miles below Itasca Lake, the river Piniddi- | Indians. The necessity of changing their camps win reaches the Mississippi, and at about eighteen miles below this the eastern and western forks unite. The expedition proceeded once more to Cass Lake, where they formed an encampment, in order to give time to assemble the neighboring Indians, and endeavor to make peace with them.

to

often to procure game or fish, the want of domesticated animals, the general dependence on wild rice, and the custom of journeying in canoes, has produced a general uniformity of life. And it is emphatically a life of want and vicissitude. There in the mind, which is a striking peculiarity of the is a perpetual change between action and inanity, savage state. And there is such a general want of forecast, that most of their misfortunes and hardships, in war and peace, come unexpectedly. said to have, thus far, derived any peculiarities None of the tribes who inhabit this quarter can be from civilized instruction. The only marked alteration which their state of society has undergone, appears to be referable to the era of the introduct on of the fur-trade, when they were made acquainted with, and adopted the use of, iron, gunpowder, and woollens. This implied a considerable change of habits, and of the mode of paved the way for further changes in the mode of subsistence; and may be considered as having living and dress. But it brought with it the onerous evil of intemperance, and it left the men

to a system of dances, sacrifices, and ceremonies, which stood in the place of religion, still occupies that position, presenting a subject which is deemed the peculiar labor of evangelists and teachers. Missionaries have been slow to avail themselves of this field of labor, and it should not excite surprise that the people themselves are, to so great a degree, mentally the same in 1832, that they were on the arrival of the French in the St. Lawrence, in 1532.”

The aspect of Cass Lake is similar that of Leech Lake and Winnipec; its greatest length from north to south is sixteen miles; it has four large islands, of which Colocaspi, covered with fine forest trees, is the largest. It is 3000 miles distant from the Gulf of Mexico, 1330 feet above the Atlantic, and 182 miles from the true source of the Mississippi. After holding meetings with the inhabitants, the expedition left the Lake at Pike's Bay, and crossed a plain, where they saw some marks and hie-tal habits essentially unchanged. All that related roglyphics on the trunks of pines, which were said to be of great antiquity, and a portage of 950 yards brought them to Moss Lake; but, if our readers are as weary as we are of portages and lakes, it is time for us to om' t the details into which we have been entering, and merely notice the principal incidents of the homeward route. The party arrived at their landing place in Leech Lake in the dark, and the Indians saluted them by firing separately, but in the morning a more regular salute was given. The shape of this lake is the most irregular possible, being a combination of curves, peninsulas, bays, &c.; it contains ten islands, and seven rivers enter into it. The pelican, "Not knowing how the meal could be suitably swan, brant, and cormorant annually pay it got along with, without bread, I took the precaua visit, and the deer and the bear are found tion to send up a tin dish of pilot bread. I went on its shores. Beavers formerly abounded to his residence at the proper time, accompanied there, but have now nearly disappeared, and by Mr. Johnston. I found him (the Guelle Plat) the musk-rat and the martin afford its princi- well floored and roofed, with a couple of smal living in a comfortable log building of two rooms, pal furs. The population of Leech Lake glass windows. A mat was spread upon the cenis computed at about 832 souls, seven-tre of the floor, which contained the breakfast. eighths of whom consist of Mukkundwais or Pillagers. To these is deputed the defence of the Chippewa frontiers, in which service they have performed prodigies of valor against their great enemies the Sioux, a powerful assemblage of tribes living in plains, but who move about in large bodies, and so incessantly break treaties and harass their neighbors, that it is not to be wondered at that the words of peace should fall nearly unheeded by those against whom they direct

The latter remark awakens our surprise, for we did not suppose that any spot so accessible as Chippewa, had been left unvisited by missionaries. The Guelle Plat is the ruler of the Pillager band, and invited Mr. Schoolcraft to breakfast; which visit is thus described by the latter:

Other mats were spread around it, to sit on. We
followed his example, in sitting down after the
eastern manner. There was no other person ad-
mitted to the meal but his wife, who sat near him,
and poured out the tea, but ate or drank nothing
and forks, of plain manufacture, were carefully
herself. Tea-cups, and tea-spoons, plates, knives
arranged, and the number corresponding exactly
with the expected guests. A white fish, cut up
and broiled in good taste, occupied a dish in the
A salt-cellar,
centre, from which he helped us.
in which pepper and salt were mixed in unequal
proportions, allowed each the privilege of season-
ing his fish with both or neither. Our tea was
sweetened with the native sugar, and the dish of
hard bread seemed to have been precisely wanted
to make out the repast. It needed but the im-
ploring of a blessing to render it essentially a
Christian meal."

"the domestic manners and habits of a people, whose position is adverse to improvement, could The Guelle Plat was a shrewd, sensible hardly be expected to present anything so strikingly different from other erratic bands of the man, and expressed himself desirous of north-west. There is indeed, a remarkable con- peace, but said that their enemies “would formity in the external habits of all our northern' not let them sit still, and they were obliged

Schoolcraft's own words,)" and the desire of per"Pride," (we here again have recourse to Mr. sonal distinction, as in other tribes which have not the light of Christianity to guide them, may Indian character; for there are no tribes so poor be considered as lying at the foundation of the and remote as not to have pride. And this passion seems always to be coupled with a desire of applause, and with the wish on the part of its are. possessors to be thought better than they really We have found pride in the remotest Indian lodge we ever visited, and have hardly ever engaged in ten minutes' conversation with a northern Indian, without discovering it not only to as constituting the primary motive to action. It exist, but, where there was moral energy at all, has always been found, however, unaccompanied by one of the most constant concomitants in civilized life - namely, the desire of wealth."

to get up and fight in self-defence." For a | maddens them, that they never could be whole day the Indians continued to pour in- produced till the bargains were made. to the encampment; they were gaily dressed, and walked with a bold free air, which was a strong contrast to that too often seen in the neighborhood of the posts and settlements, and which latter must be the result of oppression. They were anxious to have teeth drawn, and to be blooded, which is one of their favorite remedies; but Dr. Houghton, the surgeon, was chiefly engaged in vaccinating them. None had previously undergone this operation, but made no difficulty in submitting to it, when they could be convinced of the efficacy of the system, in destroying the disease which they most dread. The tradition of the horrible consequences arising from the appearance of the small pox among them in 1782, had predisposed them to receive the virus, and no fear was exhibited except on the part of the female children. A band of Rainy Lake Indians, headed by a leader named "The Hole in the Sky," having heard of the arrival of the Americans, took the trou- The whole of the history of the American ble of coming so far to see them, and of course received some slight presents. The council assembled, the presents for the multitude were distributed, and then the subject of peace was discussed; but the impression made by the civilized part of the assembly seems to have been but feeble, and we fear that, notwithstanding their endeavors in this respect, the expedition met with but little

success.

In the Guelle Plat's speech, he complained much of the conduct of those engaged in the fur-trade, and also of the exclusion made by the Americans of ardent spirits in this traffic; but admitted that the latter, having been generally given in exchange for their rice, frequently left them starving during the cold weather. "This chief," says Mr Schoolcraft, "appears to be turned of sixty. In stature he is about five feet nine or ten inches, erect and stout, somewhat inclined to corpulency. He is a native of this lake, of the totem or coat of arms of the Owasissi, a kind of fish; he had been twentyfive times on war parties, either as leader or follower, and had escaped without a wound."

Leech Lake has yielded immense wealth in furs and skins, at the time they were abundant; and a prime beaver, called a plus by the French, was at one time given for as much vermilion as would cover the point of a case-knife. A good gun, worth ten guineas, would be sold for 120 pounds of beaver. The Leech Lake Indians have always been deemed a turbulent set, as their name of Pillagers betrays; and the use of spirits so

Had it not been for the last sentence, we might have been tempted to ask Mr. Schoolcraft to what civilized nation on the face of the earth his observations would not apply, and how he could describe pride as a peculiarity of the Indian race?

Indians proceeds from oral tradition, which is always uncertain, and the remembrance of which must be much weakened by the hardships of their lives. Every tribe gives itself credit for being original, brave, magnanimous, great, and above its neighbors. Their names furnish no clue to their former state, for they are accidental or merely local appellations.

The French increased the confusion of these names, by giving a new one to every tribe, every place, and almost every individual. The Chippewa seems to be the Court language, being always used on all general and state occasions. None of them have any distinct parts of speech, except the verb, substantive and prenominal particles. Their words are combinations of ponderous sounds, and of formidable appearance when written; and are still further complicated by inflections for time, person, number, quality, and a variety of circumstances, as if the speaker were desirous of compressing into one word, the meaning of a whole sentence. The third person has only one sex and the singular number, and although there is a positive and a conditional future, the compound tenses of the verbs are defective.

The following remarks are too interesting to be omitted:

"From this vacillation between barbarism and

refinement, poverty and redundance, a method strictly philosophical or purely accidental, there might be reason to infer that the people themselves, by whom the language is spoken, were formerly in a more advanced and cultivated state; and that a language once copious and exact, partaking of the fortunes of the people, degenerated

further and further into barbarism and confusion, as one tribe after another separated from the parent stock. Change of accent would alone produce a great diversity of sound; accident would give some generic peculiarities; and that permutation of the consonants, which we see among the Algonquin bands, would, in the end, leave little besides the vowel sounds, and the interchangeable consonants, to identify tribes long separated by time and by distance, without means of intercommunication, without letters, and without arts. If compared by these principles, there is reason to believe philologists would find the primitive languages of America extremely few, and their grammatical principles either identical, or partaking largely of the same features. And to this result the tendency of inquiry on this side the Atlantic is slowly verging, however it may contravene the theories of learned and ingenious philologists in Europe. The inquiry is fraught with deep interest to the philosophical mind, and it offers a field for intellectual achievement, which

it may be hoped will not be left uncultivated by the pens of piety, philosophy, or genius."

We have now a quarto volume before us, consisting of 364 pages, and containing a technical and statistical account of the principal canals, rail-roads, and other public improvements of the United States, written and compiled by a Monsieur Guillaume Tell Poussin, (a curious combination of names by the by,) ex-major in the American Engineers, who, it seems, was driven from France at the period of her great internal convulsion, and entered the service of the United States. Monsieur Poussin is now returned to his native country, where he has published the work of which we speak. For ourselves, we must confess there is nothing more uninteresting than a canal or a rail-road, and we never hear of our fair fields and green hedgerows being cut up for their formation, without a sigh of regret; much to the horror of our utility, time-savwill be at rest till they have converted the ing, money-making neighbors, who never whole of our lovely, garden-like island into one vast city. However, we have no such regrets respecting Brother Jonathan, who has "ample room and verge enough" for such undertakings. The sole feeling we possess towards his improvements is a sort their magnificence and extent. Our readof half-surprised, half-jealous uneasiness at ers will pardon the dry catalogue we here of the works undertaken since 1-24, and present to them, but the mere enumeration described by M. Poussin, will impress them with some idea of the gigantic labors of a nation to which we are the progenitors.

CANALS.

1. From Chesapeake to Ohio.
2. 64

3.

4. Canal

5. 66

Chesapeake to the Delaware,
the Delaware to Rariton.
Morris.

of the Junction of the Mississippi and
Pontchartrain.

We have been tempted by the hitherto unexplored part of the Mississippi, and by the more serious observations of Mr. Schoolcraft, to a greater length than we had at first contemplated; and our limits will not now allow of our following the expedition to the Des Corbeaux, where they saw the murderer of Governor Semple; nor to the exploring of the St. Croix and Burntwood (or Brule) rivers. All we can do, then, is to assure our readers that they reached home in safety, having been entirely successful in the geographical part of their undertaking. We could have wished, however, for some more decided data for the position of the places visited, as we do not in any instance hear of means having been taken for ascertaining their latitudes and longitudes. It was long, also, before we could accustom ourselves (to reconcile such expressions would be impossible) to the American phraseology, in which the book abounds, such as a clever brook"-" a man who is called upon to debark"-" being thus rendered tense between bank and bank”—“their medicinism is nothing more"-" not seeing how the meal could be suitably got along 11. with"-the application of the word " tially," so different from the bearing given it by Europeans, &c. &c. We have heard Americans pride themselves on retaining the English language in its purity, and, if this be true, we rejoice in our corruption. 5. We could further have wished for a little more enthusiasm in Mr. Schoolcraft's description of his journey, which is heavy and monotonous; a little of that heat which car-10. ries us along with the traveller; and a little 11. Carbondale. of that graphic power which gives the read-12. From the Mohawk to the Hudson. er, also, a peep at the scenes he has it not in his power to visit. A very full appendix, containing statistics, language, official papers, &c., forms nearly half the volume.

6.

of Pennsylvania.

of Lehigh.

of Hudson.

7.

8.

9.

"

of Champlain.

10.

essen- 12.

of New York.

of Middlesex.
of Erie.

It will be recollected that the United | rations of the three towns of Washington, States, at a rough calculation, comprehend Alexandria, and Georgetown, (composing 57 degrees of longitude, and 27 of latitude, the District of Columbia,) and some indiand, according to the estimate of M. Pous-viduals, are the shareholders.

The ex

sin, cover an extent of 2,037,165 English The eastern division of this canal begins square miles; and to defend the enormous at Georgetown, near Washington, and exfrontiers of such a country, as well as to tends as far as Cumberland, to the mouth promote internal communication, many of of the Savage river, a tributary of the norththe above-mentioned labors were performed. ern branch of the Potomac. It is 186 A commission was appointed by Act of miles long, and undergoes a considerable Congress in 1816. General Bernard (to difference of level, redeemed by seventywhom M. William Tell Poussin has dedi- four locks, which are built of rough pieces cated his book) was connected with it, and of hewn stone, fastened by hydraulic ceM. Poussin was attached to him as his aide- ment, and flows along the left bank of the de-camp. During the presidency of Mr. valley of the Potomac. The difficulties atJames Monroe, in 1824, a law was made tending this route were very great, for it to authorize the funds necessary for a sup- was necessary to cross a chain of high lands ply of plans, and the information required belonging to the Alleghany Mountains; to before operations could be commenced; effect which, excavations were made in the and surveys of the country were instantly solid rock, and high walls and dykes in mataken, which occupied four years. On ny places constructed for supporting the the results of these all the future plans bed of the canal, which was frequently were based, and the government liberally above the bed of the Potomac. assisted the various companies that were in- penses of this part of the enterprise amountcorporated. Some obstacles, however, were ed to £1,846,657 sterling. afterwards raised by those who were not gifted with an equally liberal spirit; but, the love of enterprise being increased rather than diminished, the government was, in a manner, forced to yield assistance towards rendering several rivers navigable. These, with various improvements on the coasts for the protection of commerce, being considered as a national concern, the proper The western division begins a quarter of supplies were annually voted. The canals a mile below the confluence of the Casselhave been mostly accomplished by compa- man and the Youghagany, and ends at Pittsnies of individuals, and, in some of the burg, at the mouth of the rivers Alleghany states, by a general fund established solely and Monongohela, in Ohio. It is 85 miles for furthering improvements, and adminis- long, and has 78 locks. For the first 274 tered by a select committee. Pennsylvania, miles, as far as Connelsville, the land prefor instance, which contains a population of sented the greatest difficulties, in conse1,348,233 souls, spread over a surface of quence of the narrow defiles to be traversed, 35,776 square miles, has, in the space of the declivities to wind round by a bed cut four years, and up to 1833, spent 195 mil-out of the rock, or immense walls necessalions of francs in rendering rivers naviga- ry for the support of the body of the canal. ble, in the construction of bridges, in macadamized roads, canals, and rail-roads. This state has, consequently, 702 miles of canals and rail-roads completed, traversing it in every direction.

To follow M. Poussin through all the improvements of the United States, would not agree with our limits, and we must confine ourselves to one example of the manner in which he has performed his task.

The central division extends from Cumberland to the mouth of the river Casselman, in the Youghagany, to the west of the Alleghany Mountains. Its length is 70 miles, 1040 yards, and it traverses the high lands by a subterranean passage cut through the rock, a distance of 4 miles and 80 yards. This portion contains 246 locks.

The expenses of this division have been estimated at £941,775. The whole of the three divisions will have cost £5,053,117.

We shall not, says M. Poussin, in any country find a work which can be compared to the above canal, either when considered relatively to the labors required in its execution, or to the immense political, commercial, and military advantages which it secures. The districts which it is to bene. The object of the canal which reaches fit, contain a population of 1,864,335 infrom the Chesapeake to Ohio, is to form a habitants, and produce coal, lime, building line of water communication from the At- timber and stone, planks, slate, marble, lantic to the latter; and it has been con- corn, maize, flour, tobacco, hemp, flax, linstructed at the expense of a company, of seed, oxen, pigs, lard, tallow, whiskey, iron, which the government, the states of Virgin- glass, &c.; and M. Poussin calculates, ia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, the corpo-six years after the opening of the entire

that

canal, the augmentation of the value of, and to end in fatal consequences. Morethese productions, or, in other terms, the over, the Carlists, according to the perfidiadvantages to those who trade in such com- ous French journals, were annihilated. Somodities, will bear a proportionate value of ber politicians believed that Don Carlos, 1 to the whole expense of the canal. The with the remnant of his partizans, would population has already increased at an unu- be soon compelled to take refuge on the sual rate, and scarcely was the canal fin- French territory,—and then all of a sudden ished, when it was found insufficient for the were startled from their propriety by the rerapidly increasing commerce, and new pro-port that the position of the Christinos had jects were started. Its communication with rendered it needful for the Spanish governthe bay of the Chesapeake adds to its im- ment to make application to the King of portance; for this bay, by its central posi- the French for assistance. The successes tion on the shores of the Atlantic, unites of Zumalacarreguy, though spread over the commerce of the north and the south, many months, seem to have been kept a and in time of war is protected by the for-profound secret-the French telegraph was tifications of the Hampton roads.

We must here take leave of the United States, their magnificent country, and their no less magnificent labors. Every inquiry, every chance atom of information, only impresses on us still more forcibly their rising grandeur. It is not into their drawing-room refinements that we must look for their perfections; from them, probably, in our high state of civilization, we shall recoil, and be apt to lose sight of the national greatness in our disgust. We can only be just when we reflect on the natural advantages they possess, and the noble manner in which their inhabitants profit by these advantages.

ART. VI.-1. L'Espagne. Souvenirs de 1823 et de 1833. Par M. Adolphe de Bourgoing. Paris. Dufart et Delaunay.

1834.

dishonestly worked-and so bent were the interested parties on mystifying and duping the public, that an English reporter, who had been despatched to the seat of war from one of our papers, was arrested, thrown into a dungeon at Pampeluna, restrained from the use of the pen and ink, and only released alive on the active instance of the British ambassador at the court of Madrid. But it suited certain parties in England to doubt of the rout and defeat of Valdez— anon surprise is expressed that only Freneh interference can prevent the arrival of Don Carlos at Madrid-and behold, the curtain not only drops on many visions of hope, but the dénouement of the piece exhibits the departure of fortune once possessed, and of riches that have taken to their wings, as is their wont, and flown away. We write while the event of these circumstances is

yet undetermined. We pretend not to be prophets, and accordingly desire rather to retrace the past; to declare the previous occasions, and not the consequences, of the

2. Finances of Spain. London. Richard-present state of affairs. son. 1834.

Don Carlos, says M. Bourgoing, is the legitimate and direct heir of the throne of THE City-panic, which occurred only in Spain, and by right its king. He describes the last week in May, and which has not yet him as a prince surrounded by the love and been allayed, concerning the affairs of respect of some, and by the profound haSpain, the state of her securities, and her tred of others. Of middling stature, of a political relations with other powers, ren-physiognomy calm and difficult to impress, ders all information connected with either cold, grave, not prodigal of useless words, of these subjects of very great importance. the character of this prince, in his opinion, Capitalists, in their eagerness to make in- ought to please Castilians and Spaniards. vestments, have depended, perhaps, too un- His enemies, he adds, "have not spared conditionally on her supposed opulence, him-they have assailed him without knowand the loyalty and honor so long attributed ing his character-they have attempted to to the national character. Whatever evils make his silence pass for pride, his calmmay arise from any misplaced confidence of ness for hypocrisy, and his piety for fanatithis kind, are tenfold aggravated by the cism-a tactic which had, perhaps, sucspirit of gambling which ordinarily dis- ceeded in any other country; but Spain graces the Stock Exchange, and which, in gives not, unless irrevocably, either its hathe case of the Spanish securities, is con-tred or its love; its just spirit prevents it fessed to have been inordinate. Any acci- from surrendering itself without reflection dent, any event, under such circumstances, to sudden prejudices, or to an enthusiasm is likely to produce the most serious alarm, without motives."