Source.—Letters from America, by John Robert Godley. London, 1844.

Within two miles of Brantford (which is called after Brandt the Indian chief) is a village which may be termed the headquarters of the Mohawk tribe of Indians. They lost their possessions in the States by adhering to Great Britain in the revolutionary war, and received in compensation a settlement here of 160,000 acres: since that time they have decreased considerably, and now consist of not more than 2200 souls. I went over to the Indian village on Sunday morning, and attended Divine service in their church; it was performed according to the forms of the English Church, but in the Mohawk language, with the exception of the sermon, which the clergyman delivered in English, and which was translated with wonderful fluency, sentence after sentence, by an Indian interpreter who stood beside him. It was good, practical, and well adapted to the audience, who listened with the most unfailing attention, though the plan of proceeding made it necessarily very long: the Indian language, too, is far more prolix than ours, at least the sentences as translated were at least three times as long as in the original delivery; the singing was particularly good in point of time and harmony, but the airs were somewhat monotonous. Two children were baptised during the service, one of them ensconced in a bark cradle, which fitted it accurately, and was attached in a curious manner to a board so as to be carried easily upon the mother's back. There were about 120 Indians present; the men, with one or two exceptions, dressed like Europeans, but the women wearing their native costume, which is rather becoming: it consists of a calico or linen tunic reaching to the knee, below which appears a petticoat of blue cloth, generally embroidered with red and white bead-work, the legs are covered with a kind of buskin of blue cloth, and the feet with mocassins; over all is a large robe or mantle, of blue cloth also, thrown loosely round the shoulders; completing a dress which, at this time of year, must be dreadfully hot and heavy: the head is without any other covering except very thick black shining hair. Those of the men who have not adopted the European costume wear instead of trousers a tunic and leggings which reach half-way up the thigh.

I had some conversation with the clergyman after service: he is employed by the "New England Society," has been for a long time among the Indians, and knows them well: he has a better opinion of them and of their capacity for acquiring domestic and industrious habits, than most white men to whom I have spoken upon the subject have expressed. The society support a school in the village, where about forty children are boarded, educated, and instructed in trades; and they learn, Mr. N. says, as fast as Europeans: as yet, however, they are not fit to be trusted in making bargains with the whites, nor can they at all compete in matters of business with them: much of their original grant has been trafficked away to settlers, at prices wholly inadequate; and, though such transactions are altogether illegal, they have been overlooked so long that it is now impossible to annul them. A superintendent lives close to the village, who is paid by Government for the express purpose of protecting the Indian interests and managing their affairs; yet encroachments upon their rights are still perpetually made, which, however advantageous they may appear to a political economist, are neither reconcilable with equity nor with the real wishes and intentions of Government. Mr. N. is by no means without hopes that in a generation or two these Indians may become quite civilised: they are giving up their wandering habits, and settling rapidly upon farms throughout their territory; and, in consequence, probably, of this change in their mode of life, the decrease in their numbers, which threatened a complete extinction of the tribe, has ceased of late years: if it turn out as he expects, this will form the sole exception to the general law which affects their people. They are very much attached (as well they may be) to the British Government; and in 1837 turned out under their chiefs to the number of 500, and offered their services to it: they wished to attack Navy Island in their canoes, but those who were in command thought the enterprise too hazardous. The chiefs (whose office is, as among the ancient Gothic nations, partly hereditary and partly elective, i.e. ordinarily transmitted from father to son, but liable to be transferred in cases of incapacity) have still a good deal of authority among them, but, as it is of course not recognised by law, they are gradually losing it; in fact, the race is assimilating itself here far more than anywhere else to the habits and manners of the surrounding Europeans, while at the same time there is perhaps hardly any settlement where the red blood is preserved with less mixture.