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William Priest - Travels in the United States of America
social honesty as it's first and greatest principle. The knowledge of all things above and below is
of inconsiderable worth, unconnected with the heart of rectitude and benevolence. - Let us walk to the
remains of an old indian town; the bones of my ancestors repose in its vicinity.' -
"He had scarcely uttered these words when he seized his staff, and rushed out of the wigwam with a sort
of passionate violence, as if deeply agitated at the recollection of the past, present, and future fate of his
countrymen. - I followed him with equal celerity. 'But,' said he, 'it is in vain to grieve! In three centuries
there will not be one individual of all our race existing upon the Earth. I lately passed this stream, and it
being swollen with rains at my return, I could not without the greatest danger cross over it again to my
wigwam; the winds raged, the rain fell, and the storms roared around me. I laid me down to sleep beneath
a copse of hazles. Immediately the unbodied souls of my ancestors appeared before me. Grief was in
their countenances. All fixed their eyes upon me, and cried, one after the other, "Brother, it is time
thou hadst also arrived in our abodes: thy nation is extirpated, thy lands are gone, thy choicest warriors
are slain; the very wigwam in which thou residest is mortgaged for three barrels of hard cider! Act like a
man, and if nature be too tardy in bestowing the favour, it rests with yourself to force your way into the
invisible mansions of the departed."
"By this time we had arrived at the ruins of the old indian town. The situation was highly romantic, and
of that kind which naturally inclines one to be melancholy. At this instant a large heavy cloud obscured
the sun, and added a grace to the gloominess of the scene. The vestiges of streets and squares were still to
be traced; several favourite trees were yet standing, that had outlived the inhabitants; the stream ran, and
the springs flowed, as lively as ever, that had afforded refreshment to so many generations of men, that
were now passed away, never to return. All this while the Indian had melancholy deeply depicted in his
countenance; but he did not shed many tears, till we came to that quarter where his ancestors had been
entombed. 'This spot of land,' said he, recovering himself a little, 'was once sacred to the dead; but it is
now no longer so! This whole town, with a large tract around it, not even excepting the bones of our
progenitors, has been sold to a stranger. We were deceived out of it, and that by a man who understood
Greek and Hebrew; five kegs of whiskey did the business: he took us in the hour of dissipation, when the
whole universe appeared to us but a little thing; how much less then, this comparatively small tract of
country, which was, notwithstanding, our whole dependance for the purposes of hunting and fishing! - -
Here,' continued he, sighing, 'was the habitation of Tawlongo, one of our most celebrated
warriors. He, in his time, could boast of having gained no fewer than one hundred and twenty-seven
complete victories over his enemies; yet he was killed at last by an unarmed Englishman.
"Here, too, on the opposite side of the way, stood the house of Pilaware, the admirable; she had
been addressed by thirty-three suitors of her own nation, but refused them all, and went off at last with
an irish pedlar, for the sake of three yards of silver riband, and a new blanket. Yonder stood the
dwelling of Scuttawabah, my immediate ancestor; he died for joy of having found a keg of rum,
that had been lost by some western trader. May his joys be continued behind the western mountains -
Recollection overcomes me - Let us return to the wigwam in the forest.'
"As soon as we had reached this sequestered abode, the Indian once more sat himself down, and leaned
his head upon his hand, melancholy enough, to be sure.
"The old squaw desired to know why he was so sorrowful - The remedy,' said she, is in your
power.' - He then started up, as if suddenly recollecting somewhat, and cried out, 'Existence is but a
dream, an agreeable dream indeed, if we only choose to consider it as such. - Bring me that jug of strong
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