pact which obliges them, half civilized as they are, to return to the
forest. The case is this,--the white people, or rather Jackson and the
southerns, say, that the Indians "retard improvement"--precisely in the
same sense that a brigand, when he robs a traveller, might say, that the
traveller retarded improvement--that is, retarded _his_ improvement,
inasmuch as he had in his pocket, what would improve the condition of the
brigand. The Indians have cultivated farms, and valuable tracts of land,
and no doubt it will improve the condition of the whites, to get
possession of those farms and rich lands, for _one tenth of their saleable
value_. The profits that have accrued to the United States from the
systematic plunder of the Indians, are immense, and a great portion of the
national debt has been liquidated by this dishonest means.[2]

The reserve of the Delawares contained nine square miles, or 5760 acres.
For this it was agreed at the treaty, that they should be paid 6000
dollars, and the value of the improvements, which I conceived to be a fair
bargain. I was not then aware of the practice pursued by the government,
of making deductions, under various pretences, from the purchase-money,
until the unfortunate Indian is left scarcely anything in lieu of his
lands, and says, that "the justice of the white man is not like the
justice of the red man," and that he cannot understand the honesty of his
Christian brother. The following extract, taken from the New York
American, will give some insight into the mode of dealing with the
Indians.

"_The last of the Ottowas_.--Maumee Bay, Ohio, Sept. 3, 1831.--Mr. James
B. Gardiner has concluded a very important treaty at Maumee Bay, in
Michigan, for a cession of all the lands owned by the Ottowa Indians in
Ohio, about 50,000 acres. It was attended with more labour and greater
difficulties than any other treaty made in this state: it was the last
foothold which that savage, warlike, and hostile tribe held in their
ancient dominion. The conditions of this treaty are very similar to those
treaties of Lewistown and Wapaghkenetta, _with this exception_, that the
surplus avails of their lands, _after deducting seventy cents per acre to
indemnify the government_, are to be appropriated for paying the debts of
their nation, which amount to about 20,000 dollars." [Query, what are
those debts?--could they be the amount of _presents_ made them on former
occasions?] "The balance, _if any_, a