History, Manners, and Customs of the North American Indians Part 20

_Hunter._ I suppose, because it is not so elegant in appearance to walk so. But many things are done by civilized people on account of fashion. Hundreds and hundreds of females shorten their lives by the tight clothing and lacings with which they compress their bodies; but the Indians do not commit such folly.

_Brian._ There is something to be learned from the Indians, after all.

_Hunter._ There is a custom among the Sacs and Foxes that I do not think I spoke of. The Sacs are better provided with horses than the Foxes: and so, when the latter go to war and want horses, they go to the Sacs and beg them. After a time, they sit round in a circle, and take up their pipes to smoke, seemingly quite at their ease; and, while they are whiffing away, the young men of the Sacs ride round and round the circle, every now and then cutting at the shoulders of the Foxes with their whips, making the blood start forth. After keeping up this strange custom for some time, the young Sacs dismount, and present their horses to those they have been flogging.

_Austin._ What a curious custom! I should not much like to be flogged in that manner.

_Hunter._ There is a certain rock which the Camanchees always visit when they go to war. Putting their horses at full speed, they shoot their best arrows at this rock, which they consider great medicine. If they did not go through this long-established custom, there would be no confidence among them; but, when they have thus sacrificed their best arrows to the rock, their hope and confidence are strong.

_Austin._ I should have thought they would have wanted their best arrows to fight with.

_Hunter._ There is no accounting for the superst.i.tions of people.

There is nothing too absurd to gain belief even among civilized nations, when they give up the truth of G.o.d's word, and follow the traditions or commandments of men. The Sioux have a strange notion about thunder; they say that the thunder is hatched by a small bird, not much bigger than the humming-bird. There is, in the Couteau des Prairies, a place called "the nest of the thunder;" and, in the small bushes there, they will have it that this little bird sits upon its eggs till the long claps of thunder come forth. Strange as this tradition is, there would be no use in denying it; for the superst.i.tion of the Indian is too strong to be easily done away with.

The same people, before they go on a buffalo hunt, usually pay a visit to a spot where the form of a buffalo is cut out on a prairie. This figure is great medicine; and the hunt is sure to be more prosperous, in their opinion, after it has been visited.

_Austin._ I do hope that we shall forget none of these curious things.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Eliot Preaching to the Indians.]

CHAPTER XV.

For the last time but one, during their holidays, Austin and his brothers set off, with a long afternoon before them, to listen to the hunter's account of the proceedings of the missionaries among the Indians. On this occasion, they paid another visit to the Red Sand-stone Rock by the river, the place where they first met with their friend, the hunter. Here they recalled to mind all the circ.u.mstances which had taken place at that spot, and agreed that the hunter, in saving their lives by his timely warning, and afterwards adding so much as he had done to their information and pleasure, had been to them one of the best friends they had ever known. With very friendly and grateful feelings towards him, they hastened to the cottage, when the Indians, as usual, became the subject of their conversation. "And now," said Austin, "we are quite ready to hear about the missionaries."

_Hunter._ Let me speak a word or two about the Indians, before I begin my account. You remember that I told you of the Mandans.

_Austin._ Yes. Mah-to-toh-pa was a Mandan, with his fine robes and war-eagle head-dress. The rain-makers were Mandans; also the young warriors, who went through so many tortures in the mystery lodge.

_Hunter._ Well, I must now tell you a sad truth. After I left the Mandans, great changes came upon them; and, at the present time, hardly a single Mandan is alive.

_Austin._ Dreadful! But how was it? What brought it all about?

_Brian._ You should have told us this before.

_Hunter._ No. I preferred to tell you first of the people as they were when I was with them. You may remember my observation, in one of your early visits, that great changes had taken place among them; that the tomahawks of the stronger tribes had thinned the others; that many had sold their lands to the whites, and retired to the west of the Mississippi; and that thousands had fallen a prey to the small-pox. It was in the year 1838 that this dreadful disease was introduced among the Mandans, and other tribes of the fur-traders. Of the Blackfeet, Crows and two or three other tribes, twenty-five thousand perished; but of the poor Mandans, the whole tribe was destroyed.

_Brian._ Why did they not get a doctor; or go out of their village to the wide prairie, that one might not catch the disease from another?

_Hunter._ Doctors were too far off; and the ravages of the disease were so swift that it swept them all away in a few months. Their mystery men could not help them; and their enemies, the Sioux, had war-parties round their village, so that they could not go out to the wide prairie. There they were, dying fast in their village; and little else was heard, during day or night, but wailing, howling and crying to the Great Spirit to relieve them.

_Austin._ And did Mah-to-toh-pa, "the four bears," die too?

_Hunter._ Yes. For, though he recovered from the disease, he could not bear up against the loss of his wives and his children. They all died before his eyes, and he piled them together in his lodge, and covered them with robes. His braves and his warriors died, and life had no charms for him; for who was to share with him his joy or his grief? He retired from his wigwam, and fasted six days, lamenting the destruction of his tribe. He then crawled back to his own lodge, laid himself by his dead family, covered himself with a robe, and died like an Indian chief. This is a melancholy picture; and when I first heard of the terrible event, I could have wept.

_Austin._ It was indeed a terrible affair. Have they no good doctors among the Indians now? Why do they not send for doctors who know how to cure the small-pox, instead of those juggling mystery men?

_Hunter._ Many attempts have been made to introduce vaccination among the tribes; but their jealousy and want of confidence in white men, who have so much wronged them, and their attachment to their own customs and superst.i.tions, have prevented those attempts from being very successful.

_Austin._ Who was the first missionary who went among the Indians?

_Hunter._ I believe the first Indian missionary was John Eliot. More than two hundred years ago, a body of pious Englishmen left their native land, because they were not allowed peaceably to serve G.o.d according to their consciences. They landed in America, having obtained a grant of land there. They are sometimes called "Puritans,"

and sometimes "the Pilgrim Fathers." It is certain, that, whatever were their peculiarities, and by whatever names they were known, the fear of G.o.d and the love of mankind animated their hearts.

These men did not seize the possessions of the Indians, because they had arms and skill to use them. But they entered into a treaty with them for the purchase of their lands, and paid them what they were satisfied to receive. It is true, that what the white man gave in exchange was of little value to him. But the Indians prized trinkets more than they would gold and silver, and they only wanted hunting and fishing grounds for their own use. These early colonists, seeing that the Indians were living in idleness, cruelty and superst.i.tion, were desirous to instruct them in useful arts, and still more in the fear of the Lord; and John Eliot, who had left England to join his religious friends in America, was the first Protestant missionary among the Indians.

_Austin._ I wonder he was not afraid of going among them.

_Hunter._ He that truly fears G.o.d has no need to fear danger in the path of duty. John Eliot had three good motives that girded his loins and strengthened his heart: the first, was the glory of G.o.d, in the conversion of the poor Indians; the second, was his love of mankind, and pity for such as were ignorant of true religion; and the third, was his desire that the promise of his friends to spread the gospel among the Indians should be fulfilled. It was no light task that he had undertaken, as I will prove to you. I dare say, that you have not quite forgotten all the long names that I gave you.

_Austin._ I remember your telling us of them; and I suppose they are the longest words in the world.

_Hunter._ I will now give you two words in one of the languages that John Eliot had to learn, and then, perhaps, you will alter your opinion. The first of them is _noorromantammoonkanunonnash_, which means, "our loves;" and the second, or "our questions," is _k.u.mmogokdonattoottammoct.i.teaongannunnonash_.

_Austin._ Why that last word would reach all across one of our copy-books.

_Basil._ You had better learn those two words, Austin, to begin with.

_Brian._ Ay, do, Austin; if you have many such when you go among the red men, you must sit up at night to learn what you have to speak in the day-time.

_Austin._ No, no; I have settled all that. I mean to have an interpreter with me; one who knows every thing. Please to tell us a little more about Eliot.

_Hunter._ I will. An author says, speaking of missionaries, "As I hold the highest t.i.tle on earth to be that of a servant of G.o.d, and the most important employment that of making known to sinners the salvation that G.o.d has wrought for them, through his Son Jesus Christ; so I cannot but estimate very highly the character of an humble, zealous, conscientious missionary. Men undertake, endure and achieve much when riches and honours and reputation are to be attained; but where is the worldly reputation of him who goes, with his life in his hand, to make known to barbarous lands the glad tidings of salvation?

Where are the honours and the money bags of the missionary? In many cases, toil and anxiety, hunger and thirst, reviling and violence, danger and death await him; but where is his earthly reward?" Eliot's labours were incessant; translating not only the commandments, the Lord's prayer and many parts of Scripture into the Indian languages, but also the whole Bible. For days together he travelled from place to place, wet to the skin, wringing the wet from his stockings at night. Sometimes he was treated cruelly by the sachems, (princ.i.p.al chiefs,) sagamores, (lesser chiefs,) and powaws, (conjurers, or mystery men;) but though they thrust him out, and threatened his life, he held on his course, telling them that he was in the service of the Great G.o.d, and feared them not. So highly did they think of his services in England, that a book was printed, called "The Day-breaking, if not the Sun-rising of the Gospel with the Indians in New-England;" and another, ent.i.tled "The Clear Sunshine of the Gospel breaking forth upon the Indians;" and dedicated to the parliament; in order that a.s.sistance and encouragement might be given him. At the close of a grammar, published by him, he wrote the words, "Prayers and pains, through faith in Christ Jesus, will do any thing."

_Brian._ I should think that he was one of the best of men.

_Hunter._ He inst.i.tuted schools, and devoted himself to the Christian course he had undertaken with an humble and ardent spirit, until old age and increasing infirmities rendered him too feeble to do as he had done before. Even then, he catechised the negro slaves in the neighbourhood around him; and took a poor blind boy home to his own house, that he might teach him to commit to memory some of the chapters in the Bible. Among the last expressions that dropped from his lips were the words, "Welcome joy! Pray! pray! pray!" This was in the eighty-sixth year of his age. No wonder he should even now be remembered by us as "the apostle of the Indians."

_Basil._ I am very glad that you told us about him. What a good old man he must have been when he died!

_Hunter._ You will find an interesting history of Eliot in your Sunday-school Library, and the Life of Brainerd[5] also, of whom I will tell you a few things. But I advise you to read both books, for such short remarks as I make cannot be distinctly remembered; and the characters of these eminent men you will only understand by reading the history of their lives.

[Footnote 5: Both these works are published by the American Sunday-school Union.]

_Austin._ We will remember this.

_Hunter._ There were many good men, after his death, who trod as closely as they could in his steps: but I must not stop to dwell upon them. David Brainerd, however, must not be pa.s.sed by: he was a truly humble and zealous servant of the Most High. You may judge, in some degree, of his interest in the Indians by the following extract from his diary:

_June 26._ "In the morning, my desire seemed to rise, and ascend up freely to G.o.d. Was busy most of the day in translating prayers into the language of the Delaware Indians; met with great difficulty, because my interpreter was altogether unacquainted with the business.

But though I was much discouraged with the extreme difficulty of that work, yet G.o.d supported me; and, especially in the evening, gave me sweet refreshment. In prayer my soul was enlarged, and my faith drawn into sensible exercise; was enabled to cry to G.o.d for my poor Indians; and though the work of their conversion appeared _impossible with man_, yet _with G.o.d_ I saw _all things were possible_. My faith was much strengthened, by observing the wonderful a.s.sistance G.o.d afforded his servants Nehemiah and Ezra, in reforming his people and re-establishing his ancient church. I was much a.s.sisted in prayer for my dear Christian friends, and for others whom I apprehended to be Christ-less; but was more especially concerned for the poor heathen, and those of my own charge; was enabled to be instant in prayer for them; and hoped that G.o.d would bow the heavens and come down for their salvation. It seemed to me, that there could be no impediment sufficient to obstruct that glorious work, seeing the living G.o.d, as I strongly hoped, was engaged for it. I continued in a solemn frame, lifting up my heart to G.o.d for a.s.sistance and grace, that I might be more mortified to this present world, that my whole soul might be taken up continually in concern for the advancement of Christ's kingdom. Earnestly desired that G.o.d would purge me more, that I might be a chosen vessel to bear his name among the heathens. Continued in this frame till I fell asleep."

_Brian._ Why, he was much such a man as Eliot.

_Hunter._ Both Eliot and Brainerd did a great deal of good among the Indians. The language of Brainerd was, "Here am I, Lord, send me; send me to the ends of the earth; send me to the rough, the savage pagans of the wilderness; send me from all that is called comfort on earth; send me even to death itself, if it be but in thy service, and to extend thy kingdom."