﻿powell] 
  OWNERSHIP 
  OF 
  LAND. 
  39 
  

  

  doned 
  agriculture 
  to 
  pursue 
  hunting 
  and 
  traffic, 
  and 
  sought 
  new 
  

   fields 
  for 
  such 
  enterprises, 
  and 
  many 
  new 
  contests 
  arose 
  from 
  this 
  

   cause. 
  Altogether 
  the 
  character 
  of 
  the 
  Indian 
  since 
  the 
  discovery 
  

   of 
  Columbus 
  has 
  been 
  greatly 
  changed, 
  and 
  he 
  has 
  become 
  far 
  more 
  

   warlike 
  and 
  predatory. 
  Prior 
  to 
  that 
  time, 
  and 
  far 
  away 
  in 
  the 
  

   wilderness 
  beyond 
  such 
  influence 
  since 
  that 
  time, 
  Indian 
  tribes 
  

   seem 
  to 
  have 
  lived 
  together 
  in 
  comparative 
  peace 
  and 
  to 
  have 
  settled 
  

   their 
  difficulties 
  by 
  treaty 
  methods. 
  A 
  few 
  of 
  the 
  tribes 
  had 
  distinct 
  

   organizations 
  for 
  purposes 
  of 
  war; 
  all 
  recognized 
  it 
  to 
  a 
  greater 
  or 
  

   less 
  extent 
  in 
  their 
  tribal 
  organization; 
  but 
  from 
  such 
  study 
  as 
  has 
  

   been 
  given 
  the 
  subject, 
  and 
  from 
  the 
  many 
  facts 
  collected 
  from 
  time 
  

   to 
  time 
  relating 
  to 
  the 
  intercourse 
  existing 
  between 
  tribes, 
  it 
  appears 
  

   that 
  the 
  Indians 
  lived 
  in 
  comparative 
  peace. 
  Their 
  accumulations 
  

   were 
  not 
  so 
  great 
  as 
  to 
  be 
  tempting, 
  and 
  their 
  modes 
  of 
  warfare 
  

   were 
  not 
  excessively 
  destructive. 
  Armed 
  with 
  clubs 
  and 
  spears 
  and 
  

   bows 
  and 
  arrows, 
  war 
  could 
  be 
  prosecuted 
  only 
  by 
  hand-to-hand 
  

   conflict, 
  and 
  depended 
  largely 
  upon 
  individual 
  prowess, 
  while 
  battle 
  

   for 
  plunder, 
  tribute, 
  and 
  conquest 
  was 
  almost 
  unknown. 
  Such 
  inter- 
  

   tribal 
  wars 
  as 
  occurred 
  originated 
  from 
  other 
  causes, 
  such 
  as 
  infrac- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  rights 
  relating 
  to 
  hunting 
  grounds 
  and 
  fisheries, 
  and 
  still 
  

   oftener 
  prejudices 
  growing 
  out 
  of 
  their 
  superstitions. 
  

  

  That 
  which 
  kept 
  the 
  Indian 
  population 
  down 
  sprang 
  from 
  another 
  

   source, 
  which 
  has 
  sometimes 
  been 
  neglected. 
  The 
  Indians 
  had 
  no 
  

   reasonable 
  or 
  efficacious 
  system 
  of 
  medicine. 
  They 
  believed 
  that 
  dis- 
  

   eases 
  were 
  caused 
  by 
  unseen 
  evil 
  beings 
  and 
  by 
  witchcraft, 
  and 
  every 
  

   cough, 
  every 
  toothache, 
  every 
  headache, 
  every 
  chill, 
  every 
  fever, 
  

   every 
  boil, 
  and 
  every 
  woiind, 
  in 
  fact, 
  all 
  their 
  ailments, 
  were 
  attrib- 
  

   uted 
  to 
  such 
  cause. 
  Their 
  so-called 
  medicine 
  practice 
  was 
  a 
  horrible 
  

   system 
  of 
  sorcery, 
  and 
  to 
  such 
  superstition 
  human 
  life 
  was 
  sacrificed 
  

   on 
  an 
  enormous 
  scale. 
  The 
  sufferers 
  were 
  given 
  over 
  to 
  priest 
  doc- 
  

   tors 
  to 
  be 
  tormented, 
  bedeviled, 
  and 
  destroyed; 
  and 
  a 
  universal 
  and 
  

   profound 
  belief 
  in 
  witchcraft 
  made 
  them 
  suspicious, 
  and 
  led 
  to 
  the 
  

   killing 
  of 
  all 
  suspected 
  and 
  obnoxious 
  people, 
  and 
  engendered 
  blood 
  

   feuds 
  on 
  a 
  gigantic 
  scale. 
  It 
  may 
  be 
  safely 
  said 
  that 
  while 
  famine, 
  

   pestilence, 
  disease, 
  and 
  war 
  may 
  have 
  killed 
  many, 
  superstition 
  

   killed 
  more; 
  in 
  fact, 
  a 
  natural 
  death 
  in 
  a 
  savage 
  tent 
  is 
  a 
  compara- 
  

   tively 
  rare 
  phenomenon; 
  but 
  death 
  by 
  sorcery, 
  medicine, 
  and 
  blood 
  

   feud 
  arising 
  from 
  a 
  belief 
  in 
  witchcraft 
  is 
  exceedingly 
  common. 
  

  

  Scanty 
  as 
  was 
  the 
  population 
  compared 
  with 
  the 
  vast 
  area 
  teem- 
  

   ing 
  with 
  natural 
  products 
  capable 
  of 
  supporting 
  human 
  life, 
  it 
  may 
  

   be 
  safely 
  said 
  that 
  at 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  the 
  discovery, 
  and 
  long 
  prior 
  

   thereto, 
  practically 
  the 
  whole 
  of 
  the 
  area 
  included 
  in 
  the 
  present 
  

   map 
  was 
  claimed 
  and 
  to 
  some 
  extent 
  occupied 
  by 
  Indian 
  tribes; 
  but 
  

   the 
  possession 
  of 
  land 
  by 
  the 
  Indian 
  by 
  no 
  means 
  implies 
  occu- 
  

   pancy 
  in 
  the 
  modern 
  or 
  civilized 
  sense 
  of 
  the 
  term. 
  In 
  the 
  latter 
  

   sense 
  occupation 
  means 
  to 
  a 
  great 
  extent 
  individual 
  control 
  and 
  

  

  