It is very obvious that Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca, Cotton Mather, and Benjamin Franklin all feel similar ways towards the Native Americans. Which I inferred that they all like the Native Americans! In Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca’s story, he says, “After this hot argument with them, for they meant to make slaves of the Indians . . . We got so angry that we went off forgetting the many Turkish-shaped bows . . . etc.” He goes on to say that they were not at all happy with them trying to make slaves of the Native Americans! He was basically standing up for them! Cotton Mather’s was a little bit harder to tell if he liked, or disliked them.
After several times of reading back through his, I feel like I came to a safe conclusion that he did not like them. He starts out saying on page 322, “The New Englanders are a people of God settled in those, which were once the devil’s (talking about the Indians) territories; . . . that he should have the utmost parts of the earth for his possessions. Then on page 349, he says, “About nineteen or twenty Indians now led these away, with about half a score other English captives; . . . the savages would presently bury their hatchets in their brains, and leave their carcasses on the ground for birds and beasts to feed upon.”
Benjamin Franklin had a little twist in is title vs. the end of his story. He called it “Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America” and then goes on in the story to talk about how “polite” the savages are during their conversations. He says on page 464, “The politeness of these savage in conversation is indeed carried to excess since it does not permit them . . . asserted in their presence. I think that Benjamin Franklin is using this to turn it around on the White men at the end of the story. They are the actual “savages”. This can be inferred by just reading one of the last sentences on page 466. It says, “I go into a white man’s house at Albany, and ask for victuals and drink, they say, “Where is your money?” and if I have none they say, ‘Get out you Indian dog.’”
There is a slight difference between these three stories, Alvar is very straightforward and he stands up for the Native Americans, he definitely accepted their way of life from what I understood, because he basically lived with them and describe the ways of life and how they do things. Cotton Mather’s story is very hard to pick apart and see his true feelings about the Native Americans, but I do not think he cares for them. He doesn’t seem to accept their cultures and their way of life, you can tell just by the way that he talks in is stories. Benjamin Franklin turns it around on the white men and practically says that the white men are the true savages. Franklin seems to be very respectful of the Native Americans ways of life, in several parts he is always very accepting of their ways of life!
When reading the last three passages of this question, I had great difficulty trying to infer their attitudes towards the European colonists. I do believe that the Cherokee Women had good attitudes towards them, they sent a letter including some tobacco asking for friendship as it says on page 993, “I here send you a piece of the same Tobacco, and am in hopes you and your Beloved men will smoake it in Friendship– and I am glad in my heart that I am the mother of men that will smoak it in piece.” Since they are asking for a friendship, I can only assume that they are want to be friends with them.
The same with Tecumseh, they are also asking for them to unite with them. On page 995 it says, “If you do not unite with us, they will first destroy us, and then you will fall an easy prey to them. . .” I think they only want them as friends so they do not get destroyed. I honestly can not figure out if Pontiac is for or against the European Colonists, it just talks about how “A Delaware Indian” “conceived an eager desire to learn wisdom from the Master of Life. . .” and how “He told his purpose to no one” which is all located on page 989.
