When a child, I was myself taken to a witch (or medicine woman) to be cured of an accidental burn by charms and incantations. I was then about six years old, and have a very distinct recollection of the whole scene, which left a strong and frightful impression on my childish fancy.
[32] The picture by Weir, in the possession of Samuel Ward, Esq., of New York, which see—or rather see the beautiful lines of Halleck:—
"If he were with me, King of Tuscarora! Gazing as I upon thy portrait now, In all its medalled, fring'd, and beaded glory, Its eyes' dark beauty and its tranquil brow— Its brow, half martial, and half diplomatic, Its eye, upsoaring like an eagle's wings— Well might he boast that we, the democratic, Outrival Europe, even in our kings!"
[33] Since my return to England I found the following passage in the Morning Chronicle, extracted from the American papers:——"The Indians of Michigan have committed several shocking murders, in consequence of the payments due to them on land-treaties being made in goods instead of money. Serious alarm on that subject prevails in the State."
The wretched individuals murdered were probably settlers, quite innocent in this business, probably women and children; but such is the well-known Indian law of retaliation.
[34] The Indians gave the name of Cheemokomaun (Long Knives, or Big Knives) to the Americans at the time they were defeated by General Wayne, near the Miami river, in 1795, and suffered so severely from the sabres of the cavalry.
[35] As I shall have much to say hereafter of this peculiar class of people, to save both reader and author time and trouble, the passage is here given:—
"The voyageurs form a kind of confraternity in the Canadas, like the arrieros or carriers of Spain. The dress of these people is generally half civilised, half savage. They wear a capote or surcoat, made of a blanket, a striped cotton shirt, cloth trowsers or leathern leggings, moccasins of deer-skin, and a belt of variegated worsted, from which are suspended the knife, tobacco-pouch, and other articles. Their language is of the same piebald character, being a French patois embroidered with English and Italian words and phrases. They are generally of French descent, and inherit much of the gaiety and lightness of heart of their ancestors; they inherit, too, a fund of civility and complaisance, and instead of that hardness and grossness, which men in laborious life are apt to indulge towards each other, they are mutually obliging and accommodating, interchanging kind offices, yielding each other assistance and comfort in every emergency, and using the familiar appellations of cousin and brother, when there is in fact no relationship. No men are more submissive to their leaders and employers, more capable of enduring hardships, or more good-humoured under privations. Never are they so happy as when on long and rough expeditions, towing up rivers or coasting lakes. They are dexterous boatmen, vigorous and adroit with the oar or paddle, and will row from morning till night without a murmur. The steersman often sings an old French song with some regular burthen in which they all join, keeping time with their oars. If at any time they flag in spirits or relax in exertion, it is but necessary to strike up a song of this kind to put them all in fresh spirits and activity."—Astoria, vol. i. chap. 4.
[36] The first British commandant of the fort was that miserable Lieutenant Jemette, who was scalped at the massacre at Michilimackinac.
[37] That is, in the neighbourhood of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.