of these tribes, having mingled much with the Whites, and made some progress in the arts of civilized life, have lately attempted to erect an independent government within the limits of Georgia and Alabama. Those States, claiming to be the only sovereigns within their territories, extended their laws over the Indians, which induced the latter to call upon the United States for protection." The answer of the President gave them to understand, that their attempt could not be countenanced by the Executive of the Federal Union; as it was at variance with the provision in the Constitution, that no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other State, without the consent of its Legislature. They were therefore advised either to emigrate beyond the Mississippi, or to submit to the laws of those States.

By

"Our conduct towards these people," remarks President Jackson, "is deeply interesting to our national character. Their present condition, contrasted with what they once were, makes a most powerful appeal to our sympathies. Our ancestors found them the uncontrolled possessors of these vast regions. persuasion and force, they have been made to retire from river to river, and from mountain to mountain, until some of the tribes have become extinct, and others left but remnants, to preserve, for a while, their once terrible names. Surrounded by the Whites, with their arts of civilization, which, by destroying the resources of the savage, doom him to weakness and decay, the fate of the Mohegan, the Naragansett, and the Delaware, is fast overtaking the Choctaw, the Cherokee, and the Creek. That this fate surely awaits them, if they remain within the limits of the States, does not admit of a doubt. Humanity and national honour demand, that every effort should be

made to avert so great a calamity. It is too late to inquire, whether it was just in the United States, to include them and their territory within the bounds of new States, whose limits they could control. That step cannot be retraced. A State cannot be dismem bered by Congress, or restricted in the exercise of her constitutional power."

Thus, it would seem, that Congress is not powerful enough to repair the wrongs it has itself committed. States of yesterday, with their mushroom legislatures, lording it over vast tracts of unsettled country, although created by the Federal Government, which fixes their territorial limits,―are recognized as having the same independent powers and inalienable prerogatives as the original States, whose governments are older than the Republic, and which surrendered only a portion of their power, when they acceded to the Federal Union. Something, however, the President thinks, ought to be done for the Indians, and may be done consistently with the rights of the States. As a means of effecting this end, he suggests for the consideration of Congress," the propriety of setting apart an ample district west of the Mississippi, and without the limits of any State or territory, to be guaranteed to the Indian tribes as long as they shall occupy it; each tribe to have a distinct control over the portion designed for its use. There, they may be secured in the enjoyments of their own choice, subject to no other control from the United States, than such as may be necessary to preserve peace on the frontier, and between the several tribes. There, the benevolent may endeavour to teach them the arts of civilization, and, by promoting union and harmony among them, to raise up an interesting commonwealth, destined to perpetuate the race, and to attest the humanity and

justice of this Government. The emigration should be voluntary; for it would be as cruel as unjust, to compel the aborigines to abandon the graves of their fathers, and seek a home in a distant land. But they should be distinctly informed, that, if they remained within the limits of the State, they must be subject to the laws. In return for their obedience as individuals, they will, without doubt, be protected in the enjoyment of those possessions which they have improved by their industry. But it seems to be visionary to suppose, that, in this state of things, claims can be allowed on tracts of country on which they have neither dwelt nor made improvements, merely because they have seen them from the mountain, or passed them in the chase. Submitting to the laws of the States, and receiving, like other citizens, protection in their persons and property, they will, ere long, become merged in the mass of our population.” *

The subject of titles is one of extreme delicacy; but there seems no good reason for demurring as to the validity of the plea, sanctioned by Vattel, Montesquieu, and Adam Smith, that the Indian title, resting upon mere occupancy for the purpose of hunting, ought not to bar the progress of civilization. It is not a true and legal possession like our tenures, for they have no idea of a title to the soil itself; it is, therefore, a right not to be transferred, but extinguished; but, till legitimately extinguished, their title certainly claims to be respected by all courts. + Upon these principles,

* President's Message, 1829.

† See, on Indian titles, Hodgson, vol. ii., App. pp. 395-402. The process of extinguishing Indian titles, advances rapidly. A treaty has recently been concluded with the Potowatamies and Ottawas of Rock River, and the Winnebagoes their neighbours, by which 6,000,000 acres of rich country between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi, (part of what is called the North-west Territory,)

the first colonists seem to have proceeded; and this is the ground avowedly taken by the American Government in their recent transactions with the Indians. Whether the eagerness to extinguish the Indian title has not, in some cases, been in advance of sound policy, indicating a spirit of inordinate ambition or of restless speculation, is a point on which opinions will differ. But President Jackson seems to admit, that the claims of justice have not been altogether respected by his predecessors, in pushing the boundaries of New States so far westward, as to include, by anticipation, territories, the title of which remains still unextinguished.*

We return to Mr. Hodgson, whom we left in the Chickasaw territory. In the next day's journey, he crossed the last waters which fall into the Tombekbee, and some little streams which, taking an opposite direction, join the Tennessee. He also passed the boundary line between Mississippi and Alabama; soon after which, the country became more hilly, and muddy streams were exchanged for pebbly brooks. crossing Bear Creek, a "beautiful and romantic river," he fairly emerged from the forests, and, from the summit of a hill, obtained the novel and inspiring view of an extensive range of broken country, amid which

After

have been ceded to the United States, in consideration of specified presents and annuities. The tract is said to be rich in lead ore, well watered, and, in climate and soil, not excelled by any part of the United States.-Galena Advertiser.-(Times, Oct. 6, 1829,)

It

The humane sentiments in the President's message, respecting the Indians, are the more remarkable as ostensibly proceeding from a man who distinguished himself in early life, by his ruthless severities towards the hostile tribes of Louisiana and Florida. would seem as if, in his old age, General Jackson was anxious to redeem his character from the stains which his lawless and sanguinary proceedings have left upon it. The metamorphosis he is said to have undergone is extraordinary.

PART IV,

a river wound its course,-unenlivened, however, by a trace of animated existence, except a solitary cabin with its patch of maize,- -a boundless solitude. Still, the contrast, after travelling for many days amid the recesses of thick woods, imparted a sensation of cheerfulness. "Not," says our Traveller, "that we were tired of the wilderness. The fragrance of the woods, which enveloped us in a cool shade, and the melody of their warbling tenants, regaled the senses with a perpetual feast; while the gambols of the squirrels, the cooing of the doves, the variety of large snakes which often crossed our path, birds with the richest plumage, and, above all, the magnificent forest trees, which here attain their largest growth, presented an unfailing succession of objects to interest and amuse us. The delicious climate also of the State of Mississippi, gave to the morning and evening hours an ethereal charm, which those who have a lively perception of nature's charms, will understand."

At Big Spring, a little village of log-cabins, on a beautiful stream, our Traveller passed from the Chickasaw territory into the White settlements, cutting the military road from New Orleans to Nashville. The next day, he crossed the Tennessee, just above the shoals, where it is half a mile broad, overhung with beautiful trees, and studded with wooded islands. Where it expands towards the shoals, it reminded him of our Cumberland lakes. Steam-boats ascend from New Orleans to the shoals. On the following day, passing through Athens, a town of twenty or thirty log-cabins, and Cambridge, a village of four or five, he reached Huntsville, a town of somewhat older date and full of stores, situated near the foot of the spurs of the Cumberland mountain. Here he was in the high road to Knoxville, which is "really a road," and