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That the two provinces cannot remain in their present state is acknowledged by all. The question therefore is, can we rationally expect any improvement from their union? Perhaps it may appear presumptuous in me to venture to differ from Lord Durham, who is a statesman born and bred—for this is not a party question in which a difference of politics may bias one: it is a question as to the well-governing of a most important colony, and no one will for a moment doubt that his lordship is as anxious as the Duke of Wellington, and every other well-wisher to his country, to decide upon that which he considers honestly and honourably to be the best. It is really, therefore, with great deference that I submit to him, whether another arrangement should not be well considered, before the union of the two provinces is finally decided upon.
His lordship has very truly observed, that in legislating, we are to legislate for futurity; if not, we must be prepared for change. Acting upon this sound principle, we are to legislate upon the supposition that the whole country of Upper and Lower Canada is well peopled. We are not to legislate for the present population, but for the future. And how is this to be done in the present condition of the provinces? Most assuredly by legislating for territory—for the amount of square acres which will eventually be filled up by emigration. I perfectly agree with his lordship in the remark that, “if the Canadians are to be deprived of their representative government, it would be better to do it in a straightforward way;” but I submit that it would be done in a straightforward way by the plan I am about to submit to him, and I consider it more advisable than that of convulsing the two provinces by bringing together two races so inveterate against each other. Instead of a union of the two provinces, I should think it more advisable to separate the Canadas into three: Upper, Lower, and Middle Canada,—the line of demarcation, and the capitals of each Province appearing already to be marked out. The Lower province would have Quebec, and be separated from the Middle province by the Ottawa river. The Middle province would have Montreal, and would extend to a line drawn from Lake Simcoe to Lake Ontario, throwing into it all the townships on the American side of the St. Lawrence, which would do away with the great objection of the Upper province being dependent upon the Lower for the transport of goods up the river, and the necessity of dividing between the provinces the custom-house revenues. Under any circumstances, it would be very advantageous to have sport of entry and a custom-house, in or nearer to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, as ships would then be able to make an extra voyage every year. I should say that about Gaspé would be the spot. This bay being on the American side of the river St. Lawrence would become the entry port for the Upper and Middle provinces, rendering them wholly independent of the Lower. The Upper province would comprehend all the rest of the territory west of the line, drawn from Lake Superior, and have Toronto for its capital. This would be a pretty fair division of territory, and each province would be more than sufficient for the eye of the most active governor. Let each province have its separate sub-governor and House of Assembly; but let the Upper House, or Senate, be selected of equal numbers from each province, and assemble at Quebec, to decide, with the Governor-in-chief of the provinces, upon the passing or rejecting of the bills of the three respective Lower Houses. This, although perfectly fair, would at once give in the Senate the preponderance to the English of the Upper and Middle provinces. It would still leave to the Lower Canadians their franchise; and their House of Assembly would be a species of safety-valve for the demagogues to give vent to their opinions, (without their being capable of injuring the interests of the provinces,) until they gradually amalgamated with the British immigration. I merely offer this plan as a suggestion to his lordship, and, of course, enter into no further detail.
There are, however, one or two other points which appear to me to be worthy of consideration. If the Canadas are of that importance which I think them, there are no means which we should not use to attach them to the mother country—to make them partial to monarchical institutions—and to identify them with the British empire. We should make sacrifices for them that we would not for other colonies; and therefore it is that I venture my opinion, that it would not only be politic, but just, to such an extensive territory—and what will eventually be, such an extensive population—to permit each of the three provinces, (provided they are ever divided into three,) to select one of their senate to represent them in the British House of Commons. I consider it but an act of justice as well as of policy. This step would, as I said before, identify these valuable provinces with ourselves. They then would feel that they were not merely ruled by, but that they were part and portion of, and assisted in, the government of the British empire. And to draw the line as strictly as possible between them and their democratic neighbours, and to attach them still closer to monarchical institutions, it should be proposed to the Sovereign of these realms that an Order of knighthood and an Order of merit expressly Canadian should be instituted. These last may be considered by many to be, and perhaps in themselves are, trifles; but they are no trifles when you consider that they must militate against those democratic feelings of equality which have been so industriously and so injuriously circulated in the provinces by our transatlantic descendants. I cannot better conclude these observations than by quoting the opinion of so intelligent a nobleman as Lord Durham, who asserts most positively that, “England, if she loses her North American colonies, must sink into a second-rate power.”
Volume Three—Chapter Seven
Indians
There was no subject of higher interest to me during my travels in North America, than the past and present condition of the Indian tribes. Were I to enter into the history of the past, I could easily fill three or four volumes with matter which I think would be found very well worth perusing. It is to be lamented that there has been no correct history of the Indian tribes yet published. There are many authors in America well calculated to undertake the task; and the only reason which I can give for its not having been already done, is that, probably, the American Government are not very willing to open the archives of the Indian department even to their own countrymen; and, at the same that time, an American author, who would adhere to the truth, would not become very popular by exposing the system of rapine and injustice which was commenced by the English who first landed, and has been continued up to the present day by the Federal Government of the United States. Nevertheless, it is to be lamented, now that the race is so fast disappearing, that a good historical account of them is not published. There is no want of material for the purpose, even if the Government refuse their aid; but at present, it is either scattered in various works, or when attempted to be collected together, the author has not been equal to the task.
There is a question which has been raised by almost every traveller in America, and that is—from whom are the American Indians descended? and I think, from the many works I have consulted, that the general opinion is, that they are descended from the lost tribes of Israel. We have never discovered any other nation of savages, if we may apply such a term to the American Indians, who have not been idolators; the American Indian is the only one who worships the one living God. In a discourse, which was delivered by Mr Noah, one of the most intelligent of the Jewish nation that I ever had the pleasure of being acquainted with, there is much deep research, and a collection of the various opinions upon this subject. To quote from it would not do it justice, and I have therefore preferred, as it is not long, giving the whole of it in the Appendix, as it is not (though should be more) generally known. In the second volume I have given a map of North America, in which I have laid down, as correctly as I can, and sufficiently so for the purpose, the supposed locations of the various tribes, at the period that the white man first put his foot on shore in America. I have said “as correctly as I can,” for it would be as difficult to trace the outer edges of a shifting sand-bank under water, as to lay down the exact portion of territory occupied by tribes who were continually at war, and who advanced or retreated according as they were victorious or vanquished. Indeed, many tribes were totally annihilated, or their remnants incorporated into others, living far away from their original territories: the Tuscororas, for instance, were driven out of Carolina and admitted into the Mohawk confederacy, which originally came down from the upper shores of the river St. Lawrence. The Winnebagoes, also, were driven from the south and settled on the river Wisconsin. The Sacs and Foxes fought their way from the river St. Lawrence to the Fox river, in Wisconsin, and were driven from thence, by the Menomonies and Chippewas, to the territory of Rock river, on the river Mississippi, where they remained, until deprived of their territory by the Federal Government, and sent away to the west of the river. I make these observations that the map may not be cavilled at by some hyper critic, who has thought that he has discovered a mare’s nest; it is as accurate as I can make it, and I profess to do no more.
Notwithstanding the vicissitudes which continually occurred, the tribes of North American Indians may be classed as follows:—
The Algonquin stock of the North—under which are comprehended the Chippewas, Ottawas, Menomonies, Hurons, etcetera.
The Southern tribes, who are also descended from one stock, and comprise Creeks, Cherokees, Choctaws, Catawbaws, Chickasaws, etcetera.
The Horse Indians of the West, as the Pawnees, Osages, Sioux, Kansas, Comanches, etcetera.
The Indians of the Rocky Mountains, as Crows, Snakes, and Blackfeet.
All the above races were composed of numerous tribes, who acknowledged themselves as blood relations, but did not enter into any confederacy for mutual support; on the contrary, often warred they with each other. There were other powerful tribes, which resided between the lakes and the Ohio, bordering on the hunting grounds of Kentucky and Tenessee, which portion appeared to be set aside, by general consent, not only for hunting but for war. There were Delawares, or Lenni-Lenape, the Shawnees, Wyandots, Illinois, Peoria, and some others.
The confederate tribes, and with which the early settlers had to contend, were as follows:—
The Powhatan confederacy, comprising the Monacans, Monahoacs, and Powhatans, occupying the present state of Virginia from the sea-coast to the Alleghany mountains.
The New England confederacy, who resided in the present States of New England, composed of the Pequots, Narangassets, Pawtuckets, Pokanokets, and Massachusetts tribes.
And lastly, the confederacy of the five nations, or Mohawks, called Mingos by the other Indians, and Iroquois by the French. This confederacy was composed of the Mohawks, Oneidas, Caguyas, Onandagas, and Senecas. The Tuscaroras were afterwards admitted as a sixth.
I will make a few brief observations upon the various tribes, in the order I have set them down.
The Algonquin stock has suffered less than any other, simply because they have been located so far north, and their lands have not been required. The Chippewas are at present the most numerous tribe of Indians. The most celebrated chief of this stock was Pontiac, an Ottawa. After the Canadas were given up to the English, he proved a most formidable enemy; he attempted and, to a certain degree, succeeded, in uniting the tribes against us, and had not his plot been discovered, would, in all probability, have wrested from us Detroit, and every other post in our possession on the lakes. But Pontiac could not keep up a standing army, which was so contrary to the habits of the Indians; one by one the tribes deserted him, and sued for peace. Pontiac would not listen to any negotiations: he retired to Illinois, and was murdered by a Peoria Indian. The Ottawas, Chippewas, and Pottawatamies, who fought under him, avenged his death by the extermination of nearly the whole tribe of Peorias. Pontiac was one of the greatest Indians in history.
Of the Southern tribes there are not any records sufficiently prominent for so short a notice.
The Horse Indians of the West and those of the Rocky Mountains are scarcely known.
The Midland tribes produced some great men. The Delawares were at one period the most celebrated. The Shawanees, or Shawnees, do not appear to have been opposed to the Whites, until Boone and his adventurers crossed the Alleghanies, and took possession of the valley of Kentucky. But the Shawnees have to boast of Tecumseh, a chief, as great in renown as Pontiac; he also attempted to confederate all the tribes and drive away the Whites; his history is highly interesting. He fell in battle fighting for the English, in the war of 1814.
The confederate tribes on the eastern coast, were those with which the first settlers were embroiled. The history of Virginia is remarkable for one of the most singular romances in real life which ever occurred: I allude to Pocahontas, the daughter of the king of the Powhatans, who saved the life of the enterprising Captain Smith, at the imminent risk of her own. The romance was not, however, wound up by their marriage, Captain Smith not being a marrying man; but she afterwards married a young Englishman, of the name of Randolph, was brought to England, received at court, and paid much attention to by Queen Anne. Some of the first families in Virginia proudly and justly claim their descent from this noble girl.
The New England Confederacy was opposed to the pilgrim fathers and their descendants. The chief tribe, the Wampanoags, have to boast of the third great chief among the Indian tribes—King Philip. His history is well known; I have already referred to it in my Diary.
If the reader will consult the histories of Philip, Pontiac and Tecumseh, who may fairly be said to have been “great men,” he will perceive that in each case, these chiefs were the life and soul of enterprise and action, and that it was by their talents, bravery, and activity, that the tribes were confederated and led against the Whites. As soon as they were gone, there were none who could succeed them or fill up their places, and the confederacies were immediately broken up. But this was not the case with the celebrated five nations, or Mohawks, who, like the Romans of former days, spread their conquests until their name was a terror wherever it was mentioned. Philip, Pontiac and Tecumseh were great men, but the Mohawks’ confederacy was a nation of great men. When the French settled in Canada in 1603, the Mohawks, or Iroquois as they called them, were living near to where Montreal now stands. They were at war with the Adirondacks, a very numerous and powerful nation, and were beaten down towards the Lakes; but they recovered themselves, and their opponents were in their turn beaten down to Quebec. The war between the Adirondacks and the Iroquois is full of the most interesting details of courage on both sides. The Iroquois having subdued, and, indeed, exterminated the Adirondacks, turned their arms against several other tribes, whom they vanquished; they then attacked the Ottawas and Hurons, and drove them to the other side of the Mississippi. The Illinois were next subdued, then the Miamies and Shawnees were driven back for the time. Finally, they conquered the Virginian tribes, and warred against the Cherokees, Catawbas, and other nations of the South. Although it was impossible for them to hold the vast extent of country which they had overrun, still it is certain that their very name was so terrible that, from New England to the Mississippi, every town and village would be deserted at their approach.
The chief portion of the Mohawks, under their celebrated leader Brandt, served on the British side in the war of Independence, and at the close of the war, they settled in lands given them by the English, on the banks of Grand river in Canada in the year 1783. At the time they took possession of their land, their numbers amounted to nearly 8,000; but, as is every where the case where the Indians are settled and confined on reserved lands, they have now decreased to about 2,500. A portion of the tribe of Senecas, one of the Mohawk confederacy, joined the Americans; the remnants of them are still located a few miles from Buffalo, in the State of New York. Their chief, Red-jacket, died lately; he was a great warrior and still greater orator.
The most formidable opponents to the five nations were the Delawares, or Lenni Lenape, who lived in Pennsylvania. The Delawares joined the British in the war of Independence.
In the succeeding chapter, I shall give the reader a census of the American Indian tribes which still remain. It will be perceived that they are chiefly comprised of tribes which inhabited the Far-West, and were until lately, almost unknown. Of the New England and Virginian confederacies, once so powerful, not a vestige remains; of the Delawares, 826 still exist west of the Mississippi; of the Shawanees, or Shawnees, once so terrible on the banks of the Ohio, 1,272. In fact, all those Indians whose territory bounded the coast first taken possession of by the white men, have been annihilated. I have often heard it argued, when I was in the United States, that the Indians could not be considered as having any claim to the land, as they did not settle or cultivate it, and it is a general opinion that they lived almost entirely by the proceeds of the chase: but this is not a fact; indeed it is disproved by the early settlers themselves, who acknowledge that if they had not been supplied with corn by the Indians they must have starved. That the Indians did not grow more than was sufficient for their own consumption is very probable, but that they did cultivate the land is most certain; indeed, when the country and soil were favourable, they appear to have cultivated to a great extent. When General Wayne destroyed the settlements of the Miamies and Wyandots, on the Miami river, in 1794, he says in his despatch, “never have I beheld such immense fields of corn in any part of America as possessed by these Indians.” The chase was considered by the Indians as a preparatory school for warriors, and was followed accordingly; indeed, a hunting party and a war party were often one and the same thing, as the hunting grounds were common, and when tribes who were at variance fell in with each other, a conflict invariably ensued. My limits will not permit me to enter into the subject more fully; my object has been, in as few pages as possible, to assist the map in giving the reader some idea of the location of the Aborigines of America. If he would know more of this interesting people, there are many very excellent works concerning them written by Americans, which, were they collected together, would form a most valuable and important history.
Volume Three—Chapter Eight
Indians
I will now enter into a short examination of the present position of the remaining Indian tribes. The plan of the American Government has been to compel them to sell their lands and remove west of the Mississippi, to lands of which I doubt that the Americans have any right to claim an acre. That the removal of them is expedient I grant, and that is all that can be said on the subject. That the Indians were fated to melt away before the white men, like snow before the sun, is true; still, it is painful to consider what has taken place from the period of our first landing, when we were received hospitably—saved from starvation by the generous sacrifice of their small stores of grain—permitted to settle upon a small tract of land humbly solicited—and that from the time that the white men once gained a footing on their shores, the Indians have been hunted like wild beasts from hill to hill, from river to river, and from country to country, until nearly the whole of the vast continent may be said to have been wrested from them. This system is still continued, one tribe being forced back westward upon another, till they come into conflict with, and destroy, each other; but the buffalo and other animals, upon which they depend for food, recede with them and gradually disappear. As Christians, we must lament that the track for the advance of Christianity is cleared away by a series of rapine, cruelty, and injustice, at which every one must shudder.
The following is the Report to the American Government, of the various tribes of Indians remaining in the year 1837. It is divided into three parts.
Statement showing the number of Indians now east of the Mississippi; of those that have emigrated from the east to the west of that river; and those within striking distance of the Western frontier.
1.—Name and number of the tribes now east of the Mississippi
1.—Under treaty stipulations to remove west of the Mississippi.
2.—Not under treaty stipulations to remove
2.—Number of Indians who have emigrated from the east to the west of the Mississippi
3.—Number of the Indigenous Tribes within striking distance of the Western frontier
Recapitulation
Number of Indians now east of the Mississippi 49,365
Number of Indians who have emigrated from east to west side 51,327
Number of indigenous tribes 231,806
Aggregate 332,498
Estimated number of warriors
Whole number of Indians 332,498
Assuming that every fifth one may be considered a warrior (and this is believed to be a reasonable supposition), the number of warriors will be 66,499
War Department, Office of Indian Affairs, November 22, 1837.
CA Harris, Commissioner.
This force of the Indians, if ever they combined, would be very formidable, and they might certainly sweep away the whole white population west of the Mississippi. That there will hereafter be an attempt of that kind is very probable, as hunger must eventually drive them to it; but any success in their attempt must depend very much upon their leaders, and the possibility of combination. It certainly appears to have been an oversight on the part of the American Government, to concentrate the whole of the Indians upon their frontiers in the way which they have done; still they could not well have acted otherwise. The removal of the Cherokees has been the most hazardous part of their proceeding, as they are very superior people; and should the other tribes put themselves under their directions, they would be formidable enemies. There is another circumstance which may render the Indians more serious enemies, which is, that they, having been located on the prairie country, have become Horse Indians, instead of what is termed Wood Indians, and they have a vast country behind them to retreat to in case of necessity. I do not think, however, that there is, at present, much fear to be felt relative to the Indians, although the Cherokees, the Sioux, and some other powerful tribes openly declare their hostile intentions as soon as an opportunity offers for carrying them into execution. That opportunity will not offer unless America is plunged into war with France or this country, and then I am pretty confident that there will be a general rising of the Indians; when, whether they act in concert or not, they will give the Americans more occupation than will be agreeable. The American Government have not been insensible to the danger to which they are exposed from this quarter, and, in 1837, the reports of military men were sent into Congress as to the best plan of protecting their frontier. Whether those reports are intended to be acted upon I know not; but if so, the present regular army of the United States will not be sufficient for the purpose, the lowest estimation for the garrisons of the proposed forts being 7,000 rank and file, while at present their rank and file on the army-list only amounts to 5,600.
The American forts opposed to the Indians are, at present:—
Fort Gratiot, River St. Clare.
Mackinaw Island Fort.
Fort Brady, St. Marie, Lake Superior.
Fort Howard, Green Bay.
Fort Winnebago, Wisconsin.
Fort Crawford. Prairie des Chiens.
Fort Snelling, St. Peters.
Fort Leavenworth, Missouri.
Fort Madison, Des Moines River.
Jefferson Barracks, Missouri.
Advanced Ports
Fort Towson, Red River.
Fort Gibson, Arkansas and Grand Junction River.
Fort Adams, Baton Rouge.
There are one or two outposts also on the Arkansas River. If all these forts were properly garrisoned, they would take every disposable musket in the regular army of the United States; whilst at present they have, in consequence of the protracted Florida war, scarcely sufficient men to do the duty.
In the report of the acting quarter-master general, the following garrisons are proposed for the western frontier:—
To which must be added, for the garrisons of the five Lakes forts, 1,500 at least, making the force necessary for the protection of the boundaries, to amount to 8,500 men. Colonel Gratiot, in his report, computes the force necessary at 12,910 men.
The letter of Mr Poinsett to Congress will throw much light upon this subject, and I shall therefore insert it.
“Department of War,
“December 30, 1837.
“Sir:– In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives, in relation to the protection of the western frontiers of the United States, I have the honour to transmit the accompanying reports of the chief engineer and the acting quarter-master general, together with a report of the commissioner of Indian affairs. That expected from General Gaines will be sent as soon as it is received.
“In presenting these documents, which are ably drawn up, and contain full and satisfactory information on all the topics embraced by the resolution, I might have considered my duty fully discharged, had not other plans been previously recommended, which I regard as entirely inefficient, but which have received, in some measure, the sanction of Congress. A survey has been directed to determine the line of a road, which, it is contemplated, shall extend from some point of the Upper Mississippi to Red River, passing west of Missouri and Arkansas; and it is proposed to place a cordon of temporary posts of ordinary construction along it, as a sufficient measure for the defence of that part of the country. In pursuance of the orders of Congress, officers have been appointed to perform that duty, and, upon their report being received, measures will be taken to carry into effect the intentions of Congress, unless, upon a deliberate review of the whole matter, some more eligible plan of defence shall be adopted. My own opinion has been, from the time I first considered the subject, that such a chain of posts, strung along the best road that can be constructed, furnished with all the means to operate, and with competent garrisons to occupy them, is not calculated to afford that protection which the border States have a right to expect from the Government, nor to redeem its pledge to protect the emigrant tribes from the savage and warlike people that surround them. The only possible use of such a road would be to facilitate occasional communications between the posts in time of peace. Supplies would not be transported along it, for they must be brought from the interior. Succours could not reach the posts by that direction, for they would be furnished by the militia within the line; and any attempt to concentrate the forces composing the garrisons in the event of an outbreak, would probably be attended with disastrous consequences; for the troops, whose route must be well known, would be exposed to be attacked and destroyed in detail. The enemy, having nothing to dread on their flanks or rear, might approach this road without risk, and attack the detachments on their line of march, before they could concentrate their forces so as to offer an effectual resistance.
“After mature reflection, I am of opinion that military posts ought to be established and kept up within the Indian territory, in such positions as to maintain peace among the Indians, and protect the emigrant and feebler tribes against the stronger and more warlike nations that surround them; which the United States are bound to do by treaty stipulations. To withdraw those which now exist there, would be to violate our faith, as there is reason to apprehend that it would be the signal of war. Persons well acquainted with that country assure us that war would break out among the Indians, ‘just so soon as the troops are removed from those posts,’ and all accounts from that quarter confirm that impression.
“Independently of the military protection which the existence of these posts in the interior of the Indian country afford to the emigrating tribes, and the good they are calculated to effect by the beneficial influence the officers are enabled to exert over the surrounding Indians, they more effectually cover and protect the frontier than ten times the number of fortresses, strung along in one line, could do.
“With the very limited knowledge of that country as yet in possession of this department, it appears to me that six or seven permanent exterior posts would be sufficient to preserve the peace of that frontier. It will be necessary, at the same time, to establish, at convenient points, an interior line of posts, to serve as places of refuge for the inhabitants in periods of danger and alarm, until the militia can march to their succour from the interior, and the troops be put in motion upon the rear of the invaders. Eight of these would be amply sufficient, from which patrols might be kept up along the frontier to enforce the intercourse laws. Both descriptions of forts should be so constructed as to be defended by a small garrison, and in a manner that each part may be successfully maintained against a very superior force, both during the time the whole is being completed, and in the event of any portion of it being burnt or destroyed. This arrangement would require the establishment of a few depôts of arms and supplies, from which communications should be opened to the posts. The accompanying skeleton map presents a view of the relative positions of the posts and depôts, and of the communications from them to the line of defence for the speedy transportation of succours and supplies. A regular force of five thousand men would be sufficient to garrison these posts, and, with a competent reserve at Jefferson barracks, and an effective force at Baton Rouge, would, I think, both ensure the safety of the western frontier, and enable the Government to fulfil all its treaty stipulations, and preserve its faith with the Indians. I would recommend, as an important auxiliary to this system of defence, the organisation of an efficient volunteer force, to be raised in each of the frontier States; the men to be mustered into service for a certain term of time, the officers to be appointed according to their State laws, and to be instructed a certain number of days in each year by the regular officers of the United States army at the posts within the States, and to receive pay during that period. In this manner an efficient corps of officers may be created, and a body of volunteers be at hand to march to the succour of the border settlers and repel the invaders, whenever they are called upon by the proper authority.
