29 AUGUST 1835, Page 18

THE CAREER OF DON CARLOS.

THE person who designates himself the Baron DE LOS VALLES is a Frenchman, who rejoices in the long-resounding name of M. L. XAVIER AUG UET DE SAINT SYLVAIN. lie was born during the Revolution, and honourably maintained his hereditary loyalty till the Restoration. Into the successive events of his career we need not enter ; it will be sufficient to say, that after the establishment of the Monarchy of the Barricades, he was accused of a conspiracy, but acquitted. To avoid the harassing investigations of the police, he withdrew to Madrid, with strong recommendations from the dethroned Bourbons, and there set up a "literary establishment." AUGUET DE SAINT SYLVAIN, however, was not long in eclipse. Before the death of FERDINAND he was taken into the service of Don CARLOS, and was employed by him in communicating with his friends • it might have been said, in organizing a conspiracy, bad the abilities or courage of the Infant and his partisans been equal to the undertaking. After the decease of "the Beloved," our historian became more active in the cause as the scruples of his master about the lawfulness of resisting the Spanish Govern- ment ceased. M. AUG [JET traversed Spain in various directions to excite insurrections; had a price set upon his head, and some- times escaped the Christinos with difficulty ; he visited England to forward the "Legitimist cause ;" he attended Don CARLOS in Portugal, and negotiated his safe removal under the auspices of the British Ambassador. Arrived in England, he advised, plan- ned, and successfully executed, the project of reaching Spain through France ; entering the carriage which conveyed him and the Infant from London as Baron DE LOS VALLES. He also re- mained with the Pretender during six months of the campaign in Navarre, till ill health obliged him to seek a change of air in France. His withdrawal not only procured a change of air, but a change altogether ; for the Government of Lours PHILIP disco- Cering his retreat, imprisoned him on a charge of conspiracy, but in reality for having tricked them in the affair of the escape of the Don. • . The principal matter of the volume is indicated in the preced- ing sketch; for the work is not so much an account of the Career of Don Carlos, as a narrative of the assistance which the Baron has rendered him. There is, however, an introductory chapter, in which the Spanish law of succession is expounded, and the claim of the male heir enforced; followed by two chapters which profess to give an account of the intrigues by which FERDINAND was in- duced to marry, and to revoke the Salic law. These last, if the facts can be depended upon, certainly show a very unfraternal state of the affections at the Spanish Court; but they adduce no- thing to render its moral turpitude greater than it was known to be- from other sources. After the absence of intrinsic interest in the events, want of novelty, indeed, is the defect of the book in all important matters the newspaper correspondents have forestalled the Baron; and he wants the painter-like power which gives interest and fulness to the minutiw of personal narrative. His manner has much of the vagueness of a gazette, without the unity and temporary importance of subject which a gazette of necessity possesses.

• The only novelty is the indirect sketch of Don CARLOS. The set portraits are of course flattered; but some traits of character now and then peep out, which show him quite incompetent to ac- quire a kingdom, whatever worth he may display as a family man. The same bigoted prejudice which made him so strenuously up- hold his right to the crown, prevented him from taking any steps to forward his succession, as it would have been disobedience to el Rey. When the death of FERDINAND left him at liberty to act, be posted himself at Alentejo (an ill-chosen situation, being re- Mote from his own friends, and exposed to the attempts of the Christinos); waited there eleven days, and did nothing. Being frightened thence by the fear of RODIL, he wandered about Portugal, not only doing..nothing himself, but not knowing what others were doing in Spain. When the success of PEDRO and the advance of the Constitutionalists hemmed him in, according to the Baron be knew not what to do, and owed his escape entirely to the diplomatic dexterity of his Aide-de-camp. Ever since his -entry into Spain, he appears to have exercised no intelligent influ- ence on the war ; his cause fluctuates with the ability of his chief .0flieer ; his own exertions are limited to the execution of prisoners. A lithographed portrait of Don CARLOS is prefixed to the vo- lesae, which, if it be a correct likeness, is certainly not a recom- mendatory one. The features are massy, but their general cha- Meter is grim, and the expression one of pain, not thought : he looks as if the state of his bowels rather than the state of nations was uppermost in his mind.

THE JUNIOR IRVING'S INDIAN SKETCHES.

THE work before us had its remote origin in a course of conduct not unlike that which the British Government has been in the

habit of following towards the natives of Southern Africa. There is this difference, however, in the cases—that our Colonial autho- rities have the fact of a war of invasion as a plea for the confis- cation and seizu're of vast.tracts of territory; whilst the Federal Government of the United States has no excuse of the kind.

" For several years past," says our author naively, " the Government of the United States, as is well known, has been engaged in removing the Indian tribes

resident within the States, to tracts of wild but fertile land situated beyond the verge of White population. Some of the tribes thus removed, however, when they came to hunt over the lands assigned them, encountered fierce opposition from the aboi iginal tribes of the Praim ies, who claimed the country as their own, and denied the right of the United States to make the transfer. The migratory tribes sere thus placed in a disastrous predicament : having sold their native lands to the United States, they had no place to which they might retreat; while they could only maintain a footing in their new homes by incessant fighting.

" The Government of the United States hastened to pat an end to time bloOdy conflicts thus engendered, by purchasing the contested lands, and effecting tree- ' ties of peace between thejarring tribes. In some Matinees, however, the Anil..

ginals remained unappeased. This especially was the case with a fierce and ,

numerous tribe of Pawnees inhabiting the banks of the Platte river, and who were backed in their hostilities by their allies the Otoes, who, though less nu- merous, were even more daring than themselves. These two tribes laid claim to all the land lying between the Platte and Kanzas rivers—a region comprising several hundred square mile.. It had long been their favourite hunting-ground;

in which it was death for a strange hunter to intrude. This forbidden tract, however, had been granted by the United States to the Delawares; and the latter had made it the scene of their hunting excursions. A bitter feud was the consequence. The tract in question became a debateable ground in which war parties were 'continually lurking. The Ddawares had been attacked, ivhile hunting, by the Pawnees, and many of their tribe had fallen. The Delawares, in revenge, had surprised and burnt one of the Pawnee towns while the war- riurs were ab4ent on a buffalo-hunt."

In addition to this, several White traders had been massacred by the Pawnees; and at last the Commissioners appointed to settle the migratory tribes received instructions to visit the hostile Indians, purchase the lands in dispute, and mediate an alliance between the belligerent parties. The expedition departed in the summer of 1333; and the nephew of WASHINGTON IRVING ac- companied it as a volunteer. The party was escorted by a small body of riflemen, and attended by interpreters and present- bearing waggons. The tract of country they traversed extended from the frontier of the Missouri State bard on towards the Rocky Mountains, and mostly lay between the Platte and Kanzas rivers; and the tribes they were to visit had rarely or never beheld the face of a White man, and then. only of some Yankee trader. Hence, the Sketches and narrative of our author furnish us with a descriptive account of the aboriginal Indians, before they had been changed or corrupted by. communication with the Whites. All that can be seen in the.towns of the wild Pawnees and the more civilized Otoes—all that meets the eye in the bearing, man- ners, fashions, and forms of their inhabitants—are set before us, with something of the more obvious points in the savage chivalry of their characters. We see their huts, horses, dresses, furniture, cookery, and arms; their manner of eating, sleeping, and killing time, is presented to us • they appear before us in council, and we hear their orations. Mr. IRVING, too, has picked up a few tales, which indicate their superstitions and their manner of warfare; and mingled-his Indian Sketches with descriptions of the country through which lie passed, and of the life lie led in the wilderness. But it will be understood that he is an observer, not an inquirer. He presents the reader with all that he sees or feels ; but he does not search into matters which come under his view, nor attempt to deduce any general rules from a number of examples. Hence, whilst the Indian externals are admirably painted, no addition is made to our knowledge of their language, institutions, &c. In " a minor," and especially in one whose habits must have been of an active nature or lie could not have sustained the hardships of the expedition, these qualifications were not to be expected; .nor do we 'mention their absence as a fault, but as a fact.

The execution of the Sketches is deeply imbued with the family spirit. They have the clearness and distinctness which cha- racterize the writings of WASHINGTON IRVING, with a good deal of his minute elegance of style, and a slight dash of what a carper might call his Cockney sentiment. If they are more inartificial in texture, and want his fulness of matter and finished com- position, they may plead their freshness as a partial set-off. One quality, moreover, the volumes possess, which would counter- balance any number of critical faults—they are readable. We are carried along without weariness to the end ; although the subjects, from the nature of the case, occasionally remind us of the "Tour on the Prairies."

We will begin our extracts with the beginning of the journey. Here is

CROSSING THE PEAIILIE.

There is a sensation of wild pleasure in traversing these vast and boundless wastes. At one moment we were standing upon the crest of some wave-like hill, which commanded a wide view of the green desert before us. Here and there were small clumps of trees, resting, like islands, upon the bosom of this sea of grass. Far off, a long waving line of timber, winding like a serpent over the country, marked the course of some hidden stream. But a hundred steps of our horses carried us from the point of look-out. Passing down the sides of the hill, we splashed through the water at the bottom, tore a path through the grass, which frequently rose, in these hollows, to the height of eight or ten feet, and the next moment stood upon the crest of a hill similar to the first. This was again cut off as we descended a second time into the trough which followed the long surge-like swell of land. Such is the Prairie : follows hill and hollow succeeds hollow, with the same regularity as the sweeping billows of the ocean. Occasionally 8 high

broken bluff rears its solitary head in the midst, like some lonely sentinel over- looking the country. Upon the tops of these we frequently saw' an Indian standing in bold relief against the sky. or seated upon some pleasant spot on its summit, and basking in the sunshine with that air of lazy enjoyment which characterizes the race.

Various. individuals or parties of Indians were met with at the different Agencies, or in crossing the debateable land; *but, though many were pure in their blood, none of them were pure in their breeding. The first specimens of the genuine savage were encountered in some chiefs of the ()toes, as they approached their town.

We had travelled for several miles, when we chimed a single Indian gallop. ing towards us on a large spotted horse. In a few moments he came up. He wets one of the ptincipal braves of the Otoe nation. He was completely naked, with the exception of a small piece of cloth seemed around his hips. His head was shaven, and to the scalp-lock was attached an ornament of deer's.hair; re- sembling the crest of an ancient helmet. His whole person, head, face, and body, had been covered with vermilion, until it was the colour of blood, and at a few yards' distance he looked as if he had been skinned alive. But notwith- standing his bloody appearance, his countenance, though calm and grave, had a mild expression not usually met with among the Indians. Ilis whole demeanour was prepossessing ; and when be spoke,-Ilis voice was like soft music. Ile was a fivourite with most of the wild traders in that part of the country, on account

of his generous character. If a stranger entered the village, he was the first to welcome him to his lodge, and to protect him froth the insults of the meaner spirits of his nation. Yet even in this chivalrous nature he was an Indian war- nor, and an Indio, warrior is little better than a murderer. He bad counted as many scalps as any of his nation ; but those of hoary age, of the woman and the child, were hanging in the smoke of his lodge in companionship with those of the war-worn warrior.

In an hour's time we arrived within a short distance of' the village, though as yet it was bidden from our sight by a high bluff. Suddenly, a horseman dashed from behind it and came towards us, plying his lash and urging his horse for- ward at a mad speed. The cry of " The lotan ! " burst from several 'who had before seen him ; and in a few moments this redoubtable chief was by our silk. He had evidently brought into service the -whole of his wardrobe, much of which he bad received from the Whites. His hair was lung, and round it was &mud a large piece of skin from the head of the grisly bear. Round his neck Lung a necklace of the claws of the same animal ; and what was of inure im- portance in his estimation, he was clothed in a long surtout coat of blue cloth, adorned with red facings, and enormously large brass buttons, and garnished upon each shouleer with a pair of tarnished, sickly-looking silver epaulettes. From beneath the skirts of the coat appeared two bare legs; and he wore a pair of coarse mocaesins of buffalo hide.

There was a look of comic slyness lurking around tire eyes of this chief, united with an irascible twinkle, which bespoke a character habitually good- natured, but prone to occasional gusts of .passion. The most promiueut feature of his face, however, had suffered mutilation. The end of his nose was wanting.

The loss of the nose-tip is connected with a tale of fraternal vengeance, at once curious, shocking, and illustrative of Indian charac!ers ; but it is too long to quote. We must pass, also, the fierce forms of hospitality with which the mission was received ; the manner in which the visiters were passed from the but of one brave to another, cramming at each till they could cram no longer; and the various methods by which they contrived to while away the time. But we will find space for two bits illus- trative of the matters the reader may meet with under the head of daily occurrences.

THE THREE SQUAWS.

Among the number of our daily visiters, were three old squaws, hideously ugly, and filthy in the extreme. Wrinkle upon wrinkle covered their faces, and layer upon layer of dirt covered the wrinkles. Their long, gray, uncombed hair, bung in thick matted locks, reaching nearly to their waists; and each of their long skinny arms, with which they coaxingly patted us, resembled in ap- pearance and delicacy the trunk of a grape vine. These old harridans were perfect nuisances. they were constantly lingering about the door of the tent, on the look-out for plunder. They seemed to possess thepower of ubiquity ; it would have puzzled Argus to keep track of their movements. They were shuffling around all day long. peeping into every hole and cranny. One of them even stole meat front the frying-pan, while the Black cook turned his head to drive off the other.

Come upon them when we might, they were always sure to greet us with a half-smirking, half-piteous look ; but the moment we turned away, they were at their old occupations. They were so constantly at work, that there was some talk of appointing a person whose sole employment shouldlie to keep a keen eye totheir movements. They lived at our tent-doors, and, for aught we knew to the contrary, might sleep there too; for we left them there in the evenings, and wefound them at their posts before sunrise. Indeed, so constant was their pre- sence, that the sight of one of them moving off towards the town was the signal for a general search, as they seldom male their disappearance without taking with them some article which did not belong to them.

INDIAN TOILET.

To dress and ornament himself with trinkets and gewgaws, is the delight of a savage. The glittering presents of the Whites bear as strong an attraction to the warrior as to the female or the child, though his disciplined habits prevent those loud bursts of pleasure which escape unrestrained from them. Scarcely a day elapsed but a little group would collect before our tents for the purpose of ornamenting themselves. They were apparently very fastidious in their taste; for when hours had been spent by an Indian beau in laying on one streak of paint after another, and in ogling himself by piecemeal in a small scrap of look- ing-glass, some defect would appear, and, with an exclamation of dissatisfaction,

(whole would be rubbed off. The work would then be recommenced with anabated perseverance, until he succeeded in daubing and ornamenting himself to his entire satisfaction.

The visit to the four Pawnee villages furnishes materials re- sembling those found at the Otoe town, though rather wilder; for savage life is very similar. After putting matters in a train for ar- rangement, the expedition set out on its return, accompanied by a deputation. During the journey, Mr. IRV1 NG incautiously sepa- rated himself from the party, in pursuit of game; and was wander- ing in the wilderness for four days, without shelter, and without any other food than what his rifle could pr.ccure,—which, from the season of the year and other circumstances, amounted only to a duck and a squirrel. The narrative of his adventures, his priva- tions, and his thoughts during his lonely bivouaes in the forest, is told with spirit and effect: but we shall leave these things, for a passage more germane to Indian Sketches—some extracts from the genetal coattail Which was held on the return to the -Agency. • • INDIAN COUNCIL.

Early in the morning, the loud report of a piece of artillery bellowed through the woods, echoing in the deep forest upon the opposite side of the Missouri. This was the signal for the assembling of the council. In a few moments, the warriors of the different tribes were seen leaving their camps, and moving for the piece appointed, beneath several of the large trees, in front of the quarters of the officers.

First came the Delawares, dressed for the occasion, glittering with trinkatt; their' silver ornament*glistening in the sunshine, and their gay nbands.fluttering in the wind. They were a gaudy, effeminate-looking race. Yet, beneath 'all their frippery of dress, lurked that indomitable courage and that thirst for gloey, which not even intemperance and their intercourse with the Whites could de- stroy. Behind the band followed the proud Delaware warrior, Sou-waft-cock. It was he that first kindled the torch of war between his own tribe and the Pawnees, and led the expedition that sacked the Pawnee village. Ile was without ornament, except a heavy silver plate resting upon his calico hunting- altirt. He was not tall, but muscular, and his eve was as searching as aneagles. There was a proud curl upon his lip, and withal an iron firmness marked his whole deportment. Ile seemed to think that the whole weight of anger of the Pawnee nation was about to descend upon himself, but was ready to meet* Ile did not deny that he had incited his nation to the outrage upon the Pawnee town. Nay, he gloried in it ; and was now ready to meet them in friendship, or as enemies. He knew that his nation looked up to him, and he determined that no act of his should ever sink him in their opinion. After the Delawares followed the Shawanese, headed by the same pordy personage who had greeted us when we entered, as strangers, into the Indian - country. The same enormous pair of black spectacles were seated astride of his nose ; and, from his whole appearance, it is probable that be had not undressed from the time that we last saw him, some four months previous. At his heels followed the same little potato-headed Indian who had also met us on the same occasion. Behind them came the gaudy warriors of the tribe, reeking with paint, shining with tin ornaments, and flaunting with Abend& These seated themselves beside the Delawares.

Theu followed the rest of tire migrating tribes ;—thePeorias, the Piankashaws, the ragged Pottawottomies, and the lazy Kickapoos, who all in turn seated them- selves among their civilized brethren. They had scarcely become stationary when the Otoes made their appearance, moving in Indian file over the green, headed by their sagacious old chief, the linen. They walked swiftly and silently, and ranged themselves at a little die- dance from the more civilized though less noble band which had already col- lected. A few moments more, and the wild troop of Pawnees were seen ap- proaching. They were muffled in their shaggy robes, and marched forward with • a heavy, though smothered tread. In front of them strode the giant form of the Wild lInrse; Iris savage features not rendered any the less hideous by a drunken frolic in which he had been engaged on the day previous. His long- hair hung tangled round his head and shoulders. He were no ornaments, and his body as usual was smeared with red ochre. The whole of his enormous chest was bared, and exposed to the cold chilling air of a frosty November morning. Behind him followed the graceful though stern form of the Long Hair. He walked to his allotted place without appearing to notice the congregated band of civilized Indians. There were several other chiefs in the train, and after them followed the whole savage herd from the four Pawnee villages. These stationed themselves directly opposite the' Delawares. -.Stern looks passed be- tween them, and leurnini;reelings were at work in the hearts. There they sat

brooding ewer exist nevemst, • a . :: " ' ee:

A SPEECH AND REPLY.

The morning following, the Pawnees and Kanzes had a meeting to settle their difficulties. A large chamber in the garrison had been selected for the purpose. About ten o'clock in the forenoon they assembled. The two bands seated them- selves upon long wooden benches, on opposite sides of the room. • There was a strong contrast between them. The Kansas had a proud, noble air ; and their white blankets, as they hung in loose and graceful folds around them, had the effect of classic drapery.

The Pawnees had no pride of dress. They were wrapped in shaggy robes, and sat in silence; wild and uncouth in their appearance, with scowling brows, and dose-pressed mouths.

At length the speaking commenced. First rose the White Plume. He had boasted to his tribe that he would relate such things in his speech as should cause the Pawnees to wince. With true Indian cunning, at first, in order that he might conciliate the favourable opinion of those present, he spoke in praise of the Whites, expressing his high opinion of them. After this, he gradually edged off into a philippic against the Pawnee nation, representing them as mean and miserly race, perfidious and revengeful. There was a hushed silence among his own people as he spoke, and every eye was fastened upon the grim

group opposite. The White Plume went on, and still the deepest silence reigned through the room that of the Kanzaa arose from apprehension; the silence of the Pawnees was the hushed brooding of fury.

The chief of the Tappage village was sitting directly opposite the speaker ; his eye was ilaik as midnight, his teeth were bared, and both hands were tightly grasped round his own throat ; but he remained silent until the speech had finished. When the White Plume bad taken his seat, half-a-dozen Pawnees sprang to their feet ; bus the Tappage Chief waved them down : three times did he essay to speak, and as often did he fail. He rubbed his hand across his throat to keep down his anger ; then stepping out and fixing his eye on that of the Kanza Chief, in the calm, quiet voice of smothered rage, he commenced his answer. He proceeded ; be grew more and more excited, indulging a vein of biting irony. The White Plume quailed, and his eye drooped beneath the searching, scornful glance of his wild enemy. Still the Pawnee went on : he represented the injury which first kindled the war between the two nations. "illy young men," said be, "visited the Kanzas as friends: the Kaozas treated them as enemies. They were strangers in the Kanza tribe, and the Kansas fell upon them and slew them, and concealed their death." He then entered into the particulars of the quarrel, which, unfortunately for the Kanzas, were . strongly againit them. The chief of the latter tribe received the answer with great philosophy, nor did he attempt to utter any thing in reply.