The Sun.
London, England, 1860-07-16 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

Seven :Years in the Great Deserts of North
A merica. By the Abbe Em Domenech.
Longman and Co.
The Abbe Em Domenech is no stranger to the
public. His interesting narrative of " Missionary
adventures in Texas and Mexico" must be still fresh
in the memory of all those .vho take an interest
in the propagation of the Gospel and civilisation
among the native children in the far West. The
work before us purports to be a description of the
as yet but very imperfectly explored Desert of
North America and a history of the various tribes
by whom they are inhabited. But before entering
upon the main object of his undertaking, Monsieur
l'Abbe endeavours to prove by various authori-
ties, and conclusions drawn from inferences, that
the continent of America became inhabited by
nomadic races, not springing from the same
source, and whose migrations were not simul-
taneous. Like a true logician, he does not
propound his dogmas and then endeavour
to vindicate them, but, after laying before the
reader an epitome of all that has been written on
the subject both by the ancients, going as far back
as the history of the travels of Votan, whose writ-
ings are contemporaneous with those of Moses, and
down to the authors of the present day. But after
making Noah circumnavigate the globe, and caus-
ing him to be defeated by the Assyrians—surmising
that Solomon's treasures came from Mexico,
and a few other startling revelations, of a
similar nature, the reader finds himself as far
from the truth as ever; it is, after all, only con-
jecture. There is the red man in the wilds of
America, but how he got there is as yet unknown
and likely to continue so. The races vary accord-
ing to climate, and the nature of the country which
they inhabit. The ruins of fine temples and mag-
nificent buildings are to be found, and other signs
Which prove that at some period now hidden by
the veil' of time, civilisation of a much higher
order than is now to be found among the natives
existed among a race of mankind now extinct.
But is the knowledge of this more wonderful than
that Thebes was, but now together with the refined
race who raised its stupendous walls and hundred
gates is not. The author having expatiated on the
migration of eastern tribes to the west at some un-
known date, to his satisfaction, proceeds to furnish
a most lively and interesting description of the
deserts through which he has travelled, and noting
all remarkable objects to be met with on the banks
of the rivers and in the desolate prairies. He draws
a dismal picture of the hardships which the tra-
veller experiences in crossing these wastes, the
want of water, the heat of the sun, the extraordinary
number of reptiles to be met with ; frogs with
horns and tails, and snakes, tarentalus, et hoc genus
onzne, is not encouraging to the would-be pioneer
of civilisation in the unknown West :
" The borders of the streams and rivers are always
more or less shaded with a few clumps of willows
(salixlongifolia), and poplar trees of the populus
monilifern, and the populus angulosa. The
shoals are generally peopled with myriads of god-
flies and of mosquitoes who cause horrible suffer-
ings to both man and horse. These most disagree-
able insects, as soon as they hear or see a horse-
man approaching, leave their swampy and
pestilential dwellings, and fasten on him, ac-
accompanying their hostilities with a sonorous and
continual burring. Then woe to him whose horse
is too fatigued to gallop away, for the winged tribe
will soon cause the blood to flow from all parts of
his body. The starling in this instance becomes
the avenger of man ; it places itself without cere-
mony on the back of the horse, and darts with
amazing dexterity on the gadflies, which it devours
with extraordinary rapidity. We have sometimes
seen in the prairies considerable numbers of horses
and horned cattle grazing quietly owing to the
protection of three or four starlings, which each
animal carries on his back ; without them the gad-
flies would soon have dispersed the herds infuriated
by their stings."
The mirage, he declares, is more singular in
these wastes than in the East. The prairie dogs
are the principal inhabitants of these un hospitable
regions. They are small animals, about the size of
squirrels, and form large villages ' • one which the
Abbe examined was 25 miles in length, and con-
tained an area of about 625 square miles. Nearly
every chapter contains some native legend either
regardin g a peculiarity of the country or a tale of per-
sonal prowess. The way in which the harbour of
San Francisco got its name, as handed down in the
traditions of the country, is curious :—" As Father
Junipero, a Spanish missionary of the order of St.
Francis, was about to return to Lower California,
he received instructions from the Inspecter-General
concerning the names of the saints that were to be
given as patrons to the new missions. The name
of St. Francis was not in the list. What,?
said the good missionary, surprised at the
omission, 'is there to be no mission dedi-
cated to our dear founder, St. Francis ?' To
which the Inspector replied—' If St. Francis wishes.
• for a mission, let him find a good port for you, and.
then you can call it after him." The first harbour
discovered after this conversation was the magnifi-
cent bay of St. Francisco, and the ecclesiastics on.
seeing it at onee exclaimed in transports of joy,
" Behold the port the inspector desired, and.
towards which St. Francis has led us ! Blessed be
his name !" There is an Indian tradition that this
bay was once a fresh water lake, and became sub-
sequently joined to the sea by an earthquake. His
wanderings having led him to the Salt Lake, the
Abbe gives a long account of the doings of the
Mormons, and a sketch of their early history. He
describes the country as magnificent, and the people
on the whole as orderly and industrious. Although
the Indians have many customs common among
the eastern nations, they have also peculiar dogmas
of their own, which show that whatever region
their ancestor.; belonged to time has wrought such
material changes in their manners and customs as
to render them practically a distinct race.
In his history of the Canadas and that region, the
Abbe animadverts in strong terms on the cowardly
policy of Louis XV. in ceding that fine territory to
the British, and on the conduct of Napoleon in
selling the wide and rich state of Illinois to the
United States. The simple inhabitants, who had
been living contentedly in their own primitive way,
little heeding how the rest of the world went, and
little troubled by religious or legal forms, were
amazed when they had freedom and con stitutional
rights forced upon them by their new rulers.
Having led the reader over the wild pra fries and
rugged mountains, and through the fertile vales of
the glorious West, the author next proceeds to intro-
duce him to the inhabitants. He furnishes a list of all
the tribes at present extant, and blames the whites
with great truth for the unfair way in which they
have treated the aboriginal inhabitants. That the In-
dians feel the degradation to which they have been
reduced by the fatal consumption of ardent spirits
is shown by the vehement way in which some of
the chiefs execrate the poison which prostrates their
bodily powers, depraves their mind, and foments in-
ternecine contention .That they resisted th eforeigners
as long as, aye,!and longer than, there was any hope
of success, has been proved on many a well fought
field, but what can courage avail against science
and courage combined. The Indians felt that they
were destined to be crushed by the whites, but
notwithstanding forced migrations one after the
other, each driving them farther back into the wilds,
and the severing of all ties from country and
ancestral associations, the Indians maintained their
pride and fortitude, and will continue to do so till
the last of the race is exterminated. There is
something almost sublime in the conduct of
Weatherford, who had caused great trouble and.
loss to the Americans, and defeated General Jack-
son in several pitched battles. But the Americans
being at length successful, took a horrible revenge
destroying nearly the whole of the tribe—the
lesser chieftains then submitted ; but General
Jackson, to prove their sincerity, ordered them to
bring Weatherford to him bound hand and foot.
This order they told to their chief, who, rather
than that they should commit such an act of trea-
chery, or excite the anger of their conqueror by re-
fusal, voluntarily presented
himself before the
astonished General, who demanded how he dared
to come before him after his late conduct, to which
the undaunted chief replied
I am Weatherford, who commanded at the taking of
Fort Miners, and who wisheslfor peace for:my people. I
come to ask for it. On h '
eartng his request Jackson said
to him, lam surprised that you have dared to appear here
after your conduct, which deserves death ; and if you had
been brought in the way I had ordered, I know how I
would have treated you.' Then Weatherford replied,
am in your power, do with me whatever you please. lam
a soldier; I have done the Whites all the harm I could. I
fought against them, and I fought bravely. If I had an
army
I would fight again; I would fight to the last; but I
have one no longer. My people are no more. I can only
weep over the misfortunes of my nation.' Gen. Jackson
was touched by this noble courage. He told the Indian
chief that although he had him in his power he would take
no advantage of it, and that he allowed him to choose be-
tween submission without condition, or liberty with war,
but without quarter or pity. Whereupon the celebrated
sachem replied, in a dignified tone, yet moved with indig-
nation, You can with all security offer me such conditions.
There was a time when I could have answered you, there
was a time when I might have had a choice. Now I have
none, I have even no hope. Formerly I could encourage
my warriors to combat ; but I cannot animate the dead.
My warriors can no longer hear my voice, their bones rest
at Talladega, Jellushatches, Emuakfau, and Tahopelson.
I have not given myself up without reflection. Whenever
I'had the slightest chance of success I never quitted my
poet nor asked for peace. But my people are gone, and I
sue for peace ; it is for those who yet live, but not for my-
self. I look upon the past with profound sorrow, and I
desire to avoid greater calamities. If I had had only to
combat the army of Georgia I should have cultivated maize
on one side of the river and fought on the other. But your
people have destroyed my nation. You ars a brave man,
and I rely on your generosity. You will only demand of
& vanquished people what they Gan give you, No matter