decessors civilization made such rapid strides among their forefathers, who, under that monarch's fostering solicitude, had converted the wilds of Huastecapan into what was formerly designated, and is to this day described by the Indian race, as the paradise of Montezuma's empire, and by all modern travellers as the most fertile region in the world.

Hence we find a people, whose hearts, after a lapse of three hundred years, are beating with love and gratitude, and whose lips are constantly uttering the most pitiful lamentation for a generous benefactor who would, long ere this, have raised them above the reach of those who think it no crime to butcher them in cold blood; and having done so, declare themselves innocent of the lives of their fellow-creatures. The gratitude of these people alone shows what may yet be done with them; for where, may I ask, does tradition hold out more hope, or nature present a nobler foundation (simplicity-love of freedom-gratitude-and hospitality) for the great structure of civilization? And what nation, I may also ask, can, on any just grounds, interfere with any plan that may be laid down for their protection and civilization? There is no proof on record of the subjugation of these people by any nation. They are, though wandering and houseless, a free and sovereign people, and as such, they have an indisputable right to ask and to receive protection from any nation, European as well as American; and it is to be hoped that this

imperfect picture of their long sufferings, will induce some civilized nation to extend to them the hand of pity. That England, a Christian country, has not done so before, is a lamentable reflection. England has entered into treaties with the wild Arabs of the eastern desert, and yet she hears with the greatest apathy the cries of the children of the western wilderness, where she has interests as vital and immediate as in any region of the world; to her the creation of a new country, whether republican or monarchical, must be of as much importance as the dismemberment of the old empire of Montezuma; and as these two great political revolutions are now going forward and concur, as if to draw the attention of the British statesman towards that quarter, it is to be hoped the Indians will not be overlooked. For degraded as they are, and have been, by the murderous depredations of the white man, still if the hand of true friendship were extended to them, and if ever so small the boon, "the effect merely of a generous courtesy" were granted to them, it would be received with unutterable thankfulness, and the gratitude of the father would be handed down to the son as the memory of Montezuma has been, through ages even to this day.

The Indians of Texas can never be brought into subjection by the Texans. They must be exterminated; to exterminate 80,000 souls, is not the work of a day; and if at the end of twenty years,

the last poor wanderer should fall under the rifle or the "Bowie knife" of the Texan murderer,-how far will civilization be advanced, or what can compensate the lovers of humanity for the useless and merciless effusion of human blood?

The past sufferings of Indians, during the several attempts that have been made to exterminate them, few tongues, as I have said, but their own can tell; however, their extermination commenced with the colonization of Texas by Anglo-Americans in the year 1821. The prosecution of the Indians was prefaced by base accusations and falsehoods, which were speedily followed by publicly whipping, branding, and cutting off the ears of the falsely accused natives, a course which soon led to retaliation on their part. The Carancahuas, a tribe consisting of about 400 families, were the first to taste and resist the tender mercies of their invaders, and therefore they were the first marked for extermination; a task which was undertaken by General Austin, at the head of sixty riflemen, in the spring of 1822. The result of the first attack upon these defenceless people, was the slaughter of half the tribe. More than one half of the survivors were subsequently surprised in small parties, and cut to pieces; while the remainder, amounting to about forty in all, sought and found protection at the mission of San Patricio. From the above date down to 1827, the Indians were assailed on all sides by the settlers, and suffered much. From the latter date to 1836,

Texas was the theatre of constant war and bloodshed between the Mexicans and Texans; and the Indians, for refusing to act as allies on either side, were often mercilessly slaughtered, during the whole period of the war of independence. It is believed that during that period 8,000 Indians perished; and that from the year 1836 down to the present time, the expeditions under Generals Houston, Rusk, Burleson, and Morehouse, have slain upwards of 5,000 more.

I would not here venture to avow, that the Texans at all times kill the women and children of the Indians; but this I do say, that they have done so on several occasions; and although I was in the country while an Indian war was going on, I never saw nor heard of such a thing as an Indian prisoner of war.

But the following extracts from the diary of an emigrant in Texas, published in New York by William Allen, under the title of " Texas in 1840, or the Emigrant's Guide to the New Republic," will serve to show how these exterminating works are being carried on :

January 6.-In the afternoon we visited an eccentric individual, who, with no other associates than his dog and chickens, lives on the borders of the forest. He is an aged Frenchman, who has been many years in the country, and has formerly been a soldier in Texas. In giving some reminiscences of his life in the early settlement of the country, he related several anecdotes of Indian characters and warfare; among others, he mentioned, that once being left in charge of the camp equipage, while his

messmates were abroad on duty, he left his place for a few moments to procure water from the river Guadalupe, which was just at hand. While here, he caught a glimpse of an Indian, gliding swiftly through the thickets towards the river above him, with a blanket he had just stolen from the camp. He immediately fired upon the savage with a rifle, but without effect, as the Indian pressed on into the stream. By the time he could seize another gun, and be ready to fire, the redman had nearly attained the middle of the river with his booty. We again fired, and, it would seem, with better aim, for the thief sunk, and was seen no more, while the stolen blanket was observed floating down the current."

How the narrator's mind was affected by such events, did not appear otherwise than by an apparently perfect indifference.

"At another time, he said, an Indian was shot at night, while crouching at a corn crib, attempting to steal the grain. In the morning it was found to be a woman, who, by the shot, had both her knees broken, and had died of the wounds. This incident must certainly awaken regret, as there is too much reason to conclude, that the unhappy woman was induced to the act by the cravings of hunger, or, perhaps, by the cries of her starving children.

"In another place, while the troops were encamped at night, and their horses tied in the prairie to feed upon the grass, a dark object was seen to approach one of the animals. On being fired upon, the figure disappeared. In the morning a trace of blood was followed some distance to a hollow, where a wounded savage lay, (not the murderer, but an Indian.) On being interrogated why he attempted to steal the horse, he remained silent, in either haughty sullenness (more likely being unable to speak,) or else despair. An officer (a white man! a Christian) present then presented his rifle, and asked him where he would be shot? He (the wounded Indian-the savage) opened his bosom, pointed to