The rearing (for it cannot be called the education) of children is chiefly arranged so that it may cost the parents the least possible trouble, in addition to the labour of procuring them subsistence. The father is either engrossed by war and hunting, or resigned to total indolence; while the mother, oppressed by various toils, cannot devote much time to the cares of nurture. The infant, therefore, being fastened with pieces of skin to a board spread with soft moss, is laid on the ground, or suspended to a branch of a tree, where it swings, as in a cradle—an expedient which is so carefully adopted as scarcely ever to be attended with accident. As soon as the creatures are able to crawl on hands and feet, they are allowed to move about every part of the house and vicinity, like a cat or dog. Their favourite resort is the border of the river or lake, to which an Indian village is usually adjacent, and where, in summer, they are seen all day long sporting like fishes. As reason dawns, they enjoy, in the most ample degree, that independence which is held the birthright of the tribe; for, whatever extravagances they may indulge in, the parents never take any steps to restrain or chastise them. The mother only ventures to give her daughter some delicate reproach, or throws water in her face, which is said to produce a powerful effect. The youths, however, without any express instructions, soon imbibe the spirit of their forefathers. Every thing they see, the tales which they hear, inspire them with the ardent desire to become great hunters and warriors. Their first study, their favourite sport, is to bend the bow, to wield the hatchet, and practise all those exercises which are to be their glory in after life. As manhood approaches, they spontaneously assume that serious character, that studied and stately gravity, of which the example has been set by their elders.
The intellectual character of the American savage presents some striking peculiarities. Considering his unfavourable condition, he, of all other human beings, might seem doomed to make the nearest approach to the brute; while, in point of fact, without any aid from letters or study, many of the higher faculties of his mind are developed in a very remarkable degree. He displays a decided superiority over the uninstructed labourer in a civilized community, whose mental energies are benumbed amid the daily round of mechanical occupation. The former spends a great part of his life in arduous enterprises, where much contrivance is requisite, and whence he must often extricate himself by presence of mind and ingenuity. His senses, particularly those of seeing and smelling, have acquired, by practice, an almost preternatural acuteness. He can trace an animal or a foe by indications which, to a European eye, would be wholly imperceptible; and in his wanderings he gathers a minute acquaintance with the geography of the countries which he traverses. He can even draw a rude outline of them, by applying a mixture of charcoal and grease to prepared skins; and on seeing a regular map, he soon understands its construction, and readily finds out places. His facility in discovering the most direct way to spots situated at the distance of hundreds of miles, and known, perhaps, only by the report of his countrymen, is truly astonishing. It has been ascribed by some to a mysterious and supernatural instinct, but it appears to be achieved by merely observing the different aspect of the trees or shrubs, when exposed to the north or south; as also the position of the sun, which he can point out, although hidden by clouds. Even where there is a beaten track, if at all circuitous, he strikes directly through the woods, and reaches his destination by the nearest possible line.