he conquerors and exterminators of the feeble but
civilized aboriginal nations, and as soon as they possessed the land
they split into separate and hostile communities, waging perpetual war
with each other so as constantly to diminish their numbers.

Far up the Mississippi and the Missouri the exploration of the country
brings to light incontestable proofs of the existence of the mysterious
aboriginal race: wells artificially walled, and various other structures
for convenience or defense, are frequently seen; ornaments of silver,
copper, and even brass are found, together with various articles of
pottery and sculptured stone; sepulchers filled with vast numbers of
human bones have often been discovered, and human bodies in a state of
preservation are sometimes exhumed. On one of these the hair was yellow
or sandy, and it is well known that an unvarying characteristic of the
present red race is the lank black hair. A splendid robe of a kind of
linen, made apparently from nettle fibers, and interwoven with the
beautiful feathers of the wild turkey, encircled this long-buried mummy.
The number and the magnitude of the mounds bear evidence that the
concurrent labors of a vast assembly of men were employed in their
construction.[226]

In the progress of early discovery and settlement, striking views were
presented of savage life among the Red Men inhabiting the Atlantic
coast; but later researches along the banks of the Mississippi and its
tributaries, and by the great Canadian lakes, exhibited this people
under a still more remarkable aspect. The most prominent among the
natives of the interior for power, policy, and courage, were the
Iroquois or Five Nations.[227] Their territory extended westward from
Lake Champlain, to the farthest extremity of Ontario, along the southern
banks of the St. Lawrence, and of the Great Lake. Although formed by the
alliance of five independent tribes, they always presented a united
front to their foes, whether in defense or aggression. Their enemies,
the Algonquins, held an extensive domain on the northern bank of the St.
Lawrence; these last were at one time the masters of all that portion of
America, and were the most polished and mildest in manners of the
northern tribes. They depended altogether for subsistence on the produce
of the chase, and disdained those among their neighbors who attempted
the cultivation of the soil. The Hurons[228] were a numerous nation,
generally allied with th