* The current opinion of the Indian character, however,
is too apt to be formed from the miserable hordes which infest
the frontiers and hang on the skirts of the settlements. These
are too commonly composed of degenerate beings, corrupted and
enfeebled by the vices of society, without being benefited by its
civilization. That proud independence which formed the main
pillar of savage virtue has been shaken down, and the whole moral
fabric lies in ruins. Their spirits are humiliated and debased by
a sense of inferiority, and their native courage cowed and
daunted by the superior knowledge and power of their enlightened
neighbors. Society has advanced upon them like one of those
withering airs that will sometimes breed desolation over a whole
region of fertility. It has enervated their strength, multiplied
their diseases, and superinduced upon their original barbarity
the low vices of artificial life. It has given them a thousand
superfluous wants, whilst it has diminished their means of mere
existence. It has driven before it the animals of the chase, who
fly from the sound of the axe and the smoke of the settlement and
seek refuge in the depths of remoter forests and yet untrodden
wilds. Thus do we too often find the Indians on our frontiers to
be the mere wrecks and remnants of once powerful tribes, who have
lingered in the vicinity of the settlements and sunk into
precarious and vagabond existence.
Pages:
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432