Edward Sylvester Ellis

“ Your people can save themselves only by unconditional submission."
Standing erect, the chief looked into the face of the stern, military leader, and without a tremor, replied:
"You know it is safe to address such words to me. There was a time, not long ago, when I should have known how to answer you; once I had a choice, but there is none left to me now. There does not remain even to me a hope. I could once animate my warriors to battle, but I cannot animate the dead. My warriors can no longer hear the voice which has nerved their arms so many times. ”

“ Tell them to bury the hatchet, to make bright the chain of friendship, to love the white men and to live in peace with them, as long as the rivers run into the sea, and the sun rises and sets. If you do so, you will be happy. You will then insure the prosperity of unborn generations of your tribes, who will go hand in hand with the sons of the white men, and all shall be blessed by the Great Spirit. ”

“ Learning that some Indians were near at hand, Cresap made ready to attack them. The question of their guilt or innocence was of no concern to him. He knew he had enough men to defeat the small company, and that was all he cared to know before acting.
As if to help in the fearful crime, a canoe was seen coming from the other shore. It contained one warrior and several women and children. Hiding themselves, Cresap and his companions waited till the party had landed, and then each picked out his victim. When the guns were fired, not a single man, woman or child escaped. ”

“ He probably knew that although his warriors might be forgiven by the English, no pardon awaited him. A white man can be as fiendish as any savage, and that too without trying very hard, and many of those who preached the Gospel of love and forgiveness, were yearning for a chance to wreak vengeance upon the barbarian.
And yet Philip must have seen for a long time that he was waging a hopeless war. Since the longer he fought the more bitter would become the anger of the English against him, the question naturally arises, "Why then did he continue to fight?" ”

“ It has been said that New England, during its early colonial days, had five powerful Indian confederacies. While the Wampanoags could not put more than a thousand warriors in the field, the united tribes could muster twenty-five thousand. What a resistless army they would form, if they would combine to destroy the pale faces that had come across the great water to steal their hunting grounds! King Philip's dream was to bring about such a union, and he now bent all his energies to the task. ”

“ The soldiers moved forward, every heart beating high with hope. Not an Indian was seen until they reached the bridge spanning Parent's Creek. Then the hundreds of crouching warriors opened fire. Half the advance guard fell, when Dalzell, as the only means of saving the remainder, ordered a retreat. In the confusion, the soldiers were surrounded by the Indians. When it looked as if not one could escape, Major Rogers, with a number of men as brave as himself, took possession of a house swarming with fugitives, and defeated every assault, while the troops were fighting their way back to the fort. ”

“ Captain Pollard was their spokesman, and taking the hand of Black Hawk, he welcomed in a few fitting words, telling him of the pleasure it gave him and his people to greet the great chief of the Sacs and Foxes. Then, with touching earnestness, he urged his visitors to go to their homes with peaceable minds toward the whites; to cultivate the earth, and to think no more of war, which was certain at all times to bring evil and suffering upon them. ”

“ Black Hawk, take these jewels, a pair of topaz ear rings, beautifully set in gold, for your wife or daughter, as a token of friendship, keeping always in mind that women and children are the favorites of the Great Spirit. These jewels are from an old man, whose head is whitened by the snows of seventy winters; an old man, who has thrown down the bow, put off the sword, and now stands leaning on his staff, awaiting the command of the Great Spirit. ”

“ One of the Delawares took Murphy by the arm and led him to the head of the line. He limped so heavily that he barely touched the ground with the tip of one foot. He was seen to shut his lips and shake his head, as if to force back his suffering and to brace himself for the trial before him. But he did not utter a word; it was useless.
At the head of the line on his right, was stationed a warrior whom he recognized as one of his captors and his chief persecutor. He was large and inclined to corpulency, but his painted face was ugly to the last degree. ”

“ Men passed to and fro in the native villages, trusting themselves for days with the savages, who could have wrought their will with them; they were received by the grim Opecancanough himself, who told of his sorrow that his chiefs and warriors had ever forgotten their friendship for the pale faces, and he assured them that no such wrong could ever occur again; the Indians visited Jamestown and the different settlements, just as they had done years before, without the slightest distrust on the part of their hosts. ”

“ Never before was a town of importance held in a state of siege for more than a year by Indians. That such a remarkable thing took place was due to the genius of the master mind, who held the turbulent savages to their work, when the task of waiting is the most distasteful that can befall their race. Pontiac had to foresee the means of providing his forces with food, and he did it. He was the first American savage—so far as we have been able to learn—who gave promissory notes for the supplies he had to take from the neutral French residents outside of Detroit. ”

“ It is unfortunate that the amicable relations of William Penn and the Indians could not have been more lasting and more widespread. Often the latter, with their savage instincts, were to blame for the feeling of hatred existing. But, on the other hand, many a red man has set a noble example to those who oppressed him. Such an Indian was Attakullakulla, a name so hard to pronounce, that we shall use the one by which he was known among the whites. This is Little Carpenter, who was a Cherokee chief, born early in the eighteenth century. ”

“ None of the Creeks was so blind as not to see that the only escape from utter destruction was by making peace on the best terms possible, with the whites. Chiefs and warriors began coming into the American camp and offering their submission. Whenever they did so, the eagle-eyed Jackson scanned each dusky face, and asked the name of the leader before him. He wanted to secure Weatherford, and left no doubt of his purpose to shoot him for the horrible crime of Fort Mimms. ”

“ French trappers, hunters and explorers began pushing eastward into the valley of the Ohio. At the same time some of the English pressed westward. These pioneers of two civilizations met in the gloomy solitudes, and fighting and bloodshed followed. Neither would yield, and war was certain to come. You know that the building of Fort Le Bœuf, in the far northwest corner of Pennsylvania, was looked upon by Virginia as an invasion of her territory, and Governor Dinwiddie sent a messenger, named George Washington, with a letter protesting against the act. ”

“ Some of the settlers were too wise to trust their lives to the plighted word of a Tory or Indian, and plunged into the forests on their way to the settlements of the Upper Delaware. Many sank down and died in the dismal solitudes which have ever since borne the name of the "Shades of Death." ”

“ Volney, who became quite fond of Little Turtle, asked him one day why he did not live in Philadelphia, instead of in his cabin on the Wabash. The chief replied: "I admit that on the whole you have the advantage over us, but here I am deaf and dumb. I do not talk your language; I can neither hear nor make myself heard. When I walk through the streets, I see every person in his shop employed at something. One makes shoes, another makes hats, a third sells cloth, and every one lives by his labor. ”

“ Berkeley, afterwards known as the tyrannical Governor of Virginia, was a young man at that time, and a good military officer. When he led his body of picked horsemen against the Indians, he resolved to keep up the warfare until he captured the leader himself. He pushed the pursuit with all vigor and finally ran Opecancanough down, and made him prisoner. Like the Roman conquerors, he brought him as a token of his triumph to his capital, but it is to be said to the credit of Berkeley that he treated his royal captive with the respect due to his fame and prowess. ”

“ His reputation is that of a mighty warrior, a lofty patriot, and the greatest statesman ever born among his people. Such were his perfections that his countrymen believed he talked with the Great Spirit. In 1776, when Colonel George Morgan, of Princeton, New Jersey, was sent to the western Indians by Congress, he was so liked by the Delawares that they called him "Tammany," "in honor and remembrance of their ancient chief, and as the greatest mark of respect which they could show to that gentleman, who they said had the same address, affability and meekness as their honored chief." ”

“ The men gathered outside on the broad plain to watch the contestants, and soon caught their ardor. They saw the ball roll back and forth, chased by the shouting players, and they joined in the cheers over the skill shown by them. More than three hundred brawny warriors were in the sport running to and fro, striking strong, quick blows with their bats, tumbling over one another, and acting for all the world like so many football players. For that which followed we are indebted to a trader named Alexander Henry, who was at Mackinaw at the time. ”

“ Black Hawk now entered upon the experience which gave him his real reputation as an orator. His war against the settlements had drawn more attention and raised more interest throughout the country than many wars of greater magnitude before or since, and, wherever he went, he was a notable personage. In the month of April, 1833, the chief and his companions arrived in Washington, and had an interview with President Jackson. Each had heard of the other, and the salutation of the chieftain when presented to the foremost citizen of the United States, was: "I am a man and you are another!" ”

“ When, therefore, the Americans built a fort on the Mississippi, the Indians were angry and tried to cut off the garrison.
When Illinois became a State, in 1818, hundreds of emigrants flocked thither. They came so fast that their settlements surrounded the territory occupied by the Sacs and Foxes. Trouble is sure to come when such a state of affairs exists. The Indians looked upon the white people as intruders—as they certainly were—while the new comers were anxious to be rid of their unwelcome neighbors, and did all they could to make their situation uncomfortable. ”

“ You always told us you would never draw your feet off British ground. But now, father, we see you are drawing back, and we are sorry to see our father doing so without seeing the enemy. We must compare our father's conduct to a fat dog, that carries its tail upon its back, but when frightened, it drops it between its legs and runs off.
"Father, listen!—The Americans have not yet defeated us by land, neither are we sure they have done so by water; we therefore wish to remain here and fight our enemy, should they make their appearance. If they defeat us, we will then retreat with our father. ”

“ They had many wrongs to brood over, and the Indian dearly loves war. White Eyes admitted the wrongs his people had suffered, but insisted that the true interests of the Delawares forbade them to take the side of either of the opponents. If they did, they were sure to suffer, and many of their bravest men would be slain. There was no difference between the British and Americans; one was as likely to prove as good or ill a neighbor as the other. ”

“ When he was able to soothe them to some extent, he called a council to which he said he was satisfied that the reports were lies, and it would never do for his warriors to make a mistake in such a matter. He, therefore, asked them to do nothing for ten days. This would give time to learn the facts. The cunning Pipe also called a council. He gave out the impression that he knew the whole truth, and he called upon his countrymen to declare that man an enemy to the nation who did anything to prevent their taking up arms against the American people. ”

“ America, in turn, gave tobacco to the Old World. The warrior lolled in his wigwam or tepee, smoking his pipe, while his squaw scratched the earth and raised maize and a few vegetables. Now and then the head of the household wandered into the woods to hunt for game, or to fish in the streams. ”

“ Warriors and chiefs died, and, as we know, the great leader of them all steadily approached the age of a century, but still the blow was withheld, for all was not ready. Incredible as it may seem, Opecancanough was nearly a hundred years old when he gave the order to attack the settlements. By this time, his iron frame had become so feeble that he could not walk. His warriors carried him on a litter, that he might lead in the assault that should not leave a white man or woman on the soil of Virginia. ”

“ The whole war was not marked by a more provoking occurrence. A large party of the army was prostrated by sickness, and many had been given furlough, so that the strength of our forces in Florida was less than it had been for a long time. The Seminoles were greatly heartened by the trick, and became more daring than ever. The Territory of Florida was swept by a reign of terror, and the conquest of the redskins seemed farther off than ever.
What could be more natural than that General Jessup should be filled with hot resentment against Osceola, the cause of his humiliation? ”

“ For years past the football club of the Indian School at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, has ranked among the best, as more than one of our colleges have found to their cost. A full-blooded Indian was a member of General Grant's staff, and was present at the surrender of General Lee at Appomattox.
Where did these red people come from? Nobody knows any more than he knows where or when the first human being appeared on this earth. There have been a good many [34] guesses—for they are little more—to tell how the Indians came to be on this continent. ”