Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1852-10-13

For the SPIRIT Of the Age.
yuTEPESTING NUPTIALS.

~ v i
MARRIED.. on the 4th ult., in the town Of
JonesviIe, Yadkin County, N. e.: by Rev.
VIM. O. Reid. OscEoLA, Indian Chief OF the
C~allapooahs tribe, South Oregon, whose chris
tian name is Elijah Moultonl to Miss Sarah
Jane Simons, daughter OF CaWsnawganse
Such a union as the above rarely ever
takes place in the bounds Of civilization
The writer has had the pleasure of joining
together as man and wife several, but never
did he join together a more interesting couple
in the holy estate of matrimony than the
above. The scene was truly IMPOSING
The bridegroom and bride were accompanied
by four of their nation. These noble sons
and daughters of the forest, picturesquely,
and most tastefully arrayed in the rich and
fanciful costumes of their respective tribes,
presented a picture which the refinements of
art and fashion seldom equal. The object Of
their visit to the United States, is to acquire
a thorough education. And to enable them
to do so, they are giving entertainments, In
which they exhibit the inner and customs
Of their tribe as they really are-all Of which
are very interesting and instructive. Mr..
Cawshawgange, a young Chief, delivered in
our town a highly interesting lecture of a
moral and religious character, in which he
lucidly set forth the moral and religious con
dition of his tribe, and the many wrongs
which they have received at the hands Of civ
ilized men, with an e%loquence seldom sur
passed by the most accomplished orators
He said that they had had laws for their
good government for upwards of 200 years,
and under these laws they had lived happily
and prosperously. In proof thereof he sta
ted that they needed not locks nor bars to
protect their goods-they regarded each 9th
er as being members of one and the same
family, consequently they had all things in
common cheating, swearing, lying, drunken
ness were unknown to them till l6 years ago.
And those sins with their long train of evils
were introduced amongthem by the pale man,
who protested to be their friend and coun-
sellor. And since their introduction the In
dian has become corrupt, he has lost his ma
tive simplicity and purity-locks, bars, and
prisons are now absolutely necessary; and
the tribe, itself, is rapidly decreasing and
threatened with total extinction. He related
several instances In which the credulity of
the unsuspecting Indian had been imposed
upon.
The Hudson's Bay Fur Company was per-
haps the first to visit them. The Indians
the hand of friendship, they smoked together
Cl1O DAp0 PO0NN3 N4IC4SbJ ILASJ
pledged themselves to be friends. They were
then permitted to trade with the nation
They spread out their trinkets In the most at
tractiye manner and told the Indians that
they were such precious jewels as all the white
squaws in the United States wore. The poor
Indian was captivated by their dazzling ap.
pearance. The white man held them up tc
the sun and assured him that they were like
that bright luminary, that like him, they
would ever retain their present brilliancy
The Indian with eagerness paid the white
man for q single ring, from five to ten beaver
skins, which were worth from five to ten dol
lars apiece. At this costly rate, he covered
himself with the precious metal, as he sup
posed twas. The white man left, and hal
hardly cleared the borders Of the poor Indi
an before the Jewels ceased to shine, a greer
canker covered their surface, and a .blacI
ring was left around the tawney finger! TIL,
Red man cast away his jewels with DISCUS
and rage, and was left alone to mourn owe
his loss without a possibility of seeking IF
A short time afterwards they were visite'
f by a second company of traders, who imposes
} upon them, more basely, If possible, than tn
, first company had done. They took wit
them a large number of our common we5l
ING hoes, highly polished, and assured ther
UlluO IllCS "ClO iNbN vi GuANA WIZ 49,
ornaments as were extensively worn by tn
! white ladies Of the Union. The result wa
the hoes were speedily disposed Of at a mo:
: extrayagant price, and some Of the Indian
went off so heavily laden as to be scarcel
!. able to walk, having tied strings throue
small eyes that had been previously mac
% through the corners Of their blades, by II
traders, and made holes through their nose
chins, and ears, hitching them on wherevo
. a tie could be made. The speaker state
SO fashionable were these hoes, that when Il
great men Of the nation met in council, thu
appeared literally covered with iron. I
expressed considerable surprise, that, nc
" withstanding hi had travelled extensive
!, over the Union, he had not been able TO d
= cover a single white lady wearing one of tho
40 ornaments
A third party came on a trading expe
z ton, and after they had obtained permissi
to trade, they presented to the Chief a bea
n tiful red cloth blanket, richly ornament
% with beads and tinsel. This the Chief spre
on his own person, and from him it was
ken and spread upon others, andadmired fro
n midday till the going down of the sun. A
listen, O! earth! that blanket was infect
n with smallpox, a disease with which t
poor Indians were altogether unacquaint(
To In a few days the disease appeared on
90 those who had spread this garment of dea
IT upon them. They repaired, as is their G.
Oh tom when any cutaneous disease makes
appearance, to flake near Mt. Hood to bait
and the result was three hundred died aim,
,s instantaneously on its shores.
on Fiually, there came a fourth party to ira
ne with them and they brought a plague wo
~. than the small-pox-an evil, which has dc
ha them more injury than all the muskets a
~ balls employed against them by the pale nj
this evil be termed fre-water, lin plain Ell
y = Ii tu R4 sKilrs II Ihe aFrrr hFaHaAtr mt first toy
a ilG ship unanimously rejected those sons
.au Tophet, and their liquid fire; because tt
a suspected them Of trying to poison the
-, ~ which has eventually proven but too TT,
W. y In consequence Of their rejection of it, Il
ne became angry and threatened to invoke
'ee ire of the President of the United States
on them. They left and crossed over the
IS umbia river, where they met with acompf
of 800 or 400 Indians who had been IN
mountains on a hunting expedition. Th
on Indians were returning to their wlg-wa
eS- half naked and starved. TheNtraders |
fessed great friendship towards them, and
ter having smoked the "pipe Of peace"
- -..o.4o5 4bor, 4bo;r Ii0unrS dncl4Plnp