The Cherokees.

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and have ever since experienced the fostering care of the State, in some degree.1 Their chief village was upon the Catawba river, near the mouth of the Fishing Creek, and there the remnant of the nation, numbering less than a hundred souls, are now [1857] living upon a reservation a few miles square. Their ancient language is almost extinct.

1. Westward, and joining the Tuscaroras3 and Catawbas* were the CHEROKEES, the brave and noble mountaineers of the South. Their beautiful land extended from the Carolina Broad river on the east, to the Alabama on the west, including the whole of the upper portion of Georgia from the head waters of the Alatamaha, to those of the Tennessee. It is one of the most delightful regions of the United States.

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2. The CHEROKEES were the determined foes of the Shawnees, and finally drove them from the country south of the Ohio river. They joined with the Catawbas and the white people against the Tuscaroras in 1712, but were members of the great confederation against the Carolinians, in 1715.7

3. The CHEROKEES and the FIVE NATIONS had bloody contests for a long time. A reconciliation was effected by the English about the year 1750, and the Cherokees became the allies of the peace-makers, against the French. They assisted in the capture of Fort Du Quesne in 1758, but their irregularities on their return, along the border settlements of Virginia, gave the white people an apparent excuse for killing two or three warriors. Hatred was engendered, and the Cherokees soon afterward retaliated by spreading destruction along the frontiers." Hostilities continued a greater portion of three years, when peace was established in 1761, and no more trouble ensued.

4. The Cherokees adhered to the British during the Revolution; and for eight years afterward they continued to annoy the people of the upper county of the Carolinas. They were reconciled by treaty in 1791. They were friends of the United States in 1812, and assisted in the subjugation of the Creeks.10 Civilization was rapidly elevating them from the condition of roving savages, to agriculturists and artizans, when their removal west of the Mississippi was required. They had established schools, a printing press, and other means for improvement and culture, when they were obliged to leave

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1. In 1822, a Catawba warrior made an eloquent appeal to the Legislature of South Carolina for aid. pursued the deer for subsistence," he said, "but the deer are disappearing, and I must starve. God ordained me for the forests, and my ambition is the shade. But the strength of my arm decays, and my feet fail me in the chase. The hand that fought for your liberties is now open to you for relief." A pension was granted. 2. Yorkville district, South Carolina. 5. Verse 9, page 14. 9. Verse 49. page 168.

3. Verse 4, page 18.

4. Verse 1, page 19.

7. Verse 20, page 138. 8. Verse 34, page 162.

6. Verse 14, page 136. 10. Verse 15, page 290.

QUESTIONS.-1. What regions did the Cherokees inhabit? 2. What was their position toward the white people in 1712, and afterward? 3. What was their position during the French and Indian war? 4. Relate the chief events in the history of the Cherokees since the beginning of the War for Independence.

The Uchees.

The Natchez.

Their collision with the French.

their farms and the graves of their fathers, for a new home in the wilderness. They are in a fertile country, watered by the Arkansas and its tributaries, and are in a prosperous condition. They now [1857] number about fourteen thousand souls.'

SECTION VI.

THE UCHEES.

1. The UCHEES were but a remnant of a once powerful nation when Europeans discovered them. They were seated in the pleasant country extending from the Savannah river, at Augusta, westward to Milledgeville, and along the banks of the Oconee and the head waters of the Great Ogeechee and the Chattahooche. They claimed to be descendants of the most ancient inhabitants of the country, and had no tradition of their ever occupying any other territory than the domain on which they were found. Their language was exceedingly harsh, and unlike that of any other nation. left the land of their fathers, and have become partially Creeks, with whom about one thousand souls yet [1857] remain.

They, too, have absorbed by the

1. The NATCHEZ occupied a small territory on the eastern side of the Mississippi, about as large as that of the Uchees. It extended north-easterly from the Mississippi along the valley of the Pearl river to the upper waters of the Chickasahaw. For a long time they were supposed to belong to the nation of Mobilian tribes by whom they were surrounded, but their language proved them to be a distinct people. They became jealous of the French on their first appearance upon the Mississippi, and finally they conspired with others to drive the intruders from the country. The French fell upon, and almost annihilated the nation, in 1730. They never recovered from the shock, and after maintaining a feeble nationality for almost a century, they have become merged into the Creek confederacy. They now [1857] number less than three hundred souls, and their language, in its purity, is unknown.

1. Note 1, page 25,

2. The Natchez worshiped the sun; and some have supposed that they had once been in communication with the sun-worshipers of Central and South America. Note 1, page 331.

QUESTIONS.-1. Where was the country, and what was the character of the Uchees? Where are they now? 1. What region did the Natchez inhabit? What was their character? What caused their downfall?

1. The MOBILIAN nation was composed of a great number of tribes, speaking different dialects' of the same language. Their territory was next in extent to that of the ALGONQUINS." It stretched along the Gulf of Mexico from the Atlantic to the Mississippi, more than six hundred miles; up the Mississippi as far as the mouth of the Ohio; and along the Atlantic to, Cape Fear. It comprised a greater portion of the present State of Georgia, the whole of Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi, and parts, of South Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky. The nation was divided into three grand confederacies of tribes, namely, Muscogees or Creeks, Choctaws, and Chickasaws.

SOUTHERN INDIANS.

2. The Creek Confederacy extended from the Atlantic westward to the high lands which separate the waters of the Alabama and Tombigbee rivers, including a great portion of the States of Alabama and Georgia, and the whole of Florida. Oglethorpe's first interviews3 with the natives at Savannah, were with the people of this confederacy.

3. The Seminoles of Florida and the Yamassees or Savannahs of Georgia and South Carolina, were of the Creek confederacy. The latter were strong and warlike. They were at the head of the Indian Confederacy in 1715. When the general dispersion followed, the Yamassees took refuge with the Spaniards of Florida. Small bands often annoyed the white frontier settlements of Georgia, but they were not engaged in general hostilities until the Revolution, when the whole Creek Confederacy took part with the British. 4. The Seminoles were always hostile to their white neighbors, and bands of them went out upon the war-path, with the Yamassees. They joined the British in 1812-14; and in 1817 they renewed hostilities. They were subdued by General Jackson, and afterward remained comparatively quiet u until 1835, when they again attacked the white settlements. They were subjugated in 1842, after many lives and much treasure had been sacrificed. A few of them yet [1857] remain in the everglades of Florida, but a greater portion of the tribe have gone west of the Mississippi, with the other members of the Creek Confederacy. The Creeks proper now [1854] number about

1. Note 1, page 25 Verse 1 page 12,

Verse 5, page 79.

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5. This confederacy now consists of the Creeks proper, Seminoles, Coosadas, Alabamas. The Creeks, like several other tribes, claim to be the original people." 6. Verse 4, page 303. 7. Verse 10, page 311.

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4. Verse 20, page 138, Natchez, Hichitties, and 8. Verse 6, page 316.

QUESTIONS.-1. Who were the Mobilian tribes? What territory did they inhabit? Name their grand divisions? 2. What region did the Creek confederacy inhabit? 3. What other tribes were of the Creek confederacy? Who were the Yamassees? 4. What are the principal events in the history of the Seminoles ? What is the present condition of the Creeks?

The Choctaws and Chickasaws.

an

The Dahcotah or Sioux Indians.

twenty-four thousand souls; the number of the whole confederacy is about thirty thousand. They occupy lands upon the Arkansas and its tributaries. 5. The Choctaws inhabited the beautiful country bordering upon the Gulf of Mexico, and extending west of the Creeks to the Mississippi. They were agricultural people when the Europeans discovered them; and, attached to home and their quiet pursuits, they have ever been a peaceful people. Their wars have always been on the defensive, and they never had public feuds with either their Spanish, French, or English neighbors. They, too, have been compelled to abandon their native country for the uncultivated wilderness west of Arkansas, between the Arkansas and Red rivers. They now [1857] number about twenty-three thousand souls.

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6. The Chickasaws inhabited the country along the Mississippi, from the borders of the Choctaw domain, to the Ohio river, and eastward "beyond the Tennessee to t the lands of the Cherokees and Shawnees. This warlike tribe were the early friends of the English, and the most inveterate foes of the French, who had twice [1736-1740] invaded their country: They adhered to the British during the Revolution, but since that time they have held friendly relations with the Government of the United States. The remnant, about six thousand in number, are upon lands almost a hundred leagues westward of the Mississippi.

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7. Such is the brief history of the aboriginal nations with whom the first European settlers in the United States became acquainted. They have now no legal habitation eastward of the Mississippi; and the fragments of those powerful tribes who once claimed sovereignty over twenty-four degrees of longitude and twenty degrees of latitude, are now [1857] compressed within a quadrangle of about nine degrees, between the Red and Missouri rivers. Whether the grave of the last of those great tribes shall be within their present domain, or in some valley among the crags of the Rocky Mountains, expediency will determine."

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- THEDAI COTAH OR STÓ UX INDIÁNS.

1. The early French explorers found a great number of tribes west of the Mississippi, who spoke dialects of the same language. They occupied the vast region from the Arkansas on the south, to the western tributary of Lake Winnipeg on the north, and westward to the eastern slopes of the Rocky 1. Verse 1 page 2015 Tecn

2. Verse 9, page 14.

3. Bancroft II. 253] makes the following estimate of the entire aboriginal population in 1650: Algonquins, 90,000: Eastern Sioux, less than 3,000; Iroquois, including their southern kindred, about 17,000; Catawbas, 3,000; Cherokees (now more numerous than ever), 12,000; Mobilian tribes, 50,000; Uchees, 1,000; Natchez, 4,000 in all, 180,000. 4. Note 1, page 9.

QUESTIONS.-5. Where was the dwelling-place of the Choctaws? What has always been the character of the Choctaws? 6. What region did the Chickasaws inhabit? What was their character, and what became their condition? 7. What is the general condition of the Indian tribes, with whom the white people first became acquainted?

The northwestern tribes.

Mountains. They have been classed into four grand divisions, namely, the WINNEBAGOES, who inhabited the country between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi, among the ALGONQUINS; the ASSINIBOINS and SIOUX proper, the most northerly nation; the MINETAREE GROUP in the Minnesota Territory, and the SOUTHERN SIOUX, who dwelt in the country between the Arkansas and Platte rivers, and whose hunting-grounds extended to the Rocky Mountains.

2. The Winnebagoes often made war upon the Sioux west of the Mississippi. They generally lived on friendly terms with the ALGONQUINS, after their warlike spirit was somewhat subdued by the Illinois, who, in 1640, almost exterminated them. They were the enemies to the United States during the second war with Great Britain; and they confederated with the Sacs and Foxes in hostilities against the white people, under Black Hawk, in 1832. The tribe, now [1857] about four thousand strong, is seated upon the Mississippi, about eighty miles above St. Paul, the capital of Minnesota.

3. The Assinniboins yet inhabit their native country. Having separated from the nation, they are called “rebels." Their neighbors, the Sioux proper, were first visited by the French in 1660, and have ever been regarded as the most fierce and warlike people on the continent. They occupy their ancient domain, and are now [1857] about eighteen thousand strong.

4. The Minetarees, Mandans, and Crows, form the MINETAREE GROUP. They are classed with the Dahcotahs or Sioux, although the languages have only a slight affinity. The Minetarees and Mandans number about three thousand souls each. They cultivate the soil and live in villages. The Crows number about fifteen hundred, and are wanderers and hunters. The Mandans are very light-colored. Some suppose them to be descendants of a colony from Wales, which, it is believed, came to America under Madoc, the son of a Welsh prince, in the twelfth century."

5. The SOUTHERN SIOUX tribes are eight in number, namely, Arkansas, Osages, Kanzas, Iowas, Missouries, Otoes, Omahas, and Puncahs. They are cultivators and hunters. They live in villages a part of the year, and are abroad, upon their hunting grounds, during the remainder. Of these tribes, the Osages are the most warlike and powerful. All of the Southern Sioux tribes are upon lands watered by the Missouri and the Platte, and their tributaries.

1. See picture at the head of this chapter for representation of their costume and general appearance. 2. Verse 6, page 14. 3. Verse, 6 page 280. 4. Verse 5, page 309.

5. It is said that Madoc, son of Prince Owen Gwynedd, sailed from Wales with 10 ships and 300 men, about the year 1170, on an exploring voyage westward, and never returned.

QUESTIONS.-1. Where are the Sioux Indians located? Name their grand divisions in the North. 2. What is the character and history of the Winnebagoes? 3. What do you know of the Assiniboins? What tribes form the Minetaree group? 4. What do you know of the Minetarees and Mandans? 5. What are the names of the Southern Sioux Indians?