Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1871-12-14
8 81. sllaaeuns.
TECGlEsEH, THE BEST OF IN
Gi h@liseas DIANS. 49,. ~. !
.zssH 89caa -
ss b.= BY JAMES PARTON. W ,esc.5.

Z
e bsz BY JAMES PARTON. -
When was in Kansas some mont IS
ago, q member of a lecture committee
explained the thinneSs of the audience,
one night, by saying that all the prin-
cipal merchants OF thetown had gone
TO ''the Paying on" twenty-five miles
distarts This Explanation was no ext
planation to me, and he was obliged to
explain the explanation by informing
me, that the government was paying
off the Pottawatamie Indians sum of
seven hundred and fifty thousand dol
lars; of which the Indians owed to the
merchants 'of the place one hundred
and fifty thousands E e II
"But,r said /, "do the merchants
trust the 1ndians?''s sza +ti.Ns
ssOh, yes, said he, ssall- the princi-
pal chiefs have accounts at the stores
here, and the accounts run until the an
nual paying of.
ssBut do the Indians pay their debts?"
I inquired. III
"Yes,n said he, ssthey generally do.
We consider them good. They have a
strong sense of honor about paying
what they owe. The only danger is,
that the black4legs may get hold of
them win all their money from Rtheni.i
1t is for this reason, that our merchants
think it best to be upon the spot when
the money is paid. Generally speak
ing, however, the chiefs take care not
to get drunk before they have paid
their debts"
This is the most creditable fact
have ever head Of Indians, and shows
that thew tpoSess, at least, one OF the
elements of character upon which civil
ization is based. That man should be
able to believe and trust his fellow-man
without which there can be no civiliza-
tion) it is necessary that both should
be worthy of belief and trust. But
then, the Indians lack a quality
still more essential and fundamental
the power of self control. He cannot
resist the white mans whiskey, and he
cannot conquer his propensity to bask
idly in the sun, when it is time to be at
work planting corn. He will not work,
he cannot deny himself. sAf
This TecumSeh, of whom we hear 50
much was the nearest approach to q
man of all the Indians of whom we
have any knowledge. Not because he
was great hunter and great warrior;
not even because he was patriot, who
stroye tesage the land fhis inheritance
from the encroachments of another
race. He had better proofs OF manhood
even than this. In the first place, he
wasa teetotaller, and dexerted all his infiu-
ence in favor of abstaining from strong
drink. He was also opposed On prin-
ciple to the chiefs having more than
one wife. But, perhaps, the most de-
cisive proof that he gave of possessing
a mind superior to those of his race
was, that he opposed the torture and
burning of prisoners. Cruelty is the
vice of little mind. The Indians, as
a race, have little minds, and they are
universally cruel to captives. - A-s,g ~
1t is related by white man who
was prisoner among the Indians of
the Ohio that when Tecumseh, was a.
lad of sixteen he saw white prisoner
burned to death by PARTY of warriors.
When it was over, the young man, elo-
quent beyond his years, expressed his
detestation of the scene with so much
effect, that the party agreed to burn no
more prisoners The same witness
testified, that Tecumseh always treated
his prisoners with humanity, that he
was q man sure to redeem his promise,
and that he was attentive to the. infrm
old men Of his tribe, whose wigwamsl
he would repair at the approach of
winter, for whom he would make moe
casins, and with whom he would share
the game which his skill as hunter
enabled him to procure in great abund-
ance. Such traits as these, when they
were accompanied by intelligence,
courage and fortitude, mark.the SUI
perior persons-the natural King of
Men.
Three times since the landing of the
Pilgrims, great Indian has arisen and
made q serious, determined effort to
combine the tribes in an attempt to
drive the white man from this cOiiti-
nent. .Eirst, King Philip, when the
PuritaDs had grown formidable in New
England tribes was broken forever. A
hundred years later, Pontiac, the great
chief of the lake country, filed with
tradition OF King Philips valiant at |
tempt, sttose to irnitate him by COM
bining all. the western tribes in a SIM
ultaneous onslaught upon the garrison
posts. He, too, was defeated, and hel
was slain, some years after, near st.
Louis, after drunken debauch. Fin
ally, Teesmseh the great chiefof thei
Ohio Valley, who was boy of seven
at the timezof the Pontiac conspiracy,
caught the spirit of Pontiac, and en-
deavored, in the maturity Of his pow
ers to execute what Pontiac hadnfailed !
to accomplish.o 2 gagt sss'i9 . sssi.ssIsiiil
"The Great Spirit. said he to Gen
eral Harrison,-in- one of their many /
conferences gave this great isiapd to
his red children, he placed the whites
on the other side Of the big water; they
were not eontenfed kEith theis own,
but came to take.onrs from U.s. They
have driven us from the sea, To- thei
lakes; we can 60 no further Theyi
have taken upon them to say. thist
tract belpng To 1iiamas, this TO thel
s-9.is1iE sllsegge ,4s-iss7iiti 6" f'tn