Civilizing Redman

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... ~ JAMES FENIMORE COOPER Civilizing the Red Man James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) is usually con- sidered an ardent defender of Rousseau's concept of the "noble savage." Some of Cooper's fictional In- dians are good examples of "Nature's noblernen," yet the author of the Leatherstocking tales was not blind to some limitations of the American aborigines, as is quite evident in the following letter from "An Amer- ican Bachelor" to a British friendo . As a rule, th.e x:edIllap disal2Pears before tbe superior moral ~nd..physical ipBue hite, ',ust as 1belieye 1be bl~pk a!,! ~l eventually do tbe same thin g , unless e s asee sbe1ter in s"omeOIhétregion. -In nlnecases m ten, the tribes bave gradually .removed west; and tbere is now a confused assemblage of nations and languages collected on the immense hunting grounds of the Prairies .... The ordinary manner of the disappearance of the Indian, is by a removal deeper into the forest. Still, many linger near the graves of their fathers, to which their superstitions, no less than afine natural .feeling, lend a deeper interest. The fate of the latter is inevitable; they become victims to the abuses of civilization, with- out ever attaining toany of its moral elevation. ~ ~ t\." OJ... tA,.. As might be supposed, numberless divisions of these people, t,¡"v I \A \4. ,,1:1 "'- when the country waS@iscovered,)were found in possession of dis- tricts along the coast, and deriving a principal means of support from the ocean. They were fishermen rather than, hunters, though From Notions 01 the Americans Picked Up by a Traveling Bachelor (Phila- delphia: Carey, Lea, and Carey, 1828), pp. 277-289 passim. 161

Transcript of Civilizing Redman

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...

~ JAMES FENIMORE COOPER

Civilizing the Red Man

James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) is usually con-sidered an ardent defender of Rousseau's concept ofthe "noble savage." Some of Cooper's fictional In-dians are good examples of "Nature's noblernen," yetthe author of the Leatherstocking tales was not blindto some limitations of the American aborigines, as isquite evident in the following letter from "An Amer-ican Bachelor" to a British friendo

. As a rule, th.e x:edIllap disal2Pears before tbe superior moral~nd..physical ipBue hite, ',ust as 1belieye 1be bl~pk a!,!~l eventually do tbe same thing, unless e s asee sbe1ter ins"omeOIhétregion. -In nlnecases m ten, the tribes bave gradually

.removed west; and tbere is now a confused assemblage of nationsand languages collected on the immense hunting grounds of thePrairies ....

The ordinary manner of the disappearance of the Indian, is bya removal deeper into the forest. Still, many linger near the gravesof their fathers, to which their superstitions, no less than afinenatural .feeling, lend a deeper interest. The fate of the latter isinevitable; they become victims to the abuses of civilization, with-out ever attaining toany of its moral elevation. ~ ~ t\." OJ... tA,..

As might be supposed, numberless divisions of these people, t,¡"v I \A \4. ,,1:1 "'-when the country waS@iscovered,)were found in possession of dis-tricts along the coast, and deriving a principal means of supportfrom the ocean. They were fishermen rather than, hunters, though

From Notions 01 the Americans Picked Up by a Traveling Bachelor (Phila-delphia: Carey, Lea, and Carey, 1828), pp. 277-289 passim.

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the savage state ordinarily infers a resort to both pursuits. Mostof these people, too, retired reluctantly from a view of "the greatsalt lake,' but some were environed by the whites before theywere properly aware of the blighting ínfluence of the communion;and, ?e.tting gradually accustomed to their presence, they preferredremammg near th¿ places where they had first drawn breath.

•.TriBing districts of Iterritory have been, in every instance in whichfhey were sufficlentIy numerous to make such a provision desír-able, secured to them, and on these little tracts of land many ofthem still remain. I have visited one or two of their establishments.

In point of civilization, comforts, and character, t.fu: Indíans,who remain near the coasts, are about on a level with the lowestc~sses of Euro¡2ean Eeasant.ry..:Perhaps tl.!~y~are somewhat, belgwthe English, but I think not below the lrish peasan~~: ~~much beIow the condition of the mass~of the slaves. It is but an-o~ proof of the wayward vanity af man, that die latter alwaysnold fhe Indlans In contempt, though lt IS some proof {hat theyf~e1 their own condlhon fo be physicalIy Eetter: morallJí iJ! on~_sense, it certainly is not~

Many of these AtIantic Indians go to sea. They are quite oftenfound in the whalers, and, in some instances, in the vessels ofwar. An officer in the navy has told me that he once knew aMontauk Indian who was a captain of the main-top in a sloop ofwar;and in another instance, a flag officer had his gig manned byIndians. They make active and very obedient seamen, but arenever remarkable for strength. The whole number of them whonow go to sea, does not, however, probably exceed a hundred ortwo.*

,..The writer, while in America, heard an anecdote which may give someidea of the. notions of retributive justice which linger so long in the philos-ophy ofan Indian, and which is, probably, the basis of his desire for re-venge, since he is well known to be as eminently grateful as he is vindictive.The whalers always take their reward in a portion of the profits of thevoyage. An Indian made several voyages in succession, in the same ship; he

.found, at his return, that bad luck, advances, and tbe supplies of an ex-travagant family at home, left him 'always in debt. "What shall Ido?" wasthe question put to his owner, as eacb unfortunate balance was exhibited."You must go to sea." To sea he went, and, as stated, for four or fiveyears, always with the same resulto At length, good fortune, with a properamount of preventive castigation on his improvident· wife, before he sailed,

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1 accompanied Cadwa11ader on a visit to a connexion, who liveswithin forty miles of New-York, on the adjacent island of Nassau(Long Island). The unele of my friend was aman of extensivehereditary estate, on which there might have been a reservationof a few thousand acres of woods. While shooting over this forest,oneday, the proprietor asked me if I felt any desire to see anIndian king. Surprised at such a question, in such a place, anexplanation was requested. He told me that an Indian, whoelaimed to be a descendant of fhe ancient Sachems, tben held biscourt in his woods, and that a walk of fifteen. minutes would bringus into the presence of King Peter. We went.

I found this Indian, dwelling .with his family, in a wigwam of amost primitive construction. It was in the form of a bee-hive, orrather oe a very high dome. The covering was made of a long,tough grass, that grows near the sea, and the texture was fine andeven beautiful. A post in .the centre supported the fabric, whichwas shaped by de1icate curvíng poles. A hole in the top admittedthe light, and allowed the smoke to pass out; and the fire wasnear enough to the upright post to permít a kettle to be suspendedfrom one .of its knots (or cut branches) near enough to feel theinftuence of the heat. The door was a covering of mats, and thefurniture consisted of a few rude chairs, baskets, and a bed, thatwas neither savage, nor yet such as rnarks the civilized mano Theattire .of the family was partly that of the one condition, andpartly that. of the other. The man himse1f was a full-bloodedIndian,but his manner had that species of su11endeportment that:

.betrays the disposition without the boldness of the savage. Hecomplained that"basket stuff" was getting scarce, and spoke of an

. intentíon of removing his wigwamshortly to some other estate.The manufacture of baskets and brooms is a common employ-

ment .af a11 the Indians who reside near the settlements. Theyfeed on game, and, sometimes, like the gypsies, they make freewith poultry, though in common they -ªrCErigidly ._h0!lest;nearly

brougbt the balance on his side. The money was ofcourse tendered; butfor a long time he refused to receive it, insisting that justice required thathis owners should now go to sea, where it would seem he had not enjoyedhimself quite asmuch as he believed the other party to the contract haddone on shore.

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a~~ unless corrupted by much intercourse with the whites.With the proceeds of their labour they purchase olanfets, powder,and such other indulgences as exceed their art to manufacture.King Peter, I was told, claimed a right, in virtue of his royaldescent, to cut saplin¡gs to supply his materials, on any estate inthe island. He was [permitted to enjoy this species of feudalprivilege in quiet, it! being we11understood that he was not toexceed a certain discretion in its exercise.

In the more interior parts of the country, I frequently metfamílies of the Indians, either travelling, or proceeding to somevillage, with their wares. They were a11alike, a stunted, dirty, anddegraded race. Sometimes they encamped in the forests, lightedtheir 6res, and remained for weeks in a place; and atothers, theykept roaming daily, until the time arrived when they shouldreturn to their reservations. .

The reservations in the old States, and with tribes that cannotaspire to the dígnity of nations, are managed on a sufficientlyhumane principIe. The laws of the State, or of the United States,have jurisdiction there,in a11 matters between white men, orbetween a white man and an Indian; but the Indians themselvesare cornmonly permitted to control the whole of their own internalpolicy. Bargains, exceeding certain amounts, are not valid betweenthem and the whites, who cannot, for instance,purchase theirlands. Schools are usua11yprovided, in the more important tribes,by tbe general government, and in the less, by charity. Religiousinstruction is also furnished by tbe latter means.

I saw reservations in which no mean advances had been madein civilization. Farms were imperfectly tilled, and cattle were seengrazing in the fields. ~~).L~i!~zatign. ~d"2AG@S ••~6 ••1y am6flg .~people who considerlabout a degradation, ina¡;iditiou to thebodily dl~1iké'thaf'ilÍl ~eti·have to "itsbCCtlpáfions. \,g..'Lj

There are many of these tribés, however, who fi11a' far moreimportant, and altogether a remarkable positíon. There is certainlyno portion of country within the admitted boundaries of theUníted States, in which their laws are not paramount, if tbeychoose to exert them. Still, savage communities do exist witbinthese limits, with whom they make treaties, against whom theywage open war, and witb whom they make solemn peace. As a

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treaty is, by the constitution, tbe paramount law of the land, theseveral States are obliged to respect their legal provisions.

That neither the United States, nor any individual State, has-ever taken possession of any land that, by usage or construction,might be decreed the property of the Indians, without a treaty and.a purchase, is, 1 believe, certain. How far an equivalent is given,is another question: though 1 fancy that these bargains are quiteas just as any that are ever driven between the weak and the strong,the inte11igent and the ignorant.1t is not pretended that the value-of the territory gained is paid for; but the purchase is rather a-deference to general principIes of justice and humanity, than aconcession to a right in the Indíans, which itself might admit of athousandlegal quibbles. The treaties are sufficiently humane, and,.although certain borderers, who possess the power of the white manwith the disposition of the savage, do sometimes violate their-conditions, there is no just reason to distrust the intentions or the-conduct of the government ....

There is a bureau of tbe war department that is ca11ed the'''office of the Indian affaírs.' A bumane and discreet individual.ís at its head, and a good deal is endeavoured to be done inmitigating the sufferings and in meliorating the condition of theIndians, though, owing to the peculiar babits and opinions of tbesepeople, but líttle, I fear, is effected. 1 see by the report of tbe-current year, (1827) that, in nine months, requisitions towards the.support of the objects of this bureau, were made to the amount-of 759,116 do11ars,or at the rate of a little more than a million ofdollars ayear. Thís, you will rernember, is one-tentbof tbe cur-rent expenditure of the whole government,' and nearly as mucb asis paid for tbesupport of the wbole civilIist, strictly speaking. : ..

The government, it would appear by the reports, puts tbeutmost latitude on the construction of their constitutional powers,'by even paying money for the support of missionaries among theIndíans. 1 believe, however, tbat tbe a11eged and legal object oftbis charge, is for general instruction, though in point of fact, tbeteacbers are missionaries. They are of a11 sects, Protestant andCatholic, tbe question of creed being never díscussed at a11.1 seebv tbe reports, that(in 1827) tbere were 1291 scbolars in the.different schools that come under tbe superintendence of the

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government. It is not probable that a11the Indians belonging tothe tribes that receive this instruction much exceed, if indeed theyreach, the total number of 30,000. I think it is therefore apparent,that quite as good provision for elementary instruction is made inbehalf of the Indians, ~s is eommonly made for the people of anycountry, except those of the United States themselves. There is noreason to suppose that all the children who present themselves,are not taught; and there is much reason for believing that effortsare constantly making to induce all to come. The úumber ofteachers is293, which is quite enough to instruct ten times thenumber. You are not to suppose, 'however, that all these teachersare men hired expressly for that purpose. They are the missionaries,their wives and familíes, and some of them are for the purposeof instructing in the arts of life, as well as in reading and writing.Much of the expense is defrayed by charitable associations. Thesum actually paid by the government for the express object ofinstruction, is 7,150 dollars, or enough to maintain rather morethan forty teachers of stipends of 150 dollars each. Itis probablethat some receive more, and some less. It íssaid that the schoolsare generally in a flouríshing condition.

Where there is much intercourse .between the very strong andvery weak, there is always a tendency in the human mind to suspectabuses of power. I sha11not descend into the secret impulses thatgive rise to these suspicions; but in this stage of the world, thereis o necessity for sus )ectin a nation like th.is of anyunpro,:ok!!dwrongs'against a people like the savageS.The ¡nroa o t le w rítesof the mte a es. as xi " een mar "e se gross InJus~.ce

~ IN>. \oQci vJ Ovo a_nd brutality. that. have d,istinguished similar: mroa s e sew le~\-.J ...J ~ \ ~ The Indians have never been slain except in battle, unless by law-~d..L- ~ . u. /less individuals; never hunted by blood-hounds, o~J!1..a!!Y..!!lann~r-t~~"\:; \w>~~o..~~ aggrieved, except in the general, and, perhaps,in some degree,, l' ~ \_ •. J. justifiable invasion of a territory that they did not want, nor could1~\lll..~ """"""I.\J <- -", .

~ ' not use. If the government of the United States was poor and~\: %J \1 -t- necessitous, one might suspect it of an unjust propensity; but notW a.M..n. \, only the facts, but the premises, would teach us to believe the

,."... reverse.A great, humane,and, 1 think, rational project, is now in opera-

tion to qI!!lg the Indians within the pale of civilizatio~. I sha11

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furnish you with its outline as it is detailed in a recent report ofthe head of the Indian office.

Most, if not all of the Indians who reside east of the Mississippi,live within the jurisdiction of some State or of some territory. Inmost cases they are left to the quiet enjoyment of the scantyrights which they retain, but the people of their vicinity commonly .wish to get rid of neighbours that retard civilization, and who areso often troublesome. The policy of States is sometimes adverseto their continuance. Though there is no power, except that ofthe United States, which can effect their removal without theirown consent, the State authorities can greatly embarrass the con-trolof the general government. A question of policy, and, perhaps,of jurisdiction, lately arose on this subject between Georgia andthe general government. In the course of its disposal, the UnitedStates, in order to secure the rights of the Indíans more effectually,and to prevent anyfuture question of this sort, appear to havehit on the following plan. "

West of the Mississippi they still hold large regions that belongto no State or territory. They propose to several tribes (Choctaws,Chickasaws, Cherokees, &c.) to sell theirpresent possessions,improvements, houses, fences, stock, &c., and to receive, in return,acre for acre, with the same amount ofstock, fences, and everyother auxiliary of civilizationthey -now possess. The inducementsto make thís exchange are as fo11ow:-Perpetuity to their estab-líshments, since a pledge is given that no title shall ever begranted that may raise a pretext for another removal; an organi-zation of a republican, or, as it is termed, a territorial governmentfor them, such as now exist in Florida, Arkansas, and Michigan;protectíon, by the presence of troops; and a right to send delegatesto Congress, similar to that now enjoyed by the other territories.

If the lan can be effected there is reason to think that thecon·stant diminution in the numbers of ten ians wlI beclíecked, and that i!~ce,-';1:;o~t'-whom"Hiere-isso muClr--that is ~ ~-\ o-p~~ª&~~fine in recollection, wiJI be preservect-frn:~~e of ~ I,b \NI¡the southern tnbes have already endured the collísion with the tu\~f(..white man,and are still slowly on the increase, As one of thesetribes, at least, (the Chickasaws,) is inc1uded in this plan, thereis just ground to hope that the dangerous point of communication

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has been passed, and that they may continue to advancein civiliza-tion to maturity. The chief of the bUTeau on Indian affairs givesit as his opinion that they (the Chickasaws) have increased a"Do1Iten per cent within SlX ears. Their hole numberis computeda OUTt ousan sou s.

Should such a terri~ory be formed, a nucleus will be created,around which all the savages of the west, who have any yeamingsfor a more melio.rated state of. existence, can rally. As t~U!..~~~ao~e...to...IDl!1 lecJhe~w.blte and !e4 ~~~~ J!.?¡ th~E'§xSlC~J ~ren~is far Jess than in the case,of the blacks, ano die lndians~.xe .never.been __menial -sJaveS,fI think an amalgam'"iitiori"O'f tlietwo races would in time occur. Those families of America whoare thought to have any of the Indian blood, are rather proud oftheir descent, and i~_.a.._J!latter of boast among many of the-mastconsiderable p-ersons of Virginia, that they are descended fram thereIlO.W--.!ledPocahontas.

The character of the American Indian has been too often faith-fully described to need any repetition here. The majority of them,in or near the settlements, are an humbled and much degradedrace. As you recede from the Mississippi, the finer traits of savagelife become visible; and, although most of the natives of thePrairies, even there, are far from being the interestingand romanticheroes that poets love to paint, thereare specimens of loftinessof spirit, of bearing, and of savage heroism, to be found amongthe chiefs, that might embarrass thefertility of the richest in-vention to equal. 1 met one of those heroes of the desert, and afiner physical and moral man, allowing for peculiarity of condi-tion, it has rarely been m)' good fortune to encounter.