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Show J7'2 TRAVELS THROUGH UPPER CANADA : ., The fcttlcmcnts m:t1 ino- in the upper part or neorgia, upon tl,c. cc fine lands of th Oconee and Okemulgee rivers, will," fays Mr. Imby fpcaking of the probJblc dcfrnation of the Indians of the iouth wdl ·rn t crtitory, " bid defiance t them in that qu.utcr. The fcttlement: of " French Broad, aided by llolll:on , have nothing to fear f1 om them ; ancl ,; the Cumberland is too puifhnt to apprehend any d~tnge r. The Spa" niards arc in po.flt:fii< n of the I?Joridas (how long they will rcmai1 " [o mufl depcnJ upon their moderation and good manners) and o ·the " fettlunents at the Natch~.-z and above, which will foon extend to the ~' {; uthern boundaries of Cumb-rbnd, fo that they (the Indians) will cc be completely enveloped in a few years. Our people (alluding to " thofc of the Unitl:d States) will continue to e1lcroac!J upon them on •' three fides, and compel them to live more domcfl:ic lives, and aO.imilate " them to our mode of living, or crofs to the wcfl:crn f1de of the " Miffiffippi." 0 Americans! {hall w praif' your juflicc and yonr love of libe ·ty, when thus you talk of en roachmcnts and compulfion? Shall we ·omlnend your moderation, \"·hen we fee ye eager to gain frc!h poal:Dions, whilfl: ye have yet millions of acres within your own territories unoccupied ? Shall we reverence your regard for the rights of human nature, when we fee ye bent upon banithing the poor Indian from the land where refl: the b nes of hi~ anceftors, to him more precious than your cold hearts can imagine, and when we fee yc tyran ni zing over the haplcfs African, b caufe nature has fiampcd upon him a compl xion diffe-rent from your own? The condutt of the people of the States tow:1.rds the Indi:1.ns appears the more \.mrcafonable and the more iniquitous, when it is confidered that they are dwindling f:1fl: away of themfcl vcs ; and that in tht: natural order of things there will not probably be a finglc tribe of them foLwd in cxifience in the w ficrn territory by the time that the numbers of the white inhabitants of the country become fo numerous as to render land one half as valuable there as it is at prefent within ten miles of Philadelphia or New York. Even in Canada, where the Indian arc treated with fo much kindnefs, they are dif.1.ppearing fafl:er, perhaps, than any R E M A R K S. .373 otny people were ever known to do h fore them, and are makinn- room evc:ry year f~r. the whites; and it is by no means improb,tble, but that at the end of hfty years there will not be a Jingle Inrlian to be met with ~t:t ccn ~cbec a_nd Detroit, except t 1c few perhaps that may be mduced to lead qlllet domdlic l ive , as a fnull number now docs in the village of Lorette ncar ~(;bee, aml at 1ome other places in the lower provi nce . It is \-n..ll known, that before Europeans got any footino- in North Arneric~, .the Inc_rea(e of population amongO: the Indian nations was very fiow, as It 1s at tlus c..hy amongl1 thofc who remain fl.ill unconnetl: d with th<;; whites. Various reafons have been af11gned for this. It has been affcrtcd, in the firfl:_ place, that the Indian is of a much cooler temperament than tbl: wh1tc man, h as lcfs ardour in purfuit of the female, and is furni!11c_d with lei~ noble organs of gcner.1tion . This alfcrtion i perh aps true 1n part: they ::tre chart · to a. proverb when they come to Phih~ clphia, or any othcr of the large towns, though they have a p r~dilettion w_ gei~cral for white women, and might there readi ly indulge th ir inclmatwn; ancl there h as never been an in{hncc that I can recollect, of thei~· offering viok11Ce to a female prifo1 cr, though oftentimes they have <trned off from the fettJemcnt very beaut iful women; that, howev r, they D1ould not have been gifted by the Creator with ample powers to propagate their fpecit:s would be contrary to every thing we icc either in the animal or the vegetable world; it feems to be w.ith more jufl:ice that their flow increafe is afcribcd to the conduCt: of the women. The dreadful practice amongft them, of profi:ituting themfdves at a very early ag , cannot fai l, I lhould imagine, to vitiate the humours, and mufl: h ave a tendency to uccafion fl:crility. Added to this, they fuckle the fevv ch ildren th y have for fcveral years, during wh~ch time, at l.eaft among(i: many of the tribes, th ey avoid all connection with th ir hufbands ,. moreover, find ing great inconveniency attendant upon a fl:ate of pregnancy, when they arc following their hu.fbands, in the hunting feaJon, fi·om one camp to another, th y have b en accufed of making u(e of ~ertain herbs, the fpecific virtues of which they arc well acquainted with, m order to procure abortion. lf |