ner of geese with their feet tied, and with about as much grace. The beating of drums, songs, and wild cries accompany the dance. The men stand round with eagles' feathers in their hair contemplating this dance, which is a greater delight, both to their eyes and their ears, than probably any which the genius of Bournonville could create, or the skill of Taglioni or Elsler perform.

But I must yet add a few facts regarding the past and present state of this savage people, which I obtained from trustworthy sources, partly from books, partly from- oral communications, as well as from my own observations.

When the Europeans first penetrated that portion of America lying east of the Mississippi, a great deal was said about vast stretches of desolate country; and since a more accurate knowledge has been obtained of the Indian tribes from Canada in the North, to Florida and Louisiana in the South, and their population has been estimated, it appears that the whole Indian race, east of the Great River, amounts to about 180,000 souls. The tribes or families into which they are divided all greatly resemble each other in physiognomy and manners, although some of them are more warlike and cruel, and others more peacefully disposed. The principal tribes have lived, for the most part, in a state of bloody hostility with each other from time immemorial.

Research into the languages of the various Indian tribes has proved that, however numerous the tribes may be, there exist but eight radically distinct languages; and of these five only are now spoken by tribes of eminence, the other three having died out, and the languages of the remainder of the tribes appear to be dialects of some one or other of the principal languages. These languages have a definite form and construction; they are affluent in def-. initions, and the definitions of individual beings, but are deficient in terms for the general idea. They indicate a popular mind which has not advanced beyond the realm

of experience into that of reflection. Thus, for example, they have names for the various kinds of oak, but not for the genus oak; they speak of a holy man, but they have no word for holiness; they could say our father, mine or thy father, but they have no word for father. There is nothing in their language which indicates a higher degree of cultivation among them as a people than they are at present in possession of. They love to speak in a symbolical manner, all their symbols being derived from the realm of nature; and their writings and their art speak also by means of such. I have seen a buffalo-hide covered with figures, in the style of children's drawings, which represented battles, treaties of peace, and other such events; the sun and the moon, trees, and mountains, and rivers, fish and birds, and all kinds of animals, having their part in the delineations; men and horses, however, in the most distorted proportions, being the principal actors. I have also seen Indian songs inscribed upon trees and bark in similar hieroglyphics.

The religious culture of the Indian has adopted the same symbolic characters derived from natural objects. They constitute a living hieroglyphic writing. They have no sense of the worship of God in spirit and in truth, or in the influence of love. But they have many religious festivals; the Indians of Minnesota more than ten, at which they offer sacrifices to the sun and the moon, trees, rivers, stones, serpents-nay, indeed, to all things and all animals, to propitiate their spirits or their divinities. The festival of the sun is celebrated by day, that of the moon by night. One festival is for their weapons of war, which they regard as sacred, or as being possessed of an innate divine power. At all these festivals they have dancing and the beating of drums, as well as singing and many ceremonies. The principal transaction on these occasions, however, seems to be feasting; and as the Indians appear to consider it a duty to eat every thing which is set before

them, frequently more than they are able, they are sometimes obliged to take medicine that it may be possible for them to pursue their eating. At the Feast of the Spirits, if the guest fails to eat all that is placed before him, he must redeem himself by the forfeit of a buffalo or beaver skin. Great quantities of provisions, especially of venison, are collected for these festivities. In the mean time they are often famished with hunger.

Their medical knowledge, even if classed with superstitious usages, is not to be despised, and they have large acquaintance with healing herbs and the powers of nature. A lady of Philadelphia, who resided many years among the Indians, in order to gain a knowledge of their various remedies, drew up, on her return, an Indian materia-medica, which became much celebrated, and many new curative means have thus enriched the American pharmacopoeia. Women are also, among the Indians, esteemed as physicians and interpreters of dreams; and the Winnebago Indians, who dwell by Lake Superior, in the northeastern part of Minnesota, have now, singularly enough, two queens whom they obey-the one for her wisdom, the other for her courage and bravery. Otherwise, women among the Indians are, as is well known, servants who do all the hard work, as well without as within the house. They dig the fields (pieces of land without form or regularity), sow and reap, gather wild rice, berries, roots, and make sugar from the juice of the sugar-maple. When the man kills a deer, he throws it down for the woman, who must prepare it for household use.

"What estimate may be given of the morals and character of the Indian women in this neighborhood?" inquired I from a lady of St. Paul's, who had resided a considerable time at this place.

"Many are immoral, and can not be much commended; but others, again, there are who are as virtuous and blameless as any of us."

I have also heard incidents cited which prove that the Indian woman will sometimes assume, in the wigwam, the privilege of the husband, bring him under the rule of the moccasin, and chastise him soundly if he offend her. He never strikes again, but patiently lets himself be beaten black and blue. He knows, however, that his turn will come, and he knows well enough that he can then have his revenge.

When an Indian dies, the women assemble round the corpse, make a howling lament, tear their hair, and cut themselves with sharp stones. A missionary in Minnesota saw a young Indian woman slash and cut her flesh over her brother's corpse in the most terrific manner, while other women around her sung songs of vengeance against the murderer of the dead. The god of revenge is the ideal of the savage.

The virtues of the Indian man are universally known. His fidelity in keeping a promise, his hospitality, and his strength of mind under sorrow and suffering, have often been praised. It strikes me, however, that these his virtues have their principal root in an immense pride. The virtue of the Indian is selfish. That dignity of which we have heard so much seems to me more like the conceit of a cock than the natural dignity of a noble, manly being. Now they raise themselves up, and stand or walk proudly. Now they squat all in a heap, sitting on their hams like dogs or baboons. Now they talk with proud words and gestures; now prate and jabber like a flock of magpies. There is a deal of parade in their pride and silence. Occasionally beautiful exceptions have been met with, and still exist, where the dignity is genuine, and the nobility genuine also. These exceptions are met with among the old chiefs in particular. But the principal features among the Indians are, after all, idolatry, pride, cruelty, thirst of vengeance, and the degradation of

woman.

VOL. II.-C

They have no other government nor governors but through their chiefs and medicine-men. The former have、 but little power and respect, excepting in their own individual character, and they seem greatly to fear the loss of their popularity in their tribe.

Such, with little variation, are the manners, the faith, and the condition of the North American Indians.

A great deal has been said, and conjectured, and written, and much inquiry has been made on the question of whence came these people? And it now seems to be an established idea that they are of the Mongolian race, from the northern part of Asia, a resemblance having been discovered between them and this people, both in their appearance and mode of life, and also because Asia and America approach each other so nearly at this point, that the passage from one hemisphere to the other does not appear an improbable undertaking for bold coasting voy. agers.

The Peruvians of South America, and those noble Aztecs, who possessed a splendid, though short-lived power, and whose noblest ruler spake words as wise and poetry as rich as that of King Solomon; these Indians, and those whose devastated cities have lately been discovered in Central America, were evidently of a higher race than the people of North America, and their remains, as well as all that is known of their manners and customs, prove them to be kindred to the noblest Asiatic races.

The zealous upholders of the doctrine that all mankind have descended from one single human pair, and who placed them in Asia, are reduced to great straits to explain the emigration of these various people from the mother country. I can not understand why each hemisphere should not be considered as the mother country of its own people. The same power of nature, and the same creative power, are able to produce a human pair in more than one place. And when God is the father, and nature