But to return once more to the book in question. Mr John Dunn Hunter is one of the boldest imposters, that has appeared in the literary world, since the days of Psalmanazar. His book, however, is without the ingenuity and learning, which, like redeeming qualities, rendered the History of Formosa an object of rational curiosity. It is a worthless fabrication, and, in this respect, beneath the dignity of criticism; compiled, no doubt, by some professional book maker, partly from preceding accounts, and partly from the inventions of Hunter. Our only motive for introducing the work into this article is, that, by exposing so gross an imposition, the public may be put upon its guard for the future, and not give credit to tales supported neither by intrinsic nor extrinsic evidence. The letters, which we shall presently introduce, place beyond doubt the imposture of Hunter. And here we might safely dismiss the subject; but a cursory examination of a few of his more prominent statements, may elucidate some important traits of Indian manners, and will at all events detect the utter ignorance of the writer of the article in the Quarterly. Hunter says he left the Osages in 1816, when he was nineteen or twenty years of age, and, as he recollects the incidents of his capture, he was then probably four or five. He was, therefore, taken about 1800, or 1801, and as the outrage was committed by a party of Kickapoos, the residence of his father must have been in Indiana or Illinois. His description of the scene shows, that it was an act of the most determined hostility. There were the war whoop and the yells, the massacre of parents and connexions, the pillage of their property, and the incendious destruction of their dwellings.' This was in a period of profound peace. Such an aggression in 1800, or 1801, would have electrified the whole country west of the mountains. We have our own distinct recollections, and what is still better, we have the authority of General Harrison to justify us in saying, that no such incident occurred. The Kickapoos were quiet from the signature of Wayne's treaty, till the commencement of the difficulties with Tecumthé and the Prophet. Hunter proceeds to state, that the party of Kickapoos, who took him, were themselves attacked and destroyed by the Pawnees, into whose possession he then fell. In 1800, and for some time after, not a Kickapoo lived west of the Mississippi. They occupied the plains about the Illinois, and between that river and the Wabash. They are separated from the Pawnees by extensive districts, and by the Osages, Kansas, and Missouries. The Pawnees and Kickapoos have never been brought into contact with each other, nor have they ever been engaged in mutual hostilities. After residing some time with the Pawnees, by a similar freak of fortune, he was thrown into the possession of the Kansas. We have then an affecting description of the 'venerable Chief Tohut-che-nau.' Where this respectable man lived, except in these pages, we have not been able to ascertain. There never has been a Chief of that name known among the Kansas, nor is the word itself, nor any thing like it, to be found in the Kansas language. A transfer to the Osages terminated this pilgrimage from tribe to tribe. And with them be continued, until his final restoration to civilised life. It was during this period, that Tecumthé is said to have made his visit to the Osages, and delivered his celebrated speech. The Osage tribe occupy the immense plains, extending from the Missouri and the Arkansas to the Rocky Mountains. They are the Ishmaelites of the Trans-Mississippi country. Their hand is against every man, and every man's hand is against them. The nations of the Algonquin family, the Shawnese, Delawares, Miamies, Kickapoos, and also the southern Indians, have been at war with them for ages. So late as 1818, we witnessed the arrival of a party of Shawnese, among their own people, from a hostile expedition against the Osages. The scalps, which they bore, evinced their success, and the shouts of the multitude left no doubt of the deep interest they felt, in the destruction of their enemies. No Shawnese had, in 1812, ever visited the Osages as a friend, nor was Tecumthé ever within many hundred miles of a party of that nation. But the most wonderful event in the life of Hunter, is his journey to the Pacific. And wonderful indeed is it, that a party of thirtysix Kansas and Osages should have reached. the brink of that distant ocean. No Osages or Kansas ever traversed the Rocky Mountains. Their inveterate enemies, the Alyetans, guard those passes, and even beyond, they must encounter many hostile tribes, before they can reach the ocean. And this desperate expedition was undertaken with no other object, that we can discover, than to indulge in sentimental reflections and descriptions, which are said by the Quarterly to have great simplicity and beauty'! Hunter's impudence is exceeded only by his ignorance. He says, 'The unbounded view of waters, the incessant and tremendous dashing of the waves along the shore, accompanied with a noise resembling the roar of loud and distant thunder, filled our minds with the most sublime and awful sensations, and fixed on them as immutable truths the tradition we had received from our old men, that the great waters divide the residence of the Great Spirit, from the temporary abodes of his red children. We here contemplated in silent dread the immense difficulties, over which we should be obliged to triumph after death, before we could arrive at those delightful hunting grounds, which are unalterably destined for such only as do good, and love the Great Spirit. We looked in vain for the stranded and shattered canoes of those, who had done wickedly. We could see none, and were led to hope they were few in number.'* All this is a clumsy fabrication. The Osages occupy a country of boundless plains. They know nothing of the ocean, nor do they believe, that the land of departed spirits is beyond it. The Heaven of the Indians is as sensual as the Mahometan paradise, and every tribe places it in situations, and fills it with objects, most familiar and agreeable, 'And thinks, admitted to that equal sky, His faithful dog shall bear him company.' The Osages know nothing of canoes, and we have the best authority for saying, that there is not one in the nation. And yet their departed friends are sent over an ocean of which they never heard, in vessels such as they never saw ! Their opinion of the condition of the soul after death, is derived from their habits and modes of life. Their land of spirits is an extensive prairie, peopled with their friends, filled with game, and abounding in all that an Indian can desire. When they are buried, their clothes and other necessary articles are buried with them, that they may not suffer in the country for which they have departed. Every warrior * Hunter's Narrative, p. 77. has a horse, which is never used but in war. This horse, with his saddle and accoutrements upon him, is brought to his master's grave after death, and is placed directly over it. He is then shot in the forehead, and there left, ready to be mounted by his master, on their arrival in the land of departed spirits. We intended to expose Hunter's statements, respecting the courtship of the Indians, his trash about their materia medica, and many other topics, which he has introduced into his book. But we have exhausted our own patience, and probably that of our readers. It is evident, that the compiler of Hunter's work had examined the preceding accounts of the Indians, which have been published. But he was not able to discriminate between the different customs of differing tribes, and has therefore described the Osages and the neighboring nations, as possessing customs of which they have no knowledge. Among others, he speaks of throwing the tomahawk, a well known amusement with the northern Indians, but never practised in the southwest. The pipe tomahawk, which alone they use, is wholly unfit for this purpose. He describes the rifle as the common weapon of men and boys. But that instrument is very seldom used by the Indians of the plains, and, in fact, it has not been known among them till within a few years. Probably not one in ten is armed with it. The bow and arrow are their most efficient weapons against the Buffalo, and the northwest fusils, as they are called, are the most common firearms. He also describes the boys, as working with the women. A most disgraceful employment, utterly unknown among any of the Indians. And he speaks of wild rice, as an article of food, which in fact is found in no part of the country, where he pretends to have lived. These more minute circumstances he could not mistake, if he described facts only as they existed. And if not, it is in such descriptions, that his falsehoods become most apparent. But one of his grossest errors relates to the Ottawas. He speaks, in many places of his work, of the Ottawas, as a tribe of southwestern Indians.* He had heard, or his compiler had read, of such a tribe, and they placed it in a most unfortunate situation. There is not an Ottawa west of the Mississippi, nor south of the heads of the Illinois river. *See pages 41, 95, 198, 200. We shall close this part of our subject, by submitting the following testimony in confirmation of our statement, respecting the imposture of Hunter. The originals of the letters here published we have in our hands, with their proper signatures. They are written by gentlemen of the highest respectability, whose declarations may be received with perfect confidence. Of General Clark, the companion of Lewis in their adventurous journey to the Pacific Ocean, formerly Governor of Missouri, and now Superintendent of Indian Affairs at St Louis, it is unnecessary to speak. His character is too well known to require any encomium from us. writes as follows. SIR, St Louis, Sept. 3, 1825. He In answer to your inquiries respecting the man, who calls himself Hunter, I have no hesitation in stating, that he is an impostor. Many of the most important circumstances mentioned by him are, to my certain knowledge, barefaced falsehoods. I have been acquainted in this country since 1803, and have resided in it since 1807, and for eighteen years have been connected with the Indian Department. It is not possible he could have lived with the tribes he mentions, and gone through with the scenes he describes, without some knowledge of him, and of his history, having reached WILLIAM CLARK. me. The next letter is from Mr Vasquez, subagent for the Kansas. He is an intelligent man, a Spaniard by descent, and well acquainted with the Indians in that country. He accompanied Pike in his journey to the Internal Provinces. SIR, St Louis, Sept. 3, 1825. I have received your note of yesterday. In answer to the inquiries contained therein, I can say, that I have been engaged in trade with the Kansas tribe of Indians nineteen years, between the years 1796 and 1824, and that, during the whole of that time, there was no white man a prisoner, of any age or description among them; nor do I believe that such a circumstance has occurred for the last thirty years. BARONET VASQUEZ. The writer of the next letter, Major Choteau, has perhaps more knowledge of the Osages, than any other man living. It was owing to his exertions, and those of his brother, that a considerable portion of the tribe separated from the others, |