Indian Tribes.
15. The greater portion of the United States east of the Mississippi was peopled by the family of the Algonquins. They were divided into many tribes, each having its local name and tradition. Agriculture was but little practiced by them. They roamed about from one hunting-ground and river to another. When the White men came, the Algonquin nations were already declining in numbers and influence. Only a few thousands now remain.
16. Around the shores of Lakes Erie and Ontario lived the Huron-Iroquois. At the time of their greatest power, they embraced no fewer than nine nations. The warriors of this confederacy presented the Indian character in its best aspect. They were brave, patriotic, and eloquent; faithful as friends, but terrible as enemies.
17. South of the Algonquins were the Cherokees and the Mobilian Nations. The former were highly civilized for a primitive people. The principal tribes of the Mobilians were the Yamassees and Creeks of Georgia, the Seminoles of Florida, and the Choctaws and Chickasaws of Mississippi. These displayed the usual disposition and habits of the Red men.
18. West of the Mississippi was the family of the Dakotas. South of these, in a district nearly corresponding with the State of Texas, lived the wild Comanches. Beyond the Rocky Mountains were the Indian nations of the Plains; the great families of the Shoshones, the Selish, the Klamaths, and the Californians. On the Pacific slope, farther southward, dwelt in former times the civilized but feeble race of Aztecs.
INDIAN LIFE
19. The Red men had a great passion for war. Their wars were undertaken for revenge rather than conquest. To forgive an injury was considered a shame. Revenge was the noblest of the virtues. The open battle of the field was unknown in Indian warfare. Fighting was limited to the ambuscade and the massacre. Quarter was rarely asked, and never granted.
20. In times of peace the Indian character appeared to a better advantage. But the Red man was always unsocial and solitary. He sat by himself in the woods. The forest was better than a wigwam, and a wigwam better than a village. The Indian woman was a degraded creature—a mere drudge and beast of burden.
Indian Characteristics.
21. In the matter of the arts the Indian was a barbarian. His house was a hovel, built of poles set up in a circle, and covered with skins and the branches of trees. Household utensils were few and rude. Earthen pots, bags, and pouches for carrying provisions, and stone hammers for pounding corn, were the stock and store. His weapons of offense and defense were the hatchet and the bow and arrow. In times of war the Red man painted his face and body with all manner of glaring colors. The fine arts were wanting. Indian writing consisted of half-intelligible hieroglyphics scratched on the face of rocks or cut in the bark of trees.
22. The Indian languages bear little resemblance to those of other races. The Red man's vocabulary was very limited. The principal objects of nature had special names, but abstract ideas could hardly be expressed. Indian words had a very intense meaning. There was, for instance, no word signifying to hunt or to fish; but one word signified "to-kill-a-deer-with-an-arrow"; another, "to-take-fish-by-striking-the-ice." Among some of the tribes, the meaning of words was so restricted that the warrior would use one term and the squaw another to express the same idea.
23. The Indians were generally serious in manners and behavior. Sometimes, however, they gave themselves up to merry-making and hilarity. The dance was universal—not the social dance of civilized nations, but the solemn dance of religion and of war. Gaming was much practiced among all the tribes. Other amusements were common, such as running, wrestling, shooting at a mark, and racing in canoes.
24. In personal appearance the Indians were strongly marked. In stature they were below the average of Europeans. The Esquimos are rarely five feet high. The Algonquins are taller and lighter in build; straight and agile; lean and swift of foot. The eyes are jet-black and sunken; hair black and straight; skin copper-colored or brown; hands and feet small; body lithe, but not strong; expression sinister, or sometimes dignified and noble.
25. The best hopes of the Indian race seem now to center in the Choctaws, Cherokees, Creeks, and Chickasaws of the Indian Territory. These nations have attained a considerable degree of civilization. Most of the other tribes are declining in numbers and influence. Whether the Indians have been justly deprived of the New World will remain a subject of debate. That they have been deprived of it can not be questioned. The white races have taken possession of the vast domain. To the prairies and forests, the hunting-grounds of his fathers, the Red man says farewell.
Review Questions.—Part I.
1 What is meant by the Aborigines?
2 What evidences indicate an earlier race than the Indians?
3 What is known of the Mound-builders?
4 What are the most notable mounds?
5 Where are they located?
6 Describe the shapes of the mounds.
7 For what supposed purposes were they built?
8 What are sometimes found in the mounds?
9 Why were the native races of America called Indians?
10 What is said of the origin of these races?
11 To what family of men do the Indians belong?
12 Name the principal Indian nations in America.
13 What regions did the Algonquins inhabit?
14 Where did the Huron-Iroquois live?
15 What were the characteristics of this nation?
16 Where did the Cherokees and Mobilian nations live?
17 What were the principal tribes of the Mobilians?
18 What regions did the Dakotas inhabit?
19 Give the names of other Indian nations.
20 What regions did they inhabit?
21 What were the leading characteristics of the Indians?
22 What can you tell of the Indian languages?
23 Describe the personal appearance of the Indians.
24 What tribes of Indians are now the most civilized?
25 Give some account of the Esquimos.
26 What does the name Esquimo mean?
Part II.
VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY.
A. D. 986-1607.
CHAPTER II.
The Norsemen in America.
THE western continent was first seen by white men in A. D. 986. A Norse navigator by the name of Herjulfson, sailing from Iceland to Greenland, was caught in a storm and driven westward to Newfoundland or Labrador. Two or three times the shores were seen, but no landing was attempted. The coast was so different