abitations
reside the Indian warrior, whose name is a terror to his enemies;
and the dark maiden, whose story supplies the poet with rich
materials, with which to embellish the page of fiction. In such
wretched hovels reside the aboriginal lords of the soil.

"I _have_ seen in this region, evidences of persecution perpetrated
by our people upon this unhappy race, such as the American people
would scarcely believe; and I am satisfied that if the events of
the late war could be traced to their true source, every real
philanthropist in the nation would blush for his country.

* * * * *

"I could relate many anecdotes, to show the friendly feelings
entertained towards our government and people by the Sacs--feelings
which, whether of fear or of kindness, have rendered them wholly
submissive, and which nothing but the most unprovoked aggression on
our side, could have kindled into hostility. I will only, at this
time, repeat one, which occurred during my first voyage, reserving
others for a future letter.

"One day, when the boat stopped to take in wood, some of us
strolled up to the house of a Mr. D., a respectable farmer from
Pennsylvania. He had been living here several years, at a spot
distant from any settlements, and without a single neighbor. Upon
our inquiring whether he felt no alarm in residing thus alone in
the vicinity of the Indians, he replied that his family had
formerly experienced much uneasiness, but that they had long since
become satisfied that there was no ground for apprehension. He was
convinced that the Sacs, their nearest neighbors, so far from being
disposed to injure the whites, were cautious and timid of giving
offence. In support of this opinion, he related the following
anecdote.

"His house stands on a high bank of the Mississippi, and the family
were one day much alarmed by discovering a large number of Indians
passing up the river in canoes. They passed along in a most
disorderly manner, some paddling their little vessels, and others
strolling along the shore, but the majority evidently intoxicated.
It was the latter circumstance which caused alarm. The Indians had
been to St. Louis to receive their annuities, and had procured a
sufficient supply of whisky to render them unsaf