Litchfield enquirer., 1834-12-04

S"CJeCt was introduced, foolish notion prevailed that involved party question, and the majority were afraid to act lest 'hey might comprOmit their Jacksonism. AS regards the peace and safety of our citIzens, no prudent man can shut his eyes 10 the danger which threatens the whole '!ne of our Western frontier. The exiles that now inhabit that region are discontent- ed and sullen. They hate us, because they Ieel that we have wronged them. They lear us, because they see that we are strong enough to wrong them with impunity. and believe that we will wrong them whenever interest prompts. Most of them are in squalid poverty: some die with starvation every year. Is there safety for the scat- l tered people of our borders, with such men for their neighbors?
 I Our own laws and jurisprudence are in part to blame, for the distress and disor- ders of the frontier. The trade in whis- Key, we are informed, is carried on to an alarming extent. Some ofthe vilest of our own peUple, miscreants who would ruin n whole tribe of Indians and endanger ,he lives of our frontier women and children for the sake of a few dollars, get barrel or two of whskey, go into the woods as near the Indian line as possible, and seduce the poor wretches to their ruin. Several instances have been related to us, of Indians who have been seduced by the whiskey demons, to be about the camp drunk for many days at a time-cheated out of his most valuable property, piece by piece: first his horse, then his gun, then his only knife and, at last, the very blanket from his shoulders, and the belt from his loins! When the deluded creature has nothing else to excite the cupidity of his destroyer, he wakes from his long dream of drunken- ness to full perception of his misery. He finds himself naked, sick, hungry, and ut- terly destitute, perhaps with broken hearted wife. and children crying for food. This picture is not Overwrought. Instan- ces could be proved, almost to the letter. In one case, the poor deluded savage, re- covering from his long stupor, has been seen to satisfy his hunger upon the carcase of dead hog, which had been purifying for days Such man must be utterly des- perate, ready to steal whatever he can lay his hands on, or to murder family for morsel of bread. M
 Human nature, we arc told, is the same always and every where, and we believe it. Man is by nature grateful for kindness revengetul for injuries and eager to en- joy all the pleasures and comforts which lie in his way. But a contrary theory has grown up with regard to the Indians. E, has been assumed that they are different from other men-,hat they are not actuat- ed by the same hopes and fears and wishes. 1t has been said that they cannot be civl- ized. We answer, that no attempt to ciy- iIize them has ever been made with means at all adequate to the end. We have nev- CT excited their feelings of kindness and confidence. by appearing as friends and benefactors. Our march upon them is one ! everlasting encroachment our incessant ] demand is, ,iand-land-morela land They cede us half their territory, and we guar an.ee the peaceable possession of the re-
 mainder. Yet the next year we insist that they shall cede the remainder, renounce
 their Improvements, at once the fruits and
 the meams of civilization, and remove to
 dangerous wilderness. Can they consider us as their friends?- Can they even, treat
 ns as honorable enemiesl But, it is said , they have resisted all the efforts of Chris
 tian Missionaries. We do not dispute that
 Indians may be converted and civilized i. and buffalo tanned by miracles, whenever it may please Divine Providence to have it SO. But to expect naked, wandering. halfstarved savages to receive and profit hv the deep mysteries of Christianity and to receive thcm at the hands of men whom they secretly hate, and have long been in the habit of considering as false- -hearted en- emies, is to argue against tho rules of hu- man logic, and to feel against all the natu- raI emotions of the human heart. The Missionaries may do very well in the right time and place, but it does seem to us tha { they begin wrong end foremost. Let the Indians be first taught the elements of civi- lization, to weave cloth, to grind meal, to
 make butter. Let them learn the advanta- ges of separate property, (and they w;ll lcarn thGt as soon as they are actually pro-
 tected and secured in the enjoyment of their property.) and they will prize a COW . or hog as highly as we do, and enjoy the use of such property with as great a relish. - MissOarj Repa6iican. ! Cure for Bad Appeiite.-An Irish student complained to friend. few evenings age, that he had lost his appetite, when the latter recommended him to eat oysters in the fore noon, which would restore it. Some time ae- ter the student met his friend, and upbrnidees him with the folly of his receipt, by stating that he had eaten . hundred nf oysters. as de. sired. but did not find that his appetite was a | hit halter than sf .va. hoe~.u L.