Washington sentinel., 1854-04-02
NEW PUBLICATIONS.

/ and prospects OF the Indian Tribes OF the United
/ States Collected and prepared under the di-
rection of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. BY
Henry X. Schoolcrah, l.. l.. ID. Illustrated by
/ S. Eastman, Captain United States army. Pub
lished by authority of Congress- Parts i, ii, III.
Philadelphia Lipincot, Grambo & Co.
The name Of Schoolcraft is one that every
American child should be taught to reverence,
as that of him who has done most to rescue
from oblivion the facts relating to the abori-
ginal tribes Of this continent. We recollect
him many years since, exploring the waters OF
the upper Missouri and the Yellowstone, at q
time when that amount of temerty was not to
be found in many men. 1t was long before
our troops had penetrated to those regions, and
when every step Of his route lay through a
country bristling with Indian arrows and spears,
and filled with people, inimieal to the whites,
and jealous of the least inquiry into their pecu-
liarities. But Mr.. Schoolcraft seems to bear a
charmed life, or rather he carries in his bosom
that amulet that is certain to preserve its posses
sor among whatever perils, barring those of ac-
cident--the charm of fearless heart, actuated
by no impulse save that of kindness Wherever
he goes, the Indians love him, and he is sure
to bear away from among them some fattering
sobriquet, and the most favorable wishes from
his red friends. Go where he will, whether it
be among Sacs and Foxes, or Sioux, or Win
nebagos or the Ogbbeways of the Lakes, or
Menominees, or the noblest and finest of all
the Indian tribes, the Iroquois or Six Nations,
he is met with an open hand and hearty
welcome; and so long as the "Good Medicine"
chooses to remain, his person is safe from attack
and his property from peril, while every man
among his entertainers is anxious to do most to
propitiate and crafty the guest.
On his part, the return is not less grateful
or less confding. A thorough believer in the
law of kindness, and Christian of no hypo-
critical stamp Mr.. Schoolcraft adds to his love
for aboriginal research considerable knowledge
of a nature to avail him in his intercourse with
the simple natives. Thus, he can set broken
limb, extract ball or splinter, bleed at the
arm, and prescribe in cases Of slight sickness !;
or he can repair an Indians gun-lock, solder
up his broken kettle, and teach him to do the
same, and in this way he has established among
the northern Indians reputation and noto-
riety that protect him anywhere, and renders
his life as safe on the wild plains of the west
as in the saloons of Washington, so far as dan
ger depends upon violence. We have known
Mr. Schoolcraft in former times, and it has
never been matter of wonder to us, when we
looked upon his benevolent countenance, that
he has so far ingratiated himself with the In
dians. Honest, kind, simple, and truthful, he
wins his way to the hearts of those blunt, hardy
men; and, once installed there, he preserves his
place by the exercise of his natural arts of good
will and kindness.
Having thus worked his way into the very
heart of hearts Of the Indian tribes, Mr.. School
craft proceeded to investigate the subject SO
congenial to his nature and for nearly third
of a century he has been employed in these re-
searches, and the amount of knowledge by him
l,, e
l847, we think, Congress, in reply to the me-
MORALS of many citizens, passed an act requir-
ing the Secretary of War to collect and di-
gest such statistics and materials as may illus
trate the history present condition, and future
prospects of the Indian tribes Of the United
States. Mr. Schoolcraft, as being the man best
fitted for the task of all men in the country, was
selected to perform the labor, and accordingly,
on the 22d of July, 1850, he presented to Con-
gress, through Hon. Luke Lea, Commissioner
of Indian Affairs the first part of his report
The volume is a splendid quarto, of some
six hundred pages, including an appendix. As
work issued by Congress for distribution
should be, this is printed with new, beautiful
type, upon heavy, almost Bristolboard paper,
and is filled with engravings from original de-
signs, by Captain Eastman, of the army, who is
another enthusiast in the pursuit of aboriginal
lore, and whose long and intimate acquain-
tance with the Indian tribes has enabled him to
use his facile pencil to the greatest advantage.
He paints and sketches with readiness and
skill; his views of Indian dances and customs
are not equalled for grace and fdelty-the
latter quality inseparable from such work
as this. Captain Eastman also contributes
some articles to the work.
1t would be impossible for us here, success
fully or at all satisfactorily, to review and con-
slider its beauties, its value, and the extent of
the information embodied within this volume
and the two similar ones that have succeeded
it. We should be appalled, at the undertaking;
for such mass of learning, of statistics,
tables, 'sfacts and figures" is surprising when
we reflect that it is the result of the labors Of
this gentleman (the editor) almost unaided,
and that the greater part of it has been hereto
fore collected and collated for the amusement
and instruction of Mr. Schoolcraft's own leisure
Indeed, if he had delayed until now the collec-
ton of much Of the material here embodied, it |
could not have been obtained. The rapid de-
cadence of the Indian tribes, whose traditions
go out with the wise men of their nations, will |
soon leave us without native historians of the |
poor red men; and then will be found the value
of Mr.. Schoocraft's collections, made in years
gone by, at his leisure, while he wore the moe
while, from willy Grow or subtle Mohawk, brave
Mandan or sneaking Bl, ok Foot, the tradition
al lore they possessed; thus in after times to
become the only faithful and reliable source
from which TO draw our knowledge Of the poor
red man.
While, however, we would render all thanks
to Mr.. Schoolcraft, for the work which he is
doing, and pray that life and health may be
his to complete it, we must not omit a word or
two for Captain Eastman, the artist to whom
we are indebted for the really exquisite ilustra-
tions that adorn the volume before us. The
engravings, exclusive of maps and plans are
of two characters; the one including oil the
"fac-similes," and copies of the articles of
archaeological interest, such as tomahawks,
beads, knives, arrow-heads, axes breast-plates,
wampum, &c, which were deemed necessary
to elucidate the text, and the other consisting
of views of Indian life on the prairie, in the
camp, within the wigwam, on the warpath.