Wheresoe'er a foot hath gone ;
Wheresoe'er the sun hath shone

On a league of peopled ground,
Little children may be found!

Blessings on them! they in me
Move a kind of sympathy,

With their wishes, hopes, and fears;
With their laughter, and their tears;

With their wonder, so intense,

And their small experience!

Little children, not alone

On the wide earth are ye known ;

'Mid its labours, and its cares,

'Mid its sufferings, and its snares. Free from sorrow, free from strife, In the world of love, and life,

Where no sinful thing hath trod : In the presence of your God, Spotless, blameless, glorified,

Little children, ye abide !

The above engraving represents a young Seminole Indian Prince, who, in 1836, at the early age of six years, was taken prisoner by the American forces, during

the prosecution of a most unjust and cruel war, which they were at that time waging against the Indians, in Florida, for the purpose of wresting from them their pleasant hunting places, and the country which they had always considered as their own.

His father was named Econchatti-mico, which means king of the red-hills. He had, however, resigned the command of his tribe to his younger brother, Oceola, (rising-sun,) who distinguished himself much by his bravery and humanity, during two years that he headed his tribe against the Americans; and who was at length most treacherously entrapped by his enemies, he having come uuder the protection of a flag of truce, for the purpose of making arrangements for the termination of the war, when he and his brave band having placed their rifles against a tree, they were surrounded by a band of armed soldiers, and thus fell powerless into the hands of their enemies. Poor Oceola, his wife and son, were thus taken prisoners, and a short time afterwards he died in prison,

Although Prince Econchatti was only five years old when first taken prisoner, he has not forgotten the scenes he then witnessed. After being taken prisoner with a party of Indians, the woman who had the care of him managed to make her escape during the night, but a short time afterwards he was re-captured. The following is the account, as told by himself. "He, with his father and some more Indians, were travelling, and came to a house which was deserted; in the garden

belonging to which, some sweet potatoes were growing: he had been carried on the back of a man that had some other children, who let him down outside the fence, and then clambered with the other men into the potatoe ground. They had none of them tasted food that morning. Almost immediately, they were alarmed by soldiers, and the Indians quickly returned over the fence, when Oceola saw his father beckoning him to come on; but the white people came so quickly, that he was obliged to join the rest in their flight.

"There was a rivulet which the Indians all leaped, and in attempting to follow them, he partly gained the opposite bank, but fell back into it; he got up and reached the other side, when he tripped against a vineroot, and again fell; on getting up and running forward, he could see none of his companions, except an old Indian, who did not appear to see him. He continued his flight; he was not yet frightened, as he fancied he was following his people. He continued along the road, and saw the tracks of baggage waggons, and picked up a musket ball; after this he saw no signs of the way his people had gone, and then he says he 'began not to like it much.' He soon after came in sight of a small village, or settlement of the whites; he therefore struck out of the road, and skulked along at some distance behind the bushes, so as to keep himself out of sight. He obtained the road again, and late in the afternoon came to a deserted house, adjoining which there was a peach-orchard. Having had no breakfast, nor eaten,

nor drunk during the whole day, he went in and satisfied his hunger with peaches; he took a few away with him in the front part of his dress. It was getting dark when he left the peach-orchard, and he had not gone far before he heard a noise; looking round him he saw soldiers at a distance; he then ran with all his might, the soldiers gallopped after him, he soon saw they were getting too near, he therefore struck off the road, and hid himself in the grass; he saw some of them come up and stop near his hiding place, but one of them had marked him, and rode directly to the place of his concealment, and calling out to the other men, leaped from his horse and took him by the arm; Oceola then began to cry thinking he was about to be killed, at the same time he offered one of his peaches, hoping that might save his life.

"The soldier took it and smiled, then returned it to him, and taking him up in his arms, mounted his horse and placed him behind him; they then proceeded and took him to a house, where they gave him a bowl of milk and a blanket, then went up stairs to bed; he drank the milk feeling very hungry, and then wrapped himself in the blanket before a good fire and fell asleep."

Such, my dear children, is the account given by Oceola of his capture by the whites; we are sure all our young readers will feel very sorry that he did not escape from his cruel pursuers, they will also, no doubt, feel much for his misfortune, in being thus torn from his parents; but when we assure them, that he is also a kind and