possessing great natural advantages. To the westward of this valley are the mountains of Louisiana, presenting features singularly bold and majestic. The Rocky mountains in particular are uncommonly grand; and the vast variety produced by the great mass of waters forming the tributary streams of the immense rivers Missouri and Columbia, must render the scenery in that region extremely interesting. Beyond these, the principal feature is the great confluence of waters at the outlet of the Columbia river, and the bold shores of the Pacific ocean.

Native Indians.-The American Indians are distinguished by a very small forehead covered with hair from the extremities to the middle of the eye-brows. They have black eyes, a thin nose, small and rather aquiline; the face broad, the features somewhat coarse, the ears large and placed far back; their hair very black, lank, and coarse. Their limbs are small but well shaped, and scarcely any crooked or deformed person is to be found among them. They are of a middle stature, well proportioned, strong and active, but not fitted for much labour. Their countenances at first view appear mild and innocent, but upon a critical inspection, they discover something wild, distrustful, and sullen. They are naturally of a copper colour; but take a great deal of pains to darken their complexion by anointing themselves with grease, and lying in the sun. They also paint their faces, breasts, and shoulders of various colours, but generally red. Except the head and eye-brows, they pluck the hair with great diligence from all parts of the body, especially the looser part of the sex: on the crown of the head they leave a patch, which is ornamented with beautiful feathers, beads, &c. Their ears are pared, and stretched in a thong down to their shoulders: they are also wound round with wire to expand them, and adorned with silver pendants, rings, and bells, which they likewise wear in their noses. Some of them will have a large feather through the cartilage of the nose; and those who can afford it, wear a silver breastplate, and bracelets on the arms and wrists. A small piece of cloth about the middle, a shirt of the English make, on which they bestow a number of brooches to adorn it, a sort of cloth boots, with a peculiar kind of shoes called mockasons, ornamented with porcupine quills, and a blanket or match-coat thrown over all, completes their dress at home; but when they go to war, they leave their trinkets behind, and mere necessaries serve them. There is little difference between the dress of the men and women, excepting that a short petticoat, and the hair

clubbed behind, distinguish some of the latter. Their warlike arms are guns, bows and arrows, darts, scalpingknives, and tomahawks. This is one of their most useful pieces of field furniture, serving all the offices of the hatchet, pipe, and sword. They are exceeding expert at throwing it, and will kill at a considerable distance. The whole world does not produce better marksmen, with any weapon: they will kill birds flying, fishes swimming, and wild beasts running.

They live dispersed in small villages, either in the woods, or on the banks of rivers, where they have little plantations of Indian corn and roots; but not enough to supply their families half the year: during the remainder they subsist by hunting, fishing, and fowling, and the fruits of the earth, which grow spontaneously in great plenty. Their huts are generally built of small logs, and covered with bark, each one having a chimney, and a door, on which they place a padlock. The accounts of travellers concerning their religion are various; and it is very difficult to define what it really is. It is agreed by all, however, that they acknowledge one supreme God, but do not adore him; believing that he is too far exalted above them, and too happy in himself, to be concerned about the trifling affairs of poor mortals. They also believe in a future state, and that after death they shall be removed to their friends, who have gone before them, to an elysium, or paradise.

The Indians are a very understanding people, quick of apprehension, sudden in execution, exquisite in invention, and industrious in action. They are of a gentle and amiable disposition to those they think their friends, but as implȧcable in their enmity; their revenge being only completed in the entire destruction of their enemies. Among the Indians all men are equal, personal qualities being most esteemed; and though there is perhaps less delicacy of sentiment in these people than amongst us, there is, however, much more honesty, with infinitely less ceremony, or equivocal compliments. Their public conferences shew them to be men of genius; and they possess, in a high degree, the talent of natural eloquence: hence those masterly specimens of oratory, which have been often exhibited at their treaties with the white people, some of which equal the most finished pieces produced by the greatest 'orators ancient or modern. The celebrated oration of Logan, a chief of the Mingo tribe, to lord · Dunmore, when governor of Virginia, has been so often published, that it must now be familiar to most readers; but the fol

lowing speeches, of a much more recent date, are, it is believed, but little known in this country. They were delivered at a council held at Buffalo, on lake Erie, in May, 1811, by an Indian named Red Jacket, with such anima◄ tion of gesture and force of language, as perfectly as tonished the audience. To explain them it is necessary to state, that the Indians in that district, when they sold their lands, reserved about 200,000 acres for themselves and families to reside on. The pre-emption right, that is, the right to purchase from the Indians, was sold by the Holland company to certain persons in New York, and they sent a Mr. Richardson as agent, to endeavour to make a bargain with the Indians. Along with this gentleman, the missionary society of New York sent a Mr. Alexander, with a view to convert the Seneca Indians to Christianity; and these two gentlemen addressed them on the subject of their respective missions about the same time. Besides Mr. Richardson and Mr. Alexander, the council was attended by Mr. Granger, agent of the United States for Indian affairs, Mr. Parrish, Indian interpreter, and Mr. Taylor, the agent from the society of Friends, for improving the condition of the Indians. Red Jacket, who is called in his own nation Sagu-yu-whatta, which signifies Keeper-awake, in answer to Mr. Richardson, spoke as follows:

"Brother; we opened our ears to the talk you lately delivered to us at our council-fire. In doing important business it is best not to tell long stories, but to come to it in a few words. We therefore shall not repeat your talk, which is fresh in our minds. We have well considered it, and the advantages and disadvantages of your offers. We request your attention to our answer, which is not from the speaker alone, but from all the sachems and chiefs now round our council-fire.

"Brother; We know that great men, as well as great nations, having different interests, have different minds, and do not see the same subject in the same light; but we hope our answer will be agreeable to you and to your employers.

"Brother; Your application for the purchase of our lands, is to our minds very extraordinary; it has been made in a crooked manner-you have not walked in the straight path pointed out by the great council of your nation. You have no writings from our great father the president.

"Brother; In making up our minds we have looked back, and remembered how the Yorkers purchased our

lands in former times. They bought them piece after piece for a little money, paid to a few men in our nation, and not to all our brethren. Our planting and hunting grounds have become very small, and if we sell these we know not where to spread our blankets.

Brother; You tell us your employers have purchased of the council of Yorkers a right to buy our lands—we do not understand how this can be the lands do not belong to the Yorkers; they are ours, and were given to us by the Great Spirit.

"Brother; We think it strange that you should jump over the lands of our brethren in the east, to come to our council-fire so far off, to get our lands. When we sold our lands in the east to the white people, we determined never to sell those which we then reserved--they are as small as we can live comfortably on.

"Brother; You want us to travel with you, and look for other lands. If we should sell our lands and move off into a distant country, towards the setting sun, we should be looked upon in the country to which we go as foreigners, and strangers, and be despised by the red as well as the white men; and we should soon be surrounded by the white men, who would there also kill our game, come upon our lands, and again try to get them from us!

"Brother; We are determined not to sell our lands, but to continue on them-we like them they are fruitful, and produce us corn in abundance, for the support of our women and children, and grass and herbs for our cattle.

"Brother; At the treaties held for the purchase of our lands, the white men, with sweet voices and smiling faces, told us they loved us, and that they would not cheat us, but that the king's children on the other side of the lake would cheat us. When we go on the other side of the lake, the king's children tell us your people will cheat us; but, with sweet voices and smiling faces, assure us of their love, and that they will not defraud us. These things puzzle our heads, and we believe that the Indians must take care of themselves, and not trust either in your peo ple or in the king's children.

"Brother; At a late council we requested our agents to tell you, that we would not sell our lands, and we think you have not spoken to our agents, or they would have informed you so, and we should not have met you at our council-fire at this time.

Brother; The white people buy and sell false rights to our lands, and your employers have, you say, paid a great price for their right-they must have plenty of

money, to spend it in buying false rights to lands belonging to Indians. The loss of it will not hurt them, but our lands are of great value to us, and we wish you to go back with our talk to your employers, and to tell them and the Yorkers, that they have no right to buy and sell false rights to our lands.

"Brother; We hope you clearly understand all the words we have spoken. This is the whole of what we have to say."

In answer to Mr. Alexander, the Christian missionary, Red Jacket addressed himself thus:

--

"Brother; We listened to the talk you delivered to us from the council of black coats* in New York. We have fully considered your talk, and the offers you have made us we perfectly understand them, and we return an answer which we wish you also to understand. In making up our minds we have looked back, and remembered what has been done in our days, and what our fathers have told us was done in old times.

"Brother; Great numbers of black coats have been amongst the Indians, and with sweet voices and smiling faces, have offered to teach them the religion of the white people. Our brethren in the east listened to the black coats-turned from the religion of their forefathers, and took up the religion of the white people. What good has it done them? Are they more happy and more friendly one to another than we are? No, brother, they are a divided people we are united-they quarrel about religion-we live in love and friendship-they drink strong water-have learned how to cheat-and to practice all the vices of the white men.-Brother, if you are our well-wisher, keep away, and do not disturb us.

"Brother; We do not worship the Great Spirit as the white men do; for we believe that forms of worship are indifferent to the Great Spirit-it is the offering of a sincere heart that pleases him, and we worship him in this manner. According to your religion, we must believe in a Father and a Son, or we will not be happy hereafter. We have always believed in a Father, and we worship him as we were taught by our fathers. Your book says the son was sent on earth by the Father-did all the peo ple who saw the Son believe in him? No, they did not; have you, you and the consequences must be known to read the book. "Brother; You wish us to change our religion for

if

The appellation given to clergymen by the Indians.