Great Indian Chief of the West Part 9

NOTE.--Since writing that portion of the foregoing narrative which treats of the causes of the late war with the Sacs and Foxes, the following article, from the able pen of judge Hall, has met our observation. It was published in the Western Monthly Magazine in 1833, one year after the termination of that conflict. The writer was then a resident of Illinois, and intimately acquainted with the relations existing between the whites and Indians. His remarks are valuable. They embrace a graphic description of the region inhabited by the Sacs and Foxes, and fully sustain the position which we have taken in this volume, that the "Black Hawk war" was the result of unprovoked agressions made by the American people upon the Indians.

"I have just returned from a delightful voyage. I have explored a portion of the exquisitely beautiful sh.o.r.es of the upper Mississippi; and am ready to confess that until now, I had little idea of the extent, the grandeur, or the resources of the west. The world cannot produce such another country as this great valley of ours. Yet to understand its value, one must ascend the Mississippi and the Illinois, and see the n.o.ble prairies of the two states which are destined to eclipse all others. I cannot convey to you in adequate language, my admiration of this attractive region. The traveller who visits the western country, and fancies he has acquired _any_ knowledge of it--I say _any_, by simply tracing the meanders of the Ohio, or spending weeks, or years, if you please, at Cincinnati or Louisville, is very much mistaken. There is much to admire in western Pennsylvania and Virginia; Kentucky and Ohio are full of attraction; but the man who is really an admirer of nature, and would witness the most splendid exhibitions of the creative power, must go to Illinois and Missouri.

"I visited this region for the first time four years ago, while the Sacs and Foxes were at peace with the whites, and before Black Hawk had got to be a great man. They were friendly and well-disposed, and the white people residing near them, would almost as soon have distrusted or disturbed each other, as those peaceful red men. I took great interest in noticing their dwellings, and remarking their deportment, as it was the first occasion I had ever enjoyed of seeing the savage in his own wild home. I had embarked on board a steamboat at St. Louis, intending to take a pleasant excursion to the falls of St. Anthony. The weather was very delightful, only a little too warm; and the river was unfortunately so low, that on arriving at the _Des Moines_ rapids, we found it difficult to ascend them, and above that point, our progress was continually impeded by the difficulty of the navigation. This circ.u.mstance, though vexatious to such of the pa.s.sengers as had business ahead, or families at home, was not disagreeable to one who, like myself, travelled only for amus.e.m.e.nt, as it afforded opportunities of exploring the romantic sh.o.r.es. We spent a day at the Lower Rapids, and I have seldom seen a more attractive country. The land is high on both sides, and rises gradually in beautiful swells. I saw hundreds of acres covered with the native buckeye, the most beautiful tree of the forest--if, indeed, any can be ent.i.tled to that distinction among so great a variety of n.o.ble and majestic trees. Beneath, was a rich undergrowth of wild gooseberry bushes.

Add to these the beautiful creeper, and the wild honeysuckle, which were occasionally seen, and it is impossible to imagine a vegetation more splendidly luxuriant and ornamental. The whole country is based on rock, and the springs which burst out from the hill sides are clear as crystal and delightfully cold. The sh.o.r.es of the river are plentifully strewed with crystalizations and petrifactions. We picked up some fine specimens of cornelian, and saw a vast number of geodes of every size, from one inch in diameter to fifteen.

"It was Sunday. Have you ever experienced the singular and pleasing a.s.sociations connected with a sabbath pa.s.sed in the wilderness? I have often enjoyed these feelings, but never felt them with such force as on this day. It was calm and sultry. The brilliant sunbeams were brightly reflected from the broad bosom of the Mississippi, and the deep green outline of the forest was splendidly illumined, while the deep shadows underneath the foliage afforded an attractive appearance of coolness and seclusion. The pa.s.sengers and crew were scattered about singly or in small parties, so that when I wandered but a small distance from the vessel, and seated myself on a hill which commanded a view of the river and its banks, I found myself perfectly alone. Not a living object was visible, not a sound was heard, not a leaf or a limb stirred. How different from the streets of a city upon a sabbath morn, when crowds of well-dressed persons are seen moving in every direction; when the cheerful bells are sounding, and the beautiful smiling children are hurrying in troops to Sunday school! Here I was in solitude. I saw not the laborer resting from toil, nor the smile of infancy, nor the christian bowing before his G.o.d; but Nature proclaimed a sabbath by the silence that reigned abroad, and the splendor with which she had adorned her works.

"It is natural that these recollections of my first visit to the frontier should mingle with the observations made in my recent tour through the same scenes; I shall therefore not attempt to separate the remarks made on either occasion, but give some of the results of both voyages.

"I can scarcely describe the sensations with which I first saw the solitary lodge of an Indian hunter, on the sh.o.r.e of the Mississippi. In my childhood I had read with thrilling interest, the tales of border warfare; but I had not learned to hate an Indian with mortal hatred. I verily believe they have souls. People may think differently in certain places, which shall be nameless, but I cannot be persuaded to the contrary. You cannot imagine any thing more frail than an Indian wigwam--a mere shelter of poles and mats, so small, so apparently inadequate to any purpose of security or comfort, that it is hardly possible to believe it to be intended for the residence of human beings. In such habitations reside the Indian warrior, whose name is a terror to his enemies; and the dark maiden, whose story supplies the poet with rich materials, with which to embellish the page of fiction. In such wretched hovels reside the aboriginal lords of the soil.

"I _have_ seen in this region, evidences of persecution perpetrated by our people upon this unhappy race, such as the American people would scarcely believe; and I am satisfied that if the events of the late war could be traced to their true source, every real philanthropist in the nation would blush for his country.

"I could relate many anecdotes, to show the friendly feelings entertained towards our government and people by the Sacs--feelings which, whether of fear or of kindness, have rendered them wholly submissive, and which nothing but the most unprovoked aggression on our side, could have kindled into hostility. I will only, at this time, repeat one, which occurred during my first voyage, reserving others for a future letter.

"One day, when the boat stopped to take in wood, some of us strolled up to the house of a Mr. D., a respectable farmer from Pennsylvania. He had been living here several years, at a spot distant from any settlements, and without a single neighbor. Upon our inquiring whether he felt no alarm in residing thus alone in the vicinity of the Indians, he replied that his family had formerly experienced much uneasiness, but that they had long since become satisfied that there was no ground for apprehension. He was convinced that the Sacs, their nearest neighbors, so far from being disposed to injure the whites, were cautious and timid of giving offence. In support of this opinion, he related the following anecdote.

"His house stands on a high bank of the Mississippi, and the family were one day much alarmed by discovering a large number of Indians pa.s.sing up the river in canoes. They pa.s.sed along in a most disorderly manner, some paddling their little vessels, and others strolling along the sh.o.r.e, but the majority evidently intoxicated.

It was the latter circ.u.mstance which caused alarm. The Indians had been to St. Louis to receive their annuities, and had procured a sufficient supply of whisky to render them unsafe visitors. They continued, however, straggling along in larger or smaller parties all day, without stopping. At night, one of them, a young warrior of prepossessing appearance, came to the house, and in the most respectful manner, asked permission to sleep upon the floor of the cabin. Mr. D., although by no means pleased with his guest, knew not how to refuse. The Indian warrior was invited to supper. A plentiful meal, such as composed the ordinary repast of the family, was placed before him, and having satisfied his hunger, he wrapped himself in his blanket, threw himself on the floor before the fire, and went to sleep. In the course of the night, Mr. D. happening to go out, discovered some Indians lying in the bushes not far from the house; without disturbing them, he proceeded in a different direction, where he found another party; they were strewed, in short, entirely around his dwelling. The fact of being thus surrounded, the concealment, and the silence of the Indians, all conspired to awaken suspicion, and he pa.s.sed the night in no small degree of uneasiness. He rose early in the morning; his Indian guest also started up, gathered his blanket around him, and took leave; first, however, explaining to Mr. D. that he belonged to a party of Sacs who were returning from St. Louis, and that many of them being intoxicated, it had been thought proper to station a guard round Mr. D.'s house, to protect him and his property from injury. He added, that if any depredation should be discovered to have been committed by the Indians, the chiefs would pay Mr. D. the full amount. Such an example of the care taken by the chiefs of this tribe to avoid giving umbrage to the whites, affords the highest testimony, either of their friends.h.i.+p for our people, or their respect for our power.

"The Sac and Fox tribe inhabited, at that time, a beautiful tract of country in Illinois, upon the borders of Rock river. These two tribes are usually mentioned in conjunction; because the Foxes, many years ago, having been nearly exterminated in a war with some of their neighbors, the remnant of the nation, too feeble to exist as a separate tribe, sought refuge in the Sac villages, and have remained ever since incorporated with the latter people. They are a fine looking race of people, and are well disposed towards the whites. They have long been divided, however, into two parties, one of which is friendly towards our government, while the other, called the _British band_, is under the influence of the British traders. It has always been the policy of the latter, to keep the Indians upon the western frontier in a state of disaffection towards the American people, and by these means, to secure to themselves an undue proportion of the fur trade. So long as it should remain difficult upon our part to gain access to the tribes, and our intercourse with them be liable to interruption, jealousy, and distrust, so long would the British trader possess an advantage over us in relation to this traffic. The British fur companies, whose agents are numerous, intelligent, and enterprising, have always acted upon this policy, and the English officers in Canada, both civil and military, have given it their sanction. Almost all the atrocities which have been committed on our frontiers by the Indians, within the last fifty years, have been directly or indirectly incited by the incendiary agents of that mercenary government. The _British band_ of the Sacs and Foxes have been in the habit of visiting Malden annually, and receiving valuable presents--presents, which being made to a disaffected portion of a tribe residing not only within the United States, but within the limits of a state, could be viewed in no other light than as bribes,--the wages of disaffection. Black Hawk, though not a chief, is one of the most influential individuals of the _British band_."

In a late number of the American Museum, we find the following article.

It bears intrinsic evidence of coming from the same pen, and presents in a striking point of view the rapid extension of our settlements, and the consequent recession of the Indians.

Most of our readers have become familiarly acquainted with the name of the redoubted Black Hawk, whose adventures are detailed in this volume and whose fame has been spread from Maine to Florida.

There was a time when he shared the eager attention of the public with f.a.n.n.y Kemble and the cholera, and was one of the lions of the day; and as regularly talked about as the weather, the last new novel, or the candidates for the presidency. The war in Illinois, though of brief duration, and not marked by any stirring events, came suddenly upon us after a long series of peaceful years upon the northwestern border. The savages, weary of fruitless conflicts, or quelled by the superior numbers of a gigantic and growing foe, seemed to have submitted to their fate, and the pioneer had ceased to number the war-whoop among the inquietudes of the border life.

The plains of Illinois and Missouri were rapidly becoming peopled by civilized men. A race less hardy than the backwoodsmen were tempted by the calm to migrate to those delightful solitudes, that bloomed with more than Arcadian fascinations of fruitfulness and beauty. The smoke of the settler's cabin began to ascend from the margin of every stream in that wide region, and the cattle strayed through rich pastures, of which the buffalo, the elk, and the deer, had long enjoyed a monopoly--an unchartered monopoly--wondering, no doubt, at their good luck in having their lives cast in such pleasant places.

It was the writer's lot to ramble over that beautiful country while these interesting scenes were presented; while the wilderness still glowed in its pristine luxuriance: while the prairie-gra.s.s and the wild flowers still covered the plain, and the deer continued to frequent his ancient haunts, and while the habitations of the new settlers were so widely and so thinly scattered, that the nearest neighbors could scarcely have exchanged the courtesy of an annual visit without the aid of the seven-leagued boots of ancient story.

But though in solitude, they lived without fear. There were none to molest nor make them afraid. If they had few friends, they had no enemies. If the Indian halted at the settler's door, it was to solicit hospitality, not to offer violence. But more frequently he stalked silently by, timid of giving offence to the white man, whom he doubtless regarded as an intruder upon his own ancient heritage, but whose possession he had been taught to respect, because he had ever found it guarded by a strong and swift arm, that had never failed to repay aggression with ten-fold vengeance. Suddenly, however, a change came over this cheering scene. The misconduct of a few white men disturbed the harmony of a wide region. The Indians were oppressed and insulted to the last point of forbearance, and a small but restless band, regarded as insubordinate and troublesome even by their own nation, seized upon the occasion to rush to war.

It is wonderful to look back upon this eventful history. The country over which Black Hawk, with a handful of followers, badly armed, and dest.i.tute of stores or munitions of war, roamed for hundreds of miles, driving off the scattered inhabitants, is now covered with flouris.h.i.+ng settlements, with substantial houses, and large farms--not with the cabins and clearings of bordermen--but with the comfortable dwellings and the well-tilled fields of independent farmers. Organized counties and all the subordination of social life are there; and there are the noisy school-house, the decent church, the mill, the country store, the fat ox, and the sleek plough-horse. The yankee is there with his notions and his patent-rights, and the travelling agent with his subscription book; there are merchandise from India and from England, and, in short, all the luxuries of life, from Bulwer's last novel down to Brandreth's pills. And all this has been done in six years--in less than half the time of Jacob's courts.h.i.+p. In 1832 the Saukie warriors ranged over that fertile region, which is now (1838) covered with an industrious population; while the Territories of Wisconsin and Iowa, and vast settlements in Missouri, have since grown up, beyond the region which was then the frontier and the seat of war.

APPENDIX.

SKETCHES OF THE SIOUX.

The Sioux or Dacotas, are a numerous, powerful and warlike nation of Indians, who have been appropriately called the Arabs of the west.

Between them and the Sacs and Foxes, there has existed, from the settlement of the two latter tribes on the waters of the Mississippi, a hostility of feeling that has kept them embroiled in a constant warfare.

The efforts of government to break down their prejudices and make peace between them, have failed in accomplis.h.i.+ng that benevolent end. It is not, however, against the Sacs and Foxes alone, that their arms are turned. From time immemorial they have been at war with the Chippeways, and are also constantly making hostile incursions upon other neighboring tribes. They usually fight on horseback, and being very superior hors.e.m.e.n, they are generally more than a match for their antagonists. In Schoolcraft's Narrative, we find the following account of their numbers, habits and peculiarities of character.

"The numerical strength of the Sioux nation was stated by the late General Pike at 21,675, three thousand eight hundred of whom are warriors. This is the most powerful Indian tribe in North America. It consists of seven bands, namely the Minokantongs, the Yengetongs, the Sissitongs, the Wahpetongs, the t.i.tongs, the Mendewacantongs and the Washpecontongs. These are independent bands under their own chiefs, but united in a confederacy for the protection of their territories; and send deputies to a general council of the chiefs and warriors, whenever the concerns of their nation require it. If one of the tribes is attacked, the others are expected to a.s.sist in the repulsion of the enemy. They inhabit all the country, between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, from north lat.i.tude about 46 to the junction of these rivers near St. Louis, with trifling exceptions in favor of some scattered bands of Foxes, Sacs and Kickapoos. Their country also extends south of the Missouri, where the princ.i.p.al part of the t.i.tongs reside, and east of the Mississippi to the territories of the Chippeways--the Winnebagoes and the Menominies. The greatest chief of the nation at present (1820) is Talangamane, or the Red Wing.

"The Minocantongs, or people of the waters, are located at St. Peters, and along the banks of the Mississippi towards Prairie du Chien. They reside in four princ.i.p.al villages.

"The Yengetongs and the Sessitongs inhabit the upper parts of the river St. Peters, and are sometimes called the Sioux of the plains. Their traffic is princ.i.p.ally in Buffalo robes. The Wahpetongs, or people of the leaves are the most erratic in their dispositions of all the Sioux; they inhabit the St. Peters between the Prairie de Francois and the White Rock, during a part of the year, and generally go out to hunt above the falls of St. Anthony towards the sources of the river De Corbeau, and upon the plains which give origin to the Crow, Sac and Elk rivers.

"The t.i.tongs inhabit both banks of the Missouri, and rove in quest of game over an immense extent of country. They are said to be related to the Mahas, and some other bands south of the Missouri.

"The Mendewacantongs, or people of the Medicine Lake, the Washpecontongs, or people of the Leaves, who have run away, and some other scattered bands, whose names are unknown, inhabit the country generally, from St. Peters south to the mouth of the Missouri, and are chiefly located upon the sources of the rivers Ocano, Iowa, and Desmoines.

"The Sioux are generally represented as a brave, generous and spirited people, with proud notions of their origin as a tribe, and their superiority as hunters and warriors, and with a predominant pa.s.sion for war. They speak the Narcotah language, which is peculiar to themselves, and appears to have little affinity with any other Indian tongue. It is not so soft and sonorous as the Algonquin which abounds in l.a.b.i.als, but more so than the Winnebago, which is the most harsh and guttural language in America. The Narcotah sounds to an English ear, like the Chinese, and both in this, and in other respects, the Sioux are thought to present many points of coincidence. It is certain that their manners and customs differ essentially from those of any other tribe, and their physiognomy, as well as their language, and opinions, mark them a distinct race of people. Their sacrifices and their supplications to the unknown G.o.d--their feasts after any signal deliverance from danger--their meat, and their burnt offerings--the preparation of incense, and certain customs of their females, offer too striking a coincidence, with the manners of the Asiatic tribes, before the commencement of the Christian era, to escape observation, while their paintings and hieroglyphics bear so much a.n.a.logy to those of the Asteeks of Mexico, as to render it probable that the latter are of Naudowessian origin."

"From my knowledge of the Sioux nation," observes Lieutenant Pike, "I do not hesitate to p.r.o.nounce them the most warlike and independent nation of Indians, within the boundaries of the United States, their every pa.s.sion being subservient to that of war. Their guttural p.r.o.nunciation, high cheek bones, their visages, and distinct manners, together with their own traditions, supported by the testimony of neighboring nations, put it in my mind beyond a shadow of doubt, that they have emigrated from the north west point of America, to which they had come across the narrow streights, which in that quarter divide the two continents; and are absolutely descendants of a Tartarean tribe."

The following anecdote of a Sioux chief, and of a council held by Governor Ca.s.s, some years since, for the purpose of making peace between the Sioux and Chippeways, is drawn from a letter from that officer, to the war department.[16]

"Some years since, mutually weary of hostilities, the chiefs of both nations met, and agreed upon a truce. But the Sioux disregarding the solemn compact they had formed, and actuated by some sudden impulse attacked and murdered a number of Chippeways. The old Chippeway chief was present at the time, and his life was saved by the intrepidity and self-devotion of a Sioux chief. This man intreated, remonstrated, threatened. He adjured his countrymen, by every motive, to abstain from any violation of their faith: and finding his remonstrances useless, he attached himself to the Chippeway chief, and avowed his determination to save him or perish. Awed by such intrepidity, the Sioux finally agreed that he should ransom the Chippewa. This he did at the expense of all the property he possessed. The Sioux chief now accompanied him on his journey, until he considered him safe from any of the parties of the Sioux, who might be disposed to pursue him.

"Believing it equally inconsistent with humanity and sound policy, that these border contests should be suffered to continue; and feeling that the Indians have a full portion of moral and physical evils, without adding to them the calamities of a war, which had no definite object, Governor Ca.s.s being at Sandy lake, offered his mediation to the Chippeway chiefs, to which they readily acceded. In consequence, a deputation of ten of their men descended the Mississippi with him.

"The Chippeways landed occasionally, to examine whether any of the Sioux had recently visited that quarter. In one of these excursions, there was found, suspended to a tree, in an exposed situation, a piece of birch-bark, made flat, by being fastened between two sticks, about eighteen inches long by fifteen broad. This bark contained the answer of the Sioux nation, to overtures which the Chippeways had made, on Governor Ca.s.s' offer of mediation:--which overtures had been found and taken off by a party of the Sioux. So revengeful and sanguinary had the contest been between these tribes, that no personal communication could take place. Neither the sanct.i.ty of the office, nor the importance of the message, could protect the amba.s.sador of either party from the vengeance of the other.

"The preliminaries to a peace being thus settled, the Sioux and Chippeways met in joint council--smoked the pipe of peace together, and then in their own figurative language, 'buried the tomahawk so deep, that it could never be dug up again.'"

Another anecdote is related by Mr. Schoolcraft which we quote as ill.u.s.trative of the character, in some degree, of this singular and warlike race."

"Le Pet.i.t Corbeau, a chief of a small band of Sioux, located upon the banks of the Mississippi, towards the confines of the Chippeway territory, going out one morning to examine his beaver trap, found a Sauteur in the act of stealing it. He had approached without exciting alarm, and while the Sauteur was engaged in taking the trap from the water, he stood maturely surveying him with a loaded rifle in his hands.

As the two nations were at war, and the offence was in itself one of the most heinous nature, he would have been justified in killing him on the spot, and the thief looked for nothing else, on finding himself detected. But the Sioux chief walking up to him discovered a n.o.bleness of disposition which would have done honor to the most enlightened of men. 'Take no alarm,' said he, 'at my approach; I only come to present to you the trap of which I see you stand in need. You are entirely welcome to it. Take my gun also, as I perceive you have none of your own, and depart with it to the land of your countrymen, but linger not here, lest some of my young men, who are panting for the blood of their enemies, should discover your footsteps in our country, and fall upon you.' So saying he delivered him his gun and accoutrements, and returned unarmed to the village of which he is so deservedly the chief."

COLONIZATION OF THE INDIANS.

The plan, now in progress of execution, for the removal of all the Indians, within the limits of the United States, to a region of country west of Missouri and Arkansas, will of course, when carried out, greatly modify our relations with them. New laws must be enacted by Congress, and new treaties formed between the Indians and the United States.

From the organization of the federal government to the present time, our relations with the Indians have been the subject of frequent legislation, and the statute book bears many evidences of benevolent action towards this ill-fated race. If the laws enacted by Congress for the protection and civilization of the aborigines of this country, had been regularly and rigidly enforced, and a more impartial interpretation of the treaties made with them, had been observed, their condition would have been far better than it now is--they would have pa.s.sed from the hunter to the pastoral state, and have grown in numbers, virtue and intelligence. But these laws and these treaties, have been year after year violated by our own people, and the result has been a constant deterioration of the Indians. This is especially true of those laws intended to prevent our citizens from hunting on the Indian lands, residing in their country, and trading with them without a license from the United States. These have generally been a dead letter upon the national statute book, and the encroachments of the lawless frontiers-men, the trader, the land speculator, and the vender of spirituous liquors, have impoverished degraded, and vitiated, more or less, every tribe within the limits of the United States. It is to this intercourse, with these cla.s.ses of persons, that the bad faith, the savage barbarities, and border-wars, of which so much complaint is made against the Indians, are to be mainly attributed. The rapacity of our people, for their peltries and their land, the feeble execution of laws made for their protection, and the loose morality which has governed our general intercourse with them, have wasted their numbers, debased their character, and tarnished the honor of that nation, which, from the very organization of its government, has claimed to be their benevolent protector.

The plan of removing the Indians beyond the limits of the United States is not new. If not original with Mr. Jefferson, it was commended by him, and has been approved, we believe, by each successive administration since his day. It looked of course to a peaceable not a forcible removal of them. Whether the details of the original plan corresponded with those of the law, under which this removal is going on, we do not know.

The substance of the present plan may be gathered from the following provisions: