CHAPTER XII. NAMES OF THE DIFFERENT INDIAN NATIONS HITHERTO DISCOVERED IN NORTH AMERICA, THE SITUATION OF THEIR COUNTRIES, WITH THE NUMBER OF THEIR FIGHTING MEN. Tue Choctaws or Flatheads, on the Molect 4,500 The Natches 150 The Chukesws, Mississippi 750 The Cherokees, South Carolina 2,500 The Chatabas, between North and S. Carolina 150 The Peantias, a wandering tribe, both sides of the Mississippi 900 The Kasgresquios or Illinois 600 The Piankishaws 250 The Qurachtenous on the Wabash 400 The Kikapous 300 The Shawanese or Sciota 500 The Delawares, on the west of Ohio 300 The Miamis 350 The Upper Creeks back of Georgia The Middle Creeks, North Florida 4,000 The Lower Creeks, East Florida The Caocutas, on the East of the River Aliba 700 The Alibamous, West of the Alibamous 600 The Arkansas 2,000 mous West Side. 1,000 500 2,000 2,000 Carried forward 24,350 NAMES OF THE DIFFERENT INDIAN NATIONS. 139 Brought forward 24,350 The Causas 1,600 The Osages South of the Mississippi 600 The Grand Eaux S 1,000 The Missouri, upon the River Missouri 3,000 The Sioux of the Woods, towards the heads 1,800 The Sioux of the Meadows of the Missouri 2,500 The Blanks Barbus, or White Indians with Beards 1,500 The Assiniboils, farther North near the Lakes 1,500 The Christaneaux 3,000 The Orusconsins, on the river of the same name, falling into the Mississippi 500 The Mascordins 500 The Sakis South of Pecan's Bay 400 The Mechuouakis 250 Folle Avoini, or Wild Oat Indians 350 The Peans 700 The Potawatamis, near Detroit 350 The Missisagues, or River Indians, being wan dering tribes on lakes Huron and Superior 2,000 The Ottapoas, Lake Superior 900 The Chepewas 5,000 The Weandots, Lake Erie 300 The Six Nations or Iroquois 1,500 The Round-headed Indian, near Ottawas 2,500 The Algonkins, near the above 300 The Nepessins, near ditto 400 The Chatas, St. Lawrence 130 The Amelestes, or the Bark 550 The Mukmacks, Bark of Nova Scotia 700 The Abenaques, ditto 350 The Conaway Crunas, near the Falls of St. Lewis 200 140 NAMES OF THE DIFFERENT INDIAN NATIONS. 58,730 warriors, one-third old men, makes 78,306, Multiplying by six gives 469,886 souls, men, women, and children. * The foregoing list I received from old Mr. Heckewelder, the Missionary, to whom I paid a visit a short time ago at Bethlehem, where he resides. His active and constant exertions, in the cause of benevolence, seem to have been rewarded with health and long life. He is now in his eighty-eighth year, and his faculties are vigorous and alert. From him I learnt that it is not in the power of man to come at any thing demonstrative as to the numbers of the Indians. The list: now before the reader, refers to what was known between the years 1770 and 1780, and I have no reason whatever to doubt its accuracy. I find in the records of 1794, that a treaty was arranged at Philadelphia with the President of the United States, which comprehended upwards of fifty-seven thousand Indian warriors. This statement, therefore, could not have included the inhabitants of the immense regions from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean, and North to Hudson's Bay. But travellers have in all places found numbers, so that having reference to extent of territory, I do not overrate the population of the Indian nations at two millions; taking in from the Isthmus of Panama, and consequently including Mexico. It should be borne in mind that the great body of any Indian tribe never appear to strangers : only the scouts are seen. * The publishers think it necessary to state that the M. S. of the above Indian names was in an almost illegible band ; and the author being in America, they had no means of correcting it. 141 CHAPTER XIII. INDIAN ANECDOTES, JUSTICE. a The Indians have a strong innate sense of justice, which will lead them sometimes to acts which some men will call heroic, others romantic, and not a few, perhaps, will designate by the epithet barbarous ; a vague indefinite word, which if it means any thing, might, perhaps, be best explained by something not like ourselves. However that may be, this feeling certainly exists among the Indians, and as I cannot describe it better than by its effects, I shall content myself with relating on this subject a characteristic anecdote which happened in the year 1793, at an Indian village called La Chine, situated nine miles . above Montreal, and was told me in the same year by Mr. La Ramée, a French Canadian inbabitant of that place, whom I believe to be a person of strict veracity. I was then on my return from Detroit, in company with General Lincoln and several other gentlemen, who were present at the relation, and gave it their full belief. I thought it then so interesting, that I inserted it in my journal, from which I now extract it. There were in the said village of La Chine, two remarkable Indians, the one for his stature, being six feet four inches in height, and the other for his strength and activity. These two meeting together one day in the street (a third being present,) the former in a high tone made use of some insulting lan guage to the other, which he could not well put up with: he called him a coward, said he was his inferior 66 in every respect, and so provoked his anger, that unable any longer to contain himself, the latter instantly replied: “You have grossly insulted me; but I will prevent you from doing the like again !" and at the same moment stabbed him throngh the body with his knife, so that he dropped down dead by his side. The alarm being immediately spread through the village, a crowd of Indians assembled, and the murderer having seated himself on the ground by the side of the dead body, cooly awaited his fate, which he could not expect to be any other than immediate death, particularly as the cry of the people was “Kill him! Kill him!” But although he placed his body and his head in a proper posture to receive the stroke of the tomahawk, no one attempted to lay hands on him; but after removing the dead body from where it lay, they left him alone. Not meeting here with his expected fate, he rose from this place for a more public part of the village, and there lay down on the ground, in the hope of being the sooner despatched; but the spectators, after viewing him, all retired again. Sensible that his life was justly forfeited, and anxious to be relieved from a state of sus- pense, he took the resolution to go to the mother of the deceased, an aged widow, whom he addressed in these words : “Woman, I have killed thy son; he had insulted me, it is true : but still he was thine, and his life was valuable to thee. I, therefore, now surrender myself up to thy will. Direct as thou wilt . have it, and relieve me speedily from misery." To which the woman answered : " Thou hast indeed, killed my son, who was dear to me, and the only supporter I had in my old age. One life is already lost, and to take thine on that account, cannot be of any service to me, nor better my situation. Thou hast, however, a son, whom if thou wilt give me in the place of my son whom thou hast slain, all shall be wiped away." The murderer then replied: "Mother, my son is yet but a child, ten years old, and can be of |