he singular and pleasing
associations connected with a sabbath passed in the wilderness? I
have often enjoyed these feelings, but never felt them with such
force as on this day. It was calm and sultry. The brilliant
sunbeams were brightly reflected from the broad bosom of the
Mississippi, and the deep green outline of the forest was
splendidly illumined, while the deep shadows underneath the foliage
afforded an attractive appearance of coolness and seclusion. The
passengers and crew were scattered about singly or in small
parties, so that when I wandered but a small distance from the
vessel, and seated myself on a hill which commanded a view of the
river and its banks, I found myself perfectly alone. Not a living
object was visible, not a sound was heard, not a leaf or a limb
stirred. How different from the streets of a city upon a sabbath
morn, when crowds of well-dressed persons are seen moving in every
direction; when the cheerful bells are sounding, and the beautiful
smiling children are hurrying in troops to Sunday school! Here I
was in solitude. I saw not the laborer resting from toil, nor the
smile of infancy, nor the christian bowing before his God; but
Nature proclaimed a sabbath by the silence that reigned abroad, and
the splendor with which she had adorned her works.

"It is natural that these recollections of my first visit to the
frontier should mingle with the observations made in my recent tour
through the same scenes; I shall therefore not attempt to separate
the remarks made on either occasion, but give some of the results
of both voyages.

"I can scarcely describe the sensations with which I first saw the
solitary lodge of an Indian hunter, on the shore of the
Mississippi. In my childhood I had read with thrilling interest,
the tales of border warfare; but I had not learned to hate an
Indian with mortal hatred. I verily believe they have souls. People
may think differently in certain places, which shall be nameless,
but I cannot be persuaded to the contrary. You cannot imagine any
thing more frail than an Indian wigwam--a mere shelter of poles and
mats, so small, so apparently inadequate to any purpose of
security or comfort, that it is hardly possible to believe it to be
intended for the residence of human beings. In such h