Anecdotes of Indians.

749

   A missionary residing among a certain tribe of Indians, was one day, after he had been preaching to them, invited by their chief to visit his wigwam. After having been kindly entertained, and being about to depart, the chief took him by the hand and said, "I have very bad squaw. She had two little children. One she loved well, and the other she hated. In a cold night, when I was gone hunting in the woods, she shut it out of the wigwam and it froze to death. What must be done with her?" The missionary replied, "She must be hanged." "Ah!" sail the chief, "Go, then, and hang your God, whom you make just like her."

   An Indian of the Kennebec tribe, remarkable for his good conduct, received a grant of land from the State, and fixed himself in a new township where a number of families were settled. Though not ill-treated, yet the common prejudice against Indians prevented any sympathy with him. This was shown at the death of his only child, when none of the people came near him. Shortly afterwards, he went to some of the inhabitants and said to them, "When white man's child die, Indian man be sorry   he help bury him. When my child die, no one speak to me    I make his grave alone. I can no live here." He gave up his farm, dug up the body of his child, and carried it with him two hundred miles through the forests, to join the Canada Indians.

.   A certain clergyman had for his text on a time, "Vow, and pay the Lord thy vows." An Indian happened to be present, who stepped up to the priest, as soon as he had finished, and said to him, " Now, me vow me go home with you, Mr. Minister." The priest, having no language of evasion at command, said, " You must go, then." When he had arrived at the home of the minister, the Indian vowed again, saying, " Now, me vow me have supper." When this was finished, he said, "Me vow me stay all night." The priest, by this time thinking himself sufficiently taxed, replied, "It may be so, but I vow you shall go in the morning. The Indian, judging from the tone of his host that more vows would be useless, departed in the morning sans ceremonie.

_About the time Cornplanter left his nation to proceed on his mission

to the hostile tribes, three of his people were traveling through a settlement upon the Genesee, when they stopped at a house to light their pipes. There happened to be several men within, one of whom killed the foremost Indian with an axe as he stooped to light his pipe. One of the others was badly wounded with the,same weapon, while escaping from the house. They were not pursued, and the other, a boy, escaped unhurt. When Cornplanter learned what had happened, he charged his warriors to remain quiet, and not to seek revenge. He was only heard to say, "It is hard, when I and my people are trying to