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diff --git a/23155-h/23155-h.htm b/23155-h/23155-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c61fcf2 --- /dev/null +++ b/23155-h/23155-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,12062 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of Western Characters, by J. L. McConnel. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + p { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + text-indent: 1.25em; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } +p.hanging {text-indent: -3em; margin-left: 3em;} + + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; + } + +/* LISTS */ +ul { position: relative; width:60%; margin-left:5%; list-style-type:none;} +li { margin-top: 0.25em; line-height: 1.2em; } +span.ralign { position: absolute; right: 0; top: auto; } + + body{margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; } + + .pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + /* visibility: hidden; */ + position: absolute; + left: 90%; + font-size: 75%; + text-align: right; + } /* page numbers */ + + .blockquot{margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 12%;} + + .sidenoteb {margin-left: 12%; margin-right: 12%; + border: dashed 1px; padding: .5em; font-size: 90%; text-align: left;} + + .totoc {position: absolute; left: 2%; font-size: 75%; text-align: right;} + + .center {text-align: center;} + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + + .caption {font-weight: bold; font-size: 85%} + + .figcenter {margin: auto; text-align: center;} + +/* FOOTNOTES */ + .footnotes {border: dashed 1px; margin-top:1em; clear: both; } + + .footnotes h3 { margin-top: 0.5em;} + .footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + .footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 85%; text-align: right;} + .fnanchor {vertical-align: super; font-size: .7em; text-decoration: none;} + + .poem {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;} + .poem br {display: none;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem span.i0 {display: block; margin-left: 0em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i2 {display: block; margin-left: 2em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i4 {display: block; margin-left: 4em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i10 {display: block; margin-left: 10em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i12 {display: block; margin-left: 12em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i24 {display: block; margin-left: 24em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i8 {display: block; margin-left: 8em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + + // --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Western Characters, by J. L. McConnel + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Western Characters + or Types of Border Life in the Western States + +Author: J. L. McConnel + +Illustrator: Darley + +Release Date: October 23, 2007 [EBook #23155] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WESTERN CHARACTERS *** + + + + +Produced by Julia Miller, Marcia Brooks and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 442px;"> +<img src="images/illus-001.jpg" width="442" height="500" alt="" /> +<span class="caption">THE PEDDLER</span></div> +<hr style="width: 25%;" /> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 326px;"> +<img src="images/illus-002.jpg" width="326" height="500" alt="" /> +<span class="caption">Title Page</span></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h1>WESTERN CHARACTERS</h1> + +<h4>OR</h4> + +<h3>TYPES OF BORDER LIFE</h3> + +<h4>IN THE</h4> + +<h3>WESTERN STATES</h3> + +<h2>BY J. L. McCONNEL</h2> +<h5>AUTHOR OF “TALBOT AND VERNON,”—“THE GLENNS,” ETC.</h5> + +<h4>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY DARLEY</h4> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 127px;"><img src="images/illus-390-1.jpg" width="127" height="123" alt="" /></div> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span></p> +<h4> +REDFIELD,<br /> +110 AND 112 NASSAU STREET, NEW YORK.<br /> +1853.</h4> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> +<center> +Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1853,<br /> +<span class="smcap">By J. S. REDFIELD,</span><br /> +in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in and for<br /> +the Southern District of New York.<br /> +</center> +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> +<div style="text-align: center;"> +STEREOTYPED BY C. C. SAVAGE,<br /> +13 Chambers Street, N. Y.</div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="PREFATORY_NOTE" id="PREFATORY_NOTE"></a>PREFATORY NOTE.</h2> +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>Attempts to delineate local character are always +liable to misconstruction; for, the more truthful the +sketch, the greater is the number of persons, to whom +resemblance may be discovered; and thus, while in +fact only describing the characteristics of a class, +authors are frequently subjected, very unjustly, to +the imputation of having invaded the privacy of individuals. +Particularly is this so, when the class +is idealized, and an imaginary type is taken, as the +representative of the species.</p> + +<p>I deem it proper, therefore, to say in advance, +that no attempt has been made in the following +pages, to portray any individual; and that—although +I hope I have not been so unsuccessful, as +to paint pictures which have no originals—if there +be a portrait in any sketch, it consists, not in the +likeness of the picture to the person, but of both to +the type.</p> + +<p>As originally projected, the book would have +borne this explanation upon its face; but the circumstances +which have reduced its dimensions, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> +changed its plan, have also rendered necessary a +disclaimer, which would, otherwise, have been superfluous.</p> +<br /> + +<p>One or two of the sketches might have been made +more complete had I been fortunate enough to meet +with certain late publications, in time to use them. +Such is the elaborate work of Mr. Schoolcraft upon +Indian History and Character; and such, also, is +that of Mr. Shea, upon the voyages and labors of +Marquette—a book whose careful accuracy, clear +style, and lucid statement, might have been of much +service in writing the sketch entitled “<i>The Voyageur</i>.” +Unfortunately, however, I saw neither of +these admirable publications, until my work had assumed +its present shape—a fact which I regret as +much for my reader's sake as my own.</p> + +<p style="text-align: right;"><span class="smcap">J. L. McC.</span></p> +<p><i>July 15, 1853.</i></p> +</div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<a name="toc" id="toc"></a> +<h2>CONTENTS.</h2> + +<ul> +<li><a href="#PREFATORY_NOTE"><b>PREFATORY NOTE.</b></a></li> +<li style="list-style:none"><br /></li> +<li><span class="ralign">PAGE.</span></li> +<li style="list-style:none"><br /></li> +<li><a href="#INTRODUCTORY"><span class="smcap">Introductory</span></a><span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_7">7</a></span></li> +<li>I.</li> +<li><a href="#I"><span class="smcap">The Indian</span></a><span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_19">19</a></span></li> +<li>II.</li> +<li><a href="#II"><span class="smcap">The Voyageur</span></a><span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_62">62</a></span></li> +<li>III.</li> +<li><a href="#III"><span class="smcap">The Pioneer</span></a><span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_106">106</a></span></li> +<li>IV.</li> +<li><a href="#IV"><span class="smcap">The Ranger</span></a><span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_157">157</a></span></li> +<li>V.</li> +<li><a href="#V"><span class="smcap">The Regulator</span></a><span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_171">171</a></span></li> +<li>VI.</li> +<li><a href="#VI"><span class="smcap">The Justice of the Peace</span></a><span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_246">246</a></span></li> +<li>VII.</li> +<li><a href="#VII"><span class="smcap">The Peddler</span></a><span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_268">268</a></span></li> +<li>VIII.</li> +<li><a href="#VIII"><span class="smcap">The Schoolmaster</span></a><span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_288">288</a></span></li> +<li>IX.</li> +<li><a href="#IX"><span class="smcap">The Schoolmistress</span></a><span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_319">319</a></span></li> +<li>X.</li> +<li><a href="#X"><span class="smcap">The Politician</span></a><span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_340">340</a></span></li> +<li style="list-style:none"><br /></li> +<li><a href="#EPILOGUE"><b>EPILOGUE.</b></a></li> +</ul> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">Top</a></span> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="INTRODUCTORY" id="INTRODUCTORY"></a>INTRODUCTORY.</h2> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i10">—“Our Mississippi, rolling proudly on,<br /></span> +<span class="i4">Would sweep them from its path, or swallow up,<br /></span> +<span class="i4">Like Aaron's rod, those streams of fame and song.”<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i4"><span class="smcap">Mrs. Hale.</span><br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>The valley of a river like the channel of a +man's career, does not always bear proportion +to the magnitude or volume of the current, +which flows through it. Mountains, forests, +deserts, physical barriers to the former—and +the obstacles of prejudice, and accidents of +birth and education, moral barriers to the latter—limit, +modify, and impair the usefulness +of each. A river thus confined, an intellect +thus hampered, may be noisy, fretful, turbulent, +but, in the contemplation, there is ever a +feeling of the incongruity between the purpose +and the power; and it is only when the valley +is extended, the field of effort open, that we +can avoid the impression of energy wasted, and +strength frittered away. The great intellect,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> +whose scope is not confined by ancient landmarks, +or old prejudices, is thus typified by the +broad, deep river, whose branches penetrate the +Earth on every hand, and add to the current +the tributaries of all climes. In this view, how +noble an object is the Mississippi!</p> + +<p>In extent, fertility, variety of scenery, and +diversity of climate, its valley surpasses any +other in the world. It is the great aorta of +the continent, and receives a score of tributary +rivers, the least of which is larger than the +vaunted streams of mighty empires. It might +furnish natural boundaries to all Europe, and +yet leave, for every country, a river greater than +the Seine. It discharges, in one year, more +water than has issued from the Tiber in five +centuries; it swallows up near fifty nameless +rivers longer than the Thames; the addition +of the waters of the Danube would not swell it +half a fathom; and in a single bend, the navies +of the world might safely ride at anchor, five +hundred miles from sea.</p> + +<p>It washes the shores of twelve powerful states, +and between its arms lies space enough for twenty +more. The rains which fall upon the Alleghenies, +and the snows that shroud the slopes and +cap the summits of the Rocky mountains, are +borne upon its bosom, to the regions of perpet<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span>ual +summer, and poured into the sea, more than +fifteen hundred leagues from their sources. It +has formed a larger tract of land, by the deposits +of its inundations, than is contained in +Great Britain and Ireland; and every year it +roots up and bears away more trees, than there +are in the Black Forest. At a speed unknown +to any other great river, it rolls a volume, in +whose depths the cathedral of St. Paul's might +be sunk out of sight; and five hundred leagues +from its mouth, it is wider than at thirty.</p> + +<p>It annually bears away more acres than it +would require to make a German principality, +engulfing more than the revenues of many a +petty kingdom. Beneath its turbid waters lie +argosies of wealth, and floating palaces, among +whose gilded halls and rich saloons are sporting +slimy creatures; below your very feet, as you +sail along its current, are resting in its bed, +half buried in the sand, the bodies of bold men +and tender maidens; and their imploring hands +are raised toward Heaven, and the world which +floats, unheeding, on the surface. There lies, +entombed, the son whose mother knows not of +his death; and there the husband, for whose +footstep, even yet, the wife is listening—here, +the mother with her infant still clasped fondly +to her breast; and here, united in their lives,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> +not separated in their death, lie, side by side, +the bride and bridegroom of a day;—and, +hiding the dread secrets from all human ken, +the mighty and remorseless river passes onward, +like the stream of human life, toward +“the land of dreams and shadows!”</p> + +<p>To the contemplative mind, there is, perhaps, +no part of the creation, in which may not be +found the seed of much reflection; but of all +the grand features of the earth's surface, next to +a lofty mountain, that which impresses us most +deeply is a great river. Its pauseless flow, the +stern momentum of its current—its remorseless +coldness to all human hopes and fears—the secrets +which lie buried underneath its waters, +and the myriad purposes of those it bears upon +its bosom—are all so clearly typical of Time. +The waters will not pause, though dreadful battles +may be fought upon their shores—as Time +will steadily march forward, though the fate +of nations hang upon the conflict. The moments +fly as swiftly, while a mighty king is +breathing out his life, as if he were a lowly +peasant; and the current flows as coldly on, +while men are struggling in the eddies, as if +each drowning wretch were but a floating weed. +Time gives no warning of the hidden dangers +on which haughty conquerors are rushing, as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> +the perils of the waters are revealed but in the +crashing of the wreck.</p> + +<p>But the parallel does not stop here. The +sources of the Mississippi—were it even possible +that they should ever be otherwise—are +still unknown to man. Like the stream of history, +its head-springs are in the regions of fable—in +the twilight of remote latitudes; and it is +only after it has approached us, and assumed a +definite channel, that we are able to determine +which is the authentic stream. It flows from +the country of the savage, toward that of civilization; +and like the gradations of improvement +among men, are the thickening fields and +growing cultivation, which define the periods +of its course. Near its mouth, it has reached +the culmination of refinement—its last ripe +fruit, a crowded city; and, beyond this, there +lies nothing but a brief journey, and a plunge +into the gulf of Eternity!</p> + +<p>Thus, an emblem of the stream of history, it +is still more like a march along the highway +of a single human life. As the sinless thoughts +of smiling childhood are the little rivulets, +which afterward become the mighty river; +like the infant, airy, volatile, and beautiful—sparkling +as the dimpled face of innocence—a +faithful reflex of the lights and shadows of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> +existence; and revealing, through the limpid +wave, the golden sands which lie beneath. +Anon, the errant channels are united in one +current—life assumes a purpose, a direction—but +the waters are yet pure, and mirror on their +face the thousand forms and flashing colors of +Creation's beauty—as happy boyhood, rapidly +perceptive of all loveliness, gives forth, in radiant +smiles, the glad impressions of unfaded +youth.</p> + +<p>Yet sorrow cometh even to the happiest. +Misfortune is as stern a leveller as Death; and +early youth, with all its noble aspirations, gorgeous +visions, never to be realized, must often +plunge, like the placid river over a foaming +cataract, down the precipice of affliction—even +while its current, though nearing the abyss, +flow softly as “the waters of Shiloah.” It may +be the death of a mother, whom the bereaved +half deemed immortal—some disappointment, +like the falsehood of one dearly loved—some +rude shock, as the discovery of a day-dream's +hollowness; happy, thrice happy! if it be but +one of these, and not the descent from innocence +to sin!</p> + +<p>But life rolls on, as does the river, though its +wave no longer flows in placid beauty, nor reveals +the hidden things beneath. The ripples<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> +are now whirling eddies, and a hundred angry +currents chafe along the rocks, as thought and +feeling fret against the world, and waste their +strength in vain repining or impatient irritation. +Tranquillity returns no more; and +though the waters seem not turbid, there is +a shadow in their depths—their transparency +is lost.</p> + +<p>Tributaries, great and small, flow in—accessions +of experience to the man, of weight and +volume to the river; and, with force augmented, +each rolls on its current toward the ocean. +A character, a purpose, is imparted to the life, +as to the stream, and usefulness becomes an +element of being. The river is a chain which +links remotest latitudes, as through the social +man relations are established, binding alien +hearts: the spark of thought and feeling, like +the fluid of the magnet, brings together distant +moral zones.</p> + +<p>On it rushes—through the rapids, where the +life receives an impulse—driven forward—haply +downward—among rocks and dangerous +channels, by the motives of ambition, by +the fierce desire of wealth, or by the goad of +want! But soon the mad career abates, for +the first effect of haste is agitation, and the +master-spell of power is calmness. Happy are<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> +they, who learn this lesson early—for, thence, +the current onward flows, a tranquil, noiseless, +but resistless, tide. Manhood, steady and mature, +with its resolute but quiet thoughts, its +deep, unwavering purposes, and, more than all, +its firm, profound affections, is passing thus, between +the shores of Time—not only working +for itself a channel broad and clear, but bearing +on its bosom, toward Eternity, uncounted +wealth of hopes.</p> + +<p>But in the middle of its course, its character +is wholly changed; a flood pours in, whose +waters hold, suspended, all impurities. A +struggle, brief but turbulent, ensues: the limpid +wave of youth is swallowed up. Some +great success has been achieved; unholy passions +are evoked, and will not be allayed; +thenceforward there is no relenting; and, +though the world—nay! Heaven itself!—pour +in, along its course, broad tributaries of +reclaiming purity, the cloud upon the waters +can never be dispelled. The marl and dross +of Earth, impalpable, but visibly corrupting, +pervade the very nature; and only when the +current ceases, will its primitive transparency +return.</p> + +<p>Still it hurries onward, with velocity augmented, +as it nears its term. Yet its breadth<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> +is not increased; the earth suspended in its +waters, like the turbid passions of the human +soul, prevents expansion;<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> for, in man's career +through time, the heart grows wider only in +the pure.</p> + +<p>Along the base of cliffs and highlands—through +the deep alluvions of countless ages—among +stately forests and across extended plains, +it flows without cessation. Beyond full manhood, +character may change no more—as, below +its mighty tributaries, the river is unaltered. +Its full development is reached among rich plantations, +waving fields, and swarming cities; +while, but the journey of a day beyond, it +rushes into Eternity, leaving a melancholy record, +as it mingles with the waters of the great +gulf, even upon the face of Oblivion.</p> + +<p>—Within the valley of this river, time will see +a population of two hundred millions; and here +will be the seat of the most colossal power +Earth has yet contained. The heterogeneous +character of the people is of no consequence: +still less, the storms of dissension, which now +and then arise, to affright the timid and faithless. +The waters of all latitudes could not be +blended in one element, and purified, without<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> +the tempests and cross-currents, which lash the +ocean into fury. Nor would a stagnant calmness, +blind attachment to the limited horizon +of a homestead, or the absence of all irritation +or attrition, ever make one people of the emigrants +from every clime.</p> + +<p>And, when this nation shall have become +thoroughly homogeneous—when the world +shall recognise <i>the race</i>, and, above this, <i>the +power</i> of the race—will there be no interest in +tracing through the mists of many generations, +the outlines of that foundation on which is +built the mighty fabric? Even the infirmities +and vices of the men who piled the first stones +of great empires, are chronicled in history as +facts deserving record. The portrait of an ancient +hero is a treasure beyond value, even +though the features be but conjectural. How +much more precious would be a faithful portrait +of <i>his character</i>, in which the features +should be his salient traits—the expression, +outline, and complexion of his nature!</p> + +<br /> +<p>To furnish a series of such portraits—embracing +a few of the earlier characters, whose +“mark” is traceable in the growing civilization +of the West and South—is the design of the +present work. The reader will observe that its<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> +logic is not the selection of actual, but of ideal, +individuals, each representing a class; and that, +although it is arranged chronologically, the periods +are not historical, but characteristic. The +design, then, is double; <i>first</i>, to select a <i>class</i>, +which indicates a certain stage of social or political +advancement; and, <i>second</i>, to present a +picture of an imaginary individual, who combines +the prominent traits, belonging to the +class thus chosen.</p> + +<p>The series halts, beyond the Rubicon of contemporaneous +portraiture, for very obvious reasons; +but there are still in existence abundant +means of verifying, or correcting, every sketch. +I have endeavored to give the consciousness of +this fact its full weight—to resist the temptation +(which, I must admit, was sometimes +strong) to touch the borders of satire; and, in +conclusion, I can only hope that these wishes, +with an earnest effort at fidelity, have enabled +me to present truthful pictures.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> “Were it a clear stream, it would soon scoop itself out a +channel from bluff to bluff.”—<i>Flint's Geography</i>, p. 103.</p></div> +</div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">Top</a></span> +<h2><a name="I" id="I"></a>I.</h2> + +<h3>THE INDIAN.</h3> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i2">“In the same beaten channel still have run<br /></span> +<span class="i4">The blessed streams of human sympathy;<br /></span> +<span class="i2">And, though I know this ever hath been done,<br /></span> +<span class="i4">The why and wherefore, I could never see!”<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i4"><span class="smcap">Phebe Carey.</span><br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>In a work which professes to trace, even indistinctly, +the reclamation of a country from a +state of barbarism, some notice of that from +which it was reclaimed is, of course, necessary; +and an attempt to distinguish the successive +periods, each by its representative character, +determines the logic of such notice. Were we +as well acquainted with the gradations of Indian +advancement—for such unquestionably, +there were—as we are with those of the civilized +man, we should be able to distinguish eras +and periods, so as to represent them, each by +its separate <i>ideal</i>. But civilization and barbarism +are comparative terms; and, though it is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> +difficult, perhaps impossible, precisely to fix the +point at which one ceases and the other begins, +yet, within that limit, we must consider barbarism +as <i>one</i> period. Of this period, in our plan, +the Indian, without reference to distinction of +tribe, or variation in degree of advancement, is +the representative. As all triangles agree in +certain properties, though widely different in +others, so all Indians are alike in certain characteristics, +though differing, almost radically, each +from every other: But, as the points of coincidence +in triangles are those which determine +the class, and the differences only indicate subspecies, +so the similar characteristics in the +Indian, are those which distinguish the species, +and the variations of character are, at most, +only tribal limits. An Indian who should combine +all the equivalent traits, without any of +the inequalities, would, therefore, be the pure +ideal of his race. And his composition should +include the evil as well as the good; for a portrait +of the savage, which should represent him +as only generous and brave, would be as far +from a complete ideal, as one which should +display only his cruelty and cunning.</p> + +<p>My object in this article is, therefore, to combine +as many as possible—or as many as are +necessary—of the general characteristics of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> +Indian, both good and bad—so as to give a +fair view of the character, according to the +principle intimated above. And I may, perhaps +without impropriety, here state, that this +may be taken as the key to all the sketches +which are to follow. It is quite probable that +many examples of each class treated, might +be found, who are exceptions to the rules +stated, in almost every particular; and it is +possible, that no <i>one</i>, of <i>any</i> class treated, combined +<i>all</i> the characteristics elaborated. Excepting +when historical facts are related, or well-authenticated +legends worked in, my object is +not to give portraits of individuals, however +prominent. As was hinted above—the logic +of the book points only to the ideal of each +class.</p> + +<br /> +<p>And this view of the subject excludes all +those discussions, which have so long puzzled +philosophers, about the origin of the race—our +business is with the question <i>What is he?</i> rather +than with the inquiry, <i>Whence did he come?</i> +The shortest argument, however—and, if the +assumption be admitted, the most conclusive—is +that, which assumes the literal truth of the +Mosaic account of the creation of man; for +from this it directly follows, that the aboriginal<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> +races are descendants of Asiatic emigrants; and +the minor questions, as to the route they followed—whether +across the Pacific, or by Behring's +strait—are merely subjects of curious +speculation, or still more curious research. And +this hypothesis is quite consistent with the evidence +drawn from Indian languages, customs, +and physical developments. Even the arguments +against the theory, drawn from differences +in these particulars among the tribes, +lose their force, when we come to consider that +the same, if not wider differences, are found +among other races, indisputably of a single +stock. These things may be satisfactorily accounted +for, by the same circumstances in the +one case, as in the other—by political and +local situation, by climate, and unequal progress. +Thus, the Indian languages, says Prescott, +in his “Conquest of Mexico,” “present +the strange anomaly of differing as widely in +etymology, as they agree in organization;” but +a key to the solution of the problem, is found +in the latter part of the same sentence: “and, +on the other hand,” he continues,<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> “while they +bear some slight affinity to the languages of +the Old World, in the former particular, they +have no resemblance to them whatever, in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> +latter.” This is as much as if he had said, that +the incidents to the lives of American Indians, +are totally different to those of the nations of +the Old World: and these incidents are precisely +the circumstances, which are likely to +affect organization, more than etymology. And +the difficulty growing out of their differences +among themselves, in the latter, is surmounted +by the fact, that there is a sufficient general resemblance +among them all, to found a comparison +with “the languages of the Old World.” +I believe, a parallel course of argument would +clear away all other objections to the theory.<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p> + +<br /> +<p>But, as has been said, the scope of our work +includes none of these discussions; and we +shall, therefore, pass to the Indian character, +abstracted from all antecedents. That this has +been, and is, much misunderstood, is the first +thought which occurs to one who has an oppor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>tunity +personally to observe the savage. Nor is +it justly a matter of surprise. The native of this +continent has been the subject of curious and +unsatisfactory speculation, since the discovery +of the country by Columbus: by the very <i>want</i> +of those things, which constitute the attraction +of other nations, he became at once, and has +continued, the object of a mysterious interest. +The absence of dates and facts, to mark the +course of his migration, remits us to conjecture, +or the scarcely more reliable resource of tradition—the +want of history has made him a +character of romance. The mere name of Indian +gives the impression of a shadowy image, +looming, dim but gigantic, through a darkness +which nothing else can penetrate. This mystery +not only interests, but also disarms, the +mind; and we are apt to see, in the character, +around which it hovers, only those qualities +which give depth to the attraction. The creations +of poetry and romance are usually extremes; +and they are, perhaps, necessarily so, +when the nature of the subject furnishes no +standard, by which to temper the conception.</p> + +<p>“The efforts of a poet's imagination are, more +or less, under the control of his opinions:” but +opinions of men are founded upon their history; +and there is, properly, <i>no</i> historical Indian<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> +character. The consequence has been, that +poets and novelists have constructed their savage +personages according to a hypothetical +standard, of either the virtues or vices, belonging, +potentially, to the savage state. The same +rule, applied to portraiture of civilized men, +would at once be declared false and pernicious; +and the only reason why it is not equally +so, in its application to the Indian, is, because +the separation between him and us is so broad, +that our conceptions of his character can exert +little or no influence upon our intercourse with +mankind.</p> + +<p>Sympathy for what are called the Indian's +misfortunes, has, also, induced the class of writers, +from whom, almost exclusively, our notions +of his character are derived, to represent him +in his most genial phases, and even to palliate +his most ferocious acts, by reference to the injustice +and oppression, of which he has been +the victim. If we were to receive the authority +of these writers, we should conclude that +the native was not a savage, at all, until the +landing of the whites; and, instead of ascribing +his atrocities to the state of barbarism in which +he lived—thus indicating their only valid +apology—we should degrade both the white +and the red men, by attributing to the former<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> +all imaginable vices, and, to the latter, a peculiar +aptitude in acquiring them. These mistakes +are natural and excusable—as the man +who kills another in self-defence is justifiable; +but the Indian character is not the less misconceived, +just as the man slain is not less dead, +than if malice had existed in both cases. To +praise one above his merits, is as fatal to his +consideration, as decidedly to disparage him. +In either case, however, there is a chance that +a just opinion may be formed; but, when both +extremes are asserted with equal confidence, +the mind is confused, and can settle upon nothing. +The latter is precisely the condition of +the Indian; and it is with a view of correcting +such impressions, that this article is written.</p> + +<br /> +<p>The American Indian, then, is the ideal of a +savage—no more, no less: and I call him the +ideal, because he displays <i>all</i> those qualities, +which the history of the human race authorizes +us to infer, as the characteristics of an unenlightened +people, for many ages isolated from +the rest of mankind.<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> He differs, in many<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> +particulars, from the other barbarians of the +world; but the broadest distinction lies in this +<i>completeness</i> of his savage character. The peculiarities +of the country in which their lives +assume their direction, its climate, isolation; or +connection with the world—all these things contribute +to modify the aspects presented by native +races. In such points as are liable to modification +by these causes, the American differs from +every other savage; and without entering into +an elaborate comparison of circumstances—for +which we have neither the material, the inclination, +nor the space—it may be proper briefly +to consider <i>one</i> of these causes, and endeavor +to trace its effects in the Indian's moral physiognomy.</p> + +<br /> +<p>The state of this continent, when the first +Asiatic wanderers landed upon its shores, was, +of course, that of a vast, unbroken solitude; +and the contemplation of its almost boundless +extent and profound loneliness, was certainly +the first, and probably the most powerful agency, +at work in modifying their original character. +What the primary effects of this cause<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> +were likely to be, we may observe in the white +emigrants, who have sought a home among the +forests and upon the plains of the west: whatever +they may have been before their migration, +they soon become meditative, abstracted, +and taciturn. These, and especially the last, +are the peculiar characteristics of the Indian; +his taciturnity, indeed, amounts to austerity, +sometimes impressing the observer with the +idea of affectation. The dispersion, which must +have been the effect of unlimited choice in +lands—the mode of life pursued by those who +depended upon the chase for subsistence—the +gradual estrangement produced among the separate +tribes, by the necessity of wide hunting-grounds—the +vast expanse of territory at command—causes +operating so long, as to produce +a fixed and corresponding nature—are the +sources, to which we may trace almost all the +Indian's distinctive traits.</p> + +<p>“Isolation,” Carlyle says, “is the sum total +of wretchedness to man;” and, doubtless, the +idea which he means to convey is just. “But,” +in the words of De Quincey, “no man can be +truly <i>great</i>, without at least chequering his life +with solitude.” Separation from his kind, of +course, deprives a man of the humanizing influences, +which are the consequences of associa<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span>tion; +but it may, at the same time, strengthen +some of the noblest qualities of human nature. +Thus, we are authorized to ascribe to this agency, +a portion of the Indian's fortitude under +hardships and suffering, his contempt for mere +meanness, and above all, the proud elevation +of his character. The standards of comparison, +which were furnished by his experience, were +few, and, of course, derived from the ideas of +barbarians; but all such as were in any way +modified by the solitude of his existence, were +rendered impressive, solemn, and exalted.</p> + +<p>In the vast solitudes of Asia, whence the Indian +races migrated to this continent, so far as +the loneliness of savage deserts and endless +plains might exert an influence, we should expect +to find the same general character. But +the Asians are almost universally pastoral—the +Americans never; the wildest tribes of +Tartary possess numerous useful domesticated +animals—the Americans, even in Mexico,<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> +had none; the Tartars are acquainted with the +use of milk, and have been so from time immemorial—the +Indian, even at this day, has +adopted it only in a few localities, among the +more enlightened tribes. The migration of the +latter either took place at a period before even<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> +his Asiatic father had discovered its use, or the +accidents which brought him to this continent, +were such as to preclude importing domesticated +animals; and the lapse of a few generations +was sufficient to obliterate even the +recollection of such knowledge. “And,” says +Prescott,<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> “he might well doubt, whether the +wild, uncouth monsters, whom he occasionally +saw bounding with such fury over the distant +plains, were capable of domestication, like the +meek animals which he had left grazing in the +green pastures of Asia.” To this leading distinction—the +adoption and neglect of pastoral +habits—may be referred most of the diversities +among races, unquestionably of one stock.</p> + +<br /> +<p>Reasoning from the effects upon human character, +produced by the face of different countries, +we might expect to find, in the Indian, +among other things, a strong tendency toward +poetical thought, embodied, not in the mode of +expression usually denominated poetry, but in +the style of his addresses, the peculiarities of his +theories, or the construction of his mythology, +language, and laws. This expectation is totally +disappointed; but when we examine the +<i>degree</i> and <i>character</i> of his advancement, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> +recollect a few of the circumstances, among +which the poetry looked for would be obliged +to grow, our disappointment loses its element +of surprise. The contemplation of Nature in +her primitive, terrible, and beautiful forms—the +habit of meditation, almost the necessary +consequence of solitude—the strange, wild +enchantment of an adventurous life—have +failed to develop in the Indian, any but selfish +and sensual ideas. Written poetry was, of +course, not to be expected, even from the indigenous +civilization of Mexico and Peru; yet +we might, with some ground for hope, seek +occasional traces of poetical thought and feeling. +We look in vain for any such thing.</p> + +<p>“Extremes meet,” says one of the wisest of +adages; and the saying was never more singularly +and profoundly vindicated, than in its +application to civilization and barbarism. The +savage rejects all that does not directly gratify +his selfish wants—the highly-civilized man is, +in like manner, governed by the principle of +<i>utility</i>; and, by both, the merely fanciful and +imaginative is undervalued. Thus, as Mr. +Macaulay<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> ingeniously says, “A great poem, +in a highly-polished state of society, is the +most wonderful and splendid proof of genius<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span>.” +But, for the same reasons, the savage, who +should display any remarkably poetical feeling +or tone of thought, would be quite as great a +prodigy. Poetry flourishes most luxuriantly +midway between the two extremes. Its essence +is the contemplation of great passions and actions—of +love, revenge, ambition. Imagination +is then vivified by the means of expression +or articulation; and, in the half-civilized state, +neither a refined public sentiment, nor the +other extreme of barbarous isolation, restrains +the exhibition of great (and poetical) emotions.</p> + +<p>The best of Hazlitt's numerous definitions +of poetry, determines it to be “the excess of +imagination, beyond the actual or ordinary impression +of any object or feeling.”<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> But the +Indian was destitute of all imagination; apparently, +the composition of his nature included +no such element; and, certainly, the rude exigencies +of his life did not admit its action. +Even the purity of his mythology, compared to +that of the Greeks and Romans,<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> has been (by +Lord Lindsay) attributed to this want—though, +if such were its only effects, it might very well +be supplied.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span></p> + +<p>The Indian has no humor, no romance—how +could he possess poetical feeling? The +gratification of sensual wants is the end of his +life—too often, <i>literally</i> the end! “He considers +everything beneath his notice, which is +not necessary to his advantage or enjoyment.”<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> +To him a jest is as unmeaning as the babbling of +a brook; his wife is a beast of burden; and even +his courting is carried on by gifts of good things +<i>to eat</i>, sent to the parents.<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> Heaven is merely a +hunting-ground; his language has no words to +express abstract qualities, virtues, vices, or sentiments.<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> +His idea of the Great Spirit, and the +word which expresses it, may be applied with +equal propriety to a formidable (though not +beneficent) <i>animal</i>; indeed, the Indian words +which we translate “spirit,” mean only superior +power, without the qualification of good or +evil. He has not even the ordinary inhabitive +instinct of the human race; his attachment to +any region of country depends upon its capacity +to furnish game, and the fading of the former +keeps pace with the disappearance of the latter. +“Attachment to the graves of his fathers,” is an +agreeable fiction—unfortunately, only a fic<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span>tion.<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> +He has always been nomadic, without +the pastoral habits which the word supposes: +a mere wandering savage, without purpose or +motive, beyond the gratification of the temporary +want, whim, or passion, and void of <i>everything</i> +deserving the name of sentiment.</p> + +<br /> +<p>An extravagant, and, I am sorry to say, groundless, +notion has obtained currency, among almost +all writers upon the Indian character, that +he is distinguished for his <i>eloquence</i>. But the +same authors tell us, that his language, the vehicle +of the supposed eloquence, can express only +material ideas.<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> Now, if we knew no more +of his character than this, we should be authorized +to infer (what is, indeed, true), that he possesses +no standard for the distinction of good +and evil, and that his imagination is bounded +by the lines of his sensible experience. How +any degree of eloquence can be compatible +with this state of things, passes comprehension. +And what reflection would conclude, a little +examination will confirm. The mistake has, +doubtless, grown out of a misconception of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> +nature of eloquence itself.<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> If eloquence were +all <i>figure</i>—even if it were, in any considerable +degree, <i>mere</i> figure—then the tawdriest rhetorician +would be the greatest orator. But it is +not so. On the contrary, the use of many +words (or figures) to express an idea, denotes +not command of language, but the absence of +that power—just as the employment of numerous +tools, to effect a physical object, indicates, +not skill in the branch of physics, to which the +object belongs, but rather awkwardness. Of +course, much must be placed, in both cases, to +the account of clumsy instruments; but the +instrument of speech differs from others in this: +it is fashioned <i>by</i>, as well as <i>for</i>, its use; and a +rude, unpolished language is, therefore, an index, +in two ways, of the want of eloquence +among the people who employ it.</p> + +<p>In this view, the figurative elocution of the Indian, +so far from affording evidence of oratorical +power, if it proves anything, proves the opposite. +It is the barrenness of his language, +and not the luxuriance of his imagination, +which enforces that mode of speech.<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> Imagi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span>nation +is the first element of oratory, simplicity +its first condition. We have seen that the Indian +is wholly destitute of the former; and the +stilted, meretricious, and ornate style, of even +his ordinary communications, entirely excludes +the latter from our conception of his character.<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a></p> + +<p>For example: take the expressions “bury +the hatchet,” for “make peace,” and “a cloudless +sky,” for “prosperity”—the latter being +the nearest approximation to an abstract idea +observed in Indian oratory. Upon examining +these, and kindred forms of speech, we shall at +once perceive that they are not the result of +imagination, but are suggested by <i>material</i> +analogies. Peace, to the savage, is, at best, +but a negative idea; and the <i>state</i> of peacefulness, +abstracted from the absence of war, finds +no corresponding word in his language. Even +friendship only means that relation, in which +friends may be of <i>use</i> to each other. As his +dialects are all synthetic,<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> his ideas are all con<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span>crete. +To say, “<i>I love</i>” without expressing +<i>what</i> or <i>whom</i> I love, would be, so to speak, +very bad Indian grammar. He can not even +say “two” correctly, without applying the numeral +to some object. The notion of absolute +being, number, emotion, feeling, posture, or relation, +is utterly foreign to his mode of thought +and speech.</p> + +<p>So, also, of the “cloudless sky,” used to express +a state of prosperity. He does not mean, +by the phrase, the serenity of mind which prosperity +produces, nor any other abstract inflexion +or suggestion of the figure. He is constantly exposed +to the storms of heaven, in the chase, and +on the war path; and, even in his best “lodge,” +he finds but little shelter from their fury. Clear +weather is, therefore, grateful to him—bright +sunshine associates itself, in his mind, with comfort, +or (that supremest of Indian pleasures) +undisturbed indolence. And the transition, +though, as we have said, an approach to an +abstract conception, is easy, even to the mind +of a savage. His employment of such illustrations +is rather an evidence of rudeness, than of +eloquence—of barrenness, than of luxuriance +of idea.<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span></p> + +<p>From these considerations, it results, that +even the very best specimens of Indian oratory, +deserve the name of <i>picturesque</i>, rather +than of <i>eloquent</i>—two characteristics which +bear no greater affinity to each other, than do +the picture-writing of the Aztec and the alphabetical +system of the Greek. The speech of +Logan—the most celebrated of Indian harangues—even +if genuine,<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> is but a feeble support +to the theory of savage eloquence. It is +a mixture of the lament and the song of triumph, +which may be found in equal perfection +among all barbarous people; but, so far as we +are aware, was never elsewhere dignified with +that sounding name. The slander of a brave +and honorable man,<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a> which it contains, might<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> +be the result of a mistake easily made; the +wrongs of which this chief was the victim, +might render even a savage eloquent; and the +mixture of bloody vaunting with profound +grief, is scarcely to be expected in any <i>but</i> a +savage. “Logan never knew fear,” he says; +“he would not turn on his heel to save his +life.” This species of boasting is perfectly in +keeping with the Indian character; but the +pathetic reason for this carelessness, which +follows—“There is no one to mourn for Logan”—is +one not likely to have occurred to an +Indian, even in his circumstances. And, granting +that the expression <i>was</i> used by the orator, +and not (as it seems probable it was) added by +Jefferson, it is, I believe, the only example on +record of poetical feeling in any Indian speech.</p> + +<br /> +<p>The <i>religion</i> of the Indian has given as much +troublesome material to the builders of systems, +as has been furnished by all his other +characteristics combined. The first explorers +of America supposed that they had found a +people, quite destitute of any religious belief. +But faith in a higher power than that of man,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> +is a necessity of the human mind; and its organization, +more or less enlightened, is as natural, +even to the most degraded savage, as the +formation of his language. Both depend upon +general laws, common to the intellect of all +races of men; both are affected by the external +circumstances of climate, situation, and mode +of life; and the state of one may always be determined +by that of the other. “No savage +horde has been caught with its language in a +state of chaos, or as if just emerging from the +rudeness of indistinguishable sounds. Each +appears, not as a slow formation by painful processes +of invention, but as a perfect whole, +springing directly from the powers of man.”<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a> +And though this rigor of expression is not +equally applicable to the Indian's religion, the +fact is attributable solely to the difference in +nature of the subjects. As the “primary sounds +of a language are essentially the same everywhere,” +the impulses and instincts of piety are +common to all minds. But, as the written language +of the Indian was but the pictorial representation +of visible objects, having no metaphysical +signification, so the symbols of his religion, +the objects of his adoration, were drawn from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> +external nature.<a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a> Even his faith in the Great +Spirit is a graft upon his system, derived from +the first missionaries;<a name="FNanchor_24_24" id="FNanchor_24_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> and, eagerly as he adopted +it, it is probable that its meaning, to him, is little +more exalted, than that of the “Great Beaver,” +which he believes to be the first progenitor, +if not the actual creator, of that useful animal.</p> + +<p>We often see the fact, that the Indian believes +in his <i>manitou</i>, cited as an evidence, +that he has the conception of a spiritual divinity. +But the word never conveyed such a +meaning; it is applicable more properly to material +objects, and answers, with, if possible, a +more intense and superstitious significance, to +the term <i>amulet</i>. The Indian's <i>manitou</i> might +be, indeed always was, some wild animal, or +some part of a beast or bird—such as a bear's +claw, a buffalo's hoof, or a dog's tooth.<a name="FNanchor_25_25" id="FNanchor_25_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a> And, +though he ascribed exalted powers to this primitive +guardian, it must be remembered that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> +these powers were only physical—such, for example, +as would enable it to protect its devotee +from the knife of his enemy, or give him success +in hunting.</p> + +<br /> +<p>Materialism, then, reigns in the religion, as +in the language, of the Indian; and its effects +are what might be expected. His whole system +is a degraded and degrading superstition; and, +though it has been praised for its superior +purity, over that of the ancients, it seems to +have been forgotten, that this purity is only the +absence of <i>one kind</i> of <i>im</i>purity: and that its +cruel and corrupting influences, of another sort, +are ten-fold greater than those of the Greek +mythology. The faith of the Greek embodied +itself in forms, ceremonies, and observances—regularly +appointed religious rites kept his piety +alive; the erection of grand temples, in honor +of his deity, whatever might be his conception +of that deity's character, attested his genuine +devotion, and held constantly before his mind +the abstract idea of a higher power. The Indian, +before the coming of the white man, erected +no temples<a name="FNanchor_26_26" id="FNanchor_26_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a> in honor of his divinities; for he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> +venerated them only so long as they conferred +physical benefits<a name="FNanchor_27_27" id="FNanchor_27_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a> upon him; and his idea of +beneficence was wholly concrete. He had no +established form of worship; the ceremonies, +which partook of a religious character, were +grotesque in their conception, variable in their +conduct, and inhuman in their details. Such, +for example, are the torturing of prisoners, and +the ceremonies observed on the occasion of a +young Indian's placing himself under his guardian +power.</p> + +<br /> +<p>The dogmas of the Indian religion, until varied +by the teaching of missionaries, were few +and simple—being circumscribed, like everything +else belonging to him, by the material +world. He believed in a good spirit, and an +evil spirit; but his conception was limited by +the ideas of benefit or injury, <i>to himself</i>; indeed, +it may safely be doubted, whether the +word “spirit,” in its legitimate sense, is at all +applicable to his belief. “Power in a state of +exertion,” is the more accurate description of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> +his imperfect notion: abstract existence he +never conceived; the verb “<i>to be</i>” except as +relating to time, place, and action, had no +meaning in his language.<a name="FNanchor_28_28" id="FNanchor_28_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a> He believed, also, +in subordinate powers of good and evil; but, +since his life was occupied more in averting +danger and calamity, than in seeking safety +or happiness, he paid far more respect to the +latter than to the former—he prayed oftener +and more fervently to the devils, than to the +angels. His clearest notion of divinity, was +that of a being able to injure him; and, in this +sense, his devotion might be given to man, +bird, or beast.</p> + +<p>There seems to be no doubt, that he believed +in a sort of immortality, even before the missionaries +visited his country. But it was not so +much a new state of existence, as a continuation +of present life.<a name="FNanchor_29_29" id="FNanchor_29_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a> He killed horses upon the +grave of the departed warrior, that he might +be mounted for his long journey; and buffalo +meat and roasted maize were buried with him,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> +that he might not suffer from hunger.<a name="FNanchor_30_30" id="FNanchor_30_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_30_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a> On +arriving in the land of the blest, he believed, +that the dead pursued the game of that country, +as he had done in this; and the highest felicity +of which he conceived, was the liberty to hunt +unmolested by the war-parties of his enemies. +Heaven was, therefore, in his conception, only +a more genial earth, and its inheritors but keener +sportsmen.</p> + +<p>That this idea of immortality involved that +of accountability, in some form, seems to admit +of no doubt; but this doctrine, like almost all +others belonging to the primitive savage, has +been moulded to its present definite shape, by +the long-continued labors of Christian missionaries.<a name="FNanchor_31_31" id="FNanchor_31_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_31_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a> +He believed, indeed, that the bad Indians +never reached the happy hunting-grounds, +but the distinction between the good and the +bad, in his mind, was not at all clear; and, +since the idea of the passage across the gulf of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> +death most prevalent among all tribes, is that +of a narrow bridge, over which only steady +nerves and sure feet may carry the wanderer, +it seems probable that the line was drawn between +the brave warrior and the successful hunter, +on the one hand, and the coward and the +unskilful, on the other. If these views be correct, +the inferences to be drawn from the Indian's +belief in immortality and accountability, +are of but slender significance.</p> + +<br /> +<p>Corrupt manners and degrading customs never +exist, in conjunction with a pure religious +system. The outlines of social institutions are +metaphysically coincident with the limits of +piety; and the refinement of morals depends +upon the purity of faith. We may thus determine +the prevailing spirit of a national religion, +by observation of domestic manners and habits; +and, among all the relations of life, that of parent +and child is the best index to degree of advancement. +Filial piety is but the secondary manifestation +of a devotional heart; and attachment +and obedience to a father on earth, are only imperfect +demonstrations of love to our Father in +heaven. What, then—to apply the principle—is +the state of this sentiment in the Indian? +By the answer to that question, we shall be able<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> +to estimate the value of his religious notions, +and to determine the amount of hope, for his +conversion, justified by their possession. The +answer may be given in a few words: There +is no such sentiment in the Indian character. +Children leave their infirm parents to die alone, +and be eaten by the wolves;<a name="FNanchor_32_32" id="FNanchor_32_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_32_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a> or treat them +with violent indignity,<a name="FNanchor_33_33" id="FNanchor_33_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_33_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a> when the necessity +of migration gives no occasion for this barbarous +desertion. Young savages have been known +to beat their parents, and even to kill them; +but the display of attachment or reverence for +them, is quite unknown. Like the beast of the +forest, they are no sooner old enough to care +for themselves, than they cease even to remember, +by whose care they have become so; and +the slightest provocation will produce a quarrel +with a father, as readily as with a stranger. +The unwritten law of the Indian, about which +so many writers have dreamed, enacts no higher +penalty for parricide, than for any other homicide; +and a command to honor his father and +mother because they <i>are</i> his father and mother, +would strike the mind of an Indian as simply +absurd.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span></p> + +<p>If the possession of a religion, whose fruits +are no better than these, can, of itself, give +ground for hope to the Christian philanthropist, +let him cherish it fondly. But it is much to be +feared, that the existence of such a system +indefinitely postpones, if it does not entirely +preclude, the Indian's conversion. Even a +bird which has never known the forest, will +eventually escape to the wilds which God has +made its home; and the young Indian, who +has been reared in the city, will fly to the woods +and prairies, and return to the faith of his fathers, +because these, and only these, will satisfy +his nature.<a name="FNanchor_34_34" id="FNanchor_34_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_34_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a></p> + +<br /> +<p>A theme of praise, in itself more just, has +been the Indian's courage; but the same circumstances +of poetical interest, which have +magnified men's views of his other qualities,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> +have contributed to exaggerate this also. If +calm steadiness of nerve, in the moment of action, +be an element in true courage, that of the +primitive savage was scarcely genuine. In +all his battles, there were but two possible aspects—the +furious onset, and the panic retreat: +the firmness which plants itself in line +or square, and stubbornly contends for victory, +was no part of his character. A check, to him, +always resulted in a defeat; and, though this +might, in some measure, be the consequence +of that want of discipline, which is incident to +the savage state, the remark applies with equal +justice, whether he fought singly or in a body. +He was easily panic-struck, because the impulse +of the forward movement was necessary +to keep him strung to effort; and the retrograde +immediately became a rout, because daring, +without constancy, collapses with the first reaction.</p> + +<p>Notwithstanding the enervating influences +attributed to refinement and luxury, genuine, +steady courage is one of the fruits borne by a +high civilization. It is the result of combination, +thought, and the divinity which attaches +to the cultivated man. And, though it may +seem rather unfair to judge a savage by the +rules of civilization, it has long been received<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> +as a canon, that true valor bears an inverse ratio +to ferocious cruelty. Of all people yet discovered +upon earth, the Indian is the most +ferocious. We must, therefore, either vary the +meaning of the word, when applied to different +people, or deny the savage the possession of +any higher bravery, than that which lives only +through the onset.</p> + +<p>Cunning supplied the place of the nobler +quality; the object of his warfare was to overcome +by wily stratagem, rather than by open +combat. “Skill consisted in surprising the +enemy. They followed his trail, to kill him +when he slept; or they lay in ambush near a +village, and watched for an opportunity of suddenly +surprising an individual, or, it might be, +a woman and her children; and, with three +strokes to each, the scalps of the victims being +suddenly taken off, the brave flew back with +his companions, to hang the trophies in his +cabin.”<a name="FNanchor_35_35" id="FNanchor_35_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_35_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a> If they succeeded in taking prisoners, +it was only that they might be reserved +for the most infernal torments, and the gratification +of a brutal ferocity, not the trial and +admiration of the victim's courage, was the +purpose of their infliction.<a name="FNanchor_36_36" id="FNanchor_36_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_36_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span></p> + +<p>The fortitude of the Indian under suffering, +has often been referred to, in evidence of +moral courage. And it is certainly true, that +the display so frequently made of triumph in +the hour of death by torture, indicates,<a name="FNanchor_37_37" id="FNanchor_37_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_37_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a> in +part, an elevation of character, seldom found +among more civilized men. It is, however, +the elevation of a barbarian; and its manifestations +are as much the fruit of impotent +rage, as of a noble fortitude. The prisoner at +the stake knows that there is no escape; and +his intense hatred of his enemies takes the form +of a wish, to deprive them of a triumph. While +his flesh is crisping and crackling in the flames, +therefore, he sings of the scalps he has taken, +and heaps opprobrious epithets upon the heads +of his tormentors. But his song is as much a +cry of agony, as of exultation—his pain only +adopts this mode of expression. It is quite certain, +also, that he does not suffer so deeply, as +would a white man in the same circumstances. +By long exposure, and the endurance of hard<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span>ships +incident to his savage life, his body acquires +an insensibility akin to that of wild animals.<a name="FNanchor_38_38" id="FNanchor_38_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_38_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a> +His nerves do not shrink or betray a +tendency to spasm, even when a limb is amputated. +Transmitted from one generation to another, +this physical nature has become a peculiarity +of the race. And when assisted by the +fierce hatred above referred to, it is not at all +strange that it should enable him to bear with +fortitude, tortures which would conquer the +firmness of the most resolute white man.<a name="FNanchor_39_39" id="FNanchor_39_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_39_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a></p> + +<br /> +<p>The Indian's dignified stoicism has been as +much exaggerated, as his courage and fortitude. +It is not quite true that he never expresses +surprise, or becomes loquacious. But +he has a certain stern impassibility of feature—a +coldness of manner—which have been mistaken +for dignity. His immobility of countenance, +however, may be the effect of sluggish +sensibilities, or even of dull perceptions;<a name="FNanchor_40_40" id="FNanchor_40_40"></a><a href="#Footnote_40_40" class="fnanchor">[40]</a> and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> +the same savage vanity, which leads him to +make a display of strength or agility before +friend or enemy, prevents his acknowledging +ignorance, by betraying surprise.<a name="FNanchor_41_41" id="FNanchor_41_41"></a><a href="#Footnote_41_41" class="fnanchor">[41]</a> We have +been in company with Indians from the Far +West, while they saw a railroad for the first +time. When they thought themselves unnoticed, +they were as curious about the singular +machinery of the locomotive, and as much excited +by the decorations and appointments of +the cars, as the most ignorant white man. But +the moment they discovered that their movements +were observed, they resumed their dignified +composure; and, if you had judged of +the Indian country by their subsequent deportment, +you might have believed that the vast +prairies of the Missouri were everywhere intersected +by railroads—that the Indian had, in +fact, never known any other mode of travelling. +“On first seeing a steamboat, however,” +says Flint, who well understands his character, +“he never represses his customary '<i>Ugh</i>!'”</p> + +<br /> +<p>Generally, among white men, he who is fondest +of inflicting pain, is least able to endure it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> +But the Indian reverses almost all the principles, +which apply to civilized life; and, accordingly, +we find that, with all his so-called +fortitude, he is the most intensely cruel of all +living men. Before possession of the continent +was taken by Europeans, war was more constantly +the occupation of his life, than it has +been since; but even now his only object in +taking his enemies alive, is to subject them to +the most inhuman tortures.<a name="FNanchor_42_42" id="FNanchor_42_42"></a><a href="#Footnote_42_42" class="fnanchor">[42]</a> And in these +brutal orgies, the women are most active, even +taking the lead, in applying the cord and the +brand.<a name="FNanchor_43_43" id="FNanchor_43_43"></a><a href="#Footnote_43_43" class="fnanchor">[43]</a> Nor is this cruelty confined to enemies, +as the practice of leaving the aged and +infirm to die of starvation sufficiently proves.</p> + +<p>And his treachery is equal to his cruelty. +No treaty can bind him longer than superior +force compels him to observe it. The discovery +that his enemy is unprepared for an attack, is +sufficient reason to him for making it; his only +object in concluding peace, is to secure an ad<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>vantage +in war; and before the prospect of a +bloody inroad, his faith melts away, like snow +before the sun. The claims of gratitude he seldom +acknowledges; he cherishes the memory +of a benefit, only until he finds an opportunity +of repaying it with an injury; and forbearance +to avenge the latter, only encourages its repetition.<a name="FNanchor_44_44" id="FNanchor_44_44"></a><a href="#Footnote_44_44" class="fnanchor">[44]</a> +The numerous pretty stories published +of Indian gratitude, are either exceptional +cases, or unmixed romances.</p> + +<p>There have been some tribes of Indians in a +measure reclaimed from their state of barbarism; +the Cherokees, I believe, (and perhaps one +or two other nations,) have even increased in +numbers, under the influence of civilization. But +this is the result of numerous favorable causes +combined, and proves nothing, from which to +infer the Indian's docility. Other savages, on +coming in contact with civilized men, have discovered +a disposition to acquire some of the +useful arts—their comforts have been increased, +their sufferings diminished, and their condition +ameliorated, by the grafting of new ideas upon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> +the old. But, between the red man and the +white, contiguity has brought about little more +than an exchange of vices.</p> + +<p>Almost the only things coveted by the “redskin” +from the “paleface,” were his arms, his +trinkets, and his “firewater.” He could appreciate +whatsoever gave him superiority in war, +gratified his childish vanity, or ministered to +his brutal appetite. But the greater comfort +of the white man's house—the higher excellence +of his boat—his improved agricultural +implements or extended learning—none of +these things appealed to the Indian's passions +or desires. The arts of peace were nothing to +him—refinement was worse than nothing. He +would spend hours in <i>decorating</i> his person, +but not a moment in <i>cleansing</i> it: I believe +no tradition exists of an Indian ever having +used soap or bought a fine-tooth comb! He is, +indeed, a “pattern of filthiness;” but even in +civilized life, we find that this is not at all incompatible +with an extravagant love of ornament; +and, in this respect, the savage is not +behind his more enlightened brethren and sisters. +Beads, ribands, and scarlet cloth—with +powder and lead, guns, tomahawks, and knives—are +the acquisitions which he prizes most +highly.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span></p> + +<p>Pre-eminent, however, above all these in his +estimation, is the greatest curse which has yet +reached him—the liquid fire called whiskey! +He is, by nature, a drunkard, and the fury of +his intoxication equals the ferocity of his warfare. +“All words would be thrown away,” +says Mr. Flint,<a name="FNanchor_45_45" id="FNanchor_45_45"></a><a href="#Footnote_45_45" class="fnanchor">[45]</a> “in attempting to portray, in +just colors, the effects of whiskey upon such a +race.” Fire should be kept away from combustibles—whiskey +from the Indian, and for +the same reason. With drunkenness, he possesses, +also, its inseparable companion, the vice +of gambling.<a name="FNanchor_46_46" id="FNanchor_46_46"></a><a href="#Footnote_46_46" class="fnanchor">[46]</a> He is the most inveterate +gamester: Before the demon of avarice everything +gives way. He even forgets his taciturnity, +in the excitement of the game, and becomes +loquacious and eager. He will stake all +his most valuable possessions, and, losing these, +will even risk his own liberty, or life, on the +turn of a card. We were once witness to a +game in San Antonio (in Western Texas), +among a party of Lipans,<a name="FNanchor_47_47" id="FNanchor_47_47"></a><a href="#Footnote_47_47" class="fnanchor">[47]</a> a race of fine-looking +men, who range the table-lands north of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> +sources of the Nueces. Two of them, one the +handsomest warrior among them, lost, first, the +money, which they had just received as the +price of skins, brought to the city for sale. They +then staked, successively, their horses, their +arms, their moccasins, and their blankets. The +“luck” was against them—everything was lost; +and we supposed the game was over. But—as +a last resource, like drawing blood from +their beating hearts—each produced a <i>little +leathern bottle</i>, containing whiskey! And, as +if these possessed a higher value than all the +articles yet lost, the game went on with increased +interest! Even the potent “spirit” +thus evoked, could not prevail upon Fortune to +change her face: the whiskey was lost with +the rest! Each rose to his feet, with the usual +guttural exclamation, and, afoot, and unarmed +as he was, silently took his way to the prairies; +while the winners collected in a group, and +with much glee, proceeded to consume the +liquid poison so cheaply obtained.</p> + +<br /> +<p>We come, finally to the question of the Indian's +fate: What is to become of the race? +The answer presents no difficulties, save such +as grow out of men's unwillingness to look unpleasant +truths in the face. There has been,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> +of late years, much lamentation, among our +own people, over the gradual extinction of +these interesting savages; and in Europe we +have been made the subject of indignant eloquence, +for (what those, who know nothing +about it, are pleased to call) “our oppression +of the Indian.” But, in the first place, the decay +of the American races is neither so rapid +nor so universal, as is generally supposed;<a name="FNanchor_48_48" id="FNanchor_48_48"></a><a href="#Footnote_48_48" class="fnanchor">[48]</a> +and, in the second place, if the fact were otherwise, +we could, at the worst, be charged only +with accelerating a depopulation already begun. +“The ten thousand mounds in the Mississippi +Valley, the rude memorials of an immensely +numerous former population, but, to +our view, no more civilized than the present +races, are proofs that the country <i>was depopulated</i>, +when the white man first became acquainted +with it. If we can infer nothing else +from these mounds, we can clearly infer, that +this country once had its millions.”<a name="FNanchor_49_49" id="FNanchor_49_49"></a><a href="#Footnote_49_49" class="fnanchor">[49]</a> What<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> +had become of this immense population? The +successive invasions of new hordes of barbarians +from the north, intestine wars, and the +law, that men shall advance toward civilization, +or decay from the earth—these are the +only causes to which we may ascribe their disappearance.</p> + +<p>The extinction of the Indian race is decreed, +by a law of Providence which we can not gainsay. +Barbarism <i>must</i> give way to civilization. +It is not only inevitable, but <i>right</i>, that it +should be so. The tide of empire, which has +been flowing since the earliest times, has set +steadily toward the West. The Indian emigrated +in the wrong direction: and now, after +the lapse of many centuries, the descendants of +the first Asians, having girdled the globe, meet +on the banks of the Mississippi! On the one +side, are enlightenment, civilization, Christianity: +on the other, darkness, degradation, barbarism: +and the question arises, which shall +give way? The Indian recedes: at the rate of +seventeen miles a year,<a name="FNanchor_50_50" id="FNanchor_50_50"></a><a href="#Footnote_50_50" class="fnanchor">[50]</a> the flood rolls on! +Already it has reached the shores of the Pacific: +One century will reduce the whole continent +to the possession of the white man; and,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> +then, the lesson which all history teaches, will +be again taught—that two distinct races cannot +exist in the same country on equal terms. +The weaker must be incorporated with the +stronger—or exterminated.<a name="FNanchor_51_51" id="FNanchor_51_51"></a><a href="#Footnote_51_51" class="fnanchor">[51]</a></p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Vol. III., page 394.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> There is, however, little necessity for any argument on the +subject: For, leaving out of the question the highest and +most sacred of authorities, almost all respectable writers upon +ethnology, including Buffon, Volney, Humboldt, &c., agree in +assigning a common origin to all nations,—though the last +deduces from many particulars, the conclusion that the American +Indian was “isolated in the infancy of the world, from +the rest of mankind.”—<i>Ancient Inhabitants of America</i>, vol. +i., p. 250.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> It will be observed, that I assume the <i>unity</i> of the Indian +race; and I am not sufficiently acquainted with the recent +discussions on the subject, to be certain whether the question +is still considered open. But the striking analogies between +the customs, physical formation, and languages of all the various +divisions, (except the Esquimaux, who are excluded), I +think, authorize the assumption.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> <i>Conquest of Mexico</i>, vol. iii., p. 416.</p></div> +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> <i>Conquest of Mexico</i>, vol. iii., p. 417.</p></div> +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> <i>Essays</i>—Art. 'Milton.'</p></div> +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> <i>Lectures on English Poets</i>, p. 4.</p></div> +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> No very high compliment, but as high as it deserves. We +shall see anon.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> Warburton's <i>Conquest of Canada</i>, vol. i., p. 177.</p></div> +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> Bancroft's <i>United States</i>, vol. iii., p. 256.</p></div> +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> Hunter's <i>Memoirs</i>, p. 236. <i>Western Annals</i>, p. 712.</p></div> +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> <i>Flint's Geography</i>, p. 108.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> “All ideas are expressed by figures addressed to the +senses.” <i>Warburton</i>, vol. i., p. 175. Bancroft, ut supra.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> See Bancroft, Hunter, Catlin, Flint, Jefferson, &c.—passim—all +supporters of Indian eloquence, but all informing us, that +“combinations of material objects were his <i>only</i> means of expressing +abstract ideas.”</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> Vide Bancroft's <i>United States</i>, vol. iii., pp. 257, 266, etc.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> <i>E. G.</i> “They style themselves the 'beloved of the Great +Spirit.'”—<i>Warburton</i>, vol. i., p. 186. “In the Iroquois language, +the Indians gave themselves the appellation of 'Angoueonoue', +or 'Men of Always.'”—<i>Chateaubriand's Travels in +America</i>, vol. ii., p. 92. Note, also, their exaggerated boastfulness, +even in their best speeches: “Logan never knew +fear,” &c.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> “The absence of all reflective consciousness, and of all +logical analysis of ideas, is the great peculiarity of American +speech.”—<i>Bancroft</i>, vol. iii., p. 257.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> Warburton's <i>Conquest of Canada</i>, vol. i., p. 180.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> I have seen it hinted, though I have forgotten where, that +Jefferson, and not Logan, was the author of this speech; but the +extravagant manner in which Jefferson himself praises it, seems +to exclude the suspicion. “I may challenge the whole orations +of Demosthenes and Cicero,” he says, “and of any other more +eminent orator, if Europe has furnished more eminent, to produce +a single passage superior to the speech of Logan!” Praise +certainly quite high enough, for a mixture of lamentation and +boastfulness.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> The evidence in this matter has long ago been thoroughly +sifted; and it is now certain that, so far from being present aiding +at the massacre of Logan's family, Colonel Cresap earnestly +endeavored to dissuade the party from its purpose. And yet the +falsehood is perpetuated even in the common school-books of +the country, while its object has been mouldering in his grave +for a quarter of a century.—<i>Western Annals</i>, p. 147. <i>American +Pioneer</i>, vol. i., p. 7, <i>et seq.</i></p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> Bancroft, vol. iii., p. 254.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> Bancroft, vol. iii., p. 285.—“The God of the savage was what +the metaphysician endeavors to express by the word <i>substance</i>.” +But the Indian's idea of substance was altogether <i>concrete.</i></p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_24_24" id="Footnote_24_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> The best authority upon this subject is found in the <i>Jesuit</i> +“<i>Relaciones:</i>” but it is at least probable, that the preconceptions +of the good Fathers colored, and, perhaps, shaped, many +of the religious wonders there related.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_25_25" id="Footnote_25_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_25"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> “Lettres Edifiantes,” vol. vi., p. 200, <i>et seq.</i> Warburton, +vol. i., p. 187.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_26_26" id="Footnote_26_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26_26"><span class="label">[26]</span></a> The extravagant stories told of the Natchez Indians (among +whom there was said to be a remarkable temple for worship) +are quite incredible, even if they had not been disproved.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_27_27" id="Footnote_27_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27_27"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> When the <i>manitou</i> of the Indian has failed to give him +success in the chase, or protection from danger, “he upbraids +it with bitterness and contempt, and threatens to seek a more +effectual protector. If the <i>manitou</i> continues useless, this +threat is fulfilled.” Warb. <i>ut supra</i>. <i>Vide</i>, also, Catlin's +“American Indians,” vol. i., p. 36, <i>et seq.</i></p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_28_28" id="Footnote_28_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28_28"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> Bancroft, vol. iii., p. 258.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_29_29" id="Footnote_29_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29_29"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> “He calls it [the soul] the shadow or image of his body, but +its acts and enjoyments are all the same as those of its earthly +existence. He only pictures to himself a continuation of present +pleasures.” Warb. vol. i., p. 190. <i>Vide</i>, also, Catlin's “<i>American +Indians</i>,” vol. i., p. 158, <i>et seq.</i></p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_30_30" id="Footnote_30_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30_30"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> The Indian never believed in the resurrection of the body; +but even corn and venison were supposed to possess a spirit, +which the spirit of the dead warrior might eat.—<i>Jesuit</i> “<i>Relacion</i>,” +1633, p. 54.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_31_31" id="Footnote_31_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31_31"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> “The idea of retribution,” says Bancroft, vol. iii., p. 299, “as +far as it has found its way among them, was derived from +Europeans.” And the same remark may be made, of most of +the other wonders, in which enthusiastic travellers have discovered +coincidences with Christianity.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_32_32" id="Footnote_32_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32_32"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> James's “<i>Expedition</i>,” vol. i., p. 237.—Catlin's “<i>American +Indians</i>,” vol. i., pp. 216-'18. The latter is a zealous apologist +for Indian cruelties and barbarisms.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_33_33" id="Footnote_33_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33_33"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> “<i>Conquest of Canada</i>,” vol. i., pp. 194-'5.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_34_34" id="Footnote_34_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_34_34"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> The following may serve to indicate the sort of impression +of Christianity which even the most earnest and enlightened +preaching has been able to make upon the Indian mind: “Here +I saw a most singular union; one of the [Indian] graves was +surmounted by a cross, while close to it a trunk of a tree was +raised, covered with hieroglyphics, recording the number of +enemies slain by the tenant of the tomb. Here presenting a +hint to those who are fond of system-making on the religion +of these people,” &c.—<i>Beltrami's Pilgrimage, &c.</i>, vol. ii., p. +307. Bancroft's <i>United States</i>, vol. iii., pp. 303-'4. Flint's +<i>Geography</i>, pp. 109, 126.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_35_35" id="Footnote_35_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_35_35"><span class="label">[35]</span></a> Bancroft, vol. iii., p. 281.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_36_36" id="Footnote_36_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_36_36"><span class="label">[36]</span></a> “To inflict blows that can not be returned,” says this historian +(Bancroft, vol. iii., p. 282), “is a proof of full success, +and the entire humiliation of the enemy. It is, moreover, an +experiment of courage and patience.” But we think such +things as much mere brutality, as triumph.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_37_37" id="Footnote_37_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_37_37"><span class="label">[37]</span></a> The frequent change of tense in this article, refers to those +circumstances in which the <i>present</i> differs from the <i>past</i> character +of the Indian.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_38_38" id="Footnote_38_38"></a><a href="#FNanchor_38_38"><span class="label">[38]</span></a> “It is to be doubted, whether some part of this vaunted +stoicism be not the result of a more than ordinary degree of +physical insensibility.”—<i>Flint's Geography</i>, vol. i., p. 114.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_39_39" id="Footnote_39_39"></a><a href="#FNanchor_39_39"><span class="label">[39]</span></a> Many white men, however, have endured the utmost extremities +of Indian cruelty. See cases of Brebeuf, and Lallemand, +in <i>Bancroft</i>, vol. iii., p. 140.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_40_40" id="Footnote_40_40"></a><a href="#FNanchor_40_40"><span class="label">[40]</span></a> “It is intellectual culture which contributes most to diversify +the features.”—<i>Humboldt's Personal Narrative</i>, vol. iii., p. 228.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_41_41" id="Footnote_41_41"></a><a href="#FNanchor_41_41"><span class="label">[41]</span></a> “They have probably as much curiosity [as the white], +but a more stern perseverance in repressing it.”—<i>Flint's Geography</i>, +vol. i., p. 124.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_42_42" id="Footnote_42_42"></a><a href="#FNanchor_42_42"><span class="label">[42]</span></a> “The enemy is assailed with treachery, and, if conquered, +treated with revolting cruelty.” * * “A fiendish ferocity +assumes full sway.”—<i>Conquest of Canada</i>, vol. i., p. 206.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_43_43" id="Footnote_43_43"></a><a href="#FNanchor_43_43"><span class="label">[43]</span></a> It is perhaps not very remarkable, however, that the women +are most cruel to the aged and infirm—the young and +vigorous being sometimes adopted by them, to console them +for the loss of those who have fallen.—<i>Idem</i>, p. 210.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_44_44" id="Footnote_44_44"></a><a href="#FNanchor_44_44"><span class="label">[44]</span></a> “We consider them a treacherous people, easily swayed +from their purpose, paying their court to the divinity of good +fortune, and always ready to side with the strongest. We +should not rely upon their feelings of to-day, as any pledge +for what they will be to-morrow.”—<i>Flint's Geography</i>, vol. i., +p. 120.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_45_45" id="Footnote_45_45"></a><a href="#FNanchor_45_45"><span class="label">[45]</span></a> “<i>Geography of the Mississippi Valley</i>,” vol. i., p. 121.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_46_46" id="Footnote_46_46"></a><a href="#FNanchor_46_46"><span class="label">[46]</span></a> “The Indians are immoderately fond of play.”—<i>Warburton</i>, +vol. i., p. 218.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_47_47" id="Footnote_47_47"></a><a href="#FNanchor_47_47"><span class="label">[47]</span></a> These used cards; but they have, among themselves, numerous +games of chance, older than the discovery of the continent.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_48_48" id="Footnote_48_48"></a><a href="#FNanchor_48_48"><span class="label">[48]</span></a> “The Cherokee and Mobilian families of nations are more +numerous now than ever.”—<i>Bancroft</i>, vol. iii., p. 253. In +speaking of this declamation about the extinction of the race, +Mr. Flint very pertinently remarks: “One would think it had +been discovered, that the population, the improvements, and +the social happiness of our great political edifice, ought never +to have been erected in the place of these habitations of +cruelty.”—<i>Geography</i>, vol. i., p. 107.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_49_49" id="Footnote_49_49"></a><a href="#FNanchor_49_49"><span class="label">[49]</span></a> Idem.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_50_50" id="Footnote_50_50"></a><a href="#FNanchor_50_50"><span class="label">[50]</span></a> This is De Tocqueville's estimate.—<i>Democracy in America</i>, +vol. ii., chap. 10.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_51_51" id="Footnote_51_51"></a><a href="#FNanchor_51_51"><span class="label">[51]</span></a> “We may as well endeavor to make the setting sun stand +still on the summit of the Rocky Mountains, as attempt to arrest +the final extermination of the Indian race!”—<i>Merivale +on Colonization</i>—<i>Lecture</i> 19. +</p><p> +The principle stated in the text will apply with equal force +to the negro-race; and those who will look the facts firmly in +the face, can not avoid seeing, that the ultimate solution of the +problem of American Slavery, can be nothing but <i>the sword.</i></p></div> +</div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="II" id="II"></a>II.</h2><span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">Top</a></span> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span></p> +<h3>THE VOYAGEUR.</h3> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">“Spread out earth's holiest records here,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of days and deeds to reverence dear:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A zeal like this, what pious legends tell?”<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>The shapeless knight-errantry of the thirteenth +and fourteenth centuries, rich as it was +in romance and adventure, is not to be compared, +in any valuable characteristic, to the +noiseless self-devotion of the men who first explored +the Western country. The courage of +the knight was a part of his savage nature; his +confidence was in the strength of his own right +arm; and if his ruggedness was ever softened +down by gentler thoughts, it was only when he +asked forgiveness for his crimes, or melted in +sensual idolatry of female beauty.</p> + +<p>It would be a curious and instructive inquiry, +could we institute it with success, how much +of the contempt of danger manifested by the +wandering knight was referable to genuine<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> +valor, and what proportion to the strength of +a Milan coat, and the temper of a Toledo or +Ferrara blade. And it would be still more +curious, although perhaps not so instructive, to +estimate the purity and fidelity of the heroines +of chivalry; to ascertain the amount of true devotion +given them by their admirers, “without +hope of reward.”</p> + +<p>But without abating its interest by invidious +and ungrateful inquiries, we can see quite enough—in +its turbulence, its cruelty, arrogance, and +oppression—to make us thank Heaven that +“the days of chivalry are gone.” And from +that chaotic scene of rapine, raid, and murder, +we can turn with pleasure to contemplate the +truer, nobler chivalry—the chivalry of love and +peace, whose weapons were the kindness of +their hearts, the purity of their motives, and +the self-denial of their lives.</p> + +<p>The term “<i>voyageur</i>”<a name="FNanchor_52_52" id="FNanchor_52_52"></a><a href="#Footnote_52_52" class="fnanchor">[52]</a> literally signifies +“traveller;” and by this modest name are indicated +some of the bravest adventurers the +world has ever seen. But it is not in its usual, +common-place signification that I employ the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> +word, nor yet in that which is given it by most +writers on the subject of early French settlements +and explorations. Men are often affected +by the names given them, either of opprobrium +or commendation; but words are quite as frequently +changed, restricted, or enlarged in +meaning, by their application to men. For +example: you apply the word soldier to a class +of men; and if robbery be one of the characteristics +of that class, “soldier” will soon come to +mean “robber” too. And thus, though the +parallel is only logical, has it been with the +term “<i>voyageur</i>.” The class of men to whom +it is applied were travellers—<i>voyageurs</i>; but +they were <i>more</i>; and as the habits and qualities +of men came in time to be better understood +than the meaning of French words, the +term, used in reference to Western history, +took much of its significance from the history +and character of the men it assumed to describe. +Thus, <i>un voyageur</i> means not only a +traveller, but a traveller with a purpose; an +adventurer among the Western wilds; a chivalrous +missionary, either in the cause of science +or religion. It includes high courage, +burning zeal for church and country, and the +most generous self-devotion. It describes such +men as Marquette, La Salle, Joliet, Gravier,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> +and hundreds of others equally illustrious, who +lived and died among the dangers and privations +of the wilderness; who opened the way +for civilization and Christianity among the +savages, and won, many of them, crowns of +martyrdom.</p> + +<p>They were almost all Frenchmen. The +Spaniards who came to this continent were +mere gold-seekers, thirsting only for wealth; +and if they sought to propagate Christianity, +or rather the Christian <i>name</i>, it was only a +sanguinary bigotry that prompted them. On +the other hand, the English emigrants came to +take possession of the country for themselves. +The conversion of the natives, or territorial acquisition +for the mother-country, were to them +objects of barely secondary importance. They +believed themselves persecuted—some of them +<i>were</i> persecuted—and they fled: it was only +safety for themselves, and the rich lands of the +Indian, that they sought. Providence reserved +for the French chevaliers and missionaries the +glory of leaving their homes without compulsion, +real or imaginary, to penetrate an inhospitable +wilderness; to undergo fatigues; to +encounter dangers, and endure privations of a +thousand kinds; enticed by no golden glitter, +covetous of no riches, save such as are “laid<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> +up in heaven!” They came not as conquerors, +but as ministers of peace, demanding only hospitality. +They never attacked the savages with +sword or fagot; but extending hands not stained +by blood, they justified their profession by relief +and love and kindly offices. Sometimes, indeed, +they received little tracts of land; not seized +by the hand of power, nor grasped by superior +cunning, but possessed as the free gift of simple +gratitude; and upon these they lived in +peace, surrounded by savages, but protected +by the respect inspired by blameless and beneficent +lives. Many of those whose vows permitted +it, intermarried among the converted natives, +and left the seeds of many meliorations in +a stony soil; and many of them, when they +died, were as sincerely mourned by the simple +children of the forest, as if they had been chiefs +and braves.</p> + +<p>Such were the men of peace who penetrated +the wilderness through the French settlements +in Canada, and preached the gospel to the +heathen, where no white man had ever before +been seen; and it is particularly to this class +that I apply the word at the head of this article. +But the same gentle spirit pervaded other +orders of adventurers—men of the sword and +buckler, as well as of the stole and surplice.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> +These came to establish the dominion of <i>La +Belle France</i>; but it was not to oppress the +simple native, or to drive him from his lands. +Kindness marked even the conduct of the rough +soldier; and such men as La Salle, and Iberville, +who were stern enough in war, and rigid enough +in discipline, manifested always an anxious solicitude +for the <i>rights</i>, as well as for the spiritual +welfare of the Indian. They gave a generous +confidence where they were conscious of no wish +to injure; they treated frankly and on equal +terms, with those whom their religion and their +native kindness alike taught them to consider +brethren and friends. Take, for example, that +significant anecdote of La Salle, related by the +faithful chronicler<a name="FNanchor_53_53" id="FNanchor_53_53"></a><a href="#Footnote_53_53" class="fnanchor">[53]</a> of his unfortunate expeditions. +He was building the fort of <i>Crevecœur</i>, +near the spot where now stands the city of Peoria, +on the Illinois river; and even the name +of his little fortress (<i>Crevecœur</i>, Broken Heart) +was a mournful record of his shattered fortunes. +The means of carrying out his noble enterprise +(the colonizing of the Mississippi valley) were +lost; the labor of years had been rendered in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span>effectual +by one shipwreck; his men were discontented, +even mutinous, “attempting,” says +Hennepin, “first to poison, and then desert +him;” his mind was distracted, his heart almost +broken, by accumulated disasters. Surrounded +thus by circumstances which might +well have rendered him careless of the feelings +of the savages around him, he observed that +they had become cold and distant—that in +effect they no longer viewed him as their +friend. The Iroquois,<a name="FNanchor_54_54" id="FNanchor_54_54"></a><a href="#Footnote_54_54" class="fnanchor">[54]</a> drifting from the shores +of Lake Ontario, where they had always been +the bitterest foes of the French, had instilled +fear and hatred into their minds; it was even +said that some of his own men had encouraged +the growing discontent. In this juncture, what +measures does he take? Strengthen his fortifications, +and prepare for war, as the men of +other nations had done? Far from it. Soldier +and adventurer as he was, he had no wish to +shed innocent blood; though with his force he +might have defied all the nations about him. +He went as a friend, frankly and generously,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> +among them, and demanded the reasons of +their discontent. He touched their hearts by +his confidence, convinced them of his friendship, +and attached them to himself more devotedly +than ever. A whole history in one brief +passage!</p> + +<p>But it is more especially to the <i>voyageurs</i> of +the church—the men of faith and love—that I +wish to direct my readers' attention: To such men +as Le Caron, a Franciscan, with all the zeal and +courage and self-abnegation of his order, who +wandered and preached among the bloody Iroquois, +and upon the waters of Huron, as early +as 1616: to Mesnard, a devoted missionary of +the same order, who, in 1660, founded a mission +at the Sault de Ste. Marie, and then went into +the forest to induce the savages to listen to the +glad tidings he had brought, and never came +back: to Father Allouez, who rebuilt the mission +five years afterward (the first of these +houses of God which was not destroyed or +abandoned), who subsequently crossed the +lakes, and preached to the Indians on Fox +river, where, in one of the villages of the Miamis +and Mascoutens, Marquette found a cross +still standing, after the lapse of years, where +Allouez had raised it, covered with the offerings +of the simple natives to an unknown God.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> +He is the same, too, who founded Kaskaskia, +probably the earliest settlement in the great +valley, and whose history ends (significant +fact!) with the record of his usefulness. To +Father Pinet, who founded Cahokia, and was +so successful in the conversion of the natives, +that his little chapel could not contain the +numbers who resorted to his ministrations: to +Father Marest, the first preacher against intemperance; +and, finally, to Marquette, the best +and bravest of them all, the most single-hearted +and unpretending!</p> + +<br /> +<p>Enthusiasm is a characteristic of the French +nation; a trait in some individuals elevated to +a sublime self-devotion, and in others degraded +to mere excitability. The vivacity, gesticulation, +and grimace, which characterize most of +them, are the external signs of this nature; the +calm heroism of the seventeenth century, and +the insane devotion of the nineteenth, were +alike its fruits. The <i>voyageur</i> possessed it, in +common with all his countrymen. But in him +it was not noisy, turbulent, or egotistical; +military glory had “neither part nor lot” in +his schemes; the conquests he desired to make +were the conquests of faith; the dominion he +wished to establish was the dominion of Jesus.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span></p> + +<p>In the pursuit of these objects, or rather of +this single object, I have said he manifested the +enthusiasm of his race; but it was the noblest +form of that characteristic. The fire that +burned in his bosom was fed by no selfish purpose. +To have thought of himself, or of his +own comforts, or glory, to the detriment of any +Christian enterprise, however dangerous or unpromising, +would, in his eyes, have been a +deadly sin.</p> + +<br /> +<p>At Sault de Ste. Marie, Father Marquette +heard of many savages (whom he calls “God's +children”) living in barbarism, far to the west. +With five boatmen and one companion, he at +once set out for an unexplored, even unvisited +wilderness. He had what they had not—the +gospel; and his heart yearned toward them, as +the heart of a mother toward an afflicted child. +He went to them, and bound them to him “in +the bond of peace.” If they received him kindly—as +they usually did, for even a savage recognises +and respects genuine devotion—he +preached to them, mediated among them, softened +their hearts, and gathered them into the +fold of God. If they met him with arms in their +hands—as they sometimes did, for savages, +like civilized men, do not always know their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> +friends—he resolutely offered peace; and, in +his own simple and pious language, “God +touched their hearts,” and they cast aside their +weapons and received him kindly.</p> + +<p>But the <i>voyageur</i> had higher qualities than +enthusiasm. He was capable of being so absorbed +in a cause as to lose sight of his own +identity; to forget that he was more than an +instrument in the hands of God, to do God's +work: and the distinction between these traits +is broad indeed! Enthusiasm is noisy, obtrusive—self-abnegation +is silent, retiring; enthusiasm +is officious, troublesome, careless of time +and place—self-abnegation is prudent, gentle, +considerate. The one is active and fragmentary—the +other passive, but constant.</p> + +<p>Thus, when the untaught and simple native +was to be converted, the missionary took note +of the spiritual capacity as well as of the spiritual +wants; he did not force him to receive, at +once, the whole creed of the church, as a mere +enthusiast would have done; for <i>that</i> wisdom +would feed an infant with strong meats, even +before it had drawn its mother's milk. Neither +did he preach the gospel with the sword, like +the Spaniard, nor with fire and fagot, like the +puritan. He was wise as the serpent, but +gentle as the dove. He took the wondering<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> +Indian by the hand; received him as a brother; +won him over to listen patiently; and then +taught him first that which he could most easily +comprehend: he led him to address the throne +of grace, or, in the language of the time, “to +embrace the prayer;” because even the savage +believed in Deity. As his understanding was +expanded, and his heart purified—as every +heart must be which truly lifts itself to God—he +gradually taught him the more abstruse and +wonderful doctrines of the Church of Christ. +Gently and imperceptibly he led him on, until +the whole tremendous work was done. The untutored +savage, if he knew nothing else, yet +knew the name of his Redeemer. The bloody +warfare, the feuds and jealousies of his tribe, +if not completely overcome, at least were softened +and ameliorated. When he could not +convert, he endeavored to humanize; and +among the tribes of the Illinois,<a name="FNanchor_55_55" id="FNanchor_55_55"></a><a href="#Footnote_55_55" class="fnanchor">[55]</a> though they +were never thoroughly Christianized, the influence +of the good fathers soon prevailed to abolish +the barbarous practice of torturing captives.<a name="FNanchor_56_56" id="FNanchor_56_56"></a><a href="#Footnote_56_56" class="fnanchor">[56]</a> +For though they might not embrace<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> +the religion, the savages venerated its teachers, +and loved them for their gentleness.</p> + +<p>And this gentleness was not want of courage; +for never in the history of the world has truer +valor been exhibited than that shown by the +early missionary and his compeers, the first +military adventurers! Read Joutel's account +of the melancholy life and death of La Salle; +read the simple, unpretending “Journal” of +Marquette;<a name="FNanchor_57_57" id="FNanchor_57_57"></a><a href="#Footnote_57_57" class="fnanchor">[57]</a> and compare their constancy and +heroism with that displayed at any time in any +cause! But the <i>voyageur</i> possessed higher +qualities than courage, also; and here again we +recur to his perfect abnegation of himself; his +renunciation of all personal considerations.</p> + +<p>Courage takes note of danger, but defies it: +the <i>voyageur</i> was careless of danger, because +he counted it as nothing; he gave it no thought, +because it only affected <i>himself</i>; and he valued +not his own safety and comfort, so long as he +could serve the cause by forgetting them. Mere +courage is combative, even pugnacious; but +the <i>voyageur</i> fought only “the good fight;” he +had no pride of conquest, save in the victories +of Faith, and rather would suffer, himself, than<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> +inflict suffering upon others. Mere courage is +restless, impatient, purposeless: but the <i>voyageur</i> +was content to remain wherever he could +do good, tentative only in the cause of Christ, +and distracted by no objects from his mission. +His religion was his inspiration; his conscience +his reward. His system may have been perverted, +his zeal mistaken, his church a sham; +we are not arguing that question. But the +purity of his intentions, the sincerity of his +heart, can not be doubted; and the most intolerant +protestant against “the corruptions of +Rome” will, at least, admit that even catholicism +was better than the paganism of the savage.</p> + +<p>“There is not,” says Macaulay,<a name="FNanchor_58_58" id="FNanchor_58_58"></a><a href="#Footnote_58_58" class="fnanchor">[58]</a> “and there +never was on this earth, a work of human policy +so well deserving of examination as the Roman +Catholic Church.” And certainly all other +systems combined have never produced one +tithe of the astounding results brought about +by this alone. Whether she has taught truth +or falsehood; whether, on the whole, it had +been better or worse for the cause of Christianity, +had no such organization ever existed; +whether her claims be groundless or well-founded, +are questions foreign to our purpose.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> +But that her polity is the most powerful—the +best adapted to the ends she has in view—of all +that man has hitherto invented, there can be no +doubt. Her missionaries have been more numerous +and more successful, ay, and more devoted, +than those of any other church. They +have gone where even the sword of the conqueror +could not cleave his way. They have +built churches in the wilderness, which were +time-worn and crumbling when the first emigrant +penetrated the forests. They have preached +to youthful savages who never saw the face +of another white man, though they lived to +three-score years and ten. They have prayed +upon the shores of lonely lakes and rivers, +which were not mapped by geographers for +centuries after their deaths. They have travelled +on foot, unarmed and alone, where an +army could not march. And everywhere their +zeal and usefulness have ended only with their +lives; and always with their latest breath +they have mingled prayers for the salvation of +their flocks, with aspirations for the welfare of +their church. For though countless miles of sea +and land were between her and them, their +loyalty and affection to the great spiritual +Mother were never forgotten. “In spite of +oceans and deserts; of hunger and pestilence;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> +of spies and penal laws; of dungeons and +racks, of gibbets and quartering-blocks,” they +have been found in every country, at all times, +ever active and zealous. And everywhere, in +palace, or hovel, or wilderness, they have been +true sons of the church, loyal and obedient.</p> + +<p>An organization capable of producing such +results is certainly well worth examination. +For the influence she has wielded in ages past +gives promise of her future power; and it becomes +those who think her permanence pernicious +to the world, to avoid her errors and yet +imitate her wisdom. If the system be a falsehood +and a sham, it is a most gigantic and successful +one, and it is of strange longevity. It +has lived now more than fifteen hundred years, +and one hundred and fifty millions of people +yet believe it. If it be a counterfeit, it is high +time the cheat were detected and exposed. Let +those who have the truth give forth its light, +that the falsehood may wither and die. Unless +they do so, the life which has already extended +over so many centuries may gain fresh vigor, +and renew its youth. Even yet the vision of +the essayist may be realized: “She may still +exist in undiminished vigor, when some traveller +from New Zealand shall, in the midst of a +vast solitude, take his stand on a broken arch<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> +of London Bridge to sketch the ruins of St. +Paul's!”</p> + +<p>It was to this church that the early <i>voyageurs</i> +belonged. And I do not use that word +“belonged” as it is employed in modern times +among protestants: I mean <i>more</i> than that convenient, +loosely-fitting profession, which, like a +garment, is thrown on and off, as the exigencies +of hypocrisy or cupidity may require. These +men actually <i>did belong</i> to the church. They +were hers, soul and body; hers, in life and in +death; hers to go whithersoever she might direct, +to do whatsoever she might appoint. They +believed the doctrines they taught with an abiding, +<i>active</i> faith; and they were willing to be +spent in preaching them to the heathen.</p> + +<br /> +<p>It has always been a leading principle in the +policy of the Roman church, to preserve her +unity, and she has been enabled to do so, principally +by the ramified and elastic polity for +which she has been distinguished, to which she +owes much of her extent and power, as well as +no small part of the reproach so liberally bestowed +upon her in the pages of history. There +are many “arms” in her service: a man must +be impracticable indeed, when she can find no +place in which to make him useful, or to pre<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span>vent +his being mischievous. She never drives +one from the pale of the church who can benefit +it as a communicant, or injure it as a dissenter. +If he became troublesome at home, she has, in +all ages, had enterprises on foot in which she +might clothe him with authority, and send him +to the uttermost parts of the earth; thus ridding +herself of a dangerous member, and, by the +same act, enlarging the sphere of her own dominion. +Does an enthusiast become noisy, or +troublesome upon unimportant points, the creed +is flexible, and the mother will not quarrel with +her child, for his earnestness may convince and +lead astray more valuable sons and daughters. +She will establish a new order, of which the +stubborn fanatic shall be founder; the new order +is built into the old church organization, +and its founder becomes a dignitary of the ecclesiastical +establishment. Instead of becoming +a dangerous heretic and schismatic, he is attached +to orthodoxy by cords stronger than +steel; henceforth all his earnest enthusiasm +shall be directed to the advancement of his order, +and consequently of his church. Does +one exhibit inflexibility in some matter of conscience +upon which the church insists, there +are many of God's children in the wilderness +starving in spirit for the bread of life; and to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> +these, with that bread, shall the refractory son +be sent. He receives the commission; departs +upon his journey, glad to forget a difference +with his spiritual superiors; preaches to the +heathen; remembers only that the church is +his mother; wins a crown of martyrdom, and is +canonized for the encouragement of others!</p> + +<p>Thus she finds a place for all, and work +enough for each; and thus are thrown off the +elements of schism and rebellion. Those who +had most courage in the cause of right; all +who were likely to be guided in matters of conscience +by their own convictions; the most +sincere and single-hearted, the firmest and purest +and bravest, were, in matters of controversy, +the most dangerous champions, should they +range themselves against the teaching of the +church. They were consequently, at the period +of which I am writing, the men whom it was +most desirable to send away; and they were +eminently well fitted for the arduous and wasting +duties of the missionary.</p> + +<p>To this class belonged the large majority of +the <i>voyageur</i> priests: men who might be inconvenient +and obtrusive monitors, or formidable +adversaries in controversy, if they remained at +home; but who could only be useful—who of +all men could be <i>most</i> useful—in gathering the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> +heathen into the fold of the church. There +were, doubtless, a few of another class; the +restless, intriguing, and disobedient, who, though +not formidable, were troublesome. But even +when these joined the missionary expeditions, +they did but little to forward the work, and are +entitled to none of the honor so abundantly due +to their more sincere brethren. To this class, +for example, belonged the false and egotistical +Hennepin, who only signalized himself by endeavoring +to appropriate the reputation so +hardly won by the brave and unfortunate La +Salle.<a name="FNanchor_59_59" id="FNanchor_59_59"></a><a href="#Footnote_59_59" class="fnanchor">[59]</a></p> + +<p>It does not appear upon the record that any +of these men—of either the restless and ambitious, +or of the better class—were literally +<i>sent away</i>. But such has been the politic practice +of this church for many ages; and we may +safely believe, that when she was engaged in +an unscrupulous and desperate contest for the +recovery, by fair means or foul, of her immense +losses, there might be many in the ranks of her +pious priesthood whom it would be inconvenient +to retain at home. And during that conflict<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> +especially, with the most formidable enemies +she ever had, she could not afford to be encumbered.</p> + +<p>But whatever may have been the motives of +their spiritual superiors, the missionaries themselves +were moved only by the considerations +of which we have spoken—the truest piety +and the most burning zeal. Of these influences +they were conscious; but we shall perhaps not +do the character injustice if we add another +spur to action, of which they were <i>not</i> conscious. +There is a vein of romance in the +French composition; a love of adventure for +the sake of the adventure itself, which, when +not tamed or directed, makes a Frenchman fitful, +erratic, and unreliable. When it is toned +by personal ambition, it becomes a sort of Paladin +contempt for danger; sometimes a crazy +furor. When accompanied by powerful intellect, +and strengthened by concentration on a +purpose, it makes a great commander—great +for the quickness of his comprehension, the +suddenness of his resolutions, the rapidity of +their execution. When humanized by love, +and quickened by religious zeal, it is purified +of every selfish thought, and produces the chivalrous +missionary, whom neither fire nor flood, +neither desert nor pathless wilderness, shall de<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span>ter +from obeying the command of Him who +sent his gospel “unto every creature.” And +thus are even those traits, which so often curse +the world with insane ambition and sanguinary +war, turned by the power of a true benevolence +to be blessings of incalculable value.</p> + +<p>Such were the purposes, such the motives, +of this band of noble men; and whatever may +have been their errors, we must at least accord +them the virtues of <i>sincerity</i>, <i>courage</i>, <i>and self-denial</i>. +But let us look a little more closely at +the means by which they accomplished undertakings +which, to any other race of men, would +have been not only impracticable, but utterly +desperate. Take again, as the representative +of his class, the case of Father Marquette, than +whom, obscure as his name is in the wastes of +history, no man ever lived a more instructive +and exemplary life.</p> + +<p>From the year 1668 to 1671,<a name="FNanchor_60_60" id="FNanchor_60_60"></a><a href="#Footnote_60_60" class="fnanchor">[60]</a> Marquette had +been preaching at the Sault de Sainte Marie, a +little below the foot of Lake Superior. He was +associated with others in that mission; but the +largest type, though it thrust itself no higher +than the smallest, will make the broadest impress +on the page of history; and even in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> +meager record of that time, we may trace the +influence of his gentle but firm spirit—those +by whom he was accompanied evidently took +their tone from him. But he was one of the +Church's pioneers; that class whose eager, +single-hearted zeal is always pushing forward +to new conquests of the faith; and when he +had put aside the weapons that opposed their +way, to let his followers in, his thoughts at once +went on to more remote and suffering regions. +During his residence at the Sault, rumors and +legends were continually floating in of the unknown +country lying to the west—“the Land +of the Great River,” the Indians called it—until +the mind of the good father became fully +possessed with the idea of going to convert the +nations who dwelt upon its shores. In the year +1671, he took the first step in that direction, +moving on to Point St. Ignatius, on the main +land, north of the island of Mackinac. Here, +surrounded by his little flock of wondering +listeners, he preached until the spring of 1673; +but all the time his wish to carry the gospel +where its sound had never been heard was +growing stronger. He felt in his heart the impulse +of his calling, to lead the way and open +a path for the advance of light. At the period +mentioned, he received an order from the wise<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> +intendant in New France, M. Talon, to explore +the pathless wilderness to the westward.</p> + +<p>Then was seen the true spirit of the man, and +of his order. He gathered together no armament; +asked the protection of no soldiers; no +part of the cargo of his little boat consisted of +gunpowder, or of swords or guns; his only arms +were the spirit of love and peace; his trust was +in God for protection. Five boatmen, and one +companion, the Sieur Joliet, composed his party. +Two light bark canoes were his only means +of travelling; and in these he carried a small +quantity of Indian corn and some jerked meat, +his only means of subsistence.</p> + +<p>Thus equipped, he set out through Green Bay +and up Fox river, in search of a country never +yet visited by any European. The Indians endeavored +to dissuade him, wondering at his +hardihood, and still more at the motives which +could induce him thus to brave so many dangers. +They told him of the savage Indians, to +whom it would be only pastime to torture and +murder him; of the terrible monsters which +would swallow him and his companions, +“canoes and all;” of the great bird called +the <i>Piasau</i>,<a name="FNanchor_61_61" id="FNanchor_61_61"></a><a href="#Footnote_61_61" class="fnanchor">[61]</a> which devoured men, after car<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span>rying +them in its horrible talons to inaccessible +cliffs and mountains; and of the scorching +heat, which would wither him like a dry leaf. +“I thanked them kindly,” says the resolute but +gentle father, “for their good counsel; but I +told them that I could not profit by it, since the +salvation of souls was at stake, for which object +I would be overjoyed to give my life.” Shaking +them by the hand, one by one, as they approached +to bid him farewell, as they thought, +for the last time, he turned his back upon safety +and peace, and departed upon his self-denying +pilgrimage.</p> + +<p>Let him who sits at ease in his cushioned +pew at home—let him who lounges on his velvet-covered +sofa in the pulpit, while his well-taught +choir are singing; who rises as the +strains are dying, and kneels upon a cushioned +stool to pray; who treads upon soft carpets +while he preaches, in a white cravat, to congregations +clad in broadcloth, silk, and satin—let +him pause and ponder on the difference +between his works, his trials, his zeal—ay, and +his glory, both of earth and heaven!—and those +of Father James Marquette!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span></p> + +<p>The little party went upon their way; the +persuasions of their simple-hearted friends could +not prevail, for the path of duty was before +them, and the eye of God above. Having +passed through Green Bay, and painfully +dragged their canoes over the rapids of Fox +river, they reached a considerable village, inhabited +by the united tribes of Kickapoos, Miamis, +and Mascoutimes. Here they halted for +a time, as the mariner, about to prove the dangers +of a long voyage, lingers for a day in the +last port he is likely to enter for many months. +Beyond this point no white man had ever +gone; and here, if anywhere, the impulses of +a natural fear should have made themselves +felt. But we hear of no hesitation, no shrinking +from the perilous task; and we know from +the unpretending “Journal” of the good father, +that a retreat, nay, even a halt—longer than +was necessary to recruit exhausted strength, and +renew the memory of former lessons among the +natives—was never thought of. “My companion,” +said Marquette, referring to Joliet, “is +an envoy from the king of France, and I am +an humble minister of God. I have no fear, <i>because +I shall consider it the highest happiness +to die in the service of my master!</i>” There +was no bravado in this, for, unlike many from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> +whom you may, any day, hear the same declaration, +he set forth immediately to encounter +the perils of his embassy.</p> + +<p>The Indians, unable to prevail with him to +abandon the enterprise, made all their simple +provision for his comfort; and, furnishing him +with guides and carriers across the portage to +the Wisconsin river, parted with him as one +bound for eternity. Having brought them +safely to the river, the guides left them “alone +in that unknown country, in the hand of God;” +and, trusting to the protection of that hand, +they set out upon their journey down the +stream.<a name="FNanchor_62_62" id="FNanchor_62_62"></a><a href="#Footnote_62_62" class="fnanchor">[62]</a> Seven days after, “with inexpressible +joy,” they emerged upon the bosom of +the great river. During all this time they +had seen no human being, though, probably, +many a wandering savage had watched them +from the covert of the bank, as they floated +silently between the forests. It was an unbroken +solitude, where the ripple of their paddles +sounded loudly on the ear, and their voices, +subdued by the stillness, were sent back in +lonely echoes from the shore.</p> + +<p>They were the first white men who ever +floated on the bosom of that mighty river<a name="FNanchor_63_63" id="FNanchor_63_63"></a><a href="#Footnote_63_63" class="fnanchor">[63]</a><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span>—“the +envoy from the king of France, and the +embassador of the King of kings.” What were +their thoughts we know not, but from Marquette's +simple “Journal;” for, in returning to +Quebec, Joliet's boat was wrecked in sight of +the city, and all his papers lost.<a name="FNanchor_64_64" id="FNanchor_64_64"></a><a href="#Footnote_64_64" class="fnanchor">[64]</a> Of the Sieur +himself, we know nothing, save as the companion +of Marquette on this voyage; but from +this alone his fame is imperishable.</p> + +<p>They sailed slowly down the river, keeping +a constant outlook upon the banks for signs of +those for whose spiritual welfare the good father +had undertaken his perilous journey. But +for more than sixty leagues not a human form +or habitation could be seen. They had leisure, +more than they desired, to admire the grand +and beautiful scenery of that picturesque region. +In some places the cliffs rose perpendicularly +for hundreds of feet from the water's +edge; and nodding over their brows, and +towering against the sky, were stately pines +and cedars of the growth of centuries. Here,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> +there lay between the river and the cliffs, a +level prairie, waving in all the luxuriance of +“the leafy month of June;” while beyond, the +bluffs, enclosing the natural garden, softened +by the distance, and clothed in evergreen, +seemed but an extension of the primitive savanna. +Here, a dense, primeval forest grew +quite down to the margin of the water; and, +hanging from the topmost branches of the +giant oaks, festoons of gray and graceful moss +lay floating on the rippled surface, or dipped +within the tide. Here, the large, smooth roots of +trees half undermined, presented seats and footholds, +where the pleasant shade invited them to +rest, and shelter from the sultry summer sun. +Anon, an open prairie, with no cliff or bluff +beyond, extended undulating from the river, +until the eye, in straining to measure its extent, +was wearied by the effort, and the plain became +a waving sea of rainbow colors; of green +and yellow, gold and purple. Again, they +passed a gravelly beach, on which the yellow +sand was studded with a thousand sets of brilliant +shells, and little rivulets flowed in from +level prairies, or stealthily crept out from under +roots of trees or tangled vines, and hastened +to be hidden in the bosom of the great father +of waters.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span></p> + +<p>They floated on, through the dewy morning +hours, when the leaves were shining in the sunlight, +and the birds were singing joyously; before +the summer heat had dried the moisture, +or had forced the feathered songsters to the +shade. At noon, when the silence made the +solitude oppressive; when the leaves hung +wilting down, nor fluttered in the fainting +wind: when the prairies were no longer waving +like the sea, but trembling like the atmosphere +around a heated furnace: when the <i>mirage</i> +hung upon the plain: tall trees were seen +growing in the air, and among them stalked +the deer, and elk, and buffalo: while between +them and the ground, the brazen sky was glowing +with the sun of June: when nothing living +could be seen, save when the <i>voyageur's</i> approach +would startle some wild beast slaking +his thirst in the cool river, or a flock of waterfowl +were driven from their covert, where the +willow branches, drooping, dipped their leaves +of silvery gray within the water. They floated +on till evening, when the sun approached the +prairie, and his broad, round disc, now shorn of +its dazzling beams, defined itself against the +sky and grew florid in the gathering haze: +when the birds began to reappear, and flitted +noiselessly among the trees, in busy prepara<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span>tion +for the night: when beasts of prey crept +out from lurking-places, where they had dozed +and panted through the hours of noon: when +the wilderness grew vocal with the mingled +sounds of lowing buffalo, and screaming panther, +and howling wolf; until the shadows rose +from earth, and travelled from the east; until +the dew began to fall, the stars came out, and +night brought rest and dreams of home!</p> + +<p>Thus they floated on, “from morn till dewy +eve,” and still no sign of human life, neither +habitation nor footprint, until one day—it was +the twenty-fifth of June, more than two weeks +since they had entered the wilderness—in +gliding past a sandy beach, they recognised +the impress of a naked foot! Following it for +some distance, it grew into a trail, and then a +path, once more a place where human beings +habitually walked.</p> + +<p>Whose feet had trodden down the grass, what +strange people lived on the prairies, they knew +not, what dangers might await them, they cared +not. These were the people whom the good +father had come so far to convert and save! +And now, again, one might expect some natural +hesitation; some doubt in venturing among +those who were certainly barbarians, and who +might, for aught they knew, be brutal canni<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span>bals. +We could forgive a little wavering, indeed, +especially when we think of the frightful +stories told them by the Northern Indians of +this very people. But fear was not a part of +these men's nature; or if it existed, it lay so +deep, buried beneath religious zeal and pious +trust, that its voice never reached the upper +air. Leaving the boatmen with the canoes, +near the mouth of the river now called Des +Moines, Marquette and Joliet set out alone, +to follow up the trail, and seek the people +who had made it. It led them to an open +prairie, one of the most beautiful in the present +state of Iowa, and crossing this, a distance of +six miles, they at last found themselves in the +vicinity of three Indian villages. The very +spot<a name="FNanchor_65_65" id="FNanchor_65_65"></a><a href="#Footnote_65_65" class="fnanchor">[65]</a> where the chief of these stood might now +be easily found, so clear, though brief, is the +description of the simple priest. It stood at the +foot of a long slope, on the bank of the river +Moingona (or Des Moines), about six miles due +west of the Mississippi; and at the top of the +rise, at the distance of half a league, were built<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> +the two others. “We commended ourselves +unto God,” writes the gentle father; for they +knew not at what moment they might need his +intervention; and crying out with a loud voice, +to announce their approach, they calmly advanced +toward the group of lodges. At a short +distance from the entrance to the village, they +were met by a deputation of four old men, who, +to their great joy, they perceived bore a richly-ornamented +pipe of peace, the emblem of friendship +and hospitality. Tendering the mysterious +calumet, they informed the Frenchmen that +they belonged to one of the tribes called “Illinois” +(or “Men”), and invited them to enter +their lodges in peace: an invitation which the +weary <i>voyageurs</i> were but too glad to accept.</p> + +<p>A great council was held, with all the rude +but imposing ceremonies of the grave and dignified +Indian; and before the assembled chiefs +and braves, Marquette published his mission +from his heavenly Master. Passing, then, from +spiritual to temporal things—for we do not +hear of any address from Joliet, who probably +was no orator—he spoke of his earthly king, +and of his viceroy in New France; of his victories +over the Iroquois, the dreaded enemies +of the peaceful Western tribes; and then made +many inquiries about the Mississippi, its tribu<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span>taries, +and the nations who dwelt upon their +banks. His advances were kindly received, +his questions frankly answered, and the council +broke up with mutual assurances of good-will. +Then ensued the customary festival. Hominy, +fish, buffalo, and <i>dog-meat</i>, were successively +served up, like the courses of a more modern +table; but of <i>the last</i> “we declined to partake,” +writes the good father, no doubt much to the +astonishment and somewhat to the chagrin of +their hospitable friends; for even yet, among +the western Indians, dog-meat is a dish of honor.</p> + +<p>Six days of friendly intercourse passed pleasantly +away, diversified by many efforts on the +part of Marquette to instruct and convert the +docile savages. Nor were these entirely without +result; they excited, at least, the wish to +hear more; and on his departure they crowded +round him, and urgently requested him to come +again among them. He promised to do so, a +pledge which he afterward redeemed. But +now he could not tarry; he was bent upon his +hazardous voyage down the Great River, and +he knew that he was only on the threshold of +his grand discoveries. Six hundred warriors, +commanded by their most distinguished chief, +accompanied him back to his boats; and, after +hanging around his neck the great calumet, to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> +protect him among the hostile nations of the +south, they parted with him, praying that the +Great Spirit, of whom he had told them, might +give him a prosperous voyage, and a speedy +and safe return.</p> + +<br /> +<p>These were the first of the nations of the +Mississippi Valley visited by the French, and +it is from them that the state of Illinois takes +its name. They were a singularly gentle people; +and a nature originally peaceful had been rendered +almost timid by the cruel inroads of the +murderous Iroquois.<a name="FNanchor_66_66" id="FNanchor_66_66"></a><a href="#Footnote_66_66" class="fnanchor">[66]</a> These, by their traffic +with the Dutch and English of New-York, and +by their long warfare with the French of Canada, +had acquired the use of fire-arms, and, of +course, possessed an immense advantage over +those who were armed only with the primitive +bow and arrow. The restless and ambitious +spirit of the singular confederacy, usually called +the Five Nations, and known among their +neighbors by the collective name of Iroquois, +had carried their incursions even as far as +the hunting-grounds of the Shawanese, about<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> +the mouth of the Ohio; and their successes +had made them a terror to all the western +tribes. The Illinois, therefore, knowing the +French to be at war with these formidable enemies, +were the more anxious to form an alliance +with them; and the native gentleness of their +manners was, perhaps, increased by the hope +of assistance and protection. But, whatever +motives may have influenced them, besides +their natural character, their forethought was +of vital service to the wanderers in the countries +of the south, whither they proceeded.</p> + +<p>The little party of seven resumed their voyage +on the last day of June, and floating with +the rapid current, a few days afterward passed +the rocks, above the site of Alton, where was +painted the image of the ravenous <i>Piasau</i>, of +which they had been told by the Northern Indians, +and on the same day reached the mouth +of the Pekitanoni, the Indian name for the +rapid and turbulent Missouri. Inwardly resolving, +at some future time, to ascend its muddy +current, to cross the ridge beyond, and, descending +some river which falls into the Great +South sea (as the Pacific was then called), to +publish the gospel to all the people of the continent, +the zealous father passed onward toward +the south. Coasting slowly along the wasting<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> +shore, lingering in the mouths of rivers, or exploring +dense forests in the hope of meeting the +natives, they continued on their course until +they reached the mouth of a river which they +called the <i>Ouabache</i>, or Wabash, none other +than the beautiful Ohio.<a name="FNanchor_67_67" id="FNanchor_67_67"></a><a href="#Footnote_67_67" class="fnanchor">[67]</a> Here they found +the advanced settlement of Shawanese, who had +been pushed toward the southwest by the incessant +attacks of the Iroquois. But by this +time, fired with the hope of ascertaining the +outlet of the Mississippi, they postponed their +visit to these people until their return, and +floated on.</p> + +<br /> +<p>It is amusing, as well as instructive, to observe +how little importance the travellers gave to the +river Ohio, in their geographical assumptions. +In the map published by Marquette with his +“Journal,” the “<i>Ouabisquigou</i>” as he denominates +it, in euphonious French-Indian, compared +to the Illinois or even to the Wisconsin, +is but an inconsiderable rivulet! The lonely<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> +wanderers were much farther from the English +settlements than they supposed; a mistake into +which they must have been led, by hearing of +the incursions of the Iroquois; for even at that +early day they could not but know that the +head-waters of the Ohio were not distant from +the hunting-grounds of that warlike confederacy. +Even this explanation, however, scarcely +lessens our wonder that they should have known +so little of courses and distances; for had this +river been as short as it is here delineated, they +would have been within four hundred miles of +Montreal.</p> + +<p>After leaving the Ohio, they suffered much +from the climate and its incidents; for they +were now approaching, in the middle of July, +a region of perpetual summer. Mosquitoes +and other venomous insects (in that region we +might even call them <i>ravenous</i> insects) became +intolerably annoying; and the <i>voyageurs</i> began +to think they had reached the country of the +terrible heats, which, as they had been warned +in the north, “would wither them up like a dry +leaf.” But the prospect of death by torture and +savage cruelty had not daunted them, and they +were not now disposed to be turned back by +any excess of climate. Arranging their sails +in the form of awnings to protect them from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> +the sun by day and the dews by night, they +resolutely pursued their way.</p> + +<p>Following the course of the river, they soon +entered the region of cane-brakes, so thick that +no animal larger than a cat could penetrate +them; and of cotton-wood forests of immense +size and of unparalleled density. They were +far beyond the limits of every Indian dialect +with which they had become acquainted—were, +in fact, approaching the region visited +by De Soto, on his famous expedition in search +of Juan Ponce de Leon's fountain of youth.<a name="FNanchor_68_68" id="FNanchor_68_68"></a><a href="#Footnote_68_68" class="fnanchor">[68]</a> +The country was possessed by the Sioux and +Chickasaws, to whom the <i>voyageurs</i> were total +strangers; but they went on without fear. In +the neighborhood of the southern boundary of +the present state of Arkansas, they were met +in hostile array by great numbers of the natives, +who approached them in large canoes +made from the trunks of hollow trees. But +Marquette held aloft the symbol of peace, the +ornamented calumet, and the hearts of the savages +were melted, as the pious father believed, +by the touch of God. They threw aside their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> +weapons, and received the strangers with rude +but hearty hospitality. They escorted them, +with many demonstrations of welcome, to the +village of Michigamia; and, on the following +day, having feasted their strange guests plentifully, +though not with the unsavory meats of the +Illinois, they marched in triumphal procession +to the metropolis of Akansea, about ten leagues +distant, down the river.</p> + +<br /> +<p>This was the limit of their voyage. Here +they ascertained, beyond a doubt, that the Mississippi +flowed into the gulf of Mexico, and not, +as had been conjectured, into the great South +sea. Here they found the natives armed with +axes of steel, a proof of their traffic with the +Spaniards; and thus was the circle of discovery +complete, connecting the explorations of the +French with those of the Spanish, and entirely +enclosing the possessions of the English. No +voyage so important has since been undertaken—no +results so great have ever been +produced by so feeble an expedition. The +discoveries of Marquette, followed by the enterprises +of La Salle and his successors, have +influenced the destinies of nations; and passing +over all political speculations, this exploration +first threw open a valley of greater extent, fer<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span>tility, +and commercial advantages, than any +other in the world. Had either the French or +the Spanish possessed the stubborn qualities +which <i>hold</i>, as they had the useful which <i>discover</i>, +the aspect of this continent would, at +this day, have been far different.</p> + +<p>On the seventeenth of July, having preached +to the Indians the glory of God and the Catholic +faith, and proclaimed the power of the +<i>Grand Monarque</i>—for still we hear nothing +of speech-making or delivering credentials on +the part of Joliet—he set out on his return. +After severe and wasting toil for many days, +they reached a point, as Marquette supposed, +some leagues below the mouth of the Moingona, +or Des Moines. Here they left the Mississippi, +and crossed the country between that +river and the Illinois, probably passing through +the very country which now bears the good father's +name, entering the latter stream at a +point not far from the present town of Peoria. +Proceeding slowly up that calm river, preaching +to the tribes along its banks, and partaking +of their hospitality, he was at last conducted to +Lake Michigan, at Chicago, and by the end of +September was safe again in Green Bay, having +travelled, since the tenth of June, more than +three thousand miles.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span></p> + +<p>It might have been expected that one who +had made so magnificent a discovery—who +had braved so much and endured so much—would +wish to announce in person, to the authorities +in Canada, or in France, the results +of his expedition. Nay, it would not have +been unpardonable had he desired to enjoy, +after his labors, something of the consideration +to which their success entitled him. And, certainly, +no man could ever have approached his +rulers with a better claim upon their notice than +could the unpretending <i>voyageur</i>. But vainglory +was no more a part of his nature, than +was fear. The unaspiring priest remained at +Green Bay, to continue, or rather to resume, as +a task laid aside only for a time, his ministrations +to the savages. Joliet hastened on to +Quebec to report the expedition, and Marquette +returned to Chicago, for the purpose of +preaching the gospel to the Miami confederacy; +several allied tribes who occupied the country +between Lake Michigan and the Des Moines +river. Here again he visited the Illinois, +speaking to them of God, and of the religion +of Jesus; thus redeeming a promise which he +had made them, when on his expedition to the +South.</p> + +<p>But his useful, unambitious life was drawing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> +to a close. Let us describe its last scene in the +words of our accomplished historian:—</p> + +<p>“Two years afterward, sailing from Chicago +to Mackinac, he entered a little river in Michigan. +Erecting an altar, he said mass, after the +rites of the Catholic church; then, begging the +men who conducted his canoe to leave him +alone for a half hour,</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i4">——'In the darkling wood,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Amid the cool and silence, he knelt down,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And offered to the mightiest solemn thanks<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And supplication.'<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>“At the end of the half hour they went to seek +him, <i>and he was no more</i>. The good missionary, +discoverer of a world, had fallen asleep on +the margin of the stream that bears his name. +Near its mouth, the canoe-men dug his grave +in the sand. Ever after, the forest rangers, in +their danger on Lake Michigan, would invoke +his name. The people of the West will build +his monument.”<a name="FNanchor_69_69" id="FNanchor_69_69"></a><a href="#Footnote_69_69" class="fnanchor">[69]</a></p> + +<p>The monument is not yet built; though the +name of new counties in several of our western +states testifies that the noble missionary is not +altogether forgotten, in the land where he spent +so many self-denying years.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span></p> + +<p>Such was the <i>voyageur</i> priest; the first, in +chronological order, of the succession of singular +men who have explored and peopled the +great West. And though many who have followed +him have been his equals in courage and +endurance, none have ever possessed the same +combination of heroic and unselfish qualities. +It ought not to be true that this brief and cursory +sketch is the first distinct tribute yet paid +to his virtues; for no worthier subject ever employed +the pen of the poet or historian.</p> + +<div class="sidenoteb"><p><span class="smcap"><b>Note.</b></span>—Struck with the fact that the history of this class of +men, and of their enterprises and sufferings, has never been +written, except by themselves in their simple “Journals” and +“Relations”—for the <i>résumé</i> given of these by Sparks, Bancroft, +and others, is of necessity a mere unsatisfactory abstract—the +writer has for some time been engaged in collecting and +arranging materials, with the intention of supplying the want. +The authorities are numerous and widely scattered; and such +a work ought to be thoroughly and carefully written, so that +much time and labor lies between the author and his day of +publication. Should he be spared, however, to finish the work, +he hopes to present a picture of a class of men, displaying as +much of true devotion, genuine courage, and self-denial, in the +humble walk of the missionary, as the pages of history show +in any other department of human enterprise.</p></div> + + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_52_52" id="Footnote_52_52"></a><a href="#FNanchor_52_52"><span class="label">[52]</span></a> In common use, this word was restricted so as to indicate +only the boatmen, the carriers of that time; but I am writing +of a period anterior, by many years, to the existence of the +Trade which made their occupation.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_53_53" id="Footnote_53_53"></a><a href="#FNanchor_53_53"><span class="label">[53]</span></a> Joutel, who was one of La Salle's party, and afterward +wrote an account of the enterprise, entitled <i>Journal Historique</i>, +published in Paris, 1713. Its fidelity is as evident upon +its face, as is the simplicity of the historian.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_54_54" id="Footnote_54_54"></a><a href="#FNanchor_54_54"><span class="label">[54]</span></a> This was in the winter of 1679-'80; and the Five Nations, +included in the general term Iroquois, had not then made the +conquest upon which the English afterward founded their claim +to the country. They were, however, generally regarded as +enemies by all the Illinois tribes.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_55_55" id="Footnote_55_55"></a><a href="#FNanchor_55_55"><span class="label">[55]</span></a> A collective name, including a number, variously stated, +of different tribes confederated.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_56_56" id="Footnote_56_56"></a><a href="#FNanchor_56_56"><span class="label">[56]</span></a> <i>Annals of the West</i>, by J. H. Perkins and J. M. Peck, +p. 679. St. Louis. 1850.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_57_57" id="Footnote_57_57"></a><a href="#FNanchor_57_57"><span class="label">[57]</span></a> The substance of the Journal may be found, republished by +Dr. Sparks, in the second edition of <i>Butler's Kentucky</i>, p. 493, +<i>et seq.</i>, and in vol. x. of his <i>American Biography.</i></p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_58_58" id="Footnote_58_58"></a><a href="#FNanchor_58_58"><span class="label">[58]</span></a> <i>Miscellanies</i>, “Review of Ranke's History of the Popes.”</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_59_59" id="Footnote_59_59"></a><a href="#FNanchor_59_59"><span class="label">[59]</span></a> In a book which he published at Utrecht, in 1697, entitled +<i>A New Discovery of a Vast Country</i>, he claims to have gone +down the Mississippi to its mouth before La Salle. The whole +book is a mere plagiarism. See Sparks's <i>Life of La Salle</i>, +where the vain father is summarily and justly disposed of.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_60_60" id="Footnote_60_60"></a><a href="#FNanchor_60_60"><span class="label">[60]</span></a> Most of these dates may be found in Bancroft's <i>United +States</i>, vol iii.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_61_61" id="Footnote_61_61"></a><a href="#FNanchor_61_61"><span class="label">[61]</span></a> The legend of the Piasau is well known. Within the recollection +of men now living, rude paintings of the monster +were visible on the cliffs above Alton, Illinois. To these images, +when passing in their canoes, the Indians were accustomed +to make offerings of maize, tobacco, and gunpowder. +They are now quite obliterated.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_62_62" id="Footnote_62_62"></a><a href="#FNanchor_62_62"><span class="label">[62]</span></a> June 10, 1673.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_63_63" id="Footnote_63_63"></a><a href="#FNanchor_63_63"><span class="label">[63]</span></a> I mean, of course, the upper Mississippi; for De Soto had +reached it lower down one hundred and thirty-two years before.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_64_64" id="Footnote_64_64"></a><a href="#FNanchor_64_64"><span class="label">[64]</span></a> It was announced, some months since, that our minister at +Rome, Mr. Cass, had made discoveries in that city which threw +more light upon this expedition. But how this can be, consistently +with the fact stated in the text (about which there is +no doubt), I am at a loss to divine.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_65_65" id="Footnote_65_65"></a><a href="#FNanchor_65_65"><span class="label">[65]</span></a> The place of Marquette's landing—which should be classic +ground—from his description of the country, and the distance +he specifies, could not have been far from the spot where +the city of Keokuk now stands, a short distance above the +mouth of the Des Moines. The locality should, if possible, be +determined.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_66_66" id="Footnote_66_66"></a><a href="#FNanchor_66_66"><span class="label">[66]</span></a> It was by virtue of a treaty of purchase—signed at Fort +Stanwix on the 5th of November, 1768—with the Six Nations, +who claimed the country as their conquest, that the British asserted +a title to the country west of the Alleghenies, Western +Virginia, Kentucky, etc.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_67_67" id="Footnote_67_67"></a><a href="#FNanchor_67_67"><span class="label">[67]</span></a> The geographical mistakes of the early French explorers +have led to some singular discussions about Western history—have +even been used by diplomatists to support or weaken +territorial claims. Such, for example, is the question concerning +the antiquity of Vincennes, a controversy founded on the +mistake noticed in the text. Vide <i>Western Annals</i>. 2d Ed. +Revised by J. M. Peck.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_68_68" id="Footnote_68_68"></a><a href="#FNanchor_68_68"><span class="label">[68]</span></a> In 1541, De Soto crossed the Mississippi about the thirty-fifth +parallel of latitude, or near the northern boundary of the +state of that name. It is not certain how far below this Marquette +went, though we are safe in saying that he did not turn +back north of that limit.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_69_69" id="Footnote_69_69"></a><a href="#FNanchor_69_69"><span class="label">[69]</span></a> Bancroft's <i>History of the United States</i>, vol. iii., p. 161, <i>et +seq.</i>, where the reader may look for most of these dates.</p></div> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">Top</a></span> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="III" id="III"></a>III.</h2> + +<h3>THE PIONEER.</h3> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i2">“I hear the tread of pioneers,<br /></span> +<span class="i4">Of nations yet to be—<br /></span> +<span class="i2">The first low wash of waves where soon<br /></span> +<span class="i4">Shall roll a human sea.”<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i4"><span class="smcap">Whittier</span>.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">“The axe rang sharply 'mid those forest shades<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Which, from creation, toward the sky had towered<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In unshorn beauty.”<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i4"><span class="smcap">Sigourney</span>.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Next, in chronological order, after the missionary, +came the military adventurer—of +which class La Salle was the best representative. +But the expeditions led by these men, +were, for the most part, wild and visionary enterprises, +in pursuit of unattainable ends. They +were, moreover, unskilfully managed and unfortunately +terminated—generally ending in +the defeat, disappointment, and death of those +who had set them on foot. They left no permanent +impress upon the country; the most +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span>acute moral or political vision can not now detect +a trace of their influence, in the aspect of +the lands they penetrated; and, so far from +hastening the settlement of the Great Valley, it +is more probable that their disastrous failures +rather retarded it—by deterring others from +the undertaking. Their history reads like a +romance; and their characters would better +grace the pages of fiction, than the annals of +civilization. Further than this brief reference, +therefore, I find no place for them, in a work +which aims only to notice those who either aided +to produce, or indicated, the characteristics +of the society in which they lived.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 421px;"> +<img src="images/illus-110.jpg" width="421" height="500" alt="" /> +<span class="caption">THE PIONEER.</span></div> + +<p>Soon after them, came the Indian-traders—to +whose generosity so many of the captives, +taken by the natives in those early times, +were indebted for their ransom. But—notwithstanding +occasional acts of charity—their +unscrupulous rapacity, and, particularly, their +introduction of spirituous liquors among the +savages, furnish good reason to doubt, whether, +on the whole, they did anything to advance the +civilization of the lands and people they visited. +And, as we shall have occasion to refer +again, though briefly, to the character in a subsequent +article, we will pass over it for the present, +and hasten on to the <i>Pioneer.</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span></p> + +<p>Of this class, there are two sub-divisions: the +floating, transitory, and erratic frontierman—including +the hunter, the trapper, the scout +and Indian-fighter: men who can not be considered +<i>citizens</i> of any country, but keep always a +little in advance of permanent emigration. With +this division of the class, we have little to do: +first, because they are already well understood, +by most readers in this country, through the +earlier novels of Cooper, their great delineator; +and, second, because, as we have intimated, our +business is chiefly with those, whose footprints +have been stamped upon the country, and +whose influence is traceable in its civilization. +We, therefore, now desire to direct attention to +the other sub-division—the genuine “settler;” +the firm, unflinching, permanent emigrant, who +entered the country to till the land and to possess +it, for himself and his descendants.</p> + +<p>And, in the first place, let us inquire what +motives could induce men to leave regions, +where the axe had been at work for many +years—where the land was reduced to cultivation, +and the forest reclaimed from the wild +beast and the wilder savage—where civilization +had begun to exert its power, and society +had assumed a legal and determined shape—to +depart from all these things, seeking a new<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> +home in an inhospitable wilderness, where they +could only gain a footing by severe labor, constant +strife, and sleepless vigilance? To be +capable of doing all this, from <i>any</i> motive, a +man must be a strange compound of qualities; +but that compound, strange as it is, has done, +and is doing, more to reclaim the west, and +change the wilderness into a garden, than all +other causes combined.</p> + +<br /> +<p>A prominent trait in the character of the +genuine American, is the desire “to better his +condition”—a peculiarity which sometimes +embodies itself in the disposition to forget the +good old maxim, “Let well-enough alone,” and +not unfrequently leads to disaster and suffering. +A thorough Yankee—using that word as +the English do, to indicate national, not sectional, +character—is never satisfied with doing +well; he always underrates his gains and his +successes; and, though to others he may be +boastful enough, and may, even truly, rate the +profits of his enterprise by long strings of +“naught,” he is always whispering to himself, +“I ought to do better.” If he sees any one +accumulating property faster than himself, he +becomes emulous and discontented—he is apt +to think, unless he goes more rapidly than any<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> +one else, that he is not moving at all. If he +can find no one of his neighbors advancing +toward fortune, with longer strides than he, he +will imagine some successful “speculator,” to +whom he will compare himself, and chafe at +his inferiority to a figment of his own fancy. +If he possessed “a million a minute,” he would +cast about for some profitable employment, in +which he might engage, “to pay expenses.” +He will abandon a silver-mine, of slow, but certain +gains, for the gambling chances of a gold +“placer;” and if any one within his knowledge +dig out more wealth than he, he will leave the +“diggings,” though his success be quite encouraging, +and go quixoting among the islands +of the sea, in search of pearls and diamonds. +With the prospect of improvement in his fortunes—whether +that prospect be founded upon +reason, be a naked fancy, or the offspring of +mere discontent—he regards no danger, cares +for no hardship, counts no suffering. Everything +must bend before the ruling passion, “to +better his condition.”</p> + +<p>His spirit is eminently encroaching. Rather +than give up any of his own “rights,” he will +take a part of what belongs to others. Whatever +he thinks necessary to his welfare, to that +he believes himself entitled. To whatever<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> +point he desires to reach, he takes the straightest +course, even though the way lie across the +corner of his neighbor's field. Yet he is intensely +jealous of his own possessions, and +warns off all trespassers with an imperial menace +of “the utmost penalty of the law.” He +has, of course, an excellent opinion of himself—and +justly: for when not blinded by cupidity +or vexed by opposition, no man can hold +the scales of justice with a more even hand.</p> + +<p>He is seldom conscious of having done a +wrong: for he rarely moves until he has ascertained +“both the propriety and expediency of +the motion.” He has, therefore, an instinctive +aversion to all retractions and apologies. He +has such a proclivity to the forward movement, +that its opposite, even when truth and justice +demand it, is stigmatized, in his vocabulary, +by odious and ridiculous comparisons. He is +very stubborn, and, it is feared, sometimes mistakes +his obstinacy for firmness. He thinks a +safe retreat worse than a defeat with slaughter. +Yet he never rests under a reverse, and, though +manifestly prostrate, will never acknowledge +that he is beaten. A check enrages him more +than a decided failure: for so long as his end is +not accomplished, nor defeated, he can see no +reason why he should not succeed. If his forces<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> +are driven back, shattered and destroyed, he is +not cast down, but angry—he forthwith swears +vengeance and another trial. He is quite insatiable—as +a failure does not dampen him, +success can never satisfy him. His plans are +always on a great scale; and, if they sometimes +exceed his means of execution, at least, “he +who aims at the sun,” though he may lose his +arrow, “will not strike the ground.” He is a +great projector—but he is eminently practical, +as well as theoretical; and if <i>he</i> cannot +realize his visions, no other man need try.</p> + +<p>He is restless and migratory. He is fond of +change, for the sake of the change; and he will +have it, though it bring him only new labors +and new hardships. He is, withal, a little selfish—as +might be supposed. He begins to +lose his attachment to the advantages of his +home, so soon as they are shared by others. +He does not like near neighbors—has no affection +for the soil; he will leave a place on which +he has expended much time and labor, as soon +as the region grows to be a “settlement.” +Even in a town, he is dissatisfied if his next +neighbor lives so near that the women can +gossip across the division-fence. He likes to +be at least one day's journey from the nearest +plantation.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span></p> + +<p>I once heard an old pioneer assign as a reason +why he must emigrate from western Illinois, +the fact that “people were settling right +under his nose”—and the farm of his nearest +neighbor was twelve miles distant, by the section +lines! He moved on to Missouri, but there +the same “impertinence” of emigrants soon followed +him; and, abandoning his half-finished +“clearing,” he packed his family and household +goods in a little wagon, and retreated, +across the plains to Oregon. He is—or was, +two years ago—living in the valley of the +Willamette, where, doubtless, he is now chafing +under the affliction of having neighbors in +the same region, and nothing but an ocean beyond.</p> + +<p>His character seems to be hard-featured.</p> + +<p>But he is neither unsocial, nor morose. He +welcomes the stranger as heartily as the most +hospitable patriarch. He receives the sojourner +at his fireside without question. He regales +him with the best the house affords: is always +anxious to have him “stay another day.” He +cares for his horse, renews his harness, laughs +at his stories, and exchanges romances with him. +He hunts with him; fishes, rides, walks, talks, +eats, and drinks with him. His wife washes +and mends the stranger's shirts, and lends him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> +a needle and thread to sew a button on his +only pair of pantaloons. The children sit on +his knee, the dog lies at his feet, and accompanies +him into the woods. The whole family +are his friends, and only grow cold and distant +when they learn that he is looking for land, +and thinks of “settling” within a few leagues. +If nothing of the sort occurs—and this only +“leaks out” by accident, for the pioneer never +pries inquisitively into the business of his guest, +he keeps him as long as he can; and when he +can stay no longer, fills his saddle-bags with +flitches of bacon and “pones” of corn-bread, +shakes him heartily by the hand, exacts a +promise to stop again on his return, and bids +him “God-speed” on his journey.</p> + +<br /> +<p>Such is American character, in the manifestations +which have most affected the settlement +and development of the West; a compound of +many noble qualities, with a few—and no nation +is without such—that are not quite so respectable. +All these, both good and bad, were +possessed by the early pioneer in an eminent, +sometimes in an extravagant degree; and the +circumstances, by which he found himself surrounded +after his emigration to the West, +tended forcibly to their exaggeration.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span></p> + +<p>But the qualities—positive and negative—above +enumerated, were, many of them, at +least, peculiarities belonging to the early emigrant, +as much before as after his removal. +And there were others, quite as distinctly +marked, called into activity, if not actually +created by his life in the wilderness. Such, +for example, was his self-reliance—his confidence +in his own strength, sagacity, and courage. +It was but little assistance that he ever +required from his neighbors, though no man +was ever more willing to render it to others, in +the hour of need. He was the swift avenger +of his own wrongs, and he never appealed to +another to ascertain his rights. Legal tribunals +were an abomination to him. Government +functionaries he hated, almost as the Irish hate +excisemen. Assessments and taxes he could +not endure, for, since he was his own protector, +he had no interest in sustaining the civil authorities.</p> + +<p>Military organizations he despised, for subordination +was no part of his nature. He stood +up in the native dignity of manhood, and called +no mortal his superior. When he joined his +neighbors, to avenge a foray of the savages, he +joined on the most equal terms—each man +was, for the time, his own captain; and when<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> +the leader was chosen—for the pioneers, with +all their personal independence, were far too +rational to underrate the advantages of a head +in the hour of danger—each voice was counted +in the choice, and the election might fall on +any one. But, even after such organization, +every man was fully at liberty to abandon the +expedition, whenever he became dissatisfied, or +thought proper to return home. And if this +want of discipline sometimes impaired the +strength, and rendered unavailing the efforts, +of communities, it at least fostered the manly +spirit of personal independence; and, to keep +that alive in the breasts of a people, it is worth +while to pay a yearly tribute, even though that +tribute be rendered unto the King of Terrors!</p> + +<p>This self-reliance was not an arrogant and +vulgar egotism, as it has been so often represented +in western stories, and the tours of superficial +travellers. It was a calm, just estimate +of his own capabilities—a well-grounded confidence +in his own talents—a clear, manly +understanding of his own individual rights, dignity, +and relations. Such is the western definition +of independence; and if there be anything +of it in the western character at the present day, +it is due to the stubborn and intense individuality +of the first pioneer. He it was who laid<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> +the foundation of our social fabric, and it is his +spirit which yet pervades our people.</p> + +<br /> +<p>The quality which next appears, in analyzing +this character, is his <i>courage.</i></p> + +<p>It was not mere physical courage, nor was it +stolid carelessness of danger. The pioneer +knew, perfectly well, the full extent of the +peril that surrounded him; indeed, he could +not be ignorant of it; for almost every day +brought some new memento, either of his savage +foe, or of the prowling beast of prey. He +ploughed, and sowed, and reaped, and gathered, +with the rifle slung over his shoulders; and, at +every turn, he halted, listening, with his ear +turned toward his home; for well he knew +that, any moment, the scream of his wife, or +the wail of his children, might tell of the up-lifted +tomahawk, or the murderous scalping-knife.</p> + +<p>His courage, then, was not ignorance of danger—not +that of the child, which thrusts its +hand within the lion's jaws, and knows naught +of the penalty it braves. His ear was ever +listening, his eye was always watching, his +nerves were ever strung, for battle. He was +stout of heart, and strong of hand—he was +calm, sagacious, unterrified. He was never<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> +disconcerted—excitement seldom moved him—his +mind was always at its own command. +His heart never lost its firmness—no suffering +could overcome him—he was as stoical as the +savage, whose greatest glory is to triumph +amidst the most cruel tortures. His pride sustained +him when his flesh was pierced with +burning brands—when his muscles crisped +and crackled in the flames. To the force of +character, belonging to the white, he added the +savage virtues of the red man; and many a +captive has been rescued from the flames, +through his stern contempt for torture, and his +sneering triumph over his tormentors. The +highest virtue of the savage was his fortitude; +and he respected and admired even a “pale +face,” who emulated his endurance.</p> + +<p>But fortitude is only passive courage—and +the bravery of the pioneer was eminently active. +His vengeance was as rapid as it was +sometimes cruel. No odds against him could +deter him, no time was ever wasted in deliberation. +If a depredation was committed in the +night, the dawn of morning found the sufferer +on the trail of the marauder. He would follow +it for days, and even weeks, with the sagacity +of the blood-hound, with the patience of the +savage: and, perhaps, in the very midst of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> +Indian country, in some moment of security, +the blow descended, and the injury was fearfully +avenged! The debt was never suffered +to accumulate, when it could be discharged by +prompt payment—and it was never forgotten! +If the account could not be balanced now, the +obligation was treasured up for a time to come—and, +when least expected, the debtor came, +and paid with usury!</p> + +<br /> +<p>It has been said, perhaps truly, that a fierce, +bloody spirit ruled the settlers in those early +days. And it is unquestionable, that much of +that contempt for the slow vengeance of a legal +proceeding, which now distinguishes the people +of the frontier west, originated then. It +was, doubtless, an unforgiving—eminently an +unchristian—spirit: but vengeance, sure and +swift, was the only thing which could impress +the hostile savage. And, if example, in a matter +of this sort, could be availing, for their +severity to the Indians, they had the highest!</p> + +<p>The eastern colonists—good men and true—“willing +to exterminate the savages,” says +Bancroft,<a name="FNanchor_70_70" id="FNanchor_70_70"></a><a href="#Footnote_70_70" class="fnanchor">[70]</a> who is certainly not their enemy, +offered a bounty for every Indian scalp—as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> +we, in the west, do for the scalps of wolves! +“To regular forces under pay, the grant was +<i>ten</i> pounds—to volunteers, in actual service, +<i>twice that sum</i>; but if men would, of themselves, +without pay, make up parties and patrol +the forests in search of Indians, <i>as of old the +woods were scoured for wild beasts</i>, the chase +was invigorated by the promised 'encouragement +of <i>fifty</i> pounds per scalp!'” The “fruitless +cruelties” of the Indian allies of the French +in Canada, says the historian, gave birth to these +humane and nicely-graduated enactments! Nor +is our admiration of their Christian spirit in the +least diminished, when we reflect that nothing +is recorded in history of “bounties on scalps” +or “encouragement” to murder, offered by +Frontenac, or any other French-Canadian governor, +as a revenge for the horrible massacre at +Montreal, or the many “fruitless cruelties” of +the bloody Iroquois!<a name="FNanchor_71_71" id="FNanchor_71_71"></a><a href="#Footnote_71_71" class="fnanchor">[71]</a></p> + +<p>The descendants of the men who gave these +“bounties” and “encouragements,” have, in our +own day, caressed, and wept and lamented over +the tawny murderer, Black-Hawk, and his +“wrongs” and “misfortunes;” but the theatre<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> +of Indian warfare was then removed a little +farther west; and the atrocities of Haverhill +and Deerfield were perpetrated on the western +prairies, and not amid the forests of the east! +Yet I do not mean, by referring to this passage +of history—or to the rivers of wasted sentiment +poured out a few years ago—so much to +condemn our forefathers, or to draw invidious +comparisons between them and others, as to +show, that the war of extermination, sometimes +waged by western rangers, was not without example—that +the cruelty and hatred of the pioneer +to the barbarous Indian, might originate +in exasperation, which even moved the puritans; +and that the lamentations, over the fictitious +“wrongs” of a turbulent and bloody savage, +might have run in a channel nearer home.</p> + +<br /> +<p>Hatred of the Indian, among the pioneers, +was hereditary; there was scarcely a man on +the frontier, who had not lost a father, a mother, +or a brother, by the tomahawk; and not a +few of them had suffered in their own persons. +The child, who learned the rudiments of his +scanty education at his mother's knee, must +decipher the strange characters by the straggling +light which penetrated the crevices between +the logs; for, while the father was ab<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span>sent, +in the field or on the war-path, the mother +was obliged to bar the doors and barricade the +windows against the savages. Thus, if he did +not literally imbibe it with his mother's milk, +one of the first things the pioneer learned, was +dread, and consequently hatred, of the Indian. +That feeling grew with his growth, strengthened +with his strength—for a life upon the +western border left but few days free from +sights of blood or mementoes of the savage. The +pioneer might go to the field in the morning, +unsuspecting; and, at noon, returning, find his +wife murdered and scalped, and the brains of +his little ones dashed out against his own doorpost! +And if a deadly hatred of the Indian +took possession of his heart, who shall blame +him? It may be said, the pioneer was an intruder, +seeking to take forcible possession of the +Indian's lands—and that it was natural that +the Indian should resent the wrong after the +manner of his race. Granted: and it was quite +as natural that the pioneer should return the +enmity, after the manner of <i>his</i> race!</p> + +<p>But the pioneer was <i>not</i> an intruder.</p> + +<p>For all the purposes, for which reason and the +order of Providence authorize us to say, God +made the earth, this continent was vacant—uninhabited. +And—granting that the savage<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> +was in possession—for this is his only ground +of title, as, indeed, it is the foundation of all +primary title—there were at the period of the +first landing of white men on the continent, between +Lake Superior and the Gulf of Mexico, +east of the Mississippi, about one hundred and +eighty thousand Indians.<a name="FNanchor_72_72" id="FNanchor_72_72"></a><a href="#Footnote_72_72" class="fnanchor">[72]</a> That region now +supports at least twenty millions of civilized +people, and is capable of containing quite ten +times that number, without crowding! Now, +if God made the earth for any purpose, it certainly +was <i>not</i> that it should be monopolized by +a horde of nomad savages!</p> + +<p>But an argument on this subject, would not +be worth ink and paper; and I am, moreover, +aware, that this reasoning may be abused. +<i>Any</i> attempt to construe the purposes of Deity +must be liable to the same misapplication. +And, besides, it is not my design to go so +far back; I seek not so much to excuse as to account +for—less to justify than to analyze—the +characteristics of the class before me. I wish +to establish that the pioneer hatred of the Indian +was not an unprovoked or groundless +hatred, that the severity of his warfare was not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> +a mere gratuitous and bloody-minded cruelty. +There are a thousand actions, of which we +are hearing every day, that are indefensible in +morals: and yet we are conscious while we +condemn the actors, that, in like circumstances, +we could not have acted differently. So is it +with the fierce and violent reprisals, sometimes +made by frontier rangers. Their best defence +lies in the statement that they were men, and +that their manhood prompted them to vengeance. +When they deemed themselves injured, +they demanded reparation, in such sort +as that demand could then be made—at the +muzzle of a rifle or the point of a knife. They +were equal to the times in which they lived.—Had +they not been so, how many steamboats +would now be floating on the Mississippi?</p> + +<br /> +<p>There was no romance in the composition of +the pioneer—whatever there may have been +in his environment. His life was altogether +too serious a matter for poetry, and the only +music he took pleasure in, was the sound of a +violin, sending forth notes remarkable only for +their liveliness. Even this, he could enjoy but +at rare periods, when his cares were forcibly +dismissed. He was, in truth, a very matter-of-fact +sort of person. It was principally with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> +facts that he had to deal—and most of them +were very “stubborn facts.” Indeed, it may +be doubted—notwithstanding much good poetry +has been written (in cities chiefly), on solitude +and the wilderness—whether a life in the +woods is, after all, very suggestive of poetical +thoughts. The perils of the frontier must borrow +most of their “enchantment” from the +“distance;” and its sufferings and hardships +are certainly more likely to evoke pleasant +fancies to him who sits beside a good coal fire, +than to one whose lot it is to bear them. Even +the (so-called) “varied imagery” of the Indian's +eloquence—about which so much nonsense +has been written—is, in a far greater measure, +the result of the poverty and crude materialism +of his language, than of any poetical bias, temperament, +or tone of thought. An Indian, as +we have said before, has no humor—he never +understands a jest—his wife is a beast of burthen—heaven +is a hunting-ground—his language +has no words to express abstract qualities, +virtues, or sentiments. And yet he lives +in the wilderness all the days of his life! The +only trait he has, in common with the poetical +character, is his laziness.</p> + +<p>But the pioneer was not indolent, in any +sense. He had no dreaminess—meditation<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> +was no part of his mental habit—a poetical +fancy would, in him, have been an indication +of insanity. If he reclined at the foot of a tree, +on a still summer day, it was to sleep: if he +gazed out over the waving prairie, it was to +search for the column of smoke which told of +his enemy's approach: if he turned his eyes +toward the blue heaven, it was to prognosticate +to-morrow's storm or sunshine: if he bent his +gaze upon the green earth, it was to look for +“Indian sign” or buffalo trail. His wife was only +a help-mate—he never thought of making a divinity +of her—she cooked his dinner, made +and washed his clothes, bore his children, and +took care of his household. His children were +never “little cherubs,”—“angels sent from +heaven”—but generally “tow-headed” and +very earthly responsibilities. He looked forward +anxiously, to the day when the boys +should be able to assist him in the field, or fight +the Indian, and the girls to help their mother +make and mend. When one of the latter took +it into her head to be married—as they usually +did quite early in life; for beaux were plenty +and belles were “scarce”—he only made one +condition, that the man of her choice should be +brave and healthy. He never made a “parade” +about anything—marriage, least of all.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> +He usually gave the bride—not the “blushing” +bride—a bed, a lean horse, and some +good advice: and, having thus discharged his +duty in the premises, returned to his work, and +the business was done.</p> + +<br /> +<p>The marriage ceremony, in those days, was a +very unceremonious affair. The parade and +drill which now attend it, would then have +been as ridiculous as a Chinese dance; and the +finery and ornament, at present understood to +be indispensable on such occasions, then bore +no sway in fashion. Bridal wreaths and dresses +were not known; and white kid gloves and +satin slippers never heard of. Orange blossoms—natural +and artificial—were as pretty then +as now; but the people were more occupied +with substance, than with emblem.</p> + +<br /> +<p>The ancients decked <i>their</i> victims for the +sacrifice with gaudy colors, flags, and streamers; +the moderns do the same, and the offerings +are sometimes made to quite as barbarous +deities.</p> + +<p>But the bride of the pioneer was clothed in +linsey-wolsey, with hose of woollen yarn; and +moccasins of deer-skin—or as an extra piece +of finery, high-quartered shoes of calf-skin—pre<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span>ceded +satin slippers. The bridegroom came in +copperas-colored jeans—domestic manufacture—as +a holiday suit; or, perhaps, a hunting-shirt +of buckskin, all fringed around the skirt +and cape, and a “coon-skin” cap, with moccasins. +Instead of a dainty walking-stick, with +an opera-dancer's leg, in ivory, for head, he always +brought his rifle, with a solid maple stock; +and never, during the whole ceremony, did he +divest himself of powder-horn and bullet-pouch.</p> + +<p>Protestant ministers of the gospel were few +in those days; and the words of form were +usually spoken by a Jesuit missionary. Or, if +the Pioneer had objections to Catholicism—as +many had—his place was supplied by some +justice of the peace, of doubtful powers and +mythical appointment. If neither of these +could be procured, the father of the bride, himself, +sometimes assumed the functions, <i>pro hâc +vice</i>, or <i>pro tempore</i>, of minister or justice. It +was always understood, however, that such +left-handed marriages were to be confirmed by +the first minister who wandered to the frontier: +and, even when the opportunity did not offer +for many months, no scandal ever arose—the +marriage vow was never broken. The pioneers +were simple people—the refinements of high +cultivation had not yet penetrated the forests<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> +or crossed the prairies—and good faith and +virtue were as common as courage and sagacity.</p> + +<br /> +<p>When the brief, but all-sufficient ceremony +was over, the bridegroom resumed his rifle, +helped the bride into the saddle—or more frequently +to the pillion behind him—and they +calmly rode away together.</p> + +<br /> +<p>On some pleasant spot—surrounded by a +shady grove, or point of timber—a new log-cabin +has been built: its rough logs notched across +each other at the corners, a roof of oaken clapboards, +held firmly down by long poles along +each course, its floor of heavy “puncheons,” its +broad, cheerful fireplace, large as a modern +bed-room—all are in the highest style of frontier +architecture. Within—excepting some +anomalies, such as putting the skillet and tea-kettle +in the little cupboard, along with the +blue-edged plates and yellow-figured tea-cups—for +the whole has been arranged by the +hands of the bridegroom himself—everything +is neatly and properly disposed. The oaken +bedstead, with low square posts, stands in one +corner, and the bed is covered by a pure white +counterpane, with fringe—an heirloom in the +family of the bride. At the foot of this is seen<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> +a large, heavy chest—like a camp-chest—to +serve for bureau, safe, and dressing-case.</p> + +<p>In the middle of the floor—directly above a +trap-door which leads to a “potato-hole” beneath—stands +a ponderous walnut table, and +on it sits a nest of wooden trays; while, flanking +these, on one side, is a nicely-folded tablecloth, +and, on the other, a wooden-handled +butcher-knife and a well-worn Bible. Around +the room are ranged a few “split-bottomed” +chairs, exclusively for use, not ornament. In +the chimney-corners, or under the table, are +several three-legged stools, made for the children, +who—as the bridegroom laughingly insinuates +while he points to the uncouth specimens +of his handiwork—“will be coming in +due time.” The wife laughs in her turn—replies, +“no doubt”—and, taking one of the graceful +tripods in her hand, carries it forth to sit upon +while she milks the cow—for she understands +what she is expected to do, and does it without +delay. In one corner—near the fireplace—the +aforesaid cupboard is erected—being a +few oaken shelves neatly pinned to the logs +with hickory forks—and in this are arranged +the plates and cups;—not as the honest pride +of the housewife would arrange them, to display +them to the best advantage—but piled<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> +away, one within another, without reference to +show. As yet there is no sign of female taste +or presence.</p> + +<br /> +<p>But now the house receives its mistress. The +“happy couple” ride up to the low rail-fence +in front—the bride springs off without assistance, +affectation, or delay. The husband leads +away the horse or horses, and the wife enters +the dominion, where, thenceforward, she is +queen. There is no coyness, no blushing, no +pretence of fright or nervousness—if you will, +no romance—for which the husband has reason +to be thankful! The wife knows what her +duties are and resolutely goes about performing +them. She never dreamed, nor twaddled, about +“love in a cottage,” or “the sweet communion +of congenial souls” (who never eat anything): +and she is, therefore, not disappointed on discovering +that life is actually a serious thing. +She never whines about “making her husband +happy”—but sets firmly and sensibly about +making him <i>comfortable</i>. She cooks his dinner, +nurses his children, shares his hardships, +and encourages his industry. She never complains +of having too much work to do, she does +not desert her home to make endless visits—she +borrows no misfortunes, has no imaginary<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> +ailings. Milliners and mantua-makers she ignores—“shopping” +she never heard of—scandal +she never invents or listens to. She never +wishes for fine carriages, professes no inability +to walk five hundred yards, and does not think +it a “vulgar accomplishment,” to know how to +make butter. She has no groundless anxieties, +she is not nervous about her children taking +cold: a doctor is a visionary potentate to her—a +drug-shop is a dépôt of abominations. She +never forgets whose wife she is,—there is no +“sweet confidante” without whom she “can not +live”—she never writes endless letters about +nothing. She is, in short, a faithful, honest +wife: and, “in due time,” the husband must +make <i>more</i> “three-legged stools”—for the “tow-heads” +have now covered them all!</p> + +<br /> +<p>Such is the wife and mother of the pioneer, +and, with such influences about him, how could +he be otherwise than honest, straightforward, +and manly?</p> + +<br /> +<p>But, though a life in the woods was an enemy +to every sort of sentimentalism—though a more +unromantic being than the pioneer can hardly +be imagined—yet his character unquestionably +took its hue, from the primitive scenes and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> +events of his solitary existence. He was, in +many things, as simple as a child: as credulous, +as unsophisticated. Yet the utmost cunning of +the wily savage—all the strategy of Indian +warfare—was not sufficient to deceive or overreach +him! Though one might have expected +that his life of ceaseless watchfulness would +make him skeptical and suspicious, his confidence +was given heartily, without reservation, +and often most imprudently. If he gave his +trust at all, you might ply him, by the hour, +with the most improbable and outrageous fictions, +without fear of contradiction or of unbelief. +He never questioned the superior +knowledge or pretensions of any one who +claimed acquaintance with subjects of which +<i>he</i> was ignorant.</p> + +<p>The character of his intellect, like that of the +Indian, was thoroughly synthetical: he had +nothing of the faculty which enables us to detect +falsehood, even in matters of which we +know nothing by comparison and analogy. He +never analyzed any story told him, he took it +as a unit; and, unless it violated some known +principle of his experience, or conflicted with +some fact of his own observation, never doubted +its truth. At this moment, there are men in +every western settlement who have only vague,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> +crude notions of what a city is—who would +feel nervous if they stepped upon the deck of a +steamboat—and are utterly at a loss to conjecture +the nature of a railroad. Upon either of +these mystical subjects they will swallow, without +straining, the most absurd and impossible +fictions. And this is not because of their ignorance +alone, for many of them are, for their +sphere in life, educated, intelligent, and, what is +better, sensible men. Nor is it by any means +a national trait: for a genuine Yankee will +scarcely believe the truth; and, though he may +sometimes trust in very wild things, his faith is +usually an active “craze,” and not mere passive +credulity. The pioneer, then, has not derived it +from his eastern fathers: it is the growth of the +woods and prairies—an embellishment to a +character which might otherwise appear naked +and severe.</p> + +<br /> +<p>Another characteristic, traceable to the same +source, the stern reality of his life, is the pioneer's +gravity.</p> + +<p>The agricultural population of this country +are, at the best, not a cheerful race. Though +they sometimes join in festivities, it is but +seldom; and the wildness of their dissipation is +too often in proportion to its infrequency. There<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> +is none of the serene contentment—none of +that smiling enjoyment—which, according to +travellers like Howitt, distinguishes the tillers +of the ground in other lands. <i>Sedateness</i> is a +national characteristic, but the gravity of the +pioneer is quite another thing; it includes +pride and personal dignity, and indicates a +stern, unyielding temper. There is, however, +nothing morose in it: it is its aspect alone, +which forbids approach; and that only makes +more conspicuous the heartiness of your reception, +when once the shell is broken. Acquainted +with the character, you do not expect him to +<i>smile</i> much; but now and then he <i>laughs</i>: and +that laugh is round, free, and hearty. You +know at once that he enjoys it, you are convinced +that he is a firm friend and “a good +hater.”</p> + +<br /> +<p>It is not surprising, with a character such as +I have described, that the pioneer is not gregarious, +that he is, indeed, rather solitary. Accordingly, +we never find a genuine specimen of +the class, among the emigrants, who come in +shoals and flocks, and pitch their tents in “colonies;” +who lay out towns and cities, projected +upon paper, and call them New Boston, New +Albany, or New Hartford, before one log is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> +placed upon another; nor are there many of the +unadulterated stock among that other class, who +come from regions further south, and christen +their towns, classically, Carthage, Rome, or +Athens: or, patriotically, in commemoration of +some Virginian worthy, some Maryland sharpshooter, +or “Jersey blue.”</p> + +<p>The real pioneer never emigrates gregariously; +he does not wish to be within “halloo” of +his nearest neighbor; he is no city-builder; and, +if he does project a town, he christens it by +some such name as Boonville or Clarksville, in +memory of a noted pioneer: or Jacksonville or +Waynesville, to commemorate some “old hero” +who was celebrated for good fighting.<a name="FNanchor_73_73" id="FNanchor_73_73"></a><a href="#Footnote_73_73" class="fnanchor">[73]</a> And +the reason why the outlandish and <i>outré</i> so much +predominate in the names of western towns +and cities, must be sought in the fact referred<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> +to above, that the western man is not essentially +a town-projector, and that, consequently, comparatively +few of the towns were “laid out” by +the legitimate pioneer. We shall have more to +say of town-building under another head; and, +in the meantime, having said that the pioneer +is not gregarious, let us look at the <i>manner</i> of +his emigration.</p> + +<br /> +<p>Many a time, in the western highways, have +I met with the sturdy “mover,” as he is called, +in the places where people are stationary—a +family, sometimes by no means small, wandering +toward the setting sun, in search of +pleasant places on the lands of “Uncle Sam.” +Many a time, in the forest or on the prairie—generally +upon some point of timber which puts +a mile or two within the plain—have I passed +the “clearing,” or “pre-emption,” where, with +nervous arm and sturdy heart, the “squatter”<a name="FNanchor_74_74" id="FNanchor_74_74"></a><a href="#Footnote_74_74" class="fnanchor">[74]</a> +cleaves out, and renders habitable, a home for +himself and a heritage for his children.</p> + +<p>Upon the road, you first meet the pioneer him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span>self, +for he almost always walks a few hundred +yards ahead. He is usually above the medium +height, and rather spare. He stoops a little, +too; for he has done a deal of hard work, and +expects to do more; but you see at once, that +unless his lungs are weak, his strength is by no +means broken, and you are quite sure that many +a stately tree is destined to be humbled by his +sinewy arm. He is attired in frontier fashion: +he wears a loose coat, called a hunting-shirt, of +jeans or linsey, and its color is that indescribable +hue compounded of copperas and madder; +pantaloons, exceedingly loose, and not very accurately +cut in any part, of like color and +material, defend his lower limbs. His feet are +cased in low, fox-colored shoes, for of boots, he +is, yet, quite innocent. Around his throat and +wrists, even in midsummer, you see the collar +and wristbands of a heavy, deep-red, flannel-shirt. +Examine him very closely, and you will +probably find no other garment on his person.</p> + +<p>His hair is dark, and not very evenly trimmed—for +his wife or daughter has performed +the tonsure with a pair of rusty shears; and the +longer locks seem changed in hue, as if his +dingy wool hat did not sufficiently protect them +against the wind and rain. Over his shoulder +he carries a heavy rifle, heavier than a “Har<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span>per's +ferry musket,” running about “fifty to the +pound.” Around his neck are swung the +powder-horn and bullet-pouch, the former protected +by a square of deer-skin, and the latter +ornamented with a squirrel's tail.</p> + +<p>You take note of all these things, and then +recur to his melancholy-looking face, with its +mild blue eyes and sharpened features. You +think he looks thin, and conjecture that his chest +may be weak, or his lungs affected, by the stoop +in his shoulders; but when he lifts his eyes, and +asks the way to Thompson's ferry, or how far it +is to water, you are satisfied: for the glance of +his eye is calm and firm, and the tone of his +voice is round and healthy. You answer his +question, he nods quietly by way of thanks, and +marches on; and, though you draw your rein, +and seem inclined to further converse, he takes +no notice, and pursues his way.</p> + +<p>A few minutes afterward, you meet the family. +A small, light wagon, easily dragged through +sloughs and heavy roads, is covered with a white +cotton cloth, and drawn, by either two yokes of +oxen, or a pair of lean horses. A “patch-work” +quilt is sometimes stretched across the flimsy +covering, as a guard against the sun and rain. +Within this vehicle are stowed all the emigrant's +household goods, and still, it is not overloaded.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span></p> + +<p>There is usually a large chest, containing the +wardrobe of the family, with such small articles +as are liable to loss, and the little store of money. +This is always in silver, for the pioneer is no +judge of gold, and, on the frontier, paper has +but little exchangeable value. There are then +two light bedsteads—one “a trundle-bed”—a +few plain chairs, most of them tied on behind +and at the sides; three or four stools, domestic +manufacture; a set of tent-poles and a few pots +and pans. On these are piled the “beds and +bedding,” tied in large bundles, and stowed in +such manner as to make convenient room for the +children who are too young to walk. In the +front end of the wagon, sits the mother of the +family: and, peering over her head and shoulders, +leaning out at her side, or gazing under +the edge of the cotton-covering, are numerous +flaxen heads, which you find it difficult to count +while you ride past.</p> + +<br /> +<p>There are altogether too many of them, you +think, for a man no older than the one you met, +a while ago; and you, perhaps, conjecture that +the youthful-looking woman has adopted some +of her dead sister's children, or, perchance, some +of her brothers and sisters themselves. But +you are mistaken, they are all her offspring, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> +the father of every one of them is the stoop-shouldered +man you saw ahead. If you look +closely, you will observe that the mother, who +is driving, holds the reins with one hand, while, +on the other arm, she supports an infant not +<i>more</i> than six months old. It was for the advent +of this little stranger, that they delayed their +emigration: and they set out while it was very +young, for fear of the approach of its successor. +If they waited for their youngest child to attain +a year of age, they would never “move,” +until they would be too old to make another +“clearing.”</p> + +<p>You pass on—perhaps ejaculating thanks +that your lot has been differently cast, and +thinking you have seen the last of them. +But a few hundred yards further, and you hear +the tinkling of a bell; two or three lean cows—with +calves about the age of the baby—come +straggling by. You look for the driver, +and see a tall girl with a very young face—the +eldest of the family, though not exceeding +twelve or thirteen years in age. You feel quite +sure, that, besides her sun-bonnet and well-worn +shoes, she wears but one article of apparel—and +that a loose dress of linsey, rather +narrow in the skirt, of a dirty brown color, with +a tinge of red. It hangs straight down about<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> +her limbs, as if it were wet, and with every +step—for she walks stoutly—it flaps and flies +about her ankles, as if shotted in the lower hem. +She presents, altogether, rather a slatternly +figure, and her face is freckled and sunburnt.</p> + +<p>But you must not judge her too rashly; for +her eye is keen and expressive, and her mouth +is quite pretty—especially when she smiles. +A few years hence—if you have the <i>entrée</i>—you +may meet her in the best and highest circles +of the country. Perhaps, while you are +dancing attendance upon some new administration, +asking for a “place,” and asking, probably, +in vain, she may come to Washington, a +beautiful and accomplished woman—the wife +of some member of Congress, whose constituency +is numbered by the hundred thousand!</p> + +<p>You may pass on, now, and forget her; but, +if you stop to talk five minutes, she will not +forget <i>you</i>—at least, if you say anything striking +or sensible. And when you meet her again, +perhaps in a gilded saloon, among the brightest +and highest in the land—if you seek an introduction, +as you probably will—she will remind +you of the meeting, and to your astonishment, +will laughingly describe the scene, to some of +her obsequious friends who stand around. And +then she will perhaps introduce you, as an old<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> +friend, to one of those flax-haired boys, who +peeped out of the wagon over his mother's +shoulder, as you passed them in the wilderness: +and you recognise one of the members from +California, or from Oregon, whose influence in +the house, though he is as yet a very young man, +is already quite considerable. If you are successful +in your application for a “place,” it +may be that the casual meeting in the forest or +on the prairie was the seed which, germinating +through long years of obscurity, finally sprung +up <i>thus</i>, and bore a crop of high official honors!</p> + +<p>The next time you meet a family of emigrants +on the frontier, you will probably observe them +a little more closely.</p> + +<p>Not a few of those who bear a prominent +part in the government of our country—more +than one of the first men of the nation—men +whose names are now heard in connection with +the highest office of the people—twenty years +ago, occupied a place as humble in the scale of +influence, as that flaxen-haired son of the stoop-shouldered +emigrant. Such are the elements +of our civilization—such the spirit of our institutions!</p> +<hr style="width: 25%;" /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> +We have hitherto been speaking only of the +American pioneer, and we have devoted more +space to him, than we shall give to his contemporaries, +because he has exerted more influence, +both in the settlement of the country, and in +the formation of sectional character and social +peculiarities, than all the rest combined.</p> + +<p>The French emigrant was quite a different +being. Even at this day, there are no two +classes—not the eastern and western, or the +northern and southern—between whom the +distinction is more marked, than it has always +been between the Saxon and the Frank. The +advent of the latter was much earlier than that +of the former; and to him, therefore, must be +ascribed the credit of the first settlement of the +country. But, for all purposes of lasting impression, +he must yield to his successor. It +was, in fact, the American who penetrated and +cleared the forest—who subdued and drove out +the Indian—who, in a word, reclaimed the +country.</p> + +<br /> +<p>In nothing was the distinction between the +two races broader, than in the feelings with +which they approached the savage. We have +seen that the hatred, borne by the American +toward his red enemy, was to be traced to a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> +long series of mutual hostilities and wrongs. +But the Frenchman had no such injuries to +avenge, no hereditary feud to prosecute. The +first of his nation who had entered the country +were non-combatants—they came to convert +the savage, not to conquer him, or deprive him +of his lands. Even as early as sixteen hundred +and eight, the Jesuits had established friendly +relations with the Indians of Canada—and before +the stern crew of the May Flower had landed +on Plymouth Rock, they had preached the +gospel on the shores of Lake Huron. Their +piety and wisdom had acquired an influence +over the untutored Indian, long before the commencement +of the hostilities, which afterward +cost so much blood and suffering. They had, +thus, smoothed the way for their countrymen, +and opened a safe path through the wilderness, +to the shore of the great western waters. And +the people who followed and accompanied them, +were peculiarly adapted to improve the advantages +thus given them.</p> + +<p>They were a gentle, peaceful, unambitious +people. They came as the friend, not the hereditary +enemy, of the savage. They tendered +the calumet—a symbol well understood by +every Indian—and were received as allies and +brethren. They had no national prejudices to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> +overcome: the copper color of the Indian was +not an insuperable objection to intermarriage, +and children of the mixed blood were not, for +that reason, objects of scorn. An Indian +maiden was as much a woman to a Frenchman, +as if she had been a <i>blonde</i>; and, if her form +was graceful and her features comely, he would +woo her with as much ardor as if she had been +one of his own race.</p> + +<p>Nor was this peculiarity attributable only to +the native gallantry of the French character, +as it has sometimes been asserted; the total +want of prejudice, which grows up in contemplating +an inferior race, held in limited subjection, +and a certain easiness of temper and tone +of thought, had far more influence.</p> + +<p>The Frenchman has quite enough vanity, +but very little pride. Whatever, therefore, is +sanctioned by those who surrounded him, is, in +his eyes, no degradation. He married the Indian +woman—first, because there were but few +females among the emigrants, and he could not +live without “the sex;” and, second, because +there was nothing in his prejudices, or in public +sentiment, to deter him. The descendants +of these marriages—except where, as in some +cases, they are upheld by the possession of +great wealth—have no consideration, and are<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> +seldom seen in the society of the whites. But +this is only because French manners and feelings +have long since faded out of our social organization. +The Saxon, with his unconquerable +prejudices of race, with his pride and jealousy, +has taken possession of the country; and, +as he rules its political destinies, in most places, +likewise, gives tones to its manners. Had +Frenchmen continued to possess the land—had +French dominion not given place to English—mixture +of blood would have had but little influence +on one's position; and there would now +have been, in St. Louis or Chicago, as many +shades of color in a social assembly, as may be +seen at a ball in Mexico.</p> + +<br /> +<p>The French are a more cheerful people, than +the Americans. Social intercourse—the interchange +of hospitalities—the enjoyment of +amusements in crowds—are far more important +to them than to any other race. Solitude +and misery are—or ought to be—synonyms +in French; and enjoyment is like glory—it +must have witnesses, or it will lose its attraction. +Accordingly, we find the French emigrant +seeking companionship, even in the trials +and enterprises of the wilderness. The American, +after the manner of his race, sought places<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> +where he could possess, for himself, enough for +his wants, and be “monarch of all he surveyed.”</p> + +<p>But the Frenchman had no such pride. He +resorted to a town, where the amusements of +dancing, <i>fêtes</i>, and social converse, were to be +found—where the narrow streets were scarcely +more than a division fence, “across which the +women could carry on their voluble conversations, +without leaving their homes.”<a name="FNanchor_75_75" id="FNanchor_75_75"></a><a href="#Footnote_75_75" class="fnanchor">[75]</a> This +must have been a great advantage, and probably +contributed, in no slight degree, to the +singular peace of their villages—since the +proximity afforded no temptation to going +abroad, and the distance was yet too great to +allow such whisperings and scandal, as usually +break up the harmony of small circles. Whether +the fact is to be attributed to this, or to some +other cause, certain it is that these little communities +were eminently peaceful. From the +first settlement of Kaskaskia, for example, down +to the transfer of the western country to the +British—almost a century—I find no record, +even in the voluminous epistolary chronicles, +of any personal rencontre, or serious quarrel, +among the inhabitants. The same praise can +not be given to any American town ever yet +built.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span></p> + +<p>A species of communism seems to be a portion +of the French character; for we discover, +that, even at that early day, <i>paysans</i>, or <i>habitans</i>, +collected together in villages, had their +<i>common fields</i>, where the separate portion of +each family was still a part of the common +stock—and their tract of pasture-land, where +there was no division, or separate property. +One enclosure covered all the fields of the community, +and all submitted to regulations made +by the free voice of the people.</p> + +<p>If one was sick, or employed in the service +of the colony, or absent on business of his own +at planting or harvest time, his portion was not +therefore neglected: his ground was planted, +or his crop was gathered, by the associated +labor of his neighbors, as thoroughly and carefully +as if he had been at home. His family +had nothing to fear; because in the social code +of the simple villagers, each was as much bound +to maintain the children of his friend as his +own. This state of things might have its inconveniences +and vices—of which, perhaps, +the worst was its tendency to merge the family +into the community, and thus—by obliterating +the lines of individuality and personal independence—benumbing +enterprise and checking +improvements: but it was certainly produc<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span>tive +of some good results, also. It tended to +make people careful each of the other's rights, +kind to the afflicted, and brotherly in their +social intercourse. The attractive simplicity +of manners observable, even at this day, in +some of the old French villages, is traceable to +this peculiar form of their early organization.</p> + +<p>It would be well if that primitive simplicity +of life and manners, could be combined with +rapid, or even moderate improvement. But, +in the present state of the world, this can +scarcely be; and, accordingly, we find the +Frenchman of the passing year, differing but +little from his ancestor of sixteen hundred and +fifty—still living in the old patriarchal style, +still cultivating his share of the common field, +and still using the antiquated processes of the +seventeenth century.</p> + +<br /> +<p>But, though not so active as their neighbors, +the Americans, they were ever much happier. +They had no ambition beyond enough for the +passing hour: with that they were perfectly contented. +They were very patient of the deprivation, +when they had it not; and seasons of +scarcity saw no cessation of music and dancing, +no abridgment of the jest and song. If the +earth yielded enough in one year to sustain them<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> +till the next, the amount of labor expended for +that object was never increased—superfluity +they cared nothing for: and commerce, save +such limited trade as was necessary to provide +their few luxuries, was beyond both their capacity +and desires. The prolific soil was suffered +to retain its juices; it was reserved for another +people to discover and improve its infinite productiveness.</p> + +<p>They were indolent, careless, and improvident. +Great enterprises were above or below them. +Political interests, and the questions concerning +national dominion, were too exciting to charm +their gentle natures. Their intelligence was, of +course, not of the highest order: but they had +no use for learning—literature was out of place +in the wilderness—the pursuit of letters could +have found no sympathy, and for solitary enjoyment, +the Frenchman cultivates nothing. Life +was almost altogether sensuous: and, though +their morals were in keeping with their simplicity, +existence to them was chiefly a physical +matter. The fertility of the soil, producing all +the necessaries of life with a small amount of +labor, and the amenity of the climate, rendering +defences against winter but too easy, encouraged +their indolence, and soothed their scanty energy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span></p> + +<p>“They made no attempt,” said one<a name="FNanchor_76_76" id="FNanchor_76_76"></a><a href="#Footnote_76_76" class="fnanchor">[76]</a> who +knew them well, “to acquire land from the +Indians, to organize a social system, to introduce +municipal regulations, or to establish military +defences; but cheerfully obeyed the priests +and the king's officers, and enjoyed the present +without troubling their heads about the future. +They seem to have been even careless as to the +acquisition of property, and its transmission to +their heirs. Finding themselves in a fruitful +country, abounding in game—where the necessaries +of life could be procured with little labor—where +no restraints were imposed by government, +and neither tribute nor personal service +was exacted, they were content to live in unambitious +peace and comfortable poverty. They +took possession of so much of the vacant land +around them, as they were disposed to till, and +no more. Their agriculture was rude: and even +to this day, some of the implements of husbandry +and modes of cultivation, brought from +France a century ago, remain unchanged by the +march of mind or the hand of innovation. +Their houses were comfortable, and they reared +fruits and flowers, evincing, in this respect, an +attention to comfort and luxury, which has not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> +been practised by the English and American +first settlers. But in the accumulation of property, +and in all the essentials of industry, they +were indolent and improvident, rearing only the +bare necessaries of life, and living from generation +to generation without change or improvement.”</p> + +<p>“They reared fruits and flowers,” he says; +and this simple fact denotes a marked distinction +between them and the Americans, not only in +regard to the things themselves, as would seem +to be the view of the author quoted, but in +mental constitution, modes of thought, and +motives to action. Their tastes were elegant, +ornate, and refined. They found pleasure in +pursuits which the American deems trivial, +frivolous, and unworthy of exertion.</p> + +<p>If any trees sheltered the house of the American, +they were those planted by the winds; if +there were any flowers at his door, they were +only those with which prodigal nature has carpeted +the prairies; and you may see now in the +west, many a cabin which has stood for thirty +years, with not a tree, of shade or fruit, within +a mile of its door! Everything is as bare and +as cheerless about the door-yard, as it was the +first winter of its enclosure. But, stretching +away from it, in every direction, sometimes for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> +miles, you will see extensive and productive +fields of grain, in the highest state of cultivation. +It is not personal comfort, or an elegant residence, +for which the American cares, but the +enduring and solid results of unwearied labor.</p> + +<p>A Frenchman's residence is surrounded by +flower-beds and orchards; his windows are +covered by creeping-vines and trellis-work; +flower-pots and bird-cages occupy the sills and +surround the corridors; everything presents the +aspect of elegant taste, comfort, and indolence. +The extent of his fields, the amount of his produce, +the intelligence and industry of his cultivation, +bear an immense disproportion to those +of his less ornamental, though more energetic, +neighbor.</p> + +<br /> +<p>The distinction between the two races is as +clear in their personal appearance and bearing, +as in the aspect of their plantations. The +Frenchman is generally a spruce, dapper little +gentleman, brisk, obsequious, and insinuating +in manner, and usually betraying minute attention +to externals. The American is always plain +in dress—evincing no more taste in costume +than in horticulture—steady, calm, and never +lively in manner: blunt, straightforward, and +independent in discourse. The one is amiable<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> +and submissive, the other choleric and rebellious. +The Frenchman always recognises and +bows before superior rank: the American acknowledges +no superior, and bows to no man +save in courtesy. The former is docile and +easily governed: the latter is intractable, beyond +control. The Frenchman accommodates +himself to circumstances: the American forces +circumstances to yield to him.</p> + +<p>The consequence has been, that while the +American has stamped his character upon the +whole country, there are not ten places in the +valley of the Mississippi, where you would infer, +from anything you see, that a Frenchman +had ever placed his foot upon the soil. The few +localities in which the French character yet +lingers, are fast losing the distinction; and a +score or two of years will witness a total disappearance +of the gentle people and their primitive +abodes. Even now—excepting in a few +parishes in Louisiana—the relics of the race +bear a faded, antiquated look: as if they belonged +to a past century, as, indeed, they do, +and only lingered now, to witness, for a brief +space, the glaring innovations of the nineteenth, +and then, lamenting the follies of modern civilization, +to take their departure for ever!</p> + +<p>Let them depart in peace! For they were a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> +gentle and pacific race, and in their day did +many kindly things!</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">“The goodness of the heart is shown in deeds<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of peacefulness and kindness.”<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Their best monument is an affectionate recollection +of their simplicity: their highest wish</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i8">——“To sleep in humble life,<br /></span> +<span class="i4">Beneath the storm ambition blows.”<br /></span> +</div></div> + + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_70_70" id="Footnote_70_70"></a><a href="#FNanchor_70_70"><span class="label">[70]</span></a> <i>History of the United States</i>, vol. iii., p. 336. Enacted in Massachusetts.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_71_71" id="Footnote_71_71"></a><a href="#FNanchor_71_71"><span class="label">[71]</span></a> A detailed and somewhat tedious account of these savage +inroads, may be found in Warburton's <i>Conquest of Canada</i>, +published by Harpers. New-York. 1850.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_72_72" id="Footnote_72_72"></a><a href="#FNanchor_72_72"><span class="label">[72]</span></a> This is the estimate of Bancroft—and, I think, at least, +thirty thousand too liberal. If the number were doubled, +however, it would not weaken the position in the text.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_73_73" id="Footnote_73_73"></a><a href="#FNanchor_73_73"><span class="label">[73]</span></a> On the subject of naming towns, much might have been +said in the preceding article in favor of French taste, and especially +that just and unpretending taste, which led them almost +alway to retain the Indian names. While the American has +pretentiously imported from the Old World such names as +Venice, Carthage, Rome, Athens, and even London and Paris, +or has transferred from the eastern states, Boston, Philadelphia, +Baltimore, and New York, the Frenchman, with a better judgment, +has retained such Indian names as Chicago, Peoria, Kaskaskia, +Cahokia, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Wabash, and Mississippi.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_74_74" id="Footnote_74_74"></a><a href="#FNanchor_74_74"><span class="label">[74]</span></a> This word is a pregnant memento of the manner in which +the vain words of flippant orators fall, innocuous, to the ground, +when they attempt to stigmatize, with contemptuous terms, +the truly noble. “Squatter” is now, in the west, only another +name for “Pioneer,” and that word describes all that is admirable +in courage, truth, and manhood!</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_75_75" id="Footnote_75_75"></a><a href="#FNanchor_75_75"><span class="label">[75]</span></a> Perkins's <i>Western Annals.</i></p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_76_76" id="Footnote_76_76"></a><a href="#FNanchor_76_76"><span class="label">[76]</span></a> “Sketches of the West,” by Judge Hall, for many years a +resident of Illinois.</p></div> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">Top</a></span> +<h2><a name="IV" id="IV"></a>IV.</h2> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span></p> +<h3>THE RANGER.</h3> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">“When purposed vengeance I forego,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Term me a wretch, nor deem me foe;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And when an insult I forgive,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Then brand me as a slave, and live.”<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i4"><span class="smcap">Scott</span>.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 410px;"> +<img src="images/illus-163.jpg" width="410" height="500" alt="" /> +<span class="caption">THE RANGER.</span> +</div> + +<p>In elaborating the character of the pioneer, +we have unavoidably anticipated, in some measure, +that of the Ranger—for the latter was, in +fact, only one of the capacities in which the +former sometimes acted. But—since, in the +preceding article, we have endeavored to +confine the inquiry, so as to use the term <i>Pioneer</i> +as almost synonymous with <i>Immigrant</i>—we +have, of course, ignored, to some extent, +the subordinate characters, in which he frequently +figured. We therefore propose, now, +briefly to review one or two of them in their +natural succession.</p> + +<p>The progress of our country may be traced +and measured, by the representative characters<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> +which marked each period. The missionary-priest +came first, when the land was an unbroken +wilderness. The military adventurer, +seeking to establish new empires, and acquire +great fortunes, entered by the path thus opened. +Next came the hunter, roaming the woods in +search of wild beasts upon which he preyed. +Making himself familiar with the pathless forest +and the rolling prairie, he qualified himself +to guide, even while he fled from, the stream +of immigration. At last came the pioneer, to +drive away the savage, to clear out the forests, +and reclaim the land.</p> + +<p>At first, he was <i>only</i> a pioneer. He had few +neighbors, he belonged to no community—his +household was his country, his family were his +only associates or companions. In the course +of time others followed him—he could occasionally +meet a white man on the prairies; if he +wandered a few miles from home, he could see +the smoke of another chimney in the distance. +If he did not at once abandon his “clearing” +and go further west, he became, in some sort, a +member of society—was the fellow-citizen of +his neighbors. The Indians became alarmed +for their hunting grounds, or the nations went +to war and drew them into the contest: the +frontier became unsafe: the presence of danger<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> +drew the pioneers together: they adopted a system +of defence, and the ranger was the offspring +and representative of a new order of things.</p> + +<p>Rough and almost savage as he sometimes +was, he was still the index to a great improvement. +Rude as the system was, it gave shape +and order to what had before been mere chaos.</p> + +<br /> +<p>The ranger marks a new era, then; his existence +is another chapter in the history of the +west. Previous to his time, each pioneer depended +only on himself for defence—his sole +protection, against the wild beast and the savage, +was his rifle—self-dependence was his peculiar +characteristic. The idea of a fighting establishment—the +germ of standing armies—had never +occurred to him: even the rudest form of civil +government was strange to him—taxes, salaries, +assessments, were all “unknown quantities.”</p> + +<p>But, gradually, all this changed; and with +his circumstances, his character was also modified. +He lost a little of his sturdy independence, +his jealousy of neighborhood was softened—his +solitary habits became more social—he +acknowledged the necessity for concert of action—he +merged a part of his individuality +into the community, and—became a ranger.</p> + +<p>In this capacity, his character was but little<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> +different to what it had been before the change; +and, though that change was a great improvement, +considered with reference to society, it +may safely be doubted whether it made the individual +more respectable. He was a better +<i>citizen</i>, because he now contributed to the common +defence: but he was not a better <i>man</i>, +because new associations brought novel temptations, +and mingling with other men wore +away the simplicity, which was the foundation +of his manliness. Before assuming his new +character, moreover, he never wielded a weapon +except in his own defence—or, at most, in +avenging his own wrongs. The idea of justice—claiming +reparation for an injury, which he +alone could estimate, because by him alone it +was sustained—protected his moral sense. But, +when he assumed the vindication of his neighbor's +rights, and the reparation of his wrongs—however +kind it may have been to do so—he +was sustained only by the spirit of hatred to +the savage, could feel no such justification as +the consciousness of injury.</p> + +<p>Here was the first introduction of the mercenary +character, which actuates the hireling +soldier; and, though civilization was not then +far enough advanced, to make it very conspicuous, +there were other elements mingled, which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span> +could not but depreciate the simple nobility of +the pioneer's nature. Many of the qualities +which, in him, had been merely passive, in the +ranger became fierce and active. We have alluded, +for example, to his hatred of the Indian; +and this, habit soon strengthened and exaggerated. +Nothing marks that change so plainly as +his adoption of the barbarous practice of scalping +enemies.</p> + +<p>For this there might be some little palliation +in the fact, that the savage never considered a +warrior overcome, though he were killed, unless +he lost his scalp; and so long as he could +bring off the dead bodies of his comrades, not +mutilated by the process, he was but partially +intimidated. Defeat was, in that case, converted +to a sort of triumph; and having gone within +one step of victory—for so this half-success +was estimated—was the strongest incentive to +a renewal of the effort. It might be, therefore, +that the ranger's adoption of the custom was a +measure of self-defence. But it is to be feared +that this consideration—weak as it is, when +stated as an excuse for cruelty so barbarous—had +but little influence in determining the ranger. +Adopting the code of the savage, the practice +soon became a part of his warfare; and +the taking of the scalp was a ceremony neces<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span>sary +to the completion of his victory. It was a +bloody and inhuman triumph—a custom, which +tended, more forcibly than any other, to degrade +true courage to mere cruelty; and which, +while it only mortified the savage, at the same +time, by rendering his hatred of the white men +more implacable, aggravated the horrors of Indian +warfare. But the only measure of justice +in those days, was the <i>lex talionis</i>—“An eye +for an eye,” a scalp for a scalp; and, even +now, you may hear frontiermen justify, though +they do not practise it, by quoting the venerable +maxim, “Fight the devil with fire.”</p> + +<br /> +<p>But, though the warfare of the ranger was +sometimes distinguished by cruelty, it was also +ennobled by features upon which it is far more +pleasant to dwell.</p> + +<p>No paladin, or knight, of the olden times, +ever exhibited more wild, romantic daring, +than that which formed a part of the ranger's +daily action. Danger, in a thousand forms, +beset him at every step—he defied mutilation, +death by fire and lingering torture. The number +of his enemies, he never counted, until after +he had conquered them—the power of the +tribe, or the prowess of the warrior, was no element +in his calculations. Where he could<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> +strike first and most effectually, was his only +inquiry. Securing an avenue for retreat was +no part of his strategy—for he had never an +intention or thought of returning, except as a +victor. “Keeping open his communications,” +either with the rear or the flanks, had no place +in his system; “combined movements” he seldom +attempted, for he depended for victory, +upon the force he chanced to have directly at +hand. The distance from his “base of operations” +he never measured; for he carried all +his supplies about his person, and he never +looked for reinforcements. Bridges and wagon-roads +he did not require, for he could swim all +the rivers, and he never lost his way in the forest. +He carried his artillery upon his shoulder, +his tactics were the maxims of Indian warfare, +and his only drill was the “ball-practice” of +the woods. He was his own commissary, for +he carried his “rations” on his back, and replenished +his havresack with his rifle. He +needed no quartermaster; for he furnished his +own “transportation,” and selected his own +encampment—his bed was the bosom of mother-earth, +and his tent was the foliage of an oak +or the canopy of heaven. In most cases—especially +in battle—he was his own commander, +too; for he was impatient of restraint,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> +and in savage warfare knew his duty as well as +any man could instruct him. Obedience was +no part of his nature—subordination was irksome +and oppressive. In a word, he was an +excellent soldier, without drill, discipline or +organization.</p> + +<p>He was as active as he was brave—as untiring +as he was fearless.</p> + +<p>A corps of rangers moved so rapidly, as apparently +to double its numbers—dispersing on +the Illinois or Missouri, and reassembling on +the Mississippi, on the following day—traversing +the Okan timber to-day, and fording the +Ohio to-morrow. One of them, noted among +the Indians for desperate fighting, and personally +known for many a bloody meeting, would +appear so nearly simultaneously in different +places, as to acquire the title of a “Great Medicine;” +and instances have been known, where +as many as three distinct war-parties have told +of obstinate encounters with the same men in +one day! Their apparent ubiquity awed the +Indians more than their prowess.</p> + +<br /> +<p>General Benjamin Howard, who, in eighteen +hundred and thirteen resigned the office of governor +of Missouri, and accepted the appointment +of brigadier-general, in command of the militia<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> +and rangers of Missouri and Illinois, at no time, +except for a few weeks in eighteen hundred and +fourteen, had more than one thousand men under +his orders: And yet, with this inconsiderable +force, he protected a frontier extending +from the waters of the Wabash, westward to the +advanced settlements of Missouri—driving the +savages northward beyond Peoria, and intimidating +them by the promptitude and rapidity +of his movements.</p> + +<br /> +<p>Our government contributed nothing to the +defence of its frontiers, except an act of Congress, +which authorized them to defend themselves! +The Indians, amounting to at least +twenty tribes, had been stirred up to hostility +by the British, and, before the establishment +of rangers, were murdering and plundering almost +with impunity. But soon after the organization +of these companies, the tide began to +turn. The ranger was at least a match for the +savage in his own mode of warfare; and he had, +moreover, the advantages of civilized weapons, +and a steadiness and constancy, unknown to +the disorderly war-parties of the red men.</p> + +<p>He was persevering beyond all example, and +exhibited endurance which astonished even the +stoical savage. Three or four hours' rest, after<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> +weeks of hardship and exposure, prepared him +for another expedition. If the severity of his +vengeance, or the success of a daring enterprise, +intimidated the Indian for a time, and +gave him a few days' leisure, he grew impatient +of inactivity, and was straightway planning +some new exploit. The moment one suggested +itself, he set about accomplishing it—and +its hardihood and peril caused no hesitation. +He would march, on foot, hundreds of +miles, through an unbroken wilderness, until +he reached the point where the blow was to be +struck; and then, awaiting the darkness, in the +middle of the night, he would fall upon his unsuspecting +enemies and carry all before him.</p> + +<br /> +<p>During the war of independence, the rangers +had not yet assumed that name, nor were +they as thoroughly organized, as they became +in the subsequent contest of eighteen hundred +and twelve. But the same material was there—the +same elements of character, actuated by +the same spirit. Let the following instance +show what that spirit was.</p> + +<p>In the year seventeen hundred and seventy-seven, +there lived at Cahokia—on the east +side of the Mississippi below Saint Louis—a +Pennsylvanian by the name of Brady—a rest<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span>less, +daring man, just made for a leader of rangers. +In an interval of inactivity, he conceived +the idea of capturing one of the British posts in +Michigan, the nearest point of which was at +least three hundred miles distant! He forthwith +set about raising a company—and, at the +end of three days, found himself invested with +the command of <i>sixteen men</i>! With these, on +the first of October, he started on a journey of +more than one hundred leagues, through the +vast solitudes of the prairies and the thousand +perils of the forest, to take a military station, +occupied by a detachment of British soldiers! +After a long and toilsome march, they reached +the banks of the St. Joseph's river, on which +the object of their expedition stood. Awaiting +the security of midnight, they suddenly broke +from their cover in the neighborhood, and by a +<i>coup de main</i>, captured the fort without the loss +of a man! Thus far all went well—for besides +the success and safety of the party, they found +a large amount of stores, belonging to traders, +in the station, and were richly paid for their enterprise—but +having been detained by the footsore, +on their homeward march, and probably +delayed by their plunder, they had only reached +the Calumet, on the borders of Indiana, when +they were overtaken by three hundred British<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> +and Indians! They were forced to surrender, +though not without a fight, for men of that +stamp were not to be intimidated by numbers. +They lost in the skirmish one fourth of their +number: the survivors were carried away to +Canada, whence Brady, the leader, escaped, and +returned to Cahokia the same winter. The +twelve remained prisoners until seventeen hundred +and seventy-nine.</p> + +<br /> +<p>Against most men this reverse would have +given the little fort security—at least, until the +memory of the disaster had been obscured by +time. But the pioneers of that period were not +to be judged by ordinary rules. The very next +spring (1778), another company was raised for +the same object, and to wipe out what they considered +the stain of a failure. It was led by a +man named Maize, over the same ground, to the +same place, and was completely successful. +The fort was retaken, the trading-station plundered, +the wounded men of Brady's party released, +and, loaded with spoil, the little party +marched back in triumph!</p> + +<br /> +<p>There is an episode in the history of their +homeward march, which illustrates another +characteristic of the ranger—his ruthlessness.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> +The same spirit which led him to disregard +physical obstacles, prevented his shrinking from +even direful necessities. One of the prisoners +whom they had liberated, became exhausted +and unable to proceed. They could not carry +him, and would not have him to die of starvation +in the wilderness. They could not halt +with him, lest the same fate should overtake +them, which had defeated the enterprise of +Brady. But one alternative remained, and +though, to us, it appears cruel and inhuman, it +was self-preservation to them, and mercy, in a +strange guise, to the unhappy victim—<i>he was +despatched by the hand of the leader</i>, and +buried upon the prairie! His grave is somewhere +near the head-waters of the Wabash, and +has probably been visited by no man from that +day to this!</p> + +<p>Mournful reflections cluster round such a +narrative as this, and we are impelled to use +the word “atrocious” when we speak of it. It +was certainly a bloody deed, but the men of +those days were not nurtured in drawing-rooms, +and never slept upon down-beds. A state of +war, moreover, begets many evils, and none +of them are more to be deplored than the occasional +occurrence of such terrible necessities.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span></p> + +<p>The ranger-character, like the pioneer-nature +of which it was a phase, was compounded of +various and widely-differing elements. No one +of his evil qualities was more prominent than +several of the good; and, I am sorry to say, +none of the good was more prominent than +several of the bad. No class of men did more +efficient service in defending the western settlements +from the inroads of the Indians; and +though it seems hard that the war should sometimes +have been carried into the country of the +untutored savage by civilized men, with a +severity exceeding his own, we should remember +that we can not justly estimate the motives +and feelings of the ranger, without first having +been exasperated by his sufferings and tried by +his temptations.</p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">Top</a></span> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="V" id="V"></a>V.</h2> + +<h3>THE REGULATOR.</h3> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">“Thieves for their robbery have authority,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">When judges steal themselves.”—<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i4"><span class="smcap">Measure for Measure</span>.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>At the conclusion of peace between England +and America, in eighteen hundred and fifteen, +the Indians, who had been instigated and supported +in their hostility by the British, suddenly +found themselves deprived of their allies. If +they now made war upon the Americans, they +must do so upon their own responsibility, and, +excepting the encouragement of a few traders +and commanders of outposts, whose enmity +survived the general pacification, without assistance +from abroad. They, however, refused to +lay down their arms, and hostilities were continued, +though languidly, for some years longer. +But the rangers, now disciplined by the experience +of protracted warfare, and vastly increased<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> +in numbers, had grown to be more than a match +for them, so that not many years elapsed before +the conclusion of a peace, which has lasted, +with but occasional interruptions, to the present +day.</p> + +<p>When danger no longer threatened the settlements, +there was no further call for these irregular +troops. The companies were disbanded, +and those who had families, as a large proportion +of them had, returned to their plantations, +and resumed the pursuits of industry and peace. +Those who had neither farms nor families, and +were unfitted by their stirring life for regular +effort, emigrated further west. Peace settled +upon our borders, never, we hope, to be seriously +broken.</p> + +<br /> +<p>But as soon as the pressure of outward danger +was withdrawn, and our communities began to +expand, the seeds of new evils were developed—seeds +which had germinated unobserved, +while all eyes were averted, and which now +began to shoot up into a stately growth of vices +and crimes. The pioneers soon learned that +there was among them a class of unprincipled +and abandoned men, whose only motive in +emigrating was to avoid the restraints, or escape +the penalties, of law, and to whom the freedom<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> +of the wilderness was a license to commit every +sort of depredation. The arm of the law was +not yet strong enough to punish them.</p> + +<p>The territorial governments were too busy in +completing their own organization, to give +much attention to details: where states had +been formed, the statute-book was yet a blank: +few officers had been appointed, and even these +were strangers to their duties and charge of responsibility. +Between the military rule of the +rangers—for they were for internal police as +well as external defence—and the establishment +of regular civil government, there was a sort +of interregnum, during which there was neither +law nor power to enforce it. The bands of +villains who infested the country were the only +organizations known; and, in not a few instances, +these bands included the very magistrates +whose duty it was to see that the laws +were faithfully executed. Even when this was +not the case, it was a fruitless effort to arrest a +malefactor; indeed, it was very often worse than +fruitless, for his confederates were always ready +to testify in his favor: and the usual consequence +of an attempt to punish, was the drawing +down upon the head of the complainant or +prosecutor, the enmity of a whole confederacy. +Legal proceedings, had provision been made for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> +such, were worse than useless, for conviction +was impossible: and the effort exasperated, +while the failure encouraged, the outlaw spirit.</p> + +<p>An <i>alibi</i> was the usual defence, and to those +times may be referred the general prejudice entertained +among our people, even at the present +day, against that species of testimony. A jury +of western men will hardly credit an <i>alibi</i>, +though established by unexceptionable witnesses; +and the announcement that the accused +depends upon that for his defence, will create +a strong prejudice against him in advance. Injustice +may sometimes be done in this way, but +it is a feeling of which our people came honestly +in possession. They established a habit, in early +days, of never believing an <i>alibi</i>, because, at +that time, nine <i>alibis</i> in ten were false, and +habits of thought, like legal customs, cling to +men long after their reason has ceased. It is +right, too, that it should be so, on the principle +that we should not suspend the use of the +remedy until the disease be thoroughly conquered.</p> + +<br /> +<p>In a state of things, such as we have described, +but one of two things could be done: +the citizens must either abandon all effort to +assert the supremacy of order, and give the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> +country over to thieves and robbers, or they +must invent some new and irregular way of +forcing men to live honestly. They wisely +chose the latter alternative. They consulted +together, and the institution of <i>Regulators</i> was +the result of their deliberations.</p> + +<p>These were small bodies of men, chosen by +the people, or voluntarily assuming the duty—men +upon whom the citizens could depend for +both discretion and resolution. Their duties +may be explained in a few words: to ferret out +and punish criminals, to drive out “suspicious +characters,” and exercise a general supervision +over the interests and police of the settlements, +from which they were chosen. Their statute-book +was the “code of Judge Lynch”—their +order of trial was similar to that of a “drum-head +court-martial”—the principles of their +punishment was certainty, rapidity, and severity. +They were judges, juries, witnesses, and +executioners.</p> + +<br /> +<p>They bound themselves by a regular compact +(usually verbal, but sometimes in writing<a name="FNanchor_77_77" id="FNanchor_77_77"></a><a href="#Footnote_77_77" class="fnanchor">[77]</a>), to +the people and to each other, to rid the community +of all thieves, robbers, plunderers, and +villains of every description. They scoured the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> +country in all directions and in all seasons, and +by the swiftness of their movements, and the +certainty of their vengeance, rivalled their predecessors, +the rangers. When a depredation +had been committed, it was marvellous with +what rapidity every regulator knew it; even +the telegraph of modern days performs no +greater wonders: and it frequently happened, +that the first the quiet citizens heard of a theft, +or a robbery, was the news of its punishment! +Their acts may sometimes have been high-handed +and unjustifiable, but on the whole—and +it is only in such a view that social institutions +are to be estimated—they were the preservers +of the communities for whom they acted. +In time, it is true, they degenerated, and sometimes +the corps fell into the hands of the very +men they were organized to punish.</p> + +<br /> +<p>Every social organization is liable to misdirection, +and this, among others, has been perverted +to the furtherance of selfish and unprincipled +purposes; for, like prejudices and habits +of thought, organized institutions frequently +survive the necessities which call them into +existence. Abuses grow up under all systems; +and, perhaps, the worst abuse of all, is a measure +or expedient, good though temporary, re<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span>tained +after the passing away of the time for +which it was adopted.</p> + +<br /> +<p>But having, in the article “Pioneer,” sufficiently +elaborated the <i>character</i>—for the regulator +was of course a pioneer also—we can best +illustrate the mode of his action by a narrative +of facts. From the hundreds of well-authenticated +stories which might be collected, I have +chosen the two following, because they distinguish +the successive stages or periods of the +system. The first relates to the time when a +band of regulators was the only reliable legal +power, and when, consequently, the vigilance +of the citizens kept it comparatively pure. The +second indicates a later period, when the people +no longer felt insecure, and there was in fact no +necessity for the system; and when, not having +been disused, it could not but be abused. We +derive both from an old citizen of the country, +who was an actor in each. One of them, the +first, has already been in print, but owing to +circumstances to which it is needless to advert, +it was thought better to confine the narrative to +facts already generally known. These circumstances +are no longer operative, and I am now +at liberty to publish entire the story of “The +First Grave<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span>.”</p> + + +<h4>THE FIRST GRAVE.</h4> + +<p>At the commencement of the war of eighteen +hundred and twelve, between Great Britain and +the United States, there lived, in the western +part of Virginia, three families, named, respectively, +Stone, Cutler, and Roberts. They were +all respectable people, of more than ordinary +wealth; having succeeded, by an early emigration +and judicious selection of lands, in rebuilding +fortunes which had been somewhat impaired +east of the Blue Ridge. Between the first and +second there was a relationship, cemented by +several matrimonial alliances, and the standing +of both had been elevated by this union of fortunes. +In each of these two, there were six or +seven children—the most of them boys—but +Captain Roberts, the head of the third, had but +one child, a daughter, who, in the year named, +was approaching womanhood.</p> + +<p>She is said to have been beautiful: and, from +the extravagant admiration of those who saw +her only when time and suffering must have +obscured her attractions, there can be little +doubt that she was so. What her character +was, we can only conjecture from the tenor of +our story: though we have reason to suspect that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> +she was passionate, impulsive, and somewhat +vain of her personal appearance.</p> + +<p>At the opening of hostilities between the two +countries, she was wooed by two suitors, young +Stone, the eldest of the sons of that family, and +Abram Cutler, who was two or three years his +senior. Both had recently returned home, after +a protracted absence of several years, beyond +the mountains, whither they had been sent by +their ambitious parents, “to attend college and +see the world.” Stone was a quiet, modest, unassuming +young man, rather handsome, but too +pale and thin to be decidedly so. Having made +the most of his opportunities at “William and +Mary,” he had come home well-educated (for +that day and country) and polished by intercourse +with good society.</p> + +<p>His cousin, Abram Cutler, was his opposite +in almost everything. He had been wild, reckless, +and violent, at college, almost entirely +giving up his studies, after the first term, and +always found in evil company. His manners +were as much vitiated as his morals, for he was +exceedingly rough, boisterous, and unpolished: +so much so, indeed, as to approach that limit +beyond which wealth will not make society +tolerant. But his freedom of manner bore, to +most observers, the appearance of generous<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> +heartiness, and he soon gained the good will of +the neighborhood by the careless prodigality +of his life. He was tall, elegantly formed, and +quite well-looking; and though he is said to +have borne, a few years later, a sinister and dishonest +look, it is probable that most of this was +attributable to the preconceived notions of those +who thus judged him.</p> + +<br /> +<p>Both these young men were, as we have said, +suitors for the hand of Margaret Roberts, and +it is possible that the vain satisfaction of having +at her feet the two most attractive young men +in the country, led her to coquet with them both, +but decidedly to prefer neither. It is almost +certain, that at the period indicated, she was +sufficiently well-pleased with either to have become +his wife, had the other been away. If +she <i>loved</i> either, however, it was Stone, for she +was a little timid, and Cutler sometimes frightened +her with his violence: but the preference, +if it existed at all, was not sufficiently strong to +induce a choice.</p> + +<p>About this time, the elder Cutler died, and it +became necessary for Abram, as executor of a +large estate, to cross the mountains into the Old +Dominion, and arrange its complicated affairs. +It was not without misgiving that he went away,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> +but his duties were imperative, and his necessities, +produced by his spendthrift habits, were +pressing. He trusted to a more than usually +favorable interview with Margaret, and full of +sanguine hopes, departed on his journey.</p> + +<p>Whether Stone entertained the idea of taking +an unfair advantage of his rival's absence, we +can not say, but he straightway became more +assiduous in his attentions to Margaret. He +was also decidedly favored by Captain Roberts +and his wife, both of whom had been alarmed +by the violent character of Cutler. Time soon +began to obscure the recollection of the absent +suitor, and Stone's delicate and considerate +gallantry rapidly gained ground in Margaret's +affections. It was just one month after Cutler's +departure that his triumph was complete; she +consented to be his wife so soon as the minister +who travelled on that circuit should enter the +neighborhood. But the good man had set out +on his circuit only the day before the consent +was given, and it would probably be at least a +month before his return. In the meantime, +Cutler might recross the mountains, and Stone +had seen quite enough of Margaret's capriciousness +to tremble for the safety of his conquest, +should that event occur before it was thoroughly +secured.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span></p> + +<p>This was embarrassing: but when a man is +in earnest, expedients are never wanting.</p> + +<br /> +<p>There was an old gentleman living a few +miles from the valley, who had once held the +commission of a justice of the peace, and +though he had not exercised his functions, or +even claimed his dignity, for several years, Stone +was advised that he retained his official power +“until his successor was appointed and qualified,” +and that, consequently, any official act of +his would be legal and valid. He was advised, +moreover, and truly, that even if the person performing +the ceremony were not a magistrate, a +marriage would be lawful and binding upon the +simple “consent” of the parties, properly published +and declared.</p> + +<p>Full-freighted with the happy news, he posted +away to Captain Roberts, and without difficulty +obtained his sanction. He then went to Margaret, +and, with the assistance of her mother, +who stood in much dread of Cutler's violence, +succeeded in persuading her to consent. Without +delay, the <i>cidevant</i> magistrate was called in, +the ceremony was performed, and Margaret was +Stone's wife!</p> + +<p>The very day after this event, Cutler returned! +What were his thoughts no one knew, for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> +he spoke to none upon the subject. He went, +however, to see “the bride,” and, in the presence +of others, bantered her pleasantly upon her new +estate, upon his own pretensions, and upon the +haste with which the ceremony had been performed. +He started away with the rest of the +company present; but, on reaching the door—it +was afterward remembered—pretended to +have forgotten something, and ran back into the +room where they had left Margaret alone. Here +he remained full ten minutes, and when he came +out walked thoughtfully apart and disappeared. +What he said to Margaret no one knew; but, +that evening, when they were alone, she asked +anxiously of her husband, “whether he was +quite sure that their marriage had been legal?” +Stone reassured her, and nothing more was said +upon the subject.</p> + +<br /> +<p>Cutler had brought with him, over the mountains, +the proclamation of the governor of Virginia, +announcing the declaration of war, and +calling upon the state for its quota of troops to +repel invasion. He manifested a warm interest +in the enrolling and equipment of volunteers, +and, in order to attest his sincerity, placed his +own name first upon the roll. A day or two +afterward, on meeting Stone, in the presence of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> +several others who had enrolled themselves, he +laughingly observed, that the new bridegroom +“was probably too comfortable at home, to desire +any experience in campaigning:” and, turning +away, he left the company laughing at +Stone's expense.</p> + +<p>This touched the young man's pride—probably +the more closely, because he was conscious +that the insinuation was not wholly void of truth—and, +without a moment's hesitation, he called +Cutler back, took the paper, and enrolled his +name. Cutler laughed again, said <i>he</i> would +not have done so, had he been in Stone's circumstances, +and, after some further conversation, +walked away in the direction of Stone's +residence. Whether he actually entered the +house is not known; but when the young husband +returned home, a few hours afterward, his +wife's first words indicated that she knew of his +enrolment.</p> + +<p>“Is it possible,” said she, with some asperity, +“that you already care so little for me as to enrol +yourself for an absence of six months?”</p> + +<p>Stone would much have preferred to break +the news to her himself, for he had some foreboding +as to the view she might take of his +conduct. He had scarcely been married a week, +and he was conscious that a severe construction<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> +of the act of enrolment, when there was notoriously +not the least necessity for it, might +lead to inferences, than which, nothing could +be more false. If he had said, at once, that he +had been taunted by his old rival, and written +his name under the influence of pride, all would +have been well, for his wife would then have +understood, though she might not have approved +his action. But this confession he was +ashamed to make, and, by withholding it, laid +the foundation for his own and his wife's destruction. +He at once acknowledged the fact, +disclaiming, however, the indifference to her, +which she inferred, and placing the act upon +higher ground:—</p> + +<p>“The danger of the country,” he said, “was +very imminent, and it became every good citizen +to do all he could for its defence. He had no +idea that the militia would be called far from +home, or detained for a very long time; but, in +any event, he felt that men were bound, in such +circumstances, to cast aside personal considerations, +and contribute, each his share, to the +common defence.”</p> + +<p>His wife gazed incredulously at him while he +talked this high patriotism: and well she might, +for he did not speak as one moved by such feelings. +The consciousness of deceit, of conceal<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span>ment, +and of childish rashness, rendered his +manner hesitating and embarrassed. Margaret +observed all this, for her jealousy was aroused +and her suspicions sharpened; she made no +reply, however, but turned away, with a toss of +the head, and busied herself, quite fiercely, with +her household cares. From that moment, until +the day of his departure, she stubbornly avoided +the subject, listening, but refusing to reply, +when her husband attempted to introduce it. +When Cutler came—rather unnecessarily, as +Stone thought—to consult him about the organization +of a spy-company, to which both +were attached, she paid no attention to their +conversation, but walked away down a road +over which she knew Cutler must pass on his +return homeward. Whether this was by appointment +with him is not known: probably, +however, it was her own motion.</p> + +<br /> +<p>We need not stay to detail all that took place +between her and her former suitor, when, as she +had expected, they met in a wood some hundreds +of yards from her home; its result will +sufficiently appear in the sequel. One circumstance, +however, we must not omit. She recurred +to a conversation which had passed sometime +before, in relation to the legality of her<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> +marriage; and though Cutler gave no positive +opinion, his parting advice was nearly in the +following words:—</p> + +<p>“If you think, from your three weeks' experience, +that Stone cares enough for you to make +it prudent, I would advise you to have the marriage +ceremony performed by Parson Bowen, +immediately upon his return; and if you care +enough for him to wish to retain him, you had +better have it performed <i>before he goes away</i>.”</p> + +<p>With these words, and without awaiting an +answer, he passed on, leaving her alone in the +road. When she returned home, she did not +mention the subject; and though Parson Bowen +returned to the neighborhood quite a week +before Stone went away, she never suggested a +repetition of the ceremony. When Stone manifested +some anxiety on the subject, she turned +suddenly upon him and demanded—</p> + +<p>“You do not think our marriage legal, then?”</p> + +<p>He assured her that he only made the suggestion +for her satisfaction, entertaining no +doubt, himself, that they were regularly and +lawfully married.</p> + +<p>“I am content to remain as I am,” she said, +curtly, and the parson was not summoned.</p> + +<p>Five days afterward the troops took up the +line of march for the frontier. Hull had not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> +yet surrendered Michigan; but Proctor had so +stirred up the Indians (who, until then, had been +quiet since the battle of Tippecanoe), as to cut +off all communication with the advanced settlements, +and even to threaten the latter with fire +and slaughter. Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, were +then overrun by British and Indians; for Hopkins +had not yet commenced his march from +Kentucky, and Congress was still debating measures +for protection. Hull's surrender took place +on the sixteenth of August, eighteen hundred +and twelve, and in the following month, General +Harrison, having been appointed to the chief +command in the northwest, proceeded to adopt +vigorous measures for the defence of the country. +It was to one of the regiments organized by +him, that our friends from Virginia found themselves +attached. They had raised a company +of spies, and in this both Stone and Cutler held +commissions.</p> + +<br /> +<p>They marched with the regiment, or rather in +advance of it, for several weeks. By that time, +they had penetrated many miles beyond the +settlements, and Harrison began to feel anxious +to ascertain the position of General Hopkins, +and open communications with him. For this +service Cutler volunteered, and was imme<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span>diately +selected by the general. On the following +morning, he set out with five men to seek +the Kentuckians. He found them without difficulty +and delivered his despatches; but from +that day he was not seen, either in the camp of +Hopkins or in that of Harrison! It was supposed +that he had started on his return, and +been taken or killed by the Indians, parties of +whom were prowling about between the lines +of the two columns.</p> + +<br /> +<p>Stone remained with his company two or +three months longer, when, the enterprise of +Hopkins having failed, and operations being +suspended for the time, it was thought inexpedient +to retain them for the brief period +which remained of their term of enlistment, +and they were discharged. Stone returned +home, and, full of anticipations, the growth of a +long absence, hastened at once to his own house. +The door was closed, no smoke issued from the +chimney, there was no one there! After calling +in vain for a long time, he ran away to her +father's, endeavoring to feel certain that he would +find her there. But the old man received him +with a mournful shake of the head. Margaret +had been gone more than a month, no one knew +whither or with whom!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span></p> + +<p>A report had been in circulation that Cutler +was seen in the neighborhood, a few days before +her disappearance; but no news having been +received of his absence from the army, it had +not been generally credited. But now, it was +quite clear!</p> + +<br /> +<p>The old man invited Stone to enter, but he +declined. Sitting down on a log, he covered his +face with his hands, for a few moments, and +seemed buried in grief. It did not last long, +however: he rose almost immediately, and going +a little aside, calmly loaded his rifle. Without +noticing the old man, who stood gazing at him +in wonder, he turned away, and, with his eyes +fixed upon the ground, took the path toward his +own house. He was seen to break the door and +enter, but he remained within only a few +minutes. On coming out, he threw his rifle +over his shoulder, and walked away through the +forest. Half an hour afterward, smoke was +seen issuing from the roof of the house in several +places, and on repairing thither, the neighbors +found the whole place in a bright flame! It +was of no use to attempt to save it or any of its +contents. An hour afterward, it was a heap of +smouldering ruins, and its owner had disappeared +from the country!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 25%;" /> + +<p>Seven years passed away.</p> + +<p>The war was over: the Indians had been +driven to the north and west, and the tide of +emigration had again set toward the Mississippi. +The northwestern territory—especially +that part of it which is now included within the +limits of Illinois and Indiana—was rapidly filling +up with people from the south and east. The +advanced settlements had reached the site of +Springfield, in the “Sangamon country,”<a name="FNanchor_78_78" id="FNanchor_78_78"></a><a href="#Footnote_78_78" class="fnanchor">[78]</a> now +the capital of Illinois, and a few farms were +opened in the north of Madison county—now +Morgan and Scott. The beautiful valley, most +inaptly called, of the <i>Mauvaisterre</i>, was then +an unbroken wilderness.</p> + +<p>The grass was growing as high as the head +of a tall man, where now well-built streets and +public squares are traversed by hurrying crowds. +Groves which have since become classic were +then impenetrable thickets; and the only guides +the emigrant found, through forest and prairie, +were the points of the compass, and the courses<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> +of streams. But in the years eighteen hundred +and seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen, the western +slope of the Sangamon country began +rapidly to improve. Reports had gone abroad +of “the fertility of its soil, the beauty of its +surface, its genial climate, and its many advantages +of position”—and there is certainly +no country which more richly deserves these +praises.</p> + +<br /> +<p>But the first emigrant who made his appearance +here, in the autumn of eighteen hundred +and nineteen, was probably moved by other +considerations. It was none other than Abram +Cutler! And his family consisted of a wife and +three young children! That wife was Margaret +Roberts—or rather Margaret Stone; for, notwithstanding +the representations of Cutler, her +union with Stone had been perfectly legal. By +what arts he had succeeded in inducing her to +elope with him, we can only judge from his +previous proceedings; but this is certain, that +resentment toward Stone, who, she probably believed, +had unfairly trapped her, was as likely +to move her impulsive and unstable spirit, as +any other motive. Add to this, the wound +given to her vanity by the sudden departure of +her young husband upon a long campaign, with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> +the acuteness given to this feeling by the arts +of Cutler, and we shall not be at a loss to explain +her action.</p> + +<p>Whether she had not bitterly repented her +criminal haste, we know not; but that hardship +and suffering of some sort had preyed upon her +spirit, was evident in her appearance. Her +beauty was much faded; she had grown pale +and thin; and though she was scarcely yet in +the prime of womanhood, her step was heavy +and spiritless. She was not happy, of course, +but her misery was not only negative: the +gnawings of remorse were but too positive and +real!</p> + +<p>Cutler was changed almost as much as his +victim. The lapse of seven years had added a +score to his apparent age; and, if we are to +credit the representations of persons who were +probably looking for signs of vice, the advance +of time had brought out, in well-marked lineaments, +upon his countenance, the evil traits of +his character. His cheeks were sunken, his +features attenuated, and his figure exceedingly +spare, but he still exhibited marks of great personal +strength and activity. His glance, always +of doubtful meaning, was now unsettled and +furtive; and I have heard one of the actors in +this history assert, that it had a scared, appre<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span>hensive +expression, as if he were in constant +expectation of meeting a dangerous enemy.</p> + +<p>Nor is this at all improbable, for during the +seven years which had elapsed since the consummation +of his design upon Margaret, he had +emigrated no less than three times—frightened +away, at each removal, by some intimation, or +suspicion, that the avenger was on his track! +No wonder that his look was wary, and his face +pale and haggard!</p> + +<br /> +<p>On this, his fourth migration, he had crossed +the prairies from the waters of the Wabash; +and having placed the wide expanse of waving +plain between him and the settlements, he at +length considered himself safe from pursuit. +Passing by the little trading-station, where +Springfield now stands, he traversed the beautiful +country lying between that and the Mauvaisterre. +But the alternation of stately timber +and lovely prairie had no charms for him: he +sought not beauty or fertility, but seclusion; +for his pilgrimage had become wearisome, and +his step was growing heavy. Remorse was at +his heart, and fear—the appealing face of his +patient victim kept his crime in continual remembrance—and +he knew, that like a blood-hound, +his enemy was following behind. It<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span> +was a weary load! No wonder that his cheeks +were thin or his eyes wild!</p> + +<br /> +<p>He passed on till he came to a quiet, secluded +spot, where he thought himself not likely soon +to be disturbed by emigration. It was sixteen +miles west of the place where Jacksonville has +since been built, upon the banks of the lower +Mauvaisterre, seven miles from the Illinois river. +The place was long known as Cutler's grove, +but a town grew up around it, and has been +christened by the sounding name of Exeter. +Those who visit it now, and have heard the +story of Cutler, will commend his judgment in +selecting it for retirement; for, town as it is, a +more secluded, dreamy little place is nowhere +to be found. It would seem that the passage +of a carriage through its <i>street</i>—for it has but +one—would be an event in its history; and the +only things which redeem it, in the fancy, from +the category of visionary existences, are a blacksmith's +shop and a mill!</p> + +<br /> +<p>But Cutler's trail was seen upon the prairies, +and the course of many an emigrant was determined +by the direction taken by his predecessor. +It was not long before others came to +“settle” in the neighborhood. Emigration was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> +gradually encroaching, also, from the south; +families began to take possession of the river +“bottoms;” the smoke from frontier cabins +ascended in almost every point of timber; and +by the summer of eighteen hundred and twenty, +Cutler found himself as far from the frontier as +ever! But he was resolved not to move again: +a dogged spirit—half weariness, half despair—had +taken possession of him. “I have moved +often enough,” he said to Margaret, “and here +I am determined to remain, come what may!”</p> + +<br /> +<p>Actuated by such feelings—goaded by a fear +which he could not conquer, and yet was resolute +not to indulge—the lurking devil in his +nature could not long remain dormant. Nothing +develops evil tendencies so rapidly as the consciousness +of wrong and the fear of punishment. +His life soon became reckless and abandoned, +and the first sign of his degradation was his +neglect of his household. For days together +Margaret saw nothing of him; his only companions +were the worthless and outlawed; and, +when intoxicating liquors could be procured, +which was, fortunately, not often, he indulged +in fearful excesses.</p> + +<p>Of evil company, there was, unhappily, but +too much; for the settlement was cursed with a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> +band of desperadoes, exiles from organized society, +who had sought the frontier to obtain +impunity for their misdeeds. The leaders of +this band were three brothers, whom no law +could control, no obligation restrain; and with +these men Cutler soon formed a close and suspicious +intimacy. The eyes of the citizens had +been for some time directed toward the companions, +by circumstances attending various +depredations; and, though unknown to themselves, +they were constantly watched by many +of their neighbors. It is uncertain whether +Cutler was acquainted with the character of the +men when his association with them first commenced, +for in none of the places where he had +lived, had he hitherto been suspected of crime. +It is most probable that he sought their company +because they were “dissipated” like himself; +and that, in the inception of their acquaintance, +there was no other bond between them than the +habit of intoxication.</p> + +<br /> +<p>Had we time and space, we would fain pause +here to reflect upon the position and feelings +of the false wife—deserted, in her turn, by him +for whom she had given up truth and honor—alone +in the wilderness with her children, whose +birth she could not but regret, and harassed by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> +thoughts which could not but be painfully self-condemning. +But we must hasten on.</p> + +<br /> +<p>In the autumn of eighteen hundred and +twenty, information was brought to the settlement, +that a store at Springfield (as it is now +called), had been entered and robbed—that the +leaders of the desperadoes above alluded to, +were suspected—and that the goods stolen were +believed to be concealed in Cutler's grove, +where they lived. Warrants were issued, and +the three were arrested; but the magistrate +before whom they were taken for examination, +was a timid and ignorant man; and by the interference +of Cutler, who assumed to be a lawyer, +they were examined separately, and allowed to +testify, each for the other! An officer who +knew no more than to permit this, of course +could do no less than discharge them. The +arrest and examination, however, crude and informal +as they were, confirmed the suspicions +of the citizens, and directed them, more vehemently +than ever, against Cutler, as well as his +friends. It satisfied them, moreover, that they +would never be able to reach these men through +the ordinary forms of law, and strengthened the +counsels of those who had already suggested +the organization of a company of regulators.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span></p> + +<p>While these things were fermenting in the +minds of the people, the desperadoes, encouraged +by their success, and rendered bold by impunity, +committed their depredations more +frequently and openly than ever. It was remarked, +too, that Cutler, having committed +himself at the examination of friends, was now +more constantly and avowedly their associate; +and, since he was not a man to play a second +part, that they deferred to him on all occasions, +never moving without him, and treating him at +all times as an acknowledged leader. The +people observed, moreover, that from being, like +his neighbors, a small farmer of limited possessions, +he rose rapidly to what, on the frontier, +was considered affluence. He soon ceased to +labor on his lands, and set up a very considerable +“store,” importing his goods from Saint +Louis, and, by means of the whiskey he sold, +collecting all the idle and vicious of the settlement +constantly about him. His “store” was +in exceedingly bad repute, and the scanty reputation +which he had retained after the public +part he had taken before the magistrate, was +speedily lost.</p> + +<br /> +<p>Things were in this state in the spring of +eighteen hundred and twenty-one, when an old<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> +gentleman of respectable appearance, who had +emigrated to this country by water, having been +pleased with the land in the neighborhood of +the place where the town of Naples now stands, +landed his family and effects, and settled upon +the “bottom.” It was soon rumored in the +settlement, that he had brought with him a large +amount of money; and it was also remarked +that Cutler and his three companions were constantly +with him, either at the “Grove” or on +the “bottom.” Whether the rumor was the +cause of their attention, or their assiduity the +foundation of the report, the reader must determine +for himself.</p> + +<br /> +<p>One evening in May, after a visit to this man, +where Cutler had been alone, he came home in +great haste, and suddenly announced to Margaret +his intention to “sell out,” and move further +westward! His unhappy victim supposed +she knew but too well the meaning of this new +movement: she asked no questions, but, with +a sigh of weariness, assented. On the following +day, he commenced hastily disposing of +his “store,” his stock, his cabin—everything, in +fact, save a few farming utensils, his furniture, +and a pair of horses. It was observed—for +there were many eyes upon him—that he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span> +never ventured out after twilight, and, even in +the broad sunshine, would not travel far, alone +or unarmed. In such haste did he seem, that +he sold many of his goods at, what his friends +considered, a ruinous sacrifice. The fame of +great bargains brought many people to his +counter, so that, within ten days, his arrangements +were complete; and, much to the satisfaction +of his neighbors, he set out toward the +river.</p> + +<p>Two of his associates accompanied him on his +journey—a precaution for which he would give +no reason, except that he wished to converse +with them on the way. He crossed the Illinois +near the mouth of the Mauvaisterre, and, turning +northward, in the evening reached a cabin +on the banks of M'Kee's creek, not more than +ten miles from his late residence. This house +had been abandoned by its former occupant, on +account of the forays of the Indians; but was +now partially refitted, as for a temporary abode. +Here, the people about “the grove” were surprised +to learn, a few days after Cutler's departure, +that he had halted with the apparent +intention to remain, at least for some time.</p> + +<br /> +<p>Their surprise was dissipated, however, within +a very few weeks. The old gentleman,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> +spoken of above, had left home upon a visit to +Saint Louis; and during his absence, his house +had been entered, and robbed of a chest containing +a large amount of money—while the +family were intimidated by the threats of men +disguised as savages.</p> + +<br /> +<p>This was the culmination of villany. The +settlement was now thoroughly aroused; and, +when one of these little communities was once +in earnest, it might safely be predicted that +<i>something</i> would be <i>done!</i></p> + +<p>The first step was to call “a meeting of the +friends of law and order;” but no proclamation +was issued, no handbills were circulated, no +notices posted: not the least noise was made +about the matter, lest those against whom it +was to act, might hear of and prepare for it. +They came together quietly but speedily—each +man, as he heard of the appointment, +going forthwith to his neighbor with the news. +They assembled at a central point, where none +need be late in coming, and immediately proceeded +to business. The meeting was not altogether +a formal one—for purposes prescribed +by law—but it was a characteristic of those +men, to do everything “decently and in +order”—to give all their proceedings the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> +sanction and solemnity of mature deliberation. +They organized the assemblage regularly—calling +one of the oldest and most respectable +of their number “to the chair” (which, on this +occasion, happened to be the root of a large +oak), and appointing a younger man secretary +(though they gave him no desk on which to +write). There was no man there who did not +fully understand what had brought them together; +but one who lived in the “bottom,” +and had been the mover of the organization, +was still called upon to “explain the object of +the meeting.” This he did in a few pointed +sentences, concluding with these significant +words: “My friends, it is time that these rascals +were punished, and it is our duty to punish +them.”</p> + +<p>He sat down, and a silence of some moments +ensued, when another arose, and, without any +preliminary remarks, moved that “a company +of regulators be now organized, and that they +be charged with the duty of <i>seeing the law administered</i>.” +The motion was seconded by +half a dozen voices—the question was put in +due form by the chairman, and decided unanimously +in the affirmative.</p> + +<p>A piece of paper was produced, and the presiding +officer called on the meeting for volun<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span>teers. +Ten young men stepped forward, and +gave their names as rapidly as the secretary +could enrol them. In less than five minutes, +the company was complete—the chairman and +four of the meeting, as a committee, were directed +to retire with the volunteers, and see +that they were fully organized—and the meeting +adjourned. All, except the volunteers and +the committee, went directly home—satisfied +that the matter needed no further attention. +Those who remained entered the house and +proceeded to organize in the usual manner.</p> + +<p>A “compact” was drawn up, by the terms +of which the regulators bound themselves to +each other, and to their neighbors, to ferret out +and punish the perpetrators of the offences, +which had recently disturbed the peace of the +settlement, and to rid the country of such villains +as were obnoxious to the friends of law +and order. This was then signed by the volunteers +as principals, and by the committee, +as witnesses; and was placed in the hands of +the chairman of the meeting for safekeeping. +It is said to be still in existence, though I have +never seen it, and do not know where it is to be +found.</p> + +<p>When this arrangement was completed, the +committee retired, and the company repaired<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> +to the woods, to choose a leader. They were +not long in selecting a certain Major B——, +who had, for some weeks, made himself conspicuous, +by his loud denunciations of Cutler +and his associates, and his zealous advocacy of +“strong measures.” They had—one or two +of them, at least—some misgivings about this +appointment; for the major was inclined to be +a blusterer, and the courage of these men was +eminently silent. But after a few minutes' discussion, +the matter was decided, and the leader +was chosen without opposition. They at once +dispersed, to make arrangements for the performance +of their duties—having first appointed +an hour and a place of meeting. They were +to assemble at sunset on the same day, at the +point where the state road now crosses the +“bluff;” and were to proceed thence, without +delay, to Cutler's house on M'Kee's creek, a +distance of little more than eight miles. There +they were to search for the stolen property, and +whether they found it or not, were resolved to +notify Cutler to leave the country. But under +no circumstances were they to take his life, unless +it became necessary in self-defence.</p> + + +<p>The hour came, and with it, to the bluff, +came all the regulators—<i>save one</i>. But that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span> +one was a very important personage—none +other, indeed, than the redoubtable major, +who was to head the party. The nine were +there a considerable time before sunset, and +waited patiently for their captain's arrival; +though, already, there were whisperings from +those who had been doubtful of him in the +outset, that he would not keep his appointment. +And these were right—for, though they waited +long beyond the time, the absentee did not +make his appearance. It was afterward ascertained +that he excused himself upon the plea +of sudden illness; but he was very well again +on the following day, and his excuse was not +received. The ridicule growing out of the +affair, and his reduction from the rank of major +to that of captain, in derision, finally drove him +in disgrace from the country.</p> + +<p>His defection left the little company without +a leader; and though they were determined +not to give up the enterprise, an obstacle to its +prosecution arose, in the fact that no one was +willing to replace the absent captain. Each +was anxious to play the part of a private, and +all had come prepared to discharge the duties +of the expedition, to the utmost of their ability. +But they were all young men, and no one felt +competent to take the responsibility of command.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span></p> + +<p>They were standing in a group, consulting +eagerly about their course, and, as one of them +afterward said, “nearly at their wits' end,” +when the circle was suddenly entered by another. +He had come upon them so noiselessly, +and they had been so much absorbed in their +council, that no one saw him until he stood in +their midst. Several of them, however, at once +recognised him, as a hunter who had recently +appeared in the southern part of the county, +and had lived a singularly solitary life. No +one knew his name, but, from his mode of +life, he was already known among those who +had heard of him, as “the wild hunter.” +He was but little above the medium height, +and rather slender in figure; but he was well +and firmly built, and immediately impressed +them with the idea of great hardihood and +activity. His face, though bronzed by exposure, +was still handsome and expressive; but +there was a certain wildness in the eye, and a +compression about the mouth, which gave it +the expression of fierceness, as well as resolution. +He was dressed in a hunting-shirt and +“leggings” of deer-skin, fringed or “fingered” +on the edges; and his head and feet were covered, +the one by a cap of panther's hide, and +the others by moccasins of dressed buckskin.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> +At his belt hung a long knife, and in his hand +he carried a heavy “Kentucky rifle.”</p> + +<p>As he entered the circle, he dropped the +breech of the latter to the ground, and, leaning +calmly upon the muzzle, quietly surveyed the +countenances of the group, in profound silence. +The regulators were too much surprised to +speak while this was going on; and the stranger +seemed to be in no haste to open the conversation. +When he had finished his scrutiny, +however, he stepped back a pace or two, and +resuming his easy attitude, addressed them:—</p> + +<p>“You must pardon me, my friends,” he +commenced, “when I tell you, that I have +overheard all you have said in the last half +hour. I did not remain in that thicket, however, +for the purpose of eaves-dropping; but +having accidentally heard one of you mention +a name, the sound of which touches a chord +whose vibrations you can not understand, I +remained, almost against my own will, to learn +more. I thus became acquainted with the +object of your meeting, and the dilemma in +which you find yourselves placed by the absence +of your leader. Now, I have but little +interest in this settlement, and none in the preservation +of peace, or the vindication of law, +anywhere: but I have been seeking this man,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span> +Cutler, of whom you spoke, nearly nine years. +I supposed, a few days ago, that I had at last +found him; but on going to his house, I learned +that he had once more emigrated toward the +west. You seem to know where he is to be +found, and are without a leader: I wish to find +him, and, if you will accept my services, will +fill the place of your absent captain!”</p> + +<p>He turned away as he finished, allowing +them an opportunity for consultation among +themselves. The question was soon decided: +they called him back—announced their willingness +to accept him as their leader—and +asked his name.</p> + +<p>“My name is <i>Stone</i>,” he replied.</p> + +<br /> +<p>It was after nightfall when the little party +set out from the bluff. They had, then, more +than eight miles to travel, over a country entirely +destitute of roads, and cut up by numberless +sloughs and ponds. They had, moreover, +a considerable river to cross, and, after +that, several miles of their way lay through a +dense and pathless forest. But they were not +the men to shrink from difficulties, at any time; +and now they were carried along even more +resolutely, by the stern, unwavering spirit of +their new leader. Having once learned the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> +direction, Stone put himself at the head of the +party, and strode forward, almost “as the bird +flies,” directly toward the point indicated, regardless +of slough, and swamp, and thicket. +He moved rapidly, too—so rapidly, indeed, +as to tax the powers of some of his followers +almost too severely. Notwithstanding this +swiftness, however, they could not avoid a +long delay at the river; and it was consequently +near midnight, when, having at last +accomplished a crossing, they reached the +bank of M'Kee's creek, and turned up toward +Cutler's house.</p> + +<p>This stood in the centre of a “clearing,” +some two or three acres in extent; and upon +reaching its eastern limit, the little company +halted to reconnoitre. Notwithstanding the +lateness of the hour, they discovered that the +people of the house were still awake; and by +a bright light, which streamed through the +open door, they could see several men, sitting +and standing about the room.</p> + +<p>“We shall make a good haul,” said one of +the regulators; “the whole gang is there.” +And immediately the party were for rushing +forward. But Stone restrained them.</p> + +<p>“My friends,” said he, “you have taken me +for your leader, and must obey my directions<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span>.”</p> + +<p>He then announced his determination to go +forward alone; instructing his men, however, +to follow at a little distance, but in no case to +show themselves until he should give the signal. +They agreed, though reluctantly, to this +arrangement, and then—silently, slowly, but +surely—the advance commenced. The hour +had at last arrived!</p> + +<br /> +<p>In the meantime, Cutler and his three friends +were passing the time quite pleasantly over a +bottle of backwoods nectar—commonly called +whiskey. They seemed well pleased, too, with +some recent exploit of theirs, and were evidently +congratulating themselves upon their dexterity; +for, as the “generous liquid” reeked +warmly to their brains, they chuckled over it, +and hinted at it, and winked knowingly at each +other, as if they enjoyed both the recollection +and the whiskey—as they probably did, exceedingly. +There were four present, as we +said—Cutler and the three worthies so often +alluded to. These last sat not far from the +open door; and each in his hand held a kerchief, +or something of that description, of +which the contents were apparently very precious; +for, at intervals of a few moments, each +raised his bundle between him and the light,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> +and then were visible many circular prints, as +if made by the coinage of the mint. This idea +was strengthened, too, by several piles of gold +and silver, which lay upon the table near the +bottle, to which Cutler directed no infrequent +glances.</p> + +<p>They had all been indulging pretty freely in +their devotions to the mythological liquid—rewarding +themselves, like soldiers after storming +a hostile city, for their hardships and +daring. There were a few coals in the chimney, +although it was early in the autumn; and +on them were lying dark and crumpled cinders, +as of paper, over which little sparks were slowly +creeping, like fiery insects. Cutler turned them +over with his foot, and there arose a small blue, +flickering blaze, throwing a faint, uncertain light +beneath the table, and into the further corners +of the room, and casting shadows of the money-bundles +on the open door.</p> + +<br /> +<p>If the betrayer could have known what eyes +were strained upon him, as he thus carelessly +thrust his foot among the cinders, how changed +his bearing would have been. Stone had now +approached within fifty paces of the house, and +behind him, slowly creeping after, were the +regulators. A broad band of light streamed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> +out across the clearing from the door, while, on +each side of this, all lay in shadow deepened by +the contrast. Through the shadows, cautiously +and silently came the footsteps of the avenger! +There was no trepidation, no haste—the strange +leader rather lingered, with a deadly slowness, +as if the movement was a pleasant one, and he +disliked to end it. But he never halted—not +even for a moment—he came, like fate, slowly, +but surely!</p> + +<p>“Come, boys,” said Cutler, and his voice +penetrated the stillness quite across the clearing, +“let us take another drink, and then lie +down; we shall have a long journey to-morrow.”</p> + +<p>They all advanced to the table and drained +the bottle. Cutler drank last, and then went +back to the fire. He again stirred the smouldering +cinders with his foot, and, turning +about, advanced to close the door. But—he +halted suddenly in the middle of the room—his +face grew ashy pale—his limbs trembled +with terror! Stone stepped upon the threshold, +and, without speaking, brought his rifle +to his shoulder! Cutler saw that it pointed to +his heart, but he had not the power to speak or +move!</p> + +<p>“Villain!” said Stone, in a low, suppressed +voice, “your hour has come, at last!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span>”</p> + +<p>Cutler was by no means a coward; by any +one else he would not have been overcome, +even for an instant. As it was, he soon recovered +himself and sprang forward; but it was +only to fall heavily to the floor; for at the +same moment Stone fired, and the ball passed +directly through his heart! A groan was the +only sound he uttered—his arm moved, as in +the act of striking, and then fell to the ground—he +was dead!</p> + +<p>The regulators now rushed tumultuously into +the house, and at once seized and pinioned the +three desperadoes; while Stone walked slowly +to the hearth, and resting the breech of his gun +upon the floor, leaned calmly upon its muzzle. +He had heard a scream from above—a voice +which he knew too well. Margaret had been +aroused from sleep by the report of the gun; +and now, in her night-dress, with her hair +streaming in masses over her shoulders, she +rushed down the rude stairway. The first object +that met her wild gaze was the body of +Cutler, stretched upon the floor and already +stiffening in death. With another loud scream, +she threw herself upon him—mingling lamentations +for his death, with curses upon his murderers.</p> + +<p>Stone's features worked convulsively, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span> +once or twice his hand grasped the hilt of the +knife which hung at his belt. At last, with a +start, he drew it from the sheath. But, the +next moment, he dashed it into the chimney, +and leaning his gun against the wall, slowly +advanced toward the unhappy woman. Grasping +her arm, he lifted her like a child from the +body to which she clung. Averting his head, +he drew her, struggling madly, to the light; +and having brought her face full before the +lamp, suddenly threw off his cap, and turned +his gaze directly into her eyes. A scream, +louder and more fearful than any before, rang +even to the woods beyond the clearing; she +closed her eyes and shuddered, as if she could +not bear to look upon him, whom she had so +deeply wronged. He supported her on his +arm, and perused her sunken and careworn +features, for many minutes, in silence. Then +slowly relaxing his grasp—</p> + +<p>“You have been punished sufficiently,” he +said; and seating her gently upon the floor, he +quietly replaced his knife in its sheath, resumed +his rifle, and left the house.</p> + +<br /> +<p>He was never again seen by any of the parties, +except Margaret. She, soon after this +event, returned to Virginia; and here Stone<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span> +paid her an annual visit. He always came without +notice, and departed as suddenly, always +bearing his rifle, and habited as a hunter. At +such times he sought to be alone with her but a +few moments, and never spoke more than three +words: “Your punishment continues,” he would +say, after gazing at her worn and haggard face +for some minutes; and, then, throwing his rifle +over his shoulder, he would again disappear for +twelve months more.</p> + +<p>And truly her punishment <i>did</i> continue; for +though no one accurately knew her history, she +was an object of suspicion to all; and though +she led a most exemplary life, her reputation +was evil, and her misery was but too evident. +One after the other, her children died, and she +was left utterly alone! At last <i>her</i> lamp also +began to flicker, and when Stone arrived in the +country, upon his twelfth annual visit, it was +but to see her die, and follow her to the grave! +He received her last breath, but no one knew +what passed between them in that awful hour. +On the day after her burial he went away and +returned no more.</p> + +<br /> +<p>The regulators hastily dug a grave on the +bank of the creek, and in the silence of the +night placed Cutler within it. Then, taking<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span> +possession of the stolen money, they released +their prisoners, notifying them to leave the +country within ten days, and returned to the +east side of the river. A few years ago, a little +mound might be seen, where they had heaped +the dirt upon the unhappy victim of his own +passions. It was “<i>the first grave</i>” in which a +white man was buried in that part of the Illinois +valley.</p> + +<br /> +<p>At the expiration of the ten “days of grace,” +it became the duty of the regulators to see that +their orders had been obeyed; and, though the +death of Cutler had been more than they had +designed or foreseen, they had no disposition to +neglect it. They met, accordingly, on the morning +of the eleventh day, and having chosen a +new leader, proceeded to Cutler's grove. They +found the houses of all those to whom they had +given “notice” deserted <i>excepting one</i>. This +was the cabin of the youngest of the three +brothers; and declaring his intention to remain, +in defiance of regulators and “Lynch law,” he +put himself upon his defence. Without ceremony +the regulators set fire to the house in +which he had barricaded himself, and ten +minutes sufficed to smoke him out. They then +discovered what they had not before known:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span> +that his elder brothers were also within; and +when the three rushed from the door, though +taken by surprise, they were not thrown off +their guard. The trio were at once seized, and, +after a sharp struggle, securely pinioned. A +short consultation then decided their course.</p> + +<p>Leaving the house to burn at leisure, they +posted away for the river, driving their prisoners +before them, and a march of three hours brought +them to the mouth of the Mauvaisterre. Here +they constructed a “raft”, by tying half-a-dozen +drift-logs together, and warning them that death +would be the penalty of a return, they placed +their prisoners upon it, pushed it into the middle +of the stream, and set them adrift without oar +or pole! Although this seems quite severe +enough, it was a light punishment compared to +that sometimes administered by regulators; and +in this case, had not blood been spilt when they +did not intend it, it is probable that the culprits +would have been first tied to a tree, and +thoroughly “lynched.”</p> + +<p>The involuntary navigators were not rescued +from their unpleasant position until they had +nearly reached Saint Louis; and though they +all swore vengeance in a loud voice, not one of +them was ever again seen in the Sangamon +country.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span></p> + +<p>Vigorous measures, like those we have detailed, +were usually effectual in restoring good +order. Where there was no trial, there was no +room for false witnesses; and where a punishment, +not unfrequently disproportioned to the +offence, so rapidly and certainly followed its +commission, there was little prospect of impunity, +and therefore slight inducement to +violate the law. In most localities, it required +but few severe lessons to teach desperadoes that +prudence dictated their emigration; and, it must +be acknowledged, that the regulators were +prompt and able teachers.</p> + +<p>But we should give only a partial and incomplete +view of this institution (for such, in fact, +it was), were we to notice its uses and say +nothing of its abuse; because, like everything +else partaking so largely of the mob element, it +was liable to most mischievous perversions. +Had the engine been suffered to rest, when it +had performed its legitimate functions, all would +have been well; but the great vice of the system +was its obstinate vitality: it refused to die +when its life was no longer useful.</p> + +<p>As soon as the danger was past, and the call +for his services had ceased, the good citizen, +who alone could confine such a system to its +proper limits, retired from its ranks: it was con<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span>sequently +left, with all its dangerous authority, +in the hands of the reckless and violent. The +selfish and designing soon filled up the places +of the sober and honest, and from being a terror +to evil-doers, and a protection to the peaceful +citizen, it became a weapon in the hands of the +very men against whom it should have been +directed.</p> + +<p>When this came to be the case, the institution +was in danger of doing more harm in its age, +than it had accomplished of good in its youth. +But it must not thence be inferred that it +should never have been adopted, or that it was +vicious in itself. In seasons of public danger, +extraordinary powers are often intrusted to +individuals—powers which nothing but that +danger can justify, and which would constitute +the dictators intolerable despots, if they were +retained after the crises are passed. The Congress +of our confederacy, for example, found it +necessary, at one period of our Revolutionary +struggle, to invest Washington with such +authority; had he exercised it beyond the +pressure of immediate peril, the same outcry +which has been made against others in similar +circumstances, would have been justly raised +against him. And most men, less soberly constituted +than Washington, would have en<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span>deavored +to retain it; for power is a pleasant +thing, which few have the self-denial to resign +without a struggle. The wrong consists not in +the original delegation of the authority—for +that is justified by the highest of all laws, the +law of self-preservation—but in its retention +and exercise, when the exigency no longer supports +it.</p> + +<br /> +<p>Having parted with the authority to redress +grievances, and provide for protection and defence, +the citizen can not at once recover it—it +remains for a time in the hands of the representative, +and is always difficult to regain. But +it does not therefore follow, that he should +never intrust it to another, for the inconvenience +sometimes resulting from its delegation, is +one of the incidents to human life, teaching, not +obstinacy or jealousy, but circumspection.</p> + +<br /> +<p>The following story, related by one who is +well-acquainted with the early history of this +country, will illustrate the manner in which the +regulator system was sometimes made subservient +to men's selfish purposes; and there have, +unhappily, been too many instances, in which +such criminal schemes were more successful +than they were in this. I have entitled it +“The Stratagem.” +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span></p> + + +<h4>THE STRATAGEM.</h4> + +<p>Robert Elwood emigrated from Kentucky to +Illinois, about the year in which the latter was +erected into a state, and passing to the northwest +of the regions then occupied by the French +and Virginians, pitched his tent upon the very +verge of the frontier. He was a man of violent +passions, impatient of the restraints of law—arrogant, +overbearing, and inclined to the use +of “the strong-hand.” His removal had been +caused by a difficulty with one of his neighbors, +in which he had attempted to right himself +without an appeal to the legal tribunals. In +this attempt, he had not only been thwarted, +but also made to pay rather roundly for his +temerity; and, vexed and soured, he had at +once abandoned his old name, and marched off +across the prairies, seeking a country in which, +as he said, “a man need not meet a cursed constable +every time he left his own door.” His +family consisted of three sons and one daughter, +the latter being, at the time of his emigration, +about sixteen years of age.</p> + +<br /> +<p>In journeying toward the north, he halted +one day, at noon, within a “point” of timber,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span> +which extended a mile into the prairie, and +was surrounded by as beautiful a piece of rolling +meadow-land, as one need wish to see. He +was already half-a-day's journey beyond the +thicker settlements; and, indulging a reasonable +hope that he would not speedily be annoyed +by neighbors, he at once determined +here to erect his dwelling and open a new +farm. With this view, he marked off a tract +of about four hundred acres, including the +point of timber in which he was encamped; +and before the heats of summer came on, he +had a cabin ready for his reception, and a considerable +amount of grain planted.</p> + +<p>About a mile to the south, there was a similar +strip of timber, surrounded, like that of +which he took possession, by a rich tract of +“rolling prairie;” and this he at once resolved +to include in his farm. But, reflecting that it +must probably be some years, before any one +else would enter the neighborhood to take it +up—and having only the assistance of his +sons, but two of whom had reached manhood—he +turned his attention, first, to the tract +upon which he lived. This was large enough +to engross his efforts for the present; and, for +two years, he neglected to do anything toward +establishing his claim to the land he coveted.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> +It is true, that he told several of his neighbors, +who had now begun to settle around him, that +he claimed that piece, and thus prevented their +enclosing it; but he neither “blazed” nor +marked the trees, nor “staked off” the prairie.</p> + +<br /> +<p>In the meantime emigration had come in, so +much more rapidly than he had expected, that +he found himself the centre of a populous +neighborhood; and among other signs of advancing +civilization, a company of regulators +had been organized, for the protection of life +and property. Of this band, Elwood, always +active and forward, had been chosen leader; +and the vigor and severity with which he had +exercised his functions, had given a degree of +quiet to the settlements, not usually enjoyed +by these frontier communities. One example +had, at the period of the opening of our story, +but recently been made; and its extreme rigor +had frightened away from the neighborhood, +those who had hitherto disturbed its peace. +This was all the citizens desired; and, having +accomplished their ends, safety and tranquillity, +those whose conservative character had prevented +the regulator system from running into +excesses, withdrew from its ranks—but took +no measures to have it broken up. It was thus<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span> +left, with recognised authority, in the hands of +Elwood, and others of his violent and unscrupulous +character.</p> + +<p>Things were in this position, when, on his +return from an expedition of some length, Elwood +bethought him of the handsome tract of +land, upon which he had so long ago set his +heart. What were his surprise and rage on +learning—a fact, which the absorbing nature +of his regulator-duties had prevented his knowing +sooner—that it was already in possession +of another! And his mortification was immeasurably +increased, when he was told, that +the man who had thus intruded upon what he +considered his own proper demesne, was none +other than young Grayson, the son of his old +Kentucky enemy! Coming into the neighborhood, +in the absence of Elwood, the young +man, finding so desirable a tract vacant, had at +once taken possession; and by the return of +the regulator had almost finished a neat and +“roomy” cabin. He had “blazed” the trees, +too, and “staked off” the prairie—taking all +those steps then deemed necessary, on the frontier, +to complete appropriation.</p> + +<p>Elwood's first step was to order him peremptorily, +to desist, and give up his “improvement”—threatening +him, at the same time,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span> +with certain and uncertain pains and penalties, +if he refused to obey. But Grayson only laughed +at his threats, and went stoutly on with his +work. When the young men, whom he had +hired to assist him in building his house, gave +him a friendly warning, that Elwood was the +leader of a band of regulators, and had power +to make good his menaces, he only replied that +“he knew how to protect himself, and, when +the time came, should not be found wanting.” +Elwood retired from the contest, discomfited, +but breathing vengeance; while Grayson finished +his house and commenced operations on +his farm. But those who knew the headlong +violence of Elwood's character, predicted that +these operations would soon be interrupted; +and they were filled with wonder, when month +after month passed away, and there were still +no signs of a collision.</p> + +<br /> +<p>In the meantime, it came to be rumored in +the settlement, that there was some secret connection +between Grayson and Elwood's daughter, +Hannah. They had been seen by several +persons in close conversation, at times and +places which indicated a desire for concealment; +and one person even went so far as to say, +that he had been observed to kiss her, on part<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span>ing, +late in the evening. Whatever may have +been the truth in that matter, it is, at all events, +certain, that Grayson was an unmarried man; +and that the quarrel between the parents of the +pair in Kentucky, had broken up an intimacy, +which bade fair to issue in a marriage; and it +is probable, that a subordinate if not a primary, +motive, inducing him to take possession of the +disputed land, was a desire to be near Hannah. +Nor was this wish without its appropriate justification; +for, though not strictly beautiful, +Hannah was quite pretty, and—what is better +in a frontier girl—active, fresh, and rosy. At +the time of Grayson's arrival in the settlement, +she was a few months past eighteen; and was +as fine material for a border wife, as could be +found in the new state. The former intimacy +was soon renewed, and before the end of two +months, it was agreed that they should be +married, as soon as her father's consent could +be obtained.</p> + +<p>But this was not so easily compassed; for, +all this time, Elwood had been brooding over +his defeat, and devising ways and means of +recovering the much-coveted land.</p> + +<p>At length, after many consultations with a +fellow named Driscol, who acted as his lieutenant +in the regulator company, he acceded to a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span> +proposition, made long before by that worthy, +but rejected by Elwood on account of its dishonesty. +He only adopted the plan, now, because +it was apparently the only escape from +permanent defeat; and long chafing under +what he considered a grievous wrong, had +made him reckless of means, and determined +on success, at whatever cost.</p> + +<br /> +<p>One morning, about a week after the taking +of this resolution, it was announced that one of +Elwood's horses had been stolen, on the night +before; and the regulators were straightway +assembled, to ferret out and punish so daring +an offender. It happened (accidently, <i>of +course</i>) to be a horse which had cast one of its +shoes, only the day before; and this circumstance +rendered it easy to discover his trail. +Driscol, Elwood's invaluable lieutenant, discovered +the track and set off upon it, almost as +easily as if he had been present when it was +made. He led the party away into the prairie +toward the east; and though his companions +declared that they could now see nothing of +the trail, the sharp-sighted lieutenant swore +that it was “as plain as the nose on his face”—truly, +a somewhat exaggerated expression: +for the color, if not the size, of that feature in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span> +his countenance, made it altogether too apparent +to be overlooked! They followed him, +however, convinced by the earnestness of his +asseverations, if not by their own eyes, until, +after going a mile toward the east, he began +gradually to verge southward, and, having +wound about at random for some time, finally +took a direct course, for the point of timber on +which Grayson lived!</p> + +<p>On arriving at the point, which terminated, +as usual, in a dense hazel-thicket, Driscol at +once pushed his way into the covert, and lo! +there stood the stolen horse! He was tied to a +sapling by a halter, which was clearly recognised +as the property of Grayson, and leading off +toward the latter's house, was traced a man's +footstep—<i>his</i>, of course! These appearances +fully explained the theft, and there was not a +man present, who did not express a decided +conviction that Grayson was the thief.</p> + +<p>Some one remarked that his boldness was +greater than his shrewdness, else he would not +have kept the horse so near. But Driscol declared, +dogmatically, that this was “the smartest +thing in the whole business,” since, if the trail +could be obliterated, no one would think of +looking <i>there</i> for a horse stolen only a mile +above! “The calculation” was a good one, he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span> +said, and it only failed of success because he, +Driscol, happened to have a remarkably sharp +sight for all tracks, both of horses and men. To +this proposition, supported by ocular evidence, +the regulators assented, and Driscol stock, previously +somewhat depressed by sundry good +causes, forthwith rose in the regulator market to +a respectable premium!</p> + +<p>Having recovered the stolen property, the +next question which presented itself for their +consideration, was in what way they should +punish the thief. To such men as they, this +was not a difficult problem: without much deliberation, +it was determined that he must be at +once driven from the country. The “days of +grace,” usually given on such occasions, were +ten, and in pursuance of this custom, it was +resolved that Grayson should be mercifully +allowed that length of time, in which to arrange +his affairs and set out for a new home: or, as +the regulators expressed it, “make himself +scarce.” Driscol, having already, by his praise-worthy +efforts in the cause of right, made himself +the hero of the affair, was invested with +authority to notify Grayson of this decree. The +matter being thus settled, the corps adjourned +to meet again ten days thereafter, in order to see +that their judgment was duly carried into effect.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span></p> + +<p>Meantime, Driscol, the official mouthpiece +of the self-constituted court of general jurisdiction, +rode away to discharge himself of his +onerous duties. Halting at the low fence which +enclosed the scanty door-yard he gave the customary +“Halloo! the house!” and patiently +awaited an answer. It was not long, however, +before Grayson issued from the door and advanced +to the fence, when Driscol served the +process of the court <i>in hæc verba</i>:—</p> + +<p>“Mr. Grayson, the regulators of this settlement +have directed me to give you ten days' +notice to leave the country. They will meet +again one week from next Friday, and if you +are not gone by that time, it will become their +duty to punish you in the customary way.”</p> + +<p>“What for?” asked Grayson, quietly.</p> + +<p>“For stealing this horse,” the functionary +replied, laying his hand on the horse's mane, +“and concealing him in the timber with the intention +to run him off.”</p> + +<p>“It's Elwood's horse, isn't it?”</p> + +<p>“Yes,” answered Driscol, somewhat surprised +at Grayson's coolness.</p> + +<p>“When was he stolen?” asked the notified.</p> + +<p>“Last night,” answered the official; “I suppose +you know very well without being told.”</p> + +<p>“Do you, indeed?” said Grayson, smiling<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span> +absently. And then he bent his eyes upon the +ground, and seemed lost in thought for some +minutes.</p> + +<p>“Well, well,” said he at length, raising his +eyes again. “I didn't steal the horse, Driscol, +but I suppose you regulators know best who +ought to be allowed to remain in the settlement, +so of course I shall have to obey.”</p> + +<p>“I am glad to find you so reasonable,” said +Driscol, making a movement to ride away.</p> + +<p>“Stop! stop!” said Grayson: “don't be in a +hurry! I shall be gone before the ten days are +up, and you and I may not meet again for a +long time, so get down and come in: let us take +a parting drink together. I have some excellent +whiskey, just brought home.”</p> + +<p>Now, the worthy functionary, as we have intimated, +or as the aforesaid nose bore witness, +was “quite partial” to this description of produce: +some of his acquaintances even insinuating +that he took sometimes “a drop too much;” and +though he felt some misgiving about remaining +in Grayson's company longer than his official +duties required, the temptation was too strong +for him, and, silencing his fears, he sprang to +the ground.</p> + +<p>“Tie your horse to the fence, there,” said +Grayson, “and come in.” Driscol obeyed, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span> +it was not long before he was seated in the +cabin with a tin-cup in his hand, and its generous +contents finding their way rapidly down his +capacious throat.</p> + +<p>“Whiskey is a pleasant drink, after all, isn't +it?” said Grayson, smiling at the gusto with +which Driscol dwelt upon the draught, and at +the same moment he rose to set his cup on the +table behind the official.</p> + +<p>“Very pleasant indeed,” said Driscol, in +reply, and to prove his sincerity, he raised his +cup again to his lips. But this time he was not +destined to taste its contents. It was suddenly +dashed from his hand—a saddle-girth was +thrown over his arms and body—and before he +was aware of what was being done, he found +himself securely pinioned to the chair! A rope +was speedily passed round his legs, and tied, in +like manner, behind, so that he could, literally, +move neither hand nor foot! He made a furious +effort to break away, but he would not have +been more secure had he been in the old-fashioned +stocks! He was fairly entrapped, and +though he foamed, and swore, and threatened, +it all did no manner of good. Of this he at +length became sensible, and grinding his teeth +in impotent rage, he relapsed into dogged silence.</p> + +<p>Having thoroughly secured his prisoner,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span> +Grayson, who was something of a wag, poured +out a small quantity of the seductive liquor, and +coming round in front of the ill-used official, +smiled graciously in his face, and drank “a +health”—</p> + +<p>“Success to you, Mr. Driscol,” said he, “and +long may you continue an ornament to the distinguished +company of which you are an honored +officer!”</p> + +<p>Driscol ground his teeth, but made no reply, +and the toast was drunk, like some of those impressive +sentiments given at public dinners, “in +profound silence!”</p> + +<p>Having drained the cup, Grayson deposited +it upon the table and himself in a chair; and, +drawing the latter up toward his companion, +opened the conference thus:—</p> + +<p>“I think I have you pretty safe, Driscol: eh!”</p> + +<p>The lieutenant made no reply.</p> + +<p>“I see you are not in a very sociable humor,” +continued Grayson; “and, to tell you the truth, +I am not much that way inclined myself: but I +am determined to get to the bottom of this +affair before you shall leave the house. I am +sure you know all about it; and if you don't, +why the worse for you, that's all.”</p> + +<p>“What do you mean?” demanded Driscol, +speaking for the first time.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span></p> + +<p>“I mean this,” Grayson answered sternly: +“I did not take that horse from Elwood's—<i>but +you did</i>: I saw you do it. But since my testimony +will not be received, I am determined that +you shall give me a certificate in writing that +such is the fact. You needn't look so obstinate, +for by the God that made us both! you shall not +leave that chair alive, unless you do as I say!”</p> + +<p>Grayson was a large, rather fleshy man, with +a light complexion and blue eyes; and, though +good-natured and hard to arouse, when once in +earnest, as now, like all men of his stamp, he +both looked, and was, fully capable of carrying +his menaces into execution. The imprisoned +functionary did not at all like the expression of +his eye, he quailed before it in fear and shame. +He was, however, resolved not to yield, except +upon the greatest extremity.</p> + +<p>“Come,” said Grayson, producing materials +for writing; “here are pen, ink, and paper: +are you willing to write as I dictate?”</p> + +<p>“No,” said Driscol, doggedly.</p> + +<p>“We'll see if I can't make you willing, +then,” muttered his captor; and, going to the +other end of the cabin, he took down a coil of +rope, which hung upon a peg, and returned to +his captive. Forming a noose at one end, he +placed it about Driscol's neck, and threw the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span> +other end over a beam which supported the +roof.</p> + +<p>“Are you going to murder me?” demanded +the official in alarm.</p> + +<p>“Yes,” answered Grayson, drawing the loose +end down, and tightening the noose about Driscol's +throat.</p> + +<p>“You'll suffer for this,” said the lieutenant +furiously.</p> + +<p>“That won't help <i>you</i> much,” coolly replied +Grayson, tugging at the rope, until one leg of +the chair gave signs of rising from the floor, +and Driscol's face exhibited unmistakable symptoms +of incipient strangulation.</p> + +<p>“Stop! stop!” he exclaimed, in a voice reduced +to a mere wheeze—and Grayson “eased +off” to hear him.</p> + +<p>“Won't anything else satisfy you but a written +certificate?” he asked—speaking with difficulty, +and making motions as if endeavoring +to swallow something too large to pass the gate +of his throat.</p> + +<p>“Nothing but that,” answered Grayson, decidedly; +“and if you don't give it to me, when +your regulator friends arrive, instead of me, +they will find you, swinging from this beam by +the neck!” And, seeing his victim hesitate, he +again tugged at the rope, until the same signs<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span> +were exhibited as before—only a little more +apparently.</p> + +<p>“Ho—hold, Grayson!” begged the frightened +and strangling lieutenant; and, as his executioner +again relaxed a little, he continued: +“Just let me up, and I'll do anything you +want.”</p> + +<p>“That is to say,” laughed Grayson, “you +would rather take the chances of a fight, than +be hung up like a sheep-stealing dog! Let you +up, indeed!” And once more he dragged the +rope down more vigorously than ever.</p> + +<p>“I—didn't—mean that—indeed!” gulped +the unhappy official, this time almost strangled +in earnest.</p> + +<p>“What <i>did</i> you mean then?” sternly demanded +Grayson, relaxing a little once again.</p> + +<p>“I will write the certificate,” moaned the +unfortunate lieutenant, “if you will let one arm +loose, and won't tell anybody until the ten days +are out—”</p> + +<p>“Why do you wish it kept secret!”</p> + +<p>“If I give such a certificate as you demand,” +mournfully answered the disconsolate officer, +“I shall have to leave the country—and I +want time to get away.”</p> + +<p>“Oh! that's it, is it? Well—very well.”</p> + +<p>About an hour after this, Driscol issued from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span> +the house, and, springing upon the horse, rode +away at a gallop toward Elwood's. Here he +left the animal, but declined to enter; telling +Hannah, who happened to be in the yard, to +say to her father that “it was all right,” he +pushed on toward home—tenderly rubbing +his throat, first with the right hand and then +with the left, all the way. Three days afterward, +he disappeared from the settlement, and +was heard of no more.</p> + +<p>Grayson waited until near nightfall, and +then took his way, as usual, to a little clump +of trees, that stood near Elwood's enclosures, +to meet Hannah. Here he stayed more than +an hour, detailing the circumstances of the accusation +against him, and laughing with her, +over the ridiculous figure cut by her father's +respectable lieutenant. Before they parted +their plans were all arranged, and Grayson went +home in excellent humor. What these plans +were, will be seen in the sequel.</p> + +<br /> +<p>Eight days went by without any event important +to our story—Hannah and Grayson +meeting each evening, in the grove, and parting +again undiscovered. On the ninth day, the +former went to the house of a neighbor, where +it was understood that she was to remain dur<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span>ing +the night, and return home on the following +morning. Grayson remained on his farm +until near sunset, when he mounted his horse +and rode away. This was the last of his “days +of grace;” and those who saw him passing +along the road, concluded that he had yielded +to the dictates of prudence, and was leaving +the field.</p> + +<p>On the following morning, the regulators assembled +to see that their orders had been +obeyed; and, though Elwood was a little disconcerted +by the absence of Driscol, since it +was understood that Grayson had left the +country, the meeting was considered only a +formal one, and the presence of the worthy lieutenant +was not indispensable. They proceeded +in high spirits to the premises, expecting to +find the house deserted and waiting for an occupant. +Elwood was to take immediate possession, +and, all the way across the prairie, was +felicitating himself upon the ease and rapidity +of his triumph. What was their surprise, then, +on approaching the house, to see smoke issuing +from the chimney, as usual—the door thrown +wide open, and Grayson standing quietly in +front of it! The party halted and a council +was called, but its deliberations were by no +means tedious: it was forthwith determined,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span> +that Grayson stood <i>in defiance of the law</i>, and +must be punished—that is, “lynched”—without +delay! The object of this fierce decree, all +unarmed as he was, still stood near the door, +while the company slowly approached the fence. +He then advanced and addressed them:—</p> + +<p>“I think the ten days are not up yet, gentlemen,” +said he mildly.</p> + +<p>“Yes, they are,” answered Elwood quickly; +“and we are here to know whether you intend +to obey the authorities, and leave the country?”</p> + +<p>“I think, Elwood,” said the young man, not +directly replying, “this matter can be settled +between you and me, without bloodshed, and even +without trouble. If you will come in with +George and John [his sons], I will introduce +you to my wife, and we can talk it over, with +a glass of whiskey.”</p> + +<p>Another consultation ensued, when, in order +to prove their dignified moderation, they agreed +that Elwood and his sons should “go in and see +what he had to say.”</p> + +<p>Elwood, the elder, entered first: directly before +him, holding her sides and shaking with +laughter, stood his rosy daughter, Hannah!</p> + +<p>“<i>My wife</i>, gentlemen,” said Grayson, gravely +introducing them. Hannah's laughter exploded.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span></p> + +<p>“O, father, father, father!” she exclaimed, +leaning forward and extending her hands; +“ain't you caught, beautifully!”</p> + +<p>The laugh was contagious; and though the +elder knit his brows, and was evidently on the +point of bursting with very different emotions, +his sons yielded to its influence, and, joining +Hannah and her husband, laughed loudly, peal +after peal!</p> + +<p>The father could bear it no longer—he seized +Hannah by the arm and shook her violently, till +she restrained herself sufficiently to speak; as +for him, he was speechless with rage.</p> + +<p>“It's entirely too late to make a 'fuss,' father,” +she said at length, “for here is the marriage-certificate, +and Grayson is your son!”</p> + +<p>“I have not stolen your horse, Elwood,” said +the bridegroom, taking the paper which the +father rejected, “though I have run away with +your daughter. And,” he added, significantly, +“since if you had this land, you would probably +give it to Hannah, I think you and I had better +be friends, and I'll take it as her marriage-portion.”</p> + +<p>“If you can show that you did not take the +horse, Grayson,” said George, the elder of the +two sons, “I'll answer for that: but——”</p> + +<p>“That I can do very easily,” interrupted the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span> +young husband, “I have the proof in my +pocket.”</p> + +<p>He caught Elwood's eye as he spoke, and reassured +him with a look, for he could see that +the old man began to apprehend an exposure in +the presence of his sons. This forbearance did +more to reconcile him to his discomfiture than +aught else, save the influence of George; for, +like all passionate men, he was easily swayed +by his cooler children. While Hannah and her +brothers examined the marriage certificate, and +laughed over “the stratagem,” Grayson drew +Elwood aside and exhibited a paper, written in +a cramped, uneven hand, as follows:—</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>“This is to certify, that it was not Josiah +Grayson who took Robert Elwood's horse from +his stable, last night—but I took him myself, +by arrangement, so as to accuse Grayson of the +theft, and drive him to leave his new farm.</p> + +<p style="text-align: right;">“<span class="smcap">Thomas Driscol</span>.”</p></div> + +<p>Elwood blushed as he came to the words “by +arrangement,” but read on without speaking. +Grayson then related the manner in which he +had entrapped the lieutenant, and the joke soon +put him in a good humor. The regulators were +called in, and heard the explanation, and all +laughing heartily over the capture of Driscol, +they insisted that Hannah and her husband<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span> +should mount, and ride with them to Elwood's. +Neither of them needed much persuasion—the +whole party rode away together—the “lads +and lasses” of the neighborhood were summoned, +and the day and night were spent in +merriment and dancing.</p> + +<br /> +<p>Grayson and his wife returned on the following +morning to their new home, where a life of +steady and honorable industry, was rewarded +with affluence and content. Their descendants +still live upon the place, one of the most beautiful +and extensive farms upon that fertile +prairie. But on the spot where the disputed +cabin stood, has since been built a handsome +brick-house, and I pay only a just tribute to +amiable character, when I say that a more hospitable +mansion is not to be found in the western +country.</p> + + +<p>This was the last attempt at “regulating” in +that region, for emigration came in so rapidly, +that the supremacy of the law was soon asserted +and maintained. Whenever this came to be so, +the regulators, of course, ceased to be types of +the state of society, and were succeeded by +other characters and institutions.</p> + +<p>To these we must now proceed.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span></p> + +<div class="sidenoteb"><p>[<b>NOTE</b>.—The following is a copy of a compact, such as is +spoken of in the story of the “The First Grave,” entered into +by a company of regulators in somewhat similar circumstances. +I am not sure that I can vouch for its authenticity, but all who +are familiar with the history of those times, will recognise, in +its peculiarities, the characteristics of the people who then inhabited +this country. The affectation of legal form in such a +document as this, would be rather amusing, were it not quite +too significant; at all events, it is entirely “in keeping” with +the constitution of a race who had some regard for law and its +vindication, even in their most high-handed acts. The technical +phraseology, used so strangely, is easily traceable to the little +“Justice's Form Book,” which was then almost the only law +document in the country; and though the words are rather +awkwardly combined, they no doubt gave solemnity to the act +in the eyes of its sturdy signers:—</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>“<i>Know all men by these presents:</i></p> + +<p>“That we [<i>here follow twelve names</i>], citizens of —— +settlement, in the state of Illinois, have this day, <i>jointly and +severally</i>, bound ourselves together as a company of Rangers +and Regulators, to protect this settlement against the crimes +and misdemeanors of, all and singular, every person or persons +whomsoever, and especially against <i>all horse-thieves, renegades, +and robbers</i>. And we do by these presents, hereby bind ourselves, +jointly and severally as aforesaid, unto each other, and +to the fellow-citizens of this settlement, to punish, according to +the code of his honor, Judge Lynch, all violations of the law, +<i>against the peace and dignity of the said people of</i> —— settlement; +and to discover and bring to speedy punishment, +<i>all illegal combinations</i>—to rid the country of such as are +dangerous to the welfare of this settlement—to preserve the +peace, and <i>generally to vindicate the law</i>, within the settlement +aforesaid. All of which purposes we are to accomplish as +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span>peaceably as possible: <i>but we are to accomplish them one way +or another.</i></p> + +<p>“In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our hands and +affixed our seals, this twelfth day of October, <i>Anno Domini</i>, +eighteen hundred and twenty.</p> + +<p style="text-align: right;"> +“(Signed by twelve men.)</p> +<br /> +<center>“Acknowledged and subscribed in the presence of</center> +<p style="text-align: right;">“C—— T. H——n,<br /> +“J—— P. D——n,”</p> + +<p>and five others, who seem to have been a portion of “the fellow-citizens +of this settlement,” referred to in the document.]</p></div></div> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_77_77" id="Footnote_77_77"></a><a href="#FNanchor_77_77"><span class="label">[77]</span></a> See note at the close of this article.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_78_78" id="Footnote_78_78"></a><a href="#FNanchor_78_78"><span class="label">[78]</span></a> The “Sangamon country,” as the phrase was then used, +included all the region watered by the river of that name, together +with the counties of Cass, Morgan, and Scott, as far +south as Apple creek.</p></div> +</div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="VI" id="VI"></a>VI.</h2><span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">Top</a></span> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span></p> +<h3>THE JUSTICE OF THE PEACE.</h3> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i8">“I beseech you,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Wrest once the law to your authority:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To do a great right, do a little wrong.”—<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i4"><span class="smcap">Merchant of Venice</span>.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>The reign of violence, when an evil at all, is +an evil which remedies itself: the severity of +its proceeding hastens the accomplishment +of its end, as the hottest fire soonest consumes +its fuel. A nation will endure oppression more +patiently immediately after a spasmodic rebellion +or a bloody revolution, than at any other +time; and a community requires less law to +govern it, after a violent and illegal assertion of +the law's supremacy, than was necessary before +the outbreak. After having thrown off the +yoke of a knave—and perhaps hung the knave +up by the neck, or chopped his head off with +an axe—mankind not unfrequently fall under +the control of a fool; frightened at their temerity +in dethroning an idol of metal, they bow down +before a paltry statue of wood.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span></p> + +<p>Men are not easily satiated with power, but +when it is irregular, a pause in its exercise must +eventually come. And there is a principle of +human nature, which teaches, that whatsoever +partakes of the mob-spirit is, at best, but temporary, +and ought to have a speedy end. This +is especially true of such men as first permanently +peopled the western country; for though +they sometimes committed high-handed and +unjustifiable acts, the moment it was discovered +that they had accomplished the purposes of +order, they allowed the means of vindication to +fall into disuse. The regulator system, for example, +was directed to the stern and thorough +punishment of evil men, but no sooner was +society freed from their depredations, than the +well-meaning citizens withdrew from its ranks; +and, though regulator companies still patrolled +the country, and, for a time, assumed as much +authority as ever, they were not supported by +the solid approbation of those who alone could +give them lasting strength. They did many +outrageous things for which they were never +punished, and for some years, the shield which +the good citizen had raised above his head for +protection and defence, threatened to fall upon +and crush him. But the western people are not +the first who have been temporarily enslaved<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span> +by their liberators, though, unlike many another +race, they waited patiently for the changes of +years, and time brought them a remedy.</p> + +<br /> +<p>As the government waxed stronger, and +public opinion assumed a direction, the regulators, +like their predecessors, the rangers, found +their “occupation gone,” and gradually faded +out from the land. Proclamations were issued—legislatures +met—laws were enacted, and +officers appointed to execute them; and though +forcing a legal system upon a people who had +so long been “a law unto themselves,” was a +slow and difficult process, it was powerfully +assisted by the very disorders consequent upon +their attempts at self-government. They had +burnt their hands by seizing the hot iron-rod of +irregular authority, and were, therefore, better +inclined to surrender the baton to those who +could handle it. Like Frankenstein, they had +created a power which they could not immediately +control: the regulators, from being their +servants, had come to be their masters: and +they willingly admitted any authority which +promised deliverance. They had risen in wrath, +and chastised, with no hesitating hand, the +violators of their peace; but the reaction had +taken place, and they were now content to be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span> +governed by whatsoever ruler Providence might +send them.</p> + +<p>The state governments were established, then, +without difficulty, and the officers of the new +law pervaded every settlement. The character +which I have selected as the best representative +of this period, is one of these new officers—<i>the +early justice of the peace.</i></p> + +<br /> +<p>So far as history or tradition informs us, there +was never yet a country in which appointments +to office were invariably made with reference +only to qualification, and though the west is an +exception to more than one general rule, in this +respect we must set it down in the common category. +The lawyer-period had not yet arrived; +and, probably, there was never an equal number +of people in any civilized country, of whom a +larger proportion were totally ignorant of legal +forms. There were not three in each hundred +who had ever seen the inside of a courthouse, +and they were quite as few who had once looked +upon a law-book! Where such was the case, +some principle of appointment was of course +necessary, other than that which required fitness, +by training, for the office conferred; and it is +probable that the rule adopted was but little +different to that in force among those who have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span> +the appointing power, where no such circumstances +restrict the choice.</p> + +<br /> +<p>Men were appointed conservators of the +<i>peace</i>, because they had distinguished themselves +in <i>war</i>; and he who had assumed the +powers of the law, as a regulator, was thought +the better qualified to exercise them, as a legal +officer! Courage and capacity, as an Indian-fighter, +gave one the prominence requisite to +his appointment; and zeal for the preservation +of order, exhibited as a self-constituted +judge and executioner, was a guaranty for +the faithful performance of new and regular +duties.</p> + +<p>Nor was the rule a bad one. A justice of +the peace chosen upon this principle, possessed +two qualities indispensable to an efficient officer, +in the times of which we write—he was +prompt in the discharge of his duties, and was +not afraid of responsibility. To obviate the +danger, however, which might arise from these, +he had also a rigid sense of justice, which usually +guided his determinations according to the +rights of parties in interest. This, the lawyers +will say, was a very questionable trait for a +judicial officer; and perhaps it <i>is</i> better for +society, that a judge should know the law, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span> +administer it without reference to abstract justice, +than that his own notions of right and +wrong should be taken, however conscientiously, +as the standard of judgment: for in that +case, we shall, at least, have uniformity of adjudication; +whereas, nothing is more uncertain, +than a man's convictions of right.</p> + +<p>But, in the times of which we are writing, +society was not yet definitely shaped—its elements +were not bound together by the cohesive +power of any legal cement—and no better +rule was, therefore, to be expected, than the +spontaneous suggestions of common sense. The +minds of men were, moreover, habituated to a +certain course of thought and action—(such as +naturally obtains in a new state of society, +where the absence of organization remits them +to their own exertions for safety)—and it was, +therefore, impossible that any artificial system +should be at once adopted. The people had +been accustomed to such primitive associations, +as they had entered into “for the common defence +and general welfare” of their infant communities; +the rule of action had been swift, and +sometimes very informal punishment, for every +transgression; and this rule, having very well +answered its purpose, though at the expense +of occasional severity and injustice, they could<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span> +not immediately understand the necessity for +any other course of proceeding.</p> + +<br /> +<p>One of the characteristics of the early justice, +then, was a supreme contempt for all mere +form. He called it “nonsense” and could never +comprehend its utility. To him, all ceremony +was affectation, and the refinements of legal +proceeding were, in his estimation, anti-republican +innovations upon the original simplicity +of mankind. Technicalities he considered merely +the complicated inventions of lawyers, to +exhibit their perverse ingenuity—traps to +catch the well-meaning or unwary, or avenues +of escape for the guilty. The rules of evidence +he neither understood nor cared for; he desired +“to hear all about” every cause brought before +him; and the idea of excluding testimony, in +obedience to any rule, he would never entertain. +He acted upon the principle—though +he probably never heard of the maxim—that +“the law furnishes a remedy for every wrong;” +and, if he knew of none in positive enactment, +he would provide one, from the arsenal of his +own sense of right. He never permitted anything +to obstruct the punishment of one whom +he had adjudged guilty; and, rather than allow +a culprit to escape, he would order his judg<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span>ment +to be carried at once into effect, in +the presence, and under the direction of the +court.</p> + +<p>He had a strong prejudice against every man +accused of crime; and sometimes almost reversed +the ancient presumption of the law, and +held the prisoner guilty, until he proved himself +innocent. He had unbounded confidence +in the honesty of his neighbors and friends, and +was unwilling to believe, that they would accuse +a man of crime or misdemeanor, without +very good cause. When it was proven that a +crime <i>had been committed</i>, he considered the +guilt of the prisoner already half established: +it was, in his judgment, what one, better acquainted +with legal terms, might have called +“a <i>prima facia</i> case,” devolving the <i>onus probandi</i> +(or burthen of proof) upon the accused. +And this may have been one cause of the frequent +resort to <i>alibis</i>—a mode of defence +which, as we have already remarked, is even +yet in great disrepute. If a defence, of some +sort, was not, then, very clearly and satisfactorily +made out, the justice had no hesitation +in entering judgment, and ordering immediate +punishment; for the right of appeal was not +generally recognised, and the justice took original +and final jurisdiction, where now his duties<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span> +are merely those of preliminary examination +and commitment.</p> + +<br /> +<p>In civil controversies—where such causes +were presented for adjudication, which, however, +was not very often—the order of proceeding +was quite as summary. The justice +heard the statements of the parties, and sometimes, +not always, would listen to witnesses, +also; then, taking the general “rights, interests, +claims, and demands,” of both sides into +consideration—and viewing himself, not as a +judicial officer, but as a sort of referee or arbitrator—he +would strike a balance between the +disputants, and dismiss them to their homes, +with a significant admonition to “keep the +peace.” He usually acted upon the principle—no +very erroneous one, either—that, when +two respectable men resort to the law, as arbitrator +of their controversies, they are both about +equally blamable; and his judgments were +accordingly based upon the corollary, that +neither deserved to have all he claimed. This +was the practice when any decision was made +at all; but, in most cases, the justice acted as +a pacificator, and, by his authority and persuasion, +induced the parties to agree upon a compromise. +For this purpose, he not unfrequent<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span>ly +remitted both fees and costs—those due to +the constables, as well as his own.</p> + +<p>An instance of this pacific practice has been +related to me as follows: Two neighbors had +quarrelled about a small amount of debt, and, +after sundry attempts to “settle,” finally went +to law. The justice took them aside, on the day +of trial, and proposed a basis of settlement, to +which they agreed, <i>on condition</i>, that all costs +should be remitted, and to this the magistrate +at once pledged himself. But a difficulty arose: +the constable, who had not been consulted in +the arrangement, had had a long ride after the +defendant, and having an unquestionable right +to demand his fees, was unwilling to give them +up. The justice endeavored to prevail with him +by persuasion, but in vain. Finally, growing +impatient of his obstinacy, he gave him a +<i>peremptory order</i> to consent, and, on his refusal, +<i>fined him</i> the exact amount of his fees <i>for contempt</i>, +entered up judgment on the basis of the +compromise, and adjourned the court!</p> + +<p>The man who thus discourages litigation at +the expense of his own official emoluments, may +be forgiven a few irregularities of proceeding, +in consideration of the good he effects; for +although under such a system it was seldom +that either party obtained his full and just<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span> +rights, both were always benefited by the spirit +of peace infused into the community. It +would, perhaps, be well for the country now, +were our legal officers actuated by the same +motives; unfortunately, however, such men +belong only to primitive times.</p> + +<br /> +<p>But the love of peace was not accompanied, +in this character, as it usually is, by merciful +judgment, for, as he was very swift in determining +a prisoner's guilt, he was equally rigid +in imposing the penalty. The enactments of +the criminal code were generally so worded as +to give some scope for the exercise of a compassionate +and enlightened discretion; but when +the decision lay in the breast of our justice, if +he adjudged any punishment at all, it was +usually the severest provided for by the statute. +Half-measures were not adapted to the temper +of the times or the character of the people; +indeed, they are suited to <i>no</i> people, and are +signal failures at all times, in all circumstances. +Inflicting light punishments is like firing blank +cartridges at a mob, they only irritate, without +subduing; and as the latter course usually ends +in unnecessary bloodshed, the former invariably +increases the amount of crime.</p> + +<p><i>Certainty</i> of punishment may be—unques<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span>tionably +<i>is</i>—a very important element in the +administration of justice, but as nothing so +strongly disinclines a man to entering the water +as the sight of another drowning, so nothing +will so effectually deter him from the commission +of crime, as the knowledge that another +has been severely punished for yielding to the +same temptation. The justice, however, based +the rigor of his judgments upon no such argument +of policy. His austerity was a part of +his character, and had been rendered more +severe by the circumstances in which he had +lived—the audacity of law-breakers, and the +necessity for harsh penalties, in order for protection.</p> + +<br /> +<p>It will be observed that I say nothing of +juries, and speak of justices of the peace, as +officers having authority to decide causes alone. +And, it must be recollected, that in the days of +which I am writing, resort was very seldom had +to this cumbersome and uncertain mode of adjudication. +In civil causes, juries were seldom +empanelled, because they were attended by very +considerable expense and delay. The chief object, +in going to law, moreover, was, in most +cases, to have <i>a decision</i> of the matter in dispute; +and juries were as prone to “hang” then<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span> +as now. Suitors generally, therefore, would +rather submit to the arbitration of the justice, +than take the risk of delay and uncertainty, +with a jury. In criminal causes, the case was +very similar: the accused would as lief be +judged by one prejudiced man as by twelve; +for the same rigorous spirit which actuated the +justice, pervaded also the juries; and (besides +the chance of timidity or favor in the justice) +in the latter he must take the additional risks +of personal enmity and relationship to the party +injured. Thus, juries were often discarded in +criminal causes also, and we think their disuse +was no great sacrifice. Such a system can +derive its utility, in this country, only from an +enlightened public sentiment: if that sentiment +be capricious and oppressive, as it too often is, +juries are quite as likely to partake its vices as +legal officers: if the sentiment be just and +healthy, no judicial officer dare be guilty of +oppression. So that our fathers lost nothing in +seldom resorting to this “palladium of our +liberties,” and, without doubt, gained something +by avoiding delay, uncertainty, and expense.</p> + +<p>The reader will also observe, that I say +nothing of higher courts. But the lines between +the upper and lower tribunals were not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span> +so strictly drawn then as they now are, and the +limits of jurisdiction were, consequently, very +indefinite. Most of the characteristics, moreover, +here ascribed to the justice of the peace, +belonged, in almost an equal degree, to the +judges of the circuit courts; and, though some +of the latter were men of respectable legal requirements, +the same off-hand mode of administering +the law which distinguished the +inferior magistrates, marked the proceedings of +their courts also. Both occasionally assumed +powers which they did not legally possess; both +were guided more by their own notions of justice, +than by the rules of law; and both were +remarkable for their severity upon all transgressors. +Neither cared much for the rules of +evidence, each was equal to any emergency or +responsibility, and both had very exalted ideas +of their own authority.</p> + +<p>But the functions of the justice were, in his +estimation, especially important—his dignity +was very considerable also, and his powers anything +but circumscribed. A few well-authenticated +anecdotes, however, will illustrate the +character better than any elaborate portraiture. +And, for fear those I am about to relate may +seem exceptions, not fairly representing the +class, I should state, in the outset, that I have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span> +selected them from a great number which I can +recall, particularly because they are <i>not</i> exceptive, +and give a very just impression of the +character which I am endeavoring to portray.</p> + +<br /> +<p>Squire A—— was a plain, honest farmer, +who had distinguished himself as a pioneer and +ranger, and was remarkable as a man of undoubted +courage, but singularly peaceable temper. +In the year eighteen hundred and twenty, +he received from Governor Bond of Illinois, a +commission as justice of the peace, and though +he was not very clear what his duties, dignities, +and responsibilities, precisely were, like a patriot +and a Roman, he determined to discharge them +to the letter. At the period of his appointment, +he was at feud with one of his neighbors about +that most fruitful of all subjects of quarrel, a +division-fence; and as such differences always +are, the dispute had been waxing warmer for +several months. He received his docket, blanks, +and “Form-Book,” on Saturday evening, and +though he had as yet no suits to enter and no +process to issue, was thus provided with all the +weapons of justice. On the following Monday +morning, he repaired, as usual, to his fields, +about half-a-mile from home, and though full +of his new dignity, went quietly to work.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span></p> + +<p>He had not been there long, before his old +and only enemy made his appearance, and +opened upon him a volley of abuse in relation +to the division-fence, bestowing upon his honor, +among other expressive titles, the euphonious +epithet of “jackass.” A—— bore the attack +until it came to this point—which, it would +seem, was as far as a man's patience ought to +extend—and, it is probable, that had he not +been a legal functionary, a battle would have +ensued “then and there.” But it was beneath +the dignity thus outraged, to avenge itself by a +vulgar fisticuff, and A—— bethought him of a +much better and more honorable course. He +threw his coat across his arm, and marched +home. There he took down his new docket, +and upon the first page, recorded the case of +the “<i>People of the State of Illinois</i> vs. <i>John +Braxton</i>” (his enemy). He then entered up the +following judgment: “<i>The defendant in this +case, this day, fined ten dollars and costs, for</i> +<span class="smcap">contempt of court</span>, <i>he having called</i> <span class="smcap">us</span> <i>a jackass</i>!” +On the opposite page is an entry of +satisfaction, by which it appears that he forthwith +issued an execution upon the judgment, +and collected the money!</p> + +<p>This pretext of “contempt” was much in +vogue, as a means of reaching offences not ex<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span>pressly +provided for by statute; but the justice +was never at a loss for expedients, even in cases +entirely without precedent, as the following +anecdote will illustrate:—</p> + +<br /> +<p>A certain justice, in the same state of Illinois, +was one day trying, for an aggravated assault, a +man who was too much intoxicated fully to +realize the import of the proceedings or the +dignity of the court. He was continually interrupting +witnesses, contradicting their testimony, +and swearing at the justice. It soon +became evident that he must be silenced or the +trial adjourned. The justice's patience at length +gave way. He ordered the constable to take +the obstreperous culprit to a creek, which ran +near the office, “and duck him until he was +sober enough to be quiet and respect the court!” +This operation the constable alone could not +perform, but in due time he brought the defendant +back dripping from the creek and +thoroughly sobered, reporting, at the same time, +that he had availed himself of the assistance +of two men, Messrs. B—— and L——, in the +execution of his honor's commands. The trial +then went quietly on, the defendant was fined +for a breach of the peace, and ordered to pay +<i>the costs</i>: one item of which was two dollars<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span> +to Messrs. B—— and L—— “for assisting the +constable in ducking the prisoner!” But, as +the justice could find no form nor precedent for +hydropathic services, he entered the charge as +“<i>witness fees</i>,” and required immediate payment! +The shivering culprit, glad to escape on +any terms, paid the bill and vanished!</p> + +<br /> +<p>Whatever might have been the prevailing +opinion, as to the legality of such a proceeding, +the ridicule attaching to it would effectually +have prevented any remedy—most men being +willing to forgive a little irregularity, for the +sake of substantial justice and “a good joke.” +But the summary course, adopted by these +magistrates, sometimes worked even greater +injustice—as might have been expected; and +of this, the following is an example:—</p> + +<p>About the year eighteen hundred and twenty-six, +there lived, in a certain part of the west, +a man named Smedley, who, so far as the collection +of debts was concerned, was entirely +“law-proof.” He seemed to have a constitutional +indisposition to paying anything he +owed: and, though there were sundry executions +in the hands of officers against him—and +though he even seemed thrifty enough in +his pecuniary affairs—no property could ever<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span> +be found, upon which they could be levied. +There was, at the same time, a constable in the +neighborhood, a man named White, who was +celebrated, in those days of difficult collections, +for the shrewdness and success of his official +exploits; and the justice upon whom he usually +attended, was equally remarkable, for the high +hand with which he carried his authority. But, +though two executions were placed in the +hands of the former, upon judgments on the +docket of the latter, months passed away, without +anything being realized from the impervious +defendant, Smedley.</p> + +<p>Whenever the constable found him in possession +of property, and made a levy, it was +proven to belong to some one else; and the +only result of his indefatigable efforts, was the +additions of heavy costs to the already hopeless +demand.</p> + +<p>At length, however, White learned that Smedley +had <i>traded horses</i> with a man named Wyatt, +and he straightway posted off to consult the +magistrate. Between them, the plan of operations +was agreed upon. White levied first +upon the horse then in the possession of Smedley, +taking him under <i>one</i> of the two writs: he +then levied <i>the other</i> execution upon the horse +which Smedley had traded to Wyatt. The lat<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span>ter, +apprehending the loss of his property, +claimed the first horse—that which he had +traded to Smedley. But, upon the “trial of the +right of property,” the justice decided that the +horse was found in the possession of Smedley, +and was, therefore, subject to levy and sale. +He was accordingly sold, and the first judgment +was satisfied. Wyatt then claimed the +<i>second</i> horse—that which he had received +from Smedley. But, upon a similar “trial”—after +severely reprimanding Wyatt for claiming +<i>both</i> horses, when, on his own showing, he +never owned but <i>one</i>—the justice decided +that the property in dispute had been in the +possession of Smedley at the rendition of the +judgment, and was therefore, like the other, +subject to a lien, and equally liable to levy and +sale! And accordingly, this horse, also, was +sold, to satisfy the second execution, and Wyatt +was dismissed by the justice, with no gentle +admonition, “to be careful in future with whom +he swapped horses!” A piece of advice which +he probably took, and for which he ought to +have been duly grateful! Fallen humanity, +however, is very perverse; and it is at least +supposable, that, having lost his horse, he considered +himself hardly used—an opinion in +which my legal readers will probably concur.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span></p> + +<p>Before leaving this part of my subject, I will +relate another anecdote, which, though it refers +more particularly to constables, serves to illustrate +the characteristics of the early officers of +the law—justices, as well as others:—</p> + +<p>The constable who figured so advantageously +in the anecdote last related, had an execution +against a man named Corson, who was almost +as nearly “law proof” as Smedley. He had +been a long time endeavoring to realize something, +but without success. At length, he was +informed, that Corson had sued another man, +upon an account, before a justice in a distant +part of the same county. This, the delinquent +officer at once saw, gave him a chance to secure +something; and, on the day of trial, away he +posted to the justice's office. Here, he quietly +seated himself, and watched the course of the +proceeding. The trial went on, and, in due +time, the justice decided the cause in favor of +Corson. At this juncture, White arose, and, +while the justice was entering up judgment, +approached the table. When the docket was +about to be laid aside, he interposed:—</p> + +<p>“Stop!” said he, placing his hand upon the +docket, “<i>I levels on this judgment</i>!” And, +giving no attention to remonstrances, he demanded +and obtained the execution. On this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span> +he collected the money, and at once applied it +to that, which he had been so long carrying—thus +settling two controversies, by diligence +and force of will. He was certainly a valuable +officer!</p> + +<br /> +<p>Thus irregular and informal were many of +the proceedings of the primitive legal functionaries; +but a liberal view of their characters +must bring us to the conclusion, that their influence +upon the progress of civilization of the +country, was, on the whole, decidedly beneficial.</p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">Top</a></span> +<h2><a name="VII" id="VII"></a>VII.</h2> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span></p> +<h3>THE PEDDLER.</h3> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">“This is a traveller, sir; knows men and Manners.”—<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i4"><span class="smcap">Beaumont and Fletcher</span>.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Previous to the organization of civil government, +and “the form and pressure” given to the +times by this and its attendant circumstances, +the primitive tastes and habits of the western +people, excluded many of those artificial wants +which are gratified by commerce, and afforded +no room for traders, excepting those who sold +the absolute necessaries of life.</p> + +<p>In those days, housekeeping was a very simple +matter. Neither steam-engines nor patent +cook-stoves were yet known, as necessary adjuncts +to a kitchen; the housewife would have +“turned up her nose” in contempt of a bake-oven: +would have thrown a “Yankee reflector” +over the fence, and branded the innovator with +the old-fashioned gridiron. Tin was then supposed +to be made only for cups and coffee-pots:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span> +pie-pans had not yet even entered “the land of +dreams;” and the tea-kettle, which then “sang +songs of family glee,” was a quaint, squat +figure, resembling nothing so much as an over-fed +duck, and poured forth its music from a +crooked, quizzical spout, with a notch in its iron +nozzle. If its shut-iron lid was ornamented +with a brass button, for a handle, it was thought +to be manufactured in superior style. Iron +spoons were good enough for the daintiest +mouth; and a full set of pewter was a household +treasure. China dishes and silver plate +had been heard of, but belonged to the same +class of marvellous things, with Aladdin's lamp +and Fortunatus's purse. Cooking was not yet +reduced to a science, and eating was like sleep—a +necessity, not a mere amusement. The +only luxuries known, were coffee and sugar; +and these, with domestics and other cotton +fabrics, were the chief articles for which the +products of the earth were bartered.</p> + +<p>French cloths and Parisian fashions were +still less known than silver spoons and “rotary +stoves.” The men wore homemade jeans, cut +after the <i>mode</i> of the forest: its dye a favorite +“Tennessean” brownish-yellow; and the women +were not ashamed to be seen in linsey-wolsey, +woven in the same domestic loom. Knitting<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span> +was then not only an accomplishment, but a +useful art; and the size which a “yarn” stocking +gave to a pretty ankle, was not suffered to +overbalance the consideration of its comfort. +The verge of nakedness was not then the region +of modesty: the neck and its adjacent parts +were covered in preference to the hands; and, +in their barbarous ignorance, the women thought +it more shame to appear in public half-dressed, +than to wear a comfortable shoe.</p> + +<p>They were certainly a very primitive people—unrefined, +unfashionable, “coarse”—and many +of their sons and daughters are even now +ashamed to think what “savages” their parents +were! In their mode of life, they sought comfort, +not “appearances;” and many things which +their more sophisticated descendants deem +necessaries, they contemned as luxuries.</p> + +<br /> +<p>But, in the course of time, these things began +to change, for simplicity is always “primitive,” +and the progress of refinement is only the multiplication +of wants. As the country was reduced +to cultivation, and peace settled upon its +borders, new classes of emigrants began to take +possession of the soil; and, for the immediate +purposes of rapid advancement, and especially +of social improvement, they were better classes<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span> +than their predecessors: for, as the original +pioneers had always lived a little beyond the +influences of regular civilization, these had remained +within its limits until the pressure of +legal organization began to grow irksome to +their partially untamed spirits. There was, indeed, +an unbroken gradation of character, from +the nearly savage hunter, who visited the +country only because it was uninhabited, except +by wild beasts, to the genuine <i>citizen</i>, who +brought with him order, and industry, and legal +supremacy.</p> + +<p>The emigrants, of whom we are now writing, +constituted the third step in this progression; +and they imported along with them, or drew +after them, the peculiarities belonging to their +own degree of advancement. Their notions of +comfort and modes of living, though still quite +crude, indicated an appreciable stage of refinement. +They were better supplied, for example, +with cooking utensils—their household furniture +was not so primitive—and in wearing apparel, +they manifested some regard to elegance +as well as comfort. Social intercourse disseminated +these ideas among those to whom they +were novel; where, previously, the highest +motive to improvement had been a desire for +convenience, the idea of gentility began to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span> +claim an influence; and some of the more +moderate embellishments of life assumed the +place of the mere necessaries.</p> + +<p>The transition was not rapid nor violent, like +all permanent changes, it was the work of +years, marked by comparatively slow gradations. +First, tin-ware, of various descriptions, +became necessary to the operations of the +kitchen; and that which had been confined to +one or two articles, was now multiplied into +many forms. A housewife could no more bake +a pie without a “scalloped” pie-pan, than without +a fire: a tin-bucket was much more easily +handled than one of cedar or oak; and a pepper-box, +of the same material, was as indispensable +as a salt-cellar. A little tea was occasionally +added to the ancient regimen of coffee, and +thus a tin-canister became necessary for the +preservation of the precious drug. With tea +came queensware: and half-a-dozen cups and +saucers, usually of a dingy white, with a raised +blue edge, were needful for the pranking of the +little cupboard.</p> + +<br /> +<p>But it was not only in the victualing department +that the progress of refinement could be traced; +for the thrifty housewife, who thought it proper +to adorn her table, and equip her kitchen with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span> +all the late improvements, could not, of course, +entirely overlook “the fashions:” the decoration +of her person has been, in all ages, the just and +honest pride of woman. Linsey-wolsey began +to give place to calicoes and many-colored +prints; calf-skin shoes were antiquated by the +use of kid; and ribands fluttered gracefully +upon new-fashioned bonnets. Progress of this +kind never takes a step backward: once possessed +of an improvement in personal comfort, +convenience, or adornment, man—or woman—seldom +gives it up. Thus, these things, once +used, thenceforth became wants, whose gratification +was not to be foregone: and it is one of +the principles governing commerce, that the +demand draws to it the supply.</p> + +<p>There were few “country stores,” in those +days, and the settlements were so scattered as +to make it sometimes very inconvenient to visit +them. From ten to twenty miles was a moderate +distance to the dépôt of supplies; and a +whole day was usually consumed in going and +returning. The visits were, therefore, not very +frequent—the purchases for many weeks—perhaps +months—being made on each occasion. +This was a very inconvenient mode of +“shopping,” even for the energetic women of +that day; and, since the population would not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span> +justify more numerous “stores,” it was desirable +that some new system should be introduced, +capable of supplying the demand at the cost of +less trouble, and fewer miles of travel. To +answer this necessity there was but one way—the +“storekeeper” must carry his wares to the +doors of his customers. And thus arose the +occupation of the <i>Peddler</i>, or, as he called +himself, the “travelling merchant.”</p> + +<p>The population of the country was then almost +exclusively agricultural—the mechanic +arts belong to a more advanced period. The +consequence was, that the first articles carried +about from house to house, were such as are +manufactured by artisans—and the chief of +these was tin-ware.</p> + +<p>The tinkers of the rural districts in older +countries, were, however, not known in this—they +were not adapted to the genius of the people. +The men who sold the ware were, scarcely +ever, the same who made it; and, though the +manual dexterity of most of these ready men, +might enable them to mend a broken pan, or a +leaky coffeepot, their skill was seldom put in +requisition. Besides, since the mending of an +old article might interfere with the sale of a +new one, inability to perform the office was +more frequently assumed than felt.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span></p> + +<p>In the course of time—as the people of the +country began to acquire new ideas, and discover +new wants—other articles were added +to the peddler's stock. Calicoes were often carried +in the same box with tin pans—cotton +checks and ginghams were stowed away beneath +tin-cups and iron-spoons—shining coffee-pots +were crammed with spools of thread, +papers of pins, cards of horn-buttons, and cakes +of shaving-soap—and bolts of gaudy riband +could be drawn from pepper-boxes and sausage-stuffers. +Table-cloths, of cotton or brown linen, +were displayed before admiring eyes, which +had turned away from all the brightness of +new tin plates; and knives and forks, all “warranted +pure steel,” appealed to tastes, which +nothing else could excite. New razors touched +the men “in tender places,” while shining +scissors clipped the purses of the women. Silk +handkerchiefs and “fancy” neckcloths—things +till then unknown—could occupy the former, +while the latter covetously turned over and examined +bright ribands and fresh cotton hose. +The peddler was a master of the art of pleasing +all tastes: even the children were not forgotten; +for there were whips and jew's-harps for +the boys, and nice check aprons for the girls. +(The taste for “playing mother” was as much<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span> +an instinct, with the female children of that +day, as it is in times more modern; but life +was yet too earnest to display it in the dressing +and nursing of waxen babies.) To suit the +people from whom the peddler's income was derived, +he must consult at least the appearance +of utility, in every article he offered; for, +though no man could do more, to coax the +money out of one's pocket, without leaving an +equivalent, even <i>he</i> could not succeed in such +an enterprise, against the matter-of-fact pioneer.</p> + +<br /> +<p>The “travelling merchants” of this country +were generally what their customers called +“Yankees”—that is, New-Englanders, or descendants +of the puritans, whether born east +of the Hudson or not. And, certainly, no class +of men were ever better fitted for an occupation, +than were those for “peddling.” The +majority of them were young men, too; for the +“Yankee” who lives beyond middle age, without +providing snug quarters for the decline of +life, is usually not even fit for a peddler. But, +though often not advanced in years, they often +exhibited qualities, which one would have expected +to find only in men of age and experience. +They could “calculate,” with the most +absolute certainty, what precise stage of ad<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span>vancement +and cultivation, was necessary to +the introduction of every article of merchandise +their stock comprised. Up to a certain limit, +they offered, for example, linen table-cloths: +beyond that, cotton was better and more saleable; +in certain settlements, they could sell +numbers of the finer articles, which, in others, +hung on their hands like lead; and they seemed +to know, the moment they breathed the air of +a neighborhood, what precise character of goods +was most likely to pay.</p> + +<p>Thus—by way of illustration—it might +seem, to one not experienced in reading the +signs of progress, a matter of nice speculation +and subtle inquiry, to determine what exact +degree of cultivation was necessary, to make +profitable the trade in <i>clocks</i>. But I believe +there is no instance of an unsuccessful clock-peddler +on record; and, though this fact may +be accounted for, superficially, by asserting +that time is alike important to all men, and a +measure of its course, therefore, always a want, +a little reflection will convince us, that this explanation +is more plausible than sound.</p> + +<br /> +<p>It is, perhaps, beyond the capacity of any +man, to judge unerringly, by observation, of +the usual signs of progress, the exact point at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span> +which a community, or a man, has arrived in +the scale of cultivation; and it may seem especially +difficult, to determine commercially, +what precise articles, of use or ornament, are +adapted to the state indicated by those signs. +But that there are such indications, which, if +properly attended to, will be unfailing guides, +is not to be denied. Thus, the quick observation +of a clock-peddler would detect among a +community of primitive habits, the growing +tendency to regularity of life; for, as refinement +advances, the common affairs of everyday +existence, feeling the influence first, assume +a degree of order and arrangement; and from +the display of this improvement, the trader +might draw inferences favorable to his traffic. +Eating, for example, as he would perceive, is +done at certain hours of the day—sleep is +taken between fixed periods of the night and +morning—especially, public worship—which +is one of the best and surest signs of social advancement—must +be held at a time generally +understood.</p> + +<p>The peddler might conclude, also, when he +saw a glazed window in a house, that the owner +was already possessed of a clock—which, perhaps, +needed repairing—or, at least, was in +great need of one, if he had not yet made the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span> +purchase. One of these shrewd “calculators” +once told me, that, when he saw a man with +four panes of glass in his house, and no clock, +he either sold him one straightway, or “set +him down crazy, or a screw.”</p> + +<p>“Have you no other 'signs of promise'”? I +asked.</p> + +<p>“O yes,” he replied, “many! For instance: +When I am riding past a house—(I always +ride slowly)—I take a general and particular +survey of the premises—or, as the military +men say, I make a <i>reconnaissance</i>; and it must +be a very bare place, indeed, if I can not see +some 'sign,' by which to determine, whether +the owner needs a clock. If I see the man, +himself, I look at his extremities; and by the +appearance of hat and boot, I make up my +opinion as to whether he knows the value of +time: if he wears anything but a cap, I can +pretty fairly calculate upon selling him a clock; +and if, to the hat, he has added <i>boots</i>, I halt at +once, and, without ceremony, carry a good +one in.</p> + +<p>“When I see the wife, instead of the husband, +I have no difficulty in making up my +mind—though the signs about the women are +so numerous and minute, that it would be hard +to explain them. If one wears a check-apron<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span> +and sports a calico dress, I know that a 'travelling +merchant' has been in the neighborhood; +and if he has succeeded in making a reasonable +number of sales, I am certain that he +has given her such a taste for buying, that I +can sell her anything at all: for purchasing +cheap goods, to a woman, is like sipping good +liquor, to a man—she soon acquires the appetite, +and thenceforward it is insatiable.</p> + +<p>“I have some customers who have a <i>passion</i> +for clocks. There is a man on this road, who +has one for every room in his house; and I +have another with me now—with a portrait of +General Jackson in the front—which I expect +to add to his stock. There is a farmer not far +from here, with whom I have 'traded' clocks +every year since I first entered the neighborhood—always +receiving about half the value +of the article I sell, in money, 'to boot.' +There are clock-fanciers, as well as fanciers of +dogs and birds; and I have known cases, in +which a man would have two or three time-pieces +in his house, and not a pair of shoes in +the family! But such customers are rare—as +they ought to be; and the larger part of our +trade is carried on, with people who begin to +feel the necessity of regularity—to whom the +sun has ceased to be a sufficient guide—and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span> +who have acquired some notions of elegance +and comfort. And we seldom encounter the +least trouble in determining, by the general appearance +of the place, whether the occupant has +arrived at that stage of refinement.”</p> + +<br /> +<p>We perceive that the principal study of the +peddler is human nature; and though he classifies +the principles of his experience, more +especially with reference to the profits of his +trade, his rapid observation of minor traits and +indications, is a talent which might be useful in +many pursuits, besides clock-peddling. And, +accordingly, we discover that, even after he +has abandoned the occupation, and ceased to be +a bird of passage, he never fails to turn his +learning to a good account.</p> + +<br /> +<p>He was distinguished by energy as well as +shrewdness, and an enterprising spirit was the +first element of his prosperity. There was no +corner—no secluded settlement—no out-of-the +way place—where he was not seen. Bad roads +never deterred him: he could drive his horses and +wagon where a four-wheeled vehicle never went +before. He understood bearings and distances +as well as a topographical engineer, and would +go, whistling contentedly, across a prairie or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span> +through a forest, where he had not even a +“trail” to guide him. He could find fords and +crossings where none were previously known to +exist; and his pair of lean horses, by the skilful +management of their driver, would carry +him and his wares across sloughs and swamps, +where a steam-engine would have been clogged +by the weight of a baby-wagon. If he broke +his harness or his vehicle in the wilderness, he +could repair it without assistance, for his mechanical +accomplishments extended from the +shoeing of a horse to the repair of a watch, and +embraced everything between. He was never +taken by surprise—accidents never came unexpected, +and strange events never disconcerted +him. He would whistle “Yankee Doodle” +while his horses were floundering in a quagmire, +and sing “Hail Columbia” while plunging +into an unknown river!</p> + +<p>He never met a stranger, for he was intimately +acquainted with a man as soon as he +saw him. Introductions were useless ceremonies +to him, for he cared nothing about names. +He called a woman “ma'am” and a man “mister,” +and if he could sell either of them a few +goods, he never troubled himself or them with +impertinent inquiries. Sometimes he had a +habit of learning each man's name from his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span> +next neighbor, and possessing an excellent +memory, he never lost the information thus +acquired.</p> + +<p>When he had passed through a settlement +once, he had a complete knowledge of all its +circumstances, history, and inhabitants; and, +the next year, if he met a child in the road, he +could tell you whom it most resembled, and to +what family it belonged. He recollected all +who were sick on his last visit—what peculiar +difficulties each was laboring under—and was +always glad to hear of their convalescence. He +gathered medicinal herbs along the road, and +generously presented them to the housewives +where he halted, and he understood perfectly +the special properties of each. He possessed a +great store of good advice, suited to every +occasion, and distributed it with the disinterested +benevolence of a philanthropist. He knew +precisely what articles of merchandise were +adapted to the taste of each customer; and the +comprehensive “rule of three” would not have +enabled him to calculate more nicely the exact +amount of “talk” necessary to convince them +of the same.</p> + +<p>His address was extremely insinuating, for he +always endeavored to say the most agreeable +things, and no man could judge more accurately<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span> +what would best please the person addressed. +He might be vain enough, but his egotism was +never obtruded upon others. He might secretly +felicitate himself upon a successful trade, but +he never boasted of it. He seemed to be far +more interested in the affairs of others than in +his own. He had sympathy for the afflictions +of his customers, counsel for their difficulties, +triumph in their success.</p> + +<br /> +<p>Before the introduction of mails, he was the +universal news-carrier, and could tell all about +the movements of the whole world. He could +gossip over his wares with his female customers, +till he beguiled them into endless purchases, for +he had heard of every death, marriage, and +birth within fifty miles. He recollected the +precise piece of calico from which Mrs. Jones +bought her last new dress, and the identical +bolt of riband from which Mrs. Smith trimmed +her “Sunday bonnet.” He knew whose children +went to “meeting” in “store-shoes,” whose +daughter was beginning to wear long dresses, +and whose wife wore cotton hose. He could +ring the changes on the “latest fashions” as +glibly as the skilfulest <i>modiste</i>. He was a +<i>connoisseur</i> in colors, and learned in their +effects upon complexion. He could laugh the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span> +husband into half-a-dozen shirts, flatter the wife +into calico and gingham, and praise the children +till both parents joined in dressing them anew +from top to toe.</p> + +<p>He always sold his goods “at a ruinous +sacrifice,” but he seemed to have a dépôt of +infinite extent and capacity, from which he +annually drew new supplies. He invariably +left a neighborhood the loser by his visit, and +the close of each season found him inconsolable +for his “losses.” But the next year he was sure +to come back, risen, like the Phœnix, from his +own ashes, and ready to be ruined again—in +the same way. He could never resist the pleading +look of a pretty woman, and if she “jewed” +him twenty per cent. (though his profits were +only two hundred), the tenderness of his heart +compelled him to yield. What wonder is it, +then, if he was a prime favorite with all the +women, or that his advent, to the children, made +a day of jubilee?</p> + +<br /> +<p>But the peddler, like every other human +“institution,” only had “his day.” The time +soon came when he was forced to give way +before the march of newfangledness. The +country grew densely populated, neighborhoods +became thicker, and the smoke of one man's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span> +chimney could be seen from another's front-door. +People's wants began to be permanent—they +were no longer content with transient +or periodical supplies—they demanded something +more constant and regular. From this +demand arose the little neighborhood “stores,” +established for each settlement at a central and +convenient point—usually at “cross-roads,” or +next door to the blacksmith's shop—and these +it was which superseded the peddler's trade.</p> + +<br /> +<p>We could wish to pause here, and, after describing +the little dépôt, “take an account of +stock:” for no store, not even a sutler's, ever +presented a more amusing or characteristic +assortment. But since these modest establishments +were generally the <i>nuclei</i>, around which +western towns were built, we must reserve our +fire until we reach that subject.</p> + + +<p>But the peddler had not acquired his experience +of life for nothing, he was not to be outdone, +even by the more aristocratic stationary +shop-keeper. When he found his trade declining, +he cast about him for a good neighborhood, +still uninvaded by the Lombards, and his +extensive knowledge of the country soon enabled +him to find one. Here he erected his own<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span> +cabin, and boldly entered the lists against his +new competitors. If he could find no eligible +point for such an establishment, or if he augured +unfavorably of his success in the new walk, he +was not cast down. If he could not “keep +store,” he could at least “keep tavern,” an +occupation for which his knowledge of the +world and cosmopolitan habits, admirably fitted +him. In this capacity, we shall have occasion +to refer to him again; and have now only to +record, that in the progress of time, he grew +rich, if not fat, and eventually died, “universally +regretted.”</p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">Top</a></span> +<h2><a name="VIII" id="VIII"></a>VIII.</h2> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span></p> +<h3>THE SCHOOLMASTER.</h3> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">“There, in his quiet mansion, skilled to rule,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The village <i>master</i> taught his little school.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">I knew him well, and every truant knew:<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Yet he was kind; or, if severe in aught,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The love he bore to learning was in fault.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The village all declared how much he knew:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">'Twas certain he could write, and cipher too.”—<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i4"><span class="smcap">Goldsmith's “Deserted Village.”</span><br /></span> +</div></div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 411px;"> +<img src="images/illus-296.jpg" width="411" height="500" alt="" /> +<span class="caption">THE SCHOOLMASTER.</span></div> + +<p>In the progress of society, the physical wants +are felt before the intellectual. Men appreciate +the necessity for covering their backs and +lining their stomachs before storing their minds, +and they naturally provide a shelter from the +storms of heaven, before they seek (with other +learning) a knowledge of the heavenly bodies. +Thus the rudest social system comprises something +of the mechanic arts—government begins +to advance toward the dignity of a science—commerce +follows the establishment of legal +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span>supremacy—and the education of the citizen +comes directly after the recognition of his social +and political rights. So, the justice of the +peace (among other legal functionaries) indicates +subjection, more or less complete, to the +regulations of law; the peddler represents the +beginning of commercial interests; and the +schoolmaster succeeds him, in the natural order +of things.</p> + +<p>It may be possible to preserve a high respect +for a <i>calling</i>, while we despise the men who +exercise it: though I believe this is not one of +the rules which “work both ways,” and the converse +is, therefore, not equally true. A man's +occupation affects <i>him</i> more nearly than <i>he</i> +does his occupation. A thousand contemptible +men will not bring a respectable profession into +so much disrepute, as a contemptible profession +will a thousand respectable men. All the military +talents, for example, of the commander-in-chief +of our armies, would not preserve him +from contempt, should he set up a barber-shop, +or drive a milk-cart; but the barber, or the +milkman, might make a thousand blunders at +the head of an army, should extravagant democracy +elevate him to that position, and yet the +rank of a general would be as desirable, because +as honorable, as ever.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span></p> + +<p>It is certainly true, however, that the most +exalted station may be degraded by filling it +with a low or despicable incumbent, for the +mental effort necessary to the abstraction of the +employment from him who pursues it, is one +which most men do not take the trouble to +make: an effort, indeed, which the majority of +men are <i>incapable</i> of making. A vicious priest +degrades the priestly vocation—a hypocrite +brings reproach upon the religious profession—a +dishonest lawyer sinks the legal character—and +even the bravest men care but little for +promotion in an army, when cowardice and incompetency +are rewarded with rank and power. +But manifest incapacity, culpable neglect of +duty, or even a positively vicious character, +will not reduce a calling to contempt, or bring +it into disrepute so soon, as any quality which +excites ridicule.</p> + +<p>An awkward figure, a badly-shaped garment, +or an ungainly manner, will sometimes outweigh +the acquirements of the finest scholar; +and the cause of religion has suffered more, +from the absence of the softer graces, in its +clerical representations, than from all the logic +of its adversaries. A laugh is more effectual +to subvert an institution, than an argument—for +it is easier to make men ashamed, than to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span> +convince them. Truth and reason are formidable +weapons, but ridicule is stronger than +either—or both.</p> + +<p>Thus: All thinking men will eagerly admit, +that the profession of the schoolmaster is, not +only respectable, but honorable, alike to the individual, +and to the community in which he +pursues it: yet, rather than teach a school for a +livelihood, the large majority of the same men +would “split rails” or cut cord-wood! And this +is not because teaching is laborious—though it +<i>is</i> laborious, and thankless, too, beyond all +other occupations; but because a number and +variety of causes, into which we need not inquire, +have combined to throw ridicule upon +him, who is derisively called the pedagogue—for +most men would rather be shot at, than +laughed at. Cause and effect are always inter-reactive: +and the refusal of the most competent +men, to “take up the birch”—which is +the effect of this derision—has filled our +school-rooms with men, who are, not unfairly, +its victims. Thus the profession—(for such is +its inherent dignity)—itself, has fallen into discredit—even +though the judgment of men +universally is, that it is not only useful, but indispensable.</p> + +<p>Nor is that judgment incorrect. For, though<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span> +home-education may sometimes succeed, it is +usually too fragmentary to be beneficial—private +tutors are too often the slaves of their pupils, +and can not enforce “attention,” the first +condition of advancement, where they have not +the paraphernalia of command—and, as for +self-education, logically there can be no such +thing: “one might as well attempt to lift himself +over the fence, by the straps of his boots,” +as to educate himself “without a master.”</p> + +<br /> +<p>The schoolmaster, then, is a useful member +of society—not to be spared at any stage of its +progress. But he is particularly necessary to +communities which are in the transition state; +for, upon the enlightenment of the rising generation +depend the success and preservation of +growing institutions. Nor does his usefulness +consist altogether—or even in a great measure—in +the number of facts, sciences, or theories, +with which he may store the minds of his pupils. +These are not the objects of education, +any more than a knowledge of the compartments +in a printer's “letter-case,” is the ultimate +result of the art of printing. The types +are so arranged, in order to enable the compositors +more conveniently to attain the ends, +for which that arrangement is only a prepara<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span>tion: +facts and sciences are taught for the improvement +of the faculties, in order that they +may work with more ease, force, and certainty, +upon other and really important things; for +education is only the marshalling of powers, +preliminary to the great “battle of life.”</p> + +<p>The mind of an uneducated man, however +strong in itself, is like an army of undisciplined +men—a crowd of chaotic, shapeless, and often +misdirected elements. To bring these into +proper subjection—to enable him to bind +them, with anything like their native force, to +a given purpose—a prescribed “training” is +necessary; and it is this which education supplies. +If you can give a mind the <i>habit of attention</i>, +all the power it has will be made +available: and it is through this faculty, that +even dull minds are so frequently able to +mount the car of triumph, and ride swiftly +past so many, who are immeasurably their +superiors. The first element of the discipline +which develops this power, is submission to +control; and without such subordination, a +school can not exist. Thus, the first lesson +that children learn from the schoolmaster, is +the most valuable acquisition they can make.</p> + +<br /> +<p>But it was no easy task to teach this princi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span>ple +to the sturdy children of the early Western +“settler;” in this, as in all other things, the +difficulty of the labor was in exact proportion +to its necessity. The peculiarities of the people, +and the state of the country, were not +favorable to the establishment of the limited +monarchy, requisite to successful teaching. In +the first place, the parents very generally undervalued, +what they called “mere book-learning.” +For themselves, they had found more +use for a rifle than a pen; and they naturally +thought it a much more valuable accomplishment, +to be able to scalp a squirrel with a +bullet, at a hundred paces, than to read the +natural history of the animal in the “picture-book.” +They were enthusiastic, also, upon the +subject of independence; and, though they +could control their children sternly enough at +home, they were apt to look, with a jealous eye, +upon any attempt to establish dominion elsewhere. +The children partook largely of the +free, wild spirit of their fathers. They were +very prompt to resist anything like encroachment +upon their privileges or rights, and were, +of course, pretty certain to consider even salutary +control an attempt to assert a despotism. +I believe history contains no record, whatever +the annals of fiction may display, of a boy,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span> +with much spirit, submitting without a murmur +to the authority of the schoolmaster: if such a +prodigy of enlightened humility ever existed, +he certainly did not live in the west. But a +more important difficulty than either of these, +was the almost entire want of money in the +country; and without this there was but little +encouragement for the effort to overcome other +obstacles. Money <i>may</i> be only a <i>representative</i> +of value, but its absence operates marvellously +like the want of the value itself, and the primitive +people of those days, and especially that +class to which the schoolmaster belonged, had +a habit, however illogical, of considering it a +desirable commodity, <i>per se.</i></p> + +<p>All these impediments, however, could, in the +course of time, be conquered: the country was +improving in social tone; parents must eventually +take some pride even in the accomplishments +they despised; and patience and gentleness, +intermingled, now and then, with a little +wholesome severity, will ultimately subdue the +most stubborn spirit. As for the pecuniary +difficulty, it was, as the political economists +will tell us, only the absence of a medium at +the worst: and, in its stead, the master could +receive boarding, clothing, and the agricultural +products of the country. So many barrels of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span> +corn, or bushels of wheat, “per quarter,” might +not be so conveniently handled, but were quite +as easy to be counted, as an equal number of +dollars; and this primitive mode of payment is +even yet practised in many rural districts, perhaps, +in both the east and west. To counter-balance +its inconvenience of bulk, this “currency” +possessed a double advantage over the +more refined “medium of exchange” now in +use: it was not liable to counterfeits, and the +bank from which it issued was certain not to +“break.”</p> + +<p>So the schoolmaster was not to be deterred +from pursuing his honorable calling, even by +the difficulties incident to half-organized communities. +Indeed, teaching was the resort, at least +temporary, of four fifths of the educated, and +nearly an equal number of the uneducated +young men, who came to the west: for certainly +that proportion of both classes arrived in the +country, without money to support, friends to +encourage, or pride to deter them.</p> + +<br /> +<p>They were almost all what western people +call “Yankees”—born and bred east of the +Hudson: descendants of the sturdy puritans—and +distinguished by the peculiarities of that +strongly-marked people, in personal appear<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span>ance, +language, manners, and style and tone of +thought. Like the peddlers, they were generally +on the sunny side of thirty, full of the +hopeful energy which belongs to that period of +life, and only submitting to the labors and +privations of the present, because through these +they looked to the future for better and brighter +things.</p> + +<p>The causes which led to their emigration, +were as many and as various as the adventurers +whom they moved. They were, most of them, +mere boys: young Whittingtons, whom the +bells did <i>not</i> ring back, to become lord-mayors; +who, indeed, had not even the limited possessions +of that celebrated worthy; and, thus destitute, +they wandered off, many hundreds of +miles, “to see the world and make their fortunes,” +at an age when the youth of the present +day are just beginning to think of college. +They brought neither money, letters of introduction, +nor bills of exchange: they expected +to find neither acquaintance nor relatives. But +they knew—for it was one of the wise maxims +of their unromantic fathers—that industry and +honesty must soon gather friends, and that all +other desirable things would speedily follow. +They had great and just confidence in their own +abilities to “get along;” and if they did not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span> +actually think that the whole world belonged to +them, they were well-assured, that in an incredibly +short space of time, they would be +able to possess a respectable portion of it.</p> + +<br /> +<p>A genuine specimen of the class to which +most of the early schoolmasters belonged, never +felt any misgivings about his own success, and +never hesitated to assume any position in life. +Neither pride nor modesty was ever suffered to +interfere with his action. He would take charge +of a numerous school, when he could do little +more than write his own name, just as he would +have undertaken to run a steamboat, or command +an army, when he had never studied +engineering or heard of strategy. Nor would +he have failed in either capacity: a week's application +would make him master of a steam-engine, +or a proficient (after the <i>present manner</i> +of proficiency) in tactics; and as for his school, +he could himself learn at night what he was to +teach others on the following day! Nor was +this mere “conceit”—though, in some other +respects, that word, in its limited sense, was +not inapplicable—neither was it altogether +ignorant presumption; for one of these men +was seldom known to fail in anything he undertook: +or, if he did fail, he was never found to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span> +be cast down by defeat, and the resiliency of +his nature justified his confidence.</p> + +<br /> +<p>The pursuit of a certain avocation, for a long +period, is apt to warp one's nature to its inequalities; +and as the character gradually +assumes the peculiar shape, the personal appearance +changes in a corresponding direction +and degree. Thus, the blacksmith becomes +brawny, square, and sturdy, and the characteristic +swing of his arm gives tone to his whole +bearing: the silversmith acquires a peering, +cunning look, as if he were always examining +delicate machinery: the physician becomes +solemn, stately, pompous, and mysterious, and +speaks like “Sir Oracle,” as if he were eternally +administering a bread-pill, or enjoining a regimen +of drugs and starvation: the lawyer +assumes a keen, alert, suspicious manner, as if +he were constantly in pursuit of a latent perjury, +or feared that his adversary might discover +a flaw in his “case:” and so on, throughout the +catalogue of human avocations. But, among +all these, that which marks its votaries most +clearly, is school-teaching.</p> + +<p>There seems to be a sort of antagonism +between this employment and all manner of +neatness, and the circle of the schoolmaster's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span> +female acquaintance never included the Graces. +Attention to personal decoration is usually, +though not universally, in an inverse ratio +to mental garniture; and an artistically-tied +cravat seems inconsistent with the supposition +of a well-stored head above it. A mind which +is directed toward the evolution of its own +powers, has but little time to waste in adorning +the body; and a fashionable costume would +appear to cramp the intellect, as did the iron-vessel +the genius of the Arabian tale. Although, +therefore, there are numerous exceptions—persons +whose externals are as elegant as their +pursuits are intellectual—men of assiduously-cultivated +minds are apt to be careless of appearances, +and the principle applies, with especial +force, to those whose business it is to develop +the minds of others.</p> + +<p>Nor was the schoolmaster of early days in +the west, an exception to the rule. He might +not be as learned, nor as purely intellectual, as +some of our modern college-professors, but he +was as ungraceful, and as awkwardly clad, as +the most slovenly of them all. Indeed, he came +of a stock which has never been noted for any +of the lighter accomplishments, or “carnal +graces;” for at no period of its eventful history, +has the puritan type been a remarkable elegant<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span> +one. The men so named have been better +known for bravery than taste, for zeal than +polish; and since there is always a correspondence +between habits of thought and feeling +and the external appearance, the <i>physique</i> of +the race is more remarkable for rigor of muscle +and angularity of outline, than for accuracy of +proportion or smoothness of finish. Neither +Apollo nor Adonis was in any way related to +the family; and if either had been, the probability +is that his kindred would have disowned +him.</p> + +<p>Properly to represent his lineage, therefore, +the schoolmaster could be neither dandy nor +dancing-master; and, as if to hold him to his +integrity, nature had omitted to give him any +temptation, in his own person, to assume either +of these respectable characters. The tailor that +could shape a coat to fit <i>his</i> shoulders, never +yet handled shears; and he would have been as +ill at ease, in a pair of fashionable pantaloons, +as if they had been lined with chestnut-burrs. +He was generally above the medium height, +with a very decided stoop, as if in the habit of +carrying burthens; and a long, high nose, with +light blue eyes, and coarse, uneven hair, of a +faded weather-stain color, gave his face the +expression answering to this lathy outline.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span> +Though never very slender, he was always thin: +as if he had been flattened out in a rolling-mill; +and rotundity of corporation was a mode of +development not at all characteristic. His complexion +was seldom florid, and not often decidedly +pale; a sort of sallow discoloration was +its prevailing hue, like that which marks the +countenance of a consumer of “coarse” whiskey +and strong tobacco. But these failings were +not the cause of his cadaverous look—for a +faithful representative of the class held them +both in commendable abhorrence—<i>they were +not the vices of his nature.</i></p> + +<p>There was a sub-division of the class, a secondary +type, not so often observed, but common +enough to entitle it to a brief notice. <i>He</i> was, +generally, short, square, and thick—the latitude +bearing a better proportion to the longitude than +in his lank brother—but never approaching +anything like roundness. With this attractive +figure, he had a complexion of decidedly bilious +darkness, and what is commonly called a “dish-face.” +His nose was depressed between the +eyes, an arrangement which dragged the point +upward in the most cruel manner, but gave it +an expression equally ludicrous and impertinent. +A pair of small, round, black eyes, encompassed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span>—like +two little feudal fortresses, each by its +moat—with a circle of yellowish white, peered +out from under brows like battlements. Coarse, +black hair, always cut short, and standing erect, +so as to present something the appearance of +a <i>chevaux de frise</i>, protected a hard, round +head—a shape most appropriate to his lineage—while, +with equal propriety, ears of corresponding +magnitude stood boldly forth to assert +their claim to notice.</p> + +<p>Both these types were distinguished for large +feet, which no boot could enclose, and hands +broad beyond the compass of any glove. Neither +was ever known to get drunk, to grow fat, to +engage in a game of chance, or to lose his appetite: +it became the teacher of “ingenuous +youth” to preserve an exemplary bearing before +those whom he was endeavoring to benefit; +while respectable “appearances,” and proper +appreciation of the good things of life, were +the <i>alpha</i> and <i>omega</i> of his system of morality.</p> + +<br /> +<p>But the schoolmaster—and we now include +both sub-divisions of the class—was not deficient +as an example in many other things, to all who +wished to learn the true principles of living. +Among other things, he was distinguished for +a rigid, iron-bound economy: a characteristic<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span> +which it might have been well to impart to +many of his pupils. But that which the discreet +master denominated <i>prudence</i>, the extravagant +and wrong-headed scholar was inclined to term +<i>meanness</i>: and historical truth compels us to +admit, that the rigor of grim economy sometimes +wore an aspect of questionable austerity. +Notwithstanding this, however, when we reflect +upon the scanty compensation afforded the +benefactor of the rising generation, we can not +severely blame his penurious tenacity any more +than we can censure an empty wine-cask for not +giving forth the nectar which we have never +poured into it. If, accordingly, he was out at +the elbows, we are bound to conclude that it +was because he had not the money to buy a new +coat; and if he never indulged himself in any +of the luxuries of life, it was, probably, because +the purchase of its necessaries had already +brought him too near the bottom of his purse.</p> + +<p>He was always, moreover, “a close calculator,” +and, with a wisdom worthy of all imitation, +never mortgaged the future for the convenience +of the present. Indeed, this power +of “calculation” was not only a talent but a +passion: you would have thought that his progenitors +had been arithmeticians since the time +of Noah! He could “figure up” any proposi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span>tion +whatsoever: but he was especially great +upon the question, how much he could save +from his scanty salary, and yet live to the end +of the year.</p> + +<p>In fact, it was only <i>living</i> that he cared for. +The useful, with him, was always superior to +the ornamental; and whatever was not absolutely +necessary, he considered wasteful and +extravagant. Even the profusion of western +hospitality was, in his eyes, a crime against the +law of prudence, and he would as soon have +forgiven a breach of good morals as a violation +of this, his favorite rule.</p> + +<p>As might have been expected, he carried this +principle with him into the school-room, and was +very averse to teaching anything beyond what +would certainly “pay.” He rigidly eschewed +embellishment, and adorned his pupils with no +graceful accomplishments. It might be that he +never taught anything above the useful branches +of education, because he had never learned +more himself; but it is certain that he would +not have imparted merely polite learning, had +his own training enabled him to do so: for he +had, constitutionally, a high contempt for all +“flimsy” things, and, moreover, he was not employed +or paid to teach rhetoric or <i>belles-lettres</i>, +and, “on principle,” he never gave more in re<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span>turn +than the value of the money he received.</p> + +<p>With this reservation, his duties were always +thoroughly performed, for neither by nature, +education, nor lineage, was he likely to slight +any recognised obligation. He devoted his time +and talents to his school, as completely as if he +had derived from it the income of a bishop; and +the iron constitution, of both body and mind, peculiar +to his race, enabled him to endure a greater +amount of continuous application than any other +man. Indeed, his powers of endurance were +quite surprising, and the fibre of his mind was +as tough as that of his body. Even upon a +quality so valuable as this, however, he never +prided himself; for, excepting the boast of race, +which was historical and not unjustifiable, he +<i>had</i> no pride. He might be a little vain; and, +in what he said and did, more especially in its +manner, there might occasionally be a shade of +self-conceit: for he certainly entertained no +mean opinion of himself. This might be a little +obtrusive, too, at times; for he had but slight +veneration for men, or their feelings, or opinions; +and he would sometimes pronounce a judgment +in a tone of superiority justly offensive. But +he possessed the uncommon virtue of sincerity: +he thoroughly believed in the infallibility of his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span> +own conclusions; and for this the loftiness of +his tone might be forgiven.</p> + +<p>The most important of the opinions thus expressed, +were upon religious subjects, for Jews, +puritans, and Spaniards, have always been very +decided controversialists. His theology was +grim, solemn, and angular, and he was as +combative as one of Cromwell's disputatious +troopers. In his capacious pocket, he always +carried a copy of the New Testament—as, of +old, the carnal controvertists bore a sword +buckled to the side. Thus armed, he was a +genuine polemical “swash-buckler,” and would +whip out his Testament, as the bravo did his +weapon, to cut you in two without ceremony. +He could carve you into numerous pieces, and +season you with scriptural salt and pepper; and +he would do it with a gusto so serious, that it +would have been no unreasonable apprehension +that he intended to eat you afterward. And +the value of his triumph was enhanced, too, by +the consideration that it was won by no meretricious +graces or rhetorical flourishes; for the +ease of his gesticulation was such as you see in +the arms of a windmill, and his enunciation was +as nasal and monotonous as that of the Reverend +Eleazar Poundtext, under whose ministrations +he had been brought up in all godliness.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span></p> + +<p>But he possessed other accomplishments beside +those of the polemic. He was not, it is +true, overloaded with the learning of “the +schools”—was, in fact, quite ignorant of some +of the branches of knowledge which he imparted +to his pupils: yet this was never allowed +to become apparent, for as we have intimated, +he would frequently himself acquire, at night, +the lessons which he was to teach on the +morrow. But time was seldom wasted among +the people from whom he sprang, and this want +of preparation denoted that his leisure hours +had been occupied in possessing himself of other +acquirements. Among these, the most elegant, +if not the most useful, was music, and his +favorite instrument was the flute.</p> + +<p>In “David Copperfield,” Dickens describes +a certain flute-playing tutor, by the name of +Mell, concerning whom, and the rest of mankind, +he expresses the rash opinion, “after +many years of reflection,” that “nobody ever +could have played worse.” But Dickens never +saw Strongfaith Lippincott, the schoolmaster, +nor heard his lugubrious flute, and he therefore +knows nothing of the superlative degree of detestable +playing.</p> + +<p>There <i>are</i> instruments upon which even an +unskilful performer may make tolerable music,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span> +but the flute is not one of them—the man who +murders <i>that</i>, is a malefactor entitled to no +“benefit of clergy:” and our schoolmaster <i>did</i> +murder it in the most inhuman manner! But, +let it be said in mitigation of his offence, he had +never received the benefit of any scientific +teaching—he had not been “under the tuition +of the celebrated Signor Wheeziana,” nor had +he profited by “the invaluable instructions of +the unrivalled Bellowsblauer”—and it is very +doubtful whether he would have gained much +advantage from them, had he met the opportunity.</p> + +<p>He knew that, in order to make a noise on +the flute, or, indeed, anywhere else, it was +necessary to <i>blow</i>, and blow he did, like Boreas! +He always carried the instrument in his pocket, +and on being asked to play—a piece of politeness +for which he always looked—he drew it +out with the solemnity of visage with which a +tender-hearted sheriff produces a death-warrant, +and while he screwed the joints together, sighed +blasts like a furnace. He usually deposited +himself upon the door-sill—a favorite seat for +him—and collecting the younger members of +the family about him, thence poured forth his +strains of concentrated mournfulness.</p> + +<p>He invariably selected the most melancholy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span> +tunes, playing, with a more profound solemnity, +the gloomiest psalms and lamentations. When +he ventured upon secular music, he never performed +anything more lively than “The Mistletoe +Bough,” or “Barbara Allen,” and into each +he threw a spirit so much more dismal than the +original, as almost to induce his hearers to +imitate the example of the disconsolate “Barbara,” +and “turn their faces to the wall” in +despair of being ever again able to muster a +smile!</p> + +<p>He was not a scientific musician, then—fortunately +for his usefulness—because thorough +musicians are generally “good-for-nothing” +else. But music was not a science among the +pioneers, though the undertone of melancholy +feeling, to which all sweet sounds appeal, was +as easily reached in them as in any other people. +Their wants in this, as in other things, were very +easily satisfied—they were susceptible of pleasure +from anything which was in the least commendable: +and not feeling obliged, by any +captious canon, to condemn nine true notes, because +of the tenth false one, they allowed themselves +to enjoy the best music they could get, +without thinking of the damage done their +musical and critical reputation.</p> + +<p>But his flute was not the only means of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span> +pleasing within the schoolmaster's reach: for +he could flatter as well as if the souls of ten +courtiers had transmigrated into his single body. +He might not do it quite so gracefully as one +of these, nor with phrases so well-chosen, or so +correctly pronounced, but what he said was +always cunningly adapted to the character of +the person whom he desired to move. He had +“a deal of candied courtesy,” especially for the +women; and though his sturdy manhood and +the excellent opinion of himself—both of which +came to him from his ancestry—usually preserved +him from the charge of servility, he was +sometimes a “cozener” whose conscience annoyed +him with very few scruples. Occasionally +he might be seen fawning upon the rich; but it +was not with him—as it usually is with the +parasites of wealthy men—because he thought +Dives more respectable, but more <i>useful</i>, on +account of his money: the opulent possessed +what the indigent wanted, and the shortest road +to the goal of Cupidity, lay through the region +of Vanity. There was none of that servility +which Mr. Carlyle has attempted to dignify with +the name of “hero-worship,” for the rich man +was rather a bird to be plucked, than a “hero” +to be worshipped. And though it may seem +that I do the schoolmaster little honor by the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span> +distinction, I can not but think cupidity a more +manly trait than servility: the beast of prey a +more respectable animal than the hound.</p> + +<p>But the schoolmaster's obsequiousness was +more in manner than in inclination, and found +its excuse in the dependence of his circumstances. +It has been immemorially the custom +of the world, practically to undervalue his services, +and in all time teaching and poverty have +been inseparable companions. Nobody ever +cared how poorly he was clad, how laborious +his life, or how few his comforts; and if he +failed to attend to his own interests by all +the arts in his power, no one, certainly, would +perform the office for him. He was expected to +make himself generally useful without being +particular about his compensation: he was willing +to do the one, but was, very naturally, +rather averse to the other: that which justice +would not give him, he managed to procure by +stratagem.</p> + +<p>His manners thus acquired the characteristics +we have enumerated, with also others. He was, +for example, very officious; a peculiarity which +might, perhaps, be derived from his parentage, +but which was never repressed by his occupation. +The desire to make himself agreeable, +and his high opinion of his ability to do so, ren<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span>dered +his tone and bearing very familiar; but +this was, also, a trait which he shared with his +race, and one which has contributed, as much +as any other, to bring the people called +“Yankees” into contempt in the west. The +men of that section are not themselves reserved, +and hate nothing more than ceremonious politeness: +but they like to be the first to make advances, +and their demonstrations are all hearty, +blunt, and open. They therefore disliked anything +which has an insinuating tone, and the +man who attempts to ingratiate himself with +them, whether it be by elaborate arts or sidelong +familiarity, at once arms them against them.</p> + +<p>The schoolmaster was inquisitive, also, and +to that western men most decidedly object. +They have little curiosity themselves, and seldom +ask impertinent questions. When they do so, +it is almost always for the purpose of insulting +the man to whom they are put, and <i>never</i> to +make themselves agreeable. The habit of asking +numerous questions was, therefore, apt to +prejudice them against men whose characteristics +might be, in other respects, very estimable; +and it must be acknowledged, that vulgar and +obtrusive impertinence is an unfortunate accompaniment +to an introduction. But the schoolmaster +never meant to be impertinent, for he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span> +was far from being quarrelsome (except with his +scholars), and the idea that any one could be +otherwise than pleased with his notice, however +given, never entered his mind. Though his +questions were, for the most part, asked to +gratify a constitutional curiosity, he was actuated +in some degree, also, by the notion that +his condescension would be acceptably interpreted +by those whom he thus favored. But, +like many other benevolent men, who put force +upon their inclinations for the benefit of their +neighbors, he was mistaken in his “calculation;” +and where he considered himself a benefactor, +he was by others pronounced a “bore.” The +fact is, he had some versatility, and, like most +men of various powers, he was prone to think +himself a much greater man than he really was.</p> + +<p>He was not peculiarly fitted to shine as a +gallant “in hall or bower,” but had he been the +climax of knightly qualities, the very impersonation +of beauty, grace, and accomplishment, +he could not have been better adapted than, in +his own estimation, he already was, to please +the fancy of a lady. He was blissfully unconscious +of every imperfection; and displayed +himself before what he thought the admiring +gaze of all <i>dames</i> and <i>demoiselles</i>, as proudly +as if he had been the all-accomplished victor in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span> +some passage of arms. Yet he carried himself, +in outward appearance, as meekly as the humblest +Christian, and took credit to himself accordingly. +He seldom pressed his advantages +to the utter subjugation of the sighing dames, +but deported himself with commendable forbearance +toward the weak and defenceless whom +his perfections had disarmed. He was as merciful +as he was irresistible: as considerate as he +was beautiful.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>“What a saint of a knight is the knight of Saint John!”</p></div> + +<p>The personal advantages which he believed +made him so dangerous to the peace of woman, +were counteracted, thus, by his saintly piety. +For—as it became him to be, both in the character +of a man, and in that of a descendant of +the puritans—he was always habited in “the +livery of heaven.” Some ill-natured and suspicious +people, it is true, were inclined to call +his exemplary “walk” hypocritical, and to stigmatise +his pious “conversation” as <i>cant</i>. But +the ungodly world has always persecuted the +righteous, and the schoolmaster was correct in +attributing their sneers to the rebuke which his +example gave to their wickedness, and to make +“capital” out of the “persecution.” And who +shall blame him—when in the weary intervals<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span> +of a laborious and thankless profession, fatigue +repressed enthusiasm—if he sometimes eked +out the want of inspiration by a godly snuffle? +True piety reduces even the weapons of the +scorner to the service of religion, and the citadel +of the Gloomy Kingdom is bombarded with the +artillery of Satan! Thus, the nose, which is so +serviceable in the production of the devilish and +unchristian sneer, is elevated by a saintlike +zeal, to the expression of a devout whine: and +this I believe to be the only satisfactory explanation +which has ever been given, of the connection, +in so many good men, between the +<i>nasal</i> and the <i>religious!</i></p> + +<br /> +<p>But the schoolmaster usually possessed genuine +religious feeling, as well as a pious manner; +and, excepting an occasional display of hereditary, +and almost unconscious, cunning, he lived +“a righteous and upright life.”</p> + +<br /> +<p>The process of becoming a respectable and +respected citizen was a very short and simple one—and +whether the schoolmaster designed to remain +only a lord of the ferrule, or casting the +insignia of his office behind him, to seek higher +things, he was never slow in adopting it. +Among his scholars, there were generally half-<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span>a-dozen +or more young women—marriageable +daughters of substantial men; and from this +number he selected, courted, and espoused, some +healthy, buxom girl, the heiress of a considerable +plantation or a quantity of “wild land.” +He always sought these two requisites combined—for +he was equally fond of a fine person and +handsome estate. Upon the land, he generally +managed to find an eligible town-site; and, +being a perfect master of the art of building +cities on paper, and puffing them into celebrity, +his sales of town-lots usually brought him a +competent fortune. As years rolled on, his substance +increased with the improvement of the +country—the rougher points of his character +were gradually rubbed down—age and gray +hairs thickened upon his brow—honors, troops +of friends, and numerous children, gathered +round him—and the close of his career found +him respected in life and lamented in death. +His memory is a monument of what honesty +and industry, even without worldly advantages, +may always accomplish.</p> + +<div class="sidenoteb"><p>[NOTE.—A friend expresses a doubt whether I have not made +the foregoing portrait too hard-featured for historical accuracy; +and, by way of fortifying his opinion, points to illustrious examples +of men who have taught schools in their youth—senators +and statesmen—some of whom now hold prominent +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</a></span>positions before the people, even for the highest offices in their +gift. But these men never belonged to the class which I have +attempted to portray. Arriving in this country in youth, +without the means of subsistence—in many cases, long before +they had acquired the professions which afterward made them +famous—they resorted to school-teaching as a mere expedient +for present support, without any intention to make it the occupation +of their lives, or the means of their advancement. +They were moved by an ambition which looked beyond it, and +they invariably abandoned it so soon as they had prepared +themselves for another pursuit.</p> + +<p>But the genuine <i>character</i> took it up as a permanent employment—he +looked to it not only as a means of temporary +subsistence, but as a source, by some of the direct or indirect +channels which we have indicated, of lasting income—and he +never threw it up until he had already secured that to which +the other class, when <i>they</i> abandoned the occupation, were still +looking forward. In the warfare against Ignorance, therefore, +these, whom we have described, were the regular army, while +the exceptions were but volunteers for a limited period, and, +in the muster-roll of permanent strength, they are, therefore, +not included.]</p></div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">Top</a></span> +<h2><a name="IX" id="IX"></a>IX.</h2> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</a></span></p> +<h3>THE SCHOOLMISTRESS</h3> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">“And yet I love thee not—thy brow<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Is but the sculptor's mould:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">It wants a shade, it wants a glow—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">It is less fair than cold.”<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i4">L. E. L.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 449px;"> +<img src="images/illus-329.jpg" width="449" height="500" alt="" /> +<span class="caption">THE SCHOOLMISTRESS.</span></div> + +<p>But the family of the pioneer consisted of +girls as well as boys; and though the former +were never so carefully educated as the latter, +they were seldom allowed to go wholly untaught.</p> + +<p>The more modern system, which separates +the sexes while infants, and never suffers them +to come together again until they are “marriageable,” +was not then introduced; and we +think it would have been no great misfortune +to the country had it remained in Spain, whence +it would seem to have been imported. Children +of both sexes were intended to grow up together—to +be educated in company—at least until +they have reached the points where their paths +naturally diverge, for thus only can they be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</a></span> +most useful to each other, in the duties, trials, and +struggles, of after life. The artificial refinement +which teaches a little girl that a boy is something +to be dreaded—a sort of beast of prey—before +she recognises any difference, save in +dress, can never benefit her at best; for by-and-by +she will discover the falsehood: the very +instincts of her nature would unveil it, did she +learn it in no other way: and as action and reaction +are equal, the rebound may cause her to +entertain opinions altogether too favorable to +those whom she has so foolishly been taught to +fear.</p> + +<p>Nor is the effect of such a system likely to +be any better upon the other sex: for it is association +with females (as early as possible, too, +all the better), which softens, humanizes, graces, +and adorns the masculine character. The boy +who has been denied such association—the incidents +to whose education have made him shy, +as so many are, even of little girls—is apt to +grow up morose and selfish, ill-tempered, and +worse mannered. When the impulses of his +developing nature finally force him into female +society, he goes unprepared, and comes away +without profit: his ease degenerates into familiarity, +his conversation is, at best, but washy +sentimentalism, and the association, until the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</a></span> +accumulated rust of youth is worn away, is of +very doubtful benefit to both parties. Indeed, +parents who thus govern and educate their +children, can find no justification for the practice, +until they can first so alter the course of +Nature, as to establish the law, that each family +shall be composed altogether of girls, or shall +consist exclusively of boys!</p> + +<br /> +<p>But these modern refinements had not obtained +currency, at the period of which we are +writing; nor was any such nonsense the motive +to the introduction of female teachers. But +one of the lessons learned by observation of the +domestic circle, and particularly of the influence +of the mother over her children, was the +principle, that a woman can teach males of a +certain age quite as well as a man, and <i>females +much better</i>; and that, since the school-teacher +stands, for the time in the place of the parent, +a <i>mistress</i> was far more desirable, especially for +the girls, than a <i>master</i>. Hence, the latter had +exercised his vocation in the west, but a few +years, before he was followed by the former.</p> + +<br /> +<p>New England was the great nursery of this +class, as it was of so many others, transplanted +beyond the Alleghenies. Emigration, and the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</a></span> +enticements and casualties of a seafaring life—drawing +the men into their appropriate channels +of enterprise and adventure, had there reduced +their number below that of the women—thus +remitting many of the latter, to other than +the usual and natural occupations of “the sex.” +Matrimony became a remote possibility to large +numbers—attention to household matters gave +place to various kinds of light labor—and, since +they were not likely to have progeny of their +own to rear, many resorted to the teaching of +children belonging to others. Idleness was a +rare vice; and New England girls—to their +honor be it spoken—have seldom resembled +“the lilies of the field,” in aught, save the fairness +of their complexions! They have never +displayed much squeamishness—about work: +and if they could not benefit the rising generation +in a maternal, were willing to make themselves +useful in a tutorial capacity. The people +of that enlightened section, have always +possessed the learning necessary to appreciate, +and the philanthropy implied in the wish to +dispel, the benighted ignorance of all other +quarters of the world; and thus a competent +number of them have ever been found willing +to give up the comforts of home, for the benefit +of the “barbarous west<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</a></span>.”</p> + +<p>The schoolmistress, then, generally came from +the “cradle” of intelligence, as well as “of liberty,” +beyond the Hudson; and, in the true +spirit of benevolence, she carried her blessings +(herself the greatest) across the mountain barrier, +to bestow them, <i>gratis</i>, upon the spiritually +and materially needy, in the valley of the +Mississippi. Her vocation, or, as it would now +be called, her “mission” was to teach an impulse +not only given by her education, but belonging +to her nature. She had a constitutional +tendency toward it—indeed, a genius for it; +like that which impels one to painting, another +to sculpture—this to a learned profession, that +to a mechanical trade. And so perfectly was +she adapted to it, that “the ignorant people +of the west” not recognising her “divine appointment,” +were often at a loss to conjecture, +who, or whether anybody, could have taught +<i>her!</i></p> + +<p>For that same “ignorant,” and too often, ungrateful +people, she was full of tender pity—the +yearning of the single-hearted missionary, +for the welfare of his flock. <i>They</i> were steeped +in darkness, but <i>she</i> carried the light—nay, she +<i>was</i> the light! and with a benignity, often +evinced by self-sacrifice—she poured it graciously +over the land—</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</a></span></p> +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">“Heaven doth with us, as we with torches do:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Not light them for themselves; for if our virtues<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Did not go forth of us, 't were all alike<br /></span> +<span class="i0">As if we had them not.”<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>For the good of the race, or of any (male) individual, +she would immolate herself, even upon +the altar of Hymen; and, since the number, +who were to be benefited by such self-devotement, +was small in New England, but large in +the west, she did well to seek a field for her +benign dedication, beyond the Alleghenies! +Honor to the all-daring self-denial, which +brought to the forlorn bachelor of the west, a +companion in his labors, a solace in his afflictions, +and a mother to his children!</p> + +<br /> +<p>Her name was invariably Grace, Charity, or +Prudence; and, if names had been always descriptive +of the personal qualities of those who +bore them, she would have been entitled to all +three.</p> + +<br /> +<p>In the early ages of the world, names were, +or, at least, were supposed to be, fair exponents +of the personal characters of those, upon whom +they were bestowed. But, <i>then</i>, the qualities +must be manifested, before the name could be +earned, so that all who had never distinguished +themselves, in some way, were said to be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</a></span> +“nameless.” In more modern times, however, +an improvement upon this system was introduced: +the character was anticipated, and parents +called their children what they <i>wished</i> +them to be, in the hope that they would grow +to the standard thus imposed. And it is no +doubt, true, that names thus bestowed had +much influence in the development of character—on +the same principle, upon which the +boards, to which Indian women lash their infants +soon after birth, have much to do with the erect +carriage of the mature savage. Such an appellation +is a perpetual memento of parental counsels—a +substitute for barren precept—an endless +exhortation to Grace, Charity, or Prudence.</p> + +<p>I do not mean, that calling a boy Cicero will +certainly make him an orator, or that all Jeremiahs +are necessarily prophets; nor is it improbable, +that the same peculiarities in the +parents, which dictate these expressive names, +may direct the characters of the children, by +controlling their education; but it is unquestionable, +that the characteristics, and even the +fortunes of the man, are frequently daguerreotyped +by a name given in infancy. There is +not a little wisdom in the advice of Sterne to +godfathers—not “to Nicodemus a man into +nothing.”—“Harsh names,” says D'Israeli, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</a></span> +elder, “will have, in spite of all our philosophy, +a painful and ludicrous effect on our ears and +our associations; it is vexatious, that the softness +of delicious vowels, or the ruggedness of +inexorable consonants, should at all be connected +with a man's happiness, or even have an influence +on his fortune.”</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i8">“That which we call a rose,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">By any other name would smell as sweet;”<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>but this does not touch the question, whether, +if it had not smelt as sweet we would not have +given it some other name. The celebrated +demagogue, Wilkes, is reported to have said, +that, “without knowing the comparative merits +of the two poets, we would have no hesitation +in preferring John Dryden to Elkanah Settle, +<i>from the names only</i>.” And the reason of +this truth is to be found in the fact, that our +impressions of both men and things depend upon +associations, often beyond our penetration to detect—associations +with which <i>sound</i>, depending +on hidden laws, has quite as much to do, as <i>sense.</i></p> + + +<p>Among those who have carried the custom +of picturesque or expressive naming, to an extent +bordering on the ridiculous, were the hard-headed +champions of the true church-militant, +the English puritans—as Hume, the bigoted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</a></span> +old Tory, rather ill-naturedly testifies! And the +puritans of <i>New</i> England—whatever advancing +intelligence may have made them in the +present—were, for a long time, faithful representatives +of the oddities, as well as of the virtues, +of their fathers.</p> + +<p>And, accordingly, we find the schoolmistress—being +a descendant of the Jason's-crew, who +landed from the Argo-Mayflower, usually bearing +a name thus significant, and manifesting, +even at her age, traits of character justifying +the compellation. What that age precisely <i>was</i>, +could not always be known; indeed, a lady's +age is generally among indeterminate things; +and it has, very properly, come to be considered +ungallant, if not impertinent, to be curious +upon so delicate a subject. A man has no more +right to know how many years a woman has, +than how many skirts she wears; and, if he have +any anxiety about the matter, in either case, +his eyes must be the only questioners. The +principle upon which the women themselves +proceed, in growing old, seems to be parallel +to the law of gravitation: when a **storm** stone, for +example, is thrown into the air the higher it +goes the slower it travels; and the momentum +toward Heaven, given to a woman at her birth, +appears to decrease in about the same ratio.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</a></span></p> + +<p>We will not be so ungallant, then, as to inquire +too curiously into the age of the schoolmistress; +but, without disparagement to her +youthfulness, we may be allowed to conjecture +that, in order to fit her so well for the duties +of her responsible station (and incline her to +undertake such labors), a goodly number of +years must needs have been required. Yet she +bore time well; for, unless married in the meanwhile, +at thirty, she was as youthful in manners, +as at eighteen.</p> + +<p>But this is not surprising: for, even as early +as her twelfth year, she had much the appearance +of a mature woman—something like that +noticed in young quakers, by Clarkson<a name="FNanchor_79_79" id="FNanchor_79_79"></a><a href="#Footnote_79_79" class="fnanchor">[79]</a>—and +her figure belonged to that rugged type, which +is adapted to bear, unscathed, more than the +ravages of time. She was never above the medium +height, for the rigid rule of economy +seemed to apply to flesh and blood, as to all +other things pertaining to her race; at all events, +material had not been wasted in giving her extra +longitude—at the ends. Between the extremities, +it might be different—for she was +generally very long-waisted. But this might +be accounted for in the process of <i>flattening +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</a></span>out</i>: for like her compeer, the schoolmaster, +she had much more breadth than thickness. +She was somewhat angular, of course, and rather +bony; but this was only the natural correspondence, +between the external development, +and the mental and moral organization. Her +eyes were usually blue, and, to speak with accuracy, +a little cold and grayish, in their expression—like +the sky on a bleak morning in Autumn. +Her forehead was very high and prominent, +having, indeed, an <i>exposed</i> look, like a +shelterless knoll in an open prairie: but, not +content with this, though the hair above it was +often thin, she usually dragged the latter forcibly +back, as if to increase the altitude of the +former, by extending the skin. Her mouth +was of that class called “primped,” but was +filled with teeth of respectable dimensions.</p> + +<p>Her arms were long, and, indeed, a little +skinny, and she swung them very freely when +she walked; while hands, of no insignificant +size, dangled at the extremities, as if the joints +of her wrists were insecure. She had large +feet, too, and in walking her toes were assiduously +turned out. She had, however, almost +always one very great attraction—a fine, clear, +healthy complexion—and the only blemishes +upon this, that I have ever observed, were a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</a></span> +little <i>red</i> on the tip of her nose and on the points +of her cheek-bones, and a good deal of <i>down</i> on +her upper lip.</p> + +<br /> +<p>In manners and bearing, she was brisk, prim, +and sometimes a little “fidgety,” as if she was +conscious of sitting on a dusty chair; and she +had a way of searching nervously for her pocket, +as if to find a handkerchief with which to brush +it off. She was a very fast walker, and an +equally rapid talker—taking usually very short +steps, as if afraid of splitting economical skirts, +but using very long words, as if entertaining no +such apprehension about her throat. Her gait +was too rapid to be graceful, and her voice too +sharp to be musical; but she was quite unconscious +of these imperfections, especially of +the latter: for at church—I beg pardon of her +enlightened ancestors! I should say at “<i>meeting</i>”—her +notes of praise were heard high over +all the tumult of primitive singing; and, with +her chin thrown out, and her shoulders drawn +back, she looked, as well as sounded, the impersonation +of <i>melody</i>, as contra-distinguished from +<i>harmony!</i></p> + +<br /> +<p>But postponing, for the present, our consideration +of her qualifications as a teacher, we find<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</a></span> +that her characteristics were still more respectable +and valuable as a private member of society. +And in this relation, her most prominent trait, +like that of her brother teacher, was her stainless +piety. In this respect, if in no other, +women are always more sincere and single-hearted +than men—perhaps because the distribution +of social duties gives her less temptation +to hypocrisy—and even the worldly, +strong-minded, and self-reliant daughter of the +church-hating Puritan-Zion, displayed a tendency +toward genuine religious feeling.<a name="FNanchor_80_80" id="FNanchor_80_80"></a><a href="#Footnote_80_80" class="fnanchor">[80]</a></p> + +<p>But in our subject, this was not a mere bias, +but a constant, unflagging sentiment, an everyday +manifestation. She was as warm in the +cause of religion on one day as upon another, +in small things as in great—as zealous in the +repression of all unbecoming and ungodly levity, +as in the eradication of positive vice. Life was +too solemn a thing with her to admit of thoughtless +amusements—it was entirely a state of +probation, not to be enjoyed in itself, or for +itself, but purgatorial, remedial, and prepara<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</a></span>tory. +She hated all devices of pleasure as her +ancestors did the abominations of popery. A +fiddle she could tolerate only in the shape of a +bass-viol; and dancing, if practised at all, must +be called “calisthenics.” The drama was to +her an invention of the Enemy of Souls—and +if she ever saw a play, it must be at a <i>museum</i>, +and not within the walls of that temple of Baal, +the theatre. None but “serious” conversation +was allowable, and a hearty laugh was the expression +of a spirit ripe for the destination of +unforgiven sinners.</p> + +<p>Errors in religion were too tremendous to be +tolerated for a moment, and the form (or rather +anti-form) of worship handed down by her +fathers, had cost too much blood and crime to +be oppugned. She thought Barebones's the +only godly parliament that ever sat, and did not +hate Hume half so much for his infidelity, as +for his ridicule of the roundheads. Her list of +martyrs was made up of the intruders ousted +by Charles's “Act of Conformity,” and her +catalogue of saints was headed by the witch-boilers +of Massachusetts Bay. She abhorred the +memory of all <i>popish</i> persecutions, and knew +no difference between catholic and cannibal. +Her running calendar of living saints were born +“to inherit the earth,” and heaven, too: they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[Pg 333]</a></span> +possessed a monopoly of all truth, an unlimited +“indulgence” to enforce conformity, and, in +their zeal, an infallible safeguard against the +commission of error. She had no patience with +those who could not “see the truth;” and he +who reviled the puritan mode of worship, was +“worse than the infidel.” The only argument +she ever used with such, was the <i>argumentum +ad hominem</i>, which saves the trouble of conviction +by “giving over to hardness of heart.” +New England was, to her, the land of Goshen—whither +God's people had been led by God's +hand—“the land of the patriarchs, where it +rains righteousness”<a name="FNanchor_81_81" id="FNanchor_81_81"></a><a href="#Footnote_81_81" class="fnanchor">[81]</a>—and all the adjacent +country was a land of Egyptian darkness.</p> + +<br /> +<p>She was commendably prudent in her personal +deportment: being thoroughly pure and circumspect +herself, she could forgive no thoughtless +imprudence in her sister-woman: but she +well-understood metaphysical distinctions, and +was tolerant, if not liberal, to marriageable men. +These she could hope to reform at some future +time: and she had, moreover, a just idea of the +weakness of man's nature. But being a woman, +and a staid and sober-minded woman, she could<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[Pg 334]</a></span> +never understand the power of temptation upon +her own sex, or the commonest impulses of high +spirits. Perhaps she was a little deficient in +charity: but, as we have seen, it was chiefly +toward her female friends, and since none can +bear severe judgment more safely than woman, +her austerity did little harm.</p> + +<p>But she sincerely regretted what she could +never palliate; she hated not the guilty, though +she could not forgive the sin; and no one was +more easily melted to tears by the faults, and +particularly by the <i>follies</i>, of the world. Wickedness +is a very melancholy thing, but it is to +be punished as well as lamented: and like the +unfortunate governor who was forced to condemn +his own son, she wept while she pronounced +judgment. But earthly sorrow, by +her, was given only to earthly faults: violations +of simple good morals, crimes against heavenly +creeds and forms (or rather <i>the</i> form) of worship, +claimed no tear. Her blood rose to fever-heat +at the mention of an unbeliever, and she would +as soon have wept for the errors of the fallen +angels, as for those of anti-Robinsonians.</p> + +<br /> +<p>But though thus rigid and austere, I never +heard that she was at all disinclined to being +courted: especially if it gave her any prospect<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[Pg 335]</a></span> +of being able to make herself useful as a wife, +either to herself, her husband, or her country. +She understood the art of rearing and managing +children, in her capacity as a teacher: she +was thus peculiarly well-fitted for matrimonial +duties, and was unwilling that the world should +lose the benefit of her talents. But the man +who courted her must do so in the most sober, +staid, and regulated spirit, for it was seldom any +unmixed romance about “love and nonsense,” +which moved <i>her</i> to the sacrifice: if she entertained +notions of that sort, they were such only +as could find a place in her well-balanced mind, +and, above all, were the subject of no raptures +or transports of delight. If she indulged any +enthusiasm, in view of the approaching change, +it was in the prospect of endless shirt-making, +and in calculations about how cheaply (not how +happily) she could enable her husband to live. +She had no squeamish delicacy about allowing +the world to know the scope and meaning of +her arrangements, and all her friends participated +in her visions of comfort and economy. +False modesty was no part of her nature—and +her sentiment could be reduced to an algebraic +formula—excluding the “unknown quantities” +usually represented by the letters <i>b</i>, <i>c</i>, and <i>d</i>: +meaning “bliss,” “cottages,” and “devotion<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[Pg 336]</a></span>.”</p> + +<p>Yet, though she cared little for poetry, and +seldom understood the images of fancy, she was +not averse to a modicum of scandal in moments +of relaxation: for the faults of others were the +illustrations of her prudent maxims, and the +thoughtlessness of a sister was the best possible +text for a moral homily. The tense rigidity of +her character, too, sometimes required a little +unbending, and she had, therefore, no special +aversion to an occasional surreptitious novel. +But this she would indulge only in private; for +in her mind, the worst quality of transgression +was its bad example; and she never failed, in +public, to condemn all such things with becoming +and virtuous severity. Nor must this +apparent inconsistency be construed to her disadvantage; +for her strong mind and well-fortified +morals, could withstand safely what would +have corrupted a large majority of those around +her; and it was meet, that one whose “mission” +it was to reform, should thoroughly understand +the enemy against which she battled. And +these things never unfavorably affected her life +and manners, for she was as prudent in her deportment +(ill-natured people say <i>prudish</i>) as if +some ancestress of hers had been deceived, and +left in the family a tradition of man's perfidy +and woman's frailty.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[Pg 337]</a></span></p> + +<p>She was careful, then, of three things—her +clothes, her money, and her reputation: and, to +do her justice, the last was as spotless as the +first, and as much prized as the second, and that +is saying a good deal, both for its purity and +estimation. Neat, economical, and prudent, +were, indeed, the three capital adjectives of her +vocabulary, and to deserve them was her +eleventh commandment.</p> + +<p>With one exception, these were the texts of +all her homilies, and the exception was, unluckily, +one which admitted of much more +argument.</p> + +<p>It was the history of the puritans. But upon +this subject, she was as dexterous a special +pleader as Neale, and as skilful in giving a +false coloring to facts, as D'Aubigné. But she +had the advantage of these worthies in that her +declamation was quite honest: she had been +taught sincerely and heartily to believe all she +asserted. She was of the opinion that but two +respectable ships had been set afloat since the +world began: one of which was Noah's ark, +and the other the Mayflower. She believed +that no people had ever endured such persecutions +as the puritans, and was especially eloquent +upon the subject of “New England's Blarney-stone,” +the Rock of Plymouth.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[Pg 338]</a></span></p> + +<p>Indeed, according to the creed of her people, +historical and religious, this is the only piece of +granite in the whole world “worth speaking of;” +and geologists have sadly wasted their time in +travelling over the world in search of the records +of creation, when a full epitome of everything +deserving to be known, existed in so small a +space! All the other rocks of the earth sink +into insignificance, and “hide their diminished +heads,” when compared to this mighty stone! +The Rock of Leucas, from which the amorous +Lesbian maid cast herself disconsolate into the +sea, is a mere pile of dirt: the Tarpeian, whence +the Law went forth to the whole world for so +many centuries, is not fit to be mentioned in the +same day: the Rock of Cashel, itself, is but the +subject of profane Milesian oaths; and the +Ledge of Plymouth is the real “Rock of Ages!” +It is well that every people should have something +to adore, especially if that “something” +belongs exclusively to themselves. It elevates +their self-respect: and, for this object, even historical +fictions may be forgiven.</p> + +<br /> +<p>But, as we have intimated, in the course of +time the schoolmistress became a married +woman; and as she gathered experience, she +gradually learned that New England is not the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[Pg 339]</a></span> +whole “moral vineyard,” and that one might +be more profitably employed than in disputing +about questionable points of history. New +duties devolved upon her, and new responsibilities +rained fast. Instead of teaching the +children of other people, she now raised children +for other people to teach. New sources of +pride were found in these, and in her husband +and his prosperity. She discovered that she +could be religious without bigotry, modest +without prudery, and economical without meanness: +and, profiting by the lessons thus learned, +she subsided into a true, faithful, and respectable +matron, thus, at last, fulfilling her genuine +“mission.”</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_79_79" id="Footnote_79_79"></a><a href="#FNanchor_79_79"><span class="label">[79]</span></a> Author of the Life of William Penn, whose accuracy has +lately been questioned.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_80_80" id="Footnote_80_80"></a><a href="#FNanchor_80_80"><span class="label">[80]</span></a> By this form of expression, which may seem awkward, I +mean to convey this idea: That consistency of character would +seem to preclude any heartfelt reverence in the descendant of +those whose piety was manifested more in the <i>hatred of earthly</i>, +than in <i>the love of heavenly</i>, things.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_81_81" id="Footnote_81_81"></a><a href="#FNanchor_81_81"><span class="label">[81]</span></a> The language of a precious pamphlet, even now in circulation +in the west.</p></div> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="X" id="X"></a>X.</h2><span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">Top</a></span> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[Pg 340]</a></span></p> +<h3>THE POLITICIAN.</h3> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">“All would be deemed, e'en from the cradle, fit<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To rule in politics as well as wit:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The grave, the gay, the fopling, and the dunce,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Start up (God bless us!) statesmen all at once!”<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i4"><span class="smcap">Churchill</span>.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>In a country where the popular breath sways +men to its purposes or caprices, as the wind +bends the weeds in a meadow, statesmanship +may become a <i>system</i>, but can never rise to the +dignity of a <i>science</i>; and politics, instead of +being an <i>art</i>, is a series of <i>arts.</i></p> + +<p>A system is order without principle: a science +is order, based upon principle. Statesmanship +has to do with generalities—with the relations +of states, the exposition and preservation of constitutional +provisions, and with fundamental +organizations. Politics relates to measures, and +the details of legislation. The <i>art</i> of governing +is the accomplishment of the true politician:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[Pg 341]</a></span> +the <i>arts</i> of governing are the trickeries of the +demagogue. <i>Right</i> is the key-note of one: +<i>popularity</i> of the other.</p> + +<br /> +<p>The large majority of men are sufficiently +candid to acknowledge—at least to themselves—that +they are unfit for the station of law-giver; +but the vanity and jealousy begotten by participation +in political power, lead many of them, +if not actually to believe, at all events to <i>act</i> +upon the faith, that men, no more able than +themselves, are the best material for rulers. It +is a kind of compromise between their modesty +and self-love: not burthening them with the +trials and responsibilities of positions for which +they feel incompetent, but soothing their vanity +by the contemplation of office-holders not at all +their superiors. Below a certain (or uncertain) +grade, therefore, political stations are usually +filled by men of very moderate abilities: and +their elevation is favored—indeed, often effected—by +the very causes which should prevent +it. Such men are prone to thrust themselves +upon public notice, and thus secure, by persistence +and impudence, what might not be awarded +them on the score of merit.</p> + +<p>It is a trite remark, that people are inclined +to accept a man's estimate of himself, and to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[Pg 342]</a></span> +put him in possession of that place, in their consideration, +which he has the hardihood to claim. +And the observation is just, to this extent: if +the individual does not respect himself, probably +no one else will take that trouble. But in a +country where universal suffrage reigns, it may +be doubted whether the elevation of an ordinary +man indicates any recognition of the justice of +his claims. On the contrary, they may be endorsed +precisely because they are false: that is, +because he really possesses no other title to the +support of common men, than that which is +founded upon fellow-feeling or sympathy of +character. Many a man, therefore, who receives +his election as a compliment from the +voters, if he understood the motives of their +action, would throw up his office in disgust; for +in a large majority of cases, the popular choice, +so far from being an assertion of the candidate's +peculiar fitness to be singled out from among +his brethren, is only a declaration that neither +talent nor character entitles him to the distinction. +The cry that a man is “one of the +people,” will bring him great strength at the +ballot-box: but this is a phrase which means +very different things, according as it is used by +the candidate or the voter; and, in many cases, +if they could thoroughly understand each other,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[Pg 343]</a></span> +the latter would not give his support, and the +former would not ask it.</p> + +<br /> +<p>These remarks are applicable to all stages of +society's progress; for, if the world were so enlightened, +that, in the scale of intellect, such a +man as Daniel Webster could only be classed +as an idiot, there would still be the “ignorant +vulgar,” the “uneducated classes.” Society +is one entire web—albeit woven with threads +of wool and silk, of silver and gold: turn it as +you will, it must all turn together; and if a +whirlwind of enlightenment should waft it to +the skies, although each thread would be immeasurably +above its present condition, the +relation of one to another would still be the +same. If the baser wool should be transmuted +into gold, the very same process would refine +and sublimate the precious metal, in a corresponding +ratio; and the equilibrium of God's +appointed relations would remain undisturbed.</p> + +<br /> +<p>But it is more especially in the primitive +periods, before the great political truths become +household words, and while the reign of +law and municipal organization is a vague and +distant thing, that most citizens shrink from +official duties. Diffidence, in this matter is,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[Pg 344]</a></span> +fortunately, a disease which time will alleviate—a +youthful weakness, which communities +“outgrow,” as children do physical defects; +and, I believe, of late years, few offices have +“gone begging,” either east or west of the great +barrier of the Allegheny.</p> + +<p>In the earlier periods of its history, we have +seen that the western country was peculiarly +situated. The settlements were weak and the +population small; with the exception of a few +narrow fields, in the vicinity of each frontier +fort, or stockade, the land was a wilderness, held +in undisturbed possession by the savages and +wild beasts. The great struggle, which we call +the Revolution, but which was, in fact, only a +justifiable and successful rebellion, had exhausted +the force and drained the coffers of the +feeble federal government; had plunged the +infant states into enormous debts; and the only +means of paying these were the boundless but +unclaimed lands of the west, which the same +causes rendered them unable to protect. The +scattered settlements on the Mississippi side of +the Alleghenies, were thus left to their own +scanty resources; and the distance was so +great, that, had the older states been able to +afford assistance, the delays and losses attendant +upon its transmission across so wide a tract of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[Pg 345]</a></span> +wilderness, would have made it almost nugatory.</p> + +<p>In those times, therefore, though a few were +looking forward to separate political organization +and the erection of new states, the larger +number of the western people were too constantly +occupied with their defence, to give +much attention to internal politics. Such organization +as they had was military, or patriarchal: +the early pioneer, who had distinguished +himself in the first explorations of +the country, or by successfully leading and +establishing a new settlement, as he became the +commander of the local fort, was also the law-giver +of the community. The pressure of external +danger was too close to allow a very +liberal democracy in government; and, as must +be the case in all primitive assemblages of men, +the counsels and commands of him whom they +knew to be the <i>most able</i>, were always observed. +He who had proven himself competent to lead +was, therefore, the leader <i>ipso facto</i> and <i>de +jure</i>; and the evidence required was the performance +of such exploits, and the display of +such courage and sagacity, as were necessary +to the defence, well-being, and protection of +the community.</p> + +<p>It is obvious that no mere pretender could<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[Pg 346]</a></span> +exhibit these proofs; and that, where they were +taken as the sole measure of a man's worth, +dexterity with a rifle must be of more value +than the accomplishments of a talker—Indian-fighting +a more respectable occupation than +speech-making. Small politicians were, therefore, +very small men, and saying that one had +“a turn for politics,” would have been equivalent +to calling him a vagabond. The people +had neither time nor patience to listen to declamation—the +man who rose in a public assembly, +and called upon his neighbors to follow him in +avenging a wrong, made the only speech they +cared to hear. “Preambles and resolutions” +were unmeaning formalities—their “resolutions” +were taken in their own minds, and, to +use their own expressive words, they executed +them “without preamble.” An ounce of lead +was worth more than a pound of advice; and, +in the vindication of justice, a “charge” of gunpowder +was more effectual than the most tedious +judicial harangue. It is, even now, a proud, +but well-founded boast, of western men, that +these traits have been transmitted to them from +their fathers—that they are more remarkable +for <i>fighting</i> than for <i>wrangling</i>, for <i>acting</i> than +for <i>talking.</i></p> + +<p>In such a state of society, civil offices existed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[Pg 347]</a></span> +scarcely in name, and were never very eagerly +sought. That which makes official station desirable +is obedience to its authority, and if the +title of “captain” gave the idea of more absolute +power than that of “sheriff,” one would +rather command a company of militia than the +“<i>posse comitatus</i>.” Besides, the men of the +frontier were simple-hearted and unambitious, +desiring nothing so much as to be “left alone,” +and willing to make a compact of forbearance +with the whole world—excepting only the Indians. +They had never been accustomed to the +restraints of municipal regulations, they were +innocent of the unhealthy pleasures of office-holding, +or the degrading impulses of office-seeking. +Their lives had given them little or no +knowledge of these things; experience had never +suggested their importance, for their acquaintance +with life was, almost exclusively, such as +could be acquired in the woods and forest +pathways.</p> + +<p>But as time rolled away, and the population +of the country became more dense—as the +pressure of external danger was withdrawn, and +the necessities of defence grew less urgent—the +rigor of military organization came gradually +to be somewhat irksome. The seeds of +civil institutions began to germinate among the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[Pg 348]</a></span> +people, while the extending interests of communities +required corresponding enactments and +regulations. The instincts of social beings, love +of home and family, attachment to property, the +desire of tranquillity, and, perhaps, a leaven of +ambition for good estimation among neighbors, +all combined to open men's eyes to the importance +of peaceful institutions. The day of the +rifle and scalping-knife passed away, and justice +without form—the rule of the elementary +strong-hand—gave place to order and legal +ceremony.</p> + +<br /> +<p>Then first began to appear the class of politicians, +though, as yet, office-seeking had not +become a trade, nor office-holding a regular +means of livelihood. Politics had not acquired +a place among the arts, nor had its professors +become the teachers of the land. There were +few, indeed, who sought to fill civil stations; +and, although men's qualifications for office +were, probably, not any more rigidly examined +then than now, those who possessed the due +degree of prominence, either deemed themselves, +or were believed by their fellow-citizens, +peculiarly capable of discharging such functions. +They were generally men who had made themselves +conspicuous or useful in other capacities<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[Pg 349]</a></span>—who +had become well or favorably known to +their neighbors through their zeal, courage, +sagacity, or public spirit. A leader of regulators, +for example, whose administration of his +dangerous powers had been marked by promptitude +and severity, was expected to be equally +efficient when clothed with more regular authority. +A captain of rangers, whose enterprises +had been remarkable for certainty and +<i>finish</i>, would, it was believed, do quite as good +service, in the capacity of a civil officer. A +daring pioneer, whose courage or presence of +mind had saved himself and others from the +dangers of the wilderness, was supposed to be +an equally sure guide in the pathless ways of +politics. Lawyers were yet few, and not of +much repute, for they were, for the most part, +youthful adventurers, who had come into the +field long before the ripening of the harvest.</p> + +<br /> +<p>There was another class, whose members held +prominent positions, though they had never +been distinguished for the possession of any of +the qualifications above enumerated. These +might be designated as the <i>noisy</i> sort—loud-talking, +wise-looking men, self-constituted oracles +and advice-givers, with a better opinion of +their own wisdom than any one else was willing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[Pg 350]</a></span> +to endorse. Such men became “file-leaders,” +or “pivot-men,” because the taciturn people of +the west, though inclined to undervalue a mere +talker, were simple-minded enough to accept a +man's valuation of his own powers: or easy-tempered +enough to spare themselves the trouble +of investigating so small a matter. It was of +little consequence to them, whether the candidate +was as wise as he desired to be thought; +and since, in political affairs, they knew of no +interest which they could have in disputing it, +for <i>his</i> gratification they were willing to admit +it. These were halcyon days for mere pretenders—though +for no very flattering reason: +since their claims were allowed chiefly because +they were not deemed worth controverting. +Those days, thanks to the “progress of intelligence!” +are now gone by: the people are better +acquainted with the natural history of such +animals, and—witness, ye halls of Congress!—none +may now hold office except capable, patriotic, +and disinterested men!</p> + +<p>Nor must we be understood to assert that the +primitive politician was the reverse of all this, +save in the matter of capability. And, even in +that particular, no conception of his deficiency +ever glimmered in his consciousness. His own +assumption, and the complaisance of his fellow-<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[Pg 351]</a></span>citizens, +were inter-reactive, mutually cause +and effect. <i>They</i> were willing to confirm his +valuation of his own talents: <i>he</i> was inclined to +exalt himself in their good opinion. Parallel +to this, also, was the oracular tone of his speech: +the louder he talked, the more respectfully silent +were his auditors; and the more attentive <i>they</i> +became, the noisier <i>he</i> grew. Submission always +encourages oppression, and admiration adds +fuel to the fire of vanity. Not that the politician +was precisely a despot, even over men's +opinions: the application of that name to him +would have been as sore a wound to his self-respect +as the imputation of horse-stealing. He +was but an oracle of opinion, and though allowed +to dictate in matters of thought as absolutely as +if backed by brigades of soldiers, he was a +sovereign whose power existed only through +the consent of his subjects.</p> + +<br /> +<p>In personal appearance, he was well-calculated +to retain the authority intrusted to him by +such men. He was, in fact, an epitome of all +the physical qualities which distinguished the +rugged people of the west: and between these +and the moral and intellectual, there is an invariable +correspondence—as if the spirit within +had moulded its material encasement to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[Pg 352]</a></span> +planes and angles of its own “form and pressure.”</p> + +<br /> +<p>National form and feature are the external +marks of national character, stamped more or +less distinctly in different individuals, but, in +the aggregate, perfectly correspondent and commensurate. +The man, therefore, who possesses +the national traits of character in their best development, +will be, also, the most faithful representative +of his race in physical characteristics. +At some periods, there are whole classes of these +types; and if there be any <i>one</i> who embodies +the character more perfectly than all others, the +tranquillity of the age is not calculated to draw +him forth. But in all times of trouble—of +revolution or national ferment—the perfect +Man-emblem is seen to rise, and (which is more +to the purpose) is sure to stand at the head of +his fellows: for he who best represents the character +of his followers, becomes, by God's appointment, +their leader. To this extent, the +<i>vox populi</i> is the <i>vox Dei</i>; and the unfailing +success of every such man, throughout his appointed +term, is the best possible justification +of the choice.</p> + +<p>What was Washington, for example, but an +epitome of the steady and noble qualities com<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[Pg 353]</a></span>bined +of cavalier and puritan, which were then +coalescing in the American character? And +what more perfect correspondence could be +conceived between the moral and intellectual +and the physical outlines? What was Cromwell +but <i>the Englishman</i>, not only of his own +time, but of all times? And the testimony of +all who saw him, what is it, but that a child, +who looked upon him, could not fail to see, in +his very lineaments, the great and terrible man +he was? And Napoleon, was he aught but an +abridgment of the French nation, the sublimate +and “proof” essence of French character? +Not one, of all the great men of history, +has possessed, so far as we know, a physical +constitution more perfectly representing, even +in its advancing grossness, both the strength +and weakness of the people he led.</p> + +<p>In tranquil times, these things are not observed +in one individual more than in others of +his class, and we are, therefore, not prepared to +decide whether, at such periods, <i>the one man</i> +exists. The great Leviathan, the king of all the +creatures of the ocean, rises to the surface only +in the tumult of the storm; his huge, portentous +form, lies on the face of the troubled waters only +when the currents are changed and the fountains +of the deep are broken up.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[Pg 354]</a></span></p> + +<p>Nature does no superfluous work, and it may +require the same causes which produce the +storm to organize its Ruler. If a great rebellion +is boiling among men, the mingling of the elements +is projecting, also, the Great Rebel: if a +national cause is to be asserted, the principles +upon which it rests will first create its appropriate +Exponent. But when no such agitation +is on the point of breaking out—when the +crisis is not near, and the necessity for such +greatness distant—national character probably +retains its level; and though there be no <i>one</i> +whom the people will recognise as the arch-man, +the representatives, losing in intensity what they +gain in numbers, become a class. They fill the +civil stations of the country, and are known as +men of mark—their opinions are received, +their advice accepted, their leading followed. +No one of them is known instinctively, or +trusted implicitly, as the leader of Nature's appointment: +yet they are, in fact, the exponents +of their time and race, and in exact proportion +to the degree in which they possess the character, +will they exhibit, also, the physical peculiarities.</p> + +<br /> +<p>Thus it was at the time of which we are +writing, with the class to which belonged the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[Pg 355]</a></span> +politician, and a description of his personal appearance, +like that of any other man, will convey +no indistinct impression of his internal +character.</p> + +<p>Such a description probably combined more +characteristic adjectives than that of any other +personage of his time—adjectives, some of +which were applicable to many of his neighbors, +respectively, but <i>all</i> of which might be +bestowed upon him <i>only</i>. He was tall, gaunt, +angular, swarthy, active, and athletic. His hair +was, invariably, black as the wing of the raven; +even in that small portion which the cap of +raccoon-skin left exposed to the action of sun +and rain, the gray was but thinly scattered; +imparting to the monotonous darkness only a +more iron character. As late as the present +day, though we have changed in many things, +light-haired men seldom attain eminence among +the western people: many of our legislators are +<i>young</i> enough, but none of them are <i>beardless</i>. +They have a bilious look, as if, in case of illness, +their only hope would lie in calomel and jalap. +One might understand, at the first glance, that +they are men of <i>talent</i>, not of <i>genius</i>; and that +physical energy, the enduring vitality of the +body, has no inconsiderable share in the power +of the mind.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[Pg 356]</a></span></p> + +<p>Corresponding to the sable of the hair, the +politician's eye was usually small, and intensely +black—not the dead, inexpressive jet, +which gives the idea of a hole through white +paper, or of a cavernous socket in a death's-head; +but the keen, midnight darkness, in whose +depths you can see a twinkle of starlight—where +you feel that there is meaning as well as +color. There might be an expression of cunning +along with that of penetration—but, in a much +higher degree, the blaze of irascibility. There +could be no doubt, from its glance, that its possessor +was an excellent hater; you might be +assured that he would never forget an injury or +betray a friend.</p> + +<p>A stoop in the shoulders indicated that, in +times past, he had been in the habit of carrying +a heavy rifle, and of closely examining the +ground over which he walked; but what the +chest thus lost in depth it gained in breadth. +His lungs had ample space in which to play—there +was nothing pulmonary even in the drooping +shoulders. Few of his class have ever lived +to a very advanced age, but it was not for want +of iron-constitutions, that they went early to +the grave. The same services to his country, +which gave the politician his prominence, also +shortened his life.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[Pg 357]</a></span></p> + +<p>From shoulders thus bowed, hung long, muscular +arms—sometimes, perhaps, dangling a +little ungracefully, but always under the command +of their owner, and ready for any effort, +however violent. These were terminated by +broad, bony hands, which looked like grapnels—their +grasp, indeed, bore no faint resemblance +to the hold of those symmetrical instruments. +Large feet, whose toes were usually turned in, +like those of the Indian, were wielded by limbs +whose vigor and activity were in keeping with +the figure they supported. Imagine, with these +peculiarities, a free, bold, rather swaggering gait, +a swarthy complexion, and conformable features +and tones of voice: and—excepting his costume—you +have before your fancy a complete +picture of the early western politician.</p> + +<p>But the item of costume is too important to +be passed over with a mere allusion. As well +might we paint a mountain without its verdant +clothing, its waving plumes of pine and cedar, +as the western man without his picturesque and +characteristic habiliments. The first, and indispensable +article of dress, was the national +hunting-shirt: a garment whose easy fit was +well-adapted, both to the character of his figure +and the freedom of his movements. Its nature +did not admit much change in fashion: the only<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[Pg 358]</a></span> +variations of which it was capable, were those +of ornament and color. It might be fringed +around the cape and skirt, or made plain; it +might be blue, or copper-colored—perhaps +tinged with a little madder. And the variety +of material was quite as limited, since it must +be of either jeans or deer-skin.</p> + +<p>Corresponding to this, in material, style, and +texture, he wore, also, a pair of wide pantaloons—not +always of precisely the proper length for +the limbs of the wearer, but having invariably +a broad waistband, coming up close under the +arms, and answering the purpose of the modern +vest. People were not so dainty about “set” +and “fit,” in those days, as they have since become; +and these primitive integuments were +equally well-adapted to the figure of any one to +whose lot they might fall. In their production, +no one had been concerned save the family of +the wearer. The sheep which bore the wool, +belonged to his own flock, and all the operations, +subsequent to the shearing, necessary to +the ultimate result of shaping into a garment, +had been performed by his wife or daughter. +Many politicians have continued this affectation +of plainness, even when the necessity has ceased, +on account of its effect upon the masses; for +people are apt to entertain the notion, that de<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[Pg 359]</a></span>cent +clothing is incompatible with mental +ability, and that he who is most manifestly behind +the improvements of the time, is best +qualified for official stations.</p> + +<p>A neck-cloth, or cravat, was never seen about +the politician's throat; and for the same reason +of expediency: for these were refinements of +affectation which had not then been introduced; +and a man who thus compassed his neck, could +no more have been elected to an office, than if +he had worn the cap and bells of a Saxon jester. +The shirt-bosoms of modern days were in the +same category; and <i>starch</i> was an article contraband +to the law of public sentiment—insomuch +that no epithet expressed more thorough +contempt for a man, than the graphic word +“starched.” A raccoon-skin cap—or, as a piece +of extravagant finery, a white-wool hat—with +a pair of heavy shoes, not unfrequently without +the luxury of hose—or, if with them, made of +blue-woollen yarn, from the back of a sheep +of the aforesaid flock—completed the element +of costume.</p> + +<p>He was not very extravagantly dressed, as +the reader sees; but we can say of him—what +could not be as truly spoken of many men, or, +indeed, of many women, of this day—that his +clothing bore distinct reference to his character,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[Pg 360]</a></span> +and was well-adapted to his “style of beauty.” +In fact, everything about him, form, face, manners, +dress, was in “in keeping” with his characteristics.</p> + +<br /> +<p>In occupation, he was usually a farmer; for +the materials of which popular tribunes are +made in later times—such as lawyers, gentlemen +of leisure, and pugnacious preachers—were +not then to be found. The population of +the country was thoroughly agricultural; and +though (as I believe I have elsewhere observed) +the rural people of the west were neither a +cheerful nor a polished race, as a class, they +possess, even yet, qualities, which, culminating +in an individual, eminently fit him for the <i>rôle</i> +of a noisy popular leader.</p> + +<p>But a man who is merely fitted to such a +position, is a very different animal to one qualified +to give laws for the government of the +citizen. After all our vain boasting, that public +sentiment is the law of our land, there is really +a very broad distinction between forming men's +opinions and controlling their action. If the +government had been so organized, that the +pressure of popular feeling might make itself +felt, directly, in the halls of legislation, our +history, instead of being that of a great and ad<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[Pg 361]</a></span>vancing +nation, would have been only a chronicle +of factious and unstable violence. It does +not follow, that one who is qualified to lead +voters at the polls, or, as they say here, “on +the stump,” will be able to embody, in enlightened +enactments, the sentiment which he contributes +to form, any more than that the tanner +will be able to shape a well-fitting boot from the +leather he prepares. “<i>Suum cuique proprium +dat Natura donum</i>.”<a name="FNanchor_82_82" id="FNanchor_82_82"></a><a href="#Footnote_82_82" class="fnanchor">[82]</a> A blacksmith, therefore, +is not the best manufacturer of silver spoons, a +lawyer the ablest writer of sermons, nor either +of them necessarily the safest law-maker.</p> + +<p>But those things to which his qualifications +were appropriate, the politician did thoroughly +and well. For example, he was a skilful farmer—at +least in the leading branches of that calling, +though he gave little or no attention to the +merely ornamental. For the latter, he had +neither time nor inclination. Even in the essentials, +it was only by working, as he expressed +it, “to the best advantage,”—that is, contriving +to produce the largest amount of results with +the least expenditure of labor and patience—that +he got sufficient leisure to attend to his +public duties; and as for “inclination,” no<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[Pg 362]</a></span> +quaker ever felt a more supreme contempt for +mere embellishment.</p> + +<br /> +<p>He was seldom very happy in his domestic +relations; for, excepting at those seasons when +the exigencies of his calling required his constant +attention, he spent but little of his time at +his own fireside. He absented himself <i>until</i> +his home became strange and uncomfortable to +him: and he then did the same, <i>because</i> it had +become so. Every man who may try the experiment +will discover that these circumstances +mutually aggravate each other—are, interchangeably, +cause and effect. His children +were, however, always numerous, scarcely ever +falling below half-a-dozen, and not unfrequently +doubling that allowance. They generally appeared +upon the stage in rapid succession—one +had scarcely time to get out of the way, before +another was pushing him from his place. The +peevishness thus begotten in the mother—by +the constant habit of nursing cross cherubs—though +it diminished the amount of family +peace, contributed, in another way, to the +general welfare: it induced the father to look +abroad for enjoyment, and thus gave the country +the benefit of his wisdom as a political counsellor. +Public spirit, and the consciousness of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[Pg 363]</a></span> +ability, have “brought out” many politicians: +but uncomfortable homes have produced many +more.</p> + +<br /> +<p>He was an oracle on the subject of hunting, +and an unerring judge of whiskey—to both +which means of enjoyment he was strongly +attached. He was careful, however, neither to +hunt nor drink in solitude, for even his amusements +were subservient to his political interests. +To hunt alone was a waste of time, while drinking +alone was a loss of good-fellowship, upon +which much of his influence was founded. He +was particularly attached to parties of half-a-dozen, +or more; for in such companions, his +talents were always conspicuous. Around a +burgou<a name="FNanchor_83_83" id="FNanchor_83_83"></a><a href="#Footnote_83_83" class="fnanchor">[83]</a> pot, or along the trenches of an impromptu +barbecue, he shone in meridian splendor; +and the approving smack of his lips, over +a bottle of “backwoods' nectar,” was the seal +of the judgment which gave character to the +liquor.</p> + +<p>“Militia musters” were days in his calendar, +“marked with a white-stone;” for it was upon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[Pg 364]</a></span> +these occasions that he appeared in his utmost +magnificence. His grade was never lower than +that of colonel, and it not unfrequently extended +to, or even beyond, the rank of brigadier-general. +It was worth “a sabbath-day's journey” +on foot, to witness one of these parades; +for I believe that all the annals of the burlesque +do not furnish a more amusing caricature of the +“pomp and circumstance” of war. Compared +to one of those militia regiments, Falstaff's +famous corps, whose appearance was so unmilitary +as to prevent even that liberal-minded +gentleman from marching through Coventry in +their company, was a model of elegance and +discipline. Sedenó's cavalry in the South American +wars, though their uniform consisted only +of “leggings,” a pair of spurs, and a Spanish +blanket, had more the aspect of a regular <i>corps +d'armée</i> than these! A mob of rustics was +never armed with a more extensive variety of +weapons; and no night's “haul” of a recruiting +sergeant's net, ever made a more disorderly appearance, +when mustered in the morning for +inspection.</p> + +<p>The “citizen-soldier” knew no more about +“dressing the line,” than about dressing himself, +and the front of his company presented as +many inequalities as a “worm-fence.” Tall<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[Pg 365]</a></span> +men and short men—beaver hats and raccoon-skin +caps—rusty firelocks and long corn-stalks—stiff +brogans and naked feet—composed the +grand display. There were as many officers as +men, and each was continually commanding +and instructing his neighbor, but never thinking +of himself. At the command “Right dress!” +(when the officer <i>par excellence</i> knew enough +to deliver it) some looked right, others left—some +thrust their heads out before—some leaned +back to get a glimpse behind—and the +whole line waved like a streamer in the wind. +“Silence in line!” produced a greater clamor +than ever, for each repeated the command to +every other, sending the order along the ranks +like a rolling fire, and not unfrequently enforcing +it with the push of a corn-stalk, or a vigorous +elbow-hint. When a movement was directed, +the order reached the men successively, by the +same process of repetition—so that while some +files were walking slowly, and looking back to +beckon on their lagging fellow-soldiers, others +were forced to a quick run to regain their places, +and the scramble often continued many minutes +after the word “halt!” The longer the parade +lasted, the worse was the drill; and after a tedious +day's “muster,” each man knew less, if possible, +of military tactics, than he did in the morning.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[Pg 366]</a></span></p> + +<p>But the most ludicrous part of the display, +was the earnest solemnity with which the politician-colonel +endeavored “to lick the mass into +shape.” If you had judged only by the expression +of his face, you would have supposed +that an invading army was already within our +borders, and that this democratic army was the +only hope of patriotism to repel the foreign +foe. And, indeed, it might not be too much to +say, that some such idea actually occupied his +mind: for he was so fond of “supposing cases,” +that bare possibilities sometimes grew in his +mind to actual realities; and it was a part of +his creed, as well as his policy to preach, that +“a nation's best defence” is to be found in “the +undisciplined valor of its citizens.” His military +maxims were not based upon the history +of such countries as Poland and Spain—and +Hungary had not then added her example to +the list. He never understood the relation between +discipline and efficiency; and the doctrine +of the “largest liberty” was so popular, +that, on his theory, it must be universally right. +Tempered thus, and modified by some of the +tendencies of the demagogue, his love of military +parade amounted to a propensity, a trait which +he shared with most of the people among whom +he lived.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_367" id="Page_367">[Pg 367]</a></span></p> + +<p>The inference from this characteristic, that +he possessed what phrenologists used to call +“combativeness,” is not unavoidable, though +such was the fact. He was, indeed, quite pugnacious, +ready, at all times, to fight for himself +or for his friends, and never with any very +special or discriminating reference to the cause +of quarrel. He was, however, seldom at feud +with any one whose enmity could materially +injure him: extensive connections he always +conciliated, and every popular man was his +friend. Nor was he compelled, in order to compass +these ends, to descend to any very low +arts; for “the people,” were not so fastidious in +those days, as they seem since to have become; +and a straightforward sincerity was then the +first element of popularity. The politician was +not forced to affect an exemplary “walk and +conversation;” nor was an open declaration of +principle or opinion dangerous to his success.</p> + +<p>This liberality in public sentiment had its +evils: since, for example, the politician was not +generally the less esteemed for being rather a +hard <i>swearer</i>. In the majority of the class, indeed, +this amounted only to an energetic or emphatic +mode of expression; and such the people +did not less respect, than if, in the same person, +they had had reason to believe the opposite tone<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_368" id="Page_368">[Pg 368]</a></span> +hypocritical. The western people—to their +honor be it written!—were, and are, mortal +enemies to everything like <i>cant</i>: though they +might regret, that one's morals were no <i>better</i> +than they appeared, they were still more grieved, +if they found evidence, that they were <i>worse</i> +than they claimed to be.</p> + +<br /> +<p>But, though the politician was really very +open and candid in all the affairs of life, in his +own estimation he was a very dexterous and +dangerous intriguer: he often deceived himself +into the belief, that the success, which was in +fact the result of his manly candor, was attributable +only to his cunning management. He +was always forming, and attempting to execute, +schemes for circumventing his political opponents; +but, if he bore down all opposition, it +was <i>in spite of</i> his chicanery, and not by its +assistance. Left-handed courses are never advantageous +“in the long run;” and, perhaps, it +would be well if this lesson were better understood +by politicians, even in our own enlightened +day.</p> + +<p>For the arts of rhetoric he had small respect; +in his opinion, the man who was capable of +making a long, florid speech, was fit for little +else. His own oratorical efforts were usually<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_369" id="Page_369">[Pg 369]</a></span> +brief, pithy, and to the point. For example, +here follows a specimen, which the writer heard +delivered in Illinois, by a candidate for the +legislature:—</p> + +<p>“Fellow-citizens: I am no speech-maker, but +what I say, <i>I'll do</i>. I've lived among you +twenty years, and if I've shown myself a clever +fellow, you know it, <i>without</i> a speech: if I'm +not a clever fellow, you know that, too, and +wouldn't forget it <i>with</i> a speech. I'm a candidate +for the legislature: if you think I'm 'the +clear grit,' <i>vote</i> for me: if you think Major +R—— of a better 'stripe' than I am, vote for +<i>him</i>. The fact is, that either of us will make +a devilish good representative!”</p> + +<p>For the satisfaction of the reader, we should +record that the orator was triumphantly elected, +and, though “no speech-maker,” was an excellent +member for several years.</p> + +<br /> +<p>The saddest, yet cheerfullest—the quaintest, +yet most unaffected of moralists, has written +“A Complaint upon the Decay of Beggars,” +which will not cease to be read, so long as pure +English and pure feeling are understood and +appreciated. They were a part of the recollections +of his childhood—images painted upon +his heart, impressions made in his soft and pity<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">[Pg 370]</a></span>ing +nature; and the “besom of societarian reformation,” +legislating busybodies, and tinkers +of the general welfare, were sweeping them +away, with all their humanizing influences, +their deep lessons of dire adversity and gentle +charity.</p> + +<p>There are some memories of the childhood +of western men—unlike, and yet similar in their +generous persuasions on all pure young hearts—upon +whose “Decay” might, also, be written +a “Complaint,” which should come as truly, +and yet as sadly, from the heart of him, who +remembers his boyhood, as did that from the +heart of Elia. Gatherings of the militia, burgou-hunts, +barbecues, and anniversaries—phases +of a primitive, yet true and hearty time!—are +fast giving way, before the march of a barbarous +“progress” (erroneously christened) “of +intelligence.” The hard spirit of money-getting, +the harder spirit of education-getting, and +the hardest of <i>all</i> spirits, that of pharisaical +morality, have divorced our youth, <i>a vinculo</i>, +from every species of amusement; and life has +come to be a probationary struggle, too fierce +to allow a moment's relaxation. The bodies of +children are drugged and worried into health, +their intellects are stuffed and forced into premature +development, or early decay—but their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_371" id="Page_371">[Pg 371]</a></span> +<i>hearts</i> are utterly forgotten! Enjoyment is a forbidden +thing, and only the miserable cant of “intellectual +pleasure” is allowed. <i>Ideas</i>—of philosophy, +religious observance, and mathematics—are +supplied <i>ad nauseam</i>; but the encouragement +of a generous <i>impulse</i>, or a magnanimous +<i>feeling</i>, is too frivolous a thing to have a +place in our vile system. Children are “brought +up,” and “brought out,” as if they were composed +exclusively of intellect and body: And, +since the manifestations of any other element +are pronounced pernicious—even if the existence +of the element itself be recognised—the +means of fostering it, innocent amusements, +which make the sunshine brighter, the spirits +more cheerful, and the heart purer and lighter, +are sternly prohibited. Alas! for the generation +which shall grow up, and be “educated” +(God save the mark!) as if it had no heart! +And wo to the blasphemy which dares to offer, +as service to Heaven, an arrogant contempt of +Heaven's gifts, and claims a reward, like the +self-tormentors of the middle ages, for its vain +mortifications.</p> + +<p>But, in the time of the politician, of whom +we write, these things were far different. We +have already seen him at a “militia muster,” +and fain would we pause here, to display him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_372" id="Page_372">[Pg 372]</a></span> +at a barbecue. What memories, sweet, though +sad, we might evoke of “the glorious fourth” +in the olden time! How savory are even the +dim recollections of the dripping viands, which +hung, and fried, and crisped, and crackled, over +the great fires, in the long deep trenches! Our +nostrils grow young again with the thought—and +the flavor of the feast floats on the breezes +of memory, even “across the waste of years” +which lie between! And the cool, luxuriant +foliage of the grove, the verdant thickets, and +among them pleasant vistas, little patches of +green sward, covered with gay and laughing +parties—even the rosy-cheeked girls, in their +rustling gingham dresses, cast now and then a +longing glance, toward the yet forbidden tables! +how fresh and clear these images return upon +the fancy!</p> + +<p>And then the waving banners, roaring cannon, +and the slow procession, moving all too +solemnly for our impatient wishes! And finally, +the dropping of the ropes, the simultaneous +rush upon the open feast, and the rapid, perhaps +ravenous consumption of the smoking +viands, the jest, the laugh, all pleasant merriment, +the exhilaration of the crowd, the music, +and the occasion! What glories we heard from +the orator, of victories achieved by our fathers!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_373" id="Page_373">[Pg 373]</a></span> +How we longed—O! brief, but glorious dream! +to be one day spoken of like Washington! +How wildly our hearts leaped in our boyish +bosoms, as we listened to the accents of the +solemn pledge and “declaration”—“our lives, +our fortunes, and our sacred honor!” The +whole year went lighter for that one day, and +at each return, we went home happier, and +better!</p> + +<p>How measureless we thought the politician's +greatness then! This was his proper element—here +he was at home; and, as he ordered and +directed everything about him, flourishing his +marshal's baton, clearing the way for the march +of the procession—settling the “order of exercises,” +and reading the programme, in a stentorian +voice—there was, probably in his own estimation, +and certainly in ours, no more important +or honored individual in all that multitude!</p> + +<p>In such scenes as these, he was, indeed, without +a rival; but there were others, also, in +which he was quite as useful, if not so conspicuous. +On election days, for instance, when a +free people assembled to exercise their “inestimable +privilege,” to choose their own rulers—he +was as busy as a witch in a tempest. His +talents shone forth with especial and peculiar<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_374" id="Page_374">[Pg 374]</a></span> +lustre—for, with him, this was “the day for +which all other days were made.” He marshalled +his retainers, and led them to “the +polls”—not as an inexperienced tactician would +have done, with much waste of time, in seeking +every private voter, but after the manner +of feudal times—by calling upon his immediate +dependants, captains over tens and twenties, +through whom he managed the more numerous +masses. These were the “file-leaders,” the +“fugle-men,” and “heads of messes;” and it +was by a judicious management of these, that +he was able to acquire and retain an extensive +influence.</p> + +<p>The first article of his electioneering creed +was, that every voter was controlled by somebody; +and that the only way to sway the privates +was, to govern the officers: and, whether +true or not, it must be admitted that his theory +worked well in practice. He affected to entertain +a high respect for those whom he described +as “the boys from the heads of the hollows”—men +who were never seen beyond the precincts +of their own little “clearings,” except upon the +Fourth of July and election day, from one end +of the year to the other. With these he drank +bad whiskey, made stale jokes, and affected a +flattering condescension. With others, more<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_375" id="Page_375">[Pg 375]</a></span> +important or less easily imposed upon, he +“whittled” sociably in the fence-corners, talked +solemnly in conspicuous places, and always +looked confidential and mysterious.</p> + +<p>But, however earnestly engaged, he never +forgot the warfare in which he was chief combatant. +Like a general upon a field of battle, +with his staff about him, he had sundry of his +friends always near, to undertake any commission, +or convey any order, which he desired to +have executed; and not a voter could come +upon the ground, whom there was the remotest +chance to influence, that his vigilance did not +at once discover and seize upon, through some +one of these lieutenants. He resorted to every +conceivable art, to induce the freemen to vote +<i>properly</i>; and, when he could not succeed in +this, his next study was to prevent their voting +<i>at all</i>. The consequence usually was, that he +secured his own election, or that of his chosen +candidate; for, in him, vigilance and shrewdness +were happily combined.</p> + +<br /> +<p>But, perhaps fortunately for the country, his +ambition was generally limited to such small +offices, as he was quite capable of filling. The +highest point at which he aimed, was a seat in +the state legislature; and on reaching that goal,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_376" id="Page_376">[Pg 376]</a></span> +he signalized his term, chiefly, if at all, in advocating +laws about division fences, and trespassers +upon timber—measures which he deemed +desirable for his own immediate constituency, +with very little care for the question of their +general utility. Indeed, he never went to the +capital, without having his pockets full of “private +bills,” for the gratification of his personal +friends, or near neighbors; and if, after a reasonable +term of service, he had succeeded in getting +all these passed into laws, he came home, +contented to “subside,” and live the remainder +of his days, upon the recollection of his legislative +honors.</p> + +<p>In the course of time, like all other earthly +things, his class began to decay. The tide of +immigration, or the increasing intelligence of +the people, raised up men of larger views; and +he speedily found himself outstripped in the +race, and forgotten by his ancient retainers. +Then—like his predecessor, the original frontierman—disgusted +with civilization and its +refinements—he migrated to more congenial +regions, and, in the scenes of his former triumphs, +was heard of no more.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_82_82" id="Footnote_82_82"></a><a href="#FNanchor_82_82"><span class="label">[82]</span></a> Translate “<i>donum</i>,” talent.</p></div> +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_83_83" id="Footnote_83_83"></a><a href="#FNanchor_83_83"><span class="label">[83]</span></a> A kind of soup, made by boiling all sorts of game with +corn, onions, tomatoes, and a variety of other vegetables. +When skilfully concocted and properly seasoned, not at all +unsavory. So called from a soup made by seamen.</p></div> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">Top</a></span> +<h2><a name="EPILOGUE" id="EPILOGUE"></a>EPILOGUE.</h2> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_377" id="Page_377">[Pg 377]</a></span></p> + +<p>Here we must pause.</p> + +<p>On the hither side of the period, represented +by the early politician, and between that and +the present, the space of time is much too narrow, +to contain any distinct development: those +who superseded the primitive oracles, are yet +in possession of the temple. We could not, +therefore, pursue our plan further, without +hazarding the charge of drawing from the life.</p> + +<p>It is remarkable, that anything like a fair or +candid estimate of—for example—a public +man's character, while he is yet favored with +the people's suffrages, is very certain to be pronounced +a caricature; and it is not less singular, +that, while the complaints of popular critics, +in effect, affirm that there is fidelity enough in +the picture to enable even obtuse minds to fit +the copy to the original, they at the same time +vehemently assert that the whole portrait is a +libel. A just admeasurement of a demagogue's +ability is thus always abated by the imputation +of partisan falsehood or prejudice; and whosoever +declines to join in the adulation of a temporary +idol, may consider himself fortunate, if +he escape with only the reproach of envy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_378" id="Page_378">[Pg 378]</a></span> +Sketches of contemporaneous character—if +they seek recognition among the masses, must, +therefore, not reduce the altitude which blind +admiration has assigned, nor cut away the foreign +lace, nor tear the ornaments, with which +excited parties have bedaubed their images of +clay. And, yet, so prone are men to overrate +their leaders, that no estimate of a prominent +man can be just, without impugning popular +opinion.</p> + +<p>There is probably no other ground quite so +perilous as politics, unless it be literature: and, +as yet, the west is comparatively barren of those +“sensitive plants,” literary men. But any attempt +to delineate society, by portraiture of +living characters, even though the pictures +were purely ideal, would, upon the present plan, +involve the suspicion (and perhaps the temptation +to deserve it), indicated above. Before +venturing upon such uncertain paths, therefore, +we must display a little generalship, and call a +halt, if not a council of war. Whether we are +to march forward, will be determined by the +“General <i>Orders</i>.”</p> + +<h3>THE END.</h3> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>J. S. REDFIELD,</h2><span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">Top</a></span> + +<h3>110 AND 112 NASSAU STREET, NEW YORK,</h3> + +<h4>HAS JUST PUBLISHED:</h4> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 150px;"><img src="images/illus-390-1.jpg" width="150" height="149" alt="" /></div> + +<h4><i>EPISODES OF INSECT LIFE.</i></h4> + +<p>By <span class="smcap">Acheta Domestica</span>. In Three Series: I. Insects of Spring.—II. +Insects of Summer.—III. Insects of Autumn. Beautifully +illustrated. Crown 8vo., cloth, gilt, price $2.00 each. The same +beautifully colored after nature, extra gilt, $4.00 each.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>“A book elegant enough for the centre table, witty enough for after dinner, and wise +enough for the study and the school-room. One of the beautiful lessons of this work is +the kindly view it takes of nature. Nothing is made in vain not only, but nothing is +made ugly or repulsive. A charm is thrown around every object, and life suffused +through all, suggestive of the Creator's goodness and wisdom.”—<i>N. Y. Evangelist.</i></p> + +<p>“Moths, glow-worms, lady-birds, may-flies, bees, and a variety of other inhabitants of +the insect world, are descanted upon in a pleasing style, combining scientific information +with romance, in a manner peculiarly attractive.”—<i>Commercial Advertiser.</i></p> + +<p>“The book includes solid instruction as well as genial and captivating mirth. The +scientific knowledge of the writer is thoroughly reliable.”—<i>Examiner.</i></p></div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 100px;"><img src="images/illus-390-2.jpg" width="100" height="99" alt="" /></div> + +<h4><i>MEN AND WOMEN OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.</i></h4> + +<p>By <span class="smcap">Arsene Houssaye</span>, with beautifully Engraved Portraits of +Louis XV., and Madame de Pompadour. Two volume 12mo. +450 pages each, extra superfine paper, price $2.50.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><span class="smcap">Contents.</span>—Dufresny, Fontenelle, Marivaux, Piron, The Abbé Prevost, Gentil-Bernard, +Florian, Boufflers, Diderot, Grétry, Riverol, Louis XV., Greuze, Boucher, The Vanloos, +Lantara, Watteau, La Motte, Dehle, Abbé Trublet, Buffon, Dorat, Cardinal de +Bernis, Crébillon the Gay, Marie Antoinette, Made. de Pompadour, Vadé, Mlle. Camargo, +Mlle. Clairon, Mad. de la Popelinière, Sophie Arnould, Crébillon the Tragic, +Mlle. Guimard, Three Pages in the Life of Dancourt, A Promenade in the Palais-Royal, +the Chevalier de la Clos.</p> + +<p>“A more fascinating book than this rarely issues from the teeming press. Fascinating +in its subject; fascinating in its style: fascinating in its power to lead the reader into +castle-building of the most gorgeous and bewitching description.”—<i>Courier & Enquirer.</i></p> + +<p>“This is a most welcome book, full of information and amusement, in the form of +memoirs, comments, and anecdotes. It has the style of light literature, with the usefulness +of the gravest. It should be in every library, and the hands of every reader.”—<i>Boston Commonwealth.</i></p> + +<p>“<span class="smcap">A Book of Books.</span>—Two deliciously spicy volumes, that are a perfect <i>bonne bouche</i> +for an epicure in reading.”—<i>Home Journal.</i></p></div> + + +<h4><i>PHILOSOPHERS AND ACTRESSES</i></h4> + +<p>By <span class="smcap">Arsene Houssaye</span>. With beautifully-engraved Portraits of +Voltaire and Mad. Parabère. Two vols., 12mo, price $2.50.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>“We have here the most charming book we have read these many days,—so +powerful in its fascination that we have been held for hours from our imperious labors +or needful slumbers, by the entrancing influence of its pages. One of the most desirable +fruits of the prolific field of literature of the present season.”—<i>Portland Eclectic.</i></p> + +<p>“Two brilliant and fascinating—we had almost said, bewitching—volumes, combining +information and amusement, the lightest gossip, with solid and serviceable wisdom.”—<i>Yankee +Blade.</i></p> + +<p>“It is a most admirable book, full of originality, wit, information and philosophy. +Indeed, the vividness of the book is extraordinary. The scenes and descriptions are +absolutely life-like.”—<i>Southern Literary Gazette.</i></p> + +<p>“The works of the present writer are the only ones the spirit of whose rhetoric does +justice to those times, and in fascination of description and style equal the fascinations +they descant upon.”—<i>New Orleans Commercial Bulletin.</i></p> + +<p>“The author is a brilliant writer, and serves up his sketches in a sparkling manner.”—<i>Christian Freeman.</i></p></div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 100px;"> +<img src="images/illus-391-1.jpg" width="100" height="73" alt="" /></div> + + +<h4><i>ANCIENT EGYPT UNDER THE PHARAOHS.</i></h4> + +<p>By <span class="smcap">John Kendrick, M. A.</span> In 2 vols., 12mo, price $2.50.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>“No work has heretofore appeared suited to the wants of the historical student, +which combined the labors of artists, travellers, interpreters and critics, during the +periods from the earliest records of the monarchy to its final absorption in the empire +of Alexander. This work supplies this deficiency.”—<i>Olive Branch.</i></p> + +<p>“Not only the geography and political history of Egypt under the Pharaohs are +given, but we are furnished with a minute account of the domestic manners and customs +of the inhabitants, their language, laws, science, religion, agriculture, navigation +and commerce.”—<i>Commercial Advertiser.</i></p> + +<p>“These volumes present a comprehensive view of the results of the combined labors +of travellers, artists, and scientific explorers, which have effected so much during the +present century toward the development of Egyptian archæology and history.”—<i>Journal +of Commerce.</i></p> + +<p>“The descriptions are very vivid and one wanders, delighted with the author, through +the land of Egypt, gathering at every step, new phases of her wondrous history, and +ends with a more intelligent knowledge than he ever before had, of the land of the +Pharaohs.”—<i>American Spectator.</i></p></div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 100px;"><img src="images/illus-391-2.jpg" width="100" height="45" alt="" /></div> + +<h4><i>COMPARATIVE PHYSIOGNOMY</i>;</h4> + +<p>Or Resemblances between Men and Animals. By <span class="smcap">J. W. Redfield, +M.D</span>. In one vol., 8vo, with several hundred illustrations, +price, $2.00.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>“Dr. Redfield has produced a very curious, amusing, and instructive book, curious +in its originality and illustrations, amusing in the comparisons and analyses, and instructive +because it contains very much useful information on a too much neglected +subject. It will be eagerly read and quickly appreciated.”—<i>National Ægis.</i></p> + +<p>“The whole work exhibits a good deal of scientific research, intelligent observation, +and ingenuity.”—<i>Daily Union.</i></p> + +<p>“Highly entertaining even to those who have little time to study the science.”—<i>Detroit +Daily Advertiser.</i></p> + +<p>“This is a remarkable volume and will be read by two classes, those who study for +information, and those who read for amusement. For its originality and entertaining +character, we commend it to our readers.”—<i>Albany Express.</i></p> + +<p>“It is overflowing with wit, humor, and originality, and profusely illustrated. The +whole work is distinguished by vast research and knowledge.”—<i>Knickerbocker.</i></p> + +<p>“The plan is a novel one; the proofs striking, and must challenge the attention of the +curious.”—<i>Daily Advertiser.</i></p></div> + + +<h4><i>MOORE'S LIFE OF SHERIDAN.</i></h4> + +<p>Memoirs of the Life of the Rt. Hon. Richard Brinsley Sheridan, +by <span class="smcap">Thomas Moore</span>, with Portrait after Sir Joshua Reynolds. +Two vols., 12mo, cloth, $2.00.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>“One of the most brilliant biographies in English literature. It is the life of a wit +written by a wit, and few of Tom Moore's most sparkling poems are more brilliant and +fascinating than this biography.”—<i>Boston Transcript.</i></p> + +<p>“This is at once a most valuable biography of the most celebrated wit of the times, +and one of the most entertaining works of its gifted author.”—<i>Springfield Republican.</i></p> + +<p>“The Life of Sheridan, the wit, contains as much food for serious thought as the +best sermon that was ever penned.”—<i>Arthur's Home Gazette.</i></p> + +<p>“The sketch of such a character and career as Sheridan's by such a hand as Moore's, +can never cease to be attractive.”—<i>N. Y. Courier and Enquirer.</i></p> + +<p>“The work is instructive and full of interest.”—<i>Christian Intelligencer.</i></p> + +<p>“It is a gem of biography; full of incident, elegantly written, warmly appreciative, +and on the whole candid and just. Sheridan was a rare and wonderful genius, and has +in this work justice done to his surpassing merits.”—<i>N. Y. Evangelist.</i></p></div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 100px;"> +<img src="images/illus-392-1.jpg" width="100" height="76" alt="" /></div> + + +<h4><i>BARRINGTON'S SKETCHES.</i></h4> + +<p>Personal Sketches of his own Time, by <span class="smcap">Sir Jonah Barrington</span>, +Judge of the High Court of Admiralty in Ireland, with Illustrations +by Darley. Third Edition, 12mo, cloth, $1.25.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>“A more entertaining book than this is not often thrown in our way. His sketches +of character are inimitable; and many of the prominent men of his time are hit off in +the most striking and graceful outline.”—<i>Albany Argus.</i></p> + +<p>“He was a very shrewd observer and eccentric writer, and his narrative of his own +life, and sketches of society in Ireland during his times, are exceedingly humorous and +interesting.”—<i>N. Y. Commercial Advertiser.</i></p> + +<p>“It is one of those works which are conceived and written in so hearty a view, and +brings before the reader so many palpable and amusing characters, that the entertainment +and information are equally balanced.”—<i>Boston Transcript.</i></p> + +<p>“This is one of the most entertaining books of the season.”—<i>N. Y. Recorder.</i></p> + +<p>“It portrays in life-like colors the characters and daily habits of nearly all the English +and Irish celebrities of that period.”—<i>N. Y. Courier and Enquirer.</i></p></div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 100px;"> +<img src="images/illus-392-2.jpg" width="100" height="46" alt="" /></div> + + +<h4><i>JOMINI'S CAMPAIGN OF WATERLOO.</i></h4> + +<p>The Political and Military History of the Campaign of Waterloo, +from the French of Gen. Baron Jomini, by Lieut. <span class="smcap">S. V. Benet</span>, +U. S. Ordnance, with a Map, 12mo, cloth, 75 cents.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>“Of great value, both for its historical merit and its acknowledged impartiality.”—<i>Christian +Freeman, Boston.</i></p> + +<p>“It has long been regarded in Europe as a work of more than ordinary merit, while +to military men his review of the tactics and manœuvres of the French Emperor during +the few days which preceded his final and most disastrous defeat, is considered as +instructive, as it is interesting.”—<i>Arthur's Home Gazette.</i></p> + +<p>“It is a standard authority and illustrates a subject of permanent interest. With +military students, and historical inquirers, it will be a favorite reference, and for the +general reader it possesses great value and interest.”—<i>Boston Transcript.</i></p> + +<p>“It throws much light on often mooted points respecting Napoleon's military and +political genius. The translation is one of much vigor.”—<i>Boston Commonwealth.</i></p> + +<p>“It supplies an important chapter in the most interesting and eventful period of Napoleon's +military career.”—<i>Savannah Daily News.</i></p> + +<p>“It is ably written and skilfully translated.”—<i>Yankee Blade.</i></p></div> + + +<h4><i>NOTES AND EMENDATIONS OF SHAKESPEARE.</i></h4> + +<p>Notes and Emendations to the Text of Shakespeare's Plays, from +the Early Manuscript Corrections in a copy of the folio of 1632, +in the possession of <span class="smcap">John Payne Collier</span>, Esq., F.S.A. Third +edition, with a facsimile of the Manuscript Corrections. 1 vol. +12mo, cloth, $1.50.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>“It is not for a moment to be doubted, we think, that in this volume a contribution +has been made to the clearness and accuracy of Shakespeare's text, by far the most important +of any offered or attempted since Shakespeare lived and wrote.”—<i>Lond. Exam.</i></p> + +<p>“The corrections which Mr. Collier has here given to the world are, we venture to +think, of more value than the labors of nearly all the critics on Shakespeare's text put +together.”—<i>London Literary Gazette.</i></p> + +<p>“It is a rare gem in the history of literature, and can not fail to command the attention +of all the amateurs of the writings of the immortal dramatic poet.”—<i>Ch'ston Cour.</i></p> + +<p>“It is a book absolutely indispensable to every admirer of Shakespeare who wishes +to read him understandingly.”—<i>Louisville Courier.</i></p> + +<p>“It is clear from internal evidence, that for the most part they are genuine restorations +of the original plays. They carry conviction with them.”—<i>Home Journal.</i></p> + +<p>“This volume is an almost indispensable companion to any of the editions of +Shakespeare, so numerous and often important are many of the corrections.”—<i>Register, +Philadelphia.</i></p></div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 100px;"> +<img src="images/illus-393-1.jpg" width="100" height="55" alt="" /></div> + + +<h4><i>THE HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES.</i></h4> + +<p>By <span class="smcap">Joseph François Michaud</span>. Translated by W. Robson, 3 vols. +12mo., maps, $3.75.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>“It is comprehensive and accurate in the detail of facts, methodical and lucid in arrangement, +with a lively and flowing narrative.”—<i>Journal of Commerce.</i></p> + +<p>“We need not say that the work of Michaud has superseded all other histories +of the Crusades. This history has long been the standard work with all who could +read it in its original language. Another work on the same subject is as improbable +as a new history of the 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.'”—<i>Salem Freeman.</i></p> + +<p>“The most faithful and masterly history ever written of the wild wars for the Holy +Land.”—<i>Philadelphia American Courier.</i></p> + +<p>“The ability, diligence, and faithfulness, with which Michaud has executed his +great task, are undisputed; and it is to his well-filled volumes that the historical student +must now resort for copious and authentic facts, and luminous views respecting +this most romantic and wonderful period in the annals of the Old World.”—<i>Boston +Daily Courier.</i></p></div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 100px;"> +<img src="images/illus-393-2.jpg" width="100" height="78" alt="" /></div> + + +<h4><i>MARMADUKE WYVIL.</i></h4> + +<p>An Historical Romance of 1651, by <span class="smcap">Henry W. Herbert</span>, author +of the “Cavaliers of England,” &c., &c. Fourteenth Edition. +Revised and Corrected.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>“This is one of the best works of the kind we have ever read—full of thrilling incidents +and adventures in the stirring times of Cromwell, and in that style which has +made the works of Mr. Herbert so popular.”—<i>Christian Freeman, Boston.</i></p> + +<p>“The work is distinguished by the same historical knowledge, thrilling incident, and +pictorial beauty of style, which have characterized all Mr. Herbert's fictions and imparted +to them such a bewitching interest.”—<i>Yankee Blade.</i></p> + +<p>“The author out of a simple plot and very few characters, has constructed a novel +of deep interest and of considerable historical value. It will be found well worth +reading.”—<i>National Ægis, Worcester.</i></p></div> +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> + +<h4>Life under an Italian Despotism!</h4> + +<h2>LORENZO BENONI,</h2> + +<h4>OR</h4> + +<h3>PASSAGES IN THE LIFE OF AN ITALIAN.</h3> + +<center><i>One Vol., 12mo, Cloth—Price $1.00.</i></center> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<h4><b>OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.</b></h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>“The author of 'Lorenzo Benoni' is <span class="smcap">Giovanni Ruffini</span>, a native of Genoa, who effected +his escape from his native country after the attempt at revolution in 1833. His book is, +in substance, an authentic account of real persons and incidents, though the writer has +chosen to adopt fictitious and fantastic designations for himself and his associates. Since +1833, Ruffini has resided chiefly (if not wholly) in England and France, where his qualities, +we understand, have secured him respect and regard. In 1848, he was selected by +Charles Albert to fill the responsible situation of embassador to Paris, in which city he +had long been domesticated as a refugee. He ere long, however, relinquished that office, +and again withdrew into private life. He appears to have employed the time of his exile +in this country to such advantage as to have acquired a most uncommon mastery over +the English language. The present volume (we are informed on good authority) is exclusively +his own—and, if so, on the score of style alone it is a remarkable curiosity. +But its matter also is curious.”—<i>London Quarterly Review for July.</i></p> + +<p>“A tale of sorrow that has lain long in a rich mind, like a ruin in a fertile country, and +is not the less gravely impressive for the grace and beauty of its coverings ... at the +same time the most determined novel-reader could desire no work more fascinating over +which to forget the flight of time.... No sketch of foreign oppression has ever, we believe, +been submitted to the English public by a foreigner, equal or nearly equal to this +volume in literary merit. It is not unworthy to be ranked among contemporary works +whose season is the century in which their authors live.”—<i>London Examiner.</i></p> + +<p>“The book should be as extensively read as 'Uncle Tom's Cabin,' inasmuch as it +develops the existence of a state of slavery and degradation, worse even than that which +Mrs. Beecher Stowe has elucidated with so much pathos and feeling.”—<i>Bell's Weekly +Messenger.</i></p> + +<p>“Few works of the season will be read with greater pleasure than this; there is a +great charm in the quiet, natural way in which the story is told.”—<i>London Atlas.</i></p> + +<p>“The author's great forte is character-painting. This portraiture is accomplished +with remarkable skill, the traits both individual and national being marked with great +nicety without obtrusiveness.”—<i>London Spectator.</i></p> + +<p>“Under the modest guise of the biography of an imaginary 'Lorenzo Benoni,' we have +here, in fact, the memoir of a man whose name could not be pronounced in certain parts +of northern Italy without calling up tragic yet noble historical recollections.... Its +merits, simply as a work of literary art, are of a very high order. The style is really +beautiful—easy, sprightly, graceful, and full of the happiest and most ingenious turns of +phrase and fancy.”—<i>North British Review.</i></p> + +<p>“This has been not unjustly compared to '<i>Gil Blas</i>,' to which it is scarcely inferior in +spirited delineations of human character, and in the variety of events which it relates. +But as a description of actual occurrences illustrating the domestic and political condition +of Italy, at a period fraught with interest to all classes of readers, it far transcends +in importance any work of mere fiction.”—<i>Dublin Evening Mail.</i></p></div> + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<h4>“SHAKESPEARE AS HE WROTE IT.”</h4> + +<h2>THE WORKS OF SHAKESPEARE,</h2> + +<center><i>Reprinted from the newly-discovered copy of the Folio of 1632<br /> +in the possession of J. Payne Collier, containing nearly</i></center> + +<h4><b>Twenty Thousand Manuscript Corrections</b>,</h4> + +<center><i>With a History of the Stage to the Time, an Introduction to +each Play, a Life of the Poet, etc.</i></center> + +<h3>BY J. PAYNE COLLIER, F.S.A.</h3> + +<p class="hanging"><i>To which are added, Glossarial and other Notes, the Readings of Former +Editions, a</i> <span class="smcap">Portrait</span> <i>after that by Martin Droeshout, a</i> <span class="smcap">Vignette Title</span> +<i>on Steel, and a</i> <span class="smcap">Facsimile of the Old Folio</span>, <i>with the Manuscript Corrections</i>. +1 vol., Imperial 8vo. Cloth $4.00.</p> + +<p class="hanging">The <b>WORKS OF SHAKESPEARE</b> the same as the above. +Uniform in Size with the celebrated Chiswick Edition, 8 vols. +16mo, cloth $6.00. Half calf or moroc. extra.</p> + +<p>These are <i>American Copyright Editions</i>, the Notes being expressly prepared +for the work. The English edition contains simply the text, without a single +note or indication of the changes made in the text. In the present, the variations +from old copies are noted by reference of all changes to former editions +(abbreviated f.e.), and every indication and explanation is given essential to a +clear understanding of the author. The prefatory matter, Life, &c., will be fuller +than in any American edition now published.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>“This is the only correct edition of the works of the 'Bard of Avon' ever issued, +and no lover or student of Shakespeare should be without it.”—<i>Philadelphia Argus.</i></p> + +<p>“Altogether the most correct and therefore the most valuable edition extant.”—<i>Albany +Express.</i></p> + +<p>“This edition of Shakespeare will ultimately supersede all others. It must certainly +be deemed an essential acquisition by every lover of the great dramatist.”—<i>N. Y. Commercial +Advertiser.</i></p> + +<p>“This great work commends itself in the highest terms to every Shakespearian scholar +and student.”—<i>Philadelphia City Item.</i></p> + +<p>“This edition embraces all that is necessary to make a copy of Shakespeare desirable +and correct.”—<i>Niagara Democrat.</i></p> + +<p>“It must sooner or later drive all others from the market.”—<i>N. Y. Evening Post.</i></p> + +<p>“Beyond all question, the very best edition of the great bard hitherto published.”—<i>New +England Religious Herald.</i></p> + +<p>“It must hereafter be the standard edition of Shakespeare's plays.”—<i>National Argus.</i></p> + +<p>“It is clear from internal evidence that they are genuine restorations of the original +plays.”—<i>Detroit Daily Times.</i></p> + +<p>“This must we think supersede all other editions of Shakespeare hitherto published. +Collier's corrections make it really a different work from its predecessors. Compared +with it we consider them hardly worth possessing.”—<i>Daily Georgian, Savannah.</i></p> + +<p>“One who will probably hereafter be considered as the only true authority. No one +we think, will wish to purchase an edition of Shakespeare, except it shall be conformable +to the amended text by Collier.”—<i>Newark Daily Advertiser.</i></p> + +<p>“A great outcry has been made in England against this edition of the bard, by Singer +and others interested in other editions; but the emendations commend themselves +too strongly to the good sense of every reader to be dropped by the public—the old +editions must become obsolete.”—<i>Yankee Blade, Boston.</i></p></div> +<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">Top</a></span> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Western Characters, by J. L. 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