| THE COMING OF THE EUROPEANS. 281
heart of a country changing and advancing more
rapidly than any other, they alone remain, from
generation to generation, wholly unchanged.
There are descendants from Indians residing in
certain portions of the Southern States that have
adopted a settled mode of life, and have attained
to a considerable degree of refinement and civili-
zation, but in general, even among these, the de-
gree in which they manifest the capacities of the
Caucasian race corresponds very nearly to the pro-
portion of Caucasian blood that flows in their veins.
PRESENT CONDITION OF THE WESTERN TRIBES.
In the interior and western portions of the con-
tinent are vast tracts of land which remain almost
entirely in possession of Indians; and although the
United States government exercises a general
jurisdiction over the whole country, still there are
extended territories reserved for the exclusive oc-
cupancy of the native tribes. Within these reser-
vations the tribes live in their own way, pursuing
such modes of life and maintaining such systems
of government as they themselves choose. This
state of things has continued for more than a cen-
tury, without any essential change taking place in
the Indian habits or character. A very considera-
| |
|
