<^ "^., •. K* 'y %^ ^^•n*.. ^^\.-^v\ o^^^^.% ..*^\c:^/^-^. / -"- c^^.^^>o y.v:^v\. ./..^:'>o o^^\^-" %.^" ■.'>^%. .«50 r. ^.. .v^ /^v^^ v./ /^i^\ ^^..^^ ;i^fA^ \ ^jv-i- V-^' v/^*: w ^. * O K ' .«,^ • cs5?vV^tK' . O •^ -^^0^ « ^^^ iP-'d. - %'••' v^*\..., V" ^rr» A <» -..7» .0* V ♦TXT'' A ^ :^' V • • • .\ * 'bv" TRAVELLERS' CLUB. PAPER No. i. AMERICAN PIONEERING, AN ADDRESS BEFORE The Travellers' Club, BY eT E. DUNBAR, MDCCCLXIIl. .J3 Davison & Ward, Printers, 43 Montgomery Street, Jcrfev Citv. The following Addrefs was delivered at the requeft of gentlemen who propofe to eftablifh The Travellers' Club of the City of New York, and they have to thank Mr. Dunbar for the zeal and ability he has difplayed in behalt of the Club. They feel confident that in publifli- ing it as Paper No. i, of that Society's publica- tions, they will aid materially in promoting its intereft. They would alfo make their acknow- ledgments to Messrs. Davison & Ward, for the excellence of the typography, as already ihown in the proof flieets. Any communications on the fubje6l of The Travellers' Club, may be addrelfed to E. E. Dunbar, Efq., or to the underfigned. W. M. B. Hartley, Secretary, New York, Dec. i, 1863. Box 1323. AMERICAN PIONEERING AS ConneBed with the Progrefs and Dejliny of the United States. IT falls to the lot of comparatively few whofe ways are caft in the crowded haunts of men, to know practically how civilization begins. This invaluable knowledge is only obtained through great expofure, hardship and fuffering. In thefe days, thofe of us who leave friends and home in the older fettled country, to encounter adventure and tempt fortune in our wild frontier regions, commence the journey in the rapid and fmooth rolling fteam car ; the iron rail we leave for the wagon road ; the wagon road runs into the mule path ; the mule path finds the Indian trail, and when this is loft, we depend on the track of the wild beaft to guide us to the water courfes or pools. This point muft* be reached ere we can comprehend the beginning of civilization. No fubjed: of the fame importance has received {o little attention as that of American Pioneer- ing, or, in other words, the Commencement and Growth of Civilization in the United States. In a hiitorical point of view, and as connected with the rife and progrefs of the American nation, and the advancement of civilization on this con- tinent ( ) tinent and its iflands, the subje6t has, in reality, received little or no attention. This is marvel- ous, when we reflect that juft in proportion as the pioneer fpirit is developed, civilization pro- grelTes. When, therefore, the great fubjed: of pioneer- ing, in its largeft fenfe, and in all its bearings, is difculfed with reference to the progrefs of our inftitutions, nationality and general interefts, it becomes a theme of paramount importance ; and when, in connection, we relate the adven- tures of the daring, intelled:ual and enterprifmg pioneer — he who, from a pure love of adven- ture and the progrefs of mankind, goes before to open the way — our fubjed: rifes to grandeur. It abounds in thrilling romance, noble fenti- ments and exalted views. The Bible tells us, that after God created the man and the woman, he blelfed them and faid : ** Be fruitful and multiply andreple?iifi the earth and fiibdue it'' This is the great command, the impelling power impofed upon man by Nature, and fandihed by the Divine Idea. According to the. Bible, Adam and Eve were the firft pioneers; and lince God fent them forth to explore the garden of Eden, nearly the whole earth has been pioneered. To the man truly pro- grefTive, either in moral or material things, this entire Univerfe is an Eden. The garden of Eden is the field of knowledge, though its fruits, like rofes, are only gathered among thorns. But he whofe foul is fed by the pure and exalted infpi- rations ( 7 ) rations of Nature, and who bellows thole inlpl- rations upon the world, though an inhabitant of earth, toihng perhaps in poverty or dileafe, already lives in Heaven. What common, unprogreffive mind can com- prehend the exalted inner life of a Chrift found- ing a new and higher order of religion; a Co- lumbus difcovering and prefenting a New World to the Old; a Milton or a Shakfpeare recording the fublime infpiration of his foul in books ; a Fulton applying the power of fteam to naviga- tion ; a Franklin drawing the lightning from the clouds; a Humboldt communing with Nature and opening her great and wonderful book for the benefit of his fellow men ? The truly progreffive man, the pioneer, in obey- ing the great command to fubdue the earth, is the immediate fervant of God. He is a rare man among his fellow men, one above the common herd. His power to lead, and his right to com- mand, mull be bafed on thofe natural gifts, both mental and phylical, from which comes natural royalty. I fpeak now of thofe men who, de- riving their impulfes from the God of Nature, difcover new countries, explore unknown regions and give them over to a higher order of civiliza- tion. Such to this continent were Columbus, Cortez, Las Cafas, Cabot ; Magellan, Drake, Cook, John S^iith, William Penn ; the Hugue- nots of Carolina, the Pilgrims of Malfachufetts, Roger Williams, and many others known to fame in early days. Later, ( « ) Later, from the old Colonial times to the pre- fent, our country has had, and ftill has, its peculiar claiTes of pioneers. Washington was a pioneer by nature, education and practice. Then there were Daniel Boone and his kind — fuch as Cooper loved to portray in La hongue Carabine and Leather Stocking. Captain Zebulon M. Pike, from whom Pike's Peak takes its name, was a diftinguifhed pioneer and explorer. Who that has read the narrative of Lewis and Clarke can ever forget it? That ftory of explora- tions in our weftern wilds appeared over forty years ago, and for twenty years it maintained its hold on the public mind. It was found in the log cabin of the -remoteft fettler in the Weft, as well as among the gilded volumes of the rich in our fea-board cities. The influence, that lingle book had in creating a fpirit of adventurous pio- neering in the United States, was incalculable. I never Ihall forget the intenfe interefl: with which I perufed its pages in the days of my boyhood. In dreamy reverie, day and night, my youthful imagination conjured up the wild adventurous fcenes of frontier life ; and when, in after years, I practically experienced that lite, it feemed but the realization of the dreams of other days. Then came John C. Fremont, the account of whofe wonderful explorations acrofs the con- tinent, ftimulated anew the pioneer fpirit among his own countrymen, and gave him a world- wide celebrity. Then there was that child of romance and adventure ( 9 ) adventure, Sutter, who located far up the Sacra- mento in Cahtornia, long before the gold was difcovered. And the humbler pioneer, James W. Marlhall, a mill-wright, and the ad:ual dif- coverer of the gold, ought to be mentioned in conned:ion with Sutter. Among other weftern pioneers, there were fuch as Capt. Bonneville, Kit Carfon, Felix Aubrey, Lieut. Ives, Charles D. Pofton, Herman Ehrenbergh, A. B. Grey, and the lamented Generals Lander and Stevens. Nicholas Longworth pioneered the way to Cin- cinnati, Lewis Cafs to Michigan, and Stephen AufHn to Texas. And we have a clafs of pioneers whofe way is over the ocean — commercial pioneers. Quite as much intereft and importance are attached to the ocean as to the land pioneer. We have our commercial pioneers to all the diftant parts of the earth — China, Japan, the illands of the Pa- cific, the North Weft Coaft and South America. It is only fifteen years ago that Henry Wol- cott, originally from Connecticut, eftablilhed the firfi: commercial house in Shanghai, China. Col- lins is now opening to our trade the Amoor river country. William Whitewright, a Mafilichufetts man, eftablilhed Iteam navigation on the Weft- ern Coall of South America, John L. Stephens and E. G. Squier have explored and made known to us the riches and the wonders of Central America. We have among us, at the prefent time, the Hon. Townfend Harris, who as Commifiioner and ( '0 ) and lirft refident Minifter in Japan, negotiated with fo much tad: and intelHgence our commer- cial treaty with that country. We have alfo the Rev. J. C. Fletcher, one of the moll: progreffive men of the age, and whofe held of pioneering lies in the magnificent empire of Brazil, refpedt- ing which he dilleminates fo much valuable in- formation. There was Kane, and now we have the cour- ageous and indomitable Capt. C. F. Hall,, who afpires to emulate the great Ardic explorer. The favor with which the public receives the ufeful and interefting narratives of our ocean and land pioneers, proves that pioneer enterprife, from which comes the irreprellible fpirit ot expan- lion, is an inherent charaderilHc of the Ameri- can people. It will be remembered with what avidity the public feized upon Dana's Two Tears Before the Maji^ which gave an account of the trading voy- age of a Bofton Hide Drogher on the coaft of California twenty years ago. It was the liniple ilory ot a trading venture to an unknown coun- try, toward which the eye of the world was beginning to turn, written by a participant in the enterprife, a failor of intelledf and culture. The charm of the narrative was in its fimplicity, and its adaptation to commercial pioneering and ex- tenfion. Mr. Dana may write a hundred books on ordinary topics, but not one of them will have the fuccefs of his Two Tears Before the MajL It ( >■ ) It is much to be regretted that we have fo little never will he our inter eji to remain conneBed with thofe who doT In ( '3 ) In tKe beginning of the prefent century, the Loiiifiana territory had been ceded by Spain to France, and all that Prelident JefFerlbn, in the firft inftance, afked of Napoleon was, the ceffion of New Orleans, with the Miffiffippi as the final boundary of our polfeffions. But at lail: he was forced to purchafe the whole of the Louifiana territory. This purchafe was confummated dur- ing the adminiftration of JefFerfon, in 1803. It was the firil extenfion of the original United States territory; and there was a general difpofi- tion to allow the tranfa6tion to be regarded as conftitutional ; but JefFerfon decidedly oppofed this, and nobly declared that it would be better to honeftly acknowledge the abfolute fad:, that in this purchafe of territory, expediency had overridden the conftitution, rather than dif- honeftly give that inftrument an unlimited fcope not to be found in letter or fpirit. Thus we fee that fixteen years after the adop- tion of the Conftitution, the very men who framed it, and who were yet on the ftage of action, were forced to violate their own funda- mental written law, by the purchafe of a bound- lefs and unknown territory, only a fmall diftrid: of which it was thought would ever be available to the United States. The old patriots did this we all know, forely againft tlteir will — doubting, fearing and trembling. This is the firft inftance in which the Government of the United States and deftiny came in contad:. The Government wifely yielded to deftiny. B In ( H ) In 1 8 1 1 the State of Loulfiana, formed out of the recently purchafed territory, was admitted into the Union ; and in 1 8 1 9, only fixteen years after the purchafe, it was found that the Ameri- can people had crolTed the Miffiffippi a thoufand miles above its mouth, and fettled a large diftri6t of the newly acquired territory, which, only thirty years before, the United States Congrefs declared would not be available to the country " for ages," or our interest to hold even, on any terms. The queftion of excluding involuntary fervi- tude from this portion of the Louiliana purchafe was raifed by the demand of Milfouri to be admitted into the Union, in 18 19. The dif- cuffion of this queftion convulfed the whole country, whofe rulers and deftiny had again come in contad:. A fort of temporary com- promife was made with fate, by which involun- tary fervitude was excluded from all the territory north and weft of Miftburi, and, of courfe, per- mitting involuntary fervitude in the territory fouth of that line. This territory, north and weft of Milfouri, over which there had been fuch a conteft, both parties believed, as the American Congrefs believed in 1790 — ftrange as it may appear — would not be available to the United States for ages. In this ftrugglef)ver Milfouri and the adjoin- ing territory, we have evidence of the fame unfortunate want of pioneer, frontier knowledge, the fame lamentable lack of appreciation of the logic of events, and of our deftined progrefs, that ( -5 ) that charadterized the earHer days of the Re- public. But the development of a great idea, the folution of a tremendous problem, or, in other words, the courfe of the Democratic American Nation was in progrefs. It overleaped all bar- riers, whether fet up by nature or impofed by Government. In 1836, we find the great wave of American emigration had run along the Mexican Gulf coaft and reached the Rio Grande. A branch of the American family had followed the lead of Stephen Auftin, originally from Connecticut, and fettled in Texas, a province of Mexico ; and even then were waging a war of independence. Ten years after, Texas, an inde- pendent empire in extent and refources, was admitted into the Union. But this was not accompliflied without a bitter political conteft in the United States — one that fliook the Union to its centre. Here again the government of the United States and deftiny came in contad:. The government yielded to fate ; but this yield- ing caufed dire forebodings among fome of the moft honeft and patriotic — it cannot be faid — greateft ftatefmen of the day. They, with thofe who had gone before, failed to comprehend the fignificance of thofe great events that were bear- ing the country upward and onward with a dired:nefs and certainty that fhould have given confidence and ftrength, rather than diflrufl and weaknefs. The war with Mexico was the fequence of the ( -6 ) the annexation of Texas. The acqulfition of thofe vafl regions within the hmits of New Mexico and CaUfornia fealed a peace with Mexico in 1848. We will not ftop to difcufs whether this was a juft war or not. At the pre- fent time, I will confider it as a link in that fatal chain which was drawing my country on- ward to glory and power. I will now recapitulate fome of thofe great events, and refer to the mighty interefts already developed, which ought to have enlightened the nation as to the grandeur of that deftiny Omni- potence was clearly pointing out to the great American Republic. But little more than fifty years had elapfed fince Congrefs declared that it would not be the intereft of the American people to crofs the Mif- liffippi for ages; and, furthermore, that it w^ould never be our intereft to unite with thofe who ihould advance and occupy that region, when we find five large ftates, and five large territories, already formed out of thofe regions weft of the Miffifiippi, and comprehended within the Fede- ral compad:. Still the pioneer fpirit winged its way weft- ward, overleaped the Rocky Mountains, de- fcended their weftern Hopes, and reached the Pacific. Pioneers fingly, in fmall companies, and in caravans of immenfe proportions, crofted the continent, while ftiip loads circumnavigated it, and went up the great Pacific waters, caufing the American fiag to wave over a new born civil- ization ( '7 ) izatlon on more than a thoufand miles of the Pacific fliores. Then came that great poHtical event, the mofl wonderful of all — the golden State of California leaped fim grown and armed, like Minerva from the brain of Jupiter, into life, and entered the Union. A little later and another Weftern ftar, Ore- gon, was added to our galaxy of ftates ; while, farther to the north, ftill another, Wafliington territory is rifing. And yet there are others whofe orbits are already marked out. The ter- ritories of Dakotah, Nebrafka, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona, may foon be ilars in our brilliant political conftella- tion. Thus we have the grand faft before us, that within the prefent century the whole of that vaft region now contained within the United States boundaries, extending from the frigid north to the tropical fouth, and from the Mif- fiffippi to the Pacific, has been brought within the fcope of our intelligence, civilization and political fyftem. There never was fo large a trad: of the earth's furface fubjugated to fuch a degree in any thing like this brief period fince the annals of time commenced. But this is not the end. The American pio- neer is trailing his way to the fouth. On the Pacific fide, the American emigration has al- ready commenced its refistlefs flow into the Mexican States of Sonora, Sinaloa and Chihua- hua. ( '8 ) hua. They go by fea and by land. The fteamers that ply between San Francifco, Guay- mas and Mazatlan, are crowded with paiTengers and freight. Four^large hotels have been re- cently opened in the city of Mazatlan, and they are crowded with Americans. Should the pro- pofed Mexican Emperor, Maximilian, ever reach that part of his propofed domains, he will find a throng of fubjed:s of difagreeably democratic proclivities. Within the laft eighteen months, one hundred and thirty American Mining Companies have been regiftered according to Mexican law in the State of Sonora alone. Seventy companies have alfo been regiftered in the State of Sinaloa. I have seen a lift^of thefe companies, and their aggregate capital cannot be lefs than $20,000,000. Already $4,000,000 of this capital has been fent forward, and many of the companies are now working the mines. The laft fteamer from San Francifco took down a large quantity of machin- ery, and half a million in gold and exchange for various companies. But this is not the end. The fpirit of Ame- rican commercial pioneering looks weftward ftill. Already it has croffed the Pacific and pene- trated fome of the empires of half-civilized Afia. Our merchantmen from California are found in the ports of Japan, China, Siam, Hin- doftan and the larger ifiands of the China Sea and Indian Ocean. Ere long, our mail fteamers will ply back and forth over the great Pacific, and Ikirt along the Afiatic iliores. What ( 19 ) What a lefTon all this affords the ftatefman \ Have we ftatefmen who profit by it ? And it is a leffon the humbleft voter in the land ihould ftudy moft attentively in all its parts, that he may exercife his franchife intelligently and with fafety to the Republic. Now let us take a patriotic, whole-fouled view of our great country and its mighty interefts. Do not let it be a mean, partizan, one-idea fquint at any particular intereft or locality. Go with me to New England and hear the hum of induf- try in her thoufands of bufy manufacturing hives, and fee the commerce that lines her ihores. We vifit the cofmopolitan city of New York, the great commercial and financial emporium of the country ; and here in the concentration of mighty interefts we have overwhelming evidence of wealth and power. We afcend the Alleghanies and furvey the fur- rounding regions of iron and coal. Where the greateft depolits of iron and coal lie contiguous, there the feat of empire will be. We have them in New York, New Jerfey, Pennfylvania, Mary- land and Virginia; and to thefe mineral regions, not only this continent, but the whole world, muft eventually be tributary. Leave the Alleghanies, pafs on to the Weft and glance over that immenfe ftretch of country which, with its prairies, hills and valleys, extends from the great lakes on the North to the Rio Grande on the South. Here we have the longefi:, broadeft and moft valuable agricultural diftrid: on the face of the earth. Afcend ( 2° ) Afcend the Rocky Mountains, look down their eaftern flopes, and weft to the Pacific. We fee vaft mineral fields, greater in extent, and yielding more abundantly of the precious metals than any other part of the globe. And yet we do not begin to comprehend the extent and value of thofe mineral fields, though they are now yielding $100,000,000 per annum. I be- lieve fome, who now hear me, will live to fee our yield of precious metals $1,000,000,000 per annum ! Fifteen years ago all that region was a dreary wafte, not yielding one cent ! And then we have increafing, commercial and agricultural interefts on the Pacific, which, in a few years, will exceed the calculations of the moft fanguine. Thefe are fublime contemplations. I wifli they could have their juft meafure of apprecia- tion in the arena of American politics. We have now the grand fa6t before us, that vaft regions have been peopled, and immenfe interefts opened to our enterprife. Let us accord to the pioneer his proper meed of acknowledg- ment. There has been a pioneer to each par- ticular diftrid: of country, and every intereft — one whom the malTes have followed. *' 'Tls in the advance of individual minds That the flow crowd fliould ground their expcftation Eventually to follow — as the fea Waits ages in its bed, 'till fome one wave Out of the multitude afpires, extends The empire of the whole, fome feet perhaps. Over the ilrip of fand which could confine Its fellows fo long time; thenceforth the rcll. Even to the mcanell, hurry in at once. And fo much is clear gained." All f 21 ) All this vail moral and material development has been accompliihed by a people who, though compofed in fome degree of different nationali- ties, mufl: be coniidered as one race. The peo- ple of the United States have made all their pro- grefs under one ConiHtution, one Flag ; and they have been actuated, impelled by one all- pervading, all-powerful idea, to wit, " that on the bails of equality, they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights ; that among thei'c are life, liberty and the puriliit of happineis." It is not for me to dii'cui's the point whether the government of the United States has been and is adminiilered entirely in conformity with this iimple, though great and glorious idea. It is fuihcient for my purpofe to advert to the fad: that this idea of equality in the poifeihon of certain inalienable rights is ilippol'ed to underlie our government, our inftitutions and our ibciety; and to ftate that the effed: of this idea in advanc- ing the country has far exceeded the wildeft dreams of thole who adopted it as their political platform, when they launched the ihip of ifate in times that tried men's fouls. And now after fo much has been accompliihed on this idea, at this, the grandeft period of our exiifence, and while the world was beginning to look upon the Coloifal Republic with awe and wonder, we have again come in contad with our great and good deftiny. This time the ihock is terrible. It ihakes the whole earth. Who can tell whether c our ( " ) our good or evil genius will prevail ! I may not be able to fay how our nationality is to be pre- ferved inta^l, but I ftill have faith that our coun- try will finally bow to the glorious defiiiny which Omnipotence has made manifeft. Before our troubles are over, we fliall proba- bly difcover that we are not fpiritually and intel- lediually up to the mark — that the moral devel- opment of the nation does not keep pace with its material development. We may find that our religion and politics are bafed too much on purely felfifli infi:ind:s that attach to mere local and perfonal interefts, fo completely abforbing as to ferioully impair the quality of our patriot- ifm. We will alfo learn that in no fection of the country lies the intereft that outweighs the value of Union, the neceffity of an undivided nation- ality ; fee how fupremely blefi'ed we are in the order by which nature has arranged bur magnifi- cent interefts. How compad: ! All on a grand fcale and in one great territory, each blending with the other in fuch beautiful and perfed: har- mony as to caufe each to depend on the other for development. With us there can be no fuch thing as the enjoyment of thofe inalienable rights, life, liberty and the purfuit of happinefs, unlefs our nationality follows our material interefts. We muft live a homogeneous nation and in one political Union. The fanatical, recklefs, un- thinking mob of which fo large a part of the prefent generation is compofed, may pafs away before ( 23 ; before order is thoroughly reftored; but the imperative neceffity of harmonizing the great material interefts of the country will, I believe, eventually bring it back to its original deftiny. We have tafted of progrefs bafed on a higher order of materialifm, fo to fpeak, than that of the ancients, and found it good. If in our folly we come to a Hand or retrogrefs, the next gene- ration will take up the tradition of the paft and a(5t upon it. So far as our country is concerned, all the in- telligence of the age tends to unity. The influ- ence of induftry, commerce and Icience impofes unity. The Atlantic fpeaks to the Pacific through the lightning's flalh, and the refponfe comes back ahead of time. With pen of wire and ink of fire we converfe with the moft diftant parts of our broad domain. Time and fpace are annihi- lated. It is poffible that in our day the fteam car will carry us from New York to San Fran- cifco in fix days. It is poffible that in our day the traveler in New York wifhing to vifit Hin- doftan, or perhaps Palelfine, and having reference to fpeed and comfort, will take his courfe weft acrofs this continent and the Pacific, inftead of the old route eaft acrofs the Atlantic. Now all this is marvelous, yet every thing can be readily accounted for in the regular order of nature. No miracles have been performed. It requires no very ingenious argument to make it appear that our progrefs is due, in fome degree to accident, a feries of blundering fucceffes, fo to fpeak. ( 24 ) fpeak. While this argument cannot be conceded in a o-eneral fenie, its truth mull: be acknow- ledi^ed fo far as our government per Je is con- cerned. The federal compadt never contem- plated the expanfion that has aftually taken place under it or outiide of it. The framers of that compadt held that the acquilition of territory by conquelf was repugnant to the genius of our government. They alfo a6led on the theory that the kind and degree of expanfion or progrefs we now fee, was equally repugnant to the genius of our iniHtutions. It would appear, therefore, that fuch progrefs, as we have made, Ihould not be attributed to the practical working of our government to the ex- tent that is generally conceded. It I may be allowed to refer to my own perfonal experience of ten years of frontier life, I will fay that I found the federal government, where it exercifed dired: control, the greateft obftacle to progrefs. This ftatement may appear fomewhat remark- able or erroneous. Neverthelefs, nothing is more fufceptible of proof. The whole body of pio- neers and fettlers in our welfern frontier rei^-ions — except the government contractors — will llif- tain me in the alTertion. In all thofe unorganized regions, occupied and controlled by the government through its mili- tary ftations, Indian agencies, &c., the military and Indian agencies have one interell, and the bona fide fettler another. I had four years' expe- rience in Arizona and New Mexico, and during this ( 25 ) this period the fettlers were obliged to wage a conftant warfare for bare exiftence, not only againft the wild Indians, but againft the despot- ifm and avarice of the United States Government as reprefented by its agents, military and civil. But it was of no ufe. I efcaped out of Arizona, a territory teeming with the precious and other metals, in the fpring of 1858, and came to Walh- ington, believing, in my verdancy, that I iliould be able to excite fome intereft there for that mofh important, but fuffering and negled:ed fron- tier. During the early part of my fojourn in the National Capital, I encountered a Member of Congrefs from one of the Ealfern States. He was puffing a cigar and toafting his feet before a good fire in one of the public rooms at Willard's Hotel. I approached this Member of Congrefs in my mofi: bland and winning manner, and after begging his pardon for interrupting what appear- ed to be a delightful reverie, I recounted to him in thrilling tones and impreffive manner, the trials, difficulties and dangers we were encoun- tering, in opening the new territory to civiliza- tion. The Member of Congrefs quietly heard what I had to fay, and then coolly turning to me, inquired : " What the devil did you go to fuch a God-forfaken country for ? " This incident tells the whole ilory of my Wafliington experience, in attempting to excite an interell on behalf of Arizona. I fpent seve- ral weeks in the capital, and mingled freely among ( 26 ) among tne officials from the highell to the loweft, but not the iirft lign of common intelH- gence on the fubjed: of our frontier interefts generally did I encounter ; neither did I receive the llighteft encouragement, and Arizona was abandoned to its fate. The territory foon re- lapfed into barbarifm. In 1861, having been in polTeffion of the United States tind under the control of the military and Indian agencies five years, all the white inhabitants had been killed or driven off by the wild Apaches. But ter- ritorial officers, capable and efficient men I be- lieve, have recently gone out, and the emigration that is now flowing into Arizona is of a ftrength and character that will wrell it from the Federal agencies, control or fweep away the wild Indians, and bring this valuable frontier diil:ri(5t within the pale of civilization. The territory of New Mexico has been under the dired: control of the United States Govern- ment fifteen years, and it is in a worfe condition now than it was when we received it from Mexico. With here and there an exception, the com- manding officers, quartermafters, contrad:ors, and futlers, form clofe corporations, and wielding defpotic power, monopolize the bell: of every thing, and grind the bona fide fettler into the dull. Then come the wild Indians, who plunder the fettlers of what little is left to them. The Indian agents fupply the murdering, plundering lavages with rations, arms and ammunition, or the means to ( V ) to obtain them, and thefe Indians, thus provided, fally out to diftant points, murder the fettlers, drive ofF their flock, and return to the neighbor- hood of thofe fame agencies, and there difpofe of their ill-gotten booty. Thus betv^een the mili- tary and Indian agencies, and the favages, the poor emigrant Hands but little chance for life or property. I was no amateur pioneer. I entered the work profeffionally, and conlidered that my lot was call in thofe frontier regions where, for ten years, I had run the gauntlet to fee, at laft, an entire community llaughtered around me, and learn that I expofed myfelf, and toiled to fill the pockets of a few miferable, foullefs fpeculators in human blood, fome of whom I regret to fay, reprefented a government that took no heed of its citizens, who were paving its way to empire with their bones. In thofe of our frontier diftrid:s where the wild Indians are lefs numerous or lefs favage than they are on the Rocky Mountain Hopes, or where the whites in great numbers rufli in, occupy the land, and wreft it from the Federal agencies, as in California, there is lefs of expofure, fuffering and bloodflied. But the evils to which I have alluded, characterize in a greater or lefs degree, all progrefs in our new territory. O, you who have never been beyond the pale of civilization ; you who have experienced nought but eafe and comfort within the limits of well fettled, refined fociety, how little you comprehend the frightful fufferinp-. ( 28 •) fuffering, the horrid mafs of human flelh and bones through which our car of Empire cruilies and crafhes onward toward the fetting fun. Some may argue that fuch are the inevitable refults of efforts to reclaim wild and barbarous regions to civilization. To a certain extent this is true, but I contend moll: decidedly that by far the greateff amount of lite and property loil in the procefs of civilizing our frontier regions, is a wholly unnecelfary facrifice to the cruel fyftem and pernicious practices of the United States government agencies. In fuch circumftances as thefe, it admits of queftion whether the progrefs of the country, in its firft ffage at leaff, is not retarded rather than accelerated by the government. Such progrefs as we have made, muff, I believe, be attributed in the main, to that unequalled and happy com- bination of immenfe refources, the development of which is highly favored by the great advan- tages of geological conftruction, geographical pofition and the moff propitious variety of cli- mate. All thefe material acceffories added to the great idea of holding certain inalienable rights bafed on equality, with the repiitatioji of having the freeff and beft government on earth, have enticed a great amount of industry, talent and capital from Europe, and provoked a reff- lefs fpirit of enterprife all over the country. My remarks on the unfortunate relations that exiff between the general government and pio- neer intereffs are not agreeable to my taffe or feelings ; ( 29 ; feelings ; hut they could not well he omitted. I deem them quite important and entirely perti- nent to my fuhjed:. I truft it will he underftood that I dilbufs the point without reference to the political views or prejudices of any party. The great trouble, in fad:, appears to me to be, that the entire fubjed is ignored by all the political parties of the country, either from a total igno- rance of the fads, or utter inability to grafp them. My fole defire is to give the people in- formation, that they may inftrud the politicians, I will now touch upon another important branch of my fubjed — one that relates diredly to our pioneer enterprife and general progrefs. I refer to Spanilh America, and our relations with that part of the continent. Here, again, I believe we have failed to comprehend our in- terefts and our deftiny. It is true that an idea of ** manifelf deftiny " having more or lefs to do with the future of Spanifh America, has obtained a lodgment in the American mind. Of late years we have heard much about the " manifeft deftiny" of the American nation; but fo far as I can perceive, this idea is exceedingly vague, having no intelligent or logical bafis, nor any well defined policy or fyftem by which it is to be wrought out. In our relations with Spanilh America, we have pradically labored againft the happy fulfill- inent of the manifeft deftiny idea. I will give a brief fummary of fads bearing diredly on this point : — Our x> ( 3° ) Our relations with the ifland of Cuba, proba- bly from its geographical polition, and other favorable circumftances, are more extenfive and profitable than with any other locality in Spanifh America. From 1820 to 1850, a period of thirty years, our commercial exchanges with Cuba ranged from ten to fifteen millions only per annum. In i860, our commercial exchange with that ifland amounted to $46,428,434, or $33 25 per capita^ giving 1,396,530 as the population. What is the caufe of this fudden and immenfe trade between the United States and Cuba ? I reply, th.Qjlea?fiJhip ! In 1 850, lines of Ameri- can fteamers commenced plying between New York, Charlefton, New Orleans and Havana, and in i860 our commercial exchanges with the laft named port had augmented to over $46,000,000, which is equal to one-half the entire foreign trade of the ifland, and double the total amount of our trade with all the other Wefl: India iflands. Cuba lay in our ocean highway to New Or- leans and Afpinwall. Communication by fleam became a neceflity, and the ifland has been prac- tically, fo far as its commercial interefts and relations were concerned, within the American Union, fince 1850 and up to the commencement of our civil diflurbances in i860. This, I be- lieve, was Amply a collateral result of private enterprife, growing out of increafed trade with New Orleans, and the commencement of inter- courfe with California. In ( 3> ) In the relations that grew up between the United States and Cuba during the decade men- tioned, I fee the idea of manifeft deftiny logic- ally and happily developed. With Cuba, everything favorable or fortunate in our Spanifh American relations ends. Take Mexico for inftance. When Mexico became an independent ftate in 1821, our trade with her commenced, and in the courfe of ten years it had reached $15,000,000 per annum. But lince 1830 the trade has been irregular, and the ten- dency downward, fo that in i860, the commer- cial exchanges between Mexico and the United States, that is, our imports from and exports to that country, had fallen to $5,905,103, and this, notwithftanding Mexico joins our fouthern bor- der, and the trade of the whole Mexican Pacific coaft had been open to California for ten years. Taking the inhabitants of Mexico at 7,000,000, the trade of that country per capita with the United States in i860, was 84 cents. If Mexico had the fame annual per capita trade with the United States that Cuba has, it would amount to $228,750,000 per annum. There are in that Mexican domain, feveral Californias for us, fimply through the inftrumen- tality of treaties of amity and commerce, a means of progrefs our rulers appear to know very little about. The perverfity with which our people and government have adted with regard to our interefts in Mexico, cannot be explained by any of the known laws by which human affairs are fuppofed ( 32 ) fuppored to be influenced or regulated. It Teems as though we had knowingly and deliberately aided in bringing about the dire misfortune of foreign intervention in Mexico, the real and greater purpofe of which is ultimately interven- tion in the United States. My remarks refpefting our relations with Mexico, are, in the main, applicable to all Span- ifli America. In i860, the commercial exchanges of Span- ifh America v/ith all the world were, in round numbers, $525,000,000, of which $115,000,000 only were with the United States. Of this lat- ter amount $65,000,000 were with Cuba and the other Weft Indian iflands, leaving to the United States but $50,000,000, or one-tenth of the Spanifh American trade on the main land — the total of which was $460,000,000, with all countries. And yet we have all thofe advantages over other countries that lliould give us the com- mand of the greater portion of that trade. The total population of the continental part of Spaniili America is 33,000,000, and our trade with that population amounts to but $50,000,000 per annum, or $1.52 ^fr capita. What an un- fortunate exhibit. If our trade with all Spanilh America averaged the fame per capita as it does with Cuba, it would amount to $1,163,750,000 per annum ! Thefe are ftupendous numerals. It is within the bounds of reafon to fay that by an intelligent culture of commercial intercourfe with Spanifh America, our trade with that por- tion ( 33 ) tion of the continent and its illands would, within a few years, reach $500,000,000 per annum. What a magnificent field for the pioneer enter- prife of this country ! But where does the greater part of the Spani{h American trade go ? To Europe — principally to England. The Englifh mail fteamers com- pletely encircle Spani(h America, touching at upwards of feventy different ports on the conti- nent and illands. Having given the fmall commercial refults of our intercourfe with Spanifli America, I will bring forward feveral other points as evidence of how we have almoft entirely ignored the exift- ence of that part of our continent as any thing worthy of commercial or focial culture. One half this continent is occupied by Spanifli America, and one half the people inhabiting this continent fpeak the Spanifh language. And yet what child, what ftatefman in this country is reared in view of thefe great fadis ? Is the fludy of the grand old Spanifh language or the hiftory of Spanifh America common among us ? Does a knowledge of the races, language, laws, poli- tics, religion and cuftoms that prevail in Spanifh America conftitute any part of the education of our public men — thofe whom we honor with the higheft pofitions and dignify with the appel- lation of ftatefmen ? Let the fad:s anfwer. If you place your child in the beft fchools or acade- mies of the country with the defire to give him a fuperior education, or lay the foundation for it. ( 34 ) it, not one in fifty affords the advantage of in- ftruction in the Spanifh language ; and if by- chance you are able to arrange for a teacher in this language, it is done with fo much difficulty and extra expenfe as to be available only to the wealthy. As to any correct hiftory of Spanifh America for reading or fludy, it is not to be found in the literature of our country, nor in any other country, I believe, if truth and fair- nefs are made the ftandard. Go to Wafliington among the high officials, the leading men, the politicians of the day, and how many do you find who are able to form an intelligent opinion of any event that occurs in Spanifh America ? I have heard that it has been remarked by the foreign diplomatic corps in Wafhington, that not one of the prefent Admin- iff ration can converfe intelligently with the ref- pedive Spanifli American Minifiers accredited to this government, relative to the countries they reprefent, even in the Englifli language, faying nothing of the Spanifh. This fhould be a deep national mortification. Furthermore, it is a deplorable fad: that the government has rarely fent a reprefentative to the Spanifli American countries who had any knowledge of the people or their language. At the prefent time, if I am corred:ly informed, we have not a fingle ambaffador in Spanifh America, and fcarcely a conlul who knows any thing of the Spanifh language, or who by education or experience is calculated to promote our inter- efts '( 35 ) efts in that portion of the continent, no matter how zealous and faithful he may be in his efforts to perform his duty. Thefe are all very grave facts, and they clearly fet forth in my mind — and I hope they do to that of others — how little our people and gov- ernment comprehend their great intereft in the direction of the India fouth of us. They afford indubitable evidence of how entirely negled:ful we have been of found and healthy progrefs in a natural and available dired:ion. And what is the confequence ? A very ferious lofs to our na- tional interefts, and calamitous complications in our foreign and domeftic policy. Spanifh America is an enigma to the whole world. To my mind the folution of this enig- ma is exceedingly fimple. We have only to appreciate the great fad: which ftands fo boldly out in modern hiftory, that from its difcovery to the prefent hour, this continent has been -looked upon by Europe as a pure commercial fpecula- tion in the development of which, the common principles of humanity and chriftianity were not to have, and confequently have not had lot or part. What may be termed commercial flavery never was known until the commercial nations of Eu- rope faftened it upon this continent as a pure fpeculation, bereft of all jusftice and humanity. The foil of thofe nations at home muft be free, but the foil of their poffeffions in the New World must be Have. What a record of fhame the com- mercial ( 36 ) mercial nations of Europe exhibit on this point ! While they were declaring that the moment a Have fet foot on the foil of the refpe(5tive mother countries he became free, they were abfolutely encouraging and fuftaining the African flave trade with their armies and navies, and enforcing by arms and legillation, the inftitution of llavery over this continent and its illands, from pole to pole and from ocean to ocean. In 1772, Lord Mansfield ruled in the famous cafe of the Have Somerfet, that no law of Eng- land recognized chattel llavery on Englifli foil, and that a negro flave from any one of the Brit- ifh Colonies became free from the moment he arrived at a Britifh port. At this very time the American Colonies were urgently proteffing to the mother country againfl the importation of negro flaves within their limits. In ^'J']^, three years after the decifion of Lord Mansfield, and juft before our war of revolution broke out, the Britifh government abruptly and fternly gave a quietus to thefe protefts of the colonies in the following words : " We cannot allow the colonies to check or dif courage in any degree a traffic fo benefi- cial to the nation.'' This remarkable exhibition of the unfeeling fpirit of gain on the part of the Englifh govern- ment tells the whole ftory. It lays bare the ani- mus by which commercial Europe held the New World in its grafp. And it is the lame now as it was then. There has been no change. Our revolutionary war and the Spaniili Ame- rican ( 37 ) rican war of independence were the natural up- heavings of people to relieve themfelves from an intolerable fyftem of oppreffion, inflicted upon them by the parent nations of Europe. The United States met with a great and conilantly increaling degree of succefs, until all Europe began to bow to the progrefs and power of the great republic as to the decree of fate, and to hold the American nation in fome fort of humane and Chrifliian respedt. Then our civil war cotmnenced. The Spanifh American countries, on the other hand, fucceeded in throwing off the Spanifh yoke only to relapfe fo completely into the clutches of commercial Europe, as to render their condi- tion fince they became republics, but little if any better than it was when they were enllaved to Spain. If you would arrive at a corred: underftanding of the Spanilh American republics, you will find European luft and avarice the main caufe of the chronic evils by which they are afflicted. I con- tend that public opinion refpecting thefe repub- lics is wrong. The Spanilh American people, if I underftand them aright, have capacities and afpirations for a far higher order of exiftence than they now enjoy, and if they could but dif- enthrall themfelves from the cruel bonds, in which they are fo tightly held by commercial Europe, they would rife rapidly in the fcale of nations. I could not refrain from advancing my view of this matter, it has fo fixed a lodgment in my mind ( 38 ) mind, and bears fo diredtly on our interefts and progrefs, efpecially in the Spanifli American por- tion of the continent. Furthermore, I cannot leave the point without, referring you to the promptitude with which the leading maritime nations of Europe adopted the courfe they thought would regain to them the inhuman grafp in which they originally held this entire continent, fo foon as it becan>e evident that the only Power thereon they had ever re- fpedted, was involved in ferious civil ftrife. I confider it a piece of fublime limplicity on the part of the politicians both North and South to- have believed thofe nations ever would, or ever will, purfue any other courfe. In my remarks, I have endeavored to give fome idea of our true greatnefs and of our real deficiencies; and in the attempt, I have doubt- lefs both flattered and mortified the national van- ity. While I maintain that we have caufe for pride, I believe we have caufe for ihame. And while agreeing that we muft ftand up before the world in all the confcious pride and dignity of a nation that claims to be in the van of freedom and progrefs — yes, and, if need be, defy the world in arms in maintaining that proud pofition, — I contend that we fliould put on the becoming garb of modefty which fignifies we have yet much to learn. Every age is given to the idea that it cannot be excelled. Every race holds itfelf as the fupe- rior. Every people confiders its religion the only ( 39 ) only true religion on earth; and every fociety, from that which furrounds the greateft poten- tate, to that which grovels in the hut of the Hottentot, believes the world revolves around it. / When in Arizona in 1855, as the Superin- tendent of a San Francifco copper mining com- pany, I opened and worked the Mina del Ajo, located in the defert, lurrounded by ftupendous mountains, and forty miles from living water. We were Tupplied with that article from natural and artificial tanks in the rocks, the rain filling them once a year, I had as laborers about one hundred Mexican peons, moft of them pure Indians, the relics of Jefuit Chriflianization, very good laborers, and belonging to the feveral Sonora tribes. The labor of a certain week had produced a large amount of very rich ore, and on the Sunday morning following, I happened to pafs near a number of the peons refting from their work, I overheard their converfation which turned on the richnefs of a favorite lead they had named San Eduardo, in honor of the Superintendent, and yet, a pure Papago Indian, known as Boca Prieta, or Black Mouth, feelingly exclaimed : *^ Ahy que laj}i??ia efte rica mina no pertinezca a nofotros los Chrijiianos !'' "What a pity this rich mine does not belong to us Chriftians ! " There, in that far off, and as my friend the Mem- ber of Congrefs called it, " God-forfaken coun- try," this Indian who deigned to wear nothing more than a wifp of cotton cloth around his waift, ( 40 ) waifl, who did not know the letter A, and could not count beyond the number lo, beheved him- felf and his furroundings of the moft advanced and Chriftian order. We as a people hold in the upper ftrata of our mind, that we are the moft advanced nation in the world — that the degree of perfection we have reached in our fyftem of religion and gov- ernment and in fcience, can fcarcely be excelled. I believe the greateft difcoveries in religion, government and fcience are yet tJifuturo. The prefence of man is but juft beginning to be felt in the moral and material world, and the brain fairly aches even in its faint efforts to contem- plate what the fubjugation of the earth demands from the future. I have remarked in a general manner on thofe great interefts which provoke the fpirit of Ame- rican pioneer enterprife, and I have referred to the degree of progrefs made in the development of thofe interefts. I have exprelfed my belief that the people and the government of the United States had, in other days, no adequate conception of the great future that was before them. And fuch remarks as I have made — the refult of careful obfervation and ftudy — are made in the full conviction that the nation at large has, at the prefent time, no better comprehen- lion of its great interefts, no more intelligent ap- preciation of the grandeur of its deftiny — fecured only by the happy working of the great idea of holding certain inalienable rights bafed on equal- ity ( 4" ) ity — than it had in the early days of the Repub- lic when there was no experience of the pafl to throw light upon the future. I will venture to intimate that the American nation has been careleilly drifting on, allowing politicians to legillate too much and in the wrong dired:ion. As a nation infpired by the great idea of lib- erty and equality, we have made great progrefs; but it is well to inquire whether we have not, at the fame time, fcattered in our path the feeds of evil that grow with our growth and ftrengthen with our ftrength. In evidence of this, I point to the prefent condition of the country. Defola- tion and want reign in one fedtion, luxury and extravagance in the other. Corruption ftalks abroad at noon-day, the war-liend holds his car- nival throughout the land, and our national exif- tence is threatened. I have exprelfed my firm faith in the ultimate welfare of the country. But this refult may only come through years of diforder and bloodfhed. It the rebellion lliould be put down and the war Ihould ceafe at once, the new ilfues that have fprung up may be more difficult to overcome than the rebellion itfelf. Chateaubriand fays, *'God rifes behind men." The feen vaniflies and the unfeen appears. Revolutions end in what thofe, who inaugurate them, leaft exped:. The men who put in motion the mighty revolution that is now raging around us, the excufe and the purpofe, will probably all pafs ( 42 ) oafs away and be forgotten, ere the final refults of the movement are reached. I confider it, therefore, the facred duty of every true-hearted American to do that which lies within him to ameliorate the unhappy con- dition of his country, that it may come forth from the fiery furnace feven times purified, a burning and fhining light to all the world. Actuated by fuch feelings, in the main, I be- lieve, a number of gentlemen from various parts of the country — diftinguilhed travelers and pio- neers, progreffive men — have ftarted the projed; of organizing an allociation in this city under the title of the Travelers' Club. This aflbciation is to have the ufual focial attractions, and be conducted on the fame high principles as our beft clubs. But the addition of a department where the higheft order of intelli- gence, and the moft valuable information will be aggregated and put in form for public ufe, will give to the propofed Travelers' Club a far higher miffion than is ufually accorded to the ordinary focial and literary clubs of the day. It is eftimated that 10,000 pioneers, explorers and travelers — active, progreffive men — from our frontier regions, Spaniili America, and other foreign countries vifit this city annually, and who could be introduced to the rooms ot the Travelers' Club with mutual advantage. The value of the information thefe vifitors pofi'efs in the aggregate, is incalculable ; and this informa- tion. ( 43 ) tion, abfolutely indifpenfable for the fafe guid- ance of the nation, I contend, does not conftitute, in any efFedlual degree, an element of knowledge among the people. The politicians of the day pofitively refufe to receive it, regarding it as fomething with which they have nothing to do. It is not to be found in books, the prefs cannot obtain it, confequently that which is of fo much vital importance to the nation is loft. Any intelligent mind will readily comprehend what a powerful influence for good the gather- ing together of this clafs of progreiTive men in fecial and intellediual intercourfe in this city, muft have. Properly managed it will be- come a power in the land. Such would be the concentration of progreffive intelled: and infor- mation as to enfure the happieft influence on the private and public affairs of the nation. There is an aching void — if I may be allowed the expreffion — for juft fuch an inftitution. All political parties, all religious creeds will be in- vited to participate ; but all partizanfhip in the one and fe6tarianifm in the other, muft yield to the ftrid: cofmopolitan and confervative charadier of the aflbciation. For many years aflbciations, partaking fome- what of the character of the one propofed, have been eftabliftied in the larger capitals of Europe, and there they take the lead among the focial and literary clubs. There may be a greater number of what are called traveled literary gentlemen, who yearly vifit London and Paris, than can be ( 44 ) be got together in this city ; but for the concen- tration of thofe reftlefs, indomitable, intellectual, progreflive men who are moving the world on- ward, and of that peculiar kind of quick, un- written information that guides the progrefs of humanity, I do not believe any city on the globe can excel the city of New York, the great heart of our own great empire and the commercial and financial center of the New World. The promife of fuccefs in the permanent or- ganization of the Travelers' Club on a balis worthy of the city of New York, is very flat- tering. It is furprifing what a powerful clafs of men and interefts the idea has aroufed. The in- dications are that the memberfliip, not only of refidents in this city, but of ftrangers from vari- ous localities in our own country and abroad, ef- pecially Spanifli America, will be very large. There are alfo many alfurances of valuable hif- torical contributions relating to the rife and pro- grefs of civilization in the New World; of books, maps, &c., and defirable fpecimens for the cabinet. Like all other projeds of this na- ture, however, much perfeverance and exertion will be required before complete succefs is at- tained. The founders of the projedl are, I believe, adiuated by motives did:ated by patriotifm, libe- rality and intelledual tafte. No one of them will look for or receive any emolument. The fole defire appears to be to eftablifli an inftitu- tion fo urgently demanded by the interefts ot the ( 45 ) the country — an inftitution that will foften the prejudices of race, allay fedlional feeling, culti- vate the fecial qualities, and raife the ftandard of intelligence among the people. Such objects are truly noble. The man of bufinefs and fcience, the ftatef- man and philofopher, the divine and philanthro- pift, can come to our ftores of knowledge, we truft, and learn what magnificent interefls we polfefs, and what a glorious country we have to fave. H 33 ftq'^t .« -^m^'. v^,# ,i«^^. *^^^^« ,.^', \/ 'vP^/^Tr;'^*\/ O H o - .0 ^^ •/* A> - - - ** HECKMAN lil BINDERY INC. |§I .^APR 89 N. MANCHESTER, INDIANA 46962 -Tr«* .0^ 'o '0..* A ^ ^<$ V V .»«v