Travels in the Interior of North America Part 1

Travels in the Interior of North America.

by Alexander Philipp Maximilian.

AUTHOR'S PREFACE

Immense additions have been made of late years to our knowledge of the extensive continent of North America. A large portion of that country, which, only a few years ago, was covered with almost uninterrupted primeval forests, and a scanty, scattered population of rude barbarians, has been converted, by the influx of emigrants from the Old World, into a rich and flourishing State, for the most part civilized, and almost as well known and cultivated as Europe itself.

Large and flourishing towns, with fine public inst.i.tutions of every kind, have risen rapidly, and every year adds to their number.

Animated commerce, unfettered, unlimited industry, have caused this astonishing advance of civilization in the United States. The tide of emigration is impelled onwards, wave upon wave, and it is only the sterility of the North-west that can check the advancing torrent.

We already possess numerous accounts of these daily-increasing States, and there are many good statistical works on the subject. We have even excellent general works on the physical state of this continent, among which Volney's "Tableau du Climat et du Sol des Etats Unis," holds a high rank.[3] Little, however, has yet been done towards a clear and vivid description of the natural scenery of North America: the works of American writers themselves on this subject, with the exception of Cooper's and Washington Irving's animated descriptions, cannot be taken into account, as, in writing for their countrymen, they take it for granted that their readers are well acquainted with the country.

For this reason I have endeavoured, in the following work, to supply this deficiency to the best of my ability, and have aimed rather at giving a clear and faithful description of the country, than at collecting statistical information. Hence these travels are designed for foreign, rather than for American readers, to whom, probably, but few of the details would be new.

There are two distinct points of view in which that remarkable country may be considered. Some travellers are interested by the rude, primitive character of the natural face of North America, and its aboriginal population, the traces of which are now scarcely discernible in most parts of the United States; while the majority are more inclined to contemplate the immigrant population, and the gigantic strides of civilization introduced by it. The account of my tour through a part of these countries, contained in the following pages, is chiefly intended for readers of the first cla.s.s. I have avoided the repet.i.tion of numerous statements which may be found in various statistical publications; but, on the contrary, have aimed at a simple description of nature. As the United States were merely the basis of my more extensive undertaking, the object of which [vi] was the investigation of the upper part of the course of the Missouri, they do not form a prominent feature, and it is impossible to expect, from a few months' residence, an opinion on the social condition and character of that motley population.

The indulgent reader, following the author beyond the frontier of the United States, will have to direct his attention to those extensive plains--those cheerless, desolate prairies, the western boundary of which is formed by the snow-covered chain of the Rocky Mountains, or the Oregon, where many tribes of the aborigines still enjoy a peaceful abode; while their brethren in the eastern part of the continent are supplanted, extirpated, degenerated, in the face of the constantly increasing immigration, or have been forced across the Mississippi, where they have for the most part perished.

The vast tracts of the interior of North-western America are, in general, but little known, and the government of the United States may be justly reproached for not having done more to explore them. Some few scientific expeditions, among which the two under Major Long produced the most satisfactory results for natural history, though on a limited scale, were set on foot by the government; and it is only under its protection that a thorough investigation of those extensive wildernesses, especially in the Rocky Mountains, can be undertaken.[4]

Even Major Long's expeditions are but poorly furnished with respect to natural history, for a faithful and vivid picture of those countries, and their original inhabitants, can never be placed before the eye without the aid of a fine portfolio of plates by the hand of a skilful artist.

In my description of the voyage up the Missouri, I have endeavoured to avail myself of the a.s.sistance of an able draughtsman, the want of which I so sensibly felt in my former travels in South America. On the present occasion I was accompanied by Mr. Bodmer, who has represented the Indian nations with great truth, and correct delineation of their characteristic features. His drawings will prove an important addition to our knowledge of this race of men, to whom so little attention has. .h.i.therto been paid.

After mature consideration, I have judged it desirable to throw the account of my voyage on the Missouri itself into the form of a journal, as the daily notices were numerous, but the variety very trifling; so that the patience of the reader will unfortunately be tried a little in this part of the narrative. In those uninhabited, desert countries the traveller has nothing but the description of the naked banks of the river, and the little diversity they afford, interrupted at times by the adventures of the chase, and occasional meetings with Indians; the reader will therefore excuse many observations and unimportant descriptions, which would have been omitted if the materials had been richer in variety. I need still more indulgence with respect to many observations on natural history, but for this the loss of the greater part of my collections will be a sufficient excuse. The cases containing them were delivered to the Company, to be put on board the steamer for St. Louis, but not insured; and, when the steamer caught fire, the people thought rather of saving the goods than my cases, the contents of which were, probably, not considered to be of much value, and so they were all burnt. This may be a warning to future travellers not to neglect to insure such collections.

Though the main object of my journey, namely, to pa.s.s some time in the chain of the Rocky Mountains, was defeated by unfavorable circ.u.mstances, I should have been able, but for the loss of my collections, to communicate many new observations, especially in the department of zoology, which are now more or less deficient. The accounts of the tribes of the aborigines, and [vii] especially of the Mandans and Manitaries, are more complete, because I spent a whole winter among them, and was able to have daily intercourse with them. Authentic and impartial accounts of the Indians of the Upper Missouri are now especially valuable, if the information that we have since received is well founded, namely, that to the many evils introduced by the Whites among those tribes, a most destructive epidemic--smallpox--has been added, and a great part of them exterminated: according to the newspapers, the Mandans, Manitaries, a.s.siniboins, and Blackfeet have been swept away except a small remnant. The observation of the manners of the aborigines is undoubtedly that which must chiefly interest the foreign traveller in those countries, especially as the Anglo-Americans look down on them with a certain feeling of hatred.

Hence we have hitherto met with little useful information respecting the Indians, except in the recent writings of Edward James, Long, Say, Schoolcraft, McKinney, Ca.s.s, Duponceau, Irving,[5] and a few others; and as good portraits of this race have hitherto been extremely rare, the faithful delineation contained in the portfolio of plates accompanying this work will be interesting to the friends of anthropology and ethnography.

Several men, of great eminence in the learned world, have had the kindness to contribute to the publication. President Nees Von Esenbeck has undertaken the determination and description of the plants which I brought home;[6] Professor Goldfuss, of Bonn, that of some fossil sh.e.l.ls; Professor Goppert, of Breslau, that of the impression of fossil plants from Mauch Chunk;[7] Professors Valenciennes at Paris, and Wiegmann at Boston, the comparison of some zoological specimens with those in their cities;[8] and Lieut.-Col. W. Thorn, the construction of the map; for which obliging a.s.sistance I beg leave to offer to these gentlemen my sincere thanks.

FOOTNOTES:

[3] Consult James's _Long's Expedition_, in our volume xiv, p. 75, note 41.--ED.

[4] We reprint the account of Long's expedition in our volumes xiv-xvii.--ED.

[5] For Edwin (not Edward) James and S. H. Long see preface to our volume xiv, pp. 10-13, 25, 26; for Thomas Say, _ibid._, p. 40, note 1; for Washington Irving as an authority on Western history, Gregg's _Commerce of the Prairies_, our volume xix, p. 161, note 2.

Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (1793-1864) was a well-known traveller, ethnologist, and historian. Born in New York, he studied at both Middlebury and Union colleges. His first tour to the West was in 1817-18, when he made a collection of minerals in Missouri and Arkansas. In 1820 he accompanied Ca.s.s's western expedition, and the following year acted as secretary of the Indian Commissioners at Chicago. In 1822 he was made Indian agent at Mackinac, where he resided for seventeen years, having married a descendant of a Chippewa chief. In 1837 he was promoted to superintendency of the Northern department, whence he resigned (1841) to devote himself to literary work. In 1847 Congress authorized the publication of a work upon Indian tribes, to which Schoolcraft devoted the latter portion of his life. It appeared as _Historical and Statistical Information respecting the History, Condition, and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States_ (Philadelphia, 1851-57). Schoolcraft belonged to many learned and historical societies, received a medal from the French Inst.i.tute, and was in his day the chief authority on American Indians. Besides the work already cited, he published much, chief of which is _Personal Memoirs_ (Philadelphia, 1851); _Summary Narrative of an Exploratory Expedition to the Source of the Mississippi River in 1820, resumed and completed by the Discovery of its Origin in Itasca Lake in 1832_ (Philadelphia, 1855).

Thomas Lorraine McKenney (1785-1859) was superintendent of trade with the Indian tribes, 1816-24. In the latter year he was made head of the bureau of Indian affairs in the war department, also serving frequently as treaty commissioner. The work to which reference is here made, is _Sketches of a Tour to the Lakes_ (Baltimore, 1827).

Lewis Ca.s.s (1782-1866) had unusual opportunities for contact with the tribesmen. After taking a prominent part in the War of 1812-15, he was for eighteen years governor of Michigan Territory. His contributions to Indian bibliography were a series of articles published in the _North American Review_, xxvi-x.x.x (1828-30).

Peter Stephen Duponceau (1760-1844) was a Frenchman who came to America during the Revolution. Settling at Philadelphia, he became a member of the American Philosophical Society, and contributed to its _Transactions_ several articles on the structure and grammar of Indian languages.--ED.

[6] Christian Gottfried Nees von Esenbeck (1776-1858), a famous botanist and physician. He first engaged in the practice of medicine, but in 1818 went to Erlangen as professor of botany, the next year being called to Bonn, then being professor at Breslau (1831-52). The number of his published works is considerable.--ED.

[7] Georg August Goldfuss (1782-1848) was born at Bayreuth, and became privatdocent at Erlangen, then professor of zoology and mineralogy at Bonn and director of the zoological museum.

Robert Goppert (1800-1884) was a botanist and palaeontologist. First studying medicine at Breslau and Berlin, he was professor of botany in the university at the former place (1831-39). In 1852 he was chosen director of the botanical gardens at Breslau, where he remained until his death.--ED.

[8] Achille Valenciennes (1794-1864) was a French zoologist, a friend and fellow-worker with Cuvier, and director of the Paris zoological museum.

Arend Friedrich August Wiegmann (1802-41) was for a time professor of zoology at Berlin. He founded (1835) _Archivs fur Naturgeschichte_.--ED.

TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE

The author, in his Preface, gives so full an account of the objects and results of his travels in the interior of North America, that it would have been unnecessary for me to prefix any observations of my own, were it not for some circ.u.mstances, connected with the translation, which seem to require explanation.

The prospectus of the German original announced that the work would consist of two large quarto volumes, accompanied by a portfolio of above eighty beautifully coloured copper-plates, executed by eminent artists at Paris, from the original drawings. Some specimens of the plates having been brought to London, were so much admired by many competent judges, that Messrs. Ackermann were induced to agree with the Paris publisher for a limited number of copies of the plates; and as it might justly be presumed that the English purchasers would be desirous of having the narrative of the travels, it was resolved to publish a translation compressed into a single volume. By selecting, however, a page of a large size, the translator has been able to retain all the most interesting parts, omitting only minute details of the measurements of animals, &c. All the chapters ill.u.s.trative of the manners, customs, traditions, and superst.i.tions of the Indians are given without abridgment, and these, as the author justly observes, are by far the most attractive and valuable portions of the work. The papers in the Appendix, giving an account of the plants collected, are also inserted entire, and have been kindly revised by my friend Sir William Hooker.[9]

The princ.i.p.al omission is that of the very extensive vocabularies of the languages of the different Indian tribes.[10] They are written so as to represent the p.r.o.nunciation in German, and have, in numerous instances, special directions, as thus: kontschue (_on_ as in French, _schue_, short and quick, _e_). It appeared to be a hopeless and unprofitable task to rewrite these vocabularies, and to represent the true p.r.o.nunciation in English. Those who are curious in such matters will find many specimens in Mr. Catlin's interesting work.[11]

The numerous Indian proper names are, of course, written in the original as p.r.o.nounced in German. It has been thought best to leave them unchanged, merely requesting the reader to observe, in general, that the consonants are p.r.o.nounced as in English; only that _ch_ is guttural, as in the Scotch word _loch_; that _sch_ is p.r.o.nounced _sh_, and that the vowels have the same sound as in French, _ah_, _a_, _ee_, _o_, _oo_.

The author alludes, in his Preface, to the recent fearful ravages which have been caused among the Indian races by the small-pox. The origin and extent of these ravages will be seen from the following very affecting letter on the subject:

[pg. ix]"NEW ORLEANS, _June 6, 1838_.--The southern parts of the United States, particularly Florida, Alabama, and Louisiana, are as healthy as can be wished; there has been no appearance of the yellow fever, and even at the Havannah only a few isolated cases have occurred. During the autumn, winter, and spring, the small-pox has carried off many victims among the whites, and thousands of the Indians; but it has now wholly disappeared in the territory of the Union, in consequence of a general vaccination of persons of all ages. On the other hand, we have, from the trading posts on the western frontier of the Missouri, the most frightful accounts of the ravages of the small-pox among the Indians. The destroying angel has visited the unfortunate sons of the wilderness with terrors never before known, and has converted the extensive hunting grounds, as well as the peaceful settlements of those tribes, into desolate and boundless cemeteries. The number of the victims within a few months is estimated at 30,000, and the pestilence is still spreading. The warlike spirit which but lately animated the several Indian tribes, and but a few months ago gave reason to apprehend the breaking-out of a sanguinary war, is broken. The mighty warriors are now the prey of the greedy wolves of the prairie, and the few survivors, in mute despair, throw themselves on the pity of the Whites, who, however, can do but little to help them. The vast preparations for the protection of the western frontier are superfluous: another arm has undertaken the defence of the white inhabitants of the frontier; and the funeral torch, that lights the red man to his dreary grave, has become the auspicious star of the advancing settler, and of the roving trader of the white race.

"The small-pox was communicated to the Indians by a person who was on board the steam-boat which went, last summer, up to the mouth of the Yellow Stone, to convey both the government presents for the Indians, and the goods for the barter trade of the fur dealers.[12] The disorder communicated itself to several of the crew of the steam-boat. The officers gave notice of it to the Indians, and exerted themselves to the utmost to prevent any intercourse between them and the vessel; but this was a vain attempt; for the Indians knew that presents and goods for barter were come for them, and it would have been impossible to drive them away from the fort without having recourse to arms. Two days before the arrival of the steam-boat, an express had been received at the trading fort, 2000 miles west of St. Louis, with the melancholy news of the breaking-out of the small-pox on board; this was immediately communicated to the Indians, with the most urgent entreaties to keep at a distance; but this was as good as preaching to the winds. The survivors now lament their disobedience, and are as submissive as the poor dogs which look in vain in the prairie for the footsteps of their masters.

The miserable remnants of the Indians implore us not to abandon them in their misfortune, and promise, if we will take pity on them, never more to disobey our commands.

"The disease first broke out about the 15th of June, 1837, in the village of the Mandans, a few miles below the American fort, Leavenworth, from which it spread, in all directions, with unexampled fury.[13] The character of the disease was as appalling as the rapidity of the propagation. Among the remotest tribes of the a.s.siniboins from fifty to one hundred died daily.

The patient, when first seized, complains of dreadful pains in the head and back, and in a few hours he is dead: the body immediately turns black, and swells to thrice its natural size.

In vain were hospitals fitted up in Fort Union,[14] and the whole stock of medicines exhausted. For many weeks together our workmen did nothing but collect the dead bodies and bury them in large pits; but since the ground is frozen we are obliged to throw them into the river. The ravages of the disorder were the most frightful among the Mandans, where it first broke out. That once powerful tribe, which, by acc.u.mulated disasters, had already been reduced to 1500 souls, was exterminated, with the exception of thirty persons. Their neighbours, the Bigbellied Indians, and the Ricarees, were out on a hunting excursion at the time of the breaking-out of the disorder, so that it did not reach them till a month later; yet half the tribe was already destroyed on the 1st of October, and the disease continued to spread. Very few of those who were attacked recovered their health; but when they saw all their relations buried, and the pestilence still raging with unabated fury among the remainder of their countrymen, life became a burden to them, and they put an end to their wretched existence, either with their knives and muskets, or by precipitating themselves from the summit of the rock near their settlement. The prairie all around is a vast field of death, covered with unburied corpses, and spreading, for miles, pestilence and infection. The Bigbellied Indians and the Ricarees, lately amounting to 4000 souls, were reduced to less than the half. The a.s.siniboins, 9000 in number, roaming over a hunting territory to the north of the Missouri, as far as the trading posts of the Hudson's Bay Company, are, in the literal sense of the expression, nearly exterminated. They, as well as the Crows and Blackfeet, endeavoured to fly in all directions, but the disease everywhere pursued them. At last every feeling of mutual compa.s.sion and tenderness seems to have disappeared. Every one avoided the others. Women and children wandered about in the prairie seeking [pg. x] for a scanty subsistence. The accounts of the situation of the Blackfeet are awful. The inmates of above 1000 of their tents are already swept away. They are the bravest and the most crafty of all the Indians, dangerous and implacable to their enemies, but faithful and kind to their friends. But very lately we seriously apprehended that a terrible war with them was at hand, and that they would unite the whole of their remaining strength against the Whites. Every day brought accounts of new armaments, and of a loudly expressed spirit of vengeance towards the Whites: but the small-pox cast them down, the brave as well as the feeble; and those who were once seized by this infection never recovered. It is affirmed that several bands of warriors, who were on their march to attack the fort, all perished by the way, so that not one survived to convey the intelligence to their tribe. Thus, in the course of a few weeks, their strength and their courage were broken, and nothing was to be heard but the frightful wailings of death in the camp. Every thought of war was dispelled, and the few that are left are as humble as famished dogs. No language can picture the scene of desolation which the country presents. In whatever direction we go, we see nothing but melancholy wrecks of human life. The tents are still standing on every hill, but no rising smoke announces the presence of human beings, and no sounds but the croaking of the raven and the howling of the wolf interrupt the fearful silence.

The above accounts do not complete the terrible intelligence which we receive. There is scarcely a doubt that the pestilence will spread to the tribes in and beyond the Rocky Mountains, as well as to the Indians in the direction of Santa Fe and Mexico.

It seems to be irrevocably written in the book of fate, that the race of red men shall be wholly extirpated in the land in which they ruled the undisputed masters, till the rapacity of the Whites brought to their sh.o.r.es the murderous fire-arms, the enervating ardent spirits, and the all-destructive pestilence of the small-pox. According to the most recent accounts, the number of the Indians who have been swept away by the small-pox, on the western frontier of the United States, amounts to more than 60,000."[15]

The general correctness of the melancholy details given in the above letter has been confirmed to me by several travellers who have visited these nations since they were desolated by this awful epidemic. The almost total extinction of these tribes greatly enhances the value and importance of the full and interesting particulars imparted by his Highness.

H. EVANS LLOYD.[16]

CHARTERHOUSE SQUARE, May 1st, 1843.

FOOTNOTES:

[9] Sir William Jackson Hooker (1785-1865) was early devoted to the study of natural history, making scientific journeys to Scotland in 1806 and to Iceland in 1809. Later (1814), Hooker prosecuted a nine months' botanical tour on the continent of Europe. The following year he married and settled on his estate where he commenced an herbarium; from 1820 to 1841 he was regius professor of botany at Glasgow, being in 1836 knighted for eminent service to science. From 1841 till his death he was director of Kew Gardens, London. Hooker's interest in American scientific development was marked, and he dispatched many pupils on botanical tours to unknown parts of the new continent.--ED.

[10] Reprinted in our volume xxiv.--ED.

[11] George Catlin was born in Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, in 1796, of a New England family; his mother was a woman of artistic tastes, and had lived on the Indian border. Early in his career, Catlin heard much of the traditions of the aborigines, and thus was unconsciously prepared for his later life work. In 1817 he was sent to study law at Litchfield; returning to Pennsylvania two years later, he practiced in the rural districts until 1823, when he abandoned the law, and going to Philadelphia became an artist. For several years he was employed in painting miniatures and other portraits, going as far as Washington and Albany to execute orders. Having met at the former city a deputation of American Indians, Catlin was imbued with a desire to paint the portraits of these vanishing tribesmen, and in 1832 went west with this purpose in view. Eight years were spent in native lodges and fur-trade camps; then, with a wealth of material widely known as Catlin's Collection, he opened a museum--first in the United States (1837-39), then in London (1840-44). In 1845 he took his collection to Paris, where he remained until expelled by the Revolution of 1848. He thereupon re-opened his London museum, with additional material; but in 1852 became involved in debt, and his collection was shipped to the United States, where it remained neglected until 1879, when it was presented to the National Museum at Washington. Meanwhile Catlin visited South and Central America (1852-57), and resided thereafter in Europe, returning to the United States in 1871 only to die the following year at Jersey City. The work here referred to was _Letters and Notes on the Manners and Customs of the North American Indians_ (New York and London, 1841), more commonly cited by the t.i.tle of later editions, _Notes of Eight Years' Travels_.

In an appendix are several vocabularies of the Mandan, Blackfeet, Arikara, Sioux, and Tuscarora Indians.--ED.