FIRST CONVERT OF THE WEST! The Indian child Flows the deep anthem, and eternal song. "She died afar-no pilgrim finds her tomb- "As POCAHONTAS, while these skies remain, Still shall our Zodiac show the Virgin signBut, as REBECCA, when yon stars shall wane, Yon Heavens roll by, she, AS A STAR, SHALL SHINE." PART II. THE MISTAKES OF OUR FOREFATHERS IN REGARD TO THE INDIANS, AND THE LESSON WE SHOULD LEARN FROM THEM. Rapid settlement of the country-The Plymouth colony-Providentially preserved from destruction-Story of Samoset and Squanto-Interview and treaty with Massasoit-Increase of the white men, and jealousy of the IndiansTwo centuries of desolating war-To Pocahontas and Massasoit, the white man indebted for his ascendancy-Points of resemblance and contrast between the two races-Colonists ignorant of the Indian character and habits-Their mistakes in the treatment of them-Father Robinson-The wisdom of William Penn-Bartram the botanist-Instances of cruelty and treachery towards the Indians-Difficulty to judge of the position of our forefathers-We may profit by their mistakes-The present condition of the remnant of Indians-Their wretchedness chargeable to us-Noble exceptions-Elliott-Mayhew-Brainerd-Kirkland, &c. THE sea-coast was now becoming dotted with settlements; and wherever the emigrants landed, the natives were either present, or soon after showed themselves. "In 1610, we find the Dutch as far up the Hudson as Albany; 1620, the pilgrims were at Plymouth; in 1623, Pisquataqua, now Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was settled; in 1628, a colony was established on Massachusetts bay; in 1630, Boston began to be peopled; in 1634, Maryland; in 1635, Connecticut; in 1636, Providence ; in the same year the Swedes occupied various points on the Delaware; in 1638, Rhode Island and New Haven were settled" and so on. "In 1610, Captain Smith explored the coast from Penobscot to Cape Cod. On his return to Eng.and, he submitted a map of his explorations to Prince Charles, who named the country New England." It does not fall within the limits which I have set to this discourse, to follow out the details of these various settlements, or to recount the collisions which took place between the settlers and the natives. This would comprise the entire history of those times. It will not be irrelevant, however, to notice an important event which has made memorable the year 1620. I refer to the settlement of Plymouth by the Puritans. As the colony at Jamestown was the first that had, thirteen years before, obtained a permanent footing in Virginia, so was the Plymouth colony the first to establish itself, permanently, in New England. The similitude does not stop here. The colony at Plymouth owed its preservation, under Providence, like that of Jamestown, to the friendly agency of the natives. True, the forms were not so attractive, nor were the appeals to the common admiration, and the common sympathy, so touching; but there was enough of external grace even here, to challenge admiration, awaken in each heart feelings of the most grateful sort, and create obligations, as lasting as the rock on which the pilgrim fathers first set their feet, to labor for the Indian's reformation, and advance him into the high enjoyments of the civilized and Christian state. I know that over and amidst the too general neglect to do this, a beautiful light was occasionally seen; and this arose out of the labors of Elliott and his associates, for the reformation of the natives. These primitive efforts in a cause so holy, can never be forgotten; nor will the names and memories of those who made them, ever cease to be cherished. I have said there were circumstances attendant upon the landing of the pilgrims at Plymouth, which, like those of Jamestown, were calculated to awaken the most grateful feelings towards the natives, and produce the most strenuous efforts for their well-being. I will briefly review those circumstances, as history has recorded them. The destination of the May-Flower, as you all know, was not to any part of the coast of New England. History more than intimates that the captain was influenced by a bribe to shape his course to a more northerly point, that the emigrants might not, if landed on the Hudson, interfere with the interests of the Dutch in their already opened trade with the natives there. Finding themselves, in the month of November, so far north of their destination, and not being willing, at that inclement season, to encounter the dangers of the coast, the company concluded to land where they were, and fix upon a spot for their permanent home. They did so. He who feedeth the ravens when they cry, and who fed, by their agency, the prophet in the wilderness, was present to protect and feed the pilgrims. Corn was literally provided for them. Soon after landing, baskets filled with this almost indispensable article of food, were found covered up in the sand, which served, not only for partial sustenance then, but for seed in the ensuing spring. But this was not all. They had not been long on shore before a solitary Indian came to their village, and as he entered, uttered a salutation in the words "Welcome, Englishmen." It was the famous Sagamore SAMOSET, who, having previously fallen in with fishermen along the coast, had been taught to speak some English. Of Samoset, the pilgrims learned that about five years before, the Great Spirit had sent the plague among the natives at that time settled there, which killed them all—not a man, woman or child, who had inhabited thereabouts, being left. Here, then, was an unoccupied and unclaimed territory, which the pilgrims invaded no rights in taking possession of. Who can doubt that Providence guided them to that spot? or that if a landing had been made upon any other part of the coast, they would have met with re sistance from the natives, and been, in all probability, exterminated? The pilgrims were kind to Samoset-and by being so, secured his confidence. He made them, as we read in history, a second visit; and coming a third time, brought with him SQUANTO. Squanto had been captured by a man named HUNT, and sold into slavery, and carried to Spain. From Spain he was taken to London, and from London he returned to his native wilds, and to that very spot, bringing with him that indispensable instrument in all intercourse where two parties speak different languages—a tongue skilled in both. What a merciful provision was this! An easy channel of communication was thus opened, by which a direct intercourse could be held by the pilgrims with the natives. There is little doubt that Samoset, immediately after his first interview, sent runners to inform the great sachem, Massasoit, of the arrival of the English; for shortly after his third visit, he informed them that this great chief was not far off, attended by a guard of sixty men. We can well imagine the effects which this annunciation produced on the pilgrims! What fate awaited them, in the near neighborhood of such a band of savages, they could not know. No doubt they imagined the worst. Squanto, with his interpreter's tongue in his mouth, "was sent to hold a parley with Massasoit, who came back, saying the sachem desired the English to send a messenger to talk with him. The lot fell upon Mr. Edward Winslow, who went charged with presents for Massasoit." The sachem, distrusting the objects of the English, and no doubt suspecting their designs, caused Winslow to be retained as a hostage, and went in person to the English, who received him with every demonstration of honesty of purpose, and of hospitality. "The result of this interview was a treaty, which bound the parties in a league of friendship, of commerce, and of mutual protection. The treaty was made in March, 1621, and was kept inviolate for over |