INDIANS, AMERICAN (ante). The early English and French settlers of North America were often at war with the Indians, either in self-defense or instigated by a desire for their lands. In Virginia the Indians who had combined to exterminate the whites.wen subdued after a ten years' war. In New England (1637) the colonists of Connecticut and Massachusetts destroyed the warlike Pequods, and in 1643 the Narra gansetts. The war of Philip, king of the Wampanoags, ended, 1676, in the almost total destruction of that tribe. The Dutch in New Amsterdam and the English in North and South Carolina suffered greatly from the Indians. In the seven years war between the English and the French the Indians were used by both sides, and terrible atrocities were committed. In 1763'a number of tribes were united under Pontiac, the chief of the Ottawas, in a general conspiritcvv to exterminate their co»querors,. bid. were finally sub alued. When the American revolution began the Indians, who were allies of the hug lish, ravaged the frontiers. The United Stated, by the constitution of 1787, claiming sovereignty over the whole territory, made treaties with the Indians for-the purpose of obtaining their. lands; but in 1790 the Miamis and other-tribes conspired and defeated the army under gen. Harman and the following year under gen. t-_4. Clair, but were subdued by gen: Wayne. In 1811 they recommenced hostilities. under Tecumseh, but were defeated at Tippecanoe by gen. Harrison, who also, in 1812, defeated the combined forces of the English and Indians, and killed Tecumseh. In the s. the Creeks were conquered by Jackson in 1813, and the Seminoles of Florida in 1817. In 1832 the Sacs and Foxes, under their chief Black Hawk, harassed the frontier settlements, and from time to time the Sioux, the Comanches, and Apaches, often joined by other tribes, have given the government great trouble.
In 1838 the Cherokees and Creeks were removed from Georgia to the Indian territory Iv. of the Mississippi, which the government had established to be the permanent home for all the Indians. The Seminoles of Florida refusing to remove, a bloody war ensued, which lasted seven years and cost $15,000,000. After the removal of the Choctaws, Creeks, and other tribes to the Indian territory, other reservations were formed in several states. In 1871 there were on reservations 237,478, which, added to 60,000 in Alaska, and about. 50,000 others not yet placed in reservations, make the total number of Indians in the United States, as estimated by the Indian department, 330,000. The number in the British colonies is estimated at 150,000.
The five civilized tribes of the Indian territory had under cultivation (1879) 237,000 acres, on which they raised over 3,000,000 bush. of cereals,' and were engaged largely in the raising of stock. The Indians on other reservations had under cultivation 157,036 acres, and raised over 1,500,000 bush., and all together about 225,000 tons
of hay. The Indians are scattered over a large extent of country, and the difficulty of managing them is increased by the attempts of bold and unscrupulous white men to invade their reservations for trade, which often involves fraud, and for the sake of the mineral deposits known to be there. The Utes in Colorado, and Apaches in New Mexico, especially, have ,given the ,government much trouble. The Utes are fierce and warlike, and resist all efforts to induce them to abandon their wandering life and cultivate the soil.
Earnest attempts have been made at different periods by individuals and societies to Christianize and civilize the Indians, some of which have been remarkably successful_ The French and Spanish, in connection with their colonies, had missions among the Iroquois, Chippewas, Creeks, and other tribes. In Florida, Texas, New Mexico, and California, they had prosperous missions. In 1643 Thomas Mayhew labored with suc cess for three years at Martha's Vineyard, Mass., followed in the same work by his father, and by others of the family for five generations. " In 1646 the legislature of Massa chusetts passed an act for the propagation of the gospel among the Indians, and in the same year John Eliot began his labors at Nonantum, churches were formed, and the Bible and other Christian books translated. The Brainards labored with effect in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The Moravians and Friends have been active in instructing the Indians. The various Protestant denominations, through organized. societies, have had for many years missions among the Cherokees, Choctaws, Ottawas, Chickasaws, Creeks, Dacotahs, and some other tribes, instructing them not only in religion, but also in the arts of civilized life. The Indian problem, always troublesome to the U. S. govern ment, is now seen to involve grave moral and political issues not at first recognized. The governmental policy has been one of expediency rather than justice. Treaties have been made with the tribes as with sovereign nations, but have been set aside on easy pretexts. Indians have not been considered as citizens under the law; their ownership of property, as recognized, has been tribal and not individual. They have been allowed to be the prey of rapacious speculators in land, and thievish traders. Of late years the government has sought to apply a better policy, but the evil has been found too vast and deep for easy reform; and a wave of popular feeling is now rising, in upon the government will strong demands in different directions. There are signs that the dis cussion will result in better processes of dealing with the Indians, and thatthe govern-. ment will find or make its way to a system that shall be wise and just. See INDIAN TERRITORY.