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expressed the great pleasure it gave him in joining the 

 members of the Essex Institute in their third field meet- 

 ing this year, particularly in so delightful a locality. If 

 there is an interesting spot, your worthy chairman, Dr. 

 Wheatland, is sure to find it and pitch his tent there : a 

 place where the botanist, entomologist, geologist, and 

 even the archaeologist may find something interesting. 

 Some may be inclined to think there is little of antiquity 

 to be found in America. I think differently. We are 

 no doubt treading upon ground once occupied by a pre- 

 historic race. 



Since last year I have had the pleasure of seeing a 

 little of the Indian character. About three years ago the 

 United States troops, in a skirmish in the Indian Terri- 

 tory, took over sixty prisoners, whom they sent down, in 

 irons, under the charge of Captain Pratt, to St. Augus- 

 tine, Florida, to be confined in an old fort there. There 

 were among them Cheyennes, Kiowas, and Arapahoes. 

 They soon became perfectly docile, and one by one the 

 Captain had their manacles removed. He took away their 

 blankets, dressed them in cast-off soldiers' garments ; and 

 in order that they might be more like white men they 

 were willing to have their hair cut short, and their ear and 

 nose ornaments removed. 



St. Augustine, as you are no doubt all aware, is a fa- 

 vorite winter resort for invalids. The visitors, at first 

 through curiosity, often went down to the fort to see the 

 Indians, who amused their lady friends by singing their 

 war songs and performing their war dances. One of 

 these ladies undertook to give the Indians lessons in 

 English ; others soon joined her, and in a short time many 

 of the Indians could read simple sentences and write a 

 little. They were also taught to sing some of Moody and 

 Sankey's hymns, instead of their war songs. At the end 



