Martin 1 Joe Martin ENG 231-2W1 17 September 2013 Professor Frailly Savages Early American writings like those

of Samuel de Champlain, John Underhill, and other such explorers and settlers pertain to one word of importance: savages. This word and several other variations generally appear when describing Native American tribes like the Iroquois and Pequot. Although the accounts describe unfair battles in which the native tribes are decimated by the superior weapons of the Europeans, the authors can use the word savages and justify their own violence and, to a degree, make it seem as though they are the righteous force. The savagery of the Native Americans, combined with the graphic imagery (used to portray the devastation the Europeans experienced), and the hero-like qualities the authors portray in themselves turn the story into more of an epic, similar to The Odyssey. The reader is forced to pick the side of the epic hero and his crew, watch the fate of the sailors and, as the subject of the writing, identify with them and fear for them as they struggle to survive in an unfamiliar land. When Samuel de Champlain discusses the torture committed by Native Americans on their prisoners or when John Underhill describes men being shot in the face by arrows and being completely famished after battle, it becomes much easier to sympathize with them, rather than the Native Americans who assume the role of Polyphemus, or possibly Sirens. Although the writers motives may not be clearly presented, it is their underlying intention to degrade their historic enemies through graphic imagery and often hypocritical slander, thus elevating themselves to the status of epic heroism.

Martin 2 The Age of Exploration itself was one big odyssey. Although the initial purpose of sailing Westward on the Atlantic was to find a new route to Asia, explorers became sidetracked by the new land which consumed their interest and held them for centuries. In epic poetry, the setting is generally on a large scale, spreading to the limits of the writers known world and beyond, reaching out to the mythological realms of heaven and hell (Abrams 52). These landscapes often hold graphic, large-scale battles in which our epic hero uses superhuman powers to overcome obstacles and defeat enemies. For example, in his piece, The Voyages of the Sieur de Champlain, famous explorer Samuel de Champlain describes his aid to the Algonquin and Huron tribes as they battle with the mighty Iroquois. Just as the battle begins, Champlain takes the key shot with his harquebus (loaded with four bullets) and miraculously kills all three Iroquois chiefs, two immediately and one dying later of his injuries (Hessney 16). Realistically speaking, this seems somewhat impossible and raises the question as to how much Champlain exaggerated his role in the fight. John Underhill uses a somewhat different tactic in his narrative about the Pequot War called News from America. In this account, he describes a short journey as he and his men continually get closer to the enemy, the wounds his men sustained and ones he almost sustained, the burning of the Pequot fort, reactions of inexperienced, horrified European soldiers, the subsequent hunger and thirst experienced by those dying on the ground, the second wave of attacks on the settlers and the final victory. In this way, Underhill elevates himself to a heroic level, overcoming the horrors of war as an underdog. In describing the hardships faced by the Europeans, the reader overlooks the devastation Native Americans face. Underhills role as an epic war hero perfectly exemplifies the disproportionate negative representation the Native Americans are given in colonial writing. Although he does credit them

Martin 3 with courage occasionally, he provides his own chilling statistics, explaining about the attack on the fort, there were about four hundred souls in this Fort, and not above five of them escaped out of our hands (Underhill 78). In the second attack, they slew and wounded above a hundred Pequots (79). Even without citing the casualties of the settlers, Underhill put things into perspective, writing, they (the Pequots and other tribes) might fight seven years and not kill seven men (78). These quotes allow Underhill to overcome the obstacles he describes about battle. In belittling himself then showing domination in war, he gains the underdog, protagonistic role. Paul Royster, an editor of this piece, believes, As a writer, Underhill displays a disarmingly charming style, for someone who at least three times commanded the wholesale slaughter of Natives (Newes from America 2). In contrast to Champlain and Underhill, there were explorers and settlers who worked in favor of Native Americans. Bartolome de las Casas proved to be an effective writer and brought significant changes to the Spanish policies that treated the Native Americans so poorly. In his piece The Very Brief Relation of the Devastation of the Indies, Casas does not necessarily embody the character of an epic hero, but rather a devastated, emotionally-moved savior. Although he participated in the brutal culture of slavery formed in the Americas, Casas is seeking atonement. Like Underhill and Champlain, Casas uses graphic imagery to his advantage. Scenes of Europeans torturing, killing and enslaving, provides the audience with the generally unseen point-of-view. Epic heroes often have interaction with the divine (Abrams 52). It was most likely difficult to convince a reader at the time of publication of interactions with deities, as it would be today, but these three authors still provide examples and define their motivation through various methods. For example, although he doesnt seem to place a large amount of importance on

Martin 4 religion, Champlain hypocritically foreshadows his success through the superstition of the Native Americans. In days before the battle occurs, Champlain discusses the Natives interest in his dreams and constantly ask him whether their enemies had appeared in them. The day before the battle, Champlain finally does dream, telling the Natives, I dreamed that I saw in the lake near a mountain our enemies, the Iroquois, drowning before our eyes. I wanted to succor them, but our Indian allies said to me that we should let them all perish; for they were bad men (Champlain 60). Again, this doesnt show direct interaction with the divine, but does suggest that Champlain possesses a superhuman power associated with divinity. Underhill, like so many other European explorers and settlers, was deeply, negatively motivated by religion and found justification in it. Unlike Champlain, he does write as if God has provided him and his men with temporary guidance. When describing the battle, Underhill writes: giving volley of shot upon the Fort, so remarkable it appeared to us, as we could not but admire at the providence of God in it, that soldiers so inexpert in the use of their arms, should give so complete a volley, as though the finger of God had touched both match and flint (Underhill 76-77). Here it is suggested that the inexperienced soldiers under the command of Underhill were guided by God in battle, proven merely by the fact that the fighting was going so smoothly. Bartolome de las Casas plea to fix the situation in America most closely resembles a prayer or conversation with a god or goddess in an epic. In this case, the divine power is royalty rather than God, and the results are evident. Casas requests for better treatment of Natives are eventually granted, demonstrating the success he has within politics and the Church (Baym 39). A method not necessarily practiced in epic poetry but present in early American literature is the degradation of a group (mainly Native Americans) to the form of a sheep-like army that is

Martin 5 purposely and readily out to attack and kill and torture all. As stated earlier, the word, and variations of the word savage permeate most forms of early American literature. Authors mainly use this as a means of gaining and displaying moral power over all. Samuel de Champlain perfectly exemplifies this as he describes the violent celebration his fellow Native Americans hold after they defeat the Iroquois. Once again, graphic imagery is used to describe the savagery as he vividly tells about the sadistic torture ten or twelve Iroquois prisoners must go through. This includes dismemberment, burning, and forced cannibalism. Champlains building heroism continues with his presentation of morality, refusing to take part in this torture. In the narrative, he writes, I pointed out to them that we did not commit such cruelties, but that we killed people outright, and that if they wished me to shoot him with my harquebus, I should be glad to do so (Champlain 63). This creates a situation where, although he is siding with a group of Natives and claims to be appalled by the conditions Spain left the Americas in (Hessney 16), Champlain is also hypocritically adopting the ideas of the evil Spanish, who believe the Indians to be savages. In describing the hardships his men had to face in the Pequot War, Underhill uses Native Americans as another obstacle. Interestingly enough, he explicitly reasons that the mass killing of the Pequot is just, citing the barbarous slaying of thirty of his men, as well as a reference to Davids war, saying: when a people is grown to such a height of blood, and sin against God and man, and all confederates in the action, there he hath no respect to persons, but harrows them and saws them, and puts them to the sword, and the most terriblest death that may be: sometimes the Scripture declareth women and children must perish with their parents; sometimes the case alters: but we will not dispute it now (Underhill 78).

Martin 6 Once again, religion becomes a means of justifying actions, but also becomes a means for Underhill to obtain morality. As a leader of the battle against the Pequot, the morality portrayed in his writing could possibly be an attempt at gaining political power within the Colonies. Many other writings about the Americas during the age of exploration often mar the reputation of Native Americans because they are not Christians, often calling them God-less or (in de las Casass writing) devils. In de las Casass writing, however, Christians are directly blamed for the treachery experienced by the Natives in the Americas. For example, he writes things like, And the Christians attacked them with buffets and beatings, and, the most powerful ruler of the islands had to see his own wife raped by a Christian officer (de las Casas 40). Although de las Casas was a devout Christian himself, he seems to purposely describe those who are torturing the natives as Christians rather than Spaniards or officers or sailors. Unlike other authors of the period, he identifies a problem with people being Christian and how they improperly use God as an excuse to do what they please. In this sense, the word Christian seems to replace the word savage. Bartolome de las Casas had few other motives in turning the Christians into savages than to fix the situation in the Americas. It is easy to speculate that he did such a thing to gain political power within Spain and to rise up within the Church or even to gain land, but much of his career was about abolishing slavery and wickedness in the Americas his legitimacy is reflected not only in his writings, but in his actions. In 1520, de las Casas established a colony on the coast of modern day Venezuela where the natives would live freely. Unfortunately, it collapsed shortly thereafter (Bartolome de las Casas). The lack of Native American writing during the Age of Exploration has created a permanent place history in which only the thoughts, feelings, and viewpoints of the natives are

Martin 7 unknown. Not only were European writers able to dominate the Americas physically, but, now even hundreds of years later, they have dominated them culturally. John Underhill made one last intention clear in his writing. He gave himself honor. He states that he knows it is not commendable to write anything that would add to his honor (in other words, brag about himself), but he must do so anyways (Underhill 77). This perfectly summarizes the motives of all explorers and settlers of the new world. Through the graphic imagery they use in their writing and the degradation of the Natives to savages, these authors were successful in giving themselves honor and elevating themselves to fill the role of an epic hero.

Martin 8 Works Cited "1637 - The Pequot War." The Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Connecticut - 1637 The Pequot War. The Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Connecticut, 2011. Web. 02 Sept. 2013. Abrams, M.H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. New York: Holt, 1988. "Bartolome De Las Casas." Oregon State, n.d. Web. 2 Sept. 2013. <http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/philosophers/las_casas.html>. Baym, Nina, and Robert S. Levine. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. New York: W. W. Norton &, 2012. Print. Casas, Bartolome de las. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Eighth ed. Vol. A. New York: W. W. Norton &, 2012. Print. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Champlain, Samuel de. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Eighth ed. Vol. A. New York: W. W. Norton &, 2012. Print. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Hessney, Stuart A. "The Astonished Iroquois Never Knew What Hit Them-- French Explorer Samuel De Champlain." Military History 22.8 (2005): 16-21. Academic Search Complete. Web. 1 Sept. 2013. Underhill, John. "Newes from America." Digitalcommons.unl.edu. Ed. Paul Royster. University of Nebraska, 7 Aug. 2007. Web. 17 Sept. 2013. <http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1037&context=etas>. Underhill, John. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Eighth ed. Vol. A. New York: W. W. Norton &, 2012. Print. The Norton Anthology of American Literature.

Martin 9 Settlers and explorers during the Age of Exploration generally write about a good force and an evil force. What methods do they use in establishing the two? How do their own personal beliefs and lives influence the way they portray themselves and others?