Читать книгу A Narrative of the Captivity and Adventures of John Tanner. U.S. Interpreter at the Saut de Ste. Marie онлайн

22 страница из 83

Some change may reasonably be supposed to have taken place in the course of two centuries in the sentiments of the European intruders towards their barbarous neighbours. In relative situation they have changed places. Those who are now powerful were then weak; those who now profess to offer protection, then looked with anxiety and trembling upon the superior strength of the race which has so soon perished from before them. In the early periods of our colonial history, the zeal of religious proselytism, and the less questionable spirit of true philanthropy, seem not to have availed, generally, to overcome the strong hatred of the savage race, produced by causes inseparable from the feeble and dependant condition of the colonies, and from the necessity which compelled our forefathers to become intruders upon the rightful possessions of the Indians. In the writings of the early historians, particularly of the Puritanical divines of New England, we find these people commonly described as a brutal and devil-driven race, wild beasts, bloodhounds, heathen demons; no epithet was considered too opprobrious, no execration too dire, to be pronounced against them.ssss1 It may be supposed, that in losing the power which made them formidable, they became less obnoxious to the hatred of the whites. Accordingly, we find that it was long since the fashion to profess much good will and compassion towards this ill-starred race. Some efforts have been made, and many more have been talked of for their civilization and for their conversion to the true religion. Here and there, a Penn has appeared among our statesmen; an Elliot or a Brainerd among our religionists—some have been incited by motives of pure benevolence, or by a love of natural justice, to labour perseveringly and faithfully in the work of reclaiming and benefiting the Indians. Could we trust implicitly to the statements of many who in our day write and speak on this subject, we might infer that the only sentiment influencing us, as a people, in our intercourse with our Indian neighbours, is an ardent desire for the promotion of their best interests. But if we estimate public sentiment by the surer criterion of public measures, we must admit that the present generation are seeking, with no less zeal and earnestness than their forefathers, the utter extermination of these bloody and idolatrous canaanites. The truth is, it has been, and still is, convenient to consider this a devil driven race, doomed by inscrutable destiny to sudden and entire destruction. This opinion accords well with the convenient dogma of the moral philosopher, who teaches that such as will make the best use of the soil, should drive out and dispossess those who, from ignorance or indolence, suffer it to remain uncultivated. It is of little importance to cavil at the injustice of such a course. The rule of vis major seems to be with almost equal force obligatory on both parties, and it would perhaps be now as impossible for us to avoid displacing the Indians, and occupying their country, as for them to prevent us.