THE PURITANS AND THE INDIANS.

As colonists of Great Britain, our fathers were permitted to enjoy a new world in its freedom and freshness. They had the aid of the wisdom of the parent country, without its concomitant evils and follies; the health and energies of its maturity without the infirmities of age. Separated by a vast ocean, and thrown upon their own resources, they acquired habits and views peculiar to themselves. The cold climate and rock-bound soil of New England were circumstances favorable to physical strength and industry. The wily Indian soon taught them the necessity of self-protection, and their dangers and hardships gave them those stern and hardy virtues which still bless their children's children.

It has often been the theme of the orator and poet, to speak of the great injustice done by the Puritans to the sons of the forest; to assert that the Indian was the lawful possessor of the soil, and to lament that our fathers were guilty of stupendous wrong to a simple-hearted and ignorant race, by assuming the control of the land and gradually displacing the native from the home of his fathers.

Without pausing here to speak particularly of the principles of the subject, the remark may be made, that these views, probably, have been expressed without that examination which is always and imperatively required in matters involving charges of such magnitude. It is maintained by persons eminent for their learning and integrity, that the records bear evidence that the Puritans were scrupulously honest in their transactions with the Indians. That there were no exceptions, we are not prepared to say, for, in truth, such an assertion cannot properly be made of any people. But it is our humble opinion, based upon some examination of the subject, and yet more confidently relying upon the views of others than our own,—that the Puritans were true to their standard of integrity, which involved the interests of two and widely different races. The Indian was ferocious, sensual, and superstitious. Knowledge confound

ed him, and the conventional distinctions of society were nothing to him but chaos. He could see no objects of life above the existence of the body; no property, but in the implements of destruction, or in the extent of his hunting-grounds. He coveted nothing so much as the strange novelties of the white man, and when he consented to sell a small lot of land, it was doubtless his belief that he had made a gain without decreasing his privileges, and that the loss, if any, was on the part of those who gave away their wonders without an equivalent. That the standard of knowledge and duty of the Puritans was a very different one, all will admit; but it was their necessity that led them to the adoption of particular modes of dealing adapted to the condition, views, and capacities of the barbarian. Besides, they could have had no definitive belief in what their own lot was to be in this new land. Religious freedom was paramount to all other considerations. Physical subsistence was admitted to be necessary, even indispensable; and it was important, too, that conventional laws should be observed in regard to property; but, as they viewed this world of but little consequence, the mere temporary dwelling-place of the soul, a place of probation to fit them for another existence, they doubtless felt that their relation to the savage, in the providence of God, was one of a spiritual nature, rather than one of temporal interests, and, in making bargains with the natives, they were influenced by none of those selfish motives which are so often manifested and condemned in civilized countries. According to our present standard of knowledge, the Puritans were ignorant and bigoted. This cannot be said of them as true in their own times. The predominating element in their character, the spirit of religious freedom, was the same, whether it concerned the rights of the Catholic, or of the Protestant. It was not the mode of belief, it was not the standard of knowledge, but it was in this great principle, - that the individual had an inalienable right to worship his Maker according to the desires of his own soul, according to the convictions of his own mind, however peculiar, however different from established systems, his form

of faith. This element of character, of actual freedom in any thing, is the life-spring of liberty. As the acorn has within its narrow compass the elemental growth of ages, so this principle of freedom in the mind, at first applied to one subject, will in coming time be applied to all. As knowledge is advanced, its sphere of action will be enlarged, until freedom gladdens every people, and erects its monuments in every clime.

It is a proposition but few will deny, that the features and external aspects of a country have an influence in the formation of the character of its people. We would not lead the reader, by this remark, to adopt the common error of blending cause and effect together by attributing an absolute agency to external things, without regard to the character of the mind standing in relation to them; but rather to speak of that mutual relation existing between mind and matter which is to be appreciated only as it is found to be marked by the energies of the soul.* This continent was long in the posses

* Locke, in speaking of the fitness of man for knowledge and improvement, makes use of the following remarkable passage:

"Of what consequence the discovery of one natural body, and its properties, may be to human life, the whole great continent of America is a convincing instance; whose ignorance in useful arts, and want of the greatest part of the conveniences of life, in a country that abounded with all sorts of natural plenty, I think may be attributed to their ignorance of what was to be found in a very ordinary despicable stone, I mean the mineral of iron. And whatever we think of our parts or improvements in this part of the world, where knowledge and plenty seem to vie with each other, yet, to any one who will seriously reflect on it, I suppose it will appear past doubt, that were the use of iron lost among us, we should in a few ages be unavoidably reduced to the wants and ignorance of the ancient savage Americans, whose natural endowments come no way short of those of the most flourishing and polite nations."

We do not quote this passage with a view to refute it, but to show the opinion of a grave philosopher, who, having written one of the ablest works extant on the nature of the mind, and having asserted its immateriality and immortality, should so far forget himself as to

́sion of the barbarian; and yet his feeble powers of apprehension were not equal to comprehending the beauty and magnificence of its scenery, much less to manifest traits of character as the result of any contemplation of its features.

In considering the rights and duties of nations, it becomes the spirit of inquiry, that while a just and uncompromising regard should be observed in reference to humanity on the one hand, we should, on the other, elevate our views in the endeavor to comprehend the relations existing between man and external objects, - in reverence to Him who looks upon all things as parts of a great whole, and destined to infinite progression as an integrant of the system of the universe itself. We often speak of

CIVILIZATION,

of what it is, of its laws, of its progress, of its blessings, of its refinements. Are we sure that we have just conceptions of the subject? of what we mean? of the duties which it involves? of the truths encompassed by our language, and of the responsibility of our professions in connection with the subject? We fear not. We will not arrogate to ourselves an

make its best energies and refinement dependent on the presence and use of iron ore! Since this ore was made known to the savage, seven generations have passed away; and what the condition of the savage now is need not be stated. Locke had studied the results of the mental capacities, rather than the capacities themselves, in relation to external objects. The natural instrument of the mind was overlooked, and he sought the means of its manifestation in the rifle, chisel, and spade, forgetting that the mind invented and manufactured them, and therefore must have preceded them all.

Mr. Thompson, in his interesting work on Mexico, loses sight of this distinction. He says, "They have no fireplaces in Mexico, and I think this circumstance has a great influence on their character." The fireplace is one of the necessities of climate, and its connection with character is one of the results of social condition, but not the cause of it. It may be that this able writer simply intended to lament the want of the necessity, and even this must be regarded as an incidental influence.

ability to answer these questions above that, which, in all humility, we are willing to believe is possessed by our fellowmen; but we may be permitted to express an earnest hope that the reader will pursue with us the inquiry with an honest heart and careful mind.

Civilization, in that enlarged sense in which it is used when applied to nations, is a comprehensive term, which embraces those relations, and which cannot be enumerated, that exist between man and all external things. Man is a sentient being, placed in the midst of objects to be studied and to be known. He stands in relation to them all as ruler, and they to him as subjects. He stands in relation even to himself, and the oracle of Delphi," Know thyself," was indeed the first step in knowledge worthy to be pointed out as of divine origin. The degrees of civilization correspond with those of knowledge, comprehending its applications and uses. Its highest state would imply a knowledge of our physical system, of its parts, of its functions, of the conditions of health, the causes of disease, the principles of true temperance, and the penalties of violation and abuse. It implies a knowledge of mind, of the nature of its faculties, sentiments, and propensities. It embraces all that can be comprehended by the intellect, and all that can be realized by the soul. It extends from the circle of the individual to that of the nation, and of the world, comprising all duties due to ourselves, to our country, to the world, and to God. The sphere of man is infinite, embracing all that is small, and all that is great; all that is good, and all that is beautiful; his destiny is infinite progression.

The natural world is filled with causes which man is fitted to develop and to know. The secret springs of vegetation; the healthful condition of vegetable life; the uses of things that grow, and of inanimate substances; the objects of beauty, and enjoyments of sense; the numberless purposes of animal life; the laws of matter, and the elements of mechanical power; in fine, whatever exists upon, within, around, above, and beyond the globe, and the globe itself, are subjects