck with astonishment and terror, and fled
with precipitation : one of our Indians was
wounded. Those who had fired at them were
Sioux. I was already known among the In-
dians of that nation, as the Tonka- Wasci-tio-
honsca, or the Great Chief from afar country; and
my tall stature and noble horse had rendered
me the more remarked by them, as these are
two things of which they are extreme admirers.
When they again saw me on this spot, they
concluded that the whole expedition was there,
and fled with all haste for fear of being recog-
nized. This was the idea that first presented
itself to my mind, and I instantly acted upon it.
We jumped immediately into our canoe; I per-
formed to the best of my power the labours of
the wounded Indian, who had his left arm shot

378 CONSPIRACY OF MY SAVAGES.

completely through, and his right shoulder
grazed. The ball, however, had not touched
the bone of the arm, and* the wound in the
shoulder had injured only the integuments. The
juice of some boiled roots was applied as the
healing balsam ; the down of a swan-skin, which
I had purchased at Pembenar, was substituted
for lint, my handkerchief served for a bandage,
and the bark of a tree called owigobinigy, or
white wood, answered the purpose of securing
the arm in a sling. We kept on our course till
evening, and saw nothing more of them.

My intrepid champions saw nothing but Sioux.
The slightest sound from wind or water, the
shadow of a tree or of a rock, everything was
the Sioux. I discovered that they were plotting
against me, for they carefully avoided my looks.
I had not the slightest doubt that they meant to
leave me on the spot, and determined therefore
to make them re-embark, it being more easy to
guard them in the canoe. About midnight we
stopped. I had but little to fear, being left with-
out my canoe, for I was already well aware that
their intention must be to continue their course
by land, by a route which would conduct them
in two or three days to Red lake ; whereas,
were they to proceed by the river they would
require more than six. However, I considered
that no precaution ought to be neglected by me ;

PERPLEXING DESERTION. 379

I therefore drew the canoe to land, and fast-
ened it to a tree by a cord, one end of which I
tied to my leg, and then laid myself down by
the side of them in such a manner that they
could not rise, even if I should be able to sleep,
without waking me. These precautions, and
my musket and my sword between my legs,
ready for immediate use, kept them quiet the
whole night.

On the following morning they embarked
without difficulty. But this was only with a
view of reaching a certain point, whence the
route by land was shorter. I might have used
violence against them if I had chosen, for cer-
tainly I had no fear of them ; I had even taken
the precaution of putting water into their musket
barrels : but I should only have exasperated their
nation, in a territory where it was now absolute
and despotic, and where I could expect no as-
sistance but from my own energies and the care
of providence ; I therefore suffered them quietly
to go off. They intimated to me, what I was
before well aware of, that they were going to
leave me. They invited me to follow them, and
to leave the canoe, provisions, and baggage, con-
cealed in the brushwood. I deliberated with
myself on the subject for a moment: I consi-
dered that the river was my best and surest

380 DREADFUL SITUATION.

way, that I was in possession of a canoe, pro-
visions, a musket, a sword, and ammunition;
whereas, by accepting their invitation, I should
be following barbarians who had the cowardice
to abandon a stranger confided to their guar-
dianship at Pembenar by their most intimate
friends, one who had treated them as brothers,
saved them from the hands of the enemy, healed
their wounds, and assisted them kindly with all
his means. I should, with wretches of this
description, be exposing myself in inextricable
forests, in the midst of swamps and lakes, and
abandoning to the mercy of a thousand acci-
dents, my baggage, my provisions, and mate-
rials for the presents, which are indispensable
passports through a savage country. My deter-
mination, therefore, was soon fixed : after having
vainly endeavoured to make them comprehend
that both Manitous and men would punish such
atrocity, I commanded them by words and signs
peremptorily to be gone.

I imagine, my dear Countess, that you will
feel the frightfulness of my situation at this cri-
tical moment more strongly than I can express
it. I really can scarcely help shuddering, as
well as yourself, whenever I think of it. For-
tunately, I was not at the time overpowered
and confounded. Woe be to us, if in exigen-

NEW KIND OF PILGRIMAGE. 381

cies like this, despair takes possession of our
minds. In that case all is completely over
with us !

To the indignation which I could not help
feeling at the conduct of these wretches, the
most perfect calm succeeded ; and I soon even
changed tragedy for comedy. I began by smil-
ing at my singular adventures ; and was soon
inclined to think that I had been wrong in
refusing credit to those of Robinson Crusoe. A
good breakfast, which strengthened both my
stomach and my mind, was the first step in my
new career as a hero of romance. I then care-
fully put my gun in order, to be able to defend
myself against the attack of white bears, which
abound near the Red river. With respect to
the Indians, I was already so accustomed to see
them, and often even to despise them, that they
gave me not the slightest apprehension of danger ;
and this circumstance did away with one impor-
tant obstacle (as I should formerly have felt it)
to the resolute continuance of the course I had
adopted.

The solitude I now experienced, which ro-
mance-writers would not have found so pleasant
and delightful as that which they have been
pleased to exhibit in their fictions, impressed
me at first with ideas the most dreadful. But

382 CURIOUS NAVIGATION.

this, perhaps, was merely designed to try the
strength of my mind, and elevate it above the
standard of the vulgar.

Never was I offered by providence a more
favourable opportunity for entertaining self-
esteem without vanity ; and my modesty was
indulgent enough to permit me freely to enjoy
it, with a view to my rendering myself still more
worthy of it. But your mind is too much agi-
tated about my fate to enter into these reflec-
tions— you are too eager to know what befell
me — I proceed therefore to lift the curtain.

I must, said I to myself, leave this place some
way or other ; and I jumped into my canoe and
began rowing. But I was totally unacquainted
with the almost magical art by which a single
person guides a canoe, and particularly a ca-
noe formed of bark, the lightness of which is
overpowered by the current, and the conduct
of which requires extreme dexterity. Fre-
quently, instead of proceeding up the river, I
descended ; a circumstance which by no means
shortened my voyage. Renewed efforts made
me lose my equilibrium, the canoe upset, and
admitted a considerable quantity of water. My
whole cargo was wetted. I leaped into the
water, drew the canoe on land, and laid it to
drain with the keel upwards. I then loaded it

UNUSUAL PROMENADE. 383

again, taking care to place the wetted part of
my effects uppermost, to be dried by the sun.
I then resumed my route.

You sympathize with the embarrassment in
which you conceive I must have been involved,
with all my difficulties and want of means for
continuing my course. I bore all however with
great philosophy, and with a resignation which
I believe you will readily admit is not very na-
tural to me. I could scarcely help incessantly
smiling. I threw myself into the water up to
my waist, and commenced a promenade of a
rather unusual kind, drawing the canoe after
me with a thong from a buffalo's hide, which I
had fastened to the prow.

The first day of my expedition, the 15th
of the month, was employed in this manner, and
I did not stop till the evening. It was natural
to expect that I should be fatigued ; but I was
not in the least so. While thus dragging after
me my canoe, with a cord over my shoulder,
an oar in my hand for my support, my back
stooping, my head looking down, holding con-
versation with the fishes beneath, and making
incessant windings in the river, in order to
sound its depths, that I might most safely pass ;
I must leave it to your imagination to conceive
the variety and interest of the ideas which ra-
pidly passed in review before my mind !

384 MORE THAN PROMENADING.

I quitted my cenoa and hid it. I was com-
pletely wet, as was inevitable. I would have
kindled a fire, but the Indians had carried off
my steel ; and I could not succeed in doing-
it with my gun. I was unable therefore to
dry myself for the whole night; and when,
on the morrow, I resumed my progress, my
clothes, as you may suppose, seemed to have
no dread of getting into contact with the
water, for they were as completely soaked as
they had been when taken out, of it the evening
before.

The weather on the second day of my pro-
gress was very disagreeable. A storm which
commenced before mid-day continued till night.
Notwithstanding this, however, I did not relax
an instant but to take my food. I saw the hand
of providence in the physical and moral vigour
which supported me during this dreadful con-
flict. In the evening I had no access to a more
comfortable hearth than on the preceding one.
My bear skin and my coverlid, which consti-
tuted the whole of my bed, were completely
soaked ; and, what was worse, the mould be-
gan to affect my provisions. I was almost
tempted to think that it was all over with my
promenades, and that I began to travel, and that
not very comfortably.

On the morning of the 17th, the sun's beams

NECESSITY AND INDUSTRY. 385

gilded the awful solitude by which I was sur-
rounded, and I eagerly availed myself of their in-
fluence. I laid out my provisions, baggage, gun,
and sword, and stretched myself also at full
length under his rays. The powder, which had
fortunately been closely confined in tin canisters,
was the only thing that escaped the water.

Necessity makes man industrious, and the
necessity I was now under to become so was
great indeed, as otherwise it was impossible for
me to continue my progress. The river became
narrower and deeper the farther I ascended it,
as is the case with all rivers originating in lakes.
It was thus absolutely indispensable for me to
learn how to guide the canoe with the oar. I
set myself, therefore, to study this art in good
earnest; and in the afternoon, when I struck
my tent, I exerted myself first to pass several
deep gulfs, and afterwards to traverse short
stages or distances of the river : but the fatigue
I endured was extreme ; and I preferred return-
ing to my drag-rope whenever the river per-
mitted my walking in it. As appearances
seemed to threaten rain, I covered my effects
with my umbrella, stuck into the bottom of my
canoe. It was singular enough to see them
conveyed thus in the stately style and manner
of China, while I was myself condemned to
travel in that of a galley slave : nor could I

VOL. II. C C

386 PICTURE OF A NOCTURNAL SOLITUDE.

help reflecting on those unfortunate victims
of despotism which the Restoration has con-
demned to drag the vessels on the Danube. As
it was of consequence for me to avail myself
of everything that could promote cheerful-
ness and keep up my spirits, I could not help
smiling, which I am sure, my dear Countess,
you would yourself have done, at the sight of
my grotesque convoy. This night was less
painful ; my bed was dry ; and, but for the mil-
lions of gnats, which incessantly attacked me,
and almost flayed me alive, I am convinced that
I should have enjoyed sound and uninterrupted
sleep.

Whenever I awoke, the view presented to my
imagination by my actual circumstances was
truly frightful ; but my mind, instead of yield-
ing to despair, rose in firmness with the exigence
of the occasion ; and the death-like silence, inter-
rupted only by the depressing notes of night
birds and the howlings of bears and wolves ; the
darkness, through which the moon pierced in
these vast and gloomy forests, only to exhibit
doubtful and startling images ; instead of appal-
ling or alarming me, only inspired me with a
pensive feeling equally new and pleasing : a
state of mind strongly felt, but perhaps almost
impossible to be communicated.

The morning of the 18th awakened me to my

RENCONTRE WITH SAVAGES. 387

active duties, and I proceeded in my course ;
and before mid-day fell in with two canoes of
Indians.

Being alone in a canoe of their nation, with
three muskets, (for those of my two Indians were
in my possession,) I might naturally have been
apprehensive of exciting their most dangerous
suspicions. But; heaven be praised, I enter-
tained no apprehension whatever. I called to
them with confidence, while they, struck with
wonder at so extraordinary an object, halted on
the opposite bank of the river. What astonished
them most was my superbly conveyed baggage.
They could form no idea of what that great red
skin (my umbrella) could, possibly be, nor of
what was placed beneath it ; and, observing me
walking in the water, they perhaps imagined
me to be their Midliki. Some Catholics, from
the tallness of my stature, would have thought
they saw our Saint Christopher : if the latter
carried the infant Jesus, I might be well said to
carry the cross. At length, however, they po-
litely replied to my Aniscidn nigy, (Good day,
my friends) ; but they could not recover from
their surprise, and approached me with great
hesitation.

I made them comprehend what had occurred
to me, and that I wanted one of them to accom-
pany me as far as Red lake. At first they

388 SOLITUDE AND INDEPENDANCE.

started immense difficulties ; but a woman was
captivated by the beauty of my handkerchief,
which was hanging from my pocket ; a lad was
fascinated with the one I had about my neck,
and an old man muffled up in a miserable ragged
rug, which through its innumerable holes dis-
played nearly one half of his person, had already
cast his rapacious glance on mine ; pretending to
search for something in my portmanteau, a bit
of calico which casually came to hand excited
the full gaze of one of the young girls; and my
provisions, which they had already tasted,
strongly stimulated their gormandizing appetite :
I satisfied the whole of them, and the old man
decided to accept my proposal. He took the
helm of my vessel, and we set off.

This assistance extricated me from a situa-
tion which certainly was by no means pleasant,
and it was so much the more valuable as it
would have been impossible for me to proceed
alone, because the river was constantly en-
creasing in depth. Notwithstanding this, how-
ever, my mind was in a state of incessant
agitation as I proceeded, and I perceived its
attention completely occupied about some-
thing which it left behind it with regret. It
was no difficult matter for me to detect this
secret. My mind was, in fact, adverting to the
four days of its solitude and independance, and

CURIOUS INCIDENT. 389

had addressed to itself some such language as
the following, " You have experienced complete
solitude, you have tasted genuine independance,
you will from this time never enjoy them more.
The independance and solitude represented in
books, or to be found among civilized nations
are vain and chimerical." I, at that moment
fully comprehended why the Indians consider
themselves happier than cultivated nations, and
far superior to them.

It is difficult to meet with a rower as strong
as my patriarchal companion, and we advanced
at a rapid rate, without stopping, till the evening.
Our table was furnished with a couple of ducks :
I had fire to make a roast, and I shot them
accordingly. Though my bed was without a
coverlid, (the cunning old fellow having left in
his own canoe the one which I had given him,)
yet wrapping myself, like the Indians, in the
skin I wore about me, I lay down to rest very
comfortably. In the course of the night I was
waked by my cautionary cord; and, at first, I
imagined that my pilot was also going to desert
me, but it turned out to be occasioned by some
large animal who had taken a fancy to my pro-
visions. I gently seized my gun which I always
keep at my side, and in an instant brought him
down.

390 NEW MANITOU.

My Indian, confounded by the report of fire-
arms, thought he had been attacked by the
Sioux, about whom, not improbably, he had been
dreaming, and immediately betook himself to
flight. I called out to him, I ran towards him
to convince him of his error and restore his con-
fidence, but the forest and darkness concealed
him from my view, and thus in a moment my
solitude and independance were renewed. How-
ever, I could still have smiled at the adventure,
if such an expression of feeling had been at all
seasonable.

I waited for him in vain for the remainder of
the night. Two discharges of the gun however,
which I fired off immediately one after the other,
(considered by them as a signal of friendship,)
brought him back to his quarters with the dawn
of day.

We searched for the animal I had fired at,
which it seems retained strength sufficient to
drag itself to a few paces distance among the
brushwood, to which traces of blood guided us;
it proved to be a wolf. My companion refused
to strip the animal of its skin, a superb one,
viewing it at the same time with an air of
respect, and murmuring within himself some
words, the meaning of which will probably sur-
prise you. In fact, the wolf was his Manitou.

FAIRIES AND NYMPHS. 391

He expressed to it the sincerity of his regret for
what had happened, and informed it that he was
not the person who had destroyed it.

On the 19th, my Mentor wanted to play me
the trick of handing me over to the charge of
another Indian whom we fell in with ; but T gave
him a frown, and he went on with me. We
again made a good day's progress, to which I
contributed by rowing to the best of my ability.

Night arrived without his pausing in his ex-
ertions. He gave me to understand that it was
indispensable for him to reach the destined
place without delay, and appeared excessively
eager to rejoin his canoes.

Much fatigued, and shivering under a cold
moist air, with which the night-dews in this
country pierce to the very bones, I lay down
under my bear- skin to sleep. A distant sound
awoke me, and I found myself alone in my
canoe, in the midst of rushes. On turning my
head I observed three or four torches approaching
me. My imagination had at first transported
me to the enchanted land of fairies, and I was
in motionless expectation of receiving a visit
from their ladyships, or of being addressed like
Telemachus, by the nymphs. They proved
however to be female Indians, who came to
convey my effects, and to guide me to their hut.
My Charon, who from purgatory had conducted

392 ARRIVAL AT RED LAKE.

me to Hell, had applied to them for this pur-
pose, and then hastened his return to his family
who were waiting for him where he first met
with me. I was now at Red lake, at the marshy
spot whence the river springs, and about a mile
from an Indian encampment.

I was conducted to a hut covered with the
bark of trees, like those which I have already
described to you as belonging to the Cypowais,
but on a larger scale. I there found fourteen
Indians, male and female, nineteen dogs, and a
wolf. The latter was the first to do the honours
of the house ; however, as he was fastened, he
could not attack me so effectively as he was evi-
dently desirous of doing, and merely tore my
pantaloons, which were, indeed, the only pair I
had still serviceable. This wolf was one of
their household gods.

The first two of the Indians that my eyes
glanced on were my former treacherous com-
panions : I appeared not to observe them. I
desired the women to hang up my provisions
to the posts which supported the roof, to pre-
serve them from the voracity of the dogs ; and,
not having any power to help myself, I lay
down in the corner assigned to me in this into-
lerably filthy stable. When I got up again,
you will easily believe that I did not rise
alone : thus I incurred an addition of wounds

PICTURE OF MY FIGURE. 393

and inflictions on a body which the pointed flints
and cutting shells of the river, and the boughs
of trees, thorns, brambles and musquitos, had
previously converted into a Job.

On the morning of the 20th, I desired to
be conducted to a Bois-brule for whom I had
brought a letter from Pembenar. I was told
that he resided at a distance, and that the waters
of the lake were in a state of great agitation. I
could not even obtain the favour of having him
sent for, for this happened to be the day when
it was the bounden duty of all the members of
the hut to devote themselves to yelling, eating,
drinking, and dancing, in commemoration of the
Indian killed at the river Cayenne. I quitted the
place, and offered the only handkerchief that I
had remaining to the first Indian whom I met,
and he immediately went off with my letter.

The funeral ceremony presented nothing more
extraordinary than what we have already seen,
excepting the pillaging of my provisions in ho-
nour of the hero of the fete ; and the convulsions
of the father and mother composed to quietude
by the blowings and exorcisms of the priests,
and the wounds inflicted on the arms and legs,
the contortions, yellings, and howlings of his
relatives.

The Indians of this tribe, amounting in num-
ber to about five hundred, and presided over by
a chief denominated the Great Hare (Kitci-

394 EXTRAORDINARY DOCTRINE.

Wabouse,) do not inter their dead ; they burn
them, and scatter their ashes to the winds, in
order to enable them to reach heaven with
greater facility ; and even though only a thigh, a
leg, or a foot, should be burnt, they believe the
whole body goes with just the same certainty
to paradise : they conceive that this single
member cannot continue separated from the
rest of the body, and that by means of its celes-
tial power it attracts to itself all the others
which are possessed of a merely human nature
as long as they remain on earth. This explains
why the ceremony in question was so noisy and
violent : they manifested by the vehemence of
their yells the grief they felt from having in
their possession no member of the deceased to
burn.

A party of the relatives and friends was gone
on an expedition for discovering whether the
Sioux had left no remains whatever on the spot
where the tragedy had been acted, while my
old friend the pilot, as herald-at-arms, had pro-
ceeded to rouse the vengeance and implore the
succour of some Cypowais Jumpers, who were
scattered in various spots about the forests. The
doctrine of these Indians is strikingly singular,
it is perhaps held by them only, of all mankind.
For they seem to recognize rather the immorta-
lity of the body than that of the soul.

My Bois-brule had now arrived. He was one

SPEECH OF KITCI WABOUSE. 395

of the numerous progeny scattered over the
country by the vice and immorality of the fur
traders. He is the son of a Canadian, and a
female Indian of the tribe of the Cypowais.

The chief then addressed himself to me
through this interpreter : — "Great Warrior, my
people have deserted thee, and thereby excited
thine anger. But they entertained no evil de-
sign ; they consider thee to be brave, and cannot
possibly intend thee ill. Thou hast thyself been
witness of the infraction of treaties committed by
that nation of assassins, (the Sioux) ; my people
therefore had a double motive for quitting thee ;
it was incumbent upon them to come as soon
as possible, and rouse our vengeance, and he
who was wounded suffered very great pain.
They took the shortest way in their power. We
have offered nothing to thee because thou hadst
more provisions than we had, and better than
ours ; and then thou wast angry. We have this
day eaten a little of them because we were in
want, and thou art generous. If thou hast need
of us, tell me so. Smoke with us the calumet of
peace, and grant me a small portion of tobacco."
I accordingly gave him a little, smoked, and
then left him without making any answer. Had
I prolonged my stay, for ever so little time, In-
dian hospitality would have ended in consuming
the whole of my provisions.

396 MY INTERPRETER.

My Bois-brule resides about twelve miles dis-
tant from this encampment to the south of the
lake. The wind was too high for a canoe made
of bark, and the lake too violently agitated ; we
were compelled, therefore, to disembark, and
passed the night under an immense plane tree.
This plane is, perhaps, the Colossus of the
whole vegetable kingdom. The Indians adore
it as a Manitou ; the ancients would have done
the same, and though I am myself a modern, I
admire it as one of the most prodigious and
most beautiful productions of nature.

We arrived at his hut on the morning of
the 21st. Misery might be said to be personi-
fied in his family, and in all by which he was
surrounded; a wife (the daughter of a father
whom she has never seen,) nourishing an infant
at her breast, but nearly destitute of nourish-
ment herself, and five naked and famine- struck
children, constituted the whole of his property.
The uncertain fishery of the lake, and a small
quantity of maize, in its green and immature
state, furnish the whole means of their subsis-
tence. They are neither civilized nor savage,
possessing the resources of neither state, but
every inconvenience and defect of both. The
worst part of the case is, that this Bois-brule has
a great deal of natural talent, which serves only
to render him more dangerous. He has been

NEW DANGERS. 397

taught both to read and write, and has obtained
that species of education which just serves to
strengthen the innate evil propensities of the
man, when unaccompanied by that moral training
which is their proper curb and correction : in
fact, the obliquity of his character has quite
ruined him in the opinion of the traders who have
successively employed him; and his crimes
obliged him to abscond from Pembenar, where
I was informed that I ought to be more on my
guard against him than against the Indians them-
selves. I mention all these circumstances to
you, my dear Countess, because, with the truest
and noblest friendship, you are desirous of par-
ticipating, as it were, in every description of
danger incurred by me, and in order that those
of our mutual friends who may be inclined to
engage in the field of adventure like myself, may
learn how to meet and overcome the various
enemies they may have to encounter.

I immediately saw that from Scylla I had
fallen into Charybdis. I had recourse therefore
to two expedients, which I conceived to be best
adapted in similar circumstances to baffle the
mischievous machinations of grasping and greedy
minds, — I mean generosity and menace. I began
by sharing with him the small stock of provi-
sions and linen that I had remaining, to assuage
his indigence, the wants of himself and his

398 A GOOD LESSON.

family ; and then told him, in a firm and elevated
tone, that, when occasion required, 1 should not
hesitate to shew my teeth and exert my power;
that moreover every person at Pembenar well
knew that I had confided myself to his guidance,
and that the commandant of Fort St Peter, and
the government of the United States, would con-
sider 'him responsible for whatever might befall
me in passing through the Indian territories.
He then changed the manner and character of
his discourse. All the immense difficulties and
invincible objections which he had at first men-
tioned, and which I had pretended to hear with
the greatest indifference, almost immediately
vanished. He offered his services with alacrity
to assist me in surmounting the obstacles which
really existed, and sealed his promises by doing
me the honour to say, " You are a man of ten
thousand." But we will now return to the Red
river, from which we have somewhat, though
not unnaturally, digressed, and which we have
surveyed hitherto rather through the imagination
than the senses.

It presents no other extraordinary feature
than the very frequent winding of its course, in
which perhaps it is scarcely exceeded by the
Meander itself. It waters a country uniformly
level, and the rapids which we have seen do not
lower its level but by the height of its banks.

DESCRIPTION OF RED LAKE. 399

After Robber's river, as you ascend, no other
river flows into it, This is more particularly
to be noticed, because the English Hudson's
Bay Company, according to their theories,
have created on their map other Red rivers, with
many more tributary streams flowing into it
than this has.

At the distance of about forty miles from the
lake, its banks are lined with impenetrable forests;
above, the view is agreeably varied by smiling
meadows and .handsome shrubbery. On flowing
from the lake it passes among rushes and wild
rice. It is an error of geographers, founded on
the vague information of Indians, that it derives
its source from this lake ; indeed, a lake which
is formed by five or six rivers which flow into it
can never be considered as itself the source of
any single river. We shall soon have occasion
to look farther for this source.

The lake, by means of a streight, is divided into
two ports, one to the north-east and the other to
the south-west. Let us proceed to make the
circuit of the last, which is certainly the most
interesting.

It receives on the western side the river
Broachers, (Kinougeo-sibi,) and that of the Great
Rock, (Kisciacinabed-sibi;) to the south, the river
Kahasinilague-sibi, or Gravel river, near which the
hut of my Eois-bruli guide is situated ; that of

400 THE SOURCES OF ST LAWRENCE.

Kiogokague-sibi, or Gold-fish river ; and that of
Madaoanakan-sibi, or Great Portage river ; on the
south-east, Cormorant river, (Cacakisciou-sibi.)
A large tongue of land on the E.N.E. forms a
peninsula about four miles in length, and of
varying breadth, ending in a point towards the
west. At a little distance, towards the north,
there is another encampment of Indians, con-
sisting of about three hundred persons, the chief
of whom is the Grand Carabou, (Kisci-Adike).
The streight is situated to the N. N. E., and there
is a small island in the midst of its waters divi-
ding them into two. To the north we find ano-
ther tongue of land, which serves also to separate
the two lakes, and reaches as far as the streight,
commencing at the spot whence, as we have
seen, Red river, or (more properly speaking,)
Bloody river, proceeds. The other lake receives,
on the east, Sturgeon river, (Amenikanins-sibi).
By the channel of this river, and by means of two
portages there is a communication with Rain
river, from whence one can easily communicate
with lake Superior, to the south ; and with the
waters of Hudson's Bay, by the lake of Woods,
to the north. The waters which flow into lake
Superior on this side, may be considered as the
sources of the river St Lawrence.

These two lakes are about one hundred and
thirty miles in circumference ; and Red river

DISCOVERY OF EIGHT LAKES. 401

traverses about three hundred from the lake to
Pembenar ; but in a straight line the whole dis-
tance scarcely amounts to one hundred and sixty.

How much has it cost me, my dear Countess,
to write you these details ! Perhaps as much as
it will you to peruse them ; for, like all women
of spirit, you are fond of the brilliant and ro-
mantic. But our geographical friends would
accuse me of negligence if I forgot them in a
country completely unknown to them, and where
no white man had previously travelled. Our
political friends also would equally complain,
particularly our two F . . . , our B . . . , and
our S . . . ; for they also require similar details,
in order to avoid error in their frequent divisions
and distributions of the world.

In the course of an excursion which I made
to the south-west, I discovered eight small lakes,
undistinguished by names, which all communi-
cate with each other, and of which Gravel river
is the outlet. These lakes seem to have been
negligently scattered by nature through a terri-
tory sometimes gloomy and sometimes gay,
varied with hills and dales, and presenting to
the eye landscapes the most delightful and en-
chanting. I resolved to pass a night amidst
scenes so uncommonly charming, that I might
enjoy as long as possible the exquisite impres-

VOL. n. D D

402 SWEET SOUVENIRS.

sions they made upon my mind and senses. I
dedicated these lakes to the family to which
I am united by the most cordial friendship ; and
accordingly gave them the names of Alexander,
Lavinius, Everard, Frederica, Adela, Magdalena,
Virginia, and Eleonora. The purity of the waters
of these lakes I considered a correct image of that
of their minds ; and their union reminded me of
the affection by which the members of this
happy family are so tenderly connected.

The whole of this territory abounds with in-
numerable maple, or sugar trees, which the
Indians divide into various sugaries. The sap
of the trees flows through incisions made in
them by the Indians in spring at the foot of the
trunk. It is received in buckets of birch bark,
and conveyed to the laboratory of each respec-
tive sugary, where it is boiled in large cauldrons
till the watery parts are evaporated. The dregs
descend, and the saccharine matter remains ad-
hering to the sides of the vessel. When this
process is completed the sugar is made.

This commodity is, to the Indians, a most
valuable resource : they barter it for articles of
indispensable necessity ; it supplies them with
a salutary and excellent nourishment ; and when
taken in ptisan, or pure water, proves an effica-
cious remedy for complaints of the stomach and

INDIAN SUGAR. 403

bowels. It is the favourite application of their
quack doctors and clerical impostors, who
attribute the virtue of this wholesome product
and its balsamic effect to their own miserable jug-
glings. I find myself occasionally indisposed by
eating too copiously of the wild fruits of the coun-
try, forgetting under the sensation of hunger the
wise precept of the Salernian school respecting
both " quantity and quality." In these cases I
take a thin decoction of sugar, a few simples
which have been recommended to me, and
especially wild cherry wood, and my cure is
completed.

I returned to the encampment of Great Hare,
to engage an Indian to attend me, together with
my Bois-brule guide, during the continuance of
my excursion, and to purchase the canoe which
was the scene of my tragi- comedy on Red river :
for I was desirous of having it conveyed, if
possible, to my rural cottage, and preserve it
with my other Indian curiosities as a memorial
and trophy of my labours in these my trans-
atlantic promenades.

All the principal men of the tribe were assem-
bled, constituting the grand conclave or council
of Medicine. As I belonged to neither of the
five distinct societies or worlds known by savages,
being neither French, English, Spaniard, Ame-
rican, nor Indian, and consequently ought to be

404 DREADFUL MYSTERIES.

regarded as the member of an unknown world,
and could not be considered as profane, I was
permitted to enter.

They were engaged in blessing their favourite
and magic roots. The Great Man of Medicine,
Piscientha Onicy Asciatophy, gave out the tune of
their psalms, and each individual among the
initiated chanted his verse in turn. The roots
passed through the hands of every person, being
in the last instance returned to those of the
Great Man, who completed their consecration.
This was followed by eating ; for this process
accompanies every form and ceremony ; and in
this I also participated. I was still in the camp
when one of these devotees, if I may call them
so, died of poison. At the above repast each
person had his separate allowance placed on a
bark trencher ; the portion of the deceased had
been seasoned with one of those medicines which
he had himself joined with the rest in blessing.
He was a person held in suspicion by the Great
Man of Medicine.

In cases of this description vengeance is per-
fectly silent and inactive. No one speaks of
the matter ; not even relatives. The deceased
victim is lamented only in secret. His heart is
burnt privately, and the ashes are preserved by
their medical or priestly juggler, and distributed
to the true believers, as occasion requires, as

GREAT PORTAGE. 405

amulets of sovereign virtue. I saw the unfortu-
nate victim myself; he died calmly ; and the
other inhabitants of the hut, men, women, and
children, were at the time proceeding on their
own respective occupations with a coldness and
indifference absolutely appalling, not even turn-
ing on the dying man a single look. This event,
my dear Countess, recalled to my recollection a
number of others which made me sigh and
shudder at the baleful effects of imposture and
superstition. I then quitted the scene in a
state of great dejection and humiliation, with
a thousand painful reflections rushing on my
mind.

The river of Great Portage is so called by the
Indians because a dreadful storm that occurred
on it blew down a vast number of forest trees
on its banks, which encumber its channel, and
so impede its navigation as to make an extensive
or great portage in order to reach it. The river
thus denominated, however, is the true Red,
or rather Bloody river. It enters the lake on
the south, and goes out, as we have seen, on
the north-west. This is the opinion of the In-
dians themselves, and it is not difficult to find
arguments in support of it.

According to the theory of ancient geogra-
phers, the sources of a river which are most in
a right line with its mouth should be considered

406 TRANSATLANTIC LAKE AVERNUS.

as its principal sources, and particularly when
they issue from a cardinal point and flow to the one
directly opposite. This theory appears conform-
able to nature and reason ; and upon this prin-
ciple we should proceed in forming the sources
of the river of Great Portage. By the name
Portage, is meant a passage which the Indians
make over a tongue of land, from one river or
lake to another, carrying with them on their
backs their light canoes, their baggage, and
cargoes.

I left Red lake on the morning of the 26th.
The commencement of Portage is between the
river so called and Gold-fish river. It is about
twelve miles long ; and I therefore engaged ano-
ther Indian, with his horse, to effect it more
conveniently. The country is delightful, but at
times almost impenetrable.

Half-way in my course I was stopped by a
fine little lake, surrounded with cypress-trees.
It has neither entrance nor exit. Its waters are
gloomy, like the objects reflected by them ; and
a cavern, where the water is motionless, as it is
indeed in every other part, recalled to my mind
the Sybil's Grotto at CumaB : as, however, I am
no Eneas, I did not consider it prudent to enter.
This lake had no name, and I gave it the
appellation of the Lake Avernus of the new
world.

LABORIOUS PROCESSION. 407

In the evening, after extreme fatigue and ex-
periencing a dreadful storm, we arrived at the
end of the portage, near a small lake, to which
we gave the name of the Lake ofP'ims, from the
immense number of those trees by which it is
surrounded. Its waters, which by their con-
tinual foam and bubbling, appear to gush up-
wards out of the earth, after a course of four or
five miles, go to form the eight lakes which, as
has been observed, discharge themselves into
Bloody Jake by Gravel river.

On the ensuing day, the 27th, I discharged
the supernumerary Indian, with his horse ; for,
having no provisions but what we could pro-
cure by means of our guns, we were already
three too many. We crossed the small lake
strictly in the direction from north to south ;
and here we commenced another portage of four
miles.

The Indian carried the canoe, the Bois-brulc,
as much of the effects as he was able, and the
rest I undertook myself. You smile, my dear
Countess, at our laborious and humble proces-
sion, and indeed I cannot help joining you.
As, however, I have condescended to be consi-
dered an animal of burden, I shall not expect to
be ever again accused of impatience. We pro-
ceeded at a brisk pace, and my air and carriage
were not contemptible for a man who was

408 THE SHAKING LANDS.

hitched and hooked on every side in thorns and
briars. Even Delille, who converts everything
into rose and jessamine, would have changed
his tone in my situation. Not a word of com-
plaint, however, did I utter!

At the end of this corvee we found the
Great Portage river. We embarked and pro-
ceeded up its current, crossing two lakes which
it forms in its course, each about five or six
miles in circumference, and containing patches
of wild rice — unfortunately for us not yet ripe.
A family of Indians, whom we found there,
collected from several spots a few ears for
us, but these only served to make us still more
acutely feel the sense of privation, and stimulate
our appetite more strongly. We gave these
lakes the name of Manomeny-Kany-aguen, or the
lakes of Wild Rice.

After proceeding upwards of five or six miles,
always in a southerly direction, we entered a
noble lake, formed like the others by the waters
of the river, and which has no other issue than
the river's entrance and discharge.

Its form is that of a half-moon, and it has a
beautiful island in the centre of it. Its circum-
ference is about twenty miles. The Indians call
it Puposky- Wiza-Kany-aguen, or the End of the
shaking Lands ; an etymology very correct, as
nearly all the region we have traversed from the

EXCELLENT SPORT. 409

lake of Pines may be almost considered to float
upon the waters. The foot sinks in with the
turf it treads on, and the latter resumes its level
when the foot removes. This lake is situated
at a very small distance from high lands, which
divide the waters flowing northward from those
which take a southerly direction.

I passed on this spot a part of the day of my
arrival and the whole of the succeeding night.
We had excellent sport among the wild ducks,
which abound and build their nests there. We
also dried and smoked some of them, in order to
preserve some stock of provisions, of which we
were frequently in want. On the morning of
the 28th we resumed our navigation of the river,
which enters on the south side of the lake.

About six miles higher up we discovered its
sources, which spring out of the ground in the
middle of a small prairie, and the little basin
into which they bubble up is surrounded by
rushes. We approached the spot within fifty
paces in our canoe.

But now, my dear Countess, let me request
you to step on quickly for a moment, pass the
short portage which conducts to the top of the
small hill, which overhangs these sources on
the south, (the only hill I have met with since
those I pointed out to your notice on the
river St Peter,) and transport yourself to the

410 THE AUTHOR OF ALL WONDERS.

place where I am now writing. Here, reposing
under the tree, beneath whose shade I am rest-
ing at the present moment, you will survey with
an eager eye, and with feelings of intense and
new delight, the sublime traits of nature ; phe-
nomena which fill the soul with astonishment,
and inspire it at the same time with almost hea-
venly ecstasy ! This is a work which belongs
to the Creator of it alone to explain. We can
only adore in silence his omnipotent hand.

In this situation the mind of man rises in rap-
ture towards the Author of all the wonders which
surround him. Here the most determined in-
fidel would be compelled to admit the existence
of a Supreme Being. That sublime temple, be-
fore which all the monuments of antiquity sink
into insignificance, and which ages to come will
never be able to equal, the august temple of the
Vatican, where the deity and religion display
themselves in all their majesty, would not ex-
cite in your mind sentiments of faith and piety
so perfect and profound as those inspired by the
present enchanting, transcendant, and prodigi-
ous creations of divine omnipotence !

We are now on the highest land of North
America, if we except the icy and unknown
mountains which are lost in the problematical
regions of the Pole of that part of the world, and
in the vague conjectures of visionary map-

PHENOMENA AND CONJECTURES. 411

makers. Yet all is here plain and level, and
the hill is merely an eminence formed, as it
were, for an observatory.

Casting our eye around us, we perceive the
flow of waters — to the south towards the gulf of
Mexico, to the north towards the Frozen Sea, on
the east to the Atlantic, and on the west towards
the Pacific Ocean.

A vast platform crowns this distinguished su-
preme elevation, and, what is still more asto-
nishing, in the midst of it rises a lake.

How is this lake formed! Whence do its
waters proceed ? These questions can be solved
by the grand Architect alone ; man can merely
suggest conjectures; and those of the savans
are sometimes the weakest and most errone-
ous, because the most presumptuous, and, from
their extreme subtlety, unsubstantial ; and
even when they understand nothing of the dif-
ferent phenomena before them, they always
consider themselves obliged to talk and theorize
as if they had comprehended all. I will, myself,
inform you in the first place of what I have ma-
terially and actually seen on the subject, and
then offer the inferences naturally flowing from
the facts.

This lake has no issue : and my eyes, which
are not deficient in sharpness, cannot discover,
in the whole extent of the clearest and widest

412 ASTONISHING LAKE.

horizon, any land which rises above the level of
it. All places around it are, on the contrary,
considerably lower. I have made long excur-
sions in all its environs, and have been unable to
perceive any volcanic traces, of which its banks
are equally destitute. Yet its waters boil up in
the middle ; and all my sounding lines have
been insufficient to ascertain their depth ; which
may be considered as indicating that they spring
from the bottom of some gulf, the cavities of
which extend far into the bowels of the earth ;
and their limpid character is almost a proof that
they become purified by filtrating through long
subterraneous sinuosities : so that time may per-
haps have effaced the exterior and superficial
traces of a volcano, and the basin of the lake
have been nevertheless its effect and its crater.
Whither do these waters go ? This, I conceive,
may be more easily answered, although there is
no apparent issue for them.

You have seen the sources of the river which
I have ascended to this spot. They are pre-
cisely at the foot of the hill, and filtrate in a
direct line from the north bank of the lake, on
the right of the centre, in descending towards
the north. They are the sources of Bloody
river. On the other side, towards the south,
and equally at the foot of the hill, other sources
form a beautiful little basin of about eighty feet

SOURCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 413

in circumference. These waters likewise nitrate
from the lake, towards its south-western extre-
mity : and THESE SOURCES ARE THE ACTUAL
SOURCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI! This lake, there-
fore, supplies the most southern sources of Red,
or, as I shall in future call it (by its truer name)
Bloody river ; and the most northern sources of
the Mississippi — sources till now unknown of
both.

This lake is about three miles round. It is
formed in the shape of a heart ; and it may be
truly said to speak to the very soul. Mine was
not slightly moved by it. It was but justice to
draw it from the silence in which geography,
after so many expeditions, still suffered it to
remain, and to point it out to the world in all its
honourable distinction. I have given it the
name of the respectable lady whose life (to use
the language of her illustrious friend the Coun-
tess of Albany) was one undeviating course of mo-
ral rectitude, and whose death was a calamity to all
who had the happiness of knowing her ; and the
recollection of whom is incessantly connected
with veneration and grief by all who can pro-
perly appreciate beneficence and virtue. I have
called the lake, accordingly, Lake Julia; and
the sources of the two rivers, the Julian sources
of Bloody river, and the Julian sources of the Mis-
sissippi, which, in the Algonquin language, means

414 MARCO POLO, ETC.

the Father of Rivers. Oh ! what were the thoughts
which passed through my mind at this most
happy and brilliant moment of my life ! The
shades of Marco Polo, of Columbus, of Ameri-
cus Vespucius, of the Cabots, of Verazani, of
the Zenos, and various others, appeared present,
and joyfully assisting at this high and solemn
ceremony, and congratulating themselves on one
of their countrymen having, by new and suc-
cessful researches, brought back to the recollec-
tion of the world the inestimable services which
they had themselves conferred on it by their
own peculiar discoveries, by their talents,
achievements, and virtues.

I cannot inform you of the precise latitude or
longitude of this interesting spot ; for I have no
instruments with me by which I could ascertain
them ; and to speak candidly, even if I had, I
could not perhaps satisfactorily avail myself of
them. Astronomy was but slightly touched on
in my education, which was merely general, but
had not an appointed object. This is one of the
faults of our country, for the education of every
individual should have some principal and de-
terminate object in view ; and, as you well
know, my dear Countess, my occupation related
rather to what men ought to do and to avoid on
earth, than to what may be explored or guessed
in the heavens. Moreover, perhaps the case

GEOGRAPHICAL ANOMALIES. 415

case is best as it is : for, since Mr Melish is far
from agreeing with Mr Schoolcraft, and Major
Lang with Mr Tardieu, even respecting the de-
grees of countries well known, there is reason
to believe that a correct sextant is not easily to
be met with : I have at least, therefore, not led
the world into error on the subject. However,
as I calculate that from Pembenar, which is in
the fiftieth degree, I have proceeded almost
always longitudinally as far as Bloody lake, I
presume these sources are not far distant from
the forty-ninth.

My Indian and Bois-brule are now announcing
to me, for the third time, that my table is ready.
Occupied by the most grand and interesting
objects in nature, with a- mind absorbed by the
sentiments which these solitary and venerable
regions inspire, and those also arising from my
associations with the name by which I have
just designated them, I had nearly forgotten the
very means of my existence — I now go to my
Indian repast.

LETTER XX.

At Sandy Lake,

Sept. 20, 1823.

IN my last letter, my dear Countess, I left you
at the Julian sources of Bloody river and the
Mississippi. We have seen the greatest part of
the first, let us now follow the second. I hope,
if heaven prove propitious to my wishes, to con-
duct you to the mouths of it. We shall, in that
case, be the only individuals who ever traversed
the whole of its course, as we were the first to
discover its sources.

The Julian sources of the Mississippi run di-
rectly to the south of the small basin which has
been noticed, by a narrow strait of three miles
length, into Turtle lake. If I had not been
afraid of adventuring my canoe amidst the
almost impassable brambles and brushwood

PHILOSOPHICAL LESSON. 417

which impede its portage, I should have com-
menced the navigation from the very spot on
which they spring.

I find it impossible to become weary of ex-
amining and admiring the least objects of atten-
tion furnished by this scene. The majestic river,
which embraces a world in its immense course,
and speaks in thunder in its cataracts, is at
these its sources nothing but a timid Naiad,
stealing cautiously through the rushes and briars
which obstruct its progress. The famous Mis-
sissippi, whose course is said to be twelve hun-
dred leagues, and which bears navies on its
bosom, and steam-boats superior in size to fri-
gates, is at its source merely a petty stream of
crystalline water, concealing itself among reeds
and wild rice, which seem to insult over its
humble birth. I could not but be struck with
the valuable lesson here furnished to haughty
upstarts, or help recurring in imagination to the
slave in antiquity, who, placed behind the car
of triumph, repeated in the conqueror's ear,
" Respice post te et hominem esse memento." In
short, my imagination, which had figured to it-
self precipitous mountains, down which the
waters of this monarch of rivers rushed in
mighty waves, was struck with astonishment at
finding one eternal flat of swampy ground.
The Tortoise lake, called by the Indians
VOL. ir. E E

418 TORTOISE LAKE.

Mikinakosa-guay-guen, took its name not, as
geographers tell us, from its form, but from
a tortoise of extraordinary size, which the In-
dians found there about a century ago: they
fed it with everything they could offer it most
delicious, and long worshipped it as a great
Manitou.

Neither traveller, nor missionary, nor geo-
grapher, nor expedition-maker, ever visited this
lake. A great many of the stories which find
their way into books are invented by the Red
men, either to deceive the whites, or to conceal
their own belief or their own weaknesses. You
never hear an Indian talk about his gods, or
about the worship he pays them. Theological
disputations, claims to religious ascendancy,
despotic intolerance, do not disturb their com-
munities or their families, every man goes to the
heaven of his own creation by the way his con-
science or his instinct points out. The Indians
themselves have confessed to me that, when they
go down to the traders' settlements, they amuse
themselves with gulling their credulity by a
number of fables, which afterwards become the
oracles of geographers and book-makers.

This lake is like a labyrinth. The quantity
of streights and little bays formed by the nu-
merous islands and peninsulas, renders it almost
inextricable. Setting out from the most northerly

WONDERFUL PHENOMENON. 419

point, where the Julian sources of the Mississippi
enter the lake, you steer direct to the south for
two miles, then turn to the east through a
streight formed by an island and a tongue of
land ; then turn to the south again, then to the
west, constantly doubling capes and promonto-
ries, and at length you reach the point, towards
the S. S. E. where the Mississippi resumes its
course. The lake, including all its numerous
bays, is perhaps more than a hundred miles in
circumference. It has no other outlets than the
entrance and issue of the Mississippi. The vo-
lume of water of the river is so considerable even
at its first issuing from the lake, that it already
affords a safe navigation for large boats; which
leads me to think that the lake is fed by subter-
ranean springs ; indeed the whole surrounding
country is, to use the Indians' expressive word,
completely "shaking" The whole substratum
here is water, just as in the kingdom of Naples
it is fire. But the former of these phenomena is
much more surprising than the latter, for it is
the property of fire to ascend, but it is impos-
sible to understand how so vast an extent of
elevated country, which has no higher land
around it, can remain thus saturated with water.
The Mississippi turns almost immediately to the
east, then to the north east, in which direction it
flows into a pretty little lake, which I have taken

420 HERON'S RIVER.

the liberty to consecrate to you, by christening
it Jeromim. The river flows out of it again on
the E.S.E., and, after a course of seven or eight
miles, passes through another, which I called
Montdeone, in memory of that illustrious man,
and as a mark of my grateful remembrance of
the friendship with which he honoured me, and
of which death alone could rob me. It keeps the
same direction for about fifteen miles, describes
a point towards the east, and then takes its
course towards the south-west for fifteen miles
more, to the confluence of the river which the
Indians call Scisdiaguay-sibi, or the Heron's
river, from the number of these birds which inha-
bit it : it flows from the north-west. I stopped
there the night of the 2nd instant.

My Indian guide, who had hunted in all these
desert tracts, informed me that this river was a
truly delightful and charming one, and that by
availing ourselves of its course and of one por-
tage, we might return to Turtle lake by a short
cut, saving not fewer than twenty miles. He
moreover led me to hope that, by silently as-
cending it, we might meet with some bears, (as
they abound on its banks, which furnish great
quantities of wild fruits,) and kill them from our
canoe. I determined therefore to make known
to the world this short passage ; and we set out
on the morning of the 3rd accordingly.

LAKES TORRIGTANI AND ANTONELLI. 421

This river is indeed a touchstone of sensibi-
lity. It traverses a number of small basins of
the most luxuriant and variegated description.
But the beauty of the lake whence it issues is
what principally strikes and fascinates the atten-
tion. It is certainly one of the most exquisite
spots in nature. It consists of two basins; the
first, which we enter on the south, is triangular ;
we then clear a small streight on the north, and
see before us the other basin, in the form of an
ellipsis or a circle. Its banks are of a majestic
character, from the stately and spreading trees
which overhang them. I have given it the name
of Torrigiani.

We disembarked on the north side and made
a portage of four miles ; we however left behind
our little baggage, which we hung up in the
trees, and carried with us only our arms and our
canoe. We passed through a gloomy forest,
which abounded in martens, and at the end of
the portage we came to another lake of an oval
form, which I called Antonelli. We traversed
its breadth from south to north, a space of about
four or five miles ; and then, after clearing a
narrow pass, dreadfully encumbered with trunks
of trees and wild rice, we found ourselves again
in the Mississippi, precisely at the point where
it issues from Turtle lake. Here we passed
the night; and it very nearly proved the last

422 AWFUL STORM.

night of our lives. A dreadful storm had almost
crushed us under the trees, which it mowed
down like so many tulips in a garden, or up-
rooted with the same ease as if they had been
carrots. We scarcely had time to save our-
selves with our canoe in the midst of a spot of
prairie, to which, by a sort of miracle in these
forests, we very fortunately had access. Had we
lost our canoe, we should have been completely
ruined ; for even Indians would have been
unable to extricate themselves safely from such
a watery labyrinth without a canoe.

The place from which we had fled for security
in the night, we found in the morning strewed
with immense trees. The forest of the portage,
which we again traversed, was equally encum-
bered by fallen trees, and the clear and tranquil
water of the lakes had become foul and agi-
tated. This terrible convulsion was not impro-
bably the effect of an earthquake. But on a
tract of territory so boggy and shaking, it was
scarcely possible to distinguish such an event
with accuracy. My Indian, for the convenience
of drying ourselves, kindled a flame under the
trees which had crossed one another in falling,
and we soon had a noble bonfire, which com-
prehended in its blaze some portion of the forest;
and which not improbably is burning yet.

Near the lake Torrigiani, on the right, as we

THE BEAVER. 423

were returning, my Indian attendant satisfied
my curiosity upon a point by which it had a long
while been excited.

It seems difficult for a traveller to publish his
adventures without mentioning the castor or
beaver, even though his travels may have been
limited to Africa, where this animal is not to be
found. I should wish to avoid repetitions, but
I do not distinctly recollect anything that has
been stated by these ingenious gentlemen on
the subject, or even what Buffon wrote about
it in his closet. I will communicate to you
only what I have myself actually seen, and
been from good authority informed of, respect-
ing these astonishing creatures. If I men-
tion circumstances which others have narrated
before me, you may consider it as affording
additional evidence of what you were previously
acquainted with ; and if what I advance be new,
you will, I hope, give me credit for adding to
your information.

A small river flows into the lake on the
western side. The beavers have barricadoed the
mouth of it by a dike, completed in a manner
which would not disgrace a corps of engineers ;
the water is thus kept back, and forms a pond,
in which they have erected their habitations. It
is proper to notice that the river in question is

424 THE BEAVER.

never dried up, as otherwise they would not
have fixed upon it for their purpose.

The stakes fixed in the earth, and the trunks
of trees which are laid across them, are of con-
siderable thickness and length. It is difficult
to conceive how such small animals are able to
transport such bulky articles. But what is more
astonishing is. that they never make use of trees
blown down by the wind, or levelled by the
strength of man, but select them themselves,
cutting down such as are peculiarly adapted for
the intended building, and doing this always on
the banks of lakes or large rivers, in order to
avail themselves of the opportunity of conveying
them by water to the place intended.

While five or six are occupied in cutting or
sawing with their teeth the bottom of the trunk,
another stations himself in the middle of the
river, and indicates by a hissing sound, or by
striking the water with his tail, which way the
top inclines towards the fall, that the operators
without interrupting their labour may conduct it
with proper caution, and preclude all danger. Tt
is worthy of remark, that they never gnaw the
tree on the land side, but always on that of
the lake or river, in order to ensure its falling
into it.

The whole tribe then combine their exertions,

THE BEAVER. 425

and float the trunk to the place where it is
wanted. Here, with their teeth, they point
the stakes; with their claws dig deep holes
for them in the earth, and with their paws
introduce and drive them in. They then place
branches against them, and fill up the interstices
with mortar, which some prepare while the
others are cutting down the trees, or engaged in
different departments of labour ; for the tax of
labour is carefully distributed, and no individual
remains unemployed. The mortar used by these
wonderful animals becomes more hard and solid
than the finest Roman cement.

When the dike is completed, and has been
proved fit for the purpose designed, they effect
an opening at the bottom of it, by way of flood-
gate (which they open or close as may be re-
quired,) that the stream may not be too much
impeded. They then commence building their
habitation in the midst of the mass constituting
the dike. They never begin to erect the habi-
tation previously to forming the dike, lest the
latter operation should fail of success, and they
should consequently lose their valuable time and
labour.

Their mansion, formed equally of wood and
mortar, consists of two stories, and is double; its
length is in proportion to the number of the tribe
for whom it is intended.

426 THE BEAVER.

The first stage, or story, is a magazine in
common for provisions, and is under water; the
second is divided into dormitories, each family
having its distinct chamber; this part of the
building is above the water.

Under the foundations of the building they
form a number of avenues, by means of which
they enter and quit subterraneously, so as not
to be perceived by the most keen and watchful
Indian ; these all terminate at a distance from
their dwelling, and in part of the mound consti-
tuting their dike, or in lakes or rivers, near
which they usually form their establishments,
that they may have it in their power to select
that direction which may be most convenient
and least dangerous in the various incidents and
exigencies of their lives.

Beavers are divided into tribes, and some-
times merely into small bands, each of which
has its chief; and order and discipline exist in
these distinct societies to a greater extent pro-
bably than among the Indians, or even among
some civilized and polished nations.

Their magazines are invariably fully stored
with provisions in summer ; and no one is per-
mitted to break in upon this stock until the
scarcity of winter begins to be experienced,
unless circumstances render it imperatively ne-
cessary to violate this rule. In no case, how-

THE BEAVER. 427

ever, is any one permitted to enter without the
express authority and indeed the presence of
the chief. Their provisions consist, in general,
of the bark of trees, principally of the willow
and poplar species. On some occasions, when
bark is not to be found in sufficient quantities,
they collect also the wood of those trees, which
they divide into distinct parcels with their
teeth.

Each tribe has its peculiar territory. If any
foreigner be taken in the act of marauding, he is
delivered over to the chief, who, on the first
offence, chastises him with a view to correction ;
but, for the second, deprives him of his tail,
which is considered as the greatest disgrace to
which a beaver can be exposed : for the tail is
the carriage on which he conveys stones, mor-
tar, provisions, &c. and it is also the trowel (the
figure of which it represents exactly) which he
uses in building. This violation of international
rights, however, is considered among them as
so great an outrage, that the whole tribe of the
mutilated culprit take up arms in his cause, and
proceed immediately to obtain vengeance.

In this conflict, the victors, availing them-
selves of the customary rights of war, expel the
conquered from their home, take possession of
it themselves, appoint a provisional garrison for
the occupation, and eventually establish in it a

428 THE BEAVER.

colony of young beavers. In this connection,
another circumstance relating to these truly
wonderful creatures will appear not less asto-
nishing.

The female beaver whelps usually in the
month of April, and produces as many as four
young ones. She sustains, and carefully in-
structs them for a year, that is, till the family
are on the eve of a new increase ; and then
these young beavers, compelled thus to make
room for others, build a new home by the
side of the paternal mansion, if they be not very
numerous ; but if there should be too many to
admit of this, they are obliged to go, with others,
to a new spot, forming a new tribe and a new
establishment. If, then, about this season the
enemy should happen to be driven from his
quarters, the conquerors install in them their own
young ones of the current year, provided they
be duly qualified for emancipation, or, in other
words, capable of managing for themselves.

The Indians have related to me as a positive
fact another circumstance respecting the con-
duct of these animals ; but it is so extraordinary,
that I leave you to credit it or not, as you may
think proper.

They allege, and some will even assert them-
selves to have been eye-witnesses of such a fact,
that the two chiefs of hostile tribes sometimes

THE BEAVER. 429

terminate the quarrel by a single combat, in
presence of the two opposing armies, instances
of which have occurred in various nations ; or
by a conflict of three with three, like the Ho-
ratii and Curatii of antiquity.

Beavers practice the usage of matrimony, and
death alone separates the parties. They inflict
heavy punishments on their females for infide-
lity, and sometimes even death itself.

In cases of sickness, they mutually and
anxiously take care of each other ; and the sick
express their pain by plaintive sounds and tones
like the human race.

The Indians hunt the beaver in the same
way in which I formerly described them to you
as hunting the musk-rat : indeed the latter ani-
mal may be considered as a beaver of a secon-
dary order. It is of the same shape, only
smaller, and resembles it in many of its qua-
lities, but its fur is very inferior in beauty and
fineness. It may be added, that in winter the
Indians make holes in the ice which covers the
ponds surrounding the habitation of the bea-
vers, and, carefully watching for the moment
when they lift their heads up to take breath,
instantly shoot them.

Great Hare, at Bloody lake, confidently as-
sured me that, on reaching the spot where two
tribes of beavers had just been engaged in battle
with each other, he had found upon the field

430 RELIGION OF THE SAVAGES.

fifteen, dead or dying : and other Indians, both
Sioux andCypowais, have equally declared that
they have occasionally obtained capital prizes on
the like occasions. It is perfectly correct that
they are sometimes taken without a tail. I have
seen one in that state myself, which corroborates
the history of the punishment inflicted by them on
obstinate offenders. In short, these animals are
deemed so very extraordinary, even by Indians,
that they consider them as men metamorphosed
into beavers ; and killing them is regarded as
conferring upon them a very essential service,
as it is conceived to be a restoration of them to
their original state of being. Here, again, my
dear Countess, is a puzzle for those who are
desirous of compacting the religion of these
tribes into a system ! But it is time for us now
to return to the Mississippi.

We rejoined it on the evening of the 3rd, at
the place where we had quitted it the even-
ing before, and again passed the night there.
Our household gods seemed to have expected
our arrival, for the fire we had kindled there
was still burning.

On the 4th, we struck our tents very early,
and arrived in the evening at Red Cedar lake,
so called on account of the number of those
beautiful trees, whose dark green foliage over-
shadows its islands and banks.

The Mississippi, from the mouth of Heron's

REMARKABLE ECHO. 431

river, receives no other, but may be said to flow
constantly through the midst of water, for all its
banks are submerged and shaking, though va-
ried by prairies and forests. Its bed is always
very deep, and its course gentle and uniform.
It traverses or forms four superb lakes, the
largest of which is seven miles in circumference,
and the smallest four. I have called them Pro-
vidence lakes, on account of the fields of wild
rice which Providence has formed there, and the
ears of which resemble those of the land of pro-
mise. After passing through the streight of the
last of those lakes, the river enters Red Cedar
lake to the south, and flows out of it on the left,
at E. N. E., at the end of a bay formed by a
tongue of land which projects into the lake at

s. s.w.

On the right of the entrance of the lake,
accident discovered to us a very remarkable
and indeed astonishing echo. It was night, and
my Indian and Bois-brule called out in loud
voices, as usual, in order to learn the situation
of the flying camp of the Indians who inhabit
this lake. Their calls were repeated times
without number, gradually diminishing in loud-
ness, and at length fading through the distance
into extreme faintness.

This lake is the non plus ultra of all the disco-
veries ever made in these regions before my

432 RED CEDAR OR CASSINA LAKE.

own. No traveller, no expedition, no explorer,
whether European or American, has gone be-
yond this point : and it is at this lake that Mr
Schoolcraft fixed the sources of the Mississippi
in 1819. For the more complete celebration of
this fortunate discovery, this illustrious epoch,
he rebaptized it by the name of lake Cassina,
from the name of Mr Cass, governor of Michigan
territory, who was at the head of the expedition.
Mr Schoolcraft was the historiographer.

The geographers who had previously com-
prised this lake in their maps, might fairly pro-
test against this conduct as usurpation, for he
has infringed on the right which they unques-
tionably possess of calling it Red Cedar lake, or
the lake of Red Cedar, a name long since con-
secrated by usage, and inveterate usage (you
know) is held equivalent to law. You will per-
haps, remark, that I have myself baptized a
tolerable number of lakes. Mine, however,
must be admitted to have been fair subjects for
the ceremony. They were not only not to be
found in any map, but they were unknown to
all the world ; and I trust that flattery has no
share in my inaugurations of them, as I applied
to them only such names as were consecrated
by my veneration for the dead or my friend-
ship for the living.

This lake is also to be considered as a large

SCHOOLCRAFT'S SOURCES. 433

lake, if we are to comprise in its extent that of
two others with which it communicates by two
streights on the W. and E. S. E. Some islands
which intercept the full view of it, are of an im-
mense size, though they might appear small to
the eye of the observer who merely passed for
a moment into its first basin, and, after break-
fasting there, returned almost immediately by
the way he came, satisfied with being able to
say, " I have been there,'' and with having had
the portrait taken in a sort of miniature. But
those who advance farther, and examine with
more attention, experience no small surprise on
discovering the vast expanse of water before and
around them, sufficiently Convincing them that
in those regions, yet more than in others, that
element covers more than two-thirds of their
surface ; while the picturesque and enchanting
scenes, continually presented to the eye, excite
the most intense delight and admiration. Mr
Cass represented merely what, as I before inti-
mated, must be considered as a miniature deli-
neation (taken from his encampment on the
western bank of the lake, where I encamped
myself,) of the western island, which is in fact
of great extent. As soon as the hasty sketch had
been taken, he returned to join the expedition,
which he had left, for the greater part, at Sandy

VOL. II. F F

434 WESTERN SOURCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI.

lake, as we shall see at the close of the present
letter.

The figure of the first basin is varied by bays
and promontories, and four islands divide it
into numerous arms. One of these islands is
about twenty miles in circumference, and inha-
bited by about a hundred Cypowais Indians.
According to the opinion of those Indians, the
circumference of this basin must be considered
as about eighty miles. That which joins it on
the E. S. E., of an oval form, and surrounded
by gloomy pine and cypress trees, is about
eight miles. The third, to the west, which is
nearly triangular, is little less than thirty miles.
At the bottom of this last lake, on the west,
is found the entrance of a considerable river,
which the Indians call Demizimaguamaguen-
sibi, or the river of lake Traverse. It issues
from the lake, (the second of that name,) twenty
miles above its mouth, on the N. W. This
lake communicates, in the same direction, by a
streight of two or three miles in length, with ano-
ther lake, which the Indians call Moscosaguai-
guen, or Bitch lake, which receives no tributary
stream, and seems to draw its waters from the
bosom of the earth. It is here, in my opinion,
that we shall fix the western sources of the
Mississippi. The waters beyond the high lands

LEECH RIVER. N 435

which surmount this lake flow towards the north
into Hudson's Bay.

The Julian or northern sources of the Missis-
sippi, are about a hundred miles distant from
Red lake ; about that distance, therefore, from
those fixed by Mr Schoolcraft ; and the sources
of Bitch lake, or the western sources, are, I con-
ceive, fifty miles distant. We resume the course
of the river.

On issuing from the Red Cedar lake it turns
to the east, and continues in the same direction
as far as lake Winipeg, which is about fifty miles
in circumference. It traverses this lake, and
issues from it in the direction of E. S. E. At
some distance from this, -it forms a small lake
four or five miles round ; and twenty-five or
thirty miles farther on, in the direction of
S. S. W., it receives the river Leech, (Caza-
guaguagine-sibi,) which is the first tributary
river to be found below Red Cedar lake for the
space of seventy miles, and which flows down
from the west.

Its depth and its progress are always the
same, and these regions may be almost as
truly said to bathe the river, as that to bathe
them; for, to whatever part of the bank we
direct our view, we see nothing but water and
shaking bog. On the night of the 6th, in order
to avoid getting in contact with the water, I con-

436 MISERIES OF ALL SORTS.

structed a pile formed of three layers of the
branches of trees, over which I spread my bear-
skin ; but all my precaution was insufficient to
secure me from the springs which bubbled up
around me; and whenever 1 turned, I felt myself
rocking as with the movement of a cradle, and
as if floating, like another Apollo, in the isle of
Delos.

While you read these pages, your friendly
regard will perhaps take alarm at every leaf you
turn over ; and you will be apprehensive that
I shall sink under the fatigues incidental to so
very laborious and novel a mode of life. You
will be comforted, however, by the assurance
that I have scarcely felt even a head-ache,
though, when I wake in the morning, I am com-
pletely drenched by the dew from above, and by
the bubbling of the springs below me ; though
I always sleep in the open air, and am there-
fore, completely exposed to the inclemency of
the season, and the attacks of musquitos, gnats,
emmets, and reptiles ; though my gun only can
be depended upon for food, and the river for my
drink ; though, in short, I am surrounded by all
sorts of miseries. You may hence, my dear
Countess, judge of the elevation of these regions,
the purity and elasticity of the air of which can
impart spirits and vigour sufficient to counteract
such inconveniences and dangers.

CYPOWAIS PLUNDERERS. 437

On the night of the 7th I slept at the mouth
of this same Leech river. The lake whence
it issues is a new Colchis, where a second
Jason found, like the first, a golden fleece ;
where Mr Pike fixed the sources of the Mis-
sissippi, fourteen years before Mr Cass fixed
them at Red Cedar lake. This circumstance
could not fail of exciting my curiosity, and I
determined, in consequence, to go and view the
scene which had given birth to the conjectures
of the first of my two predecessors.

We arrived on the evening of the 8th at lake
Sogahyguen, or Muddy lake. Like those of
Providence, it is completely covered with wild
rice. Only one river discharges itself into the
Leech before it reaches the lake. The Indians
call it Bagatwa-sibi, or the Owl. It flows from
the north. By means of this river and a few
portages, a short cut may be taken to reach
Cedar lake.

On the 9th we arrived at Leech lake, (Kaza-
gas-guaiguen,) at Macuwa or Bear island, where
we found a considerable band of Cypowais plun-
derers, so denominated from their plundering and
murdering the first Canadians who pushed their
commerce to such a dangerous distance.

This band is very numerous and warlike. I
found it divided into two factions, one of which
is actuated by the spirit of legitimacy, the other

438 CYPOWAIS FACTIONS.

by its opposite. The Pokeskonompe, or Cloudy
Weather, a usurper, contests the crown and
empire with the chief Esquibusicoge, or Wide
Mouth, who possesses them by hereditary right :
but as these Indians beyond all others require
for their head a daring and active man who can
conduct them to victory over the Sioux, by
whom they are frequently harassed, instead of
an idle and profligate poltroon, always reposing
under the shade of his genealogical tree, and des-
titute of all merit but that allowed him by his
flatterers, Cloudy Weather has the majority on
his side. The government of the United States
acknowledges both ; Cloudy Weather, because he
declaims in their favour ; and Wide Mouth, in
order to detach him from the English, to whom
he is friendly ; but principally, I imagine, from
the policy of keeping alive division in a band
powerful in force but precarious in attachment.
From the observation I have myself made, I
must acknowledge I am tempted to believe that
the whole affair of apparent disunion may be a
mere farce originating in Indian craft and sub-
tlety, having for its object to turn to the best
account the solicitations and liberality of both
these nations. And in fact they receive the rich
repasts and grand galas of both with the same
customary phrases of friendship, devotion, and
fidelity. When an option will become absolutely

CAUTIOUS POLfCY. 439

necessary, they will probably side with the
party most skilful in intrigue and most liberal
in bribes : they will most likely, therefore,
take part with the English. The fact is, that
the two chiefs reign respectively over their
peculiar partisans, or perhaps it may be said
more truly, are respectively their slaves.

On my arrival among them they were in no
little commotion on another subject, involving the
two parties in new contention. Cloudy Weather's
son-in-law had been killed a few days before by
the Sioux, and they had at the same time re-
ceived intelligence of the affair at Cayenne river,
and of what had happened to my two Indians on
Bloody river. Wide Mouth demanded an imme-
diate war, and was desirous of forming an army,
of which he himself never constituted any part.
Cloudy Weather, who is not deficient in sense,
suspected that this warlike ardour, this extraor-
dinary eagerness and zeal, were assumed with a
view to remove him out of the way, and turn his
absence to his injury ; and therefore, although
the principal person aggrieved, strongly recom-
mended prudence and moderation.

I had no sooner disembarked than he imme-
diately called a council of war, which is com-
posed of the chief officers of the army, and came
to me to invite my attendance. It is to be ob-

440 COUNCIL OF WAR.

served, that all these Indians had seen me at
Fort St Peter.

He began by observing, that the Great Spirit
had sent me for the express purpose of giving
them salutary counsels ; that as the friend of
their father (the agent) it became me to fulfil the
duties which the circumstances required of me ;
that division existed in their camp ; that his
heart was torn with grief for the death of his
son-in-law, while at the same time he was aware
that it would ill become him to sacrifice his be-
loved Cypowais for the sake of his own personal
vengeance ; that he had every need, therefore,
in such a conflict of mind, of consulting with
that man of another world, who had smoked with
them the calumet of friendship, and been a witness
of the peace which the Sioux had sworn to with
them, &c. &c. My reply was soon made. I told
them that, being a stranger to the Americans, to
America, and to the Indians, I neither ought nor
designed to interfere in their affairs, and more
particularly in their quarrels ; but that, as it
was the duty of every one to answer as well as
he could those who confidingly asked his advice,
I must declare mine to be that, as they had in
Mr Tagliawar a father who loved them, and
who represented the government, they should
do nothing without his consent ; and that such

THE AUTHOR'S ADVICE. 441

was too the will and command of the Great
Spirit. The council approved of what I said ;
and Cloudy Weather offered to accompany me to
Fort St Peter to consult his Father.

A few moments after, Wide Mouth sent to re-
quest my attendance. I went accordingly. I
found him lying at full length in his tent, like
old Silenus, in a state of intoxication, sur-
rounded by his partisans. He began a discourse,
and seemed to intend introducing into it a num-
ber of subjects, but I cut short his address, and
merely observed that wars in general served
only to gratify the views and passions of the
ambitious or despotic few ; that the public good
was often solely the pretext for them, but the
people always became their victim ; that as to
anything farther on my part,' I had nothing to
do with them, that I had neither time nor incli-
nation to involve myself in their quarrels, and
that I referred them to the proposition I had
just suggested to the other council. This in-
deed they could scarcely fail of having been
informed of, for I had reason to know that even
Indians have among them the same neutral class
as abounded in Greece of old, and as may be
found indeed in all parts of the world — ca-
meleons of all colours — renegadoes of all parties.

The royal chief, ill satisfied with my observa-
tions, and desirous of counteracting truth by

442 INDIAN DELPHIC ORACLE.

imposture, consulted the oracle respecting the
event of the war he wished to engage in : and
the oracle was favourable, as might naturally be
expected ; for the decision was given by one of
his own priests.

I cannot repress my astonishment at finding
the usages and ceremonies of antiquity every
instant copied or renewed among these Indians.
Their oracles spoke precisely by the same means
as did the oracle of Delphos formerly. Instead
of the Pythian priestess, one of their priests is
seated on a perforated tripod completely con-
cealed under a bell-formed cover of birch bark,
which has a round opening at the top, through
which the divine annunciation issues. Beneath
the tripod a tube, also made of bark, communi-
cates under ground with a stove, over which a
kettle rilled with water and aromatic herbs is
kept boiling, the vapour of which passing through
the tube has the effect of heating and sublimat-
ing to what are deemed prophetic visions the
brain of the officiating priest, who utters the
cries and ravings of a demoniac, and borrows
on those occasions a language intelligible only
to the Coryplwd of the Indian sanctuary. My
Bois-brul& himself, though well acquainted with
the Algonquin language, understood not a single
word that was delivered. It is a remarkable cir-
cumstance, . that professional jealousy excludes

FUNERAL CEREMONY. 443

all foreign priests from this ceremony, conform-
ably to the practice both of ancient and modern
times ; and I had some difficulty in persuading
them that I was totally unconnected with the
priesthood, in order to be permitted to be pre-
sent at it. I have been informed that similar
means are sometimes used for applying vapour
baths to the sick; and, occasionally, even for
suffocating the individuals whom the Grand
Medicine junta wish to get rid of.

I was a spectator of the funeral ceremony
performed in honour of the manes of Cloudy
Weather's son-in-law, whose body had remained
with the Sioux, and was suspected to have fur-
nished one of their repasts. What appeared not
a little singular, and indeed ludicrous in this
funeral comedy, was the contrast exhibited by
the terrific lamentations and yells of one part of
the company, while the others were singing and
dancing with all their might. I was scarcely able
several times to refrain from laughing : but the
ceremony having some resemblance to the usages
of the ancients, who also on such occasions paid
and employed together Tibicenes and Prtffictf,
my respect for antiquity and our antiquaries
enabled me to preserve my gravity. At another
funeral ceremony for a member of the Grand
Medicine, and at which, as a man of another world,
I was permitted to attend, the same practice oc-

444 LAST OBSEQUIES.

curred. But, at the feast which took place on that
occasion, an allowance was served up for the de-
ceased out of every article of which it consisted,
while others were beating, wounding, and tor-
turing themselves, and letting their blood flow
both over the dead man and his provisions, think-
ing possibly that this was the most palatable
seasoning for the latter which they could possi-
bly supply. His wife furnished out an enter-
tainment present for him of all her hair and
rags, with which, together with his arms, his
provisions, his ornaments, and his mystic medi-
cine bag, he was wrapped up in the skin which
had been his last covering when alive. He was
then tied round with the bark of some particular
trees which they use for making cords, and cords
of a very firm texture and hold (the only ones
indeed which they have,) and instead of being
buried in the earth, was hung up to a large oak.
The reason of this was, that as his favourite
Manitou was the eagle, his spirit would be
enabled more easily from such a situation to
fly with him to Paradise. Here, again we
perceive another trait of antiquity, and a rich
relish for our antiquarian amateurs, whom, I
think, I must at length have completely satis-
fied. The oak is also among the Indians the
tree consecrated to the eagle, that is to say, to
Jupiter.

PIKE'S SOURCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 445

Mr Pike, who was at the head of the expedi-
tion despatched by the government of the United
States in 1805, to discover the sources of the
Mississippi, fixes them at this lake, although
the river Leech which flows into it on the
N.N.W., ascends more than fifty miles higher up ;
and although various other rivers, the courses
of which are as yet unknown, equally flow
into this lake. But it was in winter ; the cold
was excessively severe, and it is no pleasant or
easy matter to discover sources through ice. It
is impossible to doubt, that, at a different season
of the year, and with a less embarrassing party,
Mr Pike would have pushed his discoveries
farther. He was a bold and enterprising man ;
and his expedition to New Mexico, and his glo-
rious death in the field of honour, merit a place
in history. He will always be entitled to the
distinction of having been the first who extended
his researches so far in regions so wild and re-
pulsive, and that at a time when there existed
no fort whatever on the Mississippi.

This lake is interspersed with innumerable
islands and peninsulas, the latter of which form
a number of deep bays, that appear to be so
many separate lakes. That which is to the
north of the Indian camp exhibits the per-
spective of a theatre, the promontories which

446 TRIBUTARY RIVERS.

gradually advance from each side representing
so many scenes. The lake has a great number
of issues, which, by means of various portages,
afford the Indians facility in traversing, with
their canoes, either in or out of them, all the
surrounding territory ; and cross cuts which pre-
clude the necessity of those wearisome and
almost endless circuits, that would require to be
traversed in entering upon it by the Mississippi
and the mouth of Leech river.

By ascending the last-mentioned river about
fifteen miles, and then crossing two lakes and
effecting two portages, we may go in one day to
Red Cedar lake ; and the last portage termi-
nates at its small basin.

On the west, we rejoin Raven's Plume river,
which flows into the Mississippi, and ascends
nearly as far as Otter's-tail lake.

On the south we descend to the Mississippi
by Pines river ; and on the south-east by the
river Willow, which Pike has denominated Pike
river.

The day and night of the 12th were the
most dreadful of my whole life. I tremble
whenever I even think of them ; thank God,
however, I did not tremble at the time. I was
aware that, if I exhibited before the Indians the
slightest indication of fear, it was all over with

SCENE OF HORROR AND DANGER. 447

me. I carefully preserved, therefore, my self-
possession, and an intrepidity, I flatter myself,
of no easy attainment.

A number of these Indians, who drink at
two fountains, had just been visiting the English
agents at Romaine island, on lake Huron ; and
among the presents distributed among them they
had received some barrels of whiskey. This
was soon circulated through the encampment,
almost every member of which soon became
violently heated and maddened by it.

It is the usual practice of the female Indians,
when they see cases of intoxication in their own
tent, or in the camp, to preserve to themselves
the strictest sobriety, that they may be enabled
to prevent or mitigate the frequently dreadful
consequences of intemperance in the men. But,
on this occasion, the women were more com-
pletely inebriated than the men, and with the
exception of a few young persons, all were
plunged in the most frightful state of intoxica-
tion.

The hell of Virgil, and of Dante, or even that
painted by Orcagna, at St Maria Novella in
Florence, in a style so deeply impressive, are
only faint sketches in comparison with that full
display of terror and death presented in the
tragedy now acted; a tragedy exhibiting in all
their horrors the Bacchantes, the Furies, the

448 THE AUTHOR'S LIFE MENACED.

Eumenides, Medusa, and all the monsters of
history or fiction.

Hatred, jealousy, long standing quarrels,
mortal antipathies, all the ferocious passions,
were in most exasperated excitement and con-
flict. The shrieks of the women and children,
mingled with the yells of these cannibals, and
the bayings of dogs, added the tortures of hear-
ing to all the agonies which appalled the sight.

Standing on a mound of earth with my cut-
lass in my girdle, my gun in my hand, and my
sword half unsheathed at my side, I remained a
spectator of this awful scene, watchful and mo-
tionless. I was often menaced, but never
answered except by an expressive silence, which
most unequivocally declared that I was ready to
rush on the first who should dare to become my
assailant. My Bois-brule had concealed him-
self, and I. had great difficulty in rallying him to
my side, where he at length appeared to feel
more confidence and security than elsewhere ;
for he became convinced that there was a greater
probability of escaping the threatened catas-
trophe by courage and resolution than by inde-
cision and terror.

But it became necessary for me, for a few
moments, to quit my intrenchment. The life of
the chief, Cloudy Weather, was in danger. I
was his host, and he was the father of the beau-

INDIAN ASSASSINS. 449

\\fa\Woascita, who, by giving me timely notice, in
two instances, of plots formed for my destruction,
and thus kindling into stronger power the fierce
and menacing expression of my countenance,
had been twice my preserver. I darted forward
with her and my Bois-bruli, who was now
become a hero, and we saved him by disarming
of their knives the two assassins who had at-
tacked him, and against whom, merely with a
small piece of wood, he defended himself like a
lion. We pushed him into his tent, and com-
mitted him to the care of a warrior chief, one of
his intimate friends, who was enjoined to protect
him and prevent his going out. He found how-
ever a knife, which had been concealed ; and,
whether from that impulse natural to Indians,
which often occasions them in their passion to
make a victim of the first man they meet, or
whether through real mistake, he rushed on his
friend and stabbed him with repeated thrusts :
we however returned instantly at the call of
Woascita, and fortunately in time to prevent
the completion of murder.

On this occasion I was exceedingly surprised
and affected, my dear Countess, by a display of
genuine magnanimity and generosity.

The son of the wounded savage, about eighteen
years of age, entered the tent, and surveying
with an expression of terrific dignity the as-

VOL. II. G G

450 MAGNANIMITY IN A YOUNG INDIAN.

sassin of his parent, with heroic self-possession
thus addressed him: — " Thou hast stabbed my
father . . . thy own friend ... I ought to avenge
him, and I could do it ... but thou wouldest
not have done this, hadst thou not been intox-
icated ... I pardon thee." In this young In-
dian, the son of Bear's- heart, I perceived Rome
and Greece united. He was the hero of the
day. He was not only able to resist the temp-
tation of a liquor so exceedingly attractive to
Indians, but he contributed greatly to mitigate
the effects of its deadly influence. I embraced
him with sentiments such as these savage peo-
ple had never before excited in me. The noble
conduct of this young man is also one of those
circumstances which infuse such contradictions
into the character of Indians, and almost pre-
clude the power of defining them. In order to
testify my admiration of his conduct, I gave him
a liberal quantity of powder, the most valuable
present that, situated as I was, I could possibly
bestow upon him. I would have conferred on
him an empire, had I been able; but my desti-
tution was even greater than his own.

On examination, the ensuing day, twenty- four
were found to have been wounded, seven of
them mortally, and two dead, one of whom was
my poor Indian from Red lake.

My Bois-brule also had received a wound in

DEPARTURE OF THE BOIS-BRULE. 451

one of his hands. He was desirous moreover
now of going back to his family, and not with-
out reason, for the provisions I had left them
must have been all consumed, and without his
exertion it would be impossible for them to ob-
tain subsistence. I gave him fresh proofs of my
gratitude, as far as lay in my power. I pur-
chased a canoe for him to go back in, and then
went forward in my own, with Cloudy Weather
for my companion. The encampment was still
in a state of agitation,' and seemed, indeed, now
to be menaced with new horrors. To the ra-
vages of whiskey, and the cruel wars which
they are perpetually, and often causelessly,
waging against each other, the Indians may
justly ascribe their progressive extinction.

The lake was rough and the weather stormy,
and I was always a bad navigator. When we
were in the bay which conducts you to the river,
a violent wind from the south-east drove us on
the opposite bank. We again embarked how-
ever, but all our efforts were useless, and we
passed there the night of the 13th. On the
morning of the 14th, I landed at the establish-
ment of the South- West Company, near the
exit of the Leech river, in hopes of replacing in
some measure my Bois-brule. But we found
only a single person there, left to take care of the
place ; and it was quite impossible for him to

452 NAVIGATION RESUMED.

leave it ; I was therefore obliged to go on with
Cloudy Weather only. However, I obtained all
the instructions that were necessary to enable
me to proceed with information as far as Sandy
lake ; and I found myself gradually more intelli-
gible to my new Indian associate.

We resumed the navigation of the Mississippi
just where I had quitted it. On my return the
wild rice was in a state of ripeness, and we
were consequently in the midst of abundance.
But, owing to a singular circumstance, I was
situated like Tantalus, and unable to eat, though
my food abounded immediately before me.

When leaving Leech lake, I had parted with
my large boiler to my Bois-brule, and kept for
myself only a small one, thinking that his ma-
jesty would be sure to supply the deficiency out
of his royal outfit. But he had not, in fact,
brought with him even his bark spoon, and the
whole of his wardrobe consisted merely of his
buffalo's skin. On the second day after our
departure, we saw a hut of Indians in a wood,
near the river; and my companion, after going
to speak to them, returned and took up my
kettle. As he had in the morning intimated
that it was too small, I supposed that he in-
tended to change it for a larger one, but he came
back without any. All my injunctions and all
my resentment were of no avail. He had

ROYAL PETTY LARCENY. 453

bestowed it on one of his partisans. These In-
dian kings, in order to ascend or preserve them-
selves upon the throne, will actually deprive
themselves of everything. No being is more
destitute and miserable than an Indian chief;
indeed, the results of a blind ambition to rule
and reign are everywhere similar. I was now
therefore reduced to my tin cup ; from the luck
of the pot I passed to that of the goblet, or what
perhaps was about a sufficient allowance for a
hungry black-bird. My eccentric companion
laughed at seeing me obliged to go through my
culinary process three distinct times before I
could at all appease my appetite, and enjoyed
the sight of my dinner of three acts, as much
perhaps as he would a comedy. For his own
dinner he took the rice without any preparation
whatever, and at last I was compelled to do the
same myself.

The Mississippi continues to flow almost un-
interruptedly over quaking and boggy land, as
far as down to the little falls which the Indians
call Kekebican, about seventy miles from the
confluence of Leech river. At about fifty miles
we find, on the western side, the Pakegamana-
guen, or Hook lake ; and at sixty, the Onomoni-
kana-sibi, or Vermilion river, which enters on the
east.

These falls may be subdivided into six divi-

454 FALLS AND CATARACTS.

sions. They commence by a great rapid di-
vided by a small island, the first that occurs in
going down the river. The vast mass of water
then proceeds, in a direction nearly vertical,
to dash against some rocks which, by their re-
sistance, wwk it into a state of foam, the opera-
tion of the sun's rays on which produces all the
beautiful phenomena of the rainbow. Impe-
tuous and boiling waves next rush over an in-
clined plane for about fifteen paces, and are
then hurled down two more successive falls
at a little distance from each other ; and a second
rapid, still more violent than the first, closes the
scene : it comprises the space of about a mile,
which we passed by portage.

A hill, clothed with mournful cypresses, dark
pines, and majestic cedars, overhangs these falls
on the west; and a small hillock, verdant with
foliage, and luxuriant with shrubs of delightful
flower and fragrance, bounds it on the east,
while numerous rocks are seen scattered around,
rearing their striking forms in the shape of obe-
lisks and pyramids, and the melody of birds of
every engaging note and song produces an im-
pressive contrast to the hoarse croakings of the
raven. Such a mixture of sublime and roman-
tic attraction imparts to this extraordinary scene
of nature something even of the marvellous. And
a crash so awful and tremendous in the midst of

THUNDERING RAPIDS. 455

eternal solitude! I must leave it to yourself
to form a just conception of so wonderful a
spectacle, and to indulge the exquisite feelings
appropriate to it.

About ten miles from these falls, the Sassicy-
Woenne, or Thundering Rapids, presented the
spectator with another agreeable variety. At
this place a portage is usually made ; but my
royal Indian chose to distinguish himself and
his fellow-traveller from the vulgar crowd, and
we passed over them in the canoe. What is
new and extraordinary generally affords the
mind gratification and delight. This result I
experienced on the occasion in question, although
the ^agitation of the waves, the rolling of the
canoe, and the rocks that threatened our course,
kept us, for the space of half a mile, I may
almost say, within two fingers'-breadth of eter-
nity : it was however soon over ; we could not
be said to navigate, but rather flew.

On the evening of the 17th we arrived at
Sandy lake, on the east, (Lamitonga-aguen)
which is about one hundred and twenty miles
from the last-mentioned place, about three hun-
dred from Red lake, and about three hundred
also from Leech lake. In the space between the
Thundering Rapids, and the exit and discharge
of the river out of Sandy lake, the Mississippi
receives Muskotensoi-sibi, or Prairie river, Wa-

456 SITUATION OF SANDY LAKE.

haske-sibi, or Roebuck river, Namago-sibi, or
Trout river, and Wabazio-sibi, or Cypress river,
all which fall into it on the east. On the wes-
tern side it receives the Singonki-sibi, or Marten
river. Three rapids occur also in the above
mentioned distance, two of them between Cy-
press river and Willow Portage, (a place so
called from a portage which communicates be-
tween the Mississippi and Willow river,) and the
third lower down.

All the maps, whether of former or recent
date, even those constructed conformably to
expeditions, are exceedingly incorrect with re-
spect to the situation of Sandy lake. They
place it at the S. E. of lake Leech, though it is
nearly at the east; and this error draws after it
others respecting its latitude and longitude. I
have observed this mistake by the due application
of my compass, the result of which corresponds
with the opinions of the Indians on the subject,
who, indeed, are very seldom deceived in their
geographical statements.

We will now, my dear Countess, rest awhile,
for we have far to go before we reach the mouths
of the Mississippi, being as yet only four hun-
dred miles from its Julian sources.

LETTER XXI.

Fort St Charles, on the Missouri,
Oct. 24, 1823.

WHENEVER I resume my pen to write to you,
my dear Countess, it is under an implied en-
gagement with myself to spare at once your
patience and my own, by presenting only a ge-
neral view of the most remarkable places and
incidents that I meet with ; but, continuing as
I still do, in regions so remote and almost un-
known, where nature developes herself under
forms so new and diversified, I am irresistibly
attracted beyond my designed limits, and my
system of rapid and sketchy observation is fre-
quently broken in upon either by the admiration
of some novel object presented to my senses, or
by the exquisite emotions which, on particular oc-
casions and in particular circumstances, agitate

458 SANDY LAKE.

my heart. It is not every one who is gifted as
the Turk is, to sit with the most apathetic indif-
ference on the noblest monuments of Egypt and
of Greece. Rapidly as I pass over a variety of sub-
jects, I experience more and more the difficulty
of being laconic, and at the same time of giving
you a narrative of my progress with any tolera-
ble exactness. It is, indeed, nearly impossible
to avoid occasional repetitions, either through the
necessity of great explicitness to attain desirable
perspicuity, or through the deep interest excited
by occurring scenes and circumstances, when
describing a river, perhaps the most grand and in-
teresting in the world, the chief points of which
may be of the highest importance to future ge-
nerations, and whose charms and wonders would
nearly exhaust all the terms which language can
supply. But let me return to where I left you
in my last letter — to Sandy lake.

This lake is a handsome basin, about ten miles
in circumference. Some neighbouring hills, four
islands, and a number of small promontories,
attach to it abundant and agreeable variety.
The river of the same name issues from it on
the west, and enters it at E. N. E. By means
of a portage it communicates with the river Sa-
vannah, which runs into the St Louis, as that
does into lake Superior, exactly at the place
called the End of the Lake, at its most westerly

MICHILIMAKINAC ESTABLISHMENT. 459

point. This passage, from Sandy lake to lakev
Superior, may be effected in two days ; which
is a new proof that Sandy lake is much more to
the east of Leech lake than it is marked upon
the maps. Through this channel are conveyed
all those articles which constitute the staple of
commerce with the Indians in these regions ;
and of which, as has been already mentioned,
Michilimaklnac is one of the South- West Com-
pany's two general entrepots. Sandy lake re-
ceives on the S. S. E. Wild Oats river, (Meno-
meny-sibi,) which proceeds to a great distance
into the interior.

Its banks constitute the rendezvous of a tribe
of Indians, amounting to the number of about
five hundred, who roam in small and scattered
bands, or even single families, and reunite in
autumn and in spring to barter with the Com-
pany. The Company's establishment is near
the spot where Sandy river falls into the Mis-
sissippi.

There also, as at Leech lake, we found only
one person, a housekeeper or guard of the esta-
blishment, a Canadian, possessed of great good-
nature and kindness, but who had nothing be-
sides wild rice and potatoes ; and who, to con-
sole me under my privations, gave me a list of
those which he had himself experienced, and
indeed was experiencing still; among others,

460 WINTER QUARTERS.

he stated that he had been ten years without
once tasting bread : however, he procured for
me a kettle, a rug, a little rum, and some am-
munition. It is only at this season that the
directors of each establishment are at their post,
and they were, on my arrival, actually on their
route ; but I was unable to make any stay. They
supply the Indians with everything necessary
for their winter hunt, and receive from them in
the spring the skins obtained by them in the
chace, which they take with them to Michili-
makinac, where, in summer, they balance their
accounts, and prepare again for what they call
their winter quarters, employing the whole of the
autumn in travelling to them. It was here, as
I have already observed, that General Cass left
nearly the whole of his expedition, when he
went up to Red Cedar lake.

On the 21st of September I quitted the Ca-
nadian and the Sandy river. The frost had
already set in on the night of the 19th. Being
fatigued with rowing, and desirous of giving free
indulgence both to my eyes and thoughts, I en-
gaged another Indian. But I found myself
again still without an interpreter.

I will, in the first place, describe to you the
principal directions of the river as far as Fort St
Peter, in order to give you in one continuous
view an idea of its course to that point, and to

PIKE'S RIVER. 461

avoid distracting your thoughts, by these details,
from what is more interesting to observe, and to
admire.

It flows W. S. W. as far as Pines river, a
distance of about one hundred and fifty miles.
It then turns, and continues in a course S. S. W.
as far as Raven's Plume river, about ninety
miles ; it then proceeds in a southerly course to
the falls of the Great Rock, a distance of one
hundred miles ; beyond that it runs south-
easterly as far as Rook's river, one hundred and
fifty miles lower; after which, finally, it tra-
verses about sixty in the direction of E. S. E. to
Fort St Peter ; which is just about nine hun-
dred and fifty miles from the Julian sources, and
five hundred and fifty from Sandy lake.

As the Sioux much haunt the banks of the
river, chiefly below the mouth of the Raven's
Plume, in order to carry on war against the
Cypowais, I elevated my umbrella as a stan-
dard, or rather a signal by which they might
understand that the canoe was navigated by a
foreign and neutral power.

Willow river is the first that we meet with
below the Sandy river. This is the river to
which Pike gave his own name, and by which
he first went up to the Leech lake. The Indians
call it Meaogeo-sibi. It is about forty miles
from Sandy lake.

462 THUNDER STORM.

Were I to acquaint you with all the storms
that I have experienced, I should be under the
necessity of exposing you almost incessantly to
peals of thunder and flashes of lightning : but,
much as I am inclined to spare you, I cannot
help noticing that which occurred on the 29th,
because it was a really remarkable one.

We were compelled to seek a landing ; not to
find shelter — for in such a deluge that was ut-
terly impossible — but because the drops of rain
were of so enormous a size as almost instantly
to fill the canoe. The surface of the river was
struck by them with such violence, that over its
whole appearance it exhibited the appearance
of a spouting-up fountain.

Peals of thunder succeeded each other with
scarcely the slightest intermission ; but in this
country the electric fluid, although excessively
abundant, discharges itself simultaneously by
such numerous channels, that the objects on
which it lights are struck by it less violently
than in Italy. Our canoe was merely grazed
by it, and a few trees were stripped of their
bark.

The fall of rain was inexpressibly heavy,
and must, I imagine, have been equally exten-
sive, as on the morrow the river had risen to the
height of eight feet. Even the Indians did not
recollect an instance of so great and sudden a

ROEBUCK HUNTING. 463

rise. We were obliged to lie by the whole of
the 23rd, for everything was soaked completely
through, and my Indian sovereign was ill. At
night, I went with the other Indian to hunt the
roebuck, in a manner that was new to me.

The hunter covers the whole of his breast with
a coating of oak-bark, and on a shelf or ledge
attached to this carries a lighted torch made of
pine- wood. The roebuck, dazzled and con-
founded by his appearance, makes a sudden
halt, and the hunter then fires. We were, how-
ever, unsuccessful.

At the distance of a hundred miles from Sandy
lake, we find the second island that adorns the
Mississippi. The Indians call it Minitik, or
Great Island. Between it and Wild Oats river,
the Stamp, (or Sossabegoma-sibi,) the Pitchers,
(orPiskociokoako-sibi,) the Red Cedar, (oicKamos-
>koaka-sibi,) which issues from the second lake of
that name, all flow into the great river on the
east; and on the west, the Little Willow, or
Sissimonageo-sibi .

At Pines river, (Singuoako-sibi,) which enters
also on the right, the chief was disturbed at not
finding his son and two of his partisans, whom
he had appointed to meet him at that place,
which they were to have reached by a course of
portages, in order to go down with us as far as
St Peter's. With respect to myself, however, I

464 ISLAND OF CYTHEREA.

was better pleased as the case was. I had three
ferocious brutes less to guard against. These
three Indians had distinguished themselves by
their savage conduct in that horrid scene which
I gave you an account of in my last letter.

As far down as the Pines the river is gentle
and even, if we except three small rapids situ-
ated above that river, and which are only at a
small distance from each other. Its bed is al-
ways very deep ; its banks wear a constant
and funereal gloom, everywhere abounding in
pines, cedars, and cypresses. Afterwards the
scene changes : a lovely island receives the
waters of Pines river, and divides them into
two branches. The great river becomes at once
more gay and more majestic, and the landscape
more varied with hills and prairies, copses, and
forests.

At six miles distance from the Pines, five
islands form, as it were, a crown for a sixth,
which rises magnificently in the midst of them.
Nothing but a temple is wanting to give it the
appearance of another Cytherea ; and, as it was
not known by any name, I called it by that.

In the evening of the 26th we were joined by
a small party of Indians from Sandy lake : they
were desirous of accompanying me down to
visit Mr Tagliawar. They were fifteen in
number, and occupied five canoes. On their

INDIAN TOILET. 465

arrival, I was employed in eating my allowance
of wild rice, which I continued to do without
even looking at them, or uttering a single word.
I gave my Indian chief to understand that I
was determined to keep my fire and my kettle
to myself. After finishing my supper, I ordered
them to be called ; and, distributing among
them a little tobacco, I smoked with them the
pipe of peace and civility. On the morrow, I
gave each of them a glass of rum, but still with-
out any communication by word or gesture.
This, my dear Countess, is the proper way to
prevent their insolence and command their re-
spect. They behaved like angels during the whole
of the voyage, scarcely allowing themselves
to laugh when they saw me washing my face ;
and probably would have completely avoided it,
had I been able myself to help laughing when
I saw them rubbing over their own with char-
coal or kettle black, or with white, red, or
yellow clay. They employ much more time in
thus completing their toilet opposite a looking-
glass, than would be required by the most
fashionable of our coquets for her smartest gala
preparations. The rain frequently deranged their
operations, and it was not a little ludicrous to
see how it veined and marbled their faces.

Raven's Plume river is a grand discharge of
various lakes which on the west empty their

VOL. II. H H

466 MORSE'S SOURCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI.

waters into the Mississippi. It is a truly mag-
nificent river, and, at their confluence, is, I
think, as large as the Mississippi itself. Its
principal source is White Bear lake, where
Mr Morse's American Gazetteer has placed the
sources of the Mississippi. Two delightful
islands divide it into three branches, at its
mouth, and render it highly majestic and
picturesque.

The Wokco-sibi, which flows from the east
about twenty miles from the last river, is
deemed remarkable among the Indians : it was
the abode of a Cypowais, who passed for a pro-
phet, and it has inherited his name.

Six miles lower down, the river forms a small
lake ; and how luxuriant and delicious a view
does it afford ! Nature has scattered over it
twelve islands, which Lenotre himself could not
have distributed with finer taste ; and has dif-
fused over its banks such delightful scenes as
even Catullus has only inadequately described
in the picture he gives of his charming residence
at the lake of Garda. I have called these islands
the Sirens.

From Bitch river (Mosko-sibi,) which flows
also from the west, we pass through a succes-
sion of rapids, till we reach that of Great Rock
(Kekebicauge,) which is a small fall. Here
generally a portage is made, which we however

ISLAND OF THE SUN. 467

avoided by passing through a narrow channel on
the east, behind an island. This fall is formed
by a small strait. The river, confined between
two rocks, forms a gulph, from which it rushes
with a tremendous roaring.

On the evening of the 28th we encamped
about twenty miles from this fall, at a place
where the river, surrounding a very noble island,
of a figure precisely round, suggests to the me-
mory the temples which the ancients conse-
crated to the sun, and the Druids to their gods.
The stately and superb forest which embo-
soms the basin, corresponds finely with the
image here suggested. I have named the island,
therefore, the Island of the Sun.

Between this place and the Great Rock, the
river receives the tributary streams of Wabizio-
sibi, or the Swans (the second of that name,) and
Kanizotygoga, or the Two Rivers, which flow
from the west.

At a little distance lower we find, also on the
west, the mouth of the Zakatagana-sibi, from
the name of a certain species of wood, which is
the only kind of tinder that the Indians make
use of. It is difficult to find a better match:
I have kept a sample of it among my Indian
curiosities. The confluence with Pines Tail river
(Bekozino-sibi) takes place at a very short dis-
tance farther on the east.

468 GOVERNMENT EXPEDITIONS.

Here is the commencement of extensive prai-
ries, which spread both to the east and west, but
are interrupted by woods and thickets. In
winter, buffalos are frequently found here.

Between the Bikabikao-sibi, or Shuffle-board,
on the east, and the Renards (Oxaguio-sibi^)
on the west, there is another fine river also on
the west. It is perfectly unknown even to the
Indians. I would have given it a name; but as
it is within only a few days distance from the Fort
St Peter, I did not choose to infringe on a right
which might be supposed to belong to the officers
of that garrison. There are among these gen-
tlemen men of merit, highly capable of serv-
ing the government in the plans it seems to
entertain of exploring and becoming fully ac-
quainted with this mighty stream, and these
interesting regions. A single individual, pos-
sessed of practical philosophy and genuine
philanthropy, with a moderate knowledge of
geography and astronomy, would, in a country
beset on every side with obstacles and difficul-
ties, and among tribes of men peculiarly subtle
and suspicious, accomplish much more than an
expedition fitted out at great expense. For, in
proportion to the number of persons attached to
the expedition, will be the alarm with which the
Indians will be impressed by it, the dangers in
which it will be involved, the wants to which it

BOTANIC MANIA. 469

will be exposed; dangers and wants which fre-
quently detain and obstruct it when it would be
of the utmost importance that it should proceed,
when advances into the interior of the country
would be most indispensable to attaining the
object of their mission. As I have begun this
subject, I feel bound to communicate to you the
various reflections I have made upon it.

The advantages which have been hitherto de-
rived from these expeditions have not, I believe,
answered the views of the government, or the
expectations of the public. They have consisted
of a few plants, with which perhaps all but the
members of the expedition were acquainted,
and which swell that mass of unintelligible hiero-
glyphics, that scientific but tasteless and terrifying
nomenclature, unfortunately consecrated by a great
name, serving merely to overlay the memory and to
blot out the lovely picture of nature; a few gaudy
butterflies and other insects, of which we have
already too many everywhere ; of birds, which
can only gratify curiosity and luxury ; of stones,
suggesting a thousand conjectures of their nature
and origin, and which, whether silicious or calca-
reous, or designated by any other learned terms,
serve as materials for the idle discussions of
pretenders to science, but contribute little or
nothing to the benefit of the public ;— such have

470 ADVICE REGARDING EXPEDITIONS.

been the principal results of these pompous and
costly enterprises.

The study of natural history is unquestionably
a study by no means to be neglected, particu-
larly so far as it is connected with utility. But
it ought not to be made a principal object by an
enlightened and liberal government. It is the
grand business of such a government to study
practically the nature and character of man, and
to provide for his real wants ; and man, even in
his uncivilized and savage state, is not unworthy
of its careful attention. By acting on such
principles as these, the administrators of the
power of states may procure a name dear to
humanity and venerated by their dependants.

Let a single officer then, a man deserving of
confidence, accompanied merely by clever in-
terpreters, and two good rowers, (Canadians,) be
employed to explore the territory of the Indians.
Let him attentively observe their manners, their
customs, their physical and moral tendencies,
and their means of subsistence ; let him inves-
tigate, on the very scenes which he visits, what
must become of these people when their hunts
fail to procure them adequate supplies, a period
which now cannot be very remote ; and what may
be the result of such a crisis to civilized nations
in their immediate neighbourhood, if, on the one

BREAD BEFORE RELIGION. 471

hand, these barbarian hunters emigrate or become
extinct, or on the other turn their attention to
agriculture and the useful arts. In proportion
as his views enlarge, while examining closely
all the local peculiarities, let him contemplate
the means of facilitating, and turning to the
best account, a revolution in the manners of
these wandering tribes so eminently important.
Let him however begin with secular plans and
objects; sacred or spiritual ones will follow na-
turally and of course. In situations such as
this, bread is the best preparative for the gospel.
The charity of active beneficence, the grand
virtue which the gospel inculcates, is of infinitely
more value than that which consists barely in
preaching. Before announcing to these untaught
men the beatitudes of heaven, they should be
instructed in the best means of sustaining life,
and of enjoying it on earth. The latter is the
natural and unerring guide to the former; for
in that merciful Providence to which they will
be indebted, under a new system of living, for
sustenance, security, and tranquillity, they will
readily acknowledge an actual deity, of whom
they will soon desire a clearer knowledge, to
whom they will soon present their thanksgivings
and adorations ; and, after they have advanced
to this desirable point, then will be the season
for pouring spiritual reasonings into their do-

472 CURIOUS QUESTION.

cile minds, and effecting their gospel regene-
ration.

The work of Mr Morse on this subject is
animated by a piety and philanthropy truly
exemplary; but it is deficient in that spirit of
philosophy, without which every physical or
moral system is destitute of value in proportion
as it is weak in its foundation. We frequently
talk of heaven, but our meditations and affec-
tions are ever recurring to earth, as we are every
moment experiencing wants which press impe-
ratively and overwhelmingly on our mortal
existence. A being therefore so material and
unspiritualized as the Indian, must be operated
upon and absorbed by such wants still more
than ourselves. This subject, my dear Countess,
brings to my recollection an Indian chief who,
when the interpreter was explaining to him one
of Mr Morse's sermons, in doing which it was
necessary to make frequent use of the word
bible, asked eagerly whether the bible was any-
thing to eat'!

All the French missionaries in Canada, who
adopted and acted upon these principles, at-
tained most completely the object of their
mission, and made the greatest number of pro-
selytes among the Indians. They were indeed
the only ones whom they respected, and their
memory is still held by them in veneration.

AN ARCHIPELAGO. 473

Below Renard's river, rapids follow one ano-
ther in quick succession, till we arrive at a place
where they are terminated by an Archipelago.
The river here presents a miniature resemblance
of that sea which proved so noble a theatre for
the ancient inhabitants of Greece in their strug-
gles against Darius and Xerxes, before Salamis
and Artemisia, and which is scarcely less bril-
liantly distinguished by the present glorious
efforts of their descendants against the despotism
and oppression of the cruel Ottoman. It is won-
derful to observe how this river combines all the
features of grandeur and beauty, all that can
affect and astonish. It comprises at this spot,
within a spacious and enchanting enclosure,
fifteen islands, rivalling each other in elegance
and charms. Nature seems to repose with plea-
sure in the view of them, and to be proud of
her work, like Michel Angelo surveying his pic-
ture of the Last Judgment in the Sistine chapel,
when he exclaimed, Haw beautiful it is! Even
the Indians stopped, with some indication of
emotion, or at least they seemed affected by
mine.

I had here a very fine opportunity of perpe-
tuating my name in these Indian territories, by
giving it to this enchanting place ; and you will
perhaps be surprised at my so completely

474 VIOLENT RAPIDS.

neglecting myself. After my death, my dear
Countess, men will dispose of my name, as
God will of my soul, according as I shall have
well or ill deserved during my life ; and I leave
to my friends and to those who have had oppor-
tunities of becoming acquainted with my heart,
the charge of defending my memory, should it
ever be attacked by injustice or prejudice. But
not to dwell upon this, a strolling excursioner,
without commission or pretension, like myself,
who writes his letters on his knees in the midst
of vast deserts, as Caesar wrote his Commenta-
ries on the pummel of his saddle and amidst
the tumult of a camp, could hardly perhaps
place himself upon a level with celebrated tra-
vellers and professional authors. Do not, my
dear Countess, for a moment imagine that, by
recurring to Caesar for a little analogy, I
am weak enough to think myself his rival in
glory.

About seven or eight miles from this Archipe-
lago, we again meet with violent rapids. The
Indians encounter them with an intrepidity and
dexterity truly surprising. They do just what-
ever they like with their canoes. I frequently
discovered new subjects of admiration in our
little pasteboard-like flotilla, which, scattered as
they were over the surface of the agitated stream,

EFFECTS OF SOLITUDE. 475

frequently led me by their form and movements
to recollections of antiquity.

On the evening of the 27th we stopped at a
place where a roebuck, which my Indian chief
had fired at from his canoe, had gone to die ; a
spot of the most delicious sweetness, and to
which we were led by the merest chance.

In every situation there are moments when
man feels a sort of necessity for abandoning
himself entirely to his own thoughts, but never
more so than after he has been for some time
exclusively in the society of an uncultivated
people, and in the midst of forests and deserts.
I ascended a slight elevation, commanding the
river and the adjoining country, and there I
fixed my camp in complete solitude. In the
morning, sitting on my bed, which had been
made by the hand of nature, inclining my head
against a tree whose spreading top constituted
my pavilion, and the uncovered part of whose
root had been my pillow, I beheld the rising of
that beneficent star which returns every day to
reanimate the world and rejoice mankind with
his all-cheering beams. How lovely did he
appear after such a season of storm ! I saw the
vapours of the dawn soon scattered by his
influence, and then beheld, in a new basin formed
by the river, a new production of nature, as
perfectly fascinating as it was singular. It was

476 ENCHANTING PICTURES.

an island of a pentagon form, in the middle of
the river, presenting a model of the finest work
that ever proceeded from the genius and pencil
of our celebrated Vanvitelli, the Lazaretto of
Ancona. I say the finest work, for on account
of the magic art with which he has so admirably
and appropriately distributed the offices, both
sanitary and commercial, and of the difficulties
which he overcame to accomplish this effect ; I
prefer it even to those wonderful productions,
the palace of Caserta and the bridge of Matalone.
How exquisitely soothing and delightful was my
bed ! Even the hours of night itself had unfolded
to my solitary vigils objects of high interest and
feeling, such as in the bowers of luxurious indo-
lence perhaps never occur. The moon and stars
diffused their changeful and fascinating light
over pictures of enchanting beauty ; and even
when the tempestuous weather made my situa-
tion unpleasant and painful, I still felt something
amidst my sufferings which raised me above
them, I might almost say above myself; and
my feelings might have been envied by many of
those who stagnate under purple and ermine.
The Indians call this place Anikitoucian, or the
Great Echo, which however is considerably in-
ferior to that of Red Cedar lake. It is about
twenty-five miles below the Archipelago.

Within a short distance, a considerable river,

THE BEAR IN THE OAK TREE. 477

also without a name, descends from the west ;
and afterwards, from the same quarter, the
river Clear Water, (Kawanibio-sibi,)^ a name de-
servedly applicable to it.

The river Kapitotigaya-sibi, or river Double,
which enters on the east, and which comes from
the Thousand Lakes, is the termination of the
voyage on the Mississippi made by father Hen-
nepin, the first who ever navigated it so high up
as this river, to which he gave the name of St
Francis, probably from the day on which he
discovered it. It is about sixty-five miles from
Fort St Peter. An island almost completely
blocks up its mouth. It is a river of considerable
magnitude, as is also Rook's river, which we
reach five miles lower down on the west, and
which the Cypowais call Poanagoan-sibi, or the
Sioux river, for there these hostile nations often
meet, and, like Bloody river, it has been often
dyed with the blood of battles. I saw here a
bear upon a tree ; but as my own gun and that
of the chief were as usual wet with the rain, he
in consequence escaped. At this season, when
there are no longer any fruits, the bear returns
to his acorns, and climbs up the oaks to find out
the softest of them. I should have felt as if I had
performed an extraordinary achievement, had I
killed a bear perched on a tree like a bird.

478 THE MOUFFETA.

On the night of the 29th all around us was
winter, and the weather, although so early, ter-
ribly cold. But I could scarcely help feeling
myself warm, when I looked at my half-naked
companions, who had nothing to cover them, by
night or by day, but a single rug or skin which,
notwithstanding all their dexterity in managing
it, frequently escapes from one part while they
are endeavouring to cover with it another; and
even this, their only garment, is seldom entire ;
for whenever they want a bit of rag to clean their
gun, they resort to this wardrobe, which indeed
comprises their whole stock.

In the morning I shot an animal to which na-
turalists, if I am not mistaken, give the name of
mouffeta. It deserves a few minutes notice.

It is about the size of a small otter, being
nearly as long, but its muzzle is much longer
and more pointed, and its legs are somewhat
shorter. This prevents its running with suffi-
cient speed to escape the hunter, who takes it
the more easily from its not being amphibious,
and therefore unable to take refuge in the water.
But nature has given it a weapon of mighty
power against its assailant, consisting in the in-
tolerable stench of a liquid which it conceals
under its tail, (as the serpent conceals its poison
under its fangs,) and which it darts on the

EFFECTS OF IRRITATION. 479

pursuer with such force, that it reaches him
sometimes at the distance of sixty paces. Na-
turalists pretend that it is the animal's urine ;
but in this they are in error, as they are in many
other of their statements ; a circumstance not
unlikely to happen to men who study nature
only in the seclusion of their closets.

I dissected the animal, and found the fluid to
be contained in a bladder completely distinct.
I was nearly suffocated by the horrible smell
which proceeded from it and infected the air
around during the operation. It almost took
away my senses and breathing. If it is spilt on
any clothes, all the essences and detergents in
the world would be insufficient to disinfect and
purify them ; and it i-s remarkable that the
smell is not impaired, or at least only very
slightly so, by time. The Indians have disco-
vered no method of removing it but by burying
the apparel, that happens to be thus polluted,
for some days in the earth. It is also worthy of
notice, that the quantity of this fluid thrown out
by the animal is always in proportion to its irri-
tation and danger, as in the case of the negroes,
who never so copiously exhale the odour pecu-
liar to them as when they are assaulted or exas-
perated. The like effervescence or ebullition is
also produced by the bilious humour of a sple-

480 RETURN TO CIVILIZATION.

netic and melancholy man, when he is gnawed
by bitter passion and mortification.

After passing the confluence of the Missay-
guani-sibi, or river Brandy, on the east, and that
of another river, which is unknown, on the west,
I approached that grand and interesting spec-
tacle which I mentioned to you in my fifteenth
letter, the Falls of St Antony. We heard the roar
of the enormous mass, which rushes down with
such impetuosity that rocks, unable to resist its
force, are carried away and broken by its vio-
lence. I already saw rising from the foaming
waters a dense haze, which concealed the hori-
zon from our view. The strength of the current
hurried forward our canoe with alarming rapi-
dity; and at length I discerned between the
trees, and in a pleasant back-ground, the roof of
a house, indicating of course civilized habitation.
This was the mill for the garrison at the fort.
On reaching this place, my mind, still dwelling
on all the grand and terrible scenes which had
occurred to me in the course of three months,
while traversing eternal deserts, among barba-
rous tribes and unknown regions, was agitated
with emotions which I could scarcely describe
or discriminate.

The sight of this object, which announced my
approach to the residence of cultivated man,

DRESS OF SKINS. 481

produced in me a conflict of opposite feelings.
I regretted the independence of savage life,
while at the same time I experienced a thrill of
delight at returning within the sphere of civi-
lized society.

After having cleared the portage, I completed
my Indian toilet for the last time; that is, I
shaved myself without either soap or glass, and
with razors which were much like saws. I
took my bath in the river, and dressed myself
as well as I was able, in order to appear at the
fort as decently as possible. But I was beset
on all sides with dirt and squalidness : these
perhaps have in fact formed the greatest of my
sufferings. My head was covered with the
bark of a tree, formed - into the shape of a hat
and sewed with threads of bark; and shoes, a
coat, and pantaloons, such as are used by Cana-
dians in the Indian territories, and formed of
orignal skins sewed together by thread made of
the muscles of that animal, completed the gro-
tesque appearance of my person. I am indebted
for my new wardrobe to the fair Woascita, who
had compassion on the nakedness to which the
thorns and brambles of the forest had reduced
me. The Indians attach a high value to the skin
of the orignal, which is the most beautiful of
quadrupeds, the monarch of rein-deer, and only
very rarely to be met with. The gift therefore

VOL. II. I I

482 RETURN TO FORT ST PETER.

is valuable in itself, and as such I shall preserve
it with care, but still more as a memorial of
regard and friendship. Woascita deserves the
appropriation of a few pages to record her merit,
nor probably would they by any means be des-
titute of interest. But the world has been so
filled with Attains, that history is no longer
deemed worthy of credit. I therefore check my
pen. On some future occasion however it is by
no means impossible that I may more worthily
record her genuine excellence.

My Indians announced their approach in the
customary manner, that is, by the discharge of
guns loaded with ball, and with shouts and
chants accompanied by the sound of their har-
monious drums.

Melancholy rumours respecting my safety had
been circulated at the fort, and young Snelling,
on his return to it, having expressed the appre-
hensions he felt on my account when we parted
at Pembenar, had thus strengthened the belief
in them. These gentlemen in fact supposed me
to be dead.

Oh the arrival of the flotilla all the officers
hastened down to enquire about me. They were
answered by the supposed dead man himself.
While replying to their kind questions I divested
myself of the skin covering which I had on, in
the disguise of an Indian ; a character which my

KIND RECEPTION. 483

countenance and general appearance greatly
contributed to my supporting. I saw in the ex-
pression of their physiognomies both a move-
ment of surprise, and sentiments of affection and
friendship. The excellent Mr Tagliawar em-
braced me in the most cordial manner, and the
colonel, his respectable wife, and his children,
received me with demonstrations of the most
lively joy. I was much moved, and could not
help shedding tears of gratitude and attachment.
This was the first time since fate began to steep
my existence in anguish that I beheld a gleam
of those happy moments which, in Italy, friend-
ship always procured for me whenever I returned
from my occasional absences. And during the
short time that I remained among them I expe-
rienced nothing of the constraint, nothing of the
cold and formal politeness which Americans in
general are accustomed to affect, particularly
towards strangers, and which, like a moral rust,
tarnishes their natural benevolence and impairs
the value of their hospitality. They were in-
dignant against Major Long for acting towards
me in the miserable manner that he did. With
respect to myself, I felt towards him a sort of
gratitude for having by his disgusting manners
only strengthened my determination to leave him,
in order to discover the sources of the king of
rivers ; and it is partly to him that I am indebted

484 DEPUTATIONS FROM THE SIOUX.

for the fortunate success of my enterprise, as
the Americans are for the jealousy which that
success has excited in them.

My Indians arrived in time. We found there
deputations from almost all the distant bands of
Sioux, who exhibited a novel spectacle, and in-
deed a somewhat imposing one, by the pomp
and diversified costumes which the respective
deputies displayed in the assembly, where they
were all met, to present to Mr Tagliawar their
homage and complaints, their pretensions and
their compliments. They smoked new calumets
of peace, and I again became a witness on the
occasion. God knows how often this peace
may have been violated before the moment in
which I am now relating it!

I learnt from these deputations themselves
the correctness of the idea which had suddenly
struck me, when my two Cypowais were at-
tacked on Bloody river. But they were eager
to convince me that it was also out of regard for
myself that they had abandoned the field of
battle. I pretended to believe them, and with
great profession of gratitude thanked them,
making them a present of some tobacco. They
told me, moreover, that I had acted judiciously
in making myself known to them by means of
my umbrella signal, as I should otherwise have
experienced a shower of balls as well as arrows.

HOW TO TREAT AN ENEMY. 485

I did not forget to notice and recommend my
Bois-bruU to Mr Agent Tagliawar. His un-
happy family deeply interested me.

That gentleman objected to me in the first
place the bad qualities of the man, his aversion
to the Americans, his connection with the Eng-
lish. The charge was certainly true ; and I did
not undertake to justify him. But if we cannot
subdue a dangerous enemy, we should, I ob-
served, try to win him over by caresses. This,
I remarked, was a maxim with greater politi-
cians than ourselves. I added that this was the
policy of Herennius, when the Samnites en-
quired what they should do with the Romans
whom they held blocked up in the Caudine
valley, and which the enquirers were so very
injudicious as to reject. I even ventured farther
to observe that, as long as this man was debarred
from tasting American bread, he would be con-
stantly tempted to assuage his misery with that
of the English ; that, after having in vain offered
his services, he would become a declared enemy,
as hatred may be sometimes pardoned, but con-
tempt never can be ; that he had great influence
over the whole of these Indians, in the midst of
whom he directed and governed alone ; and
finally, that he was by far more dangerous
from uniting great talent with great guilt. Mr
Tagliawar, whose disposition is naturally kind,

486 THE CHIEF CLOUDY WEATHER.

was convinced of the justness of these observa-
tions, and approved the sentiments by which
they were dictated ; and he accordingly gave
me a commission, which I sent off immediately
to the Bois-brule by Cloudy Weather. Titus com-
plained, with reason, that he had lost a day
when its course had been unmarked by some
act of beneficence ; for those hours, which recall
to our recollection benefits performed to huma-
nity, are the most valuable and delightful of our
lives. They furnish an inexhaustible source of
consolation, which will never quit us on earth
but to conduct us to unalloyed enjoyment in
heaven.

I did not neglect the opportunity of sending
by the above conveyance some memorial of my
ardent gratitude to the beautiful Woascita, and
of my admiration to the young hero of the
dreadful tragedy of the 12th. Before I for ever
take leave of my Indian king, I must add one
word to all that I have already said respecting
him, in order to fix your ideas as much as pos-
sible on the subject of the sentiments or instinct
of these peculiar people.

You have seen from my last letter that I saved
his life at the peril of my own, and that I pre-
vented him from completing the murder of his
intimate friend. He frequently talked of this,
and mentioned it in a very handsome way, but

TRAITS OF INDIAN CHARACTER. 487

never manifested the slightest degree of grati-
tude. Even a dog, after such events as these,
would have continued to manifest his thankful
feelings for a long time by gestures and caresses.
I made him several presents to compensate for
his services as my pilot ; but I gave the kettle
which I had bought at Sandy lake to my other
guide, with a significant smile, intimating to
his majesty that I intended by this to punish
him for parting with the first so very unseason-
ably to one of his partisans. Without entering,
however, at all into my raillery, he haughtily
turned round to me, saying, " Thou hast frequently
reproached us with being vindictive ; but at least we
are vindictive for objects of consequence and value,
while youWhites are so for the merest trifles.''' My
presence had saved these men twice from the
ambushes of the Sioux, on Bloody river, and on
the Mississippi, near the Raven's Plume, where
a party was lying in wait for them, and spared
them solely from their observing my signal of
the umbrella; yet before they left me, they
said, " Thou art always obliging us to make peace
with the Sioux , that they may murder us more
securely " However, I still think, that the Cy-
powais, speaking generally, are less barbarous
and depraved than the Sioux, and perhaps more
brave.

I was very desirous of resuming my project

488 MISSOURI FUR COMPANY,

of passing from FortSt Peter to that of Council
Bluff on the Missouri, across the deserts which
separate them ; but, besides the circumstance
of the season being too far advanced in these
excessively cold climates, war was raging in the
countries through which I must have gone, and
would have rendered my plan somewhat hazard-
ous. To satisfy your curiosity on this subject,
I will explain my meaning in a few words.

A new American Company, under the de-
nomination of the Missouri Fur Company, has
just started a new system of speculation on the
Indian territory, which is, in fact, a new aggres-
sion on the property of these people, and an
addition to all the numerous vexations and op-
pressions to which the rapacity of civilized na-
tions has exposed them ever since the discovery
of America. This Company has engaged, and
keeps in pay, a number of men to become hun-
ters themselves in those parts where the most
valuable animals are most abundant, and conse-
quently to usurp the rights of the Indians, and
destroy the only means of subsistence now left
to these miserable nations, — to whom Mr Morse
would, in exchange, communicate the Bible,
thus profaned as it is every moment before their
eyes ! This newly-raised legion was attacked in
June last by the Rikara Indians ; and, after
sustaining a great loss in killed and wounded,

ITS WAR WITH THE INDIANS. 489

had barely time to make a retreat. Colonel
Leavensworth, the commandant of Fort Council
Bluff, was called in to their assistance, and he
immediately moved up the river with three hun-
dred men ; but, on arriving at the camp of the
rebel Indians, struck perhaps with the injustice
of the cause of the new adventurers, instead of
avenging the American blood and name, as was
expected, he granted terms of peace : and, at
the moment I am writing, the only war that
exists is carried on in the newspapers, between
him and the agents of the new Company.

I left Fort St Peter on the 3rd of October.
Though I have in general the greatest aversion
to return the way I came, yet the Mississippi
has still developed to me new charms. I could,
indeed, never restrain my admiration of it. What
a beautiful — what a majestic river !

Our voyage was very favourable, in a decked
vessel called a keel-boat; and I found excel-
lent company in some gentlemen travelling from
the military academy at West Point, near New
York, and whom I met with at Prairie du Chien,
to which place they had conveyed recruits by the
route of the lakes and Owisconsing.

These gentlemen are going with the rank of
officers to Fort Council Bluff. They are very
well informed, as those generally are who come
from that establishment, which is the Poly-

490 YOUNG MILITARY OFFICERS.

technic School of the United States. What
a pity it seems, that they should be thus
doomed to pass their days in such inhospita-
ble wilds, remote from all respectable society,
and surrounded by such a corrupt and dege-
nerate race of beings as the Indians in the
neighbourhood of these establishments always
are ! Thus delivered up to their own manage-
ment and discretion at a season of life sus-
ceptible of all kinds of impressions, it is to
be feared that they may soon forget the know-
ledge they have acquired, and that the polished
manners, moral principles, and elevated senti-
ments they now carry with them, may be suc-
ceeded, at no distant period, by habits of in-
temperance and libertinism. The government
is, in my opinion, much to blame for not
having established a professor of mathematics
at Council Bluff, and another at Fort St Peter,
in order to keep up the knowledge of the young-
officers it appoints to them. Besides with-
drawing them, by this means, from the danger
of idleness, they would be training a number
of men to become useful to the Indians, to their
own country, to government, and to society ;
and the expenses attending expeditions from
Washington might well be spared. The ap-
pointments in these expeditions are often as
ill arranged as possible, and prove that favour-

FAVOURITISM IN THE REPUBLIC. 491

itism may prevail in a republic as well as in a
monarchy.

From St Louis, which I reached on the 20th,
I am now arrived at the place of date, for the
sake of a milder climate and a little repose.

LETTER XXII, AND LAST.

New Orleans, I3tk Dec. 1823.

THE day of my arrival at New Orleans was a
day of real consolation. I had long been de-
prived of all correspondence with those whom I
most esteem and love. Judge then, my dear
Countess, of the delight I experienced on find-
ing at this place two letters from yourself, and
others from various relations and friends : it
was the day on which I began to contemplate
with less regret and frequency than before the
independence of savage life.

I wrote my last letter to you from St Charles
on the Missouri. The course which I am now
going to take, from that place to the mouths of
the Mississippi, you are partly acquainted
with ; I mean that part between St Louis to the

ST CHARLES TOWN. 493

mouth of the Ohio. We have now, therefore,
only to survey the territory intervening between
the Ohio and the Gulph of Mexico, which has
been described by geographers and even cele-
brated by poets. Think not that I mean to
follow the example of the latter. I do not
mean, as I proceed in my extensive tour, to lull
you to sleep, in order to make you dream like
them at the expense of truth and common sense ;
to embellish agreeable fictions, or to adorn with
flowers the truly gloomy and monotonous banks
of this part of the Mississippi. I have described
to you the enchantment which I felt at the sight
of the admirable scenery which it presents from
its origin to the Ohio. I shall now only call
your attention to a few points, in order to render
more complete your view of the entire course of
this truly great river, and to notice some pre-
vailing geographical errors.

St Charles is a handsome little town, though
as young as' the Missouri State, of which it is
the capital. It is situated on the left bank of
this great river, twenty- two miles from St Louis.
Opposite to it, on the right bank, there is a
small town forming a charming object in the
view, and fronting the little capital on the south.
Rows of finely tufted trees which line the banks
of the Missouri, ornament it on the west and
east ; and on the north luxuriant meadows furnish

494 FLORISSANT.

a beautiful perspective, closed by the woods
which border the Mississippi.

By its situation it would seem destined to
become a place of great importance ; and its
progress would be still more rapid than it is,
but for the conspiracy of a few selfish specula-
tors to remove from it the seat of government, in
order to fix it at the mouth of the Osage, about
three hundred miles farther up ; the object of
which is to increase the value of considerable
grants or acquisitions of land, which they have
obtained there at different times by different
means.

About four miles to the south of St Charles,
there is a small village precisely corresponding
in fact to the name it bears, and which is
Florissant. It lies in the midst of a magnifi-
cent plain variegated by wood and prairie, and
in which the operations of the plough have
been already highly extensive and productive.
M. Dubourg (the bishop of St Louis) has already
formed an establishment of nuns, well calculated
to promote the education of the daughters of the
persons residing there ; and also another of
Jesuits, by whose means he proposes to spread
the Catholic religion among the Indians dis-
persed over the border countries. May they
answer the evangelical and philanthropic views
of this prelate, if he sincerely entertain such !

PRAIRIE OF ST CHARLES. 495

But the ultra-Jesuitism which he has hitherto
promulgated, and is still incessantly promulga-
ting, authorises the belief that he is merely the
zealous tool of the junta of Montrouge. Several
well-informed persons have assured me that the
principle of these gentry is in perfect accordance
with the vulgar maxim " to stick by one another."

From St Charles I returned to St Louis across
an immense prairie, which conducts, at E.N.E.
to the Sioux portage. Small hills or mountains
are scattered over the prairie in great profu-
sion, and, on account of their form, are called
Nipples.

From the tops of these hills the eye is pre-
sented with a view of the most delightful and
impressive character — the encounter between
two rival streams, which, after mingling their
waters, are seen for a long distance flowing on
with majesty and beauty. Setting out in their
course at a considerable distance from each
other, although nearly in the same latitude, they
traverse an immense extent of territory inces-
santly drawing nearer to each other, down to
the moment when the more impetuous Missouri
rushes on the Mississippi, and darkens its
stream by mixing with it waters less clear but
more salubrious. From the summits of these
hills we look down upon a country the most
variegated and enchanting, at the sight of which

496 ENCHANTING SCENERY.

even the most material and sensual of human
beings can scarcely help becoming spiritualised
and meditative. Herds of cattle and flocks of
sheep, intermingled frequently with the does
and roebucks, with pelicans, cranes, swans, and
golden plovers, which feed without collision or
jealousy over the vast expanse with which they
are surrounded, form delightful varieties in this
magnificent display of nature. These hills,
moreover, seemed to constitute one grand In-
dian cenotaph, which naturally furnishes a
strong presumption in support of the opinion,
that these people were formerly extremely nu-
merous.

The highest pyramid of Egypt would, I con-
ceive, be compelled to lower the standard of its
pretensions before the Nipples of the prairie of
St Charles ; for unquestionably it does not com-
mand the prospect of two such superb rivers,
such verdant plains, such fragrant groves, or so
many interesting tribes of animal life as serve to
diversify this astonishing spectacle.

From this spot, my dear Countess, I again be-
held the chain of perpendicular rocks resembling
the substructions of the palaces of Pompey and
Domitian, which I mentioned to you in my Four-
teenth Letter. The illusion is complete. And
as I viewed these rocks rising above the thatch-
roofed village of the Sioux Portage, I fancied

M. ACQUARONI. 4(J7

that I beheld the palace of Armida looking down
from its haughty eminence on the humble cabin
of Baucis and Philemon.

The Sioux Portage is so called, because for-
merly the Sioux extended their territorial pre-
tensions to this point, and made a portage here
for the sake of a short pass from the Mississippi
to the Missouri, over the tongue of land extend-
ing between these rivers to the point of their con-
fluence. It exhibits a collection of about thirty
huts, inhabited by a people who have descended
from Indians, and who may be considered as
demi-Indians.

These poor creatures, on hearing that I was
an Italian, pressed around me — men, women,
and children — with a warmth of feeling abso-
lutely filial, enquiring for intelligence of their
common father. " Do you know him? (they
asked.) Oh, what a deal of good he has done
us ! what love he has shewn for us ! what suf-
ferings he has gone through for us ! We shall
never have another father like him ! We have
perhaps lost him for ever!" Affected by such a
scene of tenderness, I enquired who it was that
they so much regretted. They then named
M. Acquaroni, an Italian priest. This ecclesi-
astic, during a residence of three or four years
among this worthy people, had become their
idol, by the piety and charity which had dis-
tinguished his ministry. To give all he had to

VOL. II. K K

498 THE TRAVELLER'S CAVE.

feed the poor ; to collect for them ; to cultivate
the ground with his own hands, in order to ob-
tain a subsistence for them as well as himself;
to rest from bodily labour merely for the pur-
pose of engaging in spiritual ; such was the life
of this excellent missionary. I have had the
pleasure here of being introduced to him, and I
embraced him with sentiments of attachment
which true virtue only can inspire. He is vicar
of this cathedral, coadjutor of the abbe Moni,
who is himself eminent for his meekness and
Christian virtues. When I meet with a good
priest, or a good king, it is a day of happiness
and triumph to me, as I deem nothing on earth
more truly venerable. That I have so seldom
opportunities of exercising this veneration must
be ascribed to kings and priests themselves. To
find those who are truly worthy of it, is nearly as
difficult as the search after the philosopher's stone.

I departed from St Louis on the 9th of last
month, with arms and baggage ; by the latter
of which I particularly mean my Indian curiosi-
ties, and my faithful companion the celebrated
canoe of Bloody river, for which I also engaged
a passage in the Dolphin steam-boat.

Human infirmity will ever be discovering and
exposing itself. I must acknowledge it to you,
that I am as yet inconsolable for the loss of my
highly valued canoe, and I am convinced I shall
still be so for a long time to come. The captain

ELEGY ON THE CANOE. 499

was a man of an austere and unkind nature,
and, indeed, wholly destitute of politeness.
Without the slightest attention to my remon-
strances, he seemed resolved to place it with-
out care or caution in contact with the out-
side of the steam - boat ; which, happening
to get a-ground about seven or eight miles
from St Louis, the violence of the shock broke
my poor canoe to shivers. How can I pos-
sibly help lamenting my much-loved little skiff,
which had conveyed me in safety amidst a
thousand rocks and over a space of more than
two thousand miles ! We had sustained toge-
ther such a number of vicissitudes — we had by
turns carried each other — we might be sup-
posed to cherish mutual hopes of recalling in old
age the embarrassing and difficult regions we
had traversed, the labours we had endured, and
the dangers we had defied. Alas ! a single in-
stant destroys our illusions, and has reduced
to annihilation the object of my sincere attach-
ment ! My mind, long ruminating on mournful
ideas, accustomed to reflect even on the slightest
incidents of life, beholds in everything around
me the destiny that overwhelms me, and the
melancholy impress of human fragility — the si-
tuation of one who has the misfortune to survive
that which he held most dear. I owed a tri-
bute of gratitude to my departed vessel, and
have written the following epitaph on it.

500 SWELLING OF THE OHIO.

Quod petis infandum, Dilecta Liburnica, fatum !

Vesuvioque procul Stabia * dira tibi est.
Vidisti jam tanta ubicumque pericula victrix ;

Teque triumphantem coedit iniqua manus.
Indomitas sprevisti mecum, ssevasque catervas ;

Sed solus repetam, te pereunte, Lares.
Nunc eris in superis index Mortalibus alter.

Exultant fletu sidera cuncta meo.

You may recollect, my dear Countess, that
wooden house which I have already mentioned
as apparently rising out of the water at the
confluence of the Ohio and the Mississippi. On
repassing the spot at this time I could not per-
ceive it; though my eyes searched for it with
the utmost eagerness I could see nothing. I
imagined that it had been swallowed up : it
was however at length pointed out to me at a
great distance from the bank, to the E.N.E.,
of the confluence. This phenomenon, which
would be highly curious on our petty rivers, is
far from being * so here, where it is renewed every
year. The periodical rising (which is sometimes
truly extraordinary) of these two large rivers,
had placed it in the middle of the waters, and
these on withdrawing within their regular chan-
nel, had left it as it now stood, on dry land.

* It was in his liburnica, or little boat, and near ancient
Stabia, in the gulf or crater of Naples, that Pliny was de-
stroyed by the ashes of Vesuvius, in the eruption of 79, in
the reign of Titus.

NEW MADRID. 501

The steam-boat having stopped for a supply of
wood, I had the curiosity to take a nearer view
of it, and found it to be really the same I had
first noticed. It was erected on piles fifteen
feet in height, which, when I saw it first, were
entirely concealed by the water. To enable
you to estimate the astonishing increase of these
two rivers in spring, it is as well for me to men-
tion that the house in question is at present as
it were upon a hill more than fifty feet above
the level of the waters. The Naiads had de-
serted the place, to avoid the insalubrity of its
air in summer.

The river below the mouth of the Ohio is
very wide, and comprises within its bed large
islands : that known by the name of Wolf
island is the largest that it meets with or has
formed in its course, being five miles long and
two wide. It is at this part also that the river
is widest, it being estimated to be here six
miles broad. This place is about eighteen
miles from the Ohio. The Mississippi, from
the Ohio to its several mouths, with scarcely
an exception, passes through a country re-
markably flat.

New Madrid, forty-four miles from Wolf
island, is in fact neither new nor old. It is now
nothing. An earthquake in 1812, and another
in 1819, destroyed or swallowed up the houses
which composed it, and which indeed were but

502 NEW PASSAGE OF THE MISSISSIPPI.

few and mean. Its situation however is well
adapted to become an entrep6t of commerce be-
tween civilized nations and the Indian tribes in
the rear of it, and this might have rendered it a
place of considerable consequence. The land
on which it stood, and that around it, has sunk
considerably, and is now unfit for any purpose
whatever. The Mississippi, like all great rivers,
has its periodical overflows, generally in May or
June, when its inundation spreads often to the
extent of a hundred miles. It then constitutes
what may be almost called a sea.

Forty-three miles lower, the river has opened
a new passage for itself across a peninsula,
which is now become an island. This extraordi-
nary event happened no longer ago than two
years, and is as yet unknown to geographers.
This new pass saves more than twelve miles of
circuitous navigation. Some have supposed that
this channel has been effected by the force or
momentum of the enormous volume of water,
but the depth of it and its unequal form in-
duced me to consider it as the result of an
earthquake. This passage is about three quar-
ters of a mile in length, and is called the New Cut.

About forty miles lower we find a conside-
rable hill, called Chikasaw Bluff, and three others
in succession, under the same denomination, in
the space of between fifty and sixty miles :
they are all on the eastern bank, in the state of

CITY OF MEMPHIS. 503

Tennessee, which on the river is contiguous to
that of Kentucky on the north, and on the south
to that of Mississippi. They belonged, as well
as all the surrounding territories, to the Indians
of that name. But the Americans are always
afraid that they shall be in want of land ; though,
as I have already mentioned, they do not cultivate
a nineteenth part in twenty of what they already
possess. They have likewise driven them away on
the west of the Mississippi, at the Arkansaws,
White river, &c. There is indeed reason to ap-
prehend that the Americans, in consequence of
thus hunting and driving the savages before them,
may at length become savages themselves. I
have met with some of that people in the forests
and deserts, who were to be distinguished from
Indians only by their language and the charac-
teristic cleanliness of their persons and dress.
These three Bluffs are as it were insulated
points, which admirably interrupt and diversify
the tiresome extent of flat territory.

Between the mouth of Wolf river and the
last of these Bluffs, there is pointed out to
you a place called the city of Memphis.
But there is nothing of the ancient, nor the
progress of the modern. The place is an incon-
siderable village, which the annual inundations
threaten to destroy. It has however encreased
twice its former size since it has belonged to
the United States.

504 RIVER ST FRANCIS.

You will naturally ask, as I did myself,
why do they not erect the village on the
Bluff? When the inundation ceases, the ex-
halation of miasma is absolutely mortal on the
Bluff, whilst farther down it is only slightly
injurious.

About fifty-six miles lower we reach the mouth
of the river St Francis, on the west. I am told
that it is navigable for more than three hundred
miles, that it ascends nearly in a parallel line
with the Mississippi on the N.N.W., and that
its sources are near those of the Merrimac,
which discharges it, as we have already no-
ticed, near St Louis. An iron mine has just
been discovered between the sources of these
two rivers, the ore of which is abundant and
so excellent that it is malleable after the first
fusion : it must certainly in this case be in-
valuable. Near the mouth of the St Francis,
also, there is a bluff, the only one existing (and
a remarkable circumstance it is) on the right
bank of the Mississippi, from Cape Girardeau to
its mouths, a course of about thirteen hundred
miles.

You will recollect, that we have already met
with a river St Francis, above the Falls of St
Peter. I imagine that M. la Salle, who was
descending the Mississippi as Father Hannepin
was ascending it, discovered this very river on
the same day that the latter discovered that

WHITE RIVER. 505

higher up, and that this circumstance led to the
application of the same name to both. The
mouth of this river, and the lower part of its
course, are in the territory of the Arkansaws,
which is bounded on the north by the Missouri
state, on the south by that of Louisiana, on the
west by the mountains of New Mexico, and on
the east by the Mississippi.

Eighty miles, or somewhat more, below the
St Francis, White river enters the Mississippi,
on the same side. This river is an apple of dis-
cord among the American geographers. Some
of them generously bestow on it a navigable
course of twelve hundred miles, while others
limit the whole extent of its flow within three
hundred. Some maps fix its principal sources
in the direction of N.N.W. near its tributary,
Black river, and 'others in that of W.S.W. : in
short, it is mentioned by some with a tone of
perfect knowledge and confidence, though they
know if possible still less of it than myself, who
acknowledge my perfect ignorance on the sub-
ject. I have, however, seen the mouth of it.
One thing that may be depended upon as cer-
tain is, that about twenty-five or thirty miles
above its confluence with the Mississippi, it
communicates with the Arkansaws by means of
a Bayou, a term applied to express all the chan-
nels which nature has formed, of communication
or discharge, in the Lower Mississippi.

506 RIVER ARKANSAWS.

Twenty miles from White river, the Arkan-
saws pours its tributary stream into the great
river.

This river (the Arkansaws,) next to the Mis-
souri, the Ohio, and the Red river, (which we
shall meet with lower down,) seems to be the
largest that flows into the Mississippi. Opi-
nions are much divided respecting its sources
and the length of its course. Hence, you
will easily conclude that nothing on these
subjects is positively known, yet all these
regions have been traversed by grand expedi-
tions. The amiable Major Long also made one,
but his expedition, as I have been led to under-
stand, was equally fruitless with the others,
though he has contrived to spin out two volumes
upon the subject. But whether the river de-
scends from the Black Mountains, or Rocky
Mountains, or Cypowais Mountains ; whether it
is navigable for a space of one thousand nine,
hundred and eighty, or two thousand miles, or its
whole course is limited within fifteen hundred,
it still is incontestable that its sources are in the
direction of New Mexico, and that it is a very
large river. It must be admitted, that this is
rather a loose and vague account of its geo-
graphy; but, having seen merely the mouth of
it, I can tell you nothing more on the subject,
unless indeed, like others, I were to substitute
invention for facts, and betray your confidence.

SOLITARY YANKEES. 507

Twenty or thirty miles lower we stopped in
the evening at a small cabin which was inha-
bited by a happy family, consisting of a father
and mother and two children. They cultivate a
little maize, and have a stock of cattle ; and the
father calculates that, before Ms children be-
come of age, and can properly quit their paternal
mansion, they will have earned him at least fifteen
hundred piastres each, by cutting wood for the
steam-boats, transporting it to New Orleans
in flats, (a species of covered rafts,) and by
other speculations which that grand mart has
laid open to the various and vast regions of the
interior. He added, that then, as far as he could
judge, he should have no farther need of their
services, and they might leave him and go in
peace, to form, like the beavers, a colony of their
own. These people are Yankees.

The next day we stopped at another small
hut, consisting also of Yankees. An American
gentleman, who had formerly been acquainted
with them at another place two or three thou-
sand miles distant, enquired what adventure had
induced them to abandon their first establish-
ment. The head of the family replied, that it
was to get out of the way of neighbours ; and
that he was going also to leave his present situa-
tion, as a family had just come and settled in his
neighbourhood, about sixty miles off. The gen-
tleman asked him where his wife was ; she was

508 COLONEL BOON.

gone, he said, to see a neighbour, one of her
relations, about eighty miles from home. You
see therefore, that the space which in Italy
can supply us with half a dozen sovereigns,
is too confined in the New World even for
a single family of Americans. It seems as
if the spirit of association had, in that quar-
ter, scarcely any natural operation, or that the
collisions of interest impel to separation. Co-
lonel Boon, who was one of the first that pene-
trated into the vast deserts of Kentucky, to
attack and hunt down the Indians and wild
beasts by which it was infested, had so com-
plete an antipathy to neighbourhoods, that for
forty years he continued retreating farther and
farther still into the interior in order to avoid
them ; having proceeded from the eastern boun-
daries of Kentucky, by a series of removes and
stations, till at last he reached the river Osages,
a distance of thirteen hundred miles. A family
with which I am acquainted, having settled a
hundred miles in his rear, was just rousing him
to one remove more, when death rendered him
finally stationary. It is supposed, that had his
life been spared but a short time longer, his
eagerness to fly from approaching neighbours
would have hurried him to the Pacific Ocean,
whence probably some new neighbourhood would
soon have driven him to the region of New
Holland.

NATCHEZ. 509

The Yazoo river flows from the east and sepa-
rates the Tennessee and the Mississippi states. It
traverses a large part of Western Georgia and
the whole space of territory between the limits
of that state and the Mississippi river. All the
countries through which it passes were also a
short time since the property of Indians. It is
about one hundred and seventy miles from the
river Arkansaws.

Twelve miles farther down is a beautiful hill,
called Walnut hill, which pleasantly interrupts
the monotony of these eternal marshes.

We next, arrive at Natchez, the first place
after St Louis which presents traces of an ad-
vanced civilization. We must halt here for a
moment, and this it is the more necessary to do
so as, before we go any farther, it will be proper
to take a general survey of what these countries
have been, in. order duly to appreciate what
they at present are. I can however only shew
you what they have been in reality and what
they are. If you desire to see them in a micro-
cosm and with a microscope, read the Natchez
and Attala.

The town of Natchez is built upon a hill
which commands the eastern bank of the Mis-
sissippi. It is about eight hundred and fifty miles
from St Louis ; six hundred and seventy-one
from the mouth of the Ohio ; two hundred and
eighty-five from that of the Arkansaws, and one

510 DISCOVERIES OF M. LA SALLE.

hundred from that of Yazoo, on the north. On
the south it is about three hundred miles from
New Orleans; one hundred and seventy-five
from Baton Rouge, and seventy- three from the
mouth of the Red river.

I mentioned in a former letter, that the French
were the first discoverers of the territory called
Upper Louisiana. We are now in Lower Louis-
iana, the discovery of which was also made by
the French.

M. la Salle, a man of firmness and enter-
prise, was not discouraged by the ill success of
his discoveries on the Illinois. His constancy
was not only unabated, but even increased by
his failure, and he proceeded with new attempts.
After fixing an establishment at Kaskaskia,
which he also confided to his faithful Achates
the Chevalier Tonti, he, in 1678, went down the
Mississippi as far as Natchez. He returned to
Canada without exciting any suspicion of his
secret, and thence sailed to France, where, after
communicating to the court his recent disco-
veries and his plans, he obtained a squadron,
men, and all the necessary means, for a trans-
atlantic expedition, and the formation of new
colonies.

He arrived in the gulf of Mexico about the
year 1684, and passed in front of the mouths of
the Mississippi, which he was actually in quest
of; but, whether through obstinacy or presump-

EXPEDITION OF M. D'lBERVILLE. 511

tion, he refused to attend to the opinion of those
who pointed them out to him. When off St
Bernard's bay, he became convinced of his mis-
take. He was then desirous of going back, and
getting into the proper course; but the com-
mander of the squadron turned a deaf ear to all
his representations, and carried his cruelty so
far as to land him on that inhospitable shore,
where this intrepid man, worthy of a better fate,
was murdered by the adventurers who had fol-
lowed him. Such is the history of the first
expedition.

The mania for discoveries prevailed at that
time among the French as well as among various
other nations of Europe. Monarchs, instead of
attending to the happiness of their subjects, in
hopes of finding new means of gratifying their
love of pomp and profligacy, ruined the Old
World in order to ransack the regions of the
New. M. d'Iberville went out next to La Salle,
and landed, in 1699, in the bay of Mobile, where
he raised an ill-constructed fort, which he called
Fort Dauphin, or Massacre island, so named
from the number of human skeletons which he
found there.

He again reached the Mississippi, by an over-
land passage, with a detachment of his men,
and ascended the river as far as the place
now called Natchez, which perhaps had been
pointed out by M. la Salle ; and here he erected

512 UNSUCCESSFUL COLONIZATION.

a fort, which he called Fort Rosalie. Natchez
was the name of the Indians who inhabited these
territories, and who received the French with
hospitality.

The same M. d'Iberville established another
small colony at the mouth of the Perdido, which
he named Biloxi; but the unhealthiness of these
places, and the distance of the establishments
from each other, prevented their flourishing; and
in the following year he returned to France.

He was succeeded by M. Crosat, as farmer-
general of the whole colony for ten years ; but,
before the expiration of that time, he resigned,
and succeeded in extricating himself from a pri-
vilege that had already swallowed up his private
fortune, though a very considerable one.

The new settlers were totally averse to agri-
culture, without which no colony can prosper.
The petty commerce with the Indians could
only supply them with a few furs, but furnished
no bread; and while they were hunting after
mines of gold and silver, which they never found,
they lost the few resources they had possessed,
and incurred diseases by which they were
destroyed. Such are the causes of the little
success with which all their enterprizes were
attended.

In the year 1718, the famous Company of
Law, or the Indies, took possession of Lower
Louisiana. But, though M. Bienville was a

EFFECTS OF MISGOVERNMENT. 513

able and enlightened governor, the vexatious and
harassing conduct of the company to the indus-
trious colonists, who had at length devoted
their exertions to agriculture, the taxes with
which they were loaded, and the monopolies
which cut down the profits of their industry,
the influx into the colony from the mother
country of all the dregs of its population, and
lastly, the hostilities of the Indians, whom the
injustice and rapacity of officers appointed
without judgment or feeling had unappeasably
exasperated ; all these circumstances combined
to render still more wretched the establishments
of Lower Louisiana, and compelled the govern-
ment, in 1731, to recall the privileges it had
granted to a company which was ruining both
France and its colonies, and was also one of the
remote causes of the revolution which that de-
lightful country has recently experienced.

The colony was not more prosperous from
1731 to 1763, at which epoch France ceded
Lower Louisiana to Spain, with all the territory
she possessed to the west of the Mississippi,
giving up at the same time to England all that
she held on the east of it, Canada included.
Spain used it only to enrich a few favourites and
governors ; and Natchez and New Orleans, with
all the dependent territory, began to flourish

VOL. II. LL

514 LIBERAL GOVERNMENTS.

only when, in 1803, the United States obtained
them from Napoleon.

The Americans do not perhaps individually
possess more merit than the French or Spaniards,
nor should I wish to indulge in those odious
comparisons which are too often made both
between nations and individuals; but I will
assert and repeat, with the utmost publicity
and confidence, that a liberal government is
alike advantageous to the people and to the mo-
narch, and that a despotic government is essen-
tially and universally a bad one. In the first,
the sovereign is assisted by the best of his
subjects, who, having a common interest with
himself, and, having no apprehensions from ad-
dressing him in the language of truth, impart
their advice to him with judgment and freedom.
Whereas, in the other case, his will has no check,
and he becomes always a mark and victim of
the intrigues of favourites stimulated by their
insatiable rapacity, and of ministers who end by
making him their slave.

I would by no means however assert that the
government of the United States is without
faults. Human nature does not admit of per-
fection. But I do not hesitate to say, that I
do not think there is another government in
the world that has so few, not even the republic
of St Marino itself, which consists simply of the

INDIAN WARS. 515

little town from which it derives its name, and
the whole territory of which may be surveyed
from its church-clock.

I have mentioned, my dear Countess, the wars
to which these Indians were provoked by the
conduct of a few Frenchmen : it may not per-
haps be injudicious or unentertaining for a few
moments to direct your attention to them.

The Natchez being those who had felt with
most severity the vexations and oppressions
inflicted on them by the commander of Fort
Rosalie, and some other officers as unprincipled
and unfeeling as himself, resolved to execute
upon them summary vengeance. Too weak
to act openly, they conspired with all the other
Indian nations to effect a general massacre of
their oppressors. As they had no almanack
by which to fix upon the important day, they
decided that each tribe should set up in its en-
campment fifteen stakes on the very day on
which their solemn determination was agreed to,
and that one of these should be removed every
day, the last that remained being to be consi-
dered as the signal for massacre. In conse-
quence of this arrangement, on the appointed
day, and almost at the same hour, a considerable
number of Frenchmen were massacred at Fort
Rosalie, on the Yazoo, and in other places. But,
those who survived avenged the destruction of

516 NATCHEZ.

their countrymen by the almost total destruc-
tion of the Natchez tribe ; and the town of Nat-
chez has been erected, and now flourishes, on the
very spot where these Indians once had their
principal encampment, and where the French
afterwards built Fort Rosalie ; and the woods,
where that unfortunate tribe hunted the doe and
the roebuck, are now plains and hills abounding
in the growth of cotton.

The town is a really beautiful one, and its
environs contain a great number of handsome
country-seats, where the planters for many years
made and enjoyed ample fortunes, though, by
the depreciation of cotton, they are now in a
state of rapid impoverishment.

In the present year the yellow fever has
committed dreadful ravages. Nearly four
hundred persons have died, and the emaciated
and pallid faces that met my eye in every street,
plainly indicated that numbers of the living had
narrowly escaped. Among the dead were four
physicians.

Large three-masted vessels come up to this
place, although at more than four hundred miles
distance from the sea, and would ascend still
higher were they certain of obtaining cargoes.
It is in the state of Mississippi ; and its popu-
lation, previously to the late ravages of the fever,
amounted to about five thousand.

TOWNS ON THE RED RIVER. 517

The farther we proceed downward, the houses
on the river's banks become more numerous :
cotton and maize are the principal articles of
cultivation there.

The mouth of Red river, as I have already
mentioned, is seventy- three miles below Nat-
chez. It presents a noble view on the west.
This river flows through a country exceedingly
rich in cotton, the fineness and length of whose
fibre render it nearly equal to that of Georgia.

The first establishment formed there by the
French, was under the government of M. d'lber-
ville, in the Natchitoches. This colony was
the most flourishing of the whole, on account of
its superior government. It was under the di-
rection of M. St Denis ; an officer possessing at
once courage and wisdom, who by his prudent
management completely conciliated the affec-
tions of the Indians, and was thereby enabled to
extend its commerce into New Mexico, notwith-
standing the vigilant jealousy of the Spaniards.
But all the establishments of Red river, since
the country has come into the possession of the
Americans, have made astonishing advances.
The town of Owachitta has already a popula-
tion of almost three thousand ; Natchitoches of
more than eight thousand; Alexandria, or the
Rapids, of about seven thousand. These towns
are all comprised within the state of Louisiana,

518 RED RIVER.

the capital of which, as I before stated, is New
Orleans. Steam-boats pass up to all these
establishments without the slightest obstacle.

This river is a very considerable one, and its
course of great extent, but its sources are en-
tirely unknown. The persons composing a cer-
tain expedition, however, thought they had dis-
covered them. When descending some river,
they rather prematurely settled the latitudes and
longitudes of Red river, the general direction
of its course, and its various windings; they
described the beauties of its banks, and even
saw some red sand at the bottom of its bed. At
its mouth, the gentlemen of the expedition con-
ceived themselves to be of course on the Missis-
sippi, whilst they were in fact in the Arkansaws ;
and the river which they had just descended
was the Canadian, which flows from the south-
west to the north-east, whereas Red river runs
from north-west to south east. I was informed of
this blunder by an officer who was with Major
Long in the same expedition, and who accompa-
nied us in the steam-boat : he gave the account
very circumstantially and confidently, and his
statement was confirmed by the captain of the
steam-boat and several passengers, who appeared
well acquainted with all the particulars.

Red river is the last tributary stream to the
Mississippi, as Heron river, near the Julian

THE BAYOUX — SABINE RIVER. 519

sources, (agreeably to what I mentioned in a
former letter,) is the first.

Below Red river, the Mississippi may be
said to become tributary itself, for all the issues
found along its banks, and which are called
Bayoux, are, properly speaking, only vents or
passes, which it has formed for itself, to carry off
its waters, in periods of overflow, into the sea.
Thus, on the right, across the low lands which
were formerly inhabited by tribes of Indians,
and which still retain the names of Opeloussas,
Attakapas, Alchafalaya, it discharges itself into
a succession of lakes communicating with the
sea on the side of St Bernard's bay, and some
of the mouths of the Sabine. On the left it
flows through lakes Pontchar train, Maurepas,
and Borgne, towards Beloxi and Mobile.

The river Sabine separates Louisiana from
Texas, on the west, the territory disputed be-
tween Mexico and the United States, and where
the colony, or expedition, under the direction of
General Lallemand met with such misfortunes.
This province ought to belong to the United
States, for the Rio del Norte, which bounds it
on the west, seems to have been appointed by
nature as the limit on that side to New Mexico.
We now return to the Bayoux.

The Louisianians in these Bayoux ought parti-

520 BATON ROUGE.

cularly to admire the order of Providence ; for,
without the expedient it has thus brought into
operation, the two banks of the river, from Red
river even below New Orleans, would be con-
stantly inundated, or, more accurately speaking,
would no longer exist, and New Orleans itself
would be annihilated. All the immense regions
which extend from Natchez, as high up as New
Madrid, are flooded almost every year by the Mis-
sissippi, which sometimes rises fifty feet above
its usual level, while at New Orleans it rarely
rises beyond thirteen, and that city is never inun-
dated. Such is the effect of these tutelary Bayoux.

The articles cultivated in these plantations
are sugar, cotton, maize, and rice. Indigo com-
pletely degenerated there, and is no longer
grown : the land is too moist and too hot for
corn.

After making these general observations, we
shall now return to our regular course.

Baton Rouge is a pleasant little town, situated
on a small eminence, which is the last to be found
on the Mississippi. It commands the river, and
affords an extensive and admirable view of both
sides of it.

The government of the United States is erect-
ing in this place extensive barracks ; for the
purpose perhaps of making it a depot for troops

ISLANDS IN THE MISSISSIPPI. 521

destined to repel any attacks that may be made
on a place so important as New Orleans.

Fourteen miles lower down, the ManchacBayou
presents a fine situation for opening, by means
of a canal of no great length, a convenient and
very useful navigation from the Missouri to lake
Pontchartrain, and thus communicating with the
Mobile, Pensacola, &c.

I pointed out to you the first island of the
Mississippi, in the midst of the Little Falls
above Sandy lake ; I must now notice its last.
It is thirty miles below the Bayou Manchac,
and might with great propriety have been called
by the distinguished name of d'Iberville, who
was the first European that ascended this part
of the Mississippi. Eleven miles from this
island is Donaldson, a small town situated on the
Bayou la Fourche, which leads to the Attakapas,
Opeloussas, and various other regions. It is
seventy-five miles from New Orleans. The
space between these two places may be consi-
dered as one continued town, consisting of the
habitations of planters. While passing over the
distance, I was reminded of the Persian prince,
who, when accompanying the emperor Constan-
tius towards Rome, thought he was entering that
city while yet fifty miles without its walls, at
the Augustan bridge near Fescennia. I saw in
it likewise some resemblance to those delicious

522 ORIGIN OF NEW ORLEANS;

tracts on the banks of the Brenta, between
Padua and Venice, which the wealth and good
taste of the Venetians have formed into an
earthly paradise.

When Law's Company of the Indies took pos-
session of Louisiana, the seat of government was
still at Fort Dauphine ; but, a dreadful tempest
having blocked up Mobile bay with sand, it was
transferred by governor Bienville to the place
where New Orleans now stands ; a name be-
stowed upon it to remind posterity of the re-
gency and the wisdom of Philip of Orleans. I
consider the date of this city, therefore, to be
1718 or 19. The establishment of Biloxi, also,
was afterwards transferred to it; that place being
both barren and unhealthy ; but this accession
had no effect in promoting the prosperity of the
new city. It continued to languish while under
the Spanish domination ; and it is only owing to
its being placed under the government of a na-
tion whose rulers, instead of being the people's
tyrants, are merely the depositaries of their
will — it is only owing to its freedom from all
vexatious restrictions on its industry, commerce,
and prosperity, from capricious abuses of power,
profligate monopolies, and selfish corporations, —
that this city has risen to the astonishing pros-
perity which distinguishes it at the present mo-
ment.

ITS ASTONISHING PROSPERITY. 523

It is built on the left bank of the river, in the
form of a crescent, in an island about one hun-
dred and fifty miles in circumference, formed by
the Mississippi, Bayou Manchac, and lakes
Maurepas and Pontchartrain.

The new buildings, which are nearly all of
brick, present a striking contrast to the old ones,
which were built of wood. It is inhabited in a
great measure by foreigners, and Creoles of
French extraction, as well as Americans who
are attracted thither by its facilities for com-
merce, and of course for acquiring wealth. It
is more brilliant than any other American city
that I have seen. It contains about forty-five
thousand inhabitants ; a prodigious population
for a place which may be said to have just
emerged from a swamp, and where the yellow
fever and the natural insalubrity of the climate
every year effect deplorable ravages.

A stranger who entered it by night would
imagine himself arrived at some grand capital;
for the streets are well lighted with reflecting
lamps, and the busy agitation and rapid move-
ment of carriages, in connection with that cir-
cumstance, easily lead to such a conclusion.

It is astonishing that a place which may be
said to be only just stepping out of its infancy,
should already exhibit, in the department of

524 GAMBLING HOUSES.

amusements, a number of those attractions which
are displayed in the capitals of Europe. Horse-
races, dramatic representations, concerts, balls,
and gaming academies of every description, are
here to be met with. Within its comparatively
small compass there are not fewer than six
public gaming houses, — more in fact than exist
in Paris. I acknowledge that I did not ex-
pect to find this passion in such intense opera-
tion among a commercial, active, and republican
people ; I supposed it confined to courts, dissi-
pation, and idleness. The Lacedemonians looked
upon gaming with such horror, that Chilon, when
sent to conclude a treaty of alliance with the
Corinthians, was so indignant at finding them
absorbed by this practice, that he almost imme-
diately left them, with the rebuke, " that it
would tarnish the glory of Lacedemon to ally
itself with a nation of gamblers." So much has
been written on the fatal consequences of this
habit, that nothing new is to be advanced on
the subject ; and we can only repeat what the
greatest men have said before us both in ancient
and modern times. Tacitus remarks, that such
is the dominion of this passion over a man com-
pletely addicted to it, that the Germans often
finished by staking themselves, that is, by
gambling away their freedom and their persons.

PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS. 525

It is difficult to explain this attachment to so
dangerous a diversion in a place abounding with
so many other means of dissipation.

Besides the attractions of private societies,
public amusements are extremely frequent.

Two theatres furnish high gratification both to
the eye and ear, and the actors who perform there
would not be despised even in Europe : I must
add that, during my repeated attendances, I
have observed nothing of those dirty buffoone-
ries and obscene equivoques which, among
nations pretending to greater refinement, fre-
quently put decency and modesty to the blush.

The American theatre, though smaller, is
more regular in its form than the French ; and
both are very convenient, and most judiciously
adapted, though the architects never perhaps
studied Vitruvius or Bramante.
. The French theatre has accessory rooms and
offices, such as are probably not to be met with
in any provincial theatre in Europe ; particu-
larly a large room, where subscription, dress,
and masked balls are given, which would rival
those exhibited in our capitals ; where the beau-
tiful Creoles fascinate and dazzle under the
forms of the Graces, and where luxury and de-
corum are in happy combination. Louisiana is
indebted for this elegant establishment to Mr
Davis, who has sacrificed to it a great part of

526 FRENCH THEATRE;

his fortune. There is also a Spanish theatre —
which is, indeed, in every sense Spanish.

The French theatre, to the precision and fas-
cination of the machinery introduced upon the
stage, adds decorations of the most superb de-
scription and almost marvellous effect. M. Fog-
liardi, who is the painter, has obtained a well-
merited reputation, and is thoroughly acquainted
with the true theory of perspective. This ex-
cellent artist would need nothing but to have
been the pupil of a Gonzaga or a Cagliari, to
acquire celebrity even in Europe. He distri-
butes objects with such discrimination, brings
them out with such distinctness and breadth
displays such admirable adaptation of light and
shade, that the scene, small as it is in itself, by
a sort of magic power becomes extended and
spacious, and the eye and imagination of the
spectator see almost with the conviction of rea-
lity the very spot where the action of the piece
is supposed to pass.

Though a great admirer of the ancients, I
avail myself of every opportunity, consistently
with my reverence for our all-staunch antiqua-
ries, of expressing my just admiration of the
moderns. Though the ancients were our masters
in almost all the arts, they could not possibly
contest with the moderns the glory of having
carried to perfection the science of perspective.

ITS SUPERIOR SCENOGRAPHY. 527

Albert Durer and Pietro del Borgo may be con-
sidered as its inventors. Titian, Dominichino,
and Balthazar Peruzzi, were eminent masters,
who left successors still more eminent than
themselves, particularly in the French and
Flemish schools ; and at present, Granet, Bassi,
Werstapen, and various others, do honour to the
age by their skill in this delightful and almost
miraculous art, which on the stage has been
carried nearly to perfection. We must, how-
ever, while circumscribing the merits of the
ancient painters, beware of adopting the opinion
of Perault, in denying them any knowledge
of perspective whatever. The discovery of the
ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum must, I ima-
gine, have contributed to render his presumptu-
ous assertions on this subject still more ridiculous
than they were before.

To superior talents for what may be called
scenography, M. Fogliardi unites those of design;
of that art, the benefits and wonders of which
cannot be too highly eulogized, and which ought
to be pursued" by our youth with almost idola-
trous attachment.

Man is only the interpreter of nature ; but
the mere hand of nature, powerful, indefatiga-
ble, and plastic as it is, is sufficient only for a
few effects. A servile imitation of the external
appearances of nature never produces grand re-

528 NATURE EMBELLISHED BY GENIUS.

suits. It is only by the aid of that genius with
which she inspires her favoured votaries, that
genius which is her most precious gift, and by
those rules which she has permitted it to invent
for its guidance, that she may be said to re-pro-
duce herself under the aspect of a nature still
more beautiful and sublime ; and the exercise
of this genius and of these rules is the offspring
of the great art of design. Nature creates
forms, design perfects them, and, like a Pro-
metheus, animates them with a spirit which
makes them appear to the most ignorant and
stupid observer possessed of all the vigour and
truth of reality. Without the aid of the ge-
nius of design, nature could not have produced
the supreme and almost divine beauty of the
virgins of Raphael and Sasseferrato, and of
the angels of Corregio and Guido Reni ; the
voluptuous attractions in the works of Albano,
or the speaking expression of the figures of
Giotto and Cimabue.

It is design which introduces us to the mys-
teries delle tre Arti Sorelle, of the three sisters so
important and indispensable to the wants of
luxury which man has created for himself —
architecture, sculpture, and painting ; and it is
by these three arts that civilized man may be
considered as distinguished from the savage.
They are the most enduring depositaries both of

BENEFITS OF DRAWING. 529

his virtues and infirmities. History herself de-
rives from this source her most correct and her
most impressive lessons. I have seen her my-
self in Latium, in Magna Grecia, and elsewhere,
resorting to the venerable monuments of anti-
quity to find out what had previously escaped
all her researches, or to correct errors which she
had been led into by the conjectures of the
learned. In short, to the art of design, the three
kingdoms of nature owe their highest advances.

M. Fogliardi, who was the first to open an
academy in this place for the promotion of these
objects, deserves both eulogium and encourage-
ment, and I doubt not that he will obtain them.
For, how insignificant and worthless among an
enlightened people must that man appear, who
makes no effort and feels no wish to co-operate
in the means which revive the image of a be-
loved friend, or transmit to posterity the me-
mory of transcendant minds and beneficent
citizens? The government, to whom the na-
tion confides the charge of superintending the
progress of its civilization, and who are able
justly to appreciate the virtuous efforts which
produced this institution, will unquestionably
give it their highest support.

I have visited, with great pleasure, the esta-
blishment of this distinguished artist and most
excellent man ; but I have seen, what is to be

VOL. II. M M

530 QUALIFICATIONS FOR AN ARTIST.

seen also in many of our own countrymen — I
have observed the young people who attend
him too eager to free themselves from the re-
straint of rules founded on experience, and from
long received theories. A house is never be-
gun to be built at the roof; but always at the
foundation. It is impossible ever to paint or
sculpture an entire human figure without previ-
ously becoming acquainted with the particular
parts. It is impossible to represent a landscape
in due perspective without knowing the forms
which ought to be given to trees, and the place
appropriate to them in the picture : without
being acquainted with the peculiar motion,
shape, and character of animals, intended to con-
stitute figures in it ; and without attending to
the principles which regulate distribution and
grouping. No painter or sculptor will ever be
able to adjust the drapery to a figure before he
has studied it in its naked state ; as an architect
will never be able to complete a Corinthian co-
lumn without being well acquainted with the
rules of the Doric and Ionic ; for, otherwise, the
results would be absolute monsters, like the
edifices proceeding from the extravagant pencil
of our countryman Borromini ; who, in conse-
quence of endeavouring to innovate on archi-
tecture, became its Attila, completely bar-
barising it.

BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 531

But, for the present, let us leave New Or-
leans, and follow the course of the river to its
mouths.

Between five and six miles lower down, I
must stop to show you the scene on which the
Americans triumphed over the English in the
celebrated battle, called the Battle of New Or-
leans. It is on the left bank of the Mississippi,
and between the plantations of Rodriguez and
Welcome.

The Americans have, no doubt, talked about
it a great deal, but it certainly appears that they
were well justified in doing so ; for, though they
were nearly all militia, not more than four or
five thousand strong, and collected in haste, yet,
for fifteen days successively, they repulsed, and
on the sixteenth completely beat and drove back,
a force of about twelve thousand, commanded
by one of Wellington's celebrated generals, Ge-
neral Pakenham, who seemed to despise the
enemy he came to fight, but who paid for his.
audacity with his life.

This battle procured a well-merited fame for
General Jackson. He displayed in the critical
conjuncture in which he was placed, courage,
skill, and firmness, which enabled him to over-
come, in the first place, obstacles which ap-
peared to be wantonly thrown in his way to
thwart and irritate him, and afterwards the

532 CONDEMNATION OF GENERAL JACKSON.

enemy in the field. He rescued Louisiana from
the English yoke.

The gratitude of his fellow-citizens was mani-
fested to the triumphant commander in a thou-
sand different ways. He was carried in triumph
through the public streets, and crowned in the
theatre amidst the applauses of a crowded audi-
ence absolutely intoxicated with joy and victory.
It is a remarkable circumstance that, at the
very time when he was thus hailed by the
people as their liberator, one of the judges sen-
tenced him to a fine of a thousand piastres for a
breach of the laws ; and what adds to his glory
is, that he paid it, like a citizen who bent in due
submission to the tribunals of his country when
its safety was no longer in danger, and no
longer, therefore, required the application of
martial law, which he had considered it neces-
sary to enforce with vigour, in circumstances
so highly critical, that half-measures could have
only tended to produce greater anarchy.

The firmness of the zealous magistrate who
condemned the victorious general would pro-
bably have excited more admiration, if by so
doing he had not in fact been avenging an insult
committed against his own person and autho-
rity. It is a serious fault, which can never long
continue under a wise and liberal constitution,
to permit a magistrate to be at once party and

THE LADIES OF NEW ORLEANS. 533

judge, and more particularly when the object in
view is to avenge with the arm of the impassible
law a personal offence or insult, which stimu-
lates our passions more powerfully even than
interest, strong as it is universally admitted
to be. It is one of those cases which are in-
cluded in the judicious maxim of the ancients,
" Judicis incompetentis factum, pro iniquo et nullo
habendum est" General Jackson, in the course
of events and transactions which preceded the
battle, had committed this judge to prison, for
having granted a Habeas Corpus to a member
of the legislature who had opposed some of his
measures, from an idea that they were arbi-
trary.

The valour of the general was admirably se-
conded by that of the troops, who consisted
principally of the inhabitants of Tennessee and
Louisiana.

The ladies of New Orleans on this occasion
distinguished themselves by their humanity as
much as their brothers and husbands did by their
valour. I cannot help thinking that these ami-
able Creoles contributed not a little to the vic-
tory ; for the idea of being enabled, like another
Medorus, to become the object of the attentions
and compassion of some lovely Angelica, might
add greatly to the patriotism and bravery of the
combatants.

534 INFLUENCE OF THE FAIR SEX.

People may say what they please, my dear
Countess, but women constitute the grand spring
by which men are influenced. You may per-
ceive it in my own case. I write long letters
to you, though I never before wrote any but
short ones ; and the pleasure I find in it arises
from the impulse to display before you, to the
best of my ability, whatever incidents or views
deeply impressed my own senses, affections,
or imagination. Were I merely to attempt to
write to beings of the hard and rocky nature of
that sex in whom I never found anything but
malignity — who have already inflicted on me
so much misery, and who, as you well know,
are still inflicting it, and that purely from the
pleasure of giving pain and doing harm — both
my mind and pen would recoil with disgust.
Let us return, however, to our subject from this
digression.

For the period of more than a year before this
battle, General Jackson had proceeded on in a
steady course of victory. He had completely
defeated the Creeks, whom the English, assisted
by the Spaniards of the Floridas, had excited
against the Americans from the beginning of the
war. They are a nation of Indians, of great
ferocity, and were at that time very numerous,
residing in the territory which separates the
states of Tennessee, Georgia, and Mississippi,

FLORIDAS TAKEN FROM SPAING 535

from the Floridas. They are now almost en-
tirely destroyed — the natural fate of those who
sutler themselves, like despicable satellites, to
be basely worked upon by venality and in-
trigues. The Spaniards themselves soon began
to repent their having promoted the projects of
the English, as they thus furnished the Ameri-
cans with a plausible pretext for taking posses-
sion of the Floridas, which they have since
obtained by a treaty concluded between the
United States and the Cortes.

A little lower than the field of battle com-
mences the Lazaretto, which has nothing in com-
mon with the sanitary establishments of Europe
but the name. The chief object of this pre-
tended Lazaretto is to prevent the introduction
of the yellow fever, which was supposed to have
been imported to New Orleans from the island
of Cuba. The Spaniards of that island made
reprisals, and obliged the vessels that arrived
from New Orleans to perform quarantine. I
conclude from these circumstances that the yel-
low fever is indigenous to both countries.

Twelve miles farther, where the Mississippi
makes a considerable bend, is the place they
called English Turn ; a name applied to it from
the circumstance of the English, on arriving in
the beginning of the last century at this spot
with a view to ascend and examine the Missis-

536 THE MOUTHS OF THE MISSISSIPPI.

sippi, turning back, on finding that they had
been anticipated by the French.

At Plaquemine bay, on the left, is Fort St
Philip, which serves to protect that pass to the
sea. Only small vessels however are capable of
navigating it. It is seventy miles from New
Orleans.

Eighteen miles farther, on the right, there is
another grand passage to the sea, which is called
South-west Pass, and another, three miles farther,
called South Pass ; six miles beyond is the great
pass, also on the right, called South-east Pass
and Main Pass ; and, almost immediately be-
yond, two others, one of which, called Otter
Pass, is on the north-east; the other, to the
north-west, has no name. These are all the
different passages which constitute the mouths
of the great river Mississippi, the sources of
which you have seen close to lake Julia, and
the navigation of which we have now com-
pleted through its whole course of about three
thousand and two hundred miles.

I observed to you, my dear Countess, that the
Mississippi was perhaps the first river in the
world : now, however, there is no perhaps in the
case. I declare, and will maintain it to be so,
without fear of contradiction. In order to convince
you of this, it is necessary that we should now
return to its sources. Do not, however, be alarmed .

THE FIRST RIVER OF THE WORLD. 537

You will find that our voyage up will be much
shorter than that we have just finished downward.

You have seen that the Mississippi, by its
various bayoux or passes on both sides, commu-
nicates with all the lands of Louisiana, with an
infinite number of lakes, and with the sea.

By Red river, it communicates with New
Mexico.

By the Yazoo, it traverses all those regions
which are found on the limits of the Tennessee
and Mississippi states ; and, as the Yazoo is navi-
gable up to its sources, in Georgia, it may com-
municate, by means of some portage, with rivers
that fall into the Atlantic Ocean. The sources
of Tombecbee are also near those of the Yazoo,
and consequently an easy communication may
be effected with the Alabama and the lands sur-
rounding the bay of the Mobile, into which the
Tombecbee discharges itself.

By means of the Arkansaws, it serves as an
inlet to the establishments formed in the west
territory of that name ; and, as it is presumed
that the sources of the Arkansaws are almost
contiguous to those of the Colorado, it follows
that, by means of a portage, the Mississippi could
communicate with the gulph of California.

By White river and the St Francis, it pene-
trates a great way into regions highly fertile
and rich in mines.

538 TRIBUTARIES TO THE MISSISSIPPI.

You have seen, with what immense coun-
tries, with what numerous states, it commu-
nicates by means of the Ohio, which is the life
and soul of the western states, Illinois, Indiana,
Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, of western Penn-
sylvania and Virginia. But, should the canals
which are projected be completed, other com-
munications would result far more important.
The Monongahela would join the Potowmac
which flows through Chesapeak bay into the
Atlantic. The Alleghany would join lake Erie,
and consequently, by the new canal of Buffalo,
it would communicate with New York, and by
the St Lawrence with the whole of Canada and
the Northern Atlantic ; with all the lakes, or the
Canadian sea formed by the lakes St Clair,
Huron, Michigan, Superior, and others. These
projects would also tend to join the Muskingum,
the Miami, and the Wabash, to lake Erie. We
now resume our course.

By means of the river Kaskaskia, it penetrates
far into the lands known by the name of the
American Bottom, which are considered as the
most fertile in America, and through which some
pretend that the Mississippi formerly flowed.

The Marimak conveys down to it the lead and
iron supplied by its mines.

The Missouri, by its southern and western
sources, would establish the communication of

TRIBUTARIES TO THE MISSISSIPPI. 539

the Mississippi with the rivers Lewis and Clark,
which run into the Columbia, and of course
with the Pacific Ocean.

The Illinois would enable it to communicate,
by means of a small canal (which is in contem-
plation,) with the river Cikago, which discharges
itself into lake Michigan.

You have seen the rivers Le Moine, Yawoha,
Rocky, Fever, Turkey, &c. bearing large boats
on their streams far into the interior.

The Owiskonsing, another tributary to the
Mississippi, communicates also with lake Mi-
chigan through a portage at the Foxes river.

The river Cypowais, near lake Pepin, com-
municates by means of a portage with the
Menomeni, and consequently with lake Su-
perior.

The St Croix also communicates with it, by a
short portage from its sources to the river Bois-

brule.

You have already seen the direction of the

course of the St Peter.

The rivers Brandy and St Francis, communi-
cate, by means of the Thousand Lakes whence
they issue, with other rivers which also pour
themselves into lake Superior.

The Raven's plume, by means of Leaf river,
which flows into it near its sources, communi-
cates with Otter Tail lake, from which issues

540 TRIBUTARIES TO THE MISSISSIPPI.

the river of that name, which the English have
named also Red river and which falls into Hud-
son's bay.

You recollect, that Sandy river, which falls
into the Mississippi, communicates likewise by
a short portage, and by the rivers Savannah and
St Louis, with the end of lake Superior, and
that by means of Pines, Willow, and Bloody
rivers, the Mississippi communicates with im-
mense regions inhabited by Indians.

At the end of the second lake Winipeg, on
the north of it, it communicates by a short por-
tage with Oak river, which falls into Rainy
river, by which we may descend both to Hud-
son's bay, by lake Wood, and to the Atlantic
Ocean by Rainy lake, lake Superior, &c.

You have seen that, from Red Cedar lake,
these Indian territories may be traversed on
the west as far as Bitch lake.

Also, that the Julian sources are almost conti-
guous to those of Bloody river, and that conse-
quently the Gulf of Mexico communicates at three
different points with the Frozen Sea, across the
immense space of about four thousand five hun-
dred miles; that is, by means of the Raven's
plume, lake Winipeg, and the Julian sources.

You recollect that a canoe can ascend as far
as the sources of the river, and a large boat
within three miles of them.

TRIBUTARIES TO THE MISSISSIPPI. 541

That a river, of such immense extent, presents
no other obstacles to its navigation than three
short portages at the falls of St Antony, the great
rapids, and the little falls.

That a steam-boat has gone up as far as Fort
St Peter, and that it might pass up the river St
Peter as high as about sixty miles.

You have seen that the steam-boats run over,
in every sense, the whole valley of the Ohio, and
penetrate even into the interior of the states
watered by that river; that they traverse the
Arkansaws territory, Red river, the bayoux, &c.

That large three-masted vessels may ascend
this great river more than four hundred miles
from its mouths.

We have traversed together on its stream one
of the most extensive and beautiful vallies, and
perhaps also the most fertile, in the world, and
we have noticed innumerable tributary rivers
flowing into it as into a common centre prepared
for them by nature.

You have seen that, by facilitating commerce,
that inexhaustible source of wealth, it imparts
occupation and life to a world.

Finally, you have admired with me its beauty,
its opulent mines, its almost always smooth and
tranquil course, and the wisdom of nature in its
bayoux or passes.

Judge now whether another such river can be

542 FATHER ANTHONY.

found on the globe which thus communicates
with every sea and at various points, wrhich
combines so many wonders with such great
utility, which surveys more than one hundred
steam-boats gliding over its waters, with an
infinite number of other vessels freighted with
the productions and manufacture of both worlds,
and to which futurity promises such brilliant
destinies. Judge whether the Mississippi be
not the first river in the world !

The Amazon, and the la Plata, may exceed
the Mississippi in the volume of their waters;
but in all other respects, far more important,
they cannot be compared with it ; and what
confers on the latter a decided superiority is,
that along the whole extent of its banks man
can breath the air of liberty, and industry meets
with no restriction.

I cannot, and indeed ought not, to quit New
Orleans without mentioning to you Father An-
thony. He is a venerable Spanish capuchin,
who for eight and forty years has devoted his
life to imparting the consolations of faith to this
population, with simplicity, and without either
fanaticism or intolerance. As he could never
bring himself to say that it was midnight at mid-
day, or midday at midnight, he has not been
made a bishop ; but he is not, on that account,
less regarded as the patriarch, the father of the

THE MISSISSIPPI AND NAPOLEON. 543

Catholic religion in this city, and the founder of
all its churches ; and he is, by the inhabitants
in general, highly esteemed and beloved. Mon-
seigneur Dubourgis the bishop of New Orleans.

You have seen, my dear Countess, with me
the cradle of the Mississippi, and the deep tomb
which swallows it up on its closing its long and
brilliant course. Madame Deshouilliere, in a
charming idyl, compares the life of man to the
agitated course of a river. This interesting
image is justly applicable to ordinary men ; but
nothing, in my opinion, resembles so nearly the
course of this great river as the career of that
extraordinary man who, originating in obscu-
rity, exhibited a brilliant course of glory, and
was at length entombed' in the ocean of his own
triumphs.

The hand of Providence has brought me to
the conclusion of an enterprise which, solitary,
and in all possible ways thwarted as I was, I
scarcely dared to consider practicable, and the
recollection of which brings back to my mind
privations and dangers which make me shudder.*
I cannot however help surveying this mighty
river, the scene of all these sufferings, with satis-
faction and pride. Though it appears here in

* I escaped death, I imagine, only because those bar-
barous people thought they saw in that temerarious solitary
man some extraordinary supernatural being.

544 UNVEILED DEITY OF THE MISSISSIPPI.

all its majesty, it seems towards me to display a
carnage of less hauteur, a demeanour less over-
whelming. I have obtained over it a sort of
empire. I alone penetrated into the seclusion
of his sanctuary, where the deity of the stream
had concealed himself from mortal eyes. I saw
him in the first struggle of his birth, apprehen-
sive, cautious, and starting from the touch even
of a bark canoe ; and while announcing and
upholding his sovereign dominion, I may be
considered to have impaired the honours of his
divinity by developing to the world all the se-
crets of his prodigies, and incidents of his course.

I have discovered the place of his origin in
space, but who can disclose to us his origin in
point of time ? Did the first beams of the sun
constitute also the first of his days? Does he
belong to incalculable antiquity or to modern
ages? Here are questions of " height and depth,"
the discussion and solution of which I leave to
those who are fond of plunging in the ocean of
immensity. For my own part, I require repose
and breathing-time to prepare myself for new
labours and travels. I am going to proceed to
Mexico, and perhaps to countries still farther
distant.

You perceive, my dear Countess, that I am
almost always in motion and in divertion of
mind But there are voids which nothing can

CONCLUSION. 54

fill up ; there are impressions which neither
time nor travel can wear away !....! am not a
little inclined to think with JEsop, that Prome-
theus moistened with tears the clay from which
he formed man ; and to exclaim with the sage —

O curas hominum! O quantum est in rebus inane!

No other consolations are now left me than the
recollection and veneration of those extraordi-
nary virtues which we cherished with common
feelings, and the friendship of those whom I
sincerely esteem. May you, my dear Countess,
never withdraw from me yours !

THE END.

LONDON:

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