1541]

DEATH OF DE SOTO.

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wams in the night. De Soto lost in the flames many horses and hogs, most of his baggage, and eleven of his men.

6. Continuing his march, De Soto in a few days found himself on the bank of a mighty river now called the Mississippi. In the engraving you see him and his men on a high bluff, gazing on the great stream they have discovered. The river is alive with canoes full of natives, who are hastening to bring presents to the strangers, not knowing how cruel they are.

7. De Soto was a proud man, and he would not go back unsuccessful. Hearing of gold in the northwest, he crossed the Mississippi and marched in that direction. Many weary miles he travelled. His Indian guides led him into thick woods and dangerous swamps. To get rid of him, the tribes he visited would tell him wonderful stories about some other country a little farther on, where gold was plenty. Thus he was kept marching about, only to find himself deceived and disappointed.

8. De Soto's men were now dying around him from exposure and fatigue. He saw that his hopes of wealth and glory were vain, and became disheartened. A fever seized him, and he died with little comfort in his last hours. His men wrapped his body in a cloak, and, taking it out in a boat, sunk it at dead of night in the great Mississippi which he had discovered.

9. After De Soto's death, his men continued their wanderings. They first tried to reach Mexico by land, and made their way as far as the prairies of Texas. Then, ready to sink, they turned back to the Mississippi, and resolved to sail down to its mouth, and thence along the coast to some Spanish settlement. Every scrap of iron was used in making nails to hold their frail vessels together. After undergoing the severest hardships, about half of the party succeeded in reaching their countrymen. They had spent over four years in their weary wanderings.

selves?-6. What great discovery was made by De Soto? Describe the scene in the engraving.-7. Where did De Soto next go, and why? How did the Indian tribes try to get rid of him?-8. In what condition did De Soto now find his men? What befell De Soto himself? What was done with his corpse? -9. What did De Soto's men do after his death? How many reached their countrymen? How long had they been gone?

1. We have said a great deal about the Indians; it is time

that we describe them. Here is a picture of one. He is tall and straight. In his right hand is his pipe of peace. Around his neck is a collar ornamented with the claws of bears that he has killed. At his back he carries his tomahawk, his bow, and a quiver full of arrows. He wears moccasins on his feet, and deer-skin leggings. His head is bare; he has no hair except a single scalp-lock, adorned with feathers.

2. There were many different tribes of Indians in different parts of America; but they looked alike, and led the same kind of life. They were all copper-colored, and hence have been called Red Men. Their hair was black, and very straight and coarse. In the north, they clothed themselves with skins; but in the south, where the climate was warmer, they wore little or no covering.

3. The Indian spent most of his time in the chase. He obtained his food by hunting and fishing, and raised nothing except a little maize, or Indian corn. This the women were obliged to plant and cultivate. The warrior thought it beneath him to labor, and made his wife, or squaw, as he called her, do all the work. She put up their hut, prepared their food, and when they moved from place to place even carried the baggage.

1. Describe the Indian represented in the engraving.-2. What is said of the different tribes? Why have the Indians been called Red Men? What kind of hair had they? How were they clothed in the north? How, in the south? -3. In what did the Indian spend most of his time? How did he obtain his

THEIR MODE OF LIFE.

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4. When the Indian was out hunting, or on the war-trail, he slept in the open air, with a fire burning beside him to fright

en wild beasts away. At home he occupied a wigwam, or hut, such as is shown in the engraving. It was made by stretching bark or skins over poles stuck in the ground. Here you see the chief taking his ease, while his wife is cooking the dinner. The lit

tle chief is playing with his father's bow.

The baby, or pappoose, strapped up to keep him still, is leaning against the side of the wigwam. An Indian woman often travelled miles with her pappoose fastened in this way on

her back. The wigwams of different tribes were usually built together in villages.

5. The Indians generally, though cautious and suspicious, were friendly and hospitable. They would set before a stranger the best they had, and were grieved if he would not eat. If any one did them a favor, they would remember it for years, and return it when it was in their power. An Indian has been

food? What did he raise? What did the Indian squaw have to do ?-4. How did the Indian sleep, when out hunting? At home, what did he occupy? How was the wigwam made? Describe the scene represented in the engraving.5. How did the Indians treat strangers? What were they sure to remember?

known to save the life of a white man who had given him food or drink so long before as to have forgotten all about it. They remembered injuries also, and were unsparing in their revenge.

6. The Indians were constantly engaged in wars with each other. Arrayed in their war-paint, they collected in small parties under distinguished chiefs. They carried neither baggage nor provisions. Each man depended on the game that he could shoot by the way.

7. Their object was to surprise their enemies, to kill as many as possible, and escape unhurt. They never fought on an open field. Their movements were made as secretly as possible. The chief led the way, and each of the party trod noiselessly in his footsteps. To conceal their trail from the enemy, the last of the party would sometimes cover it with leaves. But it was hard to deceive an experienced foe in this way. The Indian could see and hear at a great distance, and observed little things that would escape the notice of a white man.

8. An enemy killed in battle was scalped at once. Without this, there was no glory in the victory. A distinguished chief could point to a dozen dried scalps hanging at his girdle or in his wigwam. All prisoners were either killed on the spot, or taken home in triumph. They were there sometimes adopted by the tribe in place of warriors that had fallen, but were more generally tortured.

9. A common mode of dealing with prisoners was to make them "run the gauntlet". Two long lines were formed, of men, women, and children, armed with clubs. The prisoner was placed at one end, and obliged to run to the other, unless before reaching it he sunk under the blows showered upon him as he passed.

10. They would sometimes fasten their captives to trees, and

-6. In what were the Indians constantly engaged? When on a war-trail, on what did they depend for food?-7. What was their object in war? How did they move? How did they conceal their trail ?-8. What was done to an enemy killed in battle? How were prisoners treated?-9. What common mode of dealing with prisoners is mentioned? What is meant by "running the gauntlet"?-10. How would they sometimes torture a captive? How would the

THEIR MODES OF BURIAL.

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fling tomahawks at their heads, to see how near they could come, without striking them. At other times, they would fasten their victim to a stake, and pile up burning branches and fagots around him. They would shoot blazing arrows into his flesh, and try to torment him in every way they could; while he, in spite of his sufferings, would neither flinch nor groan, but meet his fate bravely, singing his war-song, and boasting how many of their relations he had slain.

11. When an Indian warrior died, his knife and tomahawk, bow and arrows, and sometimes his favorite dog, were buried with him. They thought that in the other world he would need them, as he had done here. They buried the dead in different ways. Some erected a high platform, on which they placed the body in a kind of coffin. Others buried it in a sitting posture, or set it on the ground, and built over it a little house

of bark. A mother

would sometimes suspend the body of her dead child from the branch of a tree, and sing to it as it waved in the breeze. The graves of their fathers they defended with the greatest bravery.

12. The Indians believed that all men would live again after death: the bad, in a place of torment; but the good, in the

captive bear these tortures ?-11. What were buried with an Indian warrior? Why was this done? Describe the different modes of burying. What would a mother sometimes do with the corpse of her child?-12. What did the Indians believe respecting the state after death? To whom did they pray?