e that of the people of Europe,
nor black like that of the Africans, but of a reddish color, like that
of copper, so that they called them red men. They had black eyes and
hair, and high cheek-bones, and were not handsome according to our
ideas; but they were tall and strong, and many of them very proud and
dignified.

These people lived in a very wild fashion. They spent much of their time
in hunting, fishing, and fighting. They raised some Indian corn and
beans, and were fond of tobacco, but most of their food was got from
wild animals killed in the woods. They were as fond of fighting as they
were of hunting. They were divided into tribes, some of which were
nearly always at war with other tribes. They had no weapons but stone
hatchets and bows and arrows, but they were able with these to kill many
of their enemies. People say that they were badly treated by the whites,
but they treated one another worse than the whites ever did.

The Indians were very cruel. The warriors shaved off all their hair
except one lock, which was called the scalp lock. When one of them was
killed in battle this lock was used to pull off his scalp, or the skin
of his head. They were very proud of these scalps, for they showed how
many men they had killed.

When they took a prisoner, they would tie him to a tree and build a
fire round him and burn him to death. And while he was burning they
would torture him all they could. We cannot feel so much pity for the
Indians when we think of all this. No doubt the white men have treated
them very unjustly, but they have stopped all these terrible cruelties,
and that is something to be thankful for. In this country, where once
there was constant war and bloodshed, and torturing and burning of
prisoners, now there is peace and kindness and happiness. So if evil has
been done, good has come of it.

At the time I am speaking of, forests covered much of this great
continent. They spread everywhere, and the Indians lived under their
shade, and had wonderful skill in following animals or enemies through
their shady depths. They read the ground much as we read the pages of a
book. A broken twig, a bit of torn moss, a footprint which we could not
see, were full of meaning to them, and they would follow a trail for
miles through the woods where we would not have been able to follow it a
yard. Their eyes were trained to this kind of work, but in time some of
the white men became as expert as the Indians, a