1807.] Observations made during a Tour through America. 331 
war against those States: the result was, as 
it ever must be; the uncultured submitted — 
to the civilized warrior,and the victories of 
Wayne annihilated in those people every 
vestige of manly fortitude; they now feel 
their own impotence, and acknowledge 
Long Knife, as they call the United States, 
too much for them. By constant ces- 
sions of their hunting grounds to the Uni- 
ted States, their mesns of maintenance 
are abridged, and their numbers propor- 
tionately “diminish, and in a few years 
these tribes will only be known as having 
existed: for those who remain will mix 
with the more western tribes, who will 
run exactly the same career, The Indian 
is every thing but what the hypothesis of 
the enthusiast presupposes. Durty, nay 
filthy, in his person, his hair matted, 
greasy, and daubed with vermilion, his 
face painted red, black, blue or yellow, 
as fancy dictates; his ears cut and elon- 
gated by the weight they support, his 
body lank and toes turned in; yet artful, 
cunning, malignant, and superstitious : 
he prowls singly, or in bands, seeking 
whom he may destroy ; possessed of pa- 
tience, fortitude, perseverance, and no 
small degree of ingenuity, qualities, 
which in eivilized society are virtues, 
but usea by the Indian too frequently for 
purposes at which humanity shudders, 
Exposed to all the vicissitudes of the 
weather, and constantly on the alert to 
commit; or to avoid mischief, still he is 
the prey of drunkenness, and the victiin 
of credulity and passion. A few anec- 
dotes, the truth of which f cannot doubt, 
which were related to me, by men of the 
highest honour, will enable your readers 
better to appreciate the Indian charac- 
ter, as well as the advantages of civill- 
zation, than any thing I can say. The 
State of Connecticut has applied certain 
funds, which are employed in mamtaining 
@ certain number of Missionaries in dis- 
seminating among the tribes on the bor- 
ders of Lake Erie, the religious opraions 
of a particular sect of Christians (the 
Presbyterians.) From what I could see, 
they do not seem to have much succeed- 
ed, although from the number of crosses 
and oth er ‘proofs of belief in the Catholic 
Creed, cut on the trees, I suspect the 
French priests had better success when 
this country was considered as dependant 
on the Crow n of France. I mean not to 
give an opinion as to the advantages of 
controuling a belief of what Indians can- 
not understand, but shall proceed to ob- 
serve that among the Wiandots the 
clerical character is much despised, in 
consequence of the following circum- 
stance :—One of that profession being 
indebted to a Wiandot thirty dollars, 
which he either could or would not 
pay, offered a horse for the debt; 
this was ayreed to be accepted, provided 
the interpreter (Myr. Parish) should say 
the animal was worth the money. The 
Indian travelled more than fixty miles to 
Mr. P. who declared that, in his opinion, 
it was not worth five dollars, and more- 
over said, he sapposed the reverend cen- 
tlemman only wished to be clear of feeding 
him through the winter. On the retura 
of the Indian, the parson insisted that the 
horse was actually sold, whilst the former 
with equal pertinacity contended that he 
had not purchased bim. Four years after 
this, he again called, as he had frequently 
done through the intermediate period, for 
_ his money; ie divine asked him to dinner, 
and assoonas the provisions were upon the 
table, piously displayed the whites of his 
eyesand commenced saymyg grace. Thein- 
dian misunderstanding this dey ‘otion, Ima- 
gined it to be an invocation to the Deit ty, 
again to enable him to cheat a poor Indian; 
and as he would not suffer this to be 
done in his presence, left the ‘table and 
the house,iminediately directing his course 
to Judge Phellps, to whom he made his 
complaint, and by whose means he soon 
recovered his property. Another Indian 
had a daugater sick, her disease bid de- 
fiance to their skill, and she gradually 
erew worse ; the ihe! dreamt that no- 
thing could cure his dangkter. but the 
heart’ ofa white man sand he persuaded her 
lover to watch with him for the first 
white man they could find, who proved 
to be an unfortunate Frenchman, whona 
they murdered: they tore his heart froim 
his bosom, and carried the extraordinary 
remedy to the patient; but whether she 
recovered, or not, I cannot say. The 
belief in witcherate seems impressed onall 
uncultivated minds, and it is very general 
ane the Indians. A poor woman of the 
Seneka Tribe had been but lately accused 
and murdered ; therefore, through the 
medium of pe: ‘sons who could speak their 
language, I attempted to prove to ae 
tain Johs, in one of his intervals of 
sobriety, ail they were but few, the ab- 
surdity of such belief and the conses 
quent cruelty of secret punishment, but 
I was soon silenced. All your black-coats, 
said he, agree that witches once did 
exist, and if they did once, why not now? 
And if now, they ought te be killed, An 
indian 
