 | Travels in the interior of North America. |  |
TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.
The author, in his Preface, gives so full an account of the objects and results of his travels
in the interior of North America, that it would have been unnecessary for me to prefix any
observations of my own, were it not for some circumstances, connected with the translation,
which seem to require explanation.
The prospectus of the German original announced that the work would consist of two
large quarto volumes, accompanied by a portfolio of above eighty beautifully coloured copper-plates,
executed by eminent artists at Paris, from the original drawings. Some specimens of
the plates having been brought to London, were so much admired by many competent judges,
that Messrs. Ackermann were induced to agree with the Paris publisher for a limited number of
copies of the plates; and as it might justly be presumed that the English purchasers would be
desirous of having the narrative of the travels, it was resolved to publish a translation compressed
into a single volume. By selecting, however, a page of a large size, the translator has been able to retain all the most interesting parts, omitting only minute details of the measurements
of animals, &c. All the chapters illustrative of the manners, customs, traditions, and
superstitions of the Indians are given without abridgment, and these, as the author justly
observes, are by far the most attractive and valuable portions of the work. The papers in the
Appendix, giving an account of the plants collected, are also inserted entire, and have been kindly
revised by my friend Sir William Hooker.
The principal omission is that of the very extensive vocabularies of the languages of the
different Indian tribes. They are written so as to represent the pronunciation in German, and
have, in numerous instances, special directions, as thus: kontschue (on as in French, schue, short
and quick, e½). It appeared to be a hopeless and unprofitable task to rewrite these vocabularies,
and to represent the true pronunciation in English. Those who are curious in such matters
will find many specimens in Mr. Catlin's interesting work.
The numerous Indian proper names are, of course, written in the original as pronounced
in German. It has been thought best to leave them unchanged, merely requesting the reader
to observe, in general, that the consonants are pronounced as in English; only that ch is
guttural, as in the Scotch word loch; that sch is pronounced sh, and that the vowels have the
same sound as in French, ah, a, ee, o, oo.
The author alludes, in his Preface, to the recent fearful ravages which have been caused
among the Indian races by the small-pox. The origin and extent of these ravages will be seen
from the following very affecting letter on the subject:
"New Orleans, June 6, 1838.—The southern parts of the United States, particularly Florida, Alabama,
and Louisiana, are as healthy as can be wished; there has been no appearance of the yellow fever, and even at
the Havannah only a few isolated cases have occurred. During the autumn, winter, and spring, the small-pox
has carried off many victims among the Whites, and thousands of the Indians; but it has now wholly disappeared
in the territory of the Union, in consequence of a general vaccination of persons of all ages. On the other hand,
we have, from the trading posts on the western frontier of the Missouri, the most frightful accounts of the ravages
of the small-pox among the Indians. The destroying angel has visited the unfortunate sons of the wilderness
with terrors never before known, and has converted the extensive hunting grounds, as well as the peaceful settlements
of those tribes, into desolate and boundless cemeteries. The number of the victims within a few months
is estimated at 30,000, and the pestilence is still spreading. The warlike spirit which but lately animated the
several Indian tribes, and but a few months ago gave reason to apprehend the breaking-out of a sanguinary war,
is broken. The mighty warriors are now the prey of the greedy wolves of the prairie, and the few survivors, in
mute despair, throw themselves on the pity of the Whites, who, however, can do but little to help them. The
vast preparations for the protection of the western frontier are superfluous: another arm has undertaken the
defence of the white inhabitants of the frontier; and the funereal torch, that lights the red man to his dreary
grave, has become the auspicious star of the advancing settler, and of the roving trader of the white race.
"The small-pox was communicated to the Indians by a person who was on board the steam-boat which went,
last summer, up to the mouth of the Yellow Stone, to convey both the government presents for the Indians, and
the goods for the barter trade of the fur dealers. The disorder communicated itself to several of the crew of the
steam-boat. The officers gave notice of it to the Indians, and exerted themselves to the utmost to prevent any
intercourse between them and the vessel; but this was a vain attempt; for the Indians knew that presents and
goods for barter were come for them, and it would have been impossible to drive them away from the fort without
having recourse to arms. Two days before the arrival of the steam-boat, an express had been received at
the trading fort, 2000 miles west of St. Louis, with the melancholy news of the breaking-out of the small-pox
on board; this was immediately communicated to the Indians, with the most urgent entreaties to keep at a
distance; but this was as good as preaching to the winds. The survivors now lament their disobedience, and
are as submissive as the poor dogs which look in vain in the prairie for the footsteps of their masters. The
miserable remnants of the Indians implore us not to abandon them in their misfortune, and promise, if we will
take pity on them, never more to disobey our commands.
"The disease first broke out about the 15th of June, 1837, in the village of the Mandans, a few miles below
the American fort, Leavenworth, from which it spread, in all directions, with unexampled fury. The character
of the disease was as appalling as the rapidity of the propagation. Among the remotest tribes of the Assiniboins
from fifty to one hundred died daily. The patient, when first seized, complains of dreadful pains in the head
and back, and in a few hours he is dead: the body immediately turns black, and swells to thrice its natural size.
In vain were hospitals fitted up in Fort Union, and the whole stock of medicines exhausted. For many weeks
together our workmen did nothing but collect the dead bodies and bury them in large pits; but since the
ground is frozen we are obliged to throw them into the river. The ravages of the disorder were the most frightful
among the Mandans, where it first broke out. That once powerful tribe, which, by accumulated disasters,
had already been reduced to 1500 souls, was exterminated, with the exception of thirty persons. Their neighbours,
the Bigbellied Indians, and the Ricarees, were out on a hunting excursion at the time of the breaking-out
of the disorder, so that it did not reach them till a month later; yet half the tribe was already destroyed on the
1st of October, and the disease continued to spread. Very few of those who were attacked recovered their
health; but when they saw all their relations buried, and the pestilence still raging with unabated fury among
the remainder of their countrymen, life became a burden to them, and they put an end to their wretched
existence, either with their knives and muskets, or by precipitating themselves from the summit of the rock near
their settlement. The prairie all around is a vast field of death, covered with unburied corpses, and spreading,
for miles, pestilence and infection. The Bigbellied Indians and the Ricarees, lately amounting to 4000 souls,
were reduced to less than the half. The Assiniboins, 9000 in number, roaming over a hunting territory to the
north of the Missouri, as far as the trading posts of the Hudson's Bay Company, are, in the literal sense of the
expression, nearly exterminated. They, as well as the Crows and Blackfeet, endeavoured to fly in all directions,
but the disease everywhere pursued them. At last every feeling of mutual compassion and tenderness seems to
have disappeared. Every one avoided the others. Women and children wandered about in the prairie seeking
of their tents are already swept away. They are the bravest and the most crafty of all the Indians, dangerous
and implacable to their enemies, but faithful and kind to their friends. But very lately we seriously apprehended
that a terrible war with them was at hand, and that they would unite the whole of their remaining strength
against the Whites. Every day brought accounts of new armaments, and of a loudly expressed spirit of vengeance
towards the Whites: but the small-pox cast them down, the brave as well as the feeble; and those
who were once seized by this infection never recovered. It is affirmed that several bands of warriors, who were
on their march to attack the fort, all perished by the way, so that not one survived to convey the intelligence to
their tribe. Thus, in the course of a few weeks, their strength and their courage were broken, and nothing was
to be heard but the frightful wailings of death in the camp. Every thought of war was dispelled, and the few
that are left are as humble as famished dogs. No language can picture the scene of desolation which the
country presents. In whatever direction we go, we see nothing but melancholy wrecks of human life. The
tents are still standing on every hill, but no rising smoke announces the presence of human beings, and no
sounds but the croaking of the raven and the howling of the wolf interrupt the fearful silence. The above
accounts do not complete the terrible intelligence which we receive. There is scarcely a doubt that the
pestilence will spread to the tribes in and beyond the Rocky Mountains, as well as to the Indians in the
direction of Santa Fé and Mexico. It seems to be irrevocably written in the book of fate, that the race of red
men shall be wholly extirpated in the land in which they ruled the undisputed masters, till the rapacity of the
Whites brought to their shores the murderous fire-arms, the enervating ardent spirits, and the all-destructive
pestilence of the small-pox. According to the most recent accounts, the number of the Indians who have been
swept away by the small-pox, on the western frontier of the United States, amounts to more than 60,000."
The general correctness of the melancholy details given in the above letter has been confirmed
to me by several travellers who have visited these nations since they were desolated by
this awful epidemic. The almost total extinction of these tribes greatly enhances the value
and importance of the full and interesting particulars imparted by his Highness.
| Travels in the interior of North America. | |