believed, after he had made the earth, sun,
moon and stars, had placed the red man on this
continent, and bestowed it upon him and his
children. He knew also, that the whole region
around was made dear to them by every cher-
ished remembrance; their recollections of the
happy abode of the red people therein for many
generations before the coming of the white men
to settle amongst them; as connected also with
the sports and pastimes of their youth, and with
the enjoyments of their more manly pursuits in
maturer years, and moreover as containing the
graves and other monuments of their fathers.
These recollections were all quickened and in-
creased in importance by the knowledge that, in
relinquishing the possession of this fine territory,
they yielded up forests filled with herds of deer,
and other game which, by the addition of the
fruits of their grounds, rich and fertile almost
without precedent, gave them, even with their
rude mode of tillage, an ample supply for their
simple wants. He seemed also to be filled with
apprehension, lest when settled within the con-
fined boundaries, which were to be theirs by the
conditions of the treaty, that his countrymen
would be too slow in adopting the habits of civil-
ized life; and as the supply of wild animals must
soon be exhausted, would suffer many privations
in consequence of the change. As such were
his feelings, can any thoughtful person be as-
tonished at his resolutions?