NOTES, &c.

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CHAPTER I.

PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS ON THE CHARACTER OF THE INDIAN MODE OF WARFARE, AND ITS ADOPTION BY THE WHITE PEOPLE.

THIS is a subject which presents human nature in its most revolting features, as subject to a vindictive spirit of revenge, and a thirst of human blood, leading to an indiscriminate slaughter of all ranks, ages and sexes, by the weapons of war, or by torture.

The history of man is, for the most part, one continued detail of bloodshed, battles and devastations. War has been, from the earliest periods of history, the almost constant employment of individuals, clans, tribes and nations. Fame, one of the most potent objects of human ambition, has at all times been the delusive, but costly reward of military achievement. The triumph of conquest, the epithet of greatness, the throne and the sceptre, have uniformly been purchased by the conflict of battle and garments rolled in blood.

If the modern European laws of warfare have softened in some degree the horrid features of national conflicts, by respecting the rights of private property, and extending humanity to the sick, wounded and prisoners; we ought to reflect that this amelioration is the effect of civilization only. The natural state of war knows no such mixture of mercy with cruelty. In his primitive state, man knows no object in his wars, but that of the extermination of his enemies, either by death or captivity.

The wars of the Jews were exterminatory in their object. The destruction of a whole nation was often the result of a single campaign. Even the beasts themselves were sometimes included in the general

massacre.

The present war between the Greeks and Turks is a war upon the ancient model-a war of utter extermination.

It is, to be sure, much to be regretted, that our people so often fellowel the cruel examples of the Indians, in the slaughter of prisoners,

and sometimes worden and children: yet let them receive á candid hear ing at the bar of reason and justice, before they are condemned as bar- ́ barians, equally with the Indians themselves.

History scarcely presents an example of a civilized nation carrying on a war with barbarians without adopting the mode of warfare of the barbarous nation. The ferocious Suwarrow, when at war with the Turks, was as much of a savage as the Turks themselves. His slaughters were as indiscriminate as theirs; but during his wars against the French, in Italy, he faithfully observed the laws of civilized warfare.

Were the Greeks now at war with a civilized nation, we should hear nothing of the barbarities which they have committed on the Turks; but being at war with barbarians, the principle of self defence compèls them to retaliate on the Turks the barbarities which they commit on them.

In the last rebellion in Ireland, that of the United Irishmen, the government party were not much behind the rebels in acts of lawless cruelty. ́ It was not by the hands of the executioner alone they perished. Summary justice, as it was called, was sometimes inflicted. How many. perished under the torturing scourge of the drummer for the purpose of extorting confessions! These extra-judicial executions were attempted to be justified on the ground of the necessity of the case.

Our revolutionary war has a double aspect: on the one hand we carried on a war with the English, in which we observed the maxims of civilized warfare with the utmost strictness; but the brave, the potent, the magnanimous nation of our forefathers had associated with themselves, as auxiliaries, the murderous tomahawk and scalping knife of the Indian nations around our defenseless frontiers, leaving those barbarous sons of the forest to their own savage mode of warfare, to the full indulgence of all their native thirst for human blood.:

On them, then, be the blame of all the horrid features of this war Between civilized and savage men, in which the former was compelled, by every principle of self defense, to adopt the Indian mode of warfare, in all its revolting and destructive features.

Were those who were engaged in the war against the Indians, Jess humane than those who carried on the war against their English allies? No, they were not. Both parties carried on the war on the same principle of reciprocity of advantages and disadvantages. For example, the English and Americans take each one thousand prisoners: they are. exchanged: neither army is weakened by this arrangement. A sacrifice is indeed made to humanity, in the expense of taking care of the sick, wounded and prisoners; but this expense is mutual. No disadvantages result from all the clemency of modern warfare, excepting an augmentation of the expenses of war. In this mode of warfare, those of the nation, not in arms, are safe from death by the hands of soldiers. No civilized warrior dishonors his sword with the blood of helpless infancy, old age," or that of the fair sex. He aims his blows only at those whom he finds in arms against him. The Indian kills indiscriminately. His object is the total extermination of his enemies. Children are victims of his vengeance, because, if miles, they may hereafter become warriors, or if females, they may become mothers. Even the fetal state is criminal in

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his view. It is not enough that the fetus should perish with the murdered mother; it is torn from her pregnant womb, and elevated on a stick or pole, as a trophy of victory and an object of horror to the survivors of

the slain.

If the Indian takes prisoners, mercy has but little consern in the transsaction. He spares the lives of those who fall into his hands, for the purpose of feasting the feelings of ferocious vengeance of himself and his comrades, by the torture of his captive; or to increase the strength of his nation by his adoption into an Indian family; or for the purpose of gain, by selling him for an higher price, than his scalp would fetch, to his christian allies of Canada; for be it known that those allies were in the constant practice of making presents for scalps and prisoners, as well as furnishing the means for carrying on the Indian war, which for so many years desolated our defenseless frontiers. No lustration can ever wash out this national stain. The foul blot must remain, as long as the page of history shall convey the record of the foul transaction to future generations.

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The author would not open wounds which have, alas! already bled so long, but for the purpose of doing justice to the memory of his forefathers relatives, many of

the hands of the mercilem perished in the defense of their country, by

Indians.

How is a war of extermination, and accompanied with such acts of atrocious cruelty, to be met by those on whom it is inflicted? Must it be met by the lenient maxims of civilized warfare? Must the Indian captive be spared his life? What advantage would be gained by this course? The young white prisoners, adopted into Indian families, often become complete Indians; but in how few instances did ever an Indian become civilized. Send a cartel for an exchange of prisoners; the Indians know nothing of this measure of clemency in war; the bearer of the white flag for the purpose of effecting the exchange would have exerted his humanity' at the forfeit of his life.

Should my countrymen be still charged with barbarism, in the prosecution of the Indian war, let him who harbors this unfavorable impression concerning them, portray in imagination the horrid scenes of slaughter. which frequently met their view in the course of the Indian war. Let him, if he can bear the reflection, look at helpless infancy, virgin beauty, and hoary age, dishonored by the ghastly wounds of the tomahawk and scalping knife of the savage. Let him hear the shricks of the victims of the Indian torture by fire, and smell the surrounding air, rendered sickening by the effluvia of their burning flesh and blood. Let him hear the yells, and view the hellish features of the surrounding circle of savage warriors, rioting in all the luxuriance of vengeance, while applying the flaming torches to the parched limbs of the sufferers, and then suppose those murdered infants, matrons, virgins and victims of torture, were his friends and relations, the wife, sister, child or brother; what would be his feelings! After a short season of grief, he would say, "I will now think only of revenge."

Philosophy shudders at the destructive aspect of war in any shape:

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christianity, by teaching the religion of the good Samaritan, altogether forbids it: but the original settlers of the western regions, like the greater part of the world, were neither philosophers nor saints. They were men of like passions with others;" and therefore adopted the Indian mode of warfare from necessity and a motive of revenge; with the excep tion of burning their captives alive, which they never did. If the bodies of savage enemies were sometimes burned, it was not until after they

were dead.

Let the voise of nature and the law of nations plead in favor of the veteran pioneers of the desert regions of the west. War has hitherto been a prominent trait in the moral system of human nature, and will continue such, until a radical change shall be effected in favor of science, morals and piety, on a general scale.

In the conflicts of nations, as well as those of individuals, no advantages are to be conceded. If mercy may be associated with the carnage and devastations of war, that mercy must be reciprocal; but a war of utter extermination must be met by a war of the same character, or by an overwhelming force which may put on end to it, without a sacrifice of the helpless and unoffending part of the hostile nation. Such a force was not at the command of the first inhabitants of this country. The sequel of the Indian war goes to show that in a war with savages the choice lies between extermination and subjugation. Our government has wisely and humanely pursued the latter course.

Tho author begs to be understood that the foregoing observations are not intended as a justification of the whole of the transactions of our people with regard to the Indians during the course of the war. Some instances of acts of wanton barbarity occurred on our side, which have received and must continue to receive the unequivocal reprobration of all the civilised world. In the course of this history, it will appear that more deeds of wanton barbarity took plase on our side than the world is now acquainted with..