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While in Missouri, and after his return from this adventurous
journey, he drew up a description of the mines, geology, and
mineralogy of the country. Conceiving a plan for the better
management of the lead mines as a part of the public domain, he
determined to visit Washington, to submit it to the government.
Packing up his collections of mineralogy and geology, he ordered
them to the nearest point of embarkation on the Mississippi, and,
getting on board a steamer at St. Genevieve, proceeded to New
Orleans. Thence he took shipping for New York, passing through the
Straits of Florida, and reached his destination during the
prevalence of the yellow fever in that city. He improved the time of
his quarantine at Staten Island by exploring its mineralogy and
geology, where he experienced a kind and appreciating reception from
the health officer, Dr. De Witt.
His reception also from scientific men at New York was most
favorable, and produced a strong sensation. Being the first person
who had brought a collection of its scientific resources from the
Mississippi Valley, its exhibition and diffusion in private cabinets
gave an impulse to these studies in the country.
Men of science and gentlemen of enlarged minds welcomed him. Drs.
Mitchell and Hosack, who were then at the summit of their influence,
and many other leading and professional characters extended a hand
of cordial encouragement and appreciation. Gov. De Witt Clinton was
one of his earliest and most constant friends. The Lyceum of Natural
History and the New York Historical Society admitted him to
membership.
Late in the autumn of 1819, he published his work on the mines and
mineral resources of Missouri, and with this publication as an
exponent of his views, he proceeded to Washington, where he was
favorably received by President Monroe, and by Mr. Calhoun and Mr.
Crawford, members of his cabinet. At the request of the latter he
drew up a memoir on the reorganization of the western mines, which
was well received. Some legislation appeared necessary. Meantime Mr.
Calhoun, who was struck by the earnestness of his views and
scientific enterprise, offered him the situation of geologist and
mineralogist to an exploring expedition, which the war department
was about dispatching from Detroit to the sources of the Mississippi
under the orders of Gen. Cass.
This he immediately accepted, and, after spending a few weeks at the
capital, returned in Feb., 1820, to New York, to await the opening
of the interior navigation. As soon as the lakes opened he proceeded
to Detroit, and in the course of two or three weeks embarked on this
celebrated tour of exploration. The great lake basins were visited
and explored, the reported copper mines on Lake Superior examined,
and the Upper Mississippi entered at Sandy Lake, and, after tracing
it in its remote mazes to the highest practical point, he descended
its channel by St. Anthony's Falls to Prairie du Chien and the Du
Buque lead mines. The original outward track north-westward was then
regained, through the valleys of the Wisconsin and Fox Rivers, and
the extended shores of Lake Michigan and Huron elaborately traced.
In this he was accompanied by the late Professor David B. Douglass,
who collected the materials for a correct map of the great lakes and
the sources of the Mississippi.
It was late in the autumn when Mr. Schoolcraft returned to his
residence at New York, when he was solicited to publish his
"narrative journal." This he completed early in the spring of 1821.
This work, which evinces accurate and original powers of
observation, established his reputation as a scientific and
judicious traveler. Copies of it found their way to England, where
it was praised by Sir Humphrey Davy and the veteran geographer,
Major Rennel. His report to the Secretary of War on the copper mines
of Lake Superior, was published in advance by the American Journal
of Science, and by order of the Senate of the United States, and
gives the earliest scientific account of the mineral affluence of
the basin of that lake. His geological report to the same department
made subsequently, traces the formations of that part of the
continent, which gives origin to the Mississippi River, and denotes
the latitudes where it is crossed by the primitive and volcanic
rocks. The ardor and enthusiasm which he evinced in the cause of
science, and his personal enterprise in traversing vast regions,
awakened a corresponding spirit; and the publication of his
narratives had the effect to popularize the subject of mineralogy
and geology throughout the country.
In 1821, he executed a very extensive journey through the Miami of
the Lakes and the River Wabash, tracing those streams minutely to
the entrance of the latter into the Ohio River. He then proceeded to
explore the Oshawanoe Mountains, near Cave-in-Rock, with their
deposits of the fluate of lime, galena, and other mineral treasures.
From this range he crossed over the grand prairies of the Illinois
to St. Louis, revisited the mineral district of Potosi, and ascended
the Illinois River and its north-west fork, the _Des Plaines_, to
Chicago, where a large body of Indians were congregated to confer on
the cession of their lands. At these important conferences, he
occupied the position of secretary. He published an account of the
incidents of this exploratory journey, under the title of _Travels
in the Central Portions of the Mississippi Valley_. He found, in
passing up the river _Des Plaines_, a remarkably well characterized
specimen of a fossil tree, completely converted to stone, of which
he prepared a descriptive memoir, which had the effect further to
direct the public mind to geological phenomena.
We are not prepared to pursue minutely these first steps of his
energetic course in the early investigation of our natural history
and geography. In 1822, while the lead-mine problem was under
advisement at Washington, he was appointed by Mr. Monroe to the
semi-diplomatic position of Agent for Indian Affairs on the
North-west Frontiers. This opened a new field of inquiry, and, while
it opposed no bar to the pursuits of natural science, it presented a
broad area of historical and ethnological research. On this he
entered with great ardor, and an event of generally controlling
influence on human pursuits occurred to enlarge these studies, in
his marriage to Miss Jane Johnston, a highly cultivated young lady,
who was equally well versed in the English and Algonquin languages,
being a descendant, by the mother's side, of Wabojeeg, a celebrated
war sachem, and ruling cacique of his nation. Her father, Mr. John
Johnston, was a gentleman of the highest connections, fortune, and
standing, from the north of Ireland, who had emigrated to America
during the presidency of Washington. He possessed great enthusiasm
and romance of character, united with poetic tastes, and became
deeply enamored of the beautiful daughter of Wabojeeg, married her,
and had eight children. His eldest daughter, Jane, was sent, at nine
years of age, to Europe to be thoroughly educated under the care of
his relatives there, and, when she returned to America, was placed
at the head of her father's household, where her refined dignified
manners and accomplishments attracted the notice and admiration of
numerous visitors to that seat of noble hospitality. Mr. Schoolcraft
was among the first suitors for her hand, and married her in
October, 1823.
Mr. Johnston was a fine belles lettres scholar, and entered
readily into the discussions arising from the principles of the
Indian languages, and plans for their improvement.
Mr. Schoolcraft's marriage into an aboriginal family gave no small
stimulus to these inquiries, which were pursued under such
singularly excellent advantages, and with untiring ardor in the
seclusion of Elmwood and Michilimackinack, for a period of nearly
twenty years, and, until his wife's lamented death, which happened
during a visit to her sister, at Dundas, Canada West, in the year
1842, and while he himself was absent on a visit to England. Mr.
Schoolcraft has not, at any period of his life, sought advancement
in political life, but executed with energy and interest various
civic offices, which were freely offered to him. From 1828 to 1832,
he was an efficient member of the Territorial Legislature, where he
introduced a system of township and county names, formed on the
basis of the aboriginal vocabulary, and also procured the
incorporation of a historical society, and, besides managing the
finances, as chairman of an appropriate committee, he introduced and
secured the passage of several laws respecting the treatment of the
native tribes.
In 1828, the Navy Department offered him a prominent situation in
the scientific corps of the United States Exploring Expedition to
the South Seas. This was urged in several letters written to him at
St. Mary's, by Mr. Reynolds, with the approbation of Mr. Southard,
then Secretary of the Navy. However flattering such an offer was to
his ambition, his domestic relations did not permit his acceptance
of the place. He appeared to occupy his advanced position on the
frontier solely to further the interests of natural history,
American geography, and growing questions of philosophic moment.
These particulars will enable the reader to appreciate the
advantages with which he commenced and pursued the study of the
Indian languages, and American ethnology. He made a complete lexicon
of the Algonquin language, and reduced its grammar to a
philosophical system. "It is really surprising," says Gen. Cass, in
a letter, in 1824, in view of these researches, "that so little
valuable information has been given to the world on these subjects."
Mr. Duponceau, President of the American Philosophical Society,
translated two of Mr. Schoolcraft's lectures before the Algic
Society, on the grammatical structure of the Indian language, into
French, for the National Institute of France, where the prize for
the best essay on Algonquin language was awarded to him. He writes
to Dr. James, in 1834, in reference to these lectures: "His
description of the composition of words in the Chippewa language, is
the most elegant I have yet seen. He is an able and most perspicuous
writer, and treats his subject philosophically."
Approbation from these high sources had only the effect to lead him
to renewed diligence and deeper exertions to further the interests
of natural science, geography, and ethnology; and, while engaged in
the active duties of an important government office, he maintained
an extensive correspondence with men of science, learning, and
enterprise throughout the Union.
The American Philosophical, Geological, and Antiquarian Societies,
with numerous state and local institutions, admitted him to
membership. The Royal Geographical Society of London, the Royal
Society of Northern Antiquaries at Copenhagen, and the Ethnological
Society of Paris, inscribed his name among their foreign members. In
1846, the College of Geneva conferred on him the degree of LL.D.
While the interests of learning and science thus occupied his
private hours, the state of Indian affairs on the western frontiers
called for continued exertions, and journeys, and expeditions
through remote regions. The introduction of a fast accumulating
population into the Mississippi Valley, and the great lake basins,
continually subjected the Indian tribes to causes of uneasiness, and
to a species of reflection, of which they had had no examples in the
long centuries of their hunter state.
In 1825, 1826, and 1827, he attended convocations of the tribes at
very remote points, which imposed the necessity of passing through
forests, wildernesses, and wild portages, where none but the
healthy, the robust, the fearless, and the enterprising can go.
In 1831, circumstances inclined the tribes on the Upper Mississippi
to hostilities and extensive combinations. He was directed by the
Government to conduct an expedition through the country lying south
and west of Lake Superior, reaching from its banks, which have from
the earliest dates been the fastnesses of numerous warlike tribes.
This he accomplished satisfactorily, visiting the leading chiefs,
and counseling them to the policy of peace.
In 1832, the Sauks and Foxes resolved to re-occupy lands which they
had previously relinquished in the Rock River Valley. This brought
them into collision with the citizens and militia of Illinois. The
result was a general conflict, which, from its prominent Indian
leader, has been called the Black Hawk war. From accounts of the
previous year, its combinations embraced _nine_ of the leading
tribes. It was uncertain how far they extended. Mr. Schoolcraft was
selected by the Indian and War Department, to conduct a second
expedition into the region embracing the entire Upper Mississippi,
north and west of St. Anthony's Falls. He pursued this stream to the
points to which it had been explored in 1806, by Lieut. Pike, and in
1820, by Gen. Cass; and finding the state of the water favorable for
ascending, traced the river up to its ultimate forks, and to its
actual source in Itasca Lake. This point he reached on the 23d July,
1832; but a fraction under 300 years after the discovery of its
lower portions by De Soto. This was Mr. Schoolcraft's crowning
geographical discovery, of which he published an account, with maps,
in 1833. He is believed to be the only man in America who has seen
the Mississippi from its source in Itasca Lake to its mouth in the
Gulf of Mexico.
In 1839, he published his collection of oral legends from the Indian
wigwams, under the general cognomen of Algic Researches. In
these volumes is revealed an amount of the Indian idiosyncrasies, of
what may be called their philosophy and mode of reasoning on life,
death, and immortality, and their singular modes of reasoning and
action, which makes this work one of the most unique and original
contributions to American literature. His love of investigation has
always been a characteristic trait.
The writer of this sketch, who is thoroughly acquainted with Mr.
Schoolcraft's character, habits, and feelings, has long regarded him
the complete embodiment of industry and temperance in all things. He
rises early and retires early, eats moderately of simple food, never
uses a drop of stimulant, and does not even smoke a cigar. In
temperament he is among the happiest of human beings, always looks
at the bright side of circumstances--loves to hear of the prosperity
of his neighbors, and hopes for favorable turns of character, even
in the most depraved. The exaltation of his intellectual pursuits,
and his sincere piety, have enabled him to rise above all the petty
disquietudes of everyday life, and he seems utterly incapable of
envy or detraction, or the indulgence of any ignoble or unmanly
passions. Indeed, one of his most intimate friends remarked "that he
was the _beau-ideal_ of dignified manliness and truthfulness of
character." His manners possess all that unostentatious frankness,
and self-possessed urbanity and quietude, that is indicative of
refined feelings. That such a shining mark has not escaped envy,
detraction, and persecution, will surprise no one who is well
acquainted with the materials of which human nature is composed.
"Envy is the toll that is always paid to greatness."
Mr. Schoolcraft has had enemies, bitter unrelenting enemies, from
the wiles of whom he has lost several fortunes, but they have not
succeeded, in spite of all their efforts, in depriving him of an
honored name, that will live as the friend of the red man and an
aboriginal historian, for countless ages.
Some twenty years ago he became a professor of religion, and the
ennobling influences of Bible truth have mellowed, and devoted to
the most unselfish and exalted aims his natural determination and
enthusiasm of character. God has promised to his people "that their
righteousness shall shine as the light, and their just dealing as
the noonday." Protected in such an impregnable tower of defense from
the strife of tongues, Mr. Schoolcraft has been enabled freely to
forgive, and even befriend, those narrow-minded calumniators who
have aimed so many poisoned arrows at his fame, his character, and
his success in life. These are they who hate all excellence that
they themselves can never hope to reach.
Mr. Schoolcraft's persevering industry is so indomitable, that he
has been known to write from sun to sun almost every day for many
consecutive years, taking no recreation, and yet these sedentary
habits of untiring application being regulated by system, have not
impaired the digestive functions of his usually robust health. One
of his family remarks, "that she believed that if his meals were
weighed every day in the year they would average the same amount
every twenty-four hours." He has, however, been partly lame for the
last two years, from the effects, it is thought, of early exposure
in his explorations in the west, where he used frequently to lie
down in the swamps to sleep, with no pillow save clumps of bog, and
no covering but a traveling Indian blanket, which sometimes when he
awoke was cased in snow. This local impediment, however, being
entirely without neuralgic or rheumatic symptoms, has had no effect
whatever upon his mental activity, as every moment of his time is
still consecrated to literary pursuits.
In 1841 he removed his residence from Michilimackinack to the city
of New York, where he was instrumental, with Mr. John R. Bartlett,
Mr. H. C. Murphy, Mr. Folsom and other ethnologists, in forming the
American Ethnological Society--which, under the auspices of the late
Mr. Albert Gallatin, has produced efficient labors. In 1842 he
visited England and the Continent. He attended the twelfth meeting
of the British Association for the Advancement of Science at
Manchester. He then visited France, Germany, Prussia, Belgium, and
Holland. On returning to New York he took an active interest in the
deliberations of the New York Historical Society, made an
antiquarian tour to Western Virginia, Ohio, and the Canadas, and
published in numbers the first volume of an Indian miscellany under
the title of "Oneota, or the Indian in his Wigwam."
In 1845 the Legislature of New York authorized him to take a census,
and collect the statistics of the Iroquois, or Six Nations, which
were published, together with materials illustrating their history
and character, in a volume entitled, NOTES ON THE IROQUOIS.
This work was highly approved by the Legislature, and copies eagerly
sought by persons taking an interest in the fortunes of this
celebrated tribe. Contrary to expectation, their numbers were found
to be considerable, and their advance in agriculture and
civilization of a highly encouraging character; and the State has
since made liberal appropriations for their education.
In 1846 he brought the subject of the American aborigines to the
notice of the members of Congress, expressing the opinion, and
enforcing it by facts drawn from many years' experience and
residence on the frontiers, that it was misunderstood, that the
authentic published materials from which the Indians were to be
judged were fragmentary and scanty, and that the public policy
respecting them, and the mode of applying their funds, and dealing
with them, was in many things false and unjust. These new views
produced conviction in enlightened minds, and, during the following
session, in the winter of 1847, an appropriation was made,
authorizing the Secretary of War to collect the statistics of all
the tribes within the Union; together with materials to illustrate
their history, condition, and prospects. Mr. Schoolcraft was
selected by the government to conduct the inquiry, in connection
with the Indian Bureau. And he immediately prepared and issued blank
forms, calling on the officers of the department for the necessary
statistical facts. At the same time a comprehensive system of
interrogatories was distributed, intended to bring out the true
state and condition of the Indian tribes from gentlemen of
experience, in all parts of the Union.
These interrogatories are founded on a series of some thirty years'
personal observations on Indian society and manners, which were made
while living in their midst on the frontiers, and on the data
preserved in his well-filled portfolios and journals; and the
comprehensive character of the queries, consequently, evince a
complete mastery of his subject, such as no one could have been at
all prepared to furnish, who had had less full and favorable
advantages. In these queries he views the Indian race, not only as
tribes having every claim on our sympathy and humanity, but as one
of the races of the human family, scattered by an inscrutable
Providence, whose origin and destiny is one of the most interesting
problems of American history, philosophy, and Christianity.
The first part of this work, in an elaborate quarto volume, was
published in the autumn of 1850, with illustrations from the pencil
of Capt. Eastman, a gentleman of the army of the United States, and
has been received by Congress and the diurnal and periodical press
with decided approbation. It is a work which is national in its
conception and manner of execution; and, if carried out according to
the plan exhibited, will do ample justice, at once to the Indian
tribes, their history, condition, and destiny, and to the character
of the government as connected with them. We have been reproached by
foreign pens for our treatment of these tribes, and our policy,
motives, and justice impugned. If we are not mistaken, the materials
here collected will show how gratuitous such imputations have been.
It is believed that no stock of the aborigines found by civilized
nations on the globe, have received the same amount of considerate
and benevolent and humane treatment, as denoted by its laws, its
treaties, and general administration of Indian affairs, from the
establishment of the Constitution, and this too, in the face of the
most hostile, wrongheaded, and capricious conduct on their part,
that ever signalized the history of a barbarous people.
In January, 1847, he married Miss Mary Howard, of Beaufort District,
South Carolina, a lady of majestic stature, high toned moral
sentiment, dignified polished manners, gifted conversational powers
and literary tastes. This marriage has proved a peculiarly fortunate
and happy one, as they both highly appreciate and respect each
other, and she warmly sympathizes in his literary plans. She also
relieves him of all domestic care by her judicious management of his
household affairs. Most of her time, however, is spent with him in
his study, where she revises and copies his writings for the press.
She is the descendant of a family who emigrated to South Carolina
from England, in the reign of George the Second, from whom they
received a large grant of land, situated near the Broad River. Upon
this original grant the family have from generation to generation
continued to reside. It is now a flourishing cotton and rice growing
plantation, and is at present owned by her brother, Gen. John
Howard. Her sister married a grandnephew of Gen. William Moultrie,
who was so distinguished in the revolutionary war, and her brother a
granddaughter of Judge Thomas Heyward, who was a ripe scholar and
one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Although one
of her brothers was in the battle of San Jacinto, she is herself the
first permanent emigrant of her family from South Carolina to the
North, having accompanied her husband to Washington, D.C., where he
has ever since been engaged in conducting the national work on the
history of the Indians. To this work, of which the second part is
now in the press, every power of his extensive observation and ripe
experience is devoted, and with results which justify the highest
anticipations which have been formed of it. Meantime it is
understood that the present memoirs is the first volume of a revised
series of his complete works, including his travels, reviews, papers
on natural history, Indian tales, and miscellanies.
To this rapid sketch of a man rising to distinction without the
adventitious aids of hereditary patrimony, wealth, or early friends,
it requires little to be added to show the value of self-dependence.
Such examples must encourage all whose ambitions are sustained by
assiduity, temperance, self-reliance, and a consistent perseverance
in well weighed ends.
This site includes some historical
materials that may imply negative stereotypes reflecting the culture or language
of a particular period or place. These items are presented as part of the
historical record and should not be interpreted to mean that the WebMasters in
any way endorse the stereotypes implied.
Personal Memoirs of a Residence of Thirty Years with the
Indian Tribes on the American Frontiers, 1851
Thirty
Years with the Indians
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