In tual superiority of the masters. Carolina the slave is prohibited from thinking and excluded from hope; his existence is almost as purely physical as that of our domestic animals. In the Spanish colonies, where the distinctions are less extreme, the lot of the slave admits of many alleviations; and at Nootka, the slave is almost on an equality with his master. He sleeps under the same roof, partakes of the same food, and is protected by the same clothing. He is often rewarded with freedom, and his descendants may become chiefs of the tribe. It is true, the master possesses the power of life and death-a power under some form or other inherent in the property of slaves; but it is scarcely ever exercised by the Indian masters. Mankind are ready to invent fictitious distinctions, or to avail themselves of such as nature affords. In the European colonies difference of complexion separates the dominant from the subjeet race. Such a distinction is impossible among the Indians, where master and servant are of like complexion. The same end is attained by a ludierous but most effectual expedient. Among the Columbian tribes no slave dares to flatten the head of his child. This is the exclusive privilege of the free, and thus the distinction of flat head, as effectually marks the relations of master and slave, as that of European and negro. There is one advantage attending this Indian slavery; it probably mitigates the ferocity of war, by raising selfishness as a counterpoise to that excess of vindictive feeling which is common to all the Indian tribes. The Indians are extremely credulous as well as vindictive; and these two states of mind are often strangely combined. They believe that every disease is occasioned by some malevolent agent; and in every tribe there is a number of medicine men who can expel the evil spirit from the patient, or can afflict their enemies with mortal disease. These impostors lead a very hazardous life; for their countrymen have an unbounded faith in their powers for good or evil, and they are consulted on every emergency. Their mode of cure is abundantly simple. The doctor collects the neighbours, whose office it is to sing, beat the roof with sticks, and in short make as much noise as possible to frighten away the demon. The doctor then places his knees on the chest of his unfortunate com patient, and endeavours to squeeze the evil spirit out of his lurking place. It the patient recovers, the impostor is richly rewarded, but he is held responsible for the event; and if the disease terminates fatally, and the friends of the patient be powerful, the doctor will be assassinated at the earliest opportunity. This mode of punishing their medical men is a very frequent cause of war among the Columbian tribes. On one occasion, two young and favourite chiefs of the Cheenook clan, both labouring under pulmonary consumption, were mitted to the charge of two famous medical chiefs; and under their treatment the patients died. The two doctors, who belonged to another clan, were murdered, and this gave rise to a war of twelve months' duration. We shall give another instance of the danger of practising on Indian credulity. One of the doctors actually succeeded in persuading the Indians that he was ball proof; and one of his friends resolved to make the experiment; the boaster was shot, but it was for some time before the matter-of-fact Indian could be persuaded that he had killed his friend. To the north of Nootka the Indians belong to a different race, and speak a different language. The natives of Queen Charlotte Island belong to this race; are a strong-built and good-looking people, of a light complexion, and possessed of great courage and ingenuity. They are far superior to the Columbian tribes in courage as well as in the neatness of their ornaments, but inferior to them in cleanliness. They do not compress the heads of their children; but in its stead they have devised a still more revolting defor mity. The women-for it is to them the practice is confined-make a long incision in the under lip, into which they insert a piece of wood about an inch and a half in length, and a quarter of an inch in breadth, and thus appear as if they carried a spoon fixed to their mouth. We shall now give some account of the overland expedition, which is still richer in incidents than the sea voyage. This expedition was to depart from St. Louis, and after ascending the Missouri, was to cross the Rocky Mountains, and join the settlers at Astoria, as their emporium at the mouth of the Columbia was designated. In this instance Mr. Astor was more fortunate in selecting a com mander than he was in choosing a captain for his vessel. Mr. Hunt, who conducted the travelling party, across the American continent, was admirably fitted for the task by his calm courage and mild good sense, which contrast him favourably with the peevish obstinacy, and want of prudence exhibited by the commander of the Tonquin. Mr. Hunt's party consisted of upwards of sixty men, composed of the most discordant materials, and requiring the most dexterous management. The greater number were French Canadians, kind, light-hearted and tractable,-admirable boatmen, and possessing much of the elastic spirit of their ancestors. These men are invaluable in the management of a canoe, and their easy manners enable them to accommodate themselves with far more facility to the society of Indians, than the more energetic, but inflexible Englishman; and hence they readily intermarry with the natives in whose country they may chance to reside. The voyageur, however, differs from his chivalrous ancestors in one important respect courage is not his forte; consequently, fighting is business for which he has no relish, and his antipathy to all deadly weapons is very great. To supply the deficiencies of the Canadians, a proper quota of hunters were hired, men who had seen many a hazard in the Indian country, and whose duty it was to kill game for the support of the party, and, when requisite, to fight in its defence. Occasionally, as the expedition ascended the Missouri, it would meet with one of these heroes of the desert, on his return to St. Louis, and but little persuasion was required to induce such restless spirits to join in a journey so full of interest and excitement. The history of one of these adventurers will exhibit the dangers incidental to these fearless but unsettled men. A hunter, of the name of Colter, was engaged, with a companion, in trapping beaver, in territories of the Black-Feet Indians. We shall give the adventure in Mr. Irving's words: They were on a branch of the Missouri called Jefferson's Fork, and had set their traps at night, about six miles up a small river, which emptied itself into the Fork. Early in the morning they descended the river in a canoe, to examine their traps. As they were softly paddling along they heard the trampling of many feet upon the banks. Colter im mediately gave the alarm of Indians! and was for instant retreat. Potts scoffed at him for being frightened for the trampling of a herd of buffaloes. Colter checked his uneasiness and paddled forward. They had not gone much further when frightful whoops and yells burst forth from each side of the river, and several hundred Indians appeared on either bank. Signs were made for the unfortunate trappers to come on shore. They were obliged to comply. Before they could get out of the canoe, a savage seized the rifle belonging to Potts. Colter sprung hands of the Indian, and restored it to on shore, wrested the weapon from the his companion, who was still in the canoe, and immediately pushed into the stream. There was the sharp twang of a bow, and Potts cried out he was wounded. Colter urged him to come on shore and submit, as the only chance for his life; but the other knew there was no prospect of mercy, and determined to die game; levelling his rifle, he shot one of the savages dead on the spot;-the next moment he fell himself, pierced with innumerable arrows. "The vengeance of the savages now know that the whole pack of blood- "He arrived within a mile of the river. The sound of footsteps gathered upon him, and his pursuer was within twenty yards, preparing to launch his spear, Stopping short, he turned round, and spread out his arms. The savage, confounded by this sudden action, attempted to stop short, and level his spear, but fell in the act. Colter picked up the spear, and pinned the savage to the earth, and continued his flight. The Indians, as they arrived at their slaughtered companion, stopped to howl over him. Colter plunged into the stream, and gained a neighbouring island, at the upper part of which a great accumulation of drift-wood had formed a natural raft; under this he dived, and swam until he gained a breathing-place between two trunks of trees. He had scarcely drawn breath when he heard his pursuers on the river-bank, whooping and yelling like so many fiends. They came to the raft. The heart of Colter died within him as he saw them through the chinks, seeking for him in all directions. But at last they gave up the search, and the trapper effected his escape." Such are the adventures to which the beaver trapper is exposed in these savage regions, through which Mr. the vices of civilization have been and the old landmarks of custom, which tended to moderate, in some degree, the vices of the Indian, have been broken down by his commerce How correct is with the white man. the poet's picture of savage life! "Nec commune bonum poterunt, spectare neque ullis Quod quoque obtulerat præda fortuna ferebat, The history of the Omaha chief, prophesied his death within a certain In It was summer when Mr. Hunt's party ascended the Missouri, and the vast prairies which extended on either side of that magnificent stream, abounded in herds of buffaloes, which afforded ample sport to the hunters, and a plentiful supply of food to the party. The scene is vividly pourtrayed by Mr. Irving: were "Sometimes these unwieldy animals seen moving in long procession across the silent landscape; at other times they were scattered about singly, or in groups, over the broad, enamelled prairies, and green declivities; some cropping the rich pasturage, others reclining amidst the flowery herbage. At one place the shores seemed absolutely lined with buffaloes; many were making their way across the stream, snorting, and blowing, and floundering. Numbers, in spite of every effort, were borne by the rapid current within shot of the boats, and several were killed. At another place a number were descried on the beach of a small island, under the shade of trees, or standing in the water, like cattle, to avoid the flies and the heat of the day. "Besides the buffaloes, they saw abundance of deer, and frequent gangs of stately elks, together with light troops of sprightly antelopes, the fleetest and most sprightly animals of the prairies." This description of Mr. Irving's is free from all exaggeration, and every traveller speaks in terms of admiration at the abundance of these fine animals whose countless herds afford the chief support of the Indians from Hudson's Bay to Mexico. "It is no exaggeration," says an American traveller, "to assert that in one place on the banks of the Platte, at least ten thousand bisons burst on our sight in an instant. In the morning, we again sought the living picture, but upon all the plain, which, last evening was so teeming with noble animals, not one remained." These animals are migratory-advancing during summer to the most northern parts of America, and retiring as the cold season approaches, to the confines of Mexico. It is remarkable, that, with very few exceptions, all the useful domestic animals have been introduced into America by Europeans. At its discovery, the only domestic animals were the llama and vicnba, and the dog, the inseparable companion of man. None of the aboriginal inhabitants of North America ever attempted to avail themselves of the buffalo as a beast of burden, and what is still more remarkable, none of the hunting tribes ever passed to the pastoral state by bringing the wild cattle under their dominion. In short, so far are we from finding any tendencies to civilization and a settled life among the Indians of North America, that melancholy as the fact may be, every thing leads to an opposite conclusion. We find throughout the continent ancient monuments of former races superior in civilization to the present tribes, and long before the arrival of Euro peans, the Indian race had retrograded into barbarism, and had lost every memorial of their ancestors. On arriving at the Aricara village,the Missouri ceases to be navigable, and Mr. Hunt and his party were obliged to pursue their journey to the Rocky Mountains on horseback. They passed through the country of the Crow Indians, a tribe of the most dexterous horsestealers which America can produce. These marauders, issuing from their hiding places in the declivities of the mountains, pillage the tribes of the plains, and carry off great numbers of horses, plunder the lonely beaver trapper, or attack the weak parties of traders. The party, however, passed in safety through this dishonest tribe, and proceeded on their journey across the mountains. This lofty range is viewed with feelings of superstitious awe by the Indians, who believe that its lofty and inaccessible summits are the abodes of their deceased warriors. "They call it," says Mr. Irving, “the crest of the world, and think that Wacoudah, the Master of life, as they designate the Supreme Being, has his residence among these aerial heights. Some of them place the happy hunting grounds, their ideal paradise, among the recesses of these mountains, but say that they are invisible to living men; here also is the land of souls, in which are the towns of the generous and free spirits, where those while living, enjoy after death, all manner who have pleased the Master of life of delights." In what is remote or unknown, there is always room for the imagination, and the inaccessible and snow-crowned mountains have, in all ages and countries, been peopled by the creations of fancy. The heights of the Himmalayah Mountains are the favourite abodes of the Hindoo deities, and every one remembers the aerial inhabitants of Olympus. The belief in a hereafter so accordant with all the aspirations of savage or civilized man, is but obscurely revealed to unaided reason, and this uncertainty becomes associated in the mind with all that is indefinite and inaccessible in the grander scenery of nature. The remainder of the journey of Mr. Hunt's party was one of hardships and misfortunes. They traversed the country between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific during the winter, while provisions were scarce, and the game difficult to procure. In consequence of this scarcity, they were obliged to separate into smaller bands, and to subsist on horse-flesh and dogs; and even these were not always to be procured. After numerous hardships and adventures, the wanderers successively arrived at Astoria, their head-quarters, on the Columbia River. The ultimate fortunes of Mr. Astor's project are soon told. While his traders were employed in establishing their commerce to the west of the mountains, war broke out between England and the United States, and the establishment on the Columbia presented a fair and tempting prize to the English North West Company.— Accordingly, they fitted out an armed vessel to take possession of Astoria, and the government despatched a sloop of war to aid them. In the meantime a band of North Westers were despatched, who, by a skilful manœuvre, purchased at a small price, the whole of Mr. Astor's property. The officers of the sloop of war, who had been elated with splendid hopes of prize money, were bitterly disappointed, when, on their arrival, they found that this El Dorado of the Columbia had passed into the hands of the North West Company. We shall, before taking leave of this interesting work, add a few observations on the characters of the Indian tribes, which are scattered over the vast prairies of North America, and contrast their habits and dispositions with those of their brethren of the western shores. Although the Indian character possesses many features which are common to all the tribes from Canada to Chili, still many interesting modifications are introduced hy variety of climate, and mode of obtaining subsistence. The Indian mind is characterised by its inflexibility, and an extreme repugnance to all continuous labour or tranquil life. The causes of this are sufficiently obvious. It has been the custom to trace the progress of civilization from the rude hunter to the nomadic shepherd, and from thence to the settled life of agriculture, and ultimately to aggregations of men into cities occupied with manufactures and commerce. It is difficult, however, to quote a single instance in which a tribe of hunters have passed voluntarily to the state of shepherds or farmers. So far is this from being the case, that let even a civilized European become habituated to the wandering life of a fur trader or trapper, and thenceforth he is lost to sedentary life. The pleasures of the chace-the excitement of continual dangers—the alternations of perfect inaction and violent exertion, when strengthened by habit, render all continuous exertion insupportable. The Indian, on his hunting expeditions, will encounter an amount of fatigue and exertion and hunger which is perfectly incredible; but, his time at home is spent in eating and sleeping. But this mode of life produces many effects on the Indian character. Accustomed to privation and patience in the chace, he acquires every artifice necessary for accomplishing his purpose; he is silent not to alarm his prey, he conceals every expression of his feelings, and his countenance seldom indicates either joy or sorrow. His tranquil hours also require excitement analogous to that of the chace, and hence the practice of gaming is a passion; and he often stakes his property, and even his wife, on the chance of a game. His wars are, in fact, of the nature of a nobler kind of hunting; he pursues his foe as he does the bear or the wolf.Open warfare is unknown among Indians, and their revenge is unrelenting. Any one who has seen a sportsman intent upon his game may have some idea of the habitual cast of the Indian countenance. This state of mind is also cherished by the scenery around him. He sojourns in boundless and sombre forests the lakes are inland seas, the mountains of inaccessible height, and the rivers of vast magnitude. Everything seems to impress on him the vastness of nature and the feeble powers of man to contend with it; and this contributes to the stoicism of his character, which acquires much of the permanence of the mighty scenery around him. The Indian of the Pacific coasts of America is placed under very different circumstances, and exhibits corresponding contrasts of character. He is not a hunter, but lives upon the fish which frequent his rivers and bays in countless swarms. Hence, he is more sedentary in his habits, and consequently more ready to adopt civilized usages. The natives of Queen Charlotte Island have learned to cultivate the potato, although all their intercourse with Europeans was confined to the occasional visits of trading vessels. these tribes of the west subsist upon fish, they must also display a degree of As |