Volume Three—Chapter Eight.

Indians.

I will now enter into a short examination of the present position of the remaining Indian tribes. The plan of the American Government has been to compel them to sell their lands and remove west of the Mississippi, to lands of which I doubt that the Americans have any right to claim an acre. That the removal of them is expedient I grant, and that is all that can be said on the subject. That the Indians were fated to melt away before the white men, like snow before the sun, is true; still, it is painful to consider what has taken place from the period of our first landing, when we were received hospitably—saved from starvation by the generous sacrifice of their small stores of grain—permitted to settle upon a small tract of land humbly solicited—and that from the time that the white men once gained a footing on their shores, the Indians have been hunted like wild beasts from hill to hill, from river to river, and from country to country, until nearly the whole of the vast continent may be said to have been wrested from them. This system is still continued, one tribe being forced back westward upon another, till they come into conflict with, and destroy, each other; but the buffalo and other animals, upon which they depend for food, recede with them and gradually disappear. As Christians, we must lament that the track for the advance of Christianity is cleared away by a series of rapine, cruelty, and injustice, at which every one must shudder.

The following is the Report to the American Government, of the various tribes of Indians remaining in the year 1837. It is divided into three parts.

Statement showing the number of Indians now east of the Mississippi; of those that have emigrated from the east to the west of that river; and those within striking distance of the Western frontier.

1.—Name and number of the tribes now east of the Mississippi.

1.—Under treaty stipulations to remove west of the Mississippi.

Winnehagoes 4,500
Ottawas of Ohio 100
Pottawatamies of Indiana 2,950
Chippewas, Ottawas, and Pottawatamies 1,500
Cherokees 14,000
Creeks 1,000
Chickasaws 1,000
Seminoles 5,000
Appalachicolas 400
Ottawas and Chippewas in the Peninsula of Michigan 6,500
—36,950

2.—Not under treaty stipulations to remove.

New York Indians 4,176
Wyandots 575
Miamies 1,100
Menomonies 4,000
Ottawas and Chippewas of the lakes 2,564
—12,415
—49,365

2.—Number of Indians who have emigrated from the east to the west of the Mississippi.

Chickasaws 549
Chippewas, Ottawas, and Pottawatamies, 2,191
Choctaws 15,000
Quapaws 476
Creeks 20,437
Seminoles 407
Appalachicolas 265
Cherokees 7,911
Kickapoos 588
Delawares 826
Shawnees 1,272
Ottawas 374
Weas 222
Piankeshaws 162
Peorias and Kaskaskias 132
Pottawatamies of Indians 53
Senecas 251
Senecas and Shawnees 211
Total 51,327

3.—Number of the Indigenous Tribes within striking distance of the Western frontier.

Sioux 21,600
Iowas 1,500
Sacs 4,800
Foxes 1,600
Sacs of the Missouri 500
Osages 5,120
Kansas 1,606
Omahas 1,600
Ottoes and Missourias 1,000
Pawnees 12,500
Comanches 19,200
Kioways 1,800
Mandans 3,200
Quapaws 450
Minatarees 2,000
Pagans 30,000
Assinaboins 15,000
Appaches 20,280
Crees 3,000
Arrepahas 3,000
Gros-Ventres 16,800
Eutaws 19,200
Crows 7,200
Caddoes 2,000
Poncas 900
Arickarees 2,750
Cheyennes 3,200
Blackfeet 30,000
Total 231,806

Recapitulation.

Number of Indians now east of the Mississippi 49,365

Number of Indians who have emigrated from east to west side 51,327

Number of indigenous tribes 231,806

Aggregate 332,498

Estimated number of warriors.

Whole number of Indians 332,498

Assuming that every fifth one may be considered a warrior (and this is believed to be a reasonable supposition), the number of warriors will be 66,499

War Department, Office of Indian Affairs, November 22, 1837.

CA Harris, Commissioner.

This force of the Indians, if ever they combined, would be very formidable, and they might certainly sweep away the whole white population west of the Mississippi. That there will hereafter be an attempt of that kind is very probable, as hunger must eventually drive them to it; but any success in their attempt must depend very much upon their leaders, and the possibility of combination. It certainly appears to have been an oversight on the part of the American Government, to concentrate the whole of the Indians upon their frontiers in the way which they have done; still they could not well have acted otherwise. The removal of the Cherokees has been the most hazardous part of their proceeding, as they are very superior people; and should the other tribes put themselves under their directions, they would be formidable enemies. There is another circumstance which may render the Indians more serious enemies, which is, that they, having been located on the prairie country, have become Horse Indians, instead of what is termed Wood Indians, and they have a vast country behind them to retreat to in case of necessity. I do not think, however, that there is, at present, much fear to be felt relative to the Indians, although the Cherokees, the Sioux, and some other powerful tribes openly declare their hostile intentions as soon as an opportunity offers for carrying them into execution. That opportunity will not offer unless America is plunged into war with France or this country, and then I am pretty confident that there will be a general rising of the Indians; when, whether they act in concert or not, they will give the Americans more occupation than will be agreeable. The American Government have not been insensible to the danger to which they are exposed from this quarter, and, in 1837, the reports of military men were sent into Congress as to the best plan of protecting their frontier. Whether those reports are intended to be acted upon I know not; but if so, the present regular army of the United States will not be sufficient for the purpose, the lowest estimation for the garrisons of the proposed forts being 7,000 rank and file, while at present their rank and file on the army-list only amounts to 5,600.

The American forts opposed to the Indians are, at present:—

Fort Gratiot, River St. Clare.

Mackinaw Island Fort.

Fort Brady, St. Marie, Lake Superior.

Fort Howard, Green Bay.

Fort Winnebago, Wisconsin.

Fort Crawford. Prairie des Chiens.

Fort Snelling, St. Peters.

Fort Leavenworth, Missouri.

Fort Madison, Des Moines River.

Jefferson Barracks, Missouri.

Advanced Ports.

Fort Towson, Red River.

Fort Gibson, Arkansas and Grand Junction River.

Fort Adams, Baton Rouge.

There are one or two outposts also on the Arkansas River. If all these forts were properly garrisoned, they would take every disposable musket in the regular army of the United States; whilst at present they have, in consequence of the protracted Florida war, scarcely sufficient men to do the duty.

In the report of the acting quarter-master general, the following garrisons are proposed for the western frontier:—

Fort Snelling 300 men.
Fort Crawford 300
Upper forks of the Des Moines 400
Fort Leavenworth 1,200
Fort Gibson 1,500
Fort Towson 800
The eight posts of refuge proposed 800
The protection of the four depôts 200
Jefferson barracks, as a corps of reserve 1,500
Total 7,000

To which must be added, for the garrisons of the five Lakes forts, 1,500 at least, making the force necessary for the protection of the boundaries, to amount to 8,500 men. Colonel Gratiot, in his report, computes the force necessary at 12,910 men.

The letter of Mr Poinsett to Congress will throw much light upon this subject, and I shall therefore insert it.

“Department of War,

“December 30, 1837.

“Sir:— In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives, in relation to the protection of the western frontiers of the United States, I have the honour to transmit the accompanying reports of the chief engineer and the acting quarter-master general, together with a report of the commissioner of Indian affairs. That expected from General Gaines will be sent as soon as it is received.

“In presenting these documents, which are ably drawn up, and contain full and satisfactory information on all the topics embraced by the resolution, I might have considered my duty fully discharged, had not other plans been previously recommended, which I regard as entirely inefficient, but which have received, in some measure, the sanction of Congress. A survey has been directed to determine the line of a road, which, it is contemplated, shall extend from some point of the Upper Mississippi to Red River, passing west of Missouri and Arkansas; and it is proposed to place a cordon of temporary posts of ordinary construction along it, as a sufficient measure for the defence of that part of the country. In pursuance of the orders of Congress, officers have been appointed to perform that duty, and, upon their report being received, measures will be taken to carry into effect the intentions of Congress, unless, upon a deliberate review of the whole matter, some more eligible plan of defence shall be adopted. My own opinion has been, from the time I first considered the subject, that such a chain of posts, strung along the best road that can be constructed, furnished with all the means to operate, and with competent garrisons to occupy them, is not calculated to afford that protection which the border States have a right to expect from the Government, nor to redeem its pledge to protect the emigrant tribes from the savage and warlike people that surround them. The only possible use of such a road would be to facilitate occasional communications between the posts in time of peace. Supplies would not be transported along it, for they must be brought from the interior. Succours could not reach the posts by that direction, for they would be furnished by the militia within the line; and any attempt to concentrate the forces composing the garrisons in the event of an outbreak, would probably be attended with disastrous consequences; for the troops, whose route must be well known, would be exposed to be attacked and destroyed in detail. The enemy, having nothing to dread on their flanks or rear, might approach this road without risk, and attack the detachments on their line of march, before they could concentrate their forces so as to offer an effectual resistance.

“After mature reflection, I am of opinion that military posts ought to be established and kept up within the Indian territory, in such positions as to maintain peace among the Indians, and protect the emigrant and feebler tribes against the stronger and more warlike nations that surround them; which the United States are bound to do by treaty stipulations. To withdraw those which now exist there, would be to violate our faith, as there is reason to apprehend that it would be the signal of war. Persons well acquainted with that country assure us that war would break out among the Indians, ‘just so soon as the troops are removed from those posts,’ and all accounts from that quarter confirm that impression.

“Independently of the military protection which the existence of these posts in the interior of the Indian country afford to the emigrating tribes, and the good they are calculated to effect by the beneficial influence the officers are enabled to exert over the surrounding Indians, they more effectually cover and protect the frontier than ten times the number of fortresses, strung along in one line, could do.

“With the very limited knowledge of that country as yet in possession of this department, it appears to me that six or seven permanent exterior posts would be sufficient to preserve the peace of that frontier. It will be necessary, at the same time, to establish, at convenient points, an interior line of posts, to serve as places of refuge for the inhabitants in periods of danger and alarm, until the militia can march to their succour from the interior, and the troops be put in motion upon the rear of the invaders. Eight of these would be amply sufficient, from which patrols might be kept up along the frontier to enforce the intercourse laws. Both descriptions of forts should be so constructed as to be defended by a small garrison, and in a manner that each part may be successfully maintained against a very superior force, both during the time the whole is being completed, and in the event of any portion of it being burnt or destroyed. This arrangement would require the establishment of a few depôts of arms and supplies, from which communications should be opened to the posts. The accompanying skeleton map presents a view of the relative positions of the posts and depôts, and of the communications from them to the line of defence for the speedy transportation of succours and supplies. A regular force of five thousand men would be sufficient to garrison these posts, and, with a competent reserve at Jefferson barracks, and an effective force at Baton Rouge, would, I think, both ensure the safety of the western frontier, and enable the Government to fulfil all its treaty stipulations, and preserve its faith with the Indians. I would recommend, as an important auxiliary to this system of defence, the organisation of an efficient volunteer force, to be raised in each of the frontier States; the men to be mustered into service for a certain term of time, the officers to be appointed according to their State laws, and to be instructed a certain number of days in each year by the regular officers of the United States army at the posts within the States, and to receive pay during that period. In this manner an efficient corps of officers may be created, and a body of volunteers be at hand to march to the succour of the border settlers and repel the invaders, whenever they are called upon by the proper authority.

“I venture to hope, if these measures are adopted by Congress, and carried into effect at an early day, so as to anticipate any hostile movement of the Indians, peace will be preserved on our Western borders; but if they should, unfortunately, be delayed until the discontent which exists among many of the tribes breaks out into open hostility, and the first movements of that wild and warlike people prove successful, as they infallibly would do in our present unprepared state, it might require double the force and quadruple the means I have here indicated to restore and preserve peace along that extended frontier. All which is respectfully submitted.

“JR Poinsett.

“Honourable James K Polk,

“Speaker of the House of Representatives.”

The acting quarter-master-general, in his report, makes the following observation:—

“The obligations of the Government in reference to the Western frontier are of a very peculiar character. It is first bound, by a common duty, to protect its own border settlements, extending along a line of one thousand miles, against the incursions of numerous savage tribes, separated from those settlements by mere imaginary lines; and it is next bound, by the solemn treaty stipulations, with such of those tribes as have emigrated to that frontier, ‘to protect them at their new residences against all interruptions or disturbances from any other tribes or nations of Indians, or from any other person or persons whatsoever.’

“If these obligations are to be scrupulously fulfilled in good faith, which would seem to be due to our character as a nation professing a paternal care over these people, a military force of thirty thousand men on the Western frontier would scarcely be adequate to enable the Government to discharge its duties to its own citizens, and redeem these pledges of protection to the Indians.

“It is not my intention, however, to propose such a force. Political expediency, I presume, would not tolerate it, however it might be justified by military considerations. It is merely adverted to here in connexion with the heavy obligations which rest upon Government, and which have probably been contracted from time to time, without any very nice calculation of the means that would be necessary to a faithful discharge of them. I will, therefore, without enlarging upon this point, proceed to state the minimum force that is deemed necessary to give protection to the border settlements, and assist in preserving peace among them and their Indian neighbours along the line of the frontier. These are great and important objects of themselves, without superadding the yet more difficult task of protecting the emigrant tribes, whom our policy has placed beyond the frontier, from the wild and warlike Indians of the Far-West.”

And Colonel Gratiot, in his report, makes the following admission. Speaking of the second, or middle, section, he says:—

“Second, or Middle Section.—The country beyond this line is mostly elevated and free from marshy ground; is abundantly watered, thinly wooded, healthy, and has been assigned for the permanent residence of the tribes which have been, or are to be, removed from the States and territories east of the Mississippi, and is still occupied by the Aborigines originally found within its limits. In numbers they count, according to some estimates, 131,000, and can send to the field 26,200 warriors. As yet, no community of feeling except of deep and lasting hatred to the white man, and more particularly to the Anglo-Americans, exists among them; and, unless they coalesce, no serious difficulty need be apprehended from them. Not so, however, should they be induced to unite for purposes offensive and defensive: their strength would then become apparent, create confidence, and, in all probability, induce them to give vent to their long-suppressed desire to revenge past wrongs, which is restrained, as they openly and freely declare, by fear alone. That such a union will be formed at no distant day, we have every reason to believe; and the period may be accelerated by their growing wants, and the policy of Mexico to annoy Texas, and raise an impenetrable barrier in the direction of her frontier.”

That at present the Western frontier is defenceless is undeniable, and the Florida war does not appear to be at all nearer to a conclusion than it was two or three years ago. That the Indians to the west of the Mississippi are not ignorant of what is going on is very certain; and the moral effect arising from the protracted defence of the Seminoles may eventually prove most serious, and be attended with enormous expense to the United States.

The Federal Government takes every precaution to impress the Indians with an idea of the impossibility of their opposing the white men. The agents persuade the chiefs to go down to Washington to see their great father, the President. On these occasions they are accompanied by the Indian agent and interpreter, and, of course, all their expenses are paid. They are lodged at the hotels, taken to all places of public amusement, and provided with conveyances. But the policy of the Government is to cause them to make a circuit through all the most populous cities, as the crowds attracted by the appearance of the Indians give them an extraordinary and incorrect idea of the American population. Wherever they go they are in a crowd. If they are at the windows of an hotel, still the crowds are immense; and this is what the Government is anxious should take place. I was at Boston when the two deputations of the Sioux and Sacs and Foxes tribes arrived. The two nations being at enmity, the Sioux were conducted there first, and left the town on the arrival of the Sacs and Foxes, or there would probably have been a fight. The Governor received the latter in the Town-hall, and made a speech; I was present. I thought at the time that it was not a speech that I would have made to them, and if I mistook not, it brought up recollections not very agreeable to the chiefs, although they were too politic to express their feelings. But a few years before, their lands east of the Mississippi had been wrested from them in the most unfair way, as I have mentioned in my remarks upon the treatment of the Indians by the American Government.

Governor Everett commenced his speech as follows:—

“Chiefs and warriors of the confederated Sacs and Foxes, you are welcome to our Hall of Council. You have come a far way, from your red friends of the West, to visit your white brethren of the East. We are glad to take you by the hand. We have heard before of the Sac and the Fox tribes: we have heard much of their chiefs, warriors, and great men: we are now glad to see them here. We are of Massachusets: the red men once resided here: their wigwams were on yonder hill: and their Council Chamber was here. When our fathers came over the great waters, they were a small band, and you were powerful: the red man stood on the rock by the seaside, and looked at them with friendly eyes: he might have pushed them into the water, but took them by the hand, and said welcome, white man. Our fathers were hungry, and the red man gave them corn and venison. Our fathers were cold, and the red man spread his blanket over them and made them warm. We are now great and powerful, but we will remember in our prosperity the benefits bestowed by our red brethren in our adversity.”

Up to the present, they certainly have forgotten them!!

But the fate of the red man appears to be nearly decided. What between their wars with each other, the use of spirituous liquors, and the diseases imported by the whites, they dwindle away every day. The most fatal disease to them is the small-pox. The following account, which I have extracted from one of the American papers, was confirmed to me by a letter from Fort Snelling:—

Appalling destruction of North-west Indians by Small-pox.

“We gave yesterday an account of the origin of this epidemic by means of a steam-boat trading on the Missouri. Today we subjoin, from the St. Louis bulletin slip of March 3rd, a detailed account of its ravages. The disease had reached the remote band of the Blackfeet, and thousands of them had fallen victims. They do not blame the traders.

“The Pipe Stem, a chief of great influence, when dying, called his people around him, and his last request was, that they would love their traders, and be always governed by their advice. ‘I may,’ says one of the traders, ‘be blamed for not using measures to arrest the progress of the disease, but without resort to arms on the arrival of the boat with supplies, the Indians could not have been driven from the fort.’

“An express went two days a-head of the boat, but it was of no use preaching to the Indians to fly—they flocked down to the boat as usual when she arrived. The peltry trade in that quarter is ruined for years. The company agent at Fort Union, writes, Nov. 30, that all their prospects on the Upper Missouri are totally prostrated. The epidemic spread into the most distant part of the Assinaboin country, and this tribe were dying by fifties and hundreds a day. The disease appeared to be of a peculiarly malignant cast; some, a few moments after severe attacks of pain in the head and loins, fell down dead, and the bodies turned black immediately after, and swelled to three times their natural size. The companies erected hospitals, but they were of no use. The carts were constantly employed burying the dead in holes; afterwards, when the earth was frozen, they were consigned to the water. Many of the squaws are left in a miserable condition. The disease has not reached the Sioux, many of whom have being vaccinated.

“The Mandans, numbering 1,600, living in permanent villages 1,600 miles above St. Louis, have all died but thirty-one.

“The Minatarees, or Gros Ventres, living near the Mandans, numbering about 1,000, were, by our last accounts, about one half dead, and the disease still raging.

“The Arickarees, amounting to 3,000, who but lately abandoned a wandering life, and joined the Mandans, were about half dead, and the disease still among them. It is probable they have been reduced in proportion to the Mandans.

“The Assinaboins, a powerful tribe, about 9,000 strong, living entirely by the chase, and ranging north of the Missouri, in the plains below the Rocky Mountains, down towards the Hudson’s Bay Company, on the north Red River, are literally annihilated. Their principal trade was at Fort Union, mouth of the Yellow Stone.

“The Crees, living in the same region, numbering 3,000, are nearly all destroyed. The great nation called Blackfeet, who wander and live by the chase, ranging through all the region of the Rocky Mountains, divided into bands—Piegans, Gros Ventres, Blood Indians, and Blackfeet, amounting in all to 50,000 or 60,000, have deeply suffered. One thousand lodges or families have been destroyed, and the disease was rapidly spreading among the different bands.”

The average number in a lodge is from six to eight persons.

“The boat that brought up the small-pox made her voyage last summer, and the ravages of the distemper appear to have been greatest in October. It broke out among the Mandans, July 15th. Many of the handsome Arickarees who had recovered, seeing the disfiguration of their features, committed suicide; some by throwing themselves from rocks, others by stabbing, shooting, etcetera. The prairie has become a grave yard; its wild flowers bloom over the sepulchres of Indians. The atmosphere for miles is poisoned by the stench of hundreds of carcases unburied. The women and children are wandering in groups without food, or howling over the dead. The men are flying in every direction. The proud, warlike, and noble looking Blackfeet are no more. The deserted lodges are seen on the hills, but no smoke issues from them. No sound but the raven’s croak, and the wolf’s long howl, breaks the awful stillness. The wolves fatten on the dead carcases. The scene of desolation is described as appalling beyond the powers of imagination to conceive.”

That they may give the Americans much trouble, however, previous to their final extermination, is true, and that they are very anxious to revenge themselves, is equally certain. The greatest misfortune which could happen to the United States would be a union or mixture of the negroes with the Indian tribes. If this were to take place, the population would, in all probability, rapidly increase, instead of falling away as it now does; as then the negro population would till the ground sufficiently for the support of themselves and the Indians, as they now do among the Creek and Seminole tribes, who have plenty of cattle and corn. The American Indian in his natural state suffers much from hunger, and this is one cause of the non-increase of their population. What might be effected by the bands now concentrated on the American frontier, if at any future time they should become amalgamated with the negroes, will be fairly estimated by the reader when he has read the account I am about to lay before him of the war in Florida.