CHAPTER V.

THE NATIVES OF THE NEW WORLD.

1. The Indians.-I have told you of some discoveries, and that the natives found in the New World were called Indians by Columbus, because he thought

Fow 2 ft 10

Arrows 2ft Ein

War Club

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War Spears. 5 or 6 ft. limg Fish Shear, luft Long

Store Hatcher

he had reached India. Now I wish to tell you something about the people. They were not civilized as we are. They had no schools or colleges, and could not read or write. They had no fine clothes, and no money. They had no cities, and knew nothing of fine houses and paved streets. Where the Indians came from we do not know. Some people think that they came to America from Asia. Some of the Indians claimed that they came up out of the ground.

2. Appearance of the Indians. The "red men," as they were called, differed among themselves, but in many respects they were all alike. They were of a dusky brown, or copper color. They had straight, coarse, black hair, black eyes and

very little beard; very high cheek-bones, small hands and feet and slender bodies.

3. Savage Indians.-Some Indians were less civilized than others. The least civilized are called "Savage Indians." They were found in the region west of the Hudson Bay and southward to Mexico, between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific They roamed from place to place and lived in tents made from the skins of animals. They lived by fishing and hunting, and did not cultivate the land. Their clothes were made of the skins of wild animals.

Indians Hunting Buffaloes.

4. Barbarous Indians.-Between the Rocky Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean, lived some Indians who were a little more civilized. We call them the "Barbarous Indians." They lived in little villages. were often made of dried clay, or bark.

Their houses

They made

baskets of little twigs, and canoes of bark. They made weapons of stone, but knew nothing about gunpowder or guns. Once when they got a bag of gunpowder they planted it in the ground, thinking that the little grains were seed. They used bows and arrows with sharp pieces of rock for points. The men called themselves "Warriors," made the weapons, and hunted and fished, and fought with the neighboring tribes. The women

Indian Wigwam.

were called "squaws," and they did all the work. They cultivated the corn and cooked all the food. The Indians were very fond of "hominy," which the Women made by cracking corn on a large stone. The children were called "papooses." The women carried them in bags on their backs. They used beads as money. Their religion consisted in worshipping the "Great Spirit" with dances and songs. When

a warrior died, they burned or buried his weapons with him, and killed his dog to serve him in the "happy hunting grounds," where he was believed to have gone. The great luxury of the Indians was smoking good tobacco.

5. Character of the Savage and Barbarous Indians. The savage and barbarous Indians were much alike in character. They were idle, boastful, cruel and treacherous. They had no regard for the truth. The Indian was a tyrant over his wife, whom he would often beat and drive away from home. He loved his children, especially his sons. To take the scalps of his enemies was his chief pride, and no youth was made a warrior until he had taken a certain number of scalps. An Indian never showed fear or pain, grief or joy. He was very observant and could trace friend or foe through the great forests by a crumpled leaf, an upturned pebble or a broken twig.

6. Half-Civilized Indians.-There were some other Indians who were half-civilized. There were very few of these in the United States. They lived in Mexico and South America. These Indians could write by signs and pictures, and had regular organized governments and temples for their gods.

QUESTIONS.-1. Where did the Indians come from? 2. What was the appearance of the Indians? 3. Into what three classes are Indians divided? 4. Where did the Savage Indians live? 5. How did they live? 6. Where did the Barbarous Indians live? 7. What kind of weapons did they use? 8. What did the Indian squaws have to do? 9. Tell about their religion. 10. What was their character? 11. Where did the Half-Civilized Indians live?