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THE HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN INDIANS; PARTICULARLY Thofe Nations adjoining to the M I S S I S I P P I, EAST and WEST FLORIDA, GEORGIA, SOUTH and NORTH CAROLINA, and VIRGINIA: containing An ACCOUNT of their Origin, Language, Manners, Religious and Civil Customs, Laws, Form of Government, Punishments, Conduct in War and Domestic Life, their.FIabits, Diet, Agriculture, Manufactures, Diseases and Method of Cure, and other Particulars, fuffi-cient to render it A COMPLETE INDIAN SYSTEM. « WITH Observations on former Hist.orians, the Condudl of our Colony Governors, Superintendents, Missionaries, &c. also AN APPENDIX, containing ion of the Floridas, and the Missisipri Lands, with their Produc-ons—The Benefits of colonifing Georgiana, and civilizing the Indians—■ And the way to make all the Colonies more valuable to the Mother Country. With a new Map of the Country referred to in the Hiftory. By JAMES ADAIR, Efquire, A Trader with the Indians, and Refident in their Country for Forty Years. LONDON: Panted for Edward and Charles Dillv, in the Poultry. MDCCLXXV. T o The Hon. Colonel George Craghan, George Galphin, and Lachlan M'Gilwray, e s clu ires.* Gentlemen, TO yon, with the greateft propriety the following fheets are addrefled. Your diftinguifhed abilities—your thorough acquaintance with the North American Indians language, rites, and cuftoms—your long application and fervices in the dangerous fphere of an Indian life, and your fnccefsful management of the fa-vage natives, are well known over all the continent of America. You often complained how the public had been impofed upon, either by fictitious and fabulous, or very fuperflcial and conjectural accounts of the Indian na- * The late Sir Wm. Johnfon, Baronet, was another of the Author's friends, and flood at the head of the MS. Dedication. A tions tions — and as often wimed me to devote my leifurc hours to the drawing up an Indian fyftem. You can witnefs, that what I now fend into the world, was eompofed more from a regard to your requeft, than any forward defire of my own, The profpecl of your patronage infpired me to write, and it is no fmall plea-fure and honour to me, that fuch competent judges of the feveral particulars now prefented to public view> expreffed themfelves with fo much approbation of the contents. You well know the uprightnefs of my intentions as to the information here given, and that truth hath been my grand ftandard. 1 may have erred in the application of the rites and cuftoms of the Indians to their origin and defcent—and may have drawn fome concludons, exceeding the given evidence—but candor will excufe the language of integrity: and when the genuine principles, cuftoms, &c. of the Indians are known, it will be eaner afterwards, for perfons of folid learning, and free from fecular cares, to trace their origin, clear up the remaining difficulties, and produce a more perfect: hiftory. Should my performance be in the leaft degree inftru-mental toipromote an accurate inveftigation and knowledge 06 of the American Indians— their civilization—and the happy fettlement of the fertile lands around them, I {hall rejoice; and the public will be greatly obliged to you, as your requeft incited to it; and to you I am alfo indebted for many interefting particulars, and valuable obfervations. I embrace this opportunity, of paying a public tefli-mony of my gratitude, for your many favours to me. Permit me alfo to celebrate your public fpirit — your zealous and faithful fervice of your country — your focial and domeftic virtues, &c. which have endeared you to all your acquaintance, and to all who have heard your nameo, and make you more illu- ftrious, than can any high founding titles. All who know you, will readily acquit me of fervility and flattery, in this addrefs. Dedications founded on thefe motives, are the difgrace of literature, and an infult to common fenfe. There are too many inftances of this proftitution in Great Britain, for it to be fuffered in America. Numbers of high feated patrons are praifed for their divine wifdom and godlike virtues, and yet the whole empire is difcontented, and America in ftrong convulfions. May you long enjoy your ufual calm and profperity! that fo the widow, the fatherlefs, and the ftranger may A z always always joyfully return (as in paft years) from your hof-pitable houfes—while this Dedication ftands as a fmali proof of that (incere attachment with which I am> Gentlemen, Your moft obedient, Humble Servant, JAMES ADAIR;. F R E- PREFACE. TH E following hiftory, and obfervattons, are the production* of one who hath been chiefly engaged in an Indian life ever fince the year 1735 : and moil: of the pages were written among, our old friendly Chikkafah, with whom. I fir ft traded in the year 1744. The fubj eels are interefting, as well as amuiing ; but never: was a literary, work.begun and carried on with more disadvantages.. The author was feparated by his fituation,. from the cojiveriation, of the learned, and from any libraries — Frequently interrupted alfo by bufmefs, and obliged to conceal'■ his papers, through the natural jealoufy of the natives; the traders letters of correfpond-ence always excited their fufpicions, and often gave offence.—Another difficulty I had to encounter, was the fecrecy and clofenefs of the Indians as to their own affairs, and their prying difpofition into thofe of others—fo that there is no pombility of retirement among them; A view of the difadvantages of my fituation, made me reluctant to comply with the earneft and repeated folicitations of many worr-thy friends, to give the public an account of the Indian nations with whom I had long refided, was fo intimately connected, and* of wbonv fcarcely any thing had yet been publimed but romance, and a mafs of fiction. My friends at laft prevailed, and on peru*-fing the meets, they wrere pleafed to approve the contents, as conveying true information, and general entertainment. Having no ambition to appear in the world asan author,, and.knowing that my hiflory differed elTentially from all former publications of the kind, I firft refolVed to fupprefs my name) but my friends advifed me to own the work, and' thus it is tendered to the public in the prefent form.. 1 The PREFACE. The performance, hath tfoubtlefs imperfections, humanum eft trrare. Some readers may think, there is too much of what relates to myfelf, and of the adventures of fmall parties among the Indians and traders. But minute circumftances are often of great confequence, efpecially in difcovering the defcent and genius of a people—describing their manners and cuifoms—and giving proper information to rulers at a diltance. I thought it better to be efteemed prolix, than to omit any thing that might be ufeful on thefe points. Some repetitions, which occur, were neceilary—The hiftory of the feveral Indian nations being fo much intermixed with each other, and their cuftoms fo nearly alike. One great advantage my readers will here have I fat down to draw the Indians on the fpot—had them many years (landing before me,—and lived with them as a friend and brother. My intentions were pure when I wrote, truth hath been my ftandard, and I have no finiiler or mercenary views in publifiling. With inexpref-fible concern I read the feveral imperfect and fabulous accounts of the Indians, already given to the world—Fiction and conjecture have no place in the following pages. The public may depend on the fidelity of the author, and that his defcriptions are genuine, though perhaps not fo polifhed and romantic as other Indian hifto-ries and accounts, they may have feen. My grand objects, were to give the Literati proper and good materials for tracing the origin of the American Indians—and to incite the higher powers zealoufly to promote the belt intereits of the Britifh colonies, and of the mother country. For whofe greatnefa and Jiappinefs, I have the moll: ardent defires. The whole of the work is refpectully fubmitted to the candor and judgment of the impartial Public, CON CONTENTS A Hiftory of the North American Indians, their cuftoms, &c. Obfervations on their colour, fhape, temper, end drefs. Page r Obfervations on the origin and defcent of the Indians — p. i o Obfervations, and arguments, in proof of the American Indians being defended* from the Jews. Argument I. Their divi/ion into tribes — — p. 15 II. Their "juorftjip of Jehovah — — p. 18 III. Their notions of a theocracy — — p. 32 IV. Their belief in the miniftration of angels — p. 35 V. Their language and dialetls — — P* 37 VI. Their manner of counting time — «—— p. 74- VII. Their prophets and high priefts — p. Ito VIII. Their fefti-vals, fafts, and religious rites -- p. 94 IX. Their daify facrifice — kr- p. 115, X. Their ablutions and anointings — —. p. 12a XI. Their laws of uncleannefs — — p. 123 XII. «97tf/r abftinence from unclean things — — p. 13O' XIII. Their marriages, divorces, and puniftment of adultery p. '138 XIV. Their feveral punifhments ~— — p. 146 XV. Their cities of refuge •— — p. 158 XVI. Their purifications, and ceremonies preparatory to war p. 159 XVII. Their ornaments — — p. 169 XVIII. Their manner of curing the fick — — P- !72 XIX. Their burial of the dead — — P- J77 XX. Their mourning for their dead — — p. 186 XXI. Their raifing feed to a deceafed brother — p. 189 XXII. Their choice of names adapted to their circumftances and the times^ — — — p. 191 XXIII. Their own traditions, the accounts of cur Engliftj writers, and the teftimonies which the Spanijh and other authors have given, toncerning the primitive inhabitants of Peru and Mexico, CONTENTS. .An Account of the Katahba, Cheerake, Mufkoghe or Creeks, Choktah, and Chikkafah Nations: with occafwnal remarks on their haws, and the Con-duel of our Governors, Superintendents, MrJ/tonaries, &c. Account of the Katahba Nation, &c. — —■ p. 223 Account of the Cheerake Nation, &c. <— — p. 226 Account of the Mufkohge Nation, Esta — — p. 257 Account of the Choktah Nation, &c. — — p. 282 Account of the Chikkafah Nation, &c. — — p. 352 General Obfervations on the North-American Indians ; difplaying their Love to their Country—Their Martial Spirit—Their Caution in War—Method of Fighting—Barbarity to their Captives—Injlances of their Fortitude and Magnanimity in the view of Death — Their Reward of public Services —-The manner of Crowning their Warriors after Vitlory—Their Games—Method of Fijhing, and of Building—Their Utenfils and Manufactures—Conduct in Domejtic Life—Their Laws, Form of Government, &c. &c. p. 375 APPENDIX. Containing a Defcription of the Floridas, and the Mijftfippi Lands, with their Traductions—The Benefits of colonifing Georgiana, and civilizing the Indians—And the way to make all the Colonies more valuable to the Mother Country, p. 451 A HIS- WlelmalkSpund iS.'ftrrvn Scund M baltse G U L F O F M YcltlUI.Wo' E X I C O >JAugrustin A Map of the AMERICAN INDIAN NAT! ONS , ud/oifung to ths MlSSESIITl , VyfcSTtfEAST FLORIDA, GEORGIA, (hrles B\av \13 _tintLffi Statute Miks 6g to aDegrCt-_ JO 20 £0 I0O JJO -200 <2£0 \ •B""> P""1'—inw-n .....run f——\ I 'An**** s.£?'N. Carolina, VlRGlTM lA.^C . reV/zu' Florida 7* —pmnmii-bluc--nu.'o 35 A HISTORY of the NORTH-AMERICAN INDIANS, THEIR CUSTOMS, &c. Obfervations on the colour^ fljape^ temper ^ and drefs of the Indians of America. t ■ ^HE Indians are of a copper or red-clay colour—and they delight in every thing, which they imagine may promote and increafe it: accordingly, they paint their faces with vermilion, as the heft and moft beautiful ingredient. If we confider the common laws of nature and providence, we fhall not be furprized at this cuftom; for every thing loves beft its own likenefs and place in the creation, and is difpofed to ridicule its oppofite. If a deformed fon of burning Africa, was to paint the devil, he would not do it in black colours, nor delineate him with a magged coarfe woolly head, nor with thick lips, a Ihort flat nofe, or clumfy feet, like thofe of a bear: his devil would reprefent one of a different nation or people. But was he to draw an agreeable picture,— according to the African tafte, he would daub it all over with footy black. All the Indians are fo ftrongly attached to, and prejudiced in favour of, their own colour, that they think as meanly of the whites, as we poflibly can do of them. The Englifh traders among them, experience much of it, and are often very glad to be allowed to pafs mutter with the Indian chieftains, as fellow-brethren B of of the human fpecies. One inftance will fufficiently fhew in what flattering glaffes they view themfelves. Some time paft, a large body of the Englifh Indian traders, on their way to the Choktah country, were efcorted by a body of Creek and Choktah warriors. The Creeks having a particular friendfhip for fome of the traders, who had treated.them pretty liberally, took this opportunity to chide the Choktahs, before the traders, in a fmart though friendly way, for not allowing to the Englifh the name of human creatures:—~for the general name they give us in their moft favourable and prancing it away, in their fweltery town-houfes, or fuppofed fynhe-dria, around the reputed holy fire. In a fweating condition, they will thus incommode themfelves, frequently, for a whole Dight, on the fame principle of pride, that the grave Spaniard's winter cloak mufl fweat him in fum-mer. They have a great averfion to the wearing of breeches •, for to that cuf-tom, they affix the idea of helpleffnefs, and effeminacy. I know a German of thirty years Handing, chiefly among the Chikkafah Indians, who' becaufe he kept up his breeches with a narrow piece of cloth that reached acrofs his flioulders, is diftinguifhed by them, as are all his countrymen, by the defpicable appellative, Kifh-Kifh Tarakfhe, or Tied Arfe.—They eflecm the Englifh much more than the Germans, becaufe our limbs, they fay, are lefs reflrained by our apparel from manly exercife, than theirs: The Indian women alfo difcreetly obferve, that, as all their men fit down to make y water*, water, the ugly breeches would exceedingly incommode them and that, if they were allowed to wear breeches, it would portend no good to their country : however, they add, mould they ever be fo unlucky, as to have that pinching cuflom introduced among them, the Englifh breeches would beft fuit their own female pofture on that occafion •, but that it would be exceedingly troublefome either way. The men wear a flip of cloth, about a quarter of an ell wide, and an ell and an half long, in the lieu of breeches ; which they put between their legs, and tye round their haunches, with a convenient broad bandage. The women, fince the time we firit traded with them, wrap a fathom of the half breadth of Stroud cloth round their waift, and tie it with a leathern belt, which is commonly covered with brafs runners or buckles : but this fort of loofe petticoat, reaches only to their hams, in order to fhew their exquifitely fine proportioned limbs. They make their fhoes for common ufe, out of the fkins of the bear and a fnake : and they frequently fay, they have not Seente Soolifh, the fnake's tongue •, the meaning of which, is very analogous to a name the Hebrews gave to a deceitful perfon •, which probably proceeded from a traditional knowledge of Eve's being beguiled by the tempter, in that fhape; for the Indians never affix any bad idea to the prefent reptile fraternity, except that of poifonous teeth: and they never ufe any fuch metaphor, as that of a fnake's teeth. Some have fuppofed the Americans to be defcended from the Chimfe :. but neither their religion, laws, cuftoms, &c, agree in the leaft with thofe of the Chinefe : which Sufficiently proves, they are not of that line. Befides, as our beft fhips now are almoft half a year in failing to China, or from thence to Europe ; it is very unlikely they fhoukl attempt fuch dangerous difcoveries, in early time, with their (fuppofed) fmall veffels, againft rapid currents, and in dark and fickly monfoons; especially, as it is very probable they were unacquainted with the ufe of the load-ftone to direct their courSe. China is above eight thoufand miles diftant from the American continent, which is twice as far as acrofs the Atlantic ocean.—And, we are not informed by any antient. writer,, of their maritime fkill, or fo much as any inclination that way, befides 7 fmall fmall coafting voyages.—The winds blow likeWife, with little variation, from eaft to weft, within the latitudes of thirty 'and odd, north and fouth, and therefore they could not drive them on the American coaft, it lying directly contrary to fuch a courfe. 7JSfTi ii .'wirlw to cnoiJsn djiw bt?jfti£t>o>s yln^uenoftj t>fn tj^sff! "Mili Neither could perfons fail to America, from the north, by the way of Tartary, or ancient Scythia ; that, from its fituation, never was, or can be, a'maritime power, and it is utterly impraclicable for any to come to America, by fea, from that quarter. Befides, the remaining traces of their religious ceremonies, and civil and martial cuftoms, are quite oppofite to the like veftiges of the old Scythians. Nor, even in the moderate northern climates, is to be feen the leaft veftige of any ancient (lately buildings, or of any thick fettlcments, as are faid to remain in the lefs healthy regions of Peru and Mexico. Several of the Indian nations affure us they croffed the MifliSippi, before they made their prefent northern Settlements ; which, connected with the former arguments, will Sufficiently explode that weak opinion, of the American Aborigines being lineally defcended from the Tartars, or ancient Scythians. It is a very difficult thing to dived ourfelves, not to fay, other perfons, of prejudices and favourite opinions and I expect to be cenfured by fome, for oppofing commonly received fentiments, or for meddling with a difpute agitated among the learned ever fince the firft difcovery of America. But, Truth is my object: and I hope to offer fome things, which, if they do not fully folve the problem, may lead the way, and enable others, poffef-fing Stronger judgment, more learning, and more IciSure, to accomplish it. As I before fuggefted, where we have not the light of hiftory, or records, to guide us througlwhe dark maze of antiquity, we muft endeavour to find it out by probable arguments; and in fuch Subjects of enquiry, where no material objections can be raifed againft probability, it is ftrongly conclusive of the truth, and nearly gives the thing fought for. From the mod exact obfervations I could make in the long time I traded among the Indian Americans, I was forced to believe them lineally defcended from the Ifraelites, either while they were a maritime power, or or foon after the general captivity ; the latter however is the molt pro» bable. This defcent, I fhall endeavour to prove from their religious rites, civil and martial cuftoms, their marriages, funeral ceremonies, manners, language, traditions, and a variety of particulars.—Which will at the fame time make the reader thoroughly acquainted with nations, of which it may be faid to this day, very little have been known. Obfervations, Ohfervattons^ and argument$^ in proof of the American Indians being defcended from the yews. ANumber of particulars prefent themfelves in favour of a Jewifb defcent. But to form a true judgment, and draw a folid conclufion, the following arguments muft not be partially feparated. Let them be distinctly confidered—then unite them together, and view their force collectively. ARGUMENT I. As the Israelites were divided into Trices, and had chiefs over them, fo the Indians divide themfelves : each tribe forms a little community within the nation—And as the nation hath its particular Symbol, So hath each tribe the badge from which it is denominated. The fachem of each tribe, is a neceffary party in conveyances and treaties, to which he affixes the mark of his tribe, as a corporation with us doth their public feal *.—If we go from nation to nation among them, we fhall not find one, who doth not lineally diftinguifh himfelf by his reSpective family. The genealogical names which they affume, are derived, either from the names of thoSe animals, whereof the cherubim are faid in revelation, to be compounded •, or from fuch creatures as are moft familiar to them. They, have the families of the tagk, ■panther, tyger, and buffalo ; the family of the bear, deer, racoon, tortoife, fnake, fijh ; and, likewiSe, of the wind. The laft, if not derived from the appearance of the divine glory, as expreffed by the prophet Ezekiel, may * Many of the ancient heathens followed the Jewifli cuflom of dividing themfelves into tribes, or families. The city of Athens was divided into ten parts, or tribes, and which the Greeks called Pbule, a tribe. They named each of the heads that prefided over them, Archegos, Archiphulogos, &c. And writers inform us, that the Eaft-Indian pagans „ have to this day tribes, or calls; and that each cafl chufes a head to maintain its privileges, to promote a ftricl obfervance of their laws, and to take care that every thing be managed, with proper order. The ancient heathens mimicked a great deal of the Jewifli ceremonial law. "be of Tyrian extraction. We are told in the fragment of Sanchoniathon, that the Tyrians worfhipped fire, and the serial wind, as gods and that Ufous, the Ton of Hypfcuranias, built a facred pillar to each of them : fo that, if it is not of Ifraelitifh extraction, it may be derived from the Tyrians their neighbours—as may, likewife, the appellative name of fijh ; especially, as the Indians, fometimes, invoke the eagle, and the fifh, when they are curing their fick. The Tyrians were the people, in early times, who, above all others, enriched themfelves in the natural element of the fifh. The Indians, however, bear no religious refpect to the animals from which they derive the names of their tribes, but will kill any of the fpecies, when opportunity ferves. The wolf indeed, feveral of them do not care to meddle with, believing it unlucky to kill them •, which is the fole reafon that few of the Indians fhoot at that creature, through a notion of (polling their guns. Confidering the proximity of Tyre to Egypt, probably this might be a cuflom of Egyptian extraction; though, at the fame time, they are fo far from efleeming it a deity, they reckon it the mod abominable quadruped of the whole creation. There is no tribe, or individual, among them, however, called by the name opojfum *, which is with the Cheerake ftiled feeqna ; and with the Chikkafah and Choktah Indians, Jhookka, fynonymous with that of a hog. This may be more material than at fird appears, as our natural hidories tell us, that the opoffum is common in other parts of the world. Several of the old Indians affure us, they formerly reckoned it as filthy uneatable an animal, as a hog although they confefs, and we know by long obfervation, that, from the time our traders fettled among them, they are every year more corrupt in their morals; not only in this indance of eating an impure animal, but in many other religious cuftoms of their forefathers. When we confider the various revolutions thefe unlettered favages are likely to have undergone, among themfslves, through a long-forgotten #meafure of time and that, probably, they have been above twenty centuries, without the ufe of letters to convey down their traditions, it cannot be reafonably expected they Should ftill retain the identical names of * A creature that hath a head like a hog, and a tail like a rat. their Their divifion into tribes andfamilies. l7 their primo-genial tribes. Their main cuftoms corresponding with thofe of the Israelites, Sufficiently clears the Subject.. Befides, as hath been hinted, they call fome of their tribes by the names of the cherubimicaJ figures, that were carried on the four principal Standards of Ifrael. I have obferved with much inward fatisfaction, the community of goods that prevailed among them, after the patriarchal manner, and that of the primitive chriftians; efpecially with thofe of their own tribe. Though they are become exceedingly corrupt, in moft of their ancient commendable qualities, yet they are fo hoSpitable, kind-hearted, and free, that they would Share with thofe of their own tribe, the laft part of their provifions, even to a Single ear of corn ; and to others, if they called when they were eatings for they have no Stated meal-time. An open generous temper is a Standing virtue among them ; to be narrow-hearted, especially to thofe in want, or to any of their own family, is accounted a great crime, and to reflect Scandal on the reft of the tribe. Such wretched mifers they brand with bad characters, and wifh them the fate of Prometheus, to have an eagle or vulture faftened to their liver : or of Tantalus, Starving in the midft of plenty, without being able to ufe it. The Cheerake Indians have a pointed proverbial expreffion, to the fame effect—Sinnawah nd wora; " The great hawk is at home." However, it is a very rare thing to find any of them of a narrow temper: and though they do not keep one promif-cuous common Stock, yet it is to the very fame effect j for every one has his own family, or tribe : and, when one of them is fpeaking, either of the individuals, or habitations, of any of his tribe, he fays, " He is of my houfe \n or, " It is my houfe." Thus, when King David prayed that the divine wrath might only fall on his houfe, he might mean the tribe of Judah, as well as his own particular family, exclusive of the aggregate body of Ifrael. When the Indians are travelling in their own country, they enquire for a houfe of their own tribe •, and if there be any, they go to it, and are kindly received, though they never law the pcrfons before—they eat, drink, and regale themfelves, with as much freedom, as at their own tables •, which is the folid ground covered with a bear-Skin. It is their ufual cuftom to carry nothing along with them in their journies but a looking-glafs, and red paint, hung to their back — their gun and (hot pouch—or bow and quiver D full full of barbed arrows ; and, frequently, both gun and bow : for as they arc generally in a ftate of war againft each other, they are obliged, as foon as able, to carry thole arms of defence. Every town has a ftate-houfe, or fynedrion, as the Jewiifi fanhedrim, where, almoft every night, the head men convene about public bufincfs; or the town's-people to feaft, fing, dance, and rejoice, in the divine prefence, as will fully be defcribed hereafter. And if a itranger calls there, he is treated with the greateft civility and hearty kindnefs —he is fure to find plenty of their fimple home fare, and a large cane-bed covered with the foftened fkins of bears, or buffaloes,, to fleep on. But, when his lineage is known to the people, (by a ftatcd cuftom, they are flow in greeting one another) his relation, if he has any there, ad-dreffes him in a familiar way, invites him home, and treats him as his kinl-man. When a warrior dies a natural death, (which feldom happens) the war-drums, mufical instruments, and all other kinds of diverfion, are laid afide for the fpace of three days and nights. In this time of mournincr for the dead, I have known fome of the frolickfome young fparks to afk the name of the deceafed perfon's tribe; and once, being told it was a racoon, (the genealogical name of the family) one of them ScofHngly replied, " then let us away to another town, and cheer ourfelves with thofe who have no reafon to weep for why fhoiild we make our hearts weigh heavy for an ugly, dead racoon ?" But notwithstanding they are commonly negligent of any other tribe but their own, they regard their own particular lineal defcent, in as ftricr. a, manner as did the Hebrew nation. ARGUMENT II. By a ftrict, permanent, divine precept, the Hebrew nation were ordered to worfhip at Jerufalem, Jehovah the true and living God, and who by the Indians is (tiled Tohewah; which the feventy-two interpreters, either from ignorance or fuperftition, have tranflated Adonai ; and is the very fame as the Greek Kurios, Signifying Sir, Lord, or Matter; which is commonly applied to earthly potentates, without the leaft Signification of, or relation to, that moft great and awful name, which defcribes the divine eiffence, who naturally and Their notions cf a Deity corrcfpond. 19 and ncceffarily exifts of himfelf, without beginning or end. The ancient heathens, it is well known, worshipped a plurality of gods — Gods which they formed to themfelves, according to their own liking, as various as the countries they inhabited, and as numerous, with fome, as the days of the year. But thefe Indian Americans pay their religious devoir to Loak-Ifltiohoolio-Aba, M the great, beneficent, fupreme, holy fpirit of fire," who refides (as they think) above the clouds, and on earth alfo with unpolluted people. He is with them the fole author of warmth, light, and of all animal and vegetable life. They do not pay the leaft perceivable adoration to any images, or to dead perfons; neither to the celeftial luminaries, nor evil fpirits, nor any created being whatfoever. They are utter ftrangers to all the geftures practifed by the pagans in their religious rites. They kifs no idols; nor, if they were placed out of their reach, would they kifs their hands, in token of reverence and a willing obedience. The ceremonies of the Indians in their religious worfhip, are more after the Mofaic inftitution, than of pagan imitation: which could not be, if the majority of the old natives were of heathenifh defcent ; for all bigots and enthtiiiafts will fight to death for the very fhadow of their fuperftitious worfhip, when they have even loft all the fubftance. There yet remain fo many marks, as to enable us to trace the Hebrew extraction and rites, through all the various nations of Indians; and we may with a great deal of probability conclude, that, if any heathens accompanied them to the American world, or were fettled in it before them, they became profelytes of juftice, and their pagan rites and cuftoms were fwallowed up in the Jewifli. To illuftrate the general fubjecr, I iliall give the Indian opinion of fome of the heathen gods, contrafted with that of the pagan. The American Indians do not believe the Sun to be any bigger than it appears to the naked eye. Converfing with the Chikkafah archi-magus, or high-prieft, about that luminary, he told me, " it might poffibly be as broad and round as his winter-houfe ; but he thought it could not well exceed it." We cannot be furprized at the ftupidity of the Americans in this respect, when we confider the grofs ignorance which now prevails among the general part of the Jews, not only of the whole fyftem of nature, but of the effential meaning of their own religious ceremonies, received from the Divine Majcfty. D 2 —And —And alfo when we reflect, that the very learned, and mod polite of the ancient Romans, believed (not by any new-invented mythology of their own) that the fun was drawn round the earth in a chariot. Their philofophic fy-ftem was not very diffimilar to that of the wild Americans; for Cicero tells us, Epicurus thought the fun to be lefs than it appeared to the eye. And Lucretius fays, Tantillus ilk fol, " a diminutive thing.'* And, if the Ifrael-kes had not at one time thought the fun a portable god, they would not have thought of a chariot for it. This they derived from the neighbouring heathen ; for we are told, that they had an houfe of the fun, where they danced in honour of him, in circuits, and had confecrated fpherical figures and that they, like wife, built a temple to it; for " they purified and fancti fied themfelves in the gardens, behind the houfe, or temple of Achad." I:i If a. xvii. 8, we find they had fun-images, which the Hebrews called chum-manim, made to reprefent the fun, or for the honour and worfhip of it: and the Egyptians met yearly to worfhip in the temple of Beth-Shemefh, a houfe dedicated to the fun. Moft part of the old heathens adored all the celeftial orbs, efpecially the fun-, probably they firft imagined its enlivening rays immediately iffued from the holy fire, light, and fpirit, who either refided in, or was the identical fun. That idolatrous ceremony of the Jews, Jofiah utterly abolifhcd about 640 years before our chriftian asra. The facred text fays, " He took away the horfes, which the kings of Judah had given to the fun, and he burned the chariots of the fun with fire." At Rhodes, a neighbouring ifland to Judaea, they confecrated chariots to the fun, on acr count of his glorious fplendour and benign qualities. Macrobius tells us, that the Affyrians worfhipped Adad, or Achad, an idol of the fun •, and Strabo acquaints us, the Arabians paid divine homage to the fun, &c. But the Indian Americans pay only a civil regard to the fun: and the more intelligent fort of them believe, that all the luminaries of the heavens are moved by the ftrong fixt laws of the great Author of nature. In 2 Kings xvii. 30, we read that the men of Babylon built Succoth-Be-noth, " tents for young women ;" having confecrated a temple to Venus, they fixed tents round it, where young women proftituted themfelves in honour of the goddefs. Herodotus, and other authors, are alfo fufBcient witneffes on this point. Now, were the Amcrcains originally heathens, or not of Ifrael, when they wandered there from captivity, in queft of 7 liberty,. Their notions of a Deity SJJimilar to the heathens. 11 liberty, or on any other accidental account, that vicious precedent was fi> well calculated for America, where every place was a thick arbour, it is very improbable they fhould have discontinued it: But they are the very reverie. To commit fuch acts of pollution, while they are performing any of their rcli gious ceremonies, is deemed fo provoking an impiety, as to occafion even the fuppofed finner to be excluded from all religious communion with the reft of the people. Or even was a man known to have gone in to his own wife, during the time of their faftings, purifications, • &c. he would alfo be feparated from them. There is this wide difference between the impure and obfeene religious ceremonies of the ancient heathens, and the yet penal, and Strict purity of the natives of America. The heathens chofe fuch gods, as were moft Suitable to their inclination?, and the fituation of their country. The warlike Greeks and Romans wor-fhipped Mars the god of war •, and the favage and more bloody Scythians deified the Sword. The neighbouring heathens round Judrea, each built a temple to the SuppoSed god that prcSided over their land. Rimmon, was the Syrian god of pomegranates : and the Philistines, likewife, ereclcd a. temple to Dagon, who had firft taught them the ufe of wheat ■, which the Greeks and Romans changed into Ceres, the goddefs of corn, from the Hebrew, Geres, which Signifies grain. But the red Americans firmly believe, that their war-captains, and their reputed prophets, gain fucceis over their enemies, and bring on feafonable rains, by the immediate reflection of the divine fire, co-operating with them. "We are informed by Cicero, that the maritime Sidonians adored fijhes and by the fragment of Sanchoniathon, that the Tyrians worshipped the element of fire, and the serial wind, as gods:—probably having forgotten that the firft and laft names of the three celeflial cherubic emblems, only typified the deity. Ancient hiftory informs us, that Zoroafter, who lived An. M. 3480, made light the emblem of good, and darknefs the Symbol of evil — he taught an abhorrence of images, and inftructcd his pupils to worfhip God, under the figurative likenefs of fire: but he affertcd two con-. trary original principles; the one of good, and the other of evil. He allowed no temples, but enjoined facrificing in the open air, and on the top of an hill. The ancient Perfians kept up their reputed holy fire, without Suffering it to be extinguished ; which their pretended fucceffors obferve with the ftricteft ftriclcft devotion, and affirm it has been burning, without the leaft inter-million, feveral thoufand years. But the Indian Americans are fo far from the idolatry of the Sidonians, that they efteem fifh only as they are ufeful to the fupport of human life; though one of their tribes is called the fifh : — they are fo far from paying any religious worfhip to the aerial wind, like the Tyrians, that they often call the bleak north-wind, explicatively, very evil, and accurfed •, which they probably, would not fay, if they derived the great efteem they now have for the divine fire, from the aforefaid idolatrous nations: neither would they wilfully extinguish their old fire, before the annual facrifice is offered up, if, like the former heathens, they paid religious worfhip to the elementary fire; for no Society of people would kill their own gods, unlefs the papifts, who go farther, even to eat him. The Indians efteem the old year's fire, as . molt dangerous pollution, regarding only the fuppofed holy fire, which the archi-magus annually renews for the people. ■ They pay no religious worfhip to flocks, or ilones, after the manner of the old eaftern pagans; neither do they worfhip any kind of images whatsoever. And it deferves our notice, in a very particular manner, to invalidate the idle dreams of the jefuitical fry of South-America, that none of ail the various nations, from Hudfon's Bay to the Miffifippi, has ever been known, by our trading people, to attempt to make any image of the great Divine Being, whom they worfhip. This is confonant to the Jewifli obfervance of the fecond commandment, and directly contrary to the ufage of all the ancient heathen world, who made corporeal reprefentations of their deities — and their conduct, is a reproach to many reputed chriftian temples, which are littered round with a crowd of ridiculous figures to repreSent God, fpurious angels, pretended faints, and notable villains. The facred penmen, and prophane writers, affure us that the ancient heathens had lafcivious gods, particularly r'jbBD, 2 Chron.xv. 16. which was the abominable Priapus. But I never heard that any of our North-American Indians had images of any kind. There is a carved human llatue of wood, to which, however, they pay no religious homage : It belongs to the head war-town of the upper Mufkohge country, and feems to have been originally designed to perpetuate the memory of fome diflinguifhed hero, who deferved well of his country ; for, when their cujfeena, or bitter, black drink is about to 7 be Their averjion to images. 23 be drank in the fynedrion, they frequently, on common occafions, will bring it there, and honour it with the firft conch-fhell-full, by the hand of the chief religious attendant: and then they return it to its former place. It is ob-fervable, that the fame beloved waiter, or holy attendant, and his co adjutant, equally obferve the fame ceremony to every perfon of reputed merit, in that quadrangular place. When I paft that way, circumftances did not allow me to view this Singular figure; but I am allured by feveral of the traders, who have frequently Seen it, that the carving is modefi, and very neatly finished, not unworthy of a modern civilized artift. As no body of people we are acquainted with, have, in general, fo great a fhare or ftrong natural parts as thofe Savages, we may with a great deal of probability fup-pofe, that their tradition of the fecond commandment, prevented them from' having one, not to fay the fame plentiful variety of images, or idols, as have the popifh countries. Notwithstanding they are all degenerating apace, on account of their great inteicourfe with foreigners, and other concurring caufes •, I well remember, that, in the year 1746, one of the upper towns of the aforeSaid Mufkohge, was fo exceedingly exafperated againSt Some of our Chikkafah traders, for having, when in their cups, forcibly viewed the nakednefs of one of their women, (who was reputed to be an hermaphrodite) that they were on the point of putting them to death, according to one of their old laws againfl: crimes of that kind.—But feveral of us, affifted by fome of the Koofah town, refcued them from their jult demerit. Connecting together thefe particulars, we can fcarcely defire a Stronger proof, that they have not been idolaters, fince they firft came to America •, much lefs, that they erected, and worChipped any fuch lafcivious and obfcene idols, as the heathens above recited. The Sidonians and Philiftines worfhipped Afhtaroth, in the figure of the celejlial luminaries •, or, according to others, in the form of a Jheep : but the Americans pay the former, only, a civil regard, becaufe of the beneficial, influence with which the deity hath impreffed them. And they reckon Jheep as defpicable and helplefs, and apply the name to pcrfons in that predicament, although a ram was the animal emblem of power, with the ancient eaftern heathens. The Indians fometimes call a nafty fellow, Choakphe kujfooma^ kujfooma, " a (linking fheep," and " a goat." And yet a goat was one of the Egyptian deities as likewife were all the creatures that bore wool on which account, the (acred writers frequently term idols, " the hairy." The defpicable idea which the Indians affix to the fpecies, fliews they neither ufe it as a divine fymbol, nor have a defire of being named Dorcas, which, with the Hebrews, is a proper name, expreflive of a wild fhe goat. I 111al 1 Subjoin here, with regard to Afhtaroth, or Aftarte, that though the ancients believed their deities to be immortal, yet they made to themfelves both male and female gods, and, by that means, Aftarte, and others, are of the fsemi-nine gender. Trifmegiftus too, and the Platonics, affirmed there was deus maiculo-fremineus though different fexes were needful for the procreation of human beings. Inftead of confulting fuch as the heathen oracles — or theTeraphim — the Dii Penates—or Dii Lares, of the ancients, concerning future contingencies, the Indians only pretend to divine from their dreams ■, which may proceed from the tradition they Mill retain of the knowledge their anceftors obtained from heaven, in vifions of the night, Job xxxiii. " God fpcaketh once, yea twice, yet man pcrceiveth it not. In a dream, in a vifion of the night, when deep fleep falleth upon men, in flumberings upon the bed, then he openeth the ears of men, and fealeth their instruction." When we confuler how well (locked with gods, all the neighbouring nations of Judoea were; efpecially the maritime powers, fuch as Tyre and Sidon, Carthage and Egypt, which continually brought home foreign gods, and entered them into their own Palladia; and that thefe Americans are utterly ignorant both of the gods and their worfhip, it proves, with fufficient evidence, that the gentlemen, who trace them from either of thofe ftatcs, only perplex themfelves in wild theory, without entering into the merits of the queftion. As the hull was the firft terreftrial cherubic emblem, denoting fire, the ancient Egyptians, in length of time, worfhipped Apis, Serapis, or Ofiris, under the form of an ox but, when he grew old, they drowned him, and lamented his death in a mourning habit •, which occasioned a philofopher thus to jeft them, Si Dii funt, cur plangitis ? Si mortui, cur adoratis ? " If they be gods, why do you weep for them ? And, if they are dead, why do you worfhip them ?" A bull, ox, cow, or calf, was the favourite deity of the They fay no religious veneration to the dead. the ancient idolaters. Even when Yohewah was conducting Ifrael in the wildernefs, Aaron was forced to allow them a golden calf, according to the ufage of the Egyptians: and at the defection of the ten tribes, they worshipped before the emblematical images of two calves, through the policy of Jeroboam. The Troglodites ufed to Strangle their aged, with a cow's tail : and fome of the Ealt-Indians are laid to fancy they fhall be happy, by holding a cow's tail in their hand when dying : others imagine the Ganges to wafh away all their crimes and pollution. The Indian Americans, on the, contrary, though they derive the name of cattle from part of the divine effential name, (as fhall be elfewhere obferved) and ufe the name of a buffalo as a war appellative, and the name of a tribe ; yet their regard to them, centres only in their ufefulnefs for the Support of human life : and they believe they can perform their religious ablutions and purifications, in any deep clean water. The fuperflitious heathens, whom the Hebrews called, Yedonim, pretended that the bones of thofe they worshipped as gods when alive, revealed both prefent and future things, that were othcrwife concealed : and the hieroglyphics, the prieftly legible images, which the Egyptians inferibed on the tombs of the deceafed, to praife their living virtue, and incite youth to imitate them, proved a great means of inducing them in procefs of time to worfhip their dead. Eut the Americans praife only the virtues of their dead, as fit copies of imitation for the living. They firmly believe that the hand of God cuts off the days of their dead friend, by his pre-determined pur-pofe. They are fo far from deifying feliow-creatures, that they prefer none of their own people, only according to the general ftandard of reputed merit. The Chinefe, likewife, though they call God by the appellative, Cham 77, and have their temples of a quadrangular form, yet they are grots idolaters; like the ancient Egyptians, inltead of offering up religious oblations to the great Creator and Preferver of the univerfe, they pay them to the pictures of their deceafed anceftors, and erect temples to them, in folitary places without their cities — likewife to the fun, moon, planets, Spirits, and inventors of arts*, efpecially to the great Confucius, notwithstanding he Strictly prohibited the like idolatrous rites. And the religious modes of the ancient inhabitants F. of ofNiphon, or the Japanefe, are nearly the fame; which are diametrically oppofite to the religious tenets of the wild Americans. The diviners among the Philiftines pretended to foretel things, by the flying, chirping, and feeding of wild fowls. The Greeks and Romans called fowls, Nuncii Deorum. And Calchas is faid to have foretold to Agamemnon, by the number of fparrows which flew before him, how many years the Trojan war mould laft. The Affyrians worfhipped pigeons, and bore the figure of the-m on their Standards, as the facred oracles fhew us, where the anger of the pigeon, and the fword of the pigeon, points at the deftroying fword of the Afiyrians. But, though the American woods fwarm with a furprizing variety of beautiful wild fowl, yet the natives do not make the leaft prctenlion to auguries. They know it is by a certain gift or inftincl, inferior to human reafon, that the birds have a fufficient knowledge of the feafons of the year. I once indeed obferved them to be intimidated at the voice of a fmall uncommon bird, when it pitched, and chirped on a tree over their war camp. But that is the only trace of fuch fuperftition, as I can recollect: among them. Inftead of calling birds the meffengers of the gods, they call the great eagle, Ooole ; which feems to be an imitation of Eloha.—This may be accounted for, from the eagle being one of the cherubic emblems, denoting the air, or fpirit. They efteem pigeons only as they are falutary food, and they kill the turtle-dove, though they apply it as a proper name to their female children. The Babylonians were much addicted to auguries: and they believed them to be unerring oracles, and able to direct them in doubtful and arduous things, Ezek. xxi. 21. Thofe auguries always directed their conduct, in every material thing they undertook ; fuch as the beginning and carrying on war, going a journey, marriage, and the like. But, as we fhall foon fee, the Americans, when they go to war, prepare and fanctify themfelves, only by faffing and ablutions, that they may not defile their fuppofed holy ark, and thereby incur the refentment of the Deity. And many of them firmly believe, that marriages are made above. If the Indian Americans were defcended from any of the ftates or people above mentioned, they could not well have forgotten, much lefs could they have fo effentially departed from their idolatrous worfhip. It is hence probable, they came here, 7 foon No traces of idolatry among them. 27 foon after the captivity, when the religion of the Hebrew nation, refpecYmg the worfhip of Deity, was in its purity. And if any of the ancient heathens came with them, they became profelytes of habitation, or juftice—■■ hereby, their heathenifh rites and ceremonies were, in procefs of time, intirely abforbed in the religious ceremonies of the Jews. Had the nine tribes and half of Ifrael which were carried off by Shalma-nefer, King of Affyria, and fettled in Media, continued there long, it is very probable, that by intermarrying with the natives, and from their natural ficklenefs and pronenefs to idolatry, and the force of example, they would have adopted, and bowed before the gods of the Medes and the Aifyrians, and carried them along with them. But there is not a trace of this idolatry among the Indians. The fevere afflictions they underwent in captivity, doubtleSs humbled their hearts, and reclaimed them from the fervice of the calves, and of Baalam, to the true divine worfhip — a glimpfe of which they dill retain. And that the firft fettlers came to America before the destruction of the firft temple, may be inferred, as it is certain both from Philo and Jofephus, that the fecond temple had no cherubim. To reflect y«t greater light on the Subject, I fhall here add a few obfervations on the Indians fuppofed religious cherubic emblems, the cherubimical names of their tribes, and from whence they, and the early heathens, may be fuppofed to have derived them. When the goodnefs of Deity induced him to promife a faviour to fallen man, in paradife, he flationed flaming cherubim in the garden. The type I fhall leave ■, but when mankind became intirely corrupt, God renewed his promife to the Ifraelites, and to convey to poflerity the true divine worfhip, ordered them to fix in the tabernacle, and in Solomon's temple, cherubim, over the mercy-feat,— the very curtains which lined the walls, and the veil of the temple, likewife, were to have thofe figures. The cherubim are faid to reprefent the names and offices of Yohewah Elohim, in redeeming loft mankind. The word is drawn from 3, a note of refemblance, and n, a great or mighty one ; u e. the 44 Similitude of the great and mighty One," whofe emblems were the bull, the lion, the man, and the eagle. The prophet Kzekicl has given us two draughts of the cherubim (certainly not without an instructive defign) in his two vifions, defcribed in the firtt E 2 and and tenth chapters. In chap. x. ver. 20, he aiTures us that " he knew they were the cherubim." They were uniform, and had thofe four compounded animal emblems; " Every one had four faces—□'.IS," appearances, habits, or forms ; which paffage is illuftrated by the fimilar divine emblems on the four principal Standards of Ifrael. The Standard of Judah bore the image of a lion \ Ephraim's had the likenefs of a bull; Reuben's • had the figure of a man's head ; and Dan's carried the picture of an «dgle\ with a ferpent in his talons *: Each of the cherubim, according to the prophet, had the head and face of a man — the likenefs of an eagle, about the Shoulders, with expanded wings; their necks, manes, and breads, refem-bled thofe of a lion ; and their feet thofe of a bull, or calf. " The fole of their feet was like the fole of a calf's foot." One would conclude, from Ezekicl's vifionr,, and Pfal. xviii. 10.—Pf. xcix. 1. " He rode upon a cherub, and did fly :"—" The Lord reigneth, let the people tremble : hs fitteth between the cherubim, let the earth be moved,"—that Elohim chofe the cherubic emblems, in condefcenfion to man, to difplay his tranfeendent glorious title of King of kings. We view him feated in his triumphal chariot, and as in the midft of a formidable war camp, drawn by thofe four creatures, the bull, the lion, the man, and the eagle ; ftrong and defcripLive emblems of the divine cfTence. What animal is equal to the bull, or ox, for ftrength, indefatigable fervice, and alfo for food ? In caltern countries, they were always ufed to plough, and beat out the grain, befides other iervices omitted in modern times; the lion excels every other animal in= courage, force, and prowefs: man far furpaffes all other creatures, in un-derftanding, judgment, and wifdom ; and there is no bird fo fagacious, or can fly fo fwift, or Soar fo high as the eagle, or that bears fo intenfc a love to its young ones. Thefe are the emblems of the terrefirial cherubim : and the Pfal miff calls them Merabha Hafhekina, " The chariot of Divine Majefty :" " God fitteth between, and rideth upon, the cherubim," or divine chariot. The cekjlial cherubim were fire, light, and air, or fpirit, which were typified by the bull, the lion, and the eagle. Thofe divine emblems, in a long revolution of time, * The Man, which the lion on the flandard of Judah, and the head on Reuben's, typified, was, in the fulneSs of time, united to the divine eflence, 7 induced Their religious cherubic emblems. 29 induced the ancients by degrees, to divide them, and make images of the divine perfons, powers, and actions, which they typified, and to efteem them gods. They confecrated the bull's head to the fire, the lion's to light, and the eagle's to the air, which they worshipped as gods. And, in proportion as they loft the knowledge of the emblems, they multiplied and compounded their heads with thofe of different creatures. The Egyptians commonly put the head of a lion, hawk, or eagle, and fometimes that of a ram, or bull, to their images ; fome of which reilmbled the human body. Their Apis, or Ofiris, gave rife to Aaron's, and apoftate IfraePs, golden calf: and their fphynx had three heads. Diana of Ephefus was triformis Janus of Rome, biformis, and, fometimes, quadriformis •, and Jupiter, Sol, Mercury, Prpferpine, and Cerberus, were triple-headed. Hefiod tells us, the ancient heathens had no lefs th;n thirty thoufand gods. It is well known that the ancient heathens, especially the Greeks and Romans, abounded with male and female deities; and commonly in human effigy. As they imagined they could not fafely truit themfelves to the care of any one god, they therefore chofe a multiplicity. They multiplied and changed them from childhood to old age. The Romans proceeded fo far, as to make Cloacina the guardian goddefs of each houfe-of-ofHce. The .heathens in general, appointed one god to prefide over the land, and another over the water one for the mountains, and another for the valleys. And they were fo diffident of the power of their gods, that they chofe a god, or goddefs, for each part of the body ; contrary to the religious fylitem of their belt poets and philofophers, and that of the prefent favage Americans: the former affirmed, fapiens dominabitur aftris, &c. •> " A wife, good man, will-always be ruled by divine reafon; and not pretend to be drawn to this or that, by an over-bearing power of the ftars, or fortune :" and the latter affcrt, " that temporal good or evil is the neceffary effect of their own conduct ; and that the Deity prefides over life and death." If the firft inftitution of the cherubic emblems was not religious, nor derived from the compounded figures of the fcripture cherubim, how is it that fo many various nations of antiquity, and far remote from each other, Should have chofen them as gods, and fo exactly alike ? Is it not mod reafonable to fuppofe, that as they loft the meaning of thofe Symbolical figures, and their archetypes, fire, light, and air, or fpirit, which reprefented the attributes, names, and offices of Tohewah Elohim, they divided them into fo many various gods, and paid them divine worfhip. Yet, though the Indian Americans have the fuppofed cherubimical figures, in their fynhedria, and, through a ftrong religious principle, dance there, perhaps every winter's night, always in a bowing pofture, and frequently fing Halclu-Tah To lie Wah9 I could never perceive, nor be informed, that they fubftituted them, or the fimilitude of any thing whatfoever, as objects of divine adoration, in the room of the great invifible divine efience. They ufe the feathers of the eagle's tail, in certain friendly and religious dances, but the whole town will contribute, to the value of 200 deer-fkins, for killing a large eagle ; (the bald eagle they do not efteem); and the man alio gets an honourable title for the exploit, as if he had brought in the fcalp of an enemy. Now, if they reckoned the eagle a god, they would not only refufe perfonal profits, and honours, to him who killed it, but affurediy inflict on him the fevereft punifhment, for committing fo atrocious and facrilegious an act. I have feen in feveral of the Indian fynhedria, two white painted eagles carved out of poplar wood, with their wings Stretched out, and railed live feet off the ground, Standing at the corner, clofe to their red 'and white imperial feats: and, on the inner fide of each of the deep-notched pieces of wood, where the eagles ftand, the Indians frequently paint, with a chalky clay, the figure of a man, with buffalo horns—and that of a panther, with the fame colour-, from which I conjecture, efpecially, connected with their other rites and cuftoms foon to be mentioned, that the former emblem was defigned to defcribe the divine attributes, as that bird excels the reft of the feathered kind, in various iuperior qualities; and that the latter Symbol is a contraction of the cherubimical figures, the man, the bull, and the lion. And this opinion is corroborated by an eftablifhed cuftom, both religious and martial, among them, which obliges them to paint thofe Sacred emblems anew, at the firft fruit-offering, or the annual expiation of fins. Every one of their war-leaders muft alio make three fuccefsful wolfijh campaigns, with their reputed holy ark, before he is admitted to wear a pair of a young buffalo-bull's horns on his forehead, or to fing the triumphal war Song, and to dance with the fame animal's tail Sticking up behind him, while he Sings To To, &c. Now Their religious cherubic emblems. 3\ Now we know it was an ufual cuftom with the eaftern nations, to affix horns to their gods. The Sidonian goddefs Afhiaroth was horned : and Herodotus fays, the Egyptians painted their Venus, or Ifis, after the fame manner: and the Greek Jo, (which probably wasYo) had horns, in allufion to the bull's head, the chief emblem of the eel.ftial cherubic fire, repre-fenting Yo (He Wah) as its name plainly indicates. A horn was, like-wife, a Perfian emblem of power *. That the Indians derived thofe fymbolical reprefentations from the compounded figures of the cherubim, feems yet more clear, from the prefent cherubic names of their tribes, and the pre-eminence they formerly bore over the reft. At prefent, indeed, the moft numerous tribe commonly bears the higheft command ; yet their old warriors affure us, it was not lb even within their own remembrance. The title of the old beloved men, or archi-magt, is ftill hereditary in the -panther, or tyger family: As North-America breeds no lions, the panther, of any animal it contains, is the neareft emblem of it. The Indian name of each cherub, both terrcftrial and celeftial, reflects great light on the prefent Subject.; for they call the buffalo (bull) Tanafa; the panther, or fuppofed lion, Koe-Tfloto, or Kce-O, " the cat of God the man, or human creature, Ta-we and the eagle, Ooole \ fire is Leak ; the folar light, Afhtahdle; and air, Mahale, in allufion to »o, water, and the omnipotent; the note of afpiration is inferted, to give the word a fuller and more vehement found. Their eagle and buffalo tribes refemble two other cherubic names or emblems.. They have one they call Spbane, the meaning of which they have loft ; perhaps it might have Signified the man. Near to the red and white imperial feats, they have the representation of a full moon, and either a half moon, or a breaft-plate, raifed five or fix feet high at the front of the broad feats, and painted with chalky clay \ Sometimes black paintings are intermixed. But, let it be noticed, that in the * The metaphorical exprefiions, and emblematical representations, of the law and the pro^ phets, are generally Suited to the ufages of the eaftern countries. And this metaphor, of a 'horn, is commonly fo ufed, through all the divine regifters, multiplying the number of horns of the object they are describing, to denote its various, great, and perfect power ; unleB where Seven is mentioned as a number of perfection, as in St, John's figurative, magnificent, and Sublime defcription of Chrift. time. time of their mod religious exercifes, or their other friendly rejoicings there, they do not pay the lead adoration to any of thofe exprefiive emblems •, nor feem to take any notice of them : which is the very reverie to the ufage of all the ancient heathen world. Hence one would conclude, that they not only brought with them the letter, but the meaning of thefe reputed cherubimical figures, which were defigncd to rcprefent the infeparable attributes of Yohavah. It is univerfally agreed, by the chridian world, that every religious ob-fervance of the ancient heathens, which the Mofaic law approved of, was at fird derived from divine appointment; and as we are affured in the firlt pages of the facred oracles, concerning Cain, Gen. iv. 16. " that he went out from the prefence of the Lord" we learn, that God, in that early date of the world, chofe a place for his more immediate prefence, — D"J3, his faces, appearances, or forms refiding in, or between, the cherubim. We may, therefore, reafonably conclude, from the various gods, and religious worlhip of the ancient heathens, and from the remaining divine emblems, and family names of the Indian Americans, that the former deduced thofe emblems they deifyed, from the compounded cherubim in paradiie : and that the Indians derived their cherubic figures, and names of tribes, from the cherubim that covered the mercy-feat, in the tabernacle, and in Solomon's temple, alluded to and delineated in feveral parts of the facred oracles. ARGUMENT III Agreeable to the theocracy, or divine government of Ifrael, the Indians think the Deity to be the immediate head of their date. All the nations of Indians are exceedingly intoxicated with religious pride, and have an inexpreffible contempt of the white people, unlefs we except thofe half-favage Europeans, who are become their profelytes. Nothings is the mod favourable name they give us, in their fet fpeeches: even the Indians who were formerly bred in amity with us, and in enmity to the French, vilcd to call us, in their war orations, hottuk ookprcofe, " The accurfed people." But they flatter themfelves with the name hottuk oretoopah, " The beloved people," becaufe their fuppofed ancedors, as they affirm, were under the immediate government of the Deity, who was prefent with them, in a very Their belief of being under a theocracy. 33 very particular manner, and directed them by prophets while the reft of the world were aliens and out-laws to the covenant. When the archi-magus, or any one of their magi, is perfuading the people, at their religious folemnities to a ftrict obfervance of the old beloved, or divine fpeech, he always calls them, " The beloved," or holy people, agreeable to the Hebrew epithet, Ammi, during the theocracy of Ifrael: he urges them, with the greater! energy of expreffion he is capable of, a ftrong voice, and very expreffive geftures, to imitate the noble actions of their great and virtuous forefathers, which they performed, in a furprizing manner, by their holy things, and a ftrict obfervance of the old, beloved fpeech. Then, he flouriflies on their beloved land that flowed with milk and honey, telling them they had good, and the beft things in the greateft plenty: and fpeaks largely of their prefent martial cuftoms, and religious rites, which they derived from their illuftrious predeceffors, — ftrictly charging them not to deviate, in the leaft, out of that old, beloved, beaten path, and they will furely meet with all the fuccefs that attended their beloved forefathers. I have heard the fpeaker, on thefe occafions, after quoting the war actions of their diftinguifhed chieftains, who fell in battle, urging them as a copy of imitation to the living—affure the audience, that fuch a death, in defence of their beloved land, and beloved things, was far preferable to fome of their living pictures, that were only fpending a dying life, to the fhame and danger of the fociety, and of all their beloved things, while the others died by their virtue, and Hz ill continue a living copy. Then, to foften the thoughts of death, he tells them, they who died in battle are only gone tO' fleep with their beloved forefathers •, (for they always collect the bones) — and mentions a common proverb they have, Neetak Intahah, " The days appointed, or allowed him, were finiihed." And this is their firm belief; for they affirm, that there is a certain fixt time, and place, when, and where, every one mult die, without any poffibility of averting it. They frequently fay, Such a one was weighed on the path, and made to be light afcribing life and death to God's unerring and particular providence; which may be derived from a religious opinion, and proverb of the Hebrews, that " the divine care extended itfelf, from the horns of the unicorn, to the very feet of the lice." And the more refined part of the old heathens believed the like. The ancient Greeks and Romans, who were great copiers F of of the rites and .cuftoms of the Jews, believed there were three deftinies who prefided over human life, and had each of them their particular office one held the diftaffof life, while another fpun the thread, and Atropos cut it off: a ftrong but wild picture of the divine fire, light, and fpirit. When Virgil is praifing the extraordinary virtue of Ripheus, who was killed in defence of his native city, Troy, he adds, Diis alitcr vifutn eft,— Submitting to the good and wife providence of the gods, who thought fit to call him off the it age. However, he feems to be perplexed on the fubject; as he makes fate Sometimes conditional; ---1— Similis ft cur a fuiffet, Nec pater omnipotens Trojam nec fata vetabant Stare, *« If the ufual proper care had been taken, neither Jupiter nor fate would have hindered Troy from ftanding at this time." Rut, if the time of dying was unalterably fixed, according to the Indian fyftem, or that of our fatalifts, how would its votaries reconcile the fcheme of divine Providence ? which muft be in conformity to truth, reafon, and goodnefs, — and how explain the nature of moral good and evil ? On their principle, felf-murder would be a necefiary act of a paffive being Set on work by the firft mover; and his obligations would be proportionable, only to his powers and faculties which would excufe the fuppofed criminal from any juft future punifh-ment for filicide. But religion, and true reafon, deny the premifes, and they themfelves will not own the confcquence. It is their opinion of the theocracy, or, that God chofe them out of all the reft ot mankind, as his peculiar and beloved people,—which animates both the white Jew, and the red American, with that Steady hatred againrt all the world, except themfelves, and renders them hated or defpifed by all. The obftinacy of the former, in fhutting their eyes againft the facrcd oracles, which are very explicit and clear in the original text, and of which they were the truftees, incites both our pity and reproof \ whereas the others firm adherence to, and ftrong retention of, the rites and cuftoms of their forefathers, only attract our admiration. The American Indians are fo far from being Atheifts, as fome godlefs Europeans have flattered themfelves, to excufe their own infidelity, that they have the great facred name of God, that defences his divine effence, and 7 bV Their firm belief of God's government of the world. by which he manifefted himfelf to Mofes— and are firmly perfuaded they now live under, the immediate government of the Deity. The aicenfion of the fmoke of their victim, as a fweet favour to Yokevjah, (of which hereafter) is a full proof to the contrary, as alfo that they worfhip God, in a fmoke and cloud, believing him to refide above the clouds, and in the element of the, fuppofed, holy annual fire. It is no way material to fix any certain place for the refidence of Him, who is omniprefent, and who fuftains every fyftem of beings. It is not effential to future happinefs, whether we believe his chief place of abode is in calo tertio, paradifo terrejlri, or elemento igneo. God hath placed confidence in us for a monitor, witnefs, and judge. — It is the guilty or innocent mind, that accufes, or excufes us, to Him. If any farther knowledge was required, it would be revealed ; but St. Paul ftudi-oufly conceals the myfteries he faw in the empyreal heavens. •mo3DJi ritvtrififn ni tio2iR\ -ah hnu ; exfocrrtiv urh idowi bm. ,{»nW£ * The place of the divine refidence is commonly faid to be above the clouds-, but that is becaufe of the diflance of the place, as well as our utter ignorance of the nature of Elohim's existence, the omniprefent fpirit of the uni-vcrfe. Our finite minds cannot comprehend a being who is infinite. This infcrutable labyrinth occafioned Simonides, a difcreet heathen poet and phi-lofopher, to requeft Hiero, King of Sicily, for feveral days fucceffively, to grant him a longer time to defcribe the nature of the Deity and, at the end, to confefs ingenuoufly, that the farther he waded in that deep myftery, the more he funk out of his depth, and was lefs able to define it. If we trace Indian antiquities ever fo far, we fhall find that not one of them ever retained, or imbibed, atheiftical principles, except fuch whole intereft as to futurity it notorioufly appeared to be — whofe practices made them tremble whenever they thought of a jufl and avenging God : but thcic rare inltances were fo far from infecting the reft, that they were the more confirmed in the opinion, of not being able either to live or die well, without a God. And this all nature proclaims in every part of the univerfe. ARGUMENT IV. We have abundant evidence of the Jews believing in the miniflration of angels, during the Old-Teftament difpenfation; their frequent appearances, and their fervices, on earth, are recorded in the oracles, which the Jews themfelves receive as given by divine infpiration. And St. Paul in his F 2 epiftle epiftle addreffed to the Hebrews, fpeaks of it as their general opinion, that " Angels are miniftring fpirits to the good and righteous on earth." And that it was the fentiment of thofe Jews who embraced Christianity, is evident from Atis xii. where an angel is faid to deliver Peter from his imprifonment, and when the maid reported that Peter flood at the gate knocking, his friends doubting, faid, " It is his angel." Women alfo are ordered to have their heads covered in religious affemblies, becaufe of the prefence of the angels, and to obferve filence, the modeft cuftom of the eaftern countries. The Indian fentiments and traditions are the fame.—They believe the higher regions to be inhabited by good fpirits, whom they call Hottuk IJhtohooIIo,. and Nana JJhtohoollo, " holy people," and «* relations to the great, holy One," The Hottuk ookprocfe, or Nana ookproofe, " accurfed people," or " accurfed beings," they fay, poffefs the dark regions of the weft; the former attend, and favour the virtuous; and the latter, in like manner, accompany and have power over the vicious : on which account, when any of their relations die, they immediately fire off feveral guns, by one, two, and three at a time, for fear of being plagued with the laft troublefome neighbours: all the adjacent towns alfo on the occafion, whoop and halloo at night; for they reckon, this offenfive noife fends off the ghofts to their proper fixed place, till they return at fome certain time, to repofTefs their beloved tract of land, and enjoy their terreftrial paradife. As they believe in God, fo they firmly believe that there is a clafs of higher beings than men, and a future itate and exiftence. There are not greater bigots in Europe, nor perfons more fuperftitious, than the Indians, (efpecially the women) concerning the power of witches, wizards, and evil fpirits. It is the chief Subject of their idle winter night's chat: and both they, and feveral of our traders, report very incredible and fhocking ftories. They will affirm that they have feen, and diftin&ly, moft furprizing apparitions, and heard horrid Ihrieking noifes. They pretend, it was impoffible for all their fenfes to be deluded at the fame time ; efpecially at Okmulge, the old waftc town, belonging to the Mufiohge, 150 miles S. W. of Augufta in Georgia, which the South-Carolinians deftroyed about the year 1715. They ftrenuoufly aver, that when neceffity forces them to encamp there, they always hear, at the dawn of the morning, the ufual noife of Indians finging their joyful religious notes, and dancing, as if going down to the river to purify themfelves, and then returning to the old town-houfe : with a great deal more to the fame effect. Whenever I have been there, Their belief of the exijlence and miniftration of angels. there, however, all hath been filent. Our noify bacchanalian company might indeed have drowned the noife with a greater of their own. But as I have gone the tedious Chikkafah war path, through one continued defart, day and night, much oftener than any of the reft of the traders, and alone, to the Chikkafah country, fo none of thofe frightful fpirits ever appeared to, nor any tremendous noife alarmed me. But they lay this was " becaufe I am an obdurate infidel that way." The Hebrews feem to have entertained notions pretty much refembling the Indian opinions on this head, from fome paffages in their rabbins, and which they ground even on the fcriptures *. We read Ifa. xiii. 21. " But wild beafts of the defart fhall lie there, and their houfes fhall be full of doleful creatures, and owls fhall dwell there, and fatyrs (hall dance there \." Several warriors have told me, that their Nana IJhtohoollo, concomitant holy fpirits," or angels, have forewarned them, as by intuition, of a dangerous ambufcade, which muft have been attended with certain death, when they were alone, and Seemingly out of danger ; and by virtue of the im-pulfe, they immediately darted off, and, with extreme difficulty, eScaped the crafty, purfuing enemy. Similar to this, was the opinion of many of the Jews, and feveral of the ancient and refined heathens, and is the fentiment of moderns, that intimations of this kind, for man's prefcrvation and felicity, proceed from God by the inftrumentality of good angels, or fuperior invisible beings, which he employs for that purpofe—who can fo imprefs the imagination, and influence the mind, as to follow the fuggeftions, but not fo as to deflroy the liberty of the will.—Thus Homer introduces Minerva as Suggesting what was proper for the perfons ftie favoured — and other Superior beings •, but they deliberated on the counfel, and chofe that which appeared to be right. ARGUMENT V. The Indian language, and dialetls, appear to have the very idiom and genius of the Hebrew. Their words and fentences are cxpreSfive, concife, em- * Lev. xix. 31. 1 Sam. xxviii. 3, &c. ISa. viii. 19. f Bochart fuppofes that tjiim lignify wild cats; and that DTIM is not any particular creature, but the crying or howling of wild beads. His opinion is confirmed by many judicious writers. 7 phatical, phatical, fonorons, and bold — and ofcen, both in letters and Signification, Synonymous with the Hebrew language. It is a common and old remark, that there is no language, in which fome Hebrew words are not to be found. Probably Hebrew was the nrfl, and only language, till distance of time and place introduced a change, and then foon followed a mixture of others. The accidental pofuion of the characters, might alfo coincide with fome Hebrew words, in various dialects, without the leaft intention. As the true pronunciation of the Hebrew characters, is loft in a confiderable degree, it is too difficult a tafk, for a fkilful Hebraift, to afcertain a Satisfactory identity of language, between the Jews, and American Aborigines-, much more fo to an Indian trader, who profeffes but a fmall acquaintance with the Hebrew, and that acquired by his own application. However, I will endeavour to make up the deficiency of Hebrew, with a plenty of good foiid Indian roots. The Indian nouns have neither cafes nor declenfions. They are invariably the fame, through both numbers, after the Hebrew manner. In their verbs, they likewife fometimes ufe the preterperfect, inftead of the prefent tenfe of the indicative mood as Blahfas Aiahre, Apecfahre, " Yefterday I went and faw i" and Eemmako Aiahre, Apeefahre, " Now I go and fee." Like the Hebrews, they have no comparative, or fuperlative degree. They exprefs a preference, by the oppofite extremes; as Chekujleene, " You are virtuous Sahakfc, " I am vicious." But it implies a comparative degree, and figni-fies, '* You are more virtuous than I am." By prefixing the adverbs, which exprefs little, and much, to the former words, it conveys the fame meaning*, the former of which is agreeable to the Hebrew idiom. And a double repetition of the fame adjective, makes a fuperlative, according to the Hebrew manner *, as Lawwa, Lawwa, " moft, or very many." To add hah to the end of an adjective, unlefs it is a noun of multitude like the former, makes it alfo a fuperlative -, as Hakfe to hah, " They are moft, or very wicked." Hakfe Signifies vicious, probably when the vicious part of the Ifraelites were under the hand of the corrector, the judge repeated that word : ta, is a note of plurality, and hah an Hebrew accent of admiration; which makes it a fuperlative. To join the name of God, or the leading vowel of the myfte-rious, great, divine name, to the end of a noun, likewife implies a Superlative ; as Hakfe-ijhto, or Hakfe-o, " He, or fhe, is very wicked." The former method of fpeech exactly agrees with the Hebrew idiom; as the original text fhews, in innumerable inftances. , When When the Hebrews compare two things, and would fignify a parity between them, they double the particle of rcfemblance •, " I am as thou art ; and my people as thy people :" And the Indians, on account of that original defective Standard of fpeech, are forced to ufe the like circumlocution as Che Ababa fta, 46 I am like you •," and Sahottuk Chehottuk tooah, ckc. for Hottuk Signifies people, and the S expreffes the pronoun my, or mine : and it likewife changes an active, into a paifive verb. Although this Indian and Hebrew method of fpeech, is rather tedious and defective, yet, at the fame time, they who attain any tolerable Skill in the dialects of the one, and language of the other, will difcover the fenfe plain enough, when a comparifon is implied. There is not, perhaps, any one language or fpeech, except the Hebrew, and the Indian American, which has not a great many prepofitions. The Indians, like the Hebrews, have none in feparate and exprefs words. They are forced to join certain characters to words, in order to fupply that great defect. The Hebrew confonants, called fcrviles, were tools to fupply the place of the prepofitions. The Indians, for want of a Sufficient number of radical words, are forced to apply the fame noun and verb, to fignify many things of a various nature. With the Cheerake, Ecankke, fignifies a prif oner, captive, Jlave, awl, pin, needle, &c. •, which occafions the Indian dialects to be very difficult to Strangers. The Jewifli Rabbins tell us, that the Hebrew language contains only a few more than a thouSand primitive words, of which their whole language is formed. So that the fame word very often denotes various, though not contrary things. But there is one radical meaning, which will agree to every fenfe that word is ufed in. By cuftom, a Hebrew noun frequently Supplied the place of a pronoun; by which means, it caufed a tedious, and Sometimes an ambiguous circumlocution. From this original defective ftandard of fpeech, the Indians have forgotten all their pronouns, except two primitives and two relatives; as, Anowah, Ego, and IJhna, Tu: the latter bears a great many Significations, both as Singular and plural, viz. Eeapa and Eeako ; which fignify he, fhe, this, that, otc. : And they are likewife adverbs of place; as here, there, &C. Kin Hewa, fignifies he or fhe ; \1N Ani, we ; and UM, Anowa, he, fhe, him, her, ccc. The The Hebrew language frequently ufes hyperboles, or magnifying numbers, to denote a long fpace of time : the Indians, accordingly, apply the words, Nectak akroohah, " all days," or, in other words, " for ever," to a long ferics of years. With the Jews, fitting, fignified dwelling ; and, with the Indians, it is the very fame-, for, when they afk a perfon where he dwells, they fay, Kaiemuk Ipleneele {chuak ?), which is literally, " where do you fit?" And when they call us irreligious, they fay Nana U-bat, as to zyhy2; Baalim, " Particles of air," meaning, nothing. To which the Pfalmift alludes, faying, " I will not take up their names in my lips." And St. Paul fays, ** We know that an idol is nothing." This expreffion the Indians apply, in a pointed metaphor, to the white people, but never to each other. Like the f Tebrews, they feldom, if ever, double the liquid confonant R ; for they generally feem defirous of fhuffiing over it, at any rate : And they often give it the found of L •, but, if it precedes a word, where the other confonant foon follows, they always give it its proper found, contrary to the ufage of the Chinefe: as the name of a ftone, they often call, Tahle, inftead of T'ahre but the Indians fay, M Talre lakkana, literally, " Yellow ftone," i. e. gold. The Hebrews fubjoined one of their ferviles, to words, to exprefs the pronoun relative, thy or thine: And as that particle was alfo a note of re-femblance, it fhews the great flerility of that language. As a fpecimen — They faid (Abiche) " your father," and -p», (Ameche) " Youi- mother," &c. Only that the Hebrew period is initial, in fuch a cafe, to the Indian nouns, they always ufe the very fame method of expreffion. This I .'hall ill u ft rate with two words in the dialects of the Chikkafah and Chee-rake—as Chinge and Chatokta, " your father " Angge and Aketohta Signifying " my father," in refemblance of UN, Abba, of the fame import •, like-wife Chijhke and Chacheeah, u your mother j" for Sajke and Akachee fignify " my mother," in imitation of rWtf, AJJje. Alfo Sas Kip fignifies podex mens, Chip Kip, podex tuns, and Kijh Kip, podex illius; which I guefs to be an opprobrious opprobrious allufion to Kifh the father of Saul, for the foil's affuming the throne at the end of the Jewifh theocracy. In their adjectives and verbs, they ufe the lame method of fpeech; as Naboorefo Chin-Cbookoma, " Your book is good." The former word is compounded of (Na) now, or the prefent time, and Iloorefo, delineated, marked, or painted. Ala fignifies to go, and Maia-Cba, " Go along," or Mala, the fame; for, by prefixing D to it, it implies a requifite obedience. In like manner, Apeefah, to fee, and Peesacha, look, or " fee you." And, when that particle is prefixed to a verb, it always expreffes the accufative cafe of the fame pronoun ; as Chepeefabre, " I faw you," and Cbepeefahras, " I fhall fee you." Each of the Hebrew characters are radicals; although half of them are ferviles, according to that proper term of the fcholiafts; for, when they are prefixed, inferted, or fubjoined, either at the beginning, middle, or end of a radical word, they ferve to form its various augments, inflexions, and derivatives. According to this difficult Standard of fpeech, the Indian nouns, moods, and tenfes, are varioufly formed to exprefs different things. As there is no other known language or dialect, which has the fame tedious, narrow, and difficult principles ; mud we not confider them to be twin-born Sifters ? The want of proper Skill to obferve the original fixed idea of the Indian words, their radical letters, and the due founds in each of them, feems to have been the only reafon why the writers on the American Aborigines, have not exhibited the true and genuine properties of any one of their dialects •, as they are all uniform in principle : fo far at leaft, as an extenfive acquaintance reaches. The Hebrew nouns are either derived from verbs, or both of them are one and the fame ; as mm, (Beroche) " Bleffing," from "pa, (Beroch) " to blefs," and 121 121, (Dabar Daber) " he fpoke the fpeech." This proper name fignifies " loquacious," like the Indian Sckdkee, fignifying the '* grafshopper." The Indian method of exprefiion, exactly agrees with that Hebrew mode of fpeech •, for they fay Anumbole Anumbole (k/s) " I fpake the Speaking •," and Anumhole Enumbole (k?s), " he fpoke the Speaking, or Speech." And by inferting the name of God between thefe two words, their meaning is the very fame with thofe two firft Hebrew words. I (hall lubjoin another word of,the fame fort — IlcokfeeUta fignifies " a {hutting instrument;" and they fay Jjhtcokjeelcta, or Jlockfeelcla, IJh-hookfeetas, or Hookfceta Cha, ** You Shall, or, Shut \ou the door." Their period of the kit word, always denotes the fecond perfon fingular of the imperative mood; G and and that of the other preceding it, either the firft or fecond perfon fingular of the indicative mood ; which is formed fo by a fixed rule, on account of the variegating power of the ferviles, by affixing, inferting, or fufHxing them, to any root. According to the ufage of the Hebrews, they always place the accufative cafe alfo before the verb; as in the former Indian words. With the Hebrews, nL,3jl fignified " a prayer," or a religious invocation, derived from ftVli Phelac, •* to pray to, or invoke the Deity." In a ftrong refemblance thereof, when the Indians are performing their facred dance, with the eagles tails, and with great earneftnefs invoking To He JVah to blefs them with fuccefs and profperity, Phale fignifies, " waving," or invoking by waving, Ifhphak, you wave, PhaUcha, wave you, Aphalale, I waved, Aphalelas, I will wave, &c. Pfalmodifts feem to have borrowed the notes fa, la, from the aforefaid Hebrew words of praying, finging to, or invoking Elohim. by%, (Phoole) « to work," is evidently drawn from the former Hebrew word, which fignifies to invoke (and probably to wave the feathers of the cherubic eagle before) To He JVah. The greateft part of the Levitical method of worfhipping, confifted in laborious mechanical exercifes, much after the Indian manner; which the popifh priefts copy after, in a great many inftances, as pulling off their clothes, and putting on others; imagining that the Deity is better pleafed with perfons who variegate their external appearances, like Proteus, than with thofe who worfhip with a fteady, fincere difpofition of mind ; befides a prodigious group of other fuperftitious ceremonies, which are often fhamefully blended with thofe of the old pagans. As the Hebrew word Hi, Na, fignifies the prefent time—fo when the Indians defire a perfon to receive fomething from them fpcedily, they fay, Na (fhort and gutturally) eefcha, " take it, now." He replies Unta, or Omeh, which are good-natured affirmatives. The pronoun relative, " you," which they term Ifhna, is a compounded Hebrew word, Signifying (by application) the perfon prefent, or " you." With the Hebrews, in in, Hara Hara, fignifies, " moft, or very, hot;" the repetition of the word makes it a fuperlative. In a Strict refemblance of that word, and mode of fpeech, when an Indian is baffled by any of their 7 humorous humorous wits, he fays, in a loud jetting manner, Hara Hara, or Haia Hala, according to their capacity of pronouncing the liquid R : and it fignifies, " you are very hot upon me:" their word, which expreffes " fharp," conveys the idea of bitter-heartednefs with them ; and that of bitternefs they apply only to the objects of tafte. With the Cheerake, Chikkafah, and Choktah Indians, Nanne fignifies ** a hill:" and Nanneh, with the two laft-mcntioned nations, " a fifh •," and Unchaba, " a mountain." But they call an alligator, or crocodile, Nanneh Chunchaba, literally, " the fifth like a mountain j" which the Englifh language would abbreviate into the name of a mountain-fifh ; but, inftead of a hyphen, they ufe the Hebrew 3, a note of refemblance, which feems to point at the language from which they derived it. In like manner, Ad fignifies to walk, and Eette, wood ; but Eette Chanda, any kind of wheel; which is confonant to the aforefaid Hebrew idiom ; with many others of the like nature : but a fpecimen of this fort mutt fuflicc. The Hebrew and Indian words, which exprefs delineating, writing, decy-phering, marking, and painting, convey the fame literal meaning in both languages; as Exod. xvii. 14. HJ"D (Cbetheba Sepbdre) " delineate this with delineationsand, with the Indians, Hoorefo is, in like manner, the radical name of books, delineating, &c. and Octehna that for numbering, inftead of reading. The neareft approach they can make to it, is, Anumbole hoorefo JJJoanumboIas, " You fhall fpeak the fpeech, which is delineated." They call a razor, Bafpoo Shaphe, (£ A fhaving knife •." and Shaphe always fignifies to fhave; probably, becaufe when they firft began to fhave themfelves, they were ridiculed by the higher, or more religious part of the people, for imitating that heathenifh cuflom. The Hebrew nsttf {Shaphe) fignifying lip, confeffion, or worfhipwhich divine writ affures us, the descendants of Noah changed, when they oppofed the divine will of fettling various parts of the earth, and built the great tower of Babel, as an emblem or greatnefs, to get them a name *. * Skin fignifies an eye ; and SketfiZpba, one-eyed j as if proceeding from the divine anger. They often change i into ce. Leak fignifies fire, and Lock TJhtobcoI.'o, " the holy or divine fire," or the anger of Ifhtohoollo, " the great, holy One;" which nearly agrees with the Hebrew Err?, that which flames, or fcorches with vehement heat. And it is the fcripture method of conveying to us a fcnfible idea of the divine wrath, according to the cherubic name! km, which likewife fignifies fire. But the Perfians worshipped the burning fire, by the name of Oromazes; and darknefs, or the Spirit, by that of Aramanius ; quite contrary to the religious fyftem of the Indian Americans: and the aforefaid Indian method of expreffion, feems exactly to coincide with the Hebrew idiom. Buk-pe-ah-ma is the name of their Indian flap, or broad flip of cloth with which the men cover their nakedneSs •, but the word they uSe to ex-preSs our Sort of breeches, is a compound, Balaphooka, derived from the Hebrew which fignifies, behind; and the Indian Naphocka, a coat, any kind of clothes, or covering ; Balcka fignifies, behind; Silently telling us, they formerly wore a different fort of breeches to what they ufe at prefent. They likewife fay, Neeppe-Phu-ka, " A flefb-covering." The father of King Saul was called Kifh, " podex;" which fignifies alfo the rear of an army, or the hindermoit perfon, according to the Hebrew idiom. Thus the Indians, by Kip, exprefs the podex of any animal—the hindermoft perfon — the gavel-end of an houfe, and the like. Kip Kifij, is with them a fuperlative, and, as before hinted, ufed to convey the contempt they have for that proper name. May not the contemptible idea the Weft-Florida-Miflifippi Indians affix to the name of Kifh, be on account of his fon's fuc-cefiion to the throne, at the end of the theocracy of Ifrael, and beginning a defpotic regal government ? The Indians, according to the ufage of the Hebrews, always prefix the Subftantive to the adjective ; as Nctak Chockbma, " A good day •," Nakkane and Eho Cbcokbma, 44 A good, or goodly man and woman." The former of which is termed, in Hebrew, Toma Tcbe, fignifying, according to our method of Salutation, a good-day, a merry feafon, a feftival day, &c. And the Indian appellatives are fimilarly expreft in Hebrew, Behtobe and Afije--J'obe, " A good, goodly, difcreet, or wife man and woman." Chookbma, with the Indians, is the proper name of a comely woman, when A is prefixed to it; as A'Chookbma, 44 My goodly, or beautiful:" they ufe it for a warrior, when Their names of the Deity. 45 when it is compounded without the A as Chookoma hummdflotabe, " One who killed a beautiful, great, red, or war-chieftain $" which is compounded of Chookoma, comely, Humma, red, km, Ajh, fire, and Abe, a contraction of bin, Abele, fignifying grief, or forrow. Hence it appears, that becaufe the Hebrews affixed a virtuous idea to Tobe, goodly ; the Indians call white by the fame name, and make it the conftant emblem of every thing that is good, according to a fimilar Hebrew cuftom. Of this the facred oracles make frequent mention. The Jews called that, which was the moft excellent of every thing, the fat and the Indians, in like manner, fay, Oofto Neehe, " The fat. of the pompion," Tranche Neehe, " The fat of the corn. Neeha is the adjective, fignifying fat, from which the word Neeta, " a bear," is derived. They apply the word heart, only to animate beings. As the Deity is the foul of every fyftem — and as every nation, from the remoteft ages of antiquity, believed that they could not live well, without fome god or other ; when, therefore, we clearly underftand the name, or names, by which any fociety of people exprefs their notions of a deity, we can with more precifion form ideas of the nature of their religious worfhip, and of the object, or objects, of their adoration. I fhall therefore here give a plain defcription of the names by which the Indian Americans fpeak of God. IJhtohocllo is an appellative for God. Ifhtohoollo points at the great-nefs, purity, and goodnels, of the Creator in forming ww and nk>m : it is derived from Ifhto, great, which was the ufual name of God through all the prophetic writings likewife, from the prefent tenfe of the infinitive mood of the active verb, Ahoollo, " I love," and from the preter tenfe of the paffive verb, Hoollo, which fignifies " fanctifying, fanctified, divine, or holy." Women let apart, they term, Hoollo, i, e* fanctifying themfelves to Ifhtohoollo : likewife, Netakhoollo fignifies " a Sanctified, divine, or holy day and, in like manner, Ookka Hoollo, " water fanctified," &c. So that, Ifhtohoollo, when applied to God, in its true radical meaning, imports, " The great, beloved, holy Caufe 5" which is exceedingly comprehenfive, and more cxpreffive of the true nature of God, than the Hebrew name Adonai, which is applicable to a human being. Whenever the Indians Indians apply the epithet, compounded, to any of their own religious men, it fignifies the great, holy, beloved, and fanctified men of the Holy One. They make tins divine name point yet more Strongly to the Supreme author of nature ; for, as 2N, fignifies father; and as the omniprefent Spirit of the univerfe, or the holy father of mankind, is faid to dwell above, they therefore call the immenfe fpace of the heavens, Aba, Abdfe, and Abatara : and, to diftinguifh the King of kings, by his attributes, from their own Minggo IJhto, or great chieftains, they frequently name him Mlnggo IJhto Aba, Sec. \ IJhto Aba, Sec. Minggo Aba, Sec, ; and, when they are it-riving to move the paffions of the audience, Ifhtohoollo Aba. The Hebrew fervants were not allowed to call their matter or miftrefs UN, Abba, till they were adopted; to which cultom St. Paul alludes, Rom. viii. 15. They have another appellative, which with them is the myfterious, effen-tial name of God — the tetragrammaion, or great four-lettered name—which they never mention in common fpeech, — of the time and place, when, and where, they mention it, they are very particular, and always with a folemn air. There is a fpecies of tea, that grows fpontaneoufly, and in great plenty, along the fea-coaft of the two Carolinas, Georgia, and Eaft and Welt-Florida, which we call Topon, or Cujfeena: the Indians transplant, and are extremely fond of it; they drink it on certain Stated occasions, and in their moft religious Solemnities, with awful invocations: but the women, and children, and thofe who have not fuccefsfully accompanied their holy ark, pro Arts et Focis, dare not even enter the facred fquare, when they are on this religious duty odierwife, they would be dry Scratched with fnakes teeth, fixed in the middle of a fplit reed, or piece of wood, without the privilege pf warm water to Supple the ftiffened Skin. When this beloved liquid, or fuppoSed holy drink-offering, is fully prepared, and fit to be drank, one of their Magi brings two old confecrated, large conch-fhells, out of a place appropriated for containing the holy things, and delivers them into the hands of two religious attendants, who, after a wild ceremony, fill them with the fuppofed fanctifying, bitter liquid : then they approach near to the two central red and white feats, (which the traders Their names of the Deity* 47 traders call the war, and beloved cabbins) (looping with their heads and bodies pretty low ; advancing a few fteps in this pofture, they carry their fhells with both hands, at an inftant, to one of the moft principal men on thofe red and white feats, faying, on a bafs key, Yah, quite fhort: then, in like manner, they retreat backward, facing each other, with their heads bowing forward, their arms acrofs, rather below their breaft, and their eyes half fhut thus, in a very grave, folemn manner, they fing on a ftrong bafs key, the awful monofyllable, O, for the fpace of a minute : then they ftrike up majeure He, on the treble, with a very intent voice, as long as their breath allows them •, and on a bafs key, with a bold voice, and fhort accent, they at laft utter the ftrong myfterious found, Wah, and thus finifh the great fong, or moft folemn invocation of the divine effence. The notes together compofe their facred, myfterious name, Y-O-He-Wah. That this feems to be the true Hebrew pronunciation of the divine effen-tial name, mrr, Jehovah, will appear more obvious from the found they feem to have given their characters. The Greeks, who chiefly copied their alphabet from the Hebrew, had not jedy but tora> very nearly refembling the found of our Y. The ancient Teutonic and Sclavonian dialects, have Yah as an affirmative, and ufe the confonant W inftead of V. The high importance of the fubject, neceffarily would lead thefe fuppofed red Hebrews, when fe-parated from other people in America, to continue to repeat the favourite name of God, YO He Wah, according to the ancient pronunciation. Contrary to the ufage of all the ancient heathen world, the American Indians not only name God by feveral ftrong compounded appellatives, ex-preflive of many of his divine attributes, but likewife fay Yah at the beginning of their religious dances, with a bowing pofture of body j then they fing Yo Yo, He He, and repeat thofe facred notes, on every religious occafion : the religious attendants calling to Yah to enable them humbly to fupplicate, feems to point to the Hebrew cuflom of pronouncing, »t, Yah, which likewife fignifies the divine effence. It is well known what facred regard the Jews had to the four-lettered divine name, fo as fcarcely ever to mention it, but once a year, when the high-prieft went into the holy fanctuary, at the expiation of fins. Might not the Indians copy from them, this facred invocation ? Their method of invoking God, in a folemn^ folemn hymn, with that reverential deportment, and fpending a full breath on each of the two firfl fyllables of the awful divine name, hath a furpriz-ing analogy to the Jewifli cuftom, and fuch as no other nation or people, even with the advantage of written records, have retained. It may be worthy of notice, that they never proftrate themfelves, nor bow their bodies, to each other, by way of falute, or homage, though ufual with the eaftern nations, except when they are making or renewing peace with ftrangers, who come in the name of Yah ; then they bow their bodies in that religious folcmnity — but they always bow in their religious dances, .becaufe then they fing what they call divine hymns, chiefly compofed of the great, beloved, divine name,- and addreffed to Yo He Wah. The favoured perfons, whom the religious attendants arc invoking the divine effence to blefs, hold up the fhells with both hands, to their mouths, during the awful facred invocation, and retain a mouthful of the drink, to fpirt out on the ground, as a fuppofed drink-offering to the great felf-exiftent Giver; which they offer at the end of their draught. If any of the traders, who at thofe times are invited to drink with them, were to neglect this religious obfervance, they would reckon us as godlefs and wild as the wolves of the defart *. After the fame manner, the fuppofed holy waiters proceed, from the Higheft to the loweft, in their fynedrion : and, when they have ended that awful fo-lemnity, they go round the whole fquare, or quadrangular place, and collect tobacco from the fanctified finners, according to ancient cuftom ; ** For they who ferve at the altar, mult live by the altar." The Cheerake method of adjuring a witnefs to declare the truth, ftrongly corroborates the former hints, and will ferve as a key to open the vowels of the great, myfterious, four-lettered name of God. On fmall affairs, the judge, who is an elderly chieftain, afks the witnefs, Cheeakohga (jko ?) u Do you lie ?" To which he anfwers, Anfa Kai-e-kob-ga, " I do not lie." But * The Mofaic law injoined the offering of libations; as Exod. xxix. and Numb. xv. And the heathent, efpecially the ancient Greeks and Romans, mimicked a greac deal of the Mofaic inftitution. They obferved the like ceremonies in their idolatrous Sacrifices. The priefts only tailed, and then fpilt fome wine, milk, or other liquor, in honour of the Deity, to whom the facrifice was offered. Alexander is faid to have facrifked a bull to Neptune, and to have thrown a golden vcflel ufed for the libation, into the fea. 7 when when the judge will fearch into Something of material conSequence, and adjures the witnefs to fpeak the naked truth, concerning the point in queftion, he fays " O E A (fto?)" " What you have now faid, is it true, by this Strong emblem of the beloved name of the great felf-exiftent God ?" To which the witnefs replies, O E A, " It is true, by this ftrong pointing fymbol of YO He Wah." When the true knowledge of the affair in dif-pute, feems to be of very great importance, the judge fwears the witnefs thus: O E A—Yah (Jko ?) This mod Sacred adjuration imports, " Have you now told me the real truth by the lively type of the great awful name of God, which defcribes his neceffary existence, without beginning or end •, and by his felf-exiftent literal name, in which I adjure you." The witnefs anfwers, O E A—Yah, " I have told you the naked truth, which I mod folemnly Swear, by this ftrong religious picture of the adorable, great, divine, felf-exiftent name, which we are not to prophane-, and I likewife atteft it, by his other beloved, unfpeakable, facred, effential name." When we consider that the period of the adjurations, according to their idiom, only alks a queftion ; and that the religious waiters Say Yah, with a profound reverence, in a bowing pofture of body, immediately before they invoke YO He Wah,— the one reflects fo much light upon the other, as to convince me, that the Hebrews, both invoked and pronounced the divine tetragrammaton, YO He Wah, and adjured their witnefles to give true evidence, on certain occafions, according to the Indian ufage •, otherwife, how could they pofiibly, in a Savage State, have a cuftom of fo nice and Strong-pointing a Standard of religious caution ? It feems exactly to coincide with the conduct of the Hebrew witnefles even now on the like religious occafions—who being fworn, by the name of the great living God, openly to declare the naked truth, hold up their right hand, and anfwer, JQjtf Amen Amen, or " very true •," " I am a moft faithful witnefs." The Hebrew word fignifies faithful, and by being repeated twice, becomes a fuperlative, and O E A—Yah is one of the higheft degree. St. John, in his gofpel, according to the Hebrew method of adjuration, often doubles the Amen. And the fame divine writer, at the beginning of each of his feven epiftles, in defcribing the glorious and tranfeendant qualities of Jefus Chrift, and particularly in the epiftle to the church of Laodicea, points at the fame cuftom, " Thefe things faith the Amen, the faithful and true witnefs, the beginning of the creation of God." PI The The Cheerake ufe another expreffion, which bears a ftrong analogy to the former method of adjuration though it is not fo facred in their opinion, becaufe of one letter prefixed, and another fubjoined. The judge, in fmall controvcrlies, afks the witnefs, To e u (Jko ?) To which he anfwers, To e ft, or To e u hah, " It is very true," or " a moft certain truth." Such an addition of any letter, or letters, to the vowels of the fuppofed divine, four-lettered name, feems to proceed from a ftrict. religious cuftom of proportioning them to the circumftances of perfons and things, left, otherwife, they mould blafpheme, or prophane the emblems of the great divine name. And the vowel U feems to allude to inN, u e. One— a name of God,., figuratively—for, in their dialect, when it is a period, it makes a fuperlative, according to their ufage in applying the reft of the divine appellatives, fymbols, or names. They efteem To e u hah fo ftrong an affent to any thing fpoken, that Checjto Kaichre, " the old rabbet," (the name of the interpreter) who formerly accompanied feven of their head warriors to London, aflured me, they held there a very hot debate, in their fubterranean lodgings, in the dead hours of the night of September the 7th, 1730, whether they fhould not kill him, and one of the war-chieftains, becaufe, by his mouth, the other anfwered To e u hah to his Majefty's fpeech, wherein he claimed, not only their land, but all the other unconquered countries of the neighbouring nations, as his right and property. When they returned home, they were tried again, by the national fanhedrim, for having betrayed the public faith, and Ibid their country, for acknowledged value, by firm compact, as repre-Jentatives of their country ; they having received a certain quantity of goods, and a decoying belt of white wampum : but, upon ferious deliberation, they were honourably acquitted, becaufe it was judged, the interpreter was bound, by the like oath, to explain their fpeeches, and that furprife, inadvertence, felf-love, and the unufual glittering mow of the courtiers, extorred the facred affent, To e u hah, out of the other's mouth, which fpoiled the force of it being much afraid, left they fhould fay fomcthing amifs, on account of the different idiom of the Englifh, and Indian American dialects *. As there is no alternative between a fallhood, and a lie, they ufually * The ftrong fentiments, natural wit, and intenfe love of liberty, which the Indians fhew themfelves polleffed of, in a high degree, mould dire& our colonills to purfue a different method ufually tell any perfon, in plain language, u You lie," as a friendly negative to his reputed untruth. The cheerful, inoffenfive old rabbet told me, he had urged to them, with a great deal of earncftnefs, that it was certain death by our laws, to give his Majefty the lie to his face; and cautioned them to guard their mouths very Strongly from uttering fuch dangerous language: otherwife, their hearts would become very heavy, and even forrowful to death j as he would be bound as firmly by our holy books, to relate the bare naked truth, as they were by repeating To e u abt or even O-E-A—Yah. The Chikkafah and Choktah method of adjuring a witnefs to give true evidence, is fomething fimilar to the former atteftation, by To e u bah: when they afk them, whether they do not lie, they adjure them thus, Chikloojka ke-e-u Chua ? The termination implies a queftion of the fecond perfon, Angular number, and the whole oath fignifies literally, " Do not you lie ? Do you not, of a certain truth ?" To which he anfwers by two ffrong negative affeverations, Akhojka Ke-e-u-que-Ho, " I do not lie; I do not, of a certain truth." When the Choktah are averring any thing afked of them, they affert it, by faying Yah. This fhews their ignorance of the vowels of the fuppofed divine four-lctiered name, in comparifon of the Cheerake; and that they are become lefs religious, by prophaning the divine name, Yah ; which confirms me in the opinion, that the Cheerake Indians were a more civilized people than any of the other neighbouring Indians. We are told that the northern Indians, in the time of their rejoicings, repeat YO Ha Han which, if true, evinces that their corruption advances, in proportion as they are diftant from South-America, and wanted a thod of con trading Indian covenants than they have commonly ufed. Firft, let them confider the general good of the community, who chofe them for that end ; and then make a plain agreement with the Indians, adapted to their fixed notion of liberty, and the good of their country, without any deluding fophifms. If they do not keep thefr efTential points of amity in view, we fhall fare again, as hath Georgia ; for, by a childifh treaty with the Mufkohge Indians, when, defeated An. 1715, its moft northern boundaries are coniincd to the head of the ebbing and flowing of Savannah river. We are faid to have flowilh*" off very commodious Indian treaties in the council-books, with the Mufkohge, which the community know nothing of, except a few plain common particulars, as they fome years ilnce declared. H 2 friendly friendly intercourfe with thofe who had an open communication with thofe fouthern regions *. Living in moderate high latitudes, would naturally prevent them from finking into effeminacy, and infpire them with martial tempers, (as we are told of the Chili Indians) without being originally a bloodier people than any of the fouthern nations. However, we fhould be fparing of credit to what unfkilful writers have carefully copied from each other, and tranfmitted to the learned world. I fhall hereafter, under another argument, fhew, that the Indians variously tranfpofe, Shorten, and lengthen, each Syllable of the great divine name, YO He Wah, in a very extraordinary manner, when they are finging and dancing to, and before, the divine effence : and that they commonly derive fuch words as convey a virtuous idea, from, or compound them with that divine, effential name. I fhall now fhew a farther parity, between the Hebrew language, and the Aboriginal American dialects. Pujhkocjh fignifies an infant, Neetta a bear, Najfooba a wolf, &c.--By joining the word OofJje, to the end of the names of animals, it makes a * They who have a defire to fee the genuine oratory of the Indians, may rind it partly exhibited to the public, by the laborious Mr. Colden, moilly in the manner, as I am told, he ibund it in the council-books. As that gentleman is an utter ftranger to the language and cuftoms of the Indians, it was out of his power to dojuftice to the original. Their fpeech, in general, abounds with bolder tropes and figures than illiterate interpreters can well comprehend, or explain. In the moft efiential part of his copied work, he committed a very material blunder, by writing in the firft edition, the Indian folemn invocation, YO Ha Han. I was well affured by the intelligent Sir William Johnfon, and the fkilful, benevolent, pious, and reverend Mr.John Ogilvie, that the northern Indians always pronounce it YO He A vAh ; and fo it is inferted in the fecond edition. In juftice to this valuable luminary of the church, and the worthy laity of the city of New-York, I muft obferve, that, while the reft of his fa-ccrdotal brethren were much blamed for neglecting their office of teaching, and inftead thereof, were militating for an epifcopaie, that gentleman was univerfally beloved by all ranks of people. He Spent his time, like a true fervant of God, in performing the various duties of his facred office; and had the utmoft pleafure in healing bleaches, both in public fociety, and in private families. Great numbers of the poor negroe flaves, were inllrucled by him in the principles of chriftianity, while the other clergymen were earneftly employed in diflurbing the quiet of the public, for the fake of their favourite Peter's pence, i distinction j, The parity of their language. 53 diftincYion j as Nafcob-ocjhe, a wolf-cub, Neetf-oojhe a bear-cub : but though the word Oophe fignifies a dog, as an exception to their general method of fpeech, they call a puppy Ooph ijhik, becaufe he is fo domeffic, or fo-ciable, as pm, to kifs, or fondle. In like manner, Pijhi fignifies milk i and Pijhik a woman's bread, or the udder of any animal j as the young ones, by kiffing, or fucking, made the brealt, *3, with their mouth, and thereby receive their nourifhment. With the Hebrews, "]Dy (Oophecba) fignifies active, or reftlefs: which, according to the Indian idiom, expreffes the quality of a dog*, Oophe is therefore the name of this animal, and their period denotes a Similarity, according to the ufage of the Hebrews. Shale and Shatcra, fignify to carry, Shapore, a load. The former word confifts of Sheth and Ale. llleh imports dead, and Kaneba loft. They fay Sbat Kaneha, to carry a thing quite away, or to Canaan.—Likewife, Illeht Kaneba, literally, dead, and loft, or probably, gone to Canaan. Several old Indian American towns are called Kanciai j and it hath been a prevailing notion with many Jews, that when any of their people died in a Strange land, they paSSed through the caverns of the earth, till they arrived at Canaan, their attractive centre. And the word Oobea, likewiSe imports dead, or cut off by O E A, or Tohewah ; for they firmly believe, as before hinted, they cannot outlive the time the Deity has prefcribed them. They likewife fay, Hajfe Ookklllle Chcele, " the fun is, or has been, caufed to die in the water," i. e. fun-fer. When they would fay, " Do not obfeure, or darken me," they cry IJh-ookkllle Chtnna, verbatim, " Do not occafion Jfi, me, to become like the fun, dead in the water." They call the new moon, Ilajfe Aivdbta, " the moon is called upon to appear by Yohewah :" which plainly fhew?, that they believe the periodical revolutions of the moon to be caufed, and the fun every day to die, or be extinguished in the ocean, by the conftant laws of God. When we afk them, if to-day's fun is drowned in the wellern ocean, how another can rife out of the eaftern ocean to-morrow ? they only reply, Pitta Tammi, or Tamwi mung •, or fuch is the way of God with his people. It feems to be a plain contraction of JT and TON Amrni, which was the name of Ifrael during the theocracy. Befides, Aeemmi fignifies, " I believe as the peculiar people believed in Yohewah. And it likewife imports, %* I am the owner of, &c."—according to the Hebrew idiom, the words and meaning nearly agree. Eetle Eette fignifies wood; and they term any kind of cheft, box, or trunk, Eette Oobe ; and frequently, Oobe which feems to point to the " ark of the purifier," that was lo fatal to the laity even to touch ; a ftrong emanation of the holy fire, light, and Spirit, rending in it, as well as in that which the priefts carried to war, againft the devoted enemy. The Chikkafah fettled a town, in the upper, or moft weftern part of the Mufkohge country, about 300 miles eaftward of their own nation, and called it Ooe-afa ; which is derived trom O E A, and Afa, " there," or " here, is •," i. e. " YO He Wah prefides in this place." And, when a perfon is removing from his former dwelling, they afk him, Ifh-eoea {turn ?) " are you removing hence, in the name, or under the patronage, of YO He Wah ?" And it both fignifies to afcend, and remove to another place. As, O E A, Aba, the omniprefent father ot mankind, is faid to dwell above, fo the Indian hopes to remove there from hence, by the bounty of Ifhtohoollo, the great holy One : according to their fixed ftandard of fpeech, had they made any nearer approach to O E A, the ftrong religious emblem of the beloved four-lettered name, it would have been reckoned a prophanacion. Vhutchik fignifies a ftar, and Oonna " he is arrived :" but Pbutchik Oonnache, " the morning-ftar j" becaufe he is the forerunner of light, and rtfcmblcs the fun that reflects it. And Oonna-hah fignifies to-morrow, or it is day. The termination denotes their gladnefs, that the divine light had vifited them again : and, when they arc afking it it is day, they lay Qnna He {tak ?). The laft monofyliable only afks a queftion ; and the faeminine gender treble note is the mid Syllable of the great divine name—which may reflect fome light upon the former obfervations. Although the Hebrews had a proper name for the human foul, calling it t'S3 j yet in Prcv. xx. 2;, it is called miT 44 The candle, or lamp of God •," and figuratively applied, it conveys a ftrong idea of the human foul: Thus the Indians term it, Nana Ifhtohoollo, 44 Something of, or a relation to, the great holy One •," very analogous to the former method of expreffing the rational principle, in allufion to the celeftial cherubic name tt'N, Ape, Fire, as they believe the Deity refides in the new year's, fuppofed holy fire. BecauSe Ifb, Man, received his breath from the divine infpiration of the beneficent creator Yah, they term the human 1 fpecies, The parity of their language* 55 fpecies,, in their ftrong-pointing language, Tdhwe, which, though different from the divine, effential, four-lettered name, in found has n% Yah, for- its radix. Bur, becaufe the monkey mimics Tahweh, or the rational creation, more than any other brute, in features, fhape, gefture, and actions-, in proportion to the firnilitude, they give him a fimilar name, Shaw-we. This indeed makes a near approach to IJh and Tab, and to Tahwe; but it wants the radix of both, and confequently bears no fignification of relation to either. Win'- they urge, that the regularity of the actions of the brute creatures around them, expreffes a nice underftanding or inftinct; they deny their being endued with any portion of the reafoning, and living principle, but bear only a faint allufion to Nana Ijhtohoollo, the rational foul. The moft intelligent among them, fay the human foul was not made of clay, like the brute creation, whofe foul is only a corporeal fubftance, attenuated by heat, and thus rendered invifible. Through a feeming war-contempt of each other, they all ufe a favourite termination to their adjectives, (very rarely to their fubftantives) and fometimes to their verbs ; efpecially when they are flourifhing away, in their rapid war-fpeeches, which on fuch occafions they always repeat with great vehemence. I fhall give a fpecimen of two words, in the dialects of our fouthern Indians. RI is the favourite period of the Katahba Indians ; as Mare-r'i, or V/abre-r'i, '* Good," and Maretawabr'i, or Wah-retawdbr'i, " bell," or very good*, JVah, the If ft Syllable of the great divine name, is evidently the radix, and magnifies the virtuous idea to a fuperlative. In like manner, SheghreWahri, u not bad," but Sheekdre-r7, fignifies " bad." With thefe Indians, Shceke is the name of a buzzard, which they reckon to be a moft impure fowl, as it lives on putrid carcaffes* upon which account, they choofe that word to convey a vicious idea. £hio is the founding termination of the Cheerake-, as Seohfta-quo, " good," — and O-je-u, " belt," or very good. Here they feem to have ftudioufly chofen the vowels:—As the following words will illuftiaie, Tonate-u, *' very honed," or virtuous, and T*0-U, " Evil," or very bad. To corroborate the hints I gave, concerning the Indian names of monkey, and the human fpecies, let it be cbferved, that though their words convey a virtuous or vicious idea, in proportion as they are conftituted out of any any of their three divine names, Yohewah, Yah, and Ishtohoollo •, or contain the vowels ofthe great facred name, yet the aforefaid word Y-O-U, is fo far from being a deviation from that general cuftom, it is an emphatical, and emblematical term to exprefs evil, by the negative of good ; for, as it is the only fubltantive or adjective of that word, it is a ftrong exprefTive fymbol of the nature, and phyfical caufe of moral evil, by feparating TO, the firft: Syllable of the divine four-lettered name into two fyllables \ and adding 17, as a fuperlative period, to make it malum ma-lorum. Shl'h is the founding criterion of the Mufkohge, or Creek Indians,—a kind of cant jargon, for example ; llecttla-ftjeh, fignifies " good," and }lecttla-wah-E-Jhch, " very good " according to their univerfal Standard of fpeech, it becomes a fuperlative, by Subjoining that part of the divine name to it. With the Chikkafah and Choktah, liecitla fignifies dancing ; probably becauSe that religious exercife was good and highly pleafing to them, when, according to ancient cuftom, they danced in their Symbolical circles, to, and before, YO He Wah. With the former, Apullowhagejheh, expreffes '* bad," or evil, thereby inverting the divine letters. Skch is the favourite termination of the Chikkafah and Choktah — as Chdokbmaftch, "good," Chookbmajio-fkeh (alluding to Jfato) " very good i" and Ookprco-fceh, " bad." Likewife, Ockproojlo, " worit," or very bad •, for, by annexing the contracted initial part of the divine name, Jfitohoello, to the end of it, it is a fuperlative. Thefe remarks may be of fervice to the inhabitants of our valuable and extenfive barriers, in order to difcover the national name of thofe lavages, who now and then cut them off. Ookprco-fe, with thofe Indians, fignifies " accurfed the two laft letters make only a famech, which implies a neuter paffive : and, as Ookproo is the only fubftantive or adjective they ufe to exprefs " evil," by doubling the leading vowel of the four-lettered divine name, both at the beginning and end of the word \ may we not conjecture at its origin, as glancing at the introduction of fin or evil by man's overacting, or innovating, through a too curious knowledge, or choice ? " Ye fhall be as gods," and, in order to gain the refemblance, they ate what was forbidden. The The greater number of their compounded words, (and, I believe, everyone of them) which convey a virtuous or pure idea, either have fome fyllables of the three divine names, or vifibly glance at them or have one or two vowels of the facred name, Yo He Wah, and generally begin with one of them •, which I fhall exemplify, with a few Chikkafah and Cheerake words. Ijfe-Ahowwe, " Deer-," Yanafa, Buffalo, which as it begins with the divine name, Yah, contains no more of their beloved vowels : in like manner, Wahka, " cattle j" Ifhke-OochJa, " a mother." This laft feems to be drawn from Ijjja, the mother of all mankind. Ehd and Enekia fignify " a woman." The latter is derived from the active verb, Akehuhah, fignifying " to love ardently," or like a woman j Nakkdne Afhai, " a man." From this word, the Chikkafah derive Nakke, the name of an arrow or bullet: and with the Cheerake Afkai fignifies " to fearas all the American brute animals were afraid of man, &c. Words, which imply either a vicious or impure idea, generally begin with a confonant, and double thofe favourite vowels, either at the beginning and end, or in the middle, of fuch words ; as Najfooba JVoheea, " a wolf." With the Chikkafah, Eaffocba fignifies " bewildered -," Patchc, " a pigeon," and Patche Eajfocba, " a turtle-dove." Soore and Sheeke are the Chikkafah and Cheerake names of a " Turkey-buzzard j9 Choola and Choochbla, " a fox -," Shookqua and Seequa,- an " opoffum," or hog Ookocnne, " a polecat -," Ookoonna, " a badger Chookphe and Cheejto, " a rabbet." The laft word is derived from the defective verb Chejli, " forbear," or, do not meddle with; and rabbets were prohibited to the Ifraelites. In like manner, Ooppa and Ockookoo, ** a night-owl-," Oophe and Keera, " a dog -," Nahoolla and U-nehka, u white people," or " impure animals." The Chikkafah both corrupt and tranfpofe the laft part of the divine name, Ifhtohoollo ; and the Cheerake invert their magnifying termination U, to convey an impure idea. And through the like faint allufion to this divine name, Hoollo fignifies U idols, pictures, or images-," a fharp-pointed iarcalm ! for the word, Hoollo, fignifies alfo " menftruous women," who were for the time an equal abomination to the Ifraelites, and with whom they were to have no communion. Thefe two words feem to bear the fame analogy to each other, as ^K, At, a name of God, and r6tf, Aleh, fignifying the covenant of the holy One to redeem man, and ni^N, Aloah, execrated, or accurfed of God, as idols were. I With With the Cheerake, Awwa, or Amma, fignifies " water," and Amwoi, " a river;" not much unlike the Hebrew. They likewife term fait, Hawa; and both the conjunction copulative, and " to marry," is Tawa. The name of a wife isAwab *, which written in Hebrew, makes mn, Eve, oxEweh, the name of our general mother. So that the Indian name of a wife, is literally and emphatically, his And, " One abfolutely needful for the well-being of IJh, or mani" Ifitawa {tim ?) fignifies "have you married?" We gain additional light from the ftrong fignificant appellative, IJh-ke, " a mother;" which is an evident contraction of IJJja, the mother of Tawe, or mankind, with their favourite termination, Jhe, fubjoined ; the word becomes thus fmoother than to pronounce it at its full length, TJJoa/ke. If we confider that the Hebrews pronounced 1, Vau, when a confonant, as W, here is a very ftrong, expreffive gradation, through thofe various words, up to^ the divine,.neceffary, And, who formed and connected every fyftem of beings ; or to the Hebrew divine original, YO He Wah : at the fame time, we gain a probable reafon why fo many proper names of old Indian places, in South-Carolina, and elfewhere, along the great continent, begin with our Anglo-Saxon borrowed character, W; as Wampee, Watboo, Wappoo, Wad-mold, Wafamefdh, Sec. Chance is fluctuating, and can never act uniformly. To elucidate the aforefaid remarks, it may not be amifs to obferve, that; according to the Ifraelitifh cuftom both of mourning, and employing mourners for their dead, and calling weeping, the lifting up of their voices to God, the Choktah literally obferve the fame cuftom •, and both they and the Chikkafah term a perfon, who through a pretended religious principle bewails the dead, Tah-ah, " Ah God !" and one, who weeps on other occafions, Tdhma, " pouring out fait tears to, or before God which is Similar to ^ajT. When a perfon weeps very bitterly, they fay, Tahmijhto, which is a compounded word, derived from IT, and *D1, with the initial part of the divine name, IJhtohoollo, fubjoined, to magnify the idea, according to the uiage of the Hebrews. When the divine penman is defcribing the creation, and the ftrong purifying wind, which fwept along the furface of the waters, he calls it, " the air, or fpirit " and, more fignificantly, " the wind of God," or a very great wind; and, in other parts of the divine oracles, great hail, a 7 great great lion, and the like, are by the fame figure, called the hail of God. They alfo apply the former words, Tah-ah, Tab-ma, and the like, to exprefs the very fame ideas through all the moods and tenfes ; as Cheyaaras, " I fhall weep for you Sawa Cbeyadra Awa, " Wife, I will not weep for you." And when the violence of their grief for the deceafed, is much abated, the women frequently, in their plaintive notes, repeat To He (ta) WRh, To He (ta) Web, To He ta Ha, To He ta Heh •, with a reference probably to the Hebrew cuftom of immoderately weeping and wailing for their dead, and invoking the name of God on fuch doleful occafions •, and which may have induced thefe fuppofed red Hebrews to believe the like conduct, a very effential part of religious duty. Neetak Tab-ah fignifies " a faft day," becaufe they were then humbly to fay Ah, and afflict their fouls before Yah. In like manner, Tab-Abe fignifies " one who weeps for having killed, or murdered another." Its roots are 7V, Tab, their continual war-period, and, bin, Abele, fignifying " forrow or mourning for, as killing, or murdering, is an hoftile act, it cannot be drawn from rQN, which fignifies brotherly love, or tender affection. Nana-Tah-Abe defcribes a perfon weeping, while another is killing him. Now, as Nana is " a relation," Tab " God," and Abe as above, the true meaning feems to be, " One, like bleeding Abele, weeping to God." Likewife their name for fait, Hawa, may inform us, that though at prefent they ufe no fait in their religious offerings, they forbore it, by reafon of their diftant fituation from the fea-fhore, as well as by the danger of blood attending the bringing it through an enemy's country for, according to the idiom of their language, if they had not thought fait an effential part of the law of facri-ficature, they moft probably, would not have derived it from the two laft fyllables of the great divine name ♦, whereas they double the confonant, when they exprefs water, without drawing it from the clear fountain of living waters, YO He Wah. With the Hebrews, as before obferved *, ^3tD, Tephale, fignifies " making or pulling of the hand, cohefion, conjunction, or entering into fociety " and " praying, or invoking." In conformity to that original Standard, when the Indians would exprefs a ftrong, Lifting friendfliip, they have no * Page 42. I 2 -other other way, than by faying, Aharattle-la pheena chemanumbole, " I fhall firmly make hands with your dil'courfe, or fpeech." When two nations of Indians are making, or renewing peace with each other, the ceremonies and Solemnities they ufe, carry the face of great antiquity, and are very Striking to a curious fpectator, which I fhall here relate, fo far as it fuits the prefent fubjecl. When ftrangers of note arrive near the place, where they defign to contract; new friendfhip, or confirm their old amity, they fend a meffenger a-head, to inform the people of their amicable intention. He carries a Swan's wing in his hand, painted all over with ifreaks of white clay, as an expreffive emblem of their embaffy. The next day, when they have made their friendly parade, with firing off their guns and whooping, and have entered the beloved fquare, their chieftain, who is a-head of the reft, is met by one of the old beloved men, or magi, of the place. He and the vifitant approach one another, in a bowing potture. The former fays, Tb, IJh la chu Anggbna? " Are you come a friend in the name of God ?" Or, ** Is God with you, friend ?" for, To is a religious contraction of Tohewah,—JJio " the man," La a note of joy, Chu a query, and Anggona " a friend." The other replies, Yah—ArabrcrO, Anggcna, " God is with me, I am come, a friend, in God's name." The reply confirms the meaning of the queilionary Salute, in the manner before explained. The magus then grafps the Stranger with both his hands, around the wrift of his right hand, which holds fome green branches—again, about the elbow — then around the arm, clofe to his fhoulder, as a near approach to the heart. Then his immediately waving the eagles tails over the head of the Stranger, is the ftrongeft pledge of good faith. Similar to the Hebrew word, Phale with the Indians, fignifies " to wave," and likewife to Shake* for they fay, Skcoba — Phale, " fhaking one's head." How far the Indian oath, or manner of covenanting, agrees with that of the Hebrews, on the like folemn occafion, I refer to the intelligent reader. Their method of embracing each other, feems to rcfemble alSo that cuftom of the Hebrews, when a Stranger became Surety for another, by giving him his wrift ; to which Solomon alludes, "If thou haft Stricken hand with the ftranger, &c." ■—Their common method of greeting each other, is analogous with the above ; the holt only fays, Jjh-la Chu ? and the gueft replies, Arahre-O, 1 am come in the name of O E A," or Yo He Wah. When When O is joined to the end of words, it always denotes a fuperlative, according to t icir univerl'al figurative abbreviations of the great beloved name; thus with the Chikkafah, IJfe, "deer," and IJfe-O, " very great deer ;" Tana/a, " a buffalo," Tanas-O, " a very extraordinary great buffalo which is, at lealt, as ftrong a fuperlative, as btt jt2 bit, fignifying " the houfe of the Omnipotent," or " the temple." With the Cheerake Indians, A (zvdh ta) howwe fignifies " a great deer-killer :" it is compounded of Ahozvwe, " a deer," Wah — the period ot the divine name, and Ta, a note of plurality. The title, " the deer-killer of God for the people," was, fince my time, very honourable among them, as its radical meaning likewife imports. Every town had one folemnly appointed j him, whom they faw the Deity had at fundry times bleffed with better fuccefs than the reft of his brethren, in fupplying them with an holy banquet, that they might eat, and rejoice, before the divine effence. But now it feems, by reafon of their great intercourle with foreigners, they have left off that old focial, religious cuftom ; and even their former noted hofpitahty. I would alfo obferve, that though neceffity obliged them to apply the bear's-greafe, or oil, to religious ufes, they have no fuch phrafe as (Wah ta) eeona \ not accounting the bear fo clean an animal as the deer, to be offered, and eaten in their religious friendly feafts •, where they folemnly invoked, ate, drank, fung, and danced in a circular form, to, and before, YO He Wah. The Indian dialects, like the Hebrew language, have a nervous and emphatical manner of expreffion.—The Indians do not perlonify inanimate objects, as did the oriental heathens, but their ttyle is adorned with images, companion^ and ftrong metaphors like the Hebrews and equal in allegories to any of the eaftern nations. According to the ages of antiquity, their war-fpeeches, and public orations, always affume a poetical turn, not unlike the found of the meafures of the celebrated Anacreon and Pindar. Their poetry is leldom exact in numbers, rhymes, or meafure : it may be compared to profe in mufic, or a tunable way of fpeaking. The period is always accompanied with a founding vehemence, to inforce their mufical fpeech: and the mufic is apparently defigned to pleafe the car, and affect ihe paflions. . After • After what hath been faid of their language, it may be proper here to fhew how they accent the confonants: I fhall range them in the order of our alphabet, except thofe they pronounce after our manner. When CH begins a word, or is prefixed to a vowel, it conveys a foft found, as Chda, ** highbut otherwile it is guttural: as is D, which is expreffed by fixing the tip of the tongue between the teeth, as Dazvi, for David. G is always guttural, as we accent Go. They cannot pronounce Gn; and they have not the Hh, neither can it be expreffed in their dialects, as their leading vowels bear the force of guttural confonants. They have not the Jod, as I can any way recollect, or get information of \ nor can they repeat it, any nearer than Chot. They pronounce K, as in Ko; L and N, as D—~S, by fixing the tongue to the lower teeth •> T like D, as in the old Hibernian, or Celtic affirmative, Ta. They cannot pronounce V, or X; they call the governor of Moveel, (Mobille) Gozveno-Mozveeleh : and they have not a word which begins or ends with X. KS are always divided into two fyllables; as Hak-fe, " mad," &c. They have not the letter Z much lefs any fuch harfh found as Tz, although they have Tl. As they ufe the Hebrew confonants JTand IV, in their moft folemn invocation YO He Wah, inftead of the prefent Hebrew Jod and Van; fo they feem to exclude them intirely out of their various dialects : the pronunciation therefore of the Hebrew characters, which are fuppofed to convey the other founds, they are unacquainted with ; and thofe which feem to be tranfpofed, may be clearly afcertained by perfons of proper capacity and leifure, by comparing a fufficient number of Hebrew and Indian words together. The Indian accents, Oo, and 0, and Tl, may, prove a pretty good key to fpeculative enquirers. Tl often occur in their words; as Tlumba, " to bleed with a lancet, to bore, fcoop, or make any thing hollow ," and Heettla, " to dance." And the South-Americans, we are told, had likewife the fame found, as in that national name, Tlajkala: it feems to have been univerfal over the extenfive continent. And, from a fimilarity of the Hebrew manners, religious rites, civil and martial cuftoms, we have a ftrong preemptive proof, that they ufed the aforefaid double vowels, and likewife a fingle vowel," as a termination, to give their words a foft accent: and it is plain to me, that the Hebrew language did not found fo harfh, as it is now commonly expreffed, but like the American dialects it was interfperfed with vowels, and and a vowel was commonly fubjoined to each word, for the fake of a foft cadence ; as Abele, and Ale, inftead of b2$, Abel, and btf, Ah &c. The Englifh characters cannot be brought any nearer to the true pronunciation of the Indian words, than as above fet down: fo that former writers have notorioufly (frayed, by writing conjedturally, or taking things on the wing of fame. What Indian words we had, being exceedingly mangled, either by the fault of the prefs, or of torturing pens, heretofore induced fkilful perfons to conjecture them to be hieroglyphical characters, in imitation of the ancient Egyptian manner of writing their chronicles. The Indians exprefs themfelves with a great deal of vehemence, and with fhort paufes, in all their fet fpeeches; but, in common difcourfe, they exprefs themfelves according to our ufual method of fpeech, only when they fcold each other : which I never obferved, unlefs they were intoxicated with fpiritous liquors, or cafually overheard a hufband when fober in his own family. They always act the part of a ftoic philofopher in outward appearance, and never fpeak above their natural key. And in their philofophic way of reafoning, their language is the more fharp and biting, like keen irony and fatyr, that kills whom it praifes. They know, that thus they correct and fubdue the firft boilings of anger •, which, if unchecked, proves one of the moft dangerous paffions to which human nature is fubje£t. So that remote favages, who have heard only the jarring fcreeches of night-owls, and the roaring voices of ravenous beafts of prey,, in this refpect give leffons, and fet a worthy example to our moft civilized nations. I have heard feveral eloquent Indian leaders, juft as they were ready to fet off for war, to ufe as bold - metaphors and allegories in their fpeeches — and images almoft as full and animating, as the eloquent penman of the old divine book of Job, even where he is painting, with his ftrong colours, the gladnefs and contempt of the beautiful war-horfe, at the near approach of the enemy. I heard one of their captains, at the end of his oration for war, tell the warriors that ftood outermost, he feelingly knew their guns were burning in their hands ; their tomohawks thirfty to diink the blood of their enemy j and their trufty arrows arrows impatient to be on the wing; and, left delay fhould burn their hearts any longer, he gave them the cool refrefhing word, " Join the holy ark, and away to cut off the devoted enemy.'* They immediately founded the ■ihrill whoo-whoop, and ftruck up the folemn, awful fong, To, Sec. In Virginia, refides the remnant of an Indian tribe, who call themfelves Sepone ; which word, with the Egyptians, fignifies the time of putting their wine into veffels; derived, according to mythologifts, from Saphan, " to in-clofe or conceal." From thence they formed the fictitious Tifiphcne, the pu-nifher of fins, animated with hatred and alfo the reft of their pretended furies, from the like circumftances of the year. Our early American writers have beftowed on thefe Indians an emperor, according to the Spaniih copy, calling him Paivhatan—contrary to the Indian method of ending their proper names with a vowel •, and have pictured them as a feparate body of fierce idolatrous canibals. We however find them in the prefent day, of the fame temper and religious tenets, as the reft of the Indian Americans, in proportion to their fituation in life. Confidering the nearnefs of Egypt to Judea, they might have derived that appellative from the Egyptians,—efpecially, as here, and in feveral of our American colonies, (particularly on the north fide of Sufquehana river, in Penfylvania) are old towns, called Kanaa. There was about thirty years ago, a remnant of a nation, or fubdivided tribe of Indians, called Kanaai; which refembles the Hebrew proper name, {Canaan, or Chanoona). Their proper names always end with a vowel: and they feldom ufe a confonant at the end of any word *. I cannot recollect * If we confider the proximity of thofe Indians to a thick-fettled colony, in which there are many gentlemen of eminent learning, it will appear not a little furprizing that the name Ca-naanitcs) in the original language, according to the Indian method of cxprelling it, as above, did not excite the attention of the curious, and prompt them to fome enquiry into the language, rites, and cuiloms, of thofe Aborigines: which had they efFe&ed, would have juftly procured them thofe eulogia from the learned world, which their fociety profufely bellowed on the artful, improved llrokes of a former prime magiftrate of South-Carolina, whofe conduft in Indian affairs, was fo exceedingly fingular, if not fordid and faulty, (as I publicly proved when he prefided there) that another year's fuch management would have caufed the Cheerake to remove to the French barrier, or to have invited the French to fettle agarrifon, where the late unfortunate For:.-Loudon Hood. But a true Britifh. adminiflration Succeeding, in the very critical time, it dellroyed their immature, but moft dangerous threatening fcheme. This note I infert here, though rather out of place, to fhew, that the northern gentlemen have not made all thofe obfervations and enquiries, with regard to the 'Indians, which might have been reafonably expefted, from fo numerous and learned a body, 7 any Their opinion of thunder and lightning, 6$ any exceptions but the following, which are fonorous, and feem to be of an ancient date \ Ookkah, " a fwan •," Ilpatak, " a wing ;" Koojhaky « reeds •," Sbeenuk, " fand -," Sbutik, " the Ikies Pbtttebik, " a ftar Soonak, " a kettle jrt Skin, " the eye " Ai-eep, " a pond j*' and from which they derive the word Ai-ee-pe, " to bathe," which alludes to the eaftern method of purifying themfelves. Ilbak fignifies " a hand :" and there are a few words that end with Jh , as So&lijh, " a tongue," &c. The Indians call the lightning and thunder, Eloha, and its rumbling noife, Rowah, which may not improperly be deduced from the Hebrew. To enlighten the Hebrew nation, and imprefs them with a reverential awe of divine majefty, God fpoke to them at Sinai, and other times during the theocracy, with an awful or thundering voice. The greater part of the Hebrews feem to have been formerly as ignorant of philofophy, as are the favage Americans now. They did not know that thunder proceeded from any natural caufe, but from the immediate voice of Elohim, above the clouds 5 and the Indians believe, according to this Hebrew fyftem of philofophy, that Minggo IJhto Eloba Alkaiajlo, " the great chieftain of the thunder, is very crofs, or angry when it thunders:" and I have heard them fay, when it rained, thundered, and blew fharp, for a confiderable time, that the beloved, or holy people, were at war above the clouds. And they believe that the war at fuch times, is moderate, or hot, in proportion to the noife and violence of the ftorm. I have feen them in thefe ftorms, fire off their guns, pointed toward the fkyi fome in contempt of heaven, and others through religion—.the former, to (hew that they were warriors, and not afraid to die in any fhape much lefs afraid of that threatening troublefome noile : and the latter, becaufe their hearts directed them to aiTift Ifhtohoollo Eloba *. May not this ' The firft lunar eclipfe I faw, after I lived with the Indians, W3s among the Cheerake, An, 1736: and during the continuance of it, their conducl appeared very furprizing to one who had not feen the like before; they all ran wild, this way and that way, like lunatics, firing their guns, whooping and hallooing, beating of kettles, ringing horfc-bells, and making the moft horrid noifes that human beings pofiibly could. This was the effecl; of their natural philofophy, and done to affift the fuffering moon. And it is an opinion of fome of the Haft-Indians, that eclipfes are occafioned by a great monfter refembling a bull-frog, which now and then gnaws one edge of the fun and moon, and would totally deftroy them, only that they frighten it away, and by that means preferve them and their light. K proceed ■ proceed from an oral tradition of the war which the rebellious angels waged againft the great Creator and which the ancient heathens called the war of the giants ? Nothing founds bolder, or is more expreffive, than the Cheerake name of thunder, Eentaquarojke. It points at the effects and report of the battles, which they imagine the holy people are righting above. The fmall-pox, a foreign difeafe, no way connatural to their healthy climate, they call Oonataqitdra, imagining it to proceed from the invifible darts of angry fate, pointed againft them, for their young people's vicious conduct. When they fay, " I fhall fhoot," their term is, Ake-rooka. The radix of this word is in the two laft fyllables; the two firft are expreffive only of the Jfirft perfon Singular •, as Akeeohoofa, " I am dead, or loft •," and Akeeohooferar " I have loft." Rooka feems to have a reference to the Hebrew name for the holy Spirit. The moft fouthern old town, which the Chikkafah firft fettled, after the Chokchoomah, Choktah, and they, feparated on our fide of the Miififippi, into three different tribes, they called Yaneka, thereby inverting Yahkdne, the name of the earth •, as their former brotherhood was then turned into enmity "*. The bold Creeks on the oppofite, or north fide of them, they named Yahnabe, " killing to God," or devoting to death ; for the mid confonant expreffes the prefent time. And their proper names of perfons, and places, are always exprefiive of certain circumftances, or things, drawn from roots, that convey a fixed determinate meaning. With the Mufkohge, Algeh fignifies " a language," or fpeech: and, becaufe feveral of the Germans among them, frequently fay Yah-yah, as an affirmative, they call them Yah-yah Algeh, " Thofe of the blafphemous fpeech;" which ftrongly hints to us, that they ftill retain a glimpfe of the third moral command delivered at Sinai, u Thou fhalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain," or apply the name of Yohewah, thy Elohim, to vain, or created things. * They call the earth Yahkane, becauSe Yah formed it, as his footftool, by the power of his word. In allufion alfo hereto, Nakkine fignifies a man, becaufe of the mother-earth ; and Nakke a bullet, or arrow. When the Cheerake afk a perfon, Is it not fo ? they fay, Wahkane \ The.divine effential. name, and Kane, are evidently the roots of thefe words. Thefe- Thefe Indians, to inculcate on their young people, that YO He Wah is the Author of vegetation, call the growth of vegetables, Wahrdah, " moved by Yohewah j" for Aiih fignifies to walk, or move j and the confonant is an expletive of diftinction. In like manner, Wah-ah fignifies, that " the fruits are ripe," or moved to their joy, by Yohewah. They likewife call the flying of birds, Wahkdab ; as Yohewah gave them that fwift motion. And, when young pigeons are well feathered, they fay, Palche hijJifhe oolphotdhdh— Patche fignifies " a pidgeon," Hijbflri, " leaves, hair, or feathers," oolpba, or oolpho, " a bud," ta, a note of plurality, and hah of admiration, to make it a plural fuperlative. But, when the pigeons, in winter, fly to a moderate climate in great clouds, they ufe the word, Wah-ah, which in every other application defcribes vegetation, and fay, Patche Wah-ah, " the pigeons are moved to them by Yohewah " which feems to allude to the quails in the wildernefs, that were miraculoufly fent to feed the Ifraelites. Clay bafons they call Ai-am-bo; and their old round earthen forts, Aiambo Chdah, this laft word fignifying " high," or tall: but a ftockade, Or wooden fort, they term, Hoorcta ; and to infwamp, Book-IIoore, from Bookfe, " a fwamp," and Hooreta, " a fort, or place of difficult accefs." High waters, conveys to them, an idea only of deepnefs •, as Ookka phcbe, " deep waters." And they fay, Ookka chookbma intda, " The water glides, or moves along pleafantly, or goodly." That the word Intda, has Ya-ah for its radix, is apparent from their name for a rapid current, Yahnale, " it runs with a very extraordinary forcethe mid confonant is placed there, to give the word a fuitable vehemence of expreffion — and the word is compounded of n% Tab, and bll, Ale, two names of God. In like manner, Yahnhli fignifies " a pleurify," fever, and the like ; becaufe they reckon, when Yah fays ha in anger, to any of their vicious people, he immediately fires the blood, and makes it run violently through all the veins of the body. AJhtahdle fignifies the reflection of the celeftial luminaries, which is com-pofed of two of the divine names as V% AJIj, the celeftial, cherubimical name of God, fignifying fire, ta, a contraction of the conjunction copulative, and but, Ale, the ftrong, or omnipotent. They fay a river, or warm victuals, is A-Jhk-pa that is, the former is become fordable, and the latter eatable. They here divide AJh into two fyllables and the termination alludes to the word, Apa, which fignifies eating. Paab Pddh fignifies to raife the voice, Vocifero— for "»3, Phi, fignifies " the mouth," and A'dh, " to move." Opde is the name of a war-leader, becaufe he is to move his mouth to O e A, or invoke YO He Wah, while he carries the beloved ark to war, and is fanctifying himfelf and his party, that they may obtain fucceis againft the enemy. But Pae-Minggo fignifies a far-off, or diftant chieftain. Pa yak Matdhdh, is the high name of a war-leader, derived from Pdah, to raife the voice to Yah, and Tahdh, " nnifhed," meaning his war-gradation: the M prefixed to it, makes it a fubftantive, according to the ufage of the Hebrews. Any thing liquid they term Ookche, from Ookka and che: and Ookchaab fignifies " alive." It is drawn from Ookka, w water," Ch, a note of refemblance, and Aah, " moving i" i. e. a living creature refembles moving water. In like manner, Ookcha fignifies to awake out of fleep and alfo to plant any vegetable fubftance, alluding to their three different ftates—they firft were enabled to move about — then reft, or fleep is neceffary, and alfo being planted in the earth — but they hope that in due time, they fhall be moved upward, after they have flept a while in the earth, by the omnipotent power of Tab. They have an idea of a refurrection of the dead body, according to the general belief of the Jews, and in conformity to St. Paul's philofophical axiom, that corruption precedes generation, and a refurrection. Kecnta fignifies " a beaver," Ookka <{ water," and Heenna " a path but, for a fmooth cadence, they contract them into one word, Keentook-hcenna ; which very exprefiively fignifies " a beaver-dam." The Indian compounded words, are generally pretty long; but thofe that are radical, or fimple, are moftly fhort: very few, if any of them, exceed three or four fyllables. And, as their dialects are guttural, every word contains fome confonants; and thefe are the effential characteristics of language. Where they deviate from this rule, it is by religious emblems; which obvioufly proceeds from the great regard they paid to the names of the Deity, efpecially, to the four-lettered, divine, effential name, by ufinor the letters it contains, and the vowels it was originally pronounced with, to convey a virtuous idea; or, by doubling, or tranfpofing them, to fignify the contrary. In this they all agree. And, as this general cuftom muft proceed from one primary caufe, it feems to affure us, they were not in a t favage favage ftate, when they firft feparated, and variegated their dialects, with fo much religious care, and exact: art. Blind chance could not direct fo great a number of remote and warring favage nations to fix on, and unite in fo nice a religious ftandard of fpeech. Vowels are inexpreffivc of things, they only typify them; as Oo-E-A, " to afcend, or remove:"—0 E A, a mod facred affirmation of the truth. Similar to thefe are many words, containing only one confonant: as To-e-u, " it is very true O-fe-u, " very good;" Y-O-U, " evil, or very bad Y-d-a, " he moves by the divine bounty j." Nan-ne Y-a, " the divine hill, or the mount of God," &c. If language was not originally a divine gift, which fome of our very curious modern philo-fophers deny, and have taken great pains to fet afide; yet human beings are poffeffed of the faculties of thinking and fpeaking, and, in proportion to their ideas, they eafily invented, and learned words mixed with confonants and vowels, to exprefs them. Natural laws are common and general. The fituation of the Indian Americans, has probably been the means of finking them into that ftate of barbarifm we now behold—Yet, though in great meafure they may have loft their primitive language, not one of them exprefTes himfelf by the natural cries of brute-animals, any farther than to defcribe fome of the animals by the cries they make which we ourfelves fometimes imitate, as Choo-qua-le-qua-loo, the name they give that merry night-finging bird, which we call " Whip her will my poor wife," (much like our cuckoo) fo termed from its mufical monotony. No language is exempt from the like fimple copyings. The nervous, polite, and copious Greek tongue had the loud-founding Boo B'dao, which the Romans imitated, by their bellowing Roves Bourn, and the Indians fay Pa-a, fignifying the loud noife of every kind of animals, and their own loud-founding war Whoo Whoop. Where they do not ufe divine emblems, their words have much articulation of confonants. Their radicals have not the infepa-rable property of three confonants, though frequently they have; and their words are not fo long, as ftrangers conjecturally draw them out. Instead of a fimple word, we too often infert the wild picture of a double, or triple-compounded one •, and the conjugation of their verbs, utterly deceives us. A Specimen of this, will fhew it with fufficient clearnefs, and may exhibit Some ufeful hints to the curious fearchers of antiquity. A-no-zua fignifies " a rambler, renegadoe, or a perfon of no fettled place of abode." A-no-wah, the firft perfon, and IJh-na, the fecond perfon Angular, o lingular, but they have not a particular pronoun for the third ; they diftin-guifh it by cuftom. Si-a, or Sy-ab, is " I am;" Cbee-a, or Cby-ab, " you are" and Too-wab, " he is." Ay-ah fignifies " to go " Ay-a-fa, " I remain;" IJh-i-a-fa, " you remain ;" A-fa, " he remains." A-OO-E-A is a ftrong religious emblem, fignifying " I climb, afcend, or remove to another place of refidence." It points to A-nb-wah, the firft perfon lingular, and O-E-A, or YO He Wah ; and implies, putting themfelves under his divine patronage. The beginning of that moft facred fymbol, is, by ftudious fkill, and a thorough knowledge of the power of letters, placed twice, to prevent them from applying the facred name to vain purpofes, or created things. In like manner they fay, Naf-fap-pe-0 IJh-OO-E-A, " You are climbing a very great acorn-tree," meaning an oak; for Naf-fe is the name of an acorn ; and the mid part of that triple compounded word, is derived from Ap-pe-la, " to help " Cbc-ap-pe-la A-wa, " I do not help you." The termination, according to their fixed idiom, magnifies it to a fuperlative. ^uoo-ran-be-qua, a noted old camping place, fourteen miles above the fettlement of Ninety-fix, and eighty-two below the Cheerake, fignifies, in their dialect, " the large white oaks." Ooffak is the name of a " hickory-nut," and Ooffak Ap-pe-O, as above. Oot-te fignifies '* a chefnut;" Noot-te, " a tooth ■," Soot-te, u a pot i" and Oo-te, " to make a fire," which may be called an Indian type for eating boiled chefnuts. When they fay, " He is removing his camp," they exprefs it in a moft religious manner, Al-be-na-OO-E-A. Al-be-nas-le fignifies " I camped •," Al-be-nds-le-chu, " I Itiall, or will, camp :" but, according to their religious mode of fpeaking, Al-be-na A-OO-E-A-re, exprelTes the former, and Al-be-7ia A-OO'E-A-rd-cbil, the latter phrafe ; likewife, Al-be-na OO-E-As fignifies Caflra Moveto, imperatively. It is worthy of notice, that as they have no pronoun relative to exprefs the third perfon lingular, they have recourfe to the firft Syllable of the effential word, Toowah, " He is." In allufion to that word, they term the conjunction copulative, Ta-wah, and Tee-U-JVah, " retting." So mixed a train of nice and exact religious terms, could not be invented by people, as illiterate and favage as the Indians now are, any more than happen by accident. Though they have loft the true meaning of their religious emblems, except what a very few of us occasionally revive in the retentive memories of •their old inquifitive magi j yet tradition directs them to apply them properly. o perly. They ufe many plain religious emblems of the divine names, Yohewah, Yah, and Ale,— and thefe are the roots of a prodigious number of words, through their various dialects. It is furprizing they were unnoticed, and that no ufe was made of them, by the early voluminous Spanifh writers, or by olvr own, for the information of the learned world, notwith-ftanding the bright lights they had to direct them in that aera, when the decorations of their holy temples and priefts, their religious ceremonies, and iacred hymns of praife to the Deity, of which hereafter, fo nearly corref-ponded with the Ifraelitiih, and might have been readily difcovered by any who eyed them with attention. In our time, by reafon of their long inter-courfe with foreigners, we have neceffarily but a few dark traces to guide our inquiries, in the inveltigation of what mint have been formerly,, mining truths. i muft beg to be indulged with a few more remarks on their verbs.—If we prefix y& to A-a, " to move," it becomes A-fd-a, " to offend." The mo-nofyllables IJh and Che, varioufly denote the fecond perfon lingular; but when the former is by cuftom prefixed to a verb, the latter then exprefies either the accufative or ablative cafe lingular of the pronoun relative j as IJh-a-fd-ah, " you are offended, or moved to fay Ah;" IJh-a-fd-a->re, " you were dif-pleafed j" but Che-a-fd-ah fignifies " I am difpleafed with you;" and Che-a-fd-a-re " I was offended by you-," Che-a-fd-a-chee-k is " I occafion,.or have occafioned you to be difpleafed," literally, " I produce, or have produced offence to you ;" and Che-a-fd-a-chee-la Awa, " I fhall not caufe you to be difpleafed." In like manner, they fay A-dn-ha, which fignifies •* I defpife," or literally, " I move ha ;" for the mid letter is inferted for distinction-fake, according to their idiom. So A-chin-ha-chu, " I fhall contemn you ;" A-chin-ha-chec-la A-wa, " I fhall not caufe you to become defpicable." Chce-k fignifies literally, " to bring forth young." So that the former method of expreffion is very Significant •, and yet it fhews a fterility of language, as that fingle word is applicable to every fpecies of female animals, fowls not excepted : Thus, Phoo-Jhe Chee-le, " the birds lay." Oe-Jhe fignifies " a young animal," of any kind—and likewife an egg. When mentioned alone, by way of excellence, it is the common name of an infant; but when the name of the fpecies of animals is prefixed to it, it defcribes the young creature. An-puflj-kocjh oo-Jhe, is what the tender mother fays toiler well-pleafed infant. The two words import the fame thing. The former refembles the Hebrew, and the latter is likewife a fubftantive ; they, i fay. fay Chool-loo-Jhe T'eeth-ld-a-ta-hdh, "the fox-cubs are run off-,"—Choo-la being the name of a fox. Phut-cboos-co-Jhe Wah-kd-as, " let the young duck fly away and Pboo-foo-Jhe Hip-fin Ool-pha-qui-fa, ■* the young wild bird's hairs, or feathers, are not fprung, or budded." Pa-fe fignifies the hair of a man's head, or the mane of animals. Sha-le fignifies pregnant, literally, " to carry a burthen ;" as Oo-fie Shade, " fhe bears, or carries, an infant j* but, when it is born, Shoo-le is the name for carrying it in their arms. This bears off from the divine radix, with great propriety of language. Im prefixed to a verb, denotes the mafculine and feminine pronouns, ilium and illam As this is their fixed method of fpeech, the reader will eafily un-derftand the true idiom of their language. Sal-le fignifies " I am dead," Chil-le, you, &c. Il-leh, he, &c. And this is likewife a fubftantive, as It-let Min-te, " death is approaching," or coming: Min-te-cha fignifies " come you i" and A-min te-la A-wa, or Ac-min-td-qua-chu, " I will not come." The former word, Shade, " to carry a burthen," or, flic is pregnant, feems to be derived from iff and bH : and, as A-Jhd-le, IJb~Jbd-le, and E-pd-le, are the firft, fecond, and third pcrfons Singular of the prefent tenfe, the latter may allude to her conception by the power of the Deity : and it alfo points to bw, Sha-wo-le, or Saul, " the grave, or fepulchre," out of which the dead fhall come forth to a new world of light. In like manner Chee-le " to bring forth," or A-chee-ld-le, " I brought forth," appears to be derived from 3, a note of refemblance, and b$, A-le, the fruitful Omnipotent. All the American nations, like the Jews, entertain a contemptible opinion of their females that are barren—Sterility they confidcr as proceeding from the divine anger, on account of their conjugal infidelity. To enable grammarians to form a clear idea of the Indian method of variegating their verbs, and of the true meaning they convey, we muft again recur to the former effential word, or rather divine emblem, A-ah, " he moves." They Say A-as, " let him move," and Ee-md-ko, or Bid-fas A-d-d-re, " I now move," or " yefterday I moved \n for, like the Hebrews, they fometimes ufe the preterperfect, inftead of the preient tenfe. A-d-a-ra-chu is the firft perfon Singular of the future tenfe, in the indicative mood. A-d-tahah expreSTes the third perfon plural of the prefent tenfe, and fame mood. A-a-ta-hdh-ta-H-a fignifies, by query, " have ye, or will ye move ?" It is their method of conjugating their verbs, that occafions any of their radical radical or derivative verbs to exceed three or four fyllables; as we fee by this, which, though compofed only of two vowels, or Short fyllables, is yet fo greatly deflected. With them two negatives make an affirmative, as Ak-bifh-ko-qud, " I fhall not drink-," add the ftrong negative termination A-wa, it is, " I will certainly drink." An affirmative queftion frequently implies a ftrong negative •, as Ai-a-rd-ta-ko-a, literally, " will, or fhould, I go ?" that is, " I really will not, or fhould not go :" and on the contrary, a negative query imports an affirmative affertion ; as A-kai-u-qiid-ta-ko-a, " fhould not I go ?" or, " I furely fhould go." Ee-dko A-pd-ret Sa-kdi-a-qua-ta-ko-a, is literally, " if I ate, fhould not 1 be Satisfied ?" which implies, " if I ate, I fhould be fully fatisfied. To drinking, they apply a word that fignifies content; and indeed, they are moft eager to drink any fort of fpi-ritous liquors, when their bellies are quite full. When they are tired with drinking, if we fay to any of them, Un-ta Ang-go-na Che-ma b/Jh-kd-Ia Chu, '* Well, my friend, I will drink with you;" Che-a-yook-pa-chee-re Too-gat, " for, indeed, I rejoice in your company •," he replies, llai-a, Ook-ka Hoo-me Hijh-ko Sa-nook-td-ra; which is, " No ; for I am content with drinking bitter waters." They conftantly prefix the fubftantive before the adjective, and place the accufative cafe before the verb. If we tranflate the following words, Ook-ka Pangge Hum-ma Law-wa A-hifh-ko le Bla fas, they literally fignify, " yefterday I drank a great deal of red-grape water," meaning claret. Thus they fay, Tik-ke-ba, Ing-glee-Jhe Frenfhe Ee-lap A-bingga E-tee-be, " formerly, when the Englifh and French fought againft each other ;" Fren-fhe lng-glee-fje A-be-td-le" the French were killed by the Englifh." The verbs are feldom defective, or imperfect: though they may feem to be fo to perfons who do not underftand the idiom of their language, they are not; they only appear as fuch by the near refemblance of words, which convey a different meaning'—zsA-kai-a, " I go," Sa-kai a, " I am fatisfied with eating," and Sal-kai-a, " I am angry, crofs, vexed, or difturbed in mind ;" Sbee-a, Che-kai-a, and Cbil-kai-a, in the fecond perfon Ai-a, E-kai-a, an'd Al-kai-a, in the third perfon Singular. A-pee-fa fignifies " to fee," and Al-pee-fa, " Strait, even, or right ; Al-pco-e-ak, the general name of mercantile goods, I Subjoin, as Such a word is uncommon with them; they Seldom ufe fo harfh a termination. I fhall here clofe this argument, and hope L enough enough hath been faid to give a clear idea of the principles of the Indian language and dialects, its genius and idiom, and ftrong fimilarity to, anil near coincidence with the Hebrew—which will be not eafily accounted for,, but by confidering the American Indians as defcended from the Jews* ARGUMENT VI. They count Time after the manner of the Hebrews. They divide the year into fpring—fummer—autumn, or the fall of the leaf—and winter : which the Cheerake Indians call Kogeh, Akooea, Ookkohji^ Ko'ra and the Chikkafah and Choktah nation, Otoolpha, Tome palle, AJhtdra-moona, Afotbra. Kdgeh is drawn from Anantoge, the general appellation for the fun and moon •, becaufe, when the fun returns from the fouthern hemi-fphere,. he covers the vegetable world with a green livery. Akooca alludes ftrongly to the effential divine name, as we have feen in the former argument. With regard to Oolekohjle, ** the fall of the leaf," as they call a buzzard, Soore, or Soole ; and as Soolekohfie fignifies troublefome, offenfive,. difagreeable, the word fignifies, that " the fall of the year is as dii-agreeable a fight, as that of a buzzard." Kora, as with the Hebrews, fignifies the winter; and is likewife the name of a bone: and by joining Hah, an Hebrew note of admiration, to the end of it, as Kora-Hah, it becomes, the proper name of a man, fignifying, " all bones," or very bony. Otdcl-pha, " the fpring feafon," is derived from Ooipha, the name of a bud, or to fhoot out becaufe then the folar heat caufes vegetables to bud and fpring. TCmch fignifies " the folar light," and Palle, " warm or hot Afitora, " winter," and Moona, " prefently," &c. They number their years by any of thofe four periods, for they have no name for a year-, and they fubdivide thefe, and count the year by lunar months, like the Ifraelites, who counted by moons, as their name fufficiently teftifies; for they called them DTIT, the plural of m% the moon. The Indians have no diftincf proper name for the fun and moon ; one word, with a note of diftincf ion, expreffes both—for example; the Cheerake call call the fun Euf-fe A-nan-to-ge, " the day-moon, or fun ;" and the latter, Neuf-fe A-nan-t»-ge, or " the night-fun, or moon." In like manner, the Chikkafah and Choktah term the one, Neetak-Hafjeh, and the other, Necnnak-Haffeh; for Neetak fignifies " a day," and Neennak, " a night." Here I cannot forbear remarking, that the Indians call the penis of any animal, by the very fame name, Hajfe j with this difference only, that the termination is in this inftance pronounced fhort, whereas the other is long, on purpofe to diflinguiih the words. This bears a ftrong analogy to what the rabbins tell us of the purity of the Hebrew language, that " it is fo chafte a tongue, as to have no proper names for the parts of generation." The Cheerake can boaft of the fame decency of ftyle, for they call a corn-houfe, Watohre and the penis of any creature, by the very fame name ; intimating, that as the fun and moon influence and ripen the fruits that are Itored in it, fo by the help of Ceres and Bacchus, Venus lies warm, whereas on the contrary, fine Cerere &? Bacchus, friget Venus, They count certain very remarkable tilings, by knots of various colours and make, after the manner of the South-American Aborigines; or by notched fquare flicks, which are likewife diftributed among the head warriors, and other chieftains of different towns, in order to number the winters, &c.—the moons alfo—their fleeps—and the days when they travel; and efpecially certain fecret intended acts of hoflility. Under fuch a circumftance, if one day elapfes, each of them loofens a knot, or cuts off a notch, or elfe makes one, according to previous agreement which thofe who are in the trading way among them, call broken days. Thus they proceed day by day, till the whole time is expired, which was marked out, or agreed upon ; and they know with certainty, the exact time of any of the aforefaid periods, when they are to execute their fecret purpofes, be they ever fo various. The authors of the romantic Spanifh hiftories of Peru and Mexico, have wonderfully ftretched on thefe knotted, or marked firings, and notched fquare flicks, to fhew their own fruitful inventions, and draw the attention and furprize of the learned world to their magnified bundle of trifles. The method of counting time by weeks, or fevenths, was a very ancient cuftom, praftifed by the Syrians, Egyptians, and moft of the oriental nations j L 2 and and it evidently is a remain of the tradition of the creation. The Creator, indeed, renewed to the Hebrews the old precept of fanctifying the feventh clay, on a particular occafion. And chriftianity promoted that religious obfervance in the weftern world, in remembrance of the work of redemption. The Greeks counted time by decads, or tens •, and the Romans by nones, or ninths. The number, and regular periods of the Indians public religious feafts, of which prefently, is a good hiftorical proof, that they counted time by, and obferved a weekly fabbath, long after their arrival on the American continent. They count the day alfo by the three fenfible differences of the fun, like the Hebrews —fun-rife, they term, Hajfe kootcha meente, ** the fun's coming out—noon, or mid-day, Tabookbre-,— and fun-fet, Hajfe Oobe a, literally, " the fun is dead •," likewife, Hajfe OokkaUbra, that is, ** the fun is fallen into the water the laft word is compounded of Ookka, water, and Etbra, to fall: it fignifies alfo " to fwim," as inftinct would direct thofe to do, who fell into the water. And they call dark, Ookklille—derived from Ookka, water, and Illeh, dead ; which fliews their opinion of the fun's disappearance, according to the ancients, who faid the fun flept every night in the weftern ocean. They Subdivide the day, by any of the aforefaid three Standards—as half way between the fun's coming out of the water; and in like manner, by midnight, or cock-crowing, &c. They begin the year, at the firft appearance of the firft new moon of the vernal aequinox, according to the ecclefiaftical year of Mofes: and thofe j'ynodical months, each confift of twenty-nine days, twelve hours, and forty odd minutes; which make the moons, alternately, to confift of twenty-nine and of thirty days. They pay a great regard to the firft appearance of every new moon, and, on the occafion, always repeat fome joyful founds, and ftretch out their hands towards her — but at fuch times they offer no public Sacrifice. Till the 70 years captivity commenced, (according to Dr. Prideaux, 606 years before the Chridian aera) the Ifraelites had only numeral names for the folar and lunar months, except 2*28 and O-J/INn; the former fignifies a green ear of corn -y and the latter, robuft, or valiant. And by the firft name,. name, the Indians, as an explicative, term their pajfover, which the trading people call the green-corn dance. As the Ifraelites were a fenfual people, and generally understood nothing but the ihadow, or literal part of the law ; fo the Indians clofely imitate them, minding only that traditional part, which promifed them a delicious land, flowing with milk and honey, fhe two Jewifh months juft mentioned, were equinoctial. Abib, or their prefent Nifan, was the feventh of the civil, and the firft of the ecclefiaftical year, anfwering to our March and April : and Ethanim, which began the civil year, was the feventh of that of the ecclefiallical, the fame as our September and October. And the Indians name the various feafons of the year, from the planting, or ripening of the fruits. The green-eared moon is the mod beloved, or facred,—when the firft fruits become fanctified, by being annually offered up. And from this period they count their beloved, or holy things. "When they lack a full moon, or when they travel, they count by fleeps; which is a very ancient cuftom — probably, from the Mofaic method of counting time, " that the evening and the morning were the firft day.'* Quantity they count by tens, the number of their fingers *, which is a natural method to all people. In the mercantile way, they mark on the ground their numbers, by units; or by X for ten ; which, I prefume they learned from the white people, who traded with them. They readily add together their tens, and find out the number fought. They call it Takd-ne Tldpha, or fcoring on the ground." But eld time they can no way trace, only by remarkable circumftances, and aeras. As they trade with each other, only by the hand, they have no proper name for a pound weight. The Cheerake count as high as an hundred, by various numeral names ; whereas the other nations of Eaft and Weft-Florida, rife no higher than the decimal number, adding units after it, by a conjunction copulative; which intimates, that nation was either more mixed, or more fkilful, than the reft : the latter feems moft probable. They call a thoufand, Skceb-Chooke Kaiere, " the old," or " the old one's hundred :" and fo do the reft, in their various dialects, by interpretation i which argues their former (kill in numbers. I fhall I fhall here give a fpecimen of the Hebrew method of counting, and that of the Cheerake, Chikkafah, and Mufkohge or Creeks, by which fome farther analogy will appear between the favage Indians, and their fuppofed Ifraclitifh brethren. The Hebrew characters were numeral figures: they counted by them alphabetically, N (i), 2 (2), and fo on to the letter \ the tenth letter of the alphabet, and which ftands for ten ; then, by prefixing » to thofe letters, they proceeded with their rifing numbers, as (ri), 2* (12), y (13)1 V (14)) They had words alfo of a numeral power, as irw (1), *M (»)« (3)i (4)» &c- We mall now fee how the Indian method of numbering agrees with this old ftandard, as well as with the idiom of the Hebrew language in fimilar cafes. The Cheerake number thus : Soquo 1, Tabre 2, Chech 3, Nankkc 4, Ifljke 5, Soot/ire 6, Karekoge 7, Subndyra 8, Sohndyra 9, Skoib 10, Scdtoo ir, Tardtoo 12, &c. And here we may fee a parity of words between two of the Indian nations ; for the Mufkohge term a Hone, Tabre ; which glances at the Hebrew, as they not only built with fuch materials, but ufed it as a word of number, expreffive of two. In like manner, IJhke " five," fignifies a mother, which feems to fhew that their numeral words were formerly Significant; and that they are one (lock of people. The Chikkafah and Choktah count in this manner—Cbepbpba 1, Toogalo 2, Tootchbia 3, Oojla 4, Tathldbe 5, Ilannahle 6, Untoogalo 7, Untootchena 8, Chakkdle 9, Pokcole 10, Pokocle Aawa Cbepbpba, " ten and one," and fo on. The Cheerake have an old wafte town, on the Georgia fouth-weft branch of Savannah river, called Toogalo, which word may come under the former obfervation, upon the numerical word two : and they call a pompion, Ocjlo, which refembles Oojla, four. The Cheerake call twenty, Tabre Skoeh, 11 two tens :" and the Chikkafah term it, Pokcole Toogalo, " ten twos:" as if the former had learned to number from the left hand to the right, according to the Syriac cuftom; and the latter, from the right to the left hand, after the Hebrew manner. The former call an hundred, Skoeh Chocke; and, as before obferved, a thoufand, Skoeh Chooke Kaiere, or " the old one's hundred ;" for with them, Kaiere fignifies " ancient," or aged •, whereas Eli, or Eti-u, expreffes former old time. 7 May May not this have fome explanation, by the " Ancient of days," as expreffed by the prophet Daniel—magnifying the number, by joining one of the names of God to it—according to a frequent cuftom of the Hebrews ? This feems to be illuftrated with fufficient clearnefs, by the numerical method of the Chikkafah — for they call an hundred, Pokcole Tathleepa ; and a thoufand, Pckocle Tathleepa Tathleepa IJhto ; the laft of which is a ftrong double fuperlative, according to the ufage of the Hebrews, by a repetition of the principal word ; or by affixing the name of God to the end of it,, to heighten the number. lib to is one of their names of God, expreffive of majefty, or grcatnefs-, and Soottathleepa *, the name of a drum, derived from Sootte, an earthen pot, and Tathleepa, perhaps the name or number of fome of their ancient legions. The Mufkohge method of counting is, Ilcmmai i, Hckkole 2, Tootchena 3,. Ohjla 4, Chakdpe 5, Eepdhge 6, Hoolophage 7, Cheenepa 8, Ohjldpe 9, Po-hole 10, &c. I am forry that I have not fufficient fkill in the Mufkohge dialect, to make any ufeful obfervations on this head ; however, the reader can cafily diicern the parity of language, between their numerical words, and thofe of the Chikkafah and Choktah nations; and may from thence conclude, that they were formerly one nation and people. I have feen their fymbols, or fignatures, in a heraldry way, to count or diftinguifh their tribes, done with what may be called wild exactnefs. The Choktah ufe the like in the dormitories of their dead ; which feems to argue,, that the ancienter and thicker-fettled countries of Peru and Mexico had formerly, at leaft, the ufe of hieroglyphic characters-, and that they painted the real, or figurative images of things, to convey their ideas. The prefent. American Aborigines feem to be as fkilful Pantomimi, as ever were thofe of ancient Greece or Rome, or the modern Turkifh mutes, who defciibe the meaneft things fpoken, by gefture, action, and the pafiions of the face-Two far-diftant Indian nations, who underftand not a word of each other's-language, wilt intelligibly converfe together, and contract engagements, without any interpreter, in fuch a furprizing manner, as is fcarcely credible As their dialects are guttural, the indications they ufe, with the hand or' * The double vowels, 00 and ee, arc always to be joined in ono Syllable, and pronounced, long. fingers^. fingers, in common difcourfe, to accompany their fpeecli, is the reafon that ftrangers imagine they make only a gaggling noife, like what we are told of die Hottentots, without any articulate found i whereas it is an ancient cuftom of the eaftern countries, winch probably the firft emigrants brought with them to America, and ftill retain over the far-extended continent *. A R G U M ENT VII. In conformity to, or after the manner of the Jews, the Indian Americans have their Prophets, Higu-Priests, and others of a religious order. As the Jews had a fanflum fanftorum, or moft holy place, fo have all the Indian nations •, particularly, the Mufkohge. It is partitioned off by a mud-wall about breaft-high, behind the white feat, which always ftands to the left hand of the red-painted war-feat; there they depofit their confecrated veffels, and fuppofed holy utenfils, none of the laity daring to approach that facred place, for fear of particular damage to themfelves, and general hurt to the people, from the fuppofed divinity of the place. With the Mufkohge, Hitch Lalage fignifies " cunning men," or perfons prefcient of futurity, much the fame as the Hebrew feers. Cheerdtahege is the name of the pretended prophets, with the Cheerake, and nearly approaches to the meaning of &2ii Nebia, the Hebrew name of a prophet. Cheera is their word for " fire," and the termination points out men poffeft of, or endued with it. The word feems to allude to the celeftial cherubim, fire, light, and fpirit, which centered in O E A, or Yohewah. Thefe Indians call their pretended prophets alfo Lod-che, " Men refembling the holy fire," or as Elohim for the termination expreffes a companion, and Loa, is a contraction of Loak, drawn from rr?N, Eloah, the Singular number of Dsrr?N, Elohim, the name of the holy ones. And, as the Mufkohge * The firft numbering was by their fingers; to which cuftom Solomon alludes, Prov/iu. \6. " length of days is in her right hand." The Greeks called this, A-Tw^Tc/za^e/p, becaufe they numbered on their five fingers : and Ovid fays, Sett, quia tot digitis, per quos numerate fo-lemus ; likewife Juvenal, Sua dextrd computat amws. Others numbered on their ten fingers, as we may fee in Bede de ratione temporum. And the ancients not only counted, but are faid to fpeak with their fingers, Prov. vi. 13, " The wicked man he teacheth with his fingers." And Na;vius, in Tarcntilla, fays, dal digito lit eras. 7 call Their prophets, high-priejts, &C* 8r call the noife of thunder, Erowah, fo the Cheerake by inverting it, Worah, " He is •," thereby alluding to the divine effence : and, as thofe term the lightning Etta, and believe it immediately to proceed from the voice of Ifh-tohollo EUa Aba, it fhews the analogy to the Hebrews, and their fenti-ments to be different from all the early heathen world. The Indian tradition fays, that their forefathers were poffeffed of an extraordinary divine fpirit, by which they foretold things future, and controlled the common courfe of nature : and this they tranfmitted to their offspring, provided they obeyed the facred laws annexed to it. They believe, that by the communication of the fame divine fire working on their Lodche, they can now effect, the like. They fay it is out of the reach of Nana Ookproo, either to comprehend, or perform fuch things, becaufe the beloved fire, or the holy fpirit of fire, will not co-operate with, or actuate Hottuk Ookproofe, " the accurfed people." Ifhtohoollo is the name of all their prieftly order, and their pontifical office defcends by inheritance to the eldeft: thofe friend-towns, which are firmly confederated in their exercifes and plays, never have more than one Archi-magus at a time. But lamenefs, contrary to the Mofaic law, it muft be confeffed, does not now exclude him from officiating in his religious function; though it is not to be doubted, as they are naturally a modeft people, and highly ridicule thofe who are incapable of procreating their fpecies, that formerly they excluded the lame and impotent. They, who have the leaft knowledge in Indian affairs, know, that the martial virtue of the favages, obtains them titles of diftinction ; but yet their old men, who could fcarcely correct their tranfgreffing wives, much lefs go to war, and perform thofe difficult exercifes, that are effen-tially needful in an active warrior, are often promoted to the pontifical dignity, and have great power over the people, by the pretended Sanctity of the office. Notwithstanding the Cheerake are now a neft of apoftate hornets, pay little refpect to grey hairs, and have been degenerating faft from their primitive religious principles, for above thirty years paft—yet, before the laft war, Old Hop, who was helplefs and lame, prefided over the whole nation, as Archi-magus, and lived in Choate, their only town of refuge. It was entirely owing to the wifdom of thofe who then prefided in South-Carolina, that his dangerous pontifical, and regal-like power, was impaired, by their fetting up Atta Kulla Kulla, and fup-porting him fo well, as to prevent the then eafy tranfition of an Indian M high« high-priefthood into a French American bloody chair, with a bunch of red and black beads; where the devil and they could as eafily have inftructed them in the infernal French catechiim, as they did the Canada Indians : as—Who killed Chrift ? Anjwer, The bloody Englifh ; &c. * To difcover clearly the origin of the Indian religious fyftem, I muft oc-cafionally quote as much from the Mofaic inftitution, as the favages feem to copy after, or imitate, in their ceremonies; and only the faint image of the Hebrew can now be expected to be difcerned, as in an old, imperfect glafs. The priefthood originally centered with the firft male born of every family ; with the ancient heathens, the royalty was annexed to it, in a direct line and it defcended in that manner, as low as the Spartans and Romans. But, to fecure Ifrael from falling into heathenifh cuftoms and worfhip ; God in the time of Mofes, fet apart the Levites for religious fer-vices in the room of the firft-born; and one high-prieft, was elected from the family of Aaron, and anointed with oil, who prefided over the reft. This holy office defcended by right of inheritance. However, they were to be free of bodily defects, and were by degrees initiated to their holy office, before they were allowed to ferve in it. They were confecrated, by having the water of purifying Sprinkled upon them, wafhing all their body, and their clothes clean, anointing them with oil, and offering a facrifice. It is not furprizing that the drefs of the old favage Archi-magus, and that of the Levitical high-prieft, is fomewhat different. It may well be fuppofed, they wandered from captivity to this far-diftant wildernefs, in a diftreft condition, where they could Scarcely cover themfelves from the inclemency of heat and cold. Befides, if they had always been poffeffed of the greatest affluence, the long want of written records would fufficiently excufe the difference i becaufe oral traditions are liable to variation. However, there are fome traces of agreement in their pontifical drefs. Before the Indian Archi-magus officiates in making the fuppofed holy fire, for the yearly atonement * A wrong belief has a moft powerful efficacy in depraving men's morals, and a right one has a great power to reform them. The bloody Romifh bulls, that France fent over to their Indian converts, clearly prove the former ; and our peaceable conduct, as plainly fhewed the Utter, till Britannia fent out her lions to retaliate. 7 of The ornaments of their high-prieft'. 83 of fin, the Sagan clothes him with a white ephod, which is a waiftcoat without fteeves. When he enters on that folemn duty, a beloved attendant Spreads a white-dreft buck-fkin on the white feat, which Stands clofe to the fuppofed holieft, and then puts fome white beads on it, that are given him by the people. Then the Archi-magus wraps around his fhoulders a confecrated fkin of the-fame fort, which reaching acrofs under his arms, he ties behind his back, with two knots on the legs, in the form of a figure of eight. Another cuftom he obferves on this folemn occafion, is, inftead of going barefoot, he wears a new pair of buck-fkin white maccafenes made by himlelf, and Hitched with the finews of the fame animal *. The upper leather acrofs the toes, he paints, for the fpace of three inches, with a few ftreaks of red — not with vermilion, for that is their continual war-emblem, but with a certain red root, its leaves and ftalk refembling the ipecacuanha, which is their fixed red fymbol of holy things. Thefe fhoes he never wears, but in the time of the fuppofed paffover •, for at the end of it, they are laid up in the beloved place, or holieft, where much of the like fort, quietly accompanies an heap of old, broken earthen ware, conch-fhells, and other confecrated things. The Mofaic ceremonial inftitutions, are acknowledged by our beft writers, » to reprefent the Mcffiah, under various types and ifiadows; in like manner, the religious cuftoms of the American Indians, feem to typify the fame; according to the early divine promife, that the feed of the woman fhould bruife the head of the ferpent *, and that it fhould bruife his heel.—The Levitical high-prieft wore a breaft-platc, which they called Hofechim, and on it the Urim and Thummim, fignifying lights and perfections ; for they are the plurals of "AN, Awora, (which inverted makes Erozva) and mm, Thbrab, * Obfcrvant ubi fefta mero pede fabbata reges, Et vetus indulget fenibus clementa porcis. Juvenal, Sat. vi. When the high-prieft entered into the holieft, on the day of expiation, he clothed himfelf in white; and, when he finifhed that day's fervice, he laid afide thofe clothes and left them in the tabernacle. Lev. xvi. 23. When the Egyptian priefts went to worfhip in their temples, they wore fitoes of white parchment. Herodotus, Lib. ii. Cap. v. M 2 the the law, as it directed them under dark, fhadows, to Meffiah, the lamp of light and perfections. In refemblance of this facred pectoral, or bread-plate, the American Archi-magus wears a breaft-plate, made of a white conch-fhell, with two holes bored in the middle of it, through which he puts the ends of an otter-fkin ftrap, and faftens a buck-horn white button to the outfide of each, as if in imitation of the precious Stones of Urim, which miraculoufly blazoned from the high-priehVs breait, the unerring words of the divine oracle. Inltead of the plate of gold, which the Levite wore on his forehead, bearing thefe words, miT 'h W"Jp, Kadejb Ii Yohewah, " holy, or feparate to God,*' the Indian wears around his temples, either a wreath of Swan-feathers, or a long piece of fwan-fkin doubled, fo as only the fine fnowy feathers appear on each fide. And, in likenefs to the Tiara of the former, the latter wears on the crown of his head, a tuft of white feathers, which they call Tatera. He likewife fattens a tuft of blunted wild Turkey cock-fpurs, toward the toes of the upper part of his macca-fenes, as if in refemblance to the feventy-two bells, which the Leviti-cal high-prieft wore on his coat of blue. Thofe are as ftrong religious pontifical emblems, as any old Hebrews could have well chofen, or retained under the like circumftances of time and place. Thus appears the Indian Archimagus—not as Merubha Begadim, " the man with many clothes," as they called the higk-prieft of the fecond temple, but with clothes proper to himfelf, when he is to officiate in his pontifical function, at the annual expiation of fins *. As religion is the touchftone of every nation of people, and as thefe Indians cannot be fuppofed to have been deluded out of theirs, feparated from the reft of the world, for many long-forgotten ages — the traces which may be difcerned among them, will help to corroborate the other arguments concerning their origin. TheSe religious, beloved men are alfo fuppofed to be in great favour with the Deity, and able to procure rain when they pleafe. In this refpect alfo, we iMll obServe a great conformity to the practice of the Jews. The Hebrew records inform us, that in the moon Abib, or Nifan, they prayed for * The only ornaments that diftinguifhed the high-prieft from the reft, were a coat with feventy-two bells, an ephod, or jacket without fleeves, a breaft-plate Set with twelve Hones, a linen mitre, and a plate of gold upon his forehead, I the Their priejls method offeeking feafonable rains. the fpring, or latter rain, to be fo feafonable and fufficient as to give them a good harveff. And the Indian Americans have a tradition, that their forefathers fought for and obtained fuch feafonable rains, as gave them plentiful crops; and they now feek them in a manner agreeable to the fhadow of this tradition. When the ground is parched, their rain-makers, (as they are commonly termed) are to mediate for the beloved red people, with the bountiful holy Spirit of fire. But their old cunning prophets are not fond of entering on this religious duty, and avoid it as long as they poffibly can, till the murmurs of the people force them to the facred attempt, for the fecurity of their own lives. If he fails, the prophet is fhot dead, becaufe they are fo credulous of his divine power conveyed by the holy Spirit of fire, that they reckon him an enemy to the ftate, by averting the general good, and bringing defolating famine upon the beloved people. But in general, he is fo difcerning in the Stated laws of nature, and fkilful in priellcraft, that he always feeks for rain, either at the full, or change of the moon ; unleSs the birds, either by inftinct, or the temperature of their bodies, iliould direct him otherwife. However, if in a dry feafon, the clouds, by the veering of the winds, pafs wide of their fields—while they are inveighing bitterly againfl: him, fome in fpeech, and others in their hearts, he foon changes their well-known notes—-he aflumes a difpleafed countenance and carriage, and attacks them with bitter reproaches, for their vicious conduct: in the marriage-itate, and for their notorious pollutions, by going to the women in their religious retirements, and for multifarious crimes that never could enter into his head to fufpect them of perpetrating, but that the divinity his holy things were endued with, had now fuffered a great decay,, although he had faffed, purified himfelf, and on every other account, had lived an innocent life, according to the old beloved fpeech : adding, *' Loak IfotQ-boollo will never be kind to bad people." He concludes with a religious caution to the penitent, advifing them to mend their manners, and the times will mend with them : Then they depart with forrow and fhame. The old women, as they go along, will exclaim loudly againfl: the young people, and protelt they will watch their manners very narrowly for the time to come, as they are fure of their own fteady virtue. If If a two-years drought happens, the fynhedrim, at the earned felicitation of the mortified iinrcrs, convene in a body, and make proper enquiry into the true caufe of their calamities •, becaufe (fay they) it is better to fpoil a few roguifh people,, than a few roguifh people fhould fpoil Hottuk Oretocpah : The lot foon falls upon Jonas, and he is immediately Swallowed up. Too much rain is equally dangerous to thofe red prophets.—I was lately told by a gentleman of didinguifhed character, that a famous rain-maker of the Mufkohge was fhot dead, becaufe the river over-flowed their fields to a great height, in the middle of Augud, and dedroyed their weighty har-ved. They afcribed the mifchief to his ill-will; as the Deity, they fay, doth not injure the virtuous, and defigned him only to do good to the beloved people. In the year 1747, a Nachee warrior told me, that while one of their prophets was ufing his divine invocations for rain, according to the faint image of their ancient tradition, he was killed with thunder on the Spot -y upon which account, the fpirit of prophecy ever after fubfided among them, and he became the lad of their reputed prophets. They believed the holy Spirit of fire had k lied him with fome ot his angry darting fire, for wilful impurity ; and by his threatening voice, forbad them to renew the like attempt — and juftly concluded, that if they all lived well, they fhould fare well, and have proper feafons. This opinion coincides with that of the Ifraelites, in taking fire for the material emblem of Yohewah; by reckoning thunder the voice of the Almighty above, according to the fcriptural language •> by edeeming thunder-druck individuals under the difpleafure of heaven — and by obferving and enforcing fuch rules of purity, as none of the old pagan nations obferved, nor any, except the Hebrews. As the prophets of the Hebrews had oracular anfwers, fo the Indian magi, who are to invoke YO He Wah, and mediate with the fupreme holy fire, that he may give feafonable rains, have a tranfparent ftone, of fuppofed great power in affifting to bring down the rain, when it is put in a bafon of water •, by a reputed divine virtue, imprefled on one of the like fort, in time of old, which communicates it circularly. This ftone would fuffer a great decay, they affert, were it even feen by their own laity ; but if by foreigners, it would be utterly defpoiled of its divine commu- Their priefls method of feeklng feafonable rains, 87 communicative power. Doth not this allude to the precious blazoning ftoncs of Urim and Thummim ? In Tymahfe, a lower Cheerake town, lived one of their reputed great divine men, who never informed the people of his feeking for rain, but at the change, or full of the moon, unlefs there was fome pro-mifing fign of the change of the weather, either in the upper regions, or from the feathered kalender ; fuch as the quacking of ducks, the croaking of ravens, and from the moiftnefs of the air felt in their quills •, confe-quently, he feldom failed of fuccefs, which highly increafed his name, and profits; for even when it rained at other times, they afcribed it to the interceffion of their great, beloved man. Rain-making, in the Cheerake mountains, is not fo dangerous an office, as in the rich level lands of the Chikkafah country, near the Mifllfippi. The above Cheerake prophet had a carbuncle, near as big as an egg, which they faid he found where a great rattle-fnake lay dead, and that it fparkled with fuch furprizing luftre, as to illuminate his dark winter-houfe, like ftrong fiaflies of continued lightning, to the great terror of the weak, who durft not upon any account, approach the dreadful fire-darting place, for fear of fudden death. When he died, it was buried along with him according to cuftom, in the town-houfe of Tymahfe, under the great beloved cabbin, which Stood in the wefternmoft part of that old fabric, where they who will run the riSk of fearching, may luckily find it -, but, if any of that family detected them in difturbing the bones of their deceafed relation, they would refent it as the bafeft act of hoftility. The inhuman conduct of the avaricious Spaniards toward the dead Peruvians and Mexicans, irritated the natives, to the higheft pitch of diffraction, againft thofe ravaging enemies of humanity. The intenfe love the Indians bear to their dead, is the reafon that fo few have fallen into the hands of bur phyficians to diffect, or anatomife. We will hope alfo, that from a principle of humanity, our ague-charmers, and water-cafters, who like birds of night keep where the Intlians frequently haunt, would not cut up their fellow-creatures, as was done by the Spanifh butchers in Peru and Mexico. "Not long ago, at a friendly feaft, or feaft of love, in Weft-Florida, during the time of along-continued drought, I earneftly importuned the old rain-maker, for a fight of the pretended divine ftone, which he had affured me he was poffefTed of i but he would by no means gratify my requeft. He told told me, as I was an infidel, literally, " one who fhakes hands with the accurfed fpeech," and did not believe its being endued with a divine power, the fight of it could no ways benefit me ; and that, as their old unerring tradition affured them, it would fuffer very great damage in cafe of compliance, he hoped I would kindly acquiefce; efpecially, as he imagined, I believed every nation of people had certain beloved things, that might be eafily fpoiled by being polluted. I told him I was fully fatisfied with the friendly excufe he made to my inconfiderate requeft ; but that I could fcarcely imagine there were any fuch beloved men, and beloved things, in fo extremely fertile, but now fun-burnt foil. Their crops had failed the year before, by reafon of feveral concurring caufes: and, for the moft part of the fummer feafon, he had kept his bed through fear of incurring the punifh-ment of a falfe prophet; which, joined with the religious regimen, and abftemious way of living he was obliged ftrictly to purfue, it fweated him fo feverely, as to reduce him to a Skeleton. I jefted him in a friendly way, faying, I imagined, the fupreme holy fire would have proved more kind to his honeft devotees, than to ficken him fo feverely, efpecially at that critical feafon, when the people's food, and his own, entirely depended on his health i that, though our beloved men never undertook to bring down feafonable rains, yet we very feldom failed of good crops, and always paid them the tenth bafket-full of our yearly produce-, becaufe, they perfuaded our young people, by the force of their honeft example, and kind-hearted enchanting language, to ihun the crooked ways of Hottuk Kalldkfe, " the mad (light people," and honeftly to fhake hands with the old beloved fpeech — that the great, fupreme, fatherly Chieftain, had told his Lodche to teach us how to obtain peace and plenty, and every other good thing while we live here, and when we die, not only to Ihun the accurfed dark place, where the fun is every day drowned, but likewife to live again for ever, very happily in the favourite country. lie replied, that my fpeech confided of a mixture of good and ill; the beginning of it was crooked, and the conclufion draight. He faid, I had wrongfully blamed him, for the effect of the diforderly conduct of the red people and himfelf, as it was well known he failed at different times for feveral days together *, at other times ate green tobacco-leaves; and fome days drank only a warm decoction of the button lhake-root, without allowing any • A converfation with one of their prif s. 89 any one, except his religious attendant, to come near him; and, in every other refpecf, had honeftly obferved the auftere rules of his religious place, according to the beloved fpeech that Ifhtohoollo Elo'a Aba gave to the Lodche of their forefathers: but Leak Ifhtohoollo was forely vexed with moll of their young people for violating the chaftity of their neighbours wives, and even among the thriving green corn and peafe, as their beds here and there clearly proved ; thus, they fpoiled the power of his holy things, and tempted Mtnggo IJhto Elda, " the great chieftain of the thunder," to bind up the clouds, and'withold the rain. Befides, that the old women were lefs honeft in paying their rain-makers, than the Englifh women behaved to their beloved men, unlefs I had fpoken too well of them. The wives of this and the other perfon, he faid, had cheated him, in not paying him any portion of the laft year's bad crop, which their own bad lives greatly contributed to, as that penurious crime of cheating him of his dues, fufficiently tellified; not to mention a late cuftom, they had contracted fince the general peace, of planting a great many fields of beans and peafe, in diftant places, after the fummer-crops were over, on the like dilhoneft principle ; likewife in affirming, that when the firft harveft was over, it rained for nothing ; by that means they had blackened the old beloved fpeech, that Iftjloboollo Eloa of old fpoke to his Lodche, and conveyed down to him, only that they might paint their own bad actions white, lie concluded, by faying, that all the chieftains, and others prefent, as well as myfelf, knew now very well, 'from his honeft fpeech, the true caufe of the earth's having been fo ftrangely burnt till lately ; and that he was afraid, if the hearts of thofe light and mad people he complained of, did not fpeedily grow honeft, the dreadful day would foon come, in which IJak Ifhtohoollo would fend Phut-chik Keeraah IJhto, " the great blazing ftar," Tahkane eeklenna, Loak lodchdche, " to burn up half of the earth with fire," Pherimmi Aiube, f* from the north to the fbuth," Hajfe oobea perd, " toward the fetting of the fun," where they fhould in time arrive at the dreadful place of darknefs, be confined there hungry, and otherwife forely diftreft among hifTing fnakes and many other frightful creatures, according to the ancient true fpeech that Ifhtohoollo Aba fpoke to his beloved Loathe. Under this argument, I will alfo mention another ftriking refemblance to the Jews, as to their tithes.—As the facerdotal office was fixed in the tribe N of of Levi, they had forty-eight cities allotted them from the other tribes. And Mofes aifures us, in Deut. xiv. 28, 29, that thofe tribes paid them alfo once in three years, the tithe, or tenth of all they poffeffed, which is fuppofed to be about the thirtieth part of their annual poffeffions; by which means they were reafonably maintained, as Spiritual pallors, and enabled to fulfil the extenfive and charitable application of their dues, as enjoined. It hath been already hinted, that the Indian prophets undertake by the emanation of the divine fpirit of fire, co-operating with them, to bring down proper rains for crops, on the penalty of loofing their own lives ; as the Indians reckon that a regular virtuous life will fufriciently enable their great beloved men to bring blcffings of plenty to the beloved people; and if they neglect it, they are dangerous enemies, and a great curfe to the community. They imagine his prophetic power is alfo reftrictive as to winter-rains, they doing more hurt than good; for they juflly obferve, that their ground fel-dom fuffers by the want of winter-rains. Their fentiments on this head, are very Strong; they fay, Ifhtohoollo Aba allows the winter-rain to fall un* fought, but that he commanded their forefathers to feek for the fummer-rain, according to the old law, otherwife he would not give it to them. If the feafons have been anfwerable, when the ripened harveft is gathered in, the old women pay their reputed prophet with religious good-will, a certain proportional quantity of each kind of the new fruits, meafured in the Same large portable back-bafkets, wherein they carried home the ripened fruits. This flated method they yearly obferve; which is as confonant to the Levi-tical inftitution, as can be reafonably expected, efpecially, as their traditions have been time out of mind preferved only by oral echo. Modern writers inform us, that the Pcrfees pay a tithe of their revenues to the chief Deflour, or Archimagus of a city or province, who decides cafes of confcicnce, and points of law, according to the inftitution of Zoro-after—a mixture of Judaifm and paganifm. Their annual religious offering to the Archimagi, is a misapplication of the Levirjcal law concerning tithes,, contrary to the ufage of the American Aborigines, which it may be fuppofed they immediately derived from the Hebrews; for, as the twelfth tribe was devoted to the divine fervice, they were by divine appointment, maintained at the public expence. However, when we coniider that their government was Their payment of tithes to their priefls. of a mixed kind — firft a theocracy—then by nobles, and by kings—and at other times by their high-prieft, it feems to appear pretty plain, that the Deity raifed, preferved, and governed thofe people, to oppofe idolatry, and continue, till the fulnefs of time came, the true divine worftiip on earth, under ceremonial dark fhadows, without exhibiting their government in the leaft, as a plan of future imitation. Befides, as Mefliah is come, according to the predictions of the divine oracles, which reprefented him under various ftrong types and fhadows, furely chriftians ought to follow the copy of their humble Mafter and his holy difciples, and leave the fleecing of the flock to the avaricious Jews, whofe religious tenets, and rapacious principles, fup-port them in taking annual tithes from each other; who affect to believe that all the Mofaic law is perpetually binding, and that the predicted Shilo, who is to be their purifier, king, prophet, and high-prieft, is not yet come. The law of tithing, was calculated only for the religious ceconomy of the Hebrew nation ; for as the merciful Deity, who was the immediate head of that ftate, had appropriated the Levites to his fervice, and prohibited them purchafing land, left they fhould be fed need from their religious duties, by worldly cares, He, by a moft bountiful law, ordered the ftate to give them the tithe, and other offerings, for the fupport of themfelves and their numerous families, and alfo of the widow, the fatherlefs, and the ltranger. I fhall infert a dialogue, that formerly pafTed between the Chikkafah Loache and me, which will illufirate both this, and other particulars of the general fubjeft ; and alfo fhew the religious advantages and arguments, by which the French ufed to undermine us with the Indians. We had been fpeaking of trade, which is the ufual topic of difcourfe with thofe craftfmen. I afked him how he could reafonably blame the Englifh traders for cheating Tekapc hitmmah, u the red folks," even allowing his accufations to be juft*, as he, their divine man, had cheated them out of a great part of their crops, and had the affurance to claim it as his religious due, when at the fame time, if he had (naked hands with the ftraight old beloved fpeech, or ftrictly obferved the ancient divine law, his feeling heart would not have allowed him to have done fuch black and crooked things, efpecially to the helplefs, the poor, and the aged; N 2 it it rather would have ftrongly moved him to ftretch out to them a kind and helping hand, according to the old beloved fpeech of Ifhtohoollo Aba to his. Hottuk Ifljlohoclloy who were fufficicntly fupported at the public expence,. and ftrictly ordered to fupply with the greatcft tendernefs, the wants of others. He fmartly retorted my objections, telling me, that the white people's, excufes for their own wrong conduct, were as falfe and weak as my complaints were againft him. The red people, he faid, faw very clearly through fuch thin black paint though, his facred employment was equally hid from them and me •, by which means, neither of us could reafonably pretend to be proper judges of his virtuous conduct, nor blame him. for the ne-ceffary effect of our own crimes; or urge it as a plea for cheating him out of his yearly dues, contrary to the old divine fpeech, for the crops became light by their own vicious conduct, which fpoiled the power of his holy things. So that it was visible, both the red and white people were commonly too partial to themfelves; and that by the bounty of the fupreme fatherly Chieftain, it was as much out of his power, as diftant from his kindly heart, either to wrong the beloved red people, or the white nothings; and that it became none, except mad light people, to follow the crooked fteps of Hottuk Ookproofe, the accurfed people.. As there was no interruption to our winter-night's chat, I afked him in a friendly manner, whether he was not afraid, thus boldly to fnatch at the divine power of diftributing rain at his pleafure, as it belonged only to the great beloved thundering Chieftain, who dwells far above the clouds, in the new year's unpolluted holy fire, and who gives it in common to all nations of people alike, and even to every living creature over the face of the whole earth, becaufe he made them—and his merciful goodnefs always prompts, him to fupply the wants of all his creatures. He told me, that by an ancient tradition, their Loache were pofllffed of an extraordinary divine power, by which they foretold hidden things, and by the beloved fpeech brought down fhowers of plenty to the beloved people; that he very well knew,, the giver of virtue to nature refiued on earth in the unpolluted holy hre, and likewife above the clouds and the fun, in the fhape of a fine fiery fubftance, attended by a great many beloved people ; and that he continually weighs us, and meafures out good or bad things. "French tricks to fednce the Indians to their interefl. 9 \ things to us, according to our actions. He added, that though the former beloved fpeech had a long time fubfided, it was very reafonable they ihould ftill continue this their old beloved cuftom ; efpecially as it was both profitable in fupporting many of their helplefs old beloved men, and very productive of virtue, by awing their young people from violating the ancient-laws. This fhewed him to be cunning in prieftcraft, if not pofTeffed of a-tradition from the Hebrew records, that their prophets by the divine power, had, on material occafions, acted beyond the ftated laws of nature, and wrought miracles. My old prophetic friend told me, with a good deal of furprize, that though the beloved red people had by fome means or other, loft the old beloved fpeech ; yet Frenfie Lakkime cckproo, M the ugly yellow French," (as they term the Miflifippians) had by fome wonderful method-obtained it ; for his own people, he affurcd me, had feen them at New Orleans to bring down rain in a very dry feafon, when they were giving out feveral bloody fpeeches to their head warriors againft the Englifh Chikkafah traders. On a mifchievous politic invitation of the French, feveral of the-Chikkafah had then paid them a vifit, in the time of an alarming drought and a general faft, when they were praying for feafonable rains at mafs. "When they came, the interpreter was ordered to tell them, that the French had holy places and holy things, after the manner of the red people — that if their young people proved honeft, they could bring down rain whenever they flood in need of it — and that this was one of the chief reafons which induced all the various nations of the beloved red people to bear them fo intenfe a love •, and, on the contrary, fo violent and inexpreftible an hatred even to the very name of the Englifh, becaufe every one of them was marked with Anumbole Ookkproo, " the curfe of God." The method the Chikkafah prophet ufed in relating the affair, has fome humour in it—for their ignorance of the chriftian religion, and inftitutions,, perplexes them when they are on the fubjecr.; on which account I fhall■ literally tranferibe it. He told me, that the Chikkafah warriors during three fucceffive days, accompanied the French Lodche. and IJJjfohoollo to the great beloved houfe,. where a large bell hung a-top, which ftrange fight exceedingly furpriaed-. 7 them y, them for, in dead of being fit for a horfe, it would require a great many ten horfes to carry it. Around the infide of the beloved houfe, there was a multitude of he and fhe beloved people, or male and female faints or angels, whofe living originals, they affirmed, dwelt above the clouds, and helped them to get every good thing from Ifhtohoollo Aba, when they earneftly crave their help. The French beloved men fpoke a great deal with much warmth the reft were likewife bufily employed in imitation of their Ifjto-hoollo and Lodche. At one time they fpoke high, at another low. One chofe this, and another chofe that fong. Mere the men kneeled before the images of their fhe-beloved people ; there the women did the like before their favourite and beloved he-pictures, entreating them for fome particular favour which they flood in need of. Some of them, he faid, made very wild motions over their heads and breads ; and others ftruck their ftomachs with a vehemence like their warriors, when they drink much Ookka Ilomma, " bitter waters," or fpirituous liquor, while every one of them had a bunch of mixed beads, to which they frequently fpoke, as well as counted over that they loved thefe beads, for our people ftrictly obferved, they did not give them to their Lodche and TJJjtohoollo, as the red people would have done to thofe of their own country, though it was very plain they de-ferved them, for beating themfelves fo much for the young people's roguifh actions, and likewife for labouring fo ftrongly in pulling off their clothes, and putting them on again, to make the beloved phyfic work, which they took in fmall pieces, to help to bring on the rain. On the third day (added he) they brought it down in great plenty, which was certainly a very difficult performance ; and as furprizing too, that they who are always, when opportunity anfwers, perfuading the red people to take up the bloody hatchet againft their old fteady friends, fhould ftill h ave the beloved fpeech, which Ifhtohoollo Aba Eloa formerly fpoke to his beloved Lodche. ~-Thus ended our friendly difcourfe. ARGUMENT VIII. Their Festivals, Fasts, and Religious Rites, have alfo a great refemblance to thofe of the Hebrews, It will be neceffary here to take a fhort view of the principal Jewilh feafts, &x. They kept every year, a facred feaft called the Paffover, in memory of their deliverance from F'gyptian bondage. Their fejlivals, religioui rites, &c. 95 bondage. Seven days were appointed, Lev. xxiii.—To thefe they added an eighth, through a religious principle, as preparatory, to clear their houfes of aU leaven, and to fix their minds before they entered on that religious duty. The name of this feftival is derived from a word which fignifies to " pafs over ;" becaufe, when the deftroying angel flew through the Egyptian houfes, and killed their firft-born, he palled over thofe of the Ifraelites, the tops of whofe doors were ftained with the blood of the lamb, which they were ordered to kill. This folemnity was inftituted with the ftrongeft injunctions, to let their children know the caufe of that obfervance, and to mark that night through all their generations. Three days before this facred feflival, they chofe a lamb, without fpot or blemifh, and killed it on the evening of the fourteenth day of A bib, which was the firft: moon of the ecclefiaftical, and the feventh of the civil year; and they ate it with bitter herbs, without breaking any of the bones of it, thus prefiguring the death of Meffiah. This was the reafon that this was the chief of the days of unleavened bread, and they were ftrictly forbidden all manner of work on that day ; befides, no uncir-cumcifed, or unclean perfons ate of the pafchal lamb. Thofe of the people, whom difeafes or long journies prevented from obferving the paffover on that day, were obliged to keep it in the next moon. On the fixteenth day, which was the fecond of the paffover, they offered up to God a fheaf of the new barley-harveft, becaufe it was the earlieft grain. The prieft carried it into the temple, and having cleaned and parched it, he grinded or pounded it into flower, dipt it in oil, and then waved it before the Lord, throwing fome into the fire. The Jews were forbidden to eat any of their new harveft, till they had offered up a fheaf, the grain of which filled an omer, a fmall meafure of about five pints. All was impure and unholy till this oblation was made, but afterwards it became hallowed, and every one was at liberty to reap and get in his harveft. On the tenth day of the moon Ethanim, the firft day of the civil year,, they celebrated the great faft, or feaft of expiation, afflicted their fouls, and ate nothing the whole day. The high-prieft offered feveral facriiices, and having carried the blood of the victims into the temple, he fprinkled it upon the altar of incenfe, and the veil that was before the holieft s and went into. into that moft facred place, where the divine Shekinah refided, carrying cenJer (moking in his hand with incenfe, .which hindered-him from having a clear fight of the ark. But he was not allowed to enter that holy place, only once a year, on this great day of expiation, to offer the general Sacrifice both for the fins of the people and of himfelf. Nor did he ever mention the divine four lettered name, YO He WaII, except on this great day, when he bleffed the people. Becaufe the Ifraelites lived in tabernacles, or booths, while they were in the wildernels •, as a memorial therefore of the divine bounty to them, .they were commanded to keep the feaft of tabernacles, on the fifteenth day of the month Tifri, which they called Reft llofanab, or lhftianah^it lafted eight days ; during which time, they lived in arbours, (covered with green boughs of trees; urdefs when they went to worfhip at the temple, or lung Ilofaamyo around the altar. When they were on this religious duty, they w'ere obliged each to carry in their hands a bundle of the branches of willows, palm-trees, myrtles, and others of different forts, laden with fruit, and tied together with ribbons; and thus rejoice together with the appointed fingers, and vocal and inllrumental mufic, in the divine prefence before the altar. On the eighth day of the feaft, one of the priefts brought: fome water in a golden veffel, from the pool of Siloam, mixed it with wine, and poured it on the morning-facrifice, and the firft fruits of their latter crops which were then prcfented, as an emblem of the divine graces that fhould flow to them, when Shilo came, who was to be their anointed king, prophet, and high-prieft—The people in the mean time finging out of Uaiah " with joy fhall ye draw water out of the wells of lalvation." Let us now turn to the copper colour American Hebrews.—While their fanctified new fruits are dreffing, a religious attendant is ordered to call fix of their old beloved women to come to the temple, and dance the beloved dance with joyful hearts, according to the old beloved fpeech. They cheerfully obey, and enter the SuppoSed holy ground in Solemn proceSfion, each carrying in her hand a bundle of fmall branches of various green trees; and they join the Same number of old magi, or priefts, who carry a cane in one hind adorned with white feathers, having likewife green boughs in their other hand, which they pulled from their holy arbour, and carefully place there, encircling it with feveral rounds. Thofe beloved men have their heads drelfed drelTed with white plumes 7 but the women are decked in their fineft, and anointed with bear's-greafe, having fmall tortoifc-fhells, and white pebbles, faftened to a piece of white-dreft deer-fkin, which is tied to each of their legs. The eldeft of the priefts leads the facred dance, a-head of the innermoft row, which of courfe is next to the holy fire. He begins the dance round the fuppofed holy fire, by invoking Yah, after their ufual manner, on a bafs key, and with a fhort accent, then he fings YO YO, which is repeated by the reft of the religious proceflion •, and he continues his facred invocations and praifes, repeating the divine word, or notes, till they return to the fame point of the circular courfe, where they began : then He He in like manner, and Wah Wah. While dancing they never fail to repeat thofe notes; and frequently the holy train ftrike up Halelu, Halelu; then Haleluiah, Haleltt-Yab, and Aleluiah and Alelu-Yah, " Irradiation to the divine effence," with great earneftnefs and fervor, till they encircle the altar, while each ftrikes the ground with right and left feet alternately, very quick, but well-timed. Then the awful drums join the facred choir, which incite the old female fingers to chant forth their pious notes, and grateful praifes before the divine effence, and to redouble their former quick joyful fteps, in imitation of the leader of the facred dance, and the religious men a-head of them. What with the manly ftrong notes of the one, and the fhrill voices of the other, in concert with the bead-fhells, and the two founding, drumlike earthen veffels, with the voices of the muficians who beat them, the reputed holy ground echoes with the praifes of YO He Wah. Their finging and dancing in three circles around their facred fire, appears to have a reference to a like religious cuftom of the Hebrews. And may we not reafonably fuppofe, that they formerly undcrftood the pfalms, or divine hymns ? at leaft thofe that begin with Halelu-Yah; otherwife, how came all the inhabitants of the extenfive regions of North and South-America, to have, and retain thofe very expreffive Hebrew words ? or how repeat them.fo diftinclly, and apply them after the manner of the Hebrews, In their religious acclamations ? The like cannot be found in any other countries. In like manner, they fing on other religious occafions, and at their feafts of love, Ale-Yo Ale-Yo\ which is the divine name, by his attribute of omnipotence; and % alluding to miT. They fing likewife Heivah llewah, which is mil " the immortal foul drawn from the divine effential name, O as as deriving its rational faculties from Yohewah. Thofe words that they fing in their religions dances, they never repeat at any other time which feems to have greatly occalioned the lofs of the meaning of their divine hymns , for I believe they are now fo corrupt, as not to underltand either the fpiritual or literal meaning of what they fing, any further than by allufion. In their circuiting dances, they frequently fing on a bafs key, Aluc AluJ, Aluhe, Alube, and Aluwah Aluwah, which is the Hebrew ftfbtk. They like-wife fing Sbilu-To Shilu-To, Sbilu-He Shilu-He, Sbilu-Wdh Sbilu-Wdh, and Sbilu-Hah Sbilu-Hab. They tranfpofe them alfo feveral ways, but with the very fame notes. The three terminations make up in their order the four-lettered divine name. Hah is a note of gladnefs — the word preceding it, Sbilu, feems to exprefs the predicted human and divine rrrVw, Shiloh, who. was to be the purifier, and peace-maker. They continue their grateful divine hymns for the fpace of fifteen-minutes, when the dance breaks up. As they degenerate, they lengthen their dances, and fhorten the time of their falls and purifications infomuch, that they have fo exceedingly corrupted their primitive rites and cuftoms,. within the fpace of the laft thirty years, that, at the fame rate of declen-fion, there will not be long a poflibility of tracing their origin^ but by their dialects,, and war-euftoms. At the end of this notable religious dance, the old beloved, or holy women return home to haften the feaft of the new-fanctified fruits. In the mean while, every one at the temple drinks very plentifully of the Cuffeena and other bitter liquids, to cleanfe their finful bodies after which, they go to fome convenient deep water, and there, according to the ceremonial law of the Hebrews, they wafh away their fins with water. Thus fanctified, they return with joyful hearts in folemn proceffion, finging their notes of praife, till they enter into the holy ground to eat of the new delicious fruits of wild Canaan *. The women now with the utmoft cheerfulnefs, bring to * They aie fo llriaiy prohibited from eating fait, or flefli-meat, till the fourth day, that -during the interval, the very touch of cither is accounted a great pollution : after that period, tiiey are deemed lawful to be eaten. All the hunters, and able-bodied men, kill and barbecue wild game in the woods, at leaft ten days before this grc.it feftival, and leligioufly keep it for that facred ufe. - the the outfide of the facred fquare, a plentiful variety of all thofe good things, with which the divine fire has bleffed them in the new year; and the religious attendants lay it before them, according to their ftated order and reputed merit. Every feat is ferved in a gradual fuccelTion, from the white and red imperial long broad feats, and the whole fquare is foon covered: frequently they have a change of courfes of fifty or fixty different forts, and thus they continue to regale themfelves, till the end of the feftival; for they reckon they are now to feaft themfelves with joy and gladnefs, as the divine fire is appeafed for pafl crimes, and has propitioufly fanctified their weighty harveft. They all behave fo modeftly, and are poffeffed of fuch an extraordinary conflancy and equanimity, in the purfuit of their religious myfte-ries, that they do not fhew the leaft outward emotion of pleafure, at the firft fight of the fanctified new fruits; nor the leaft uneafinefs to be tailing thofe tempting delicious fat things of Canaan. If one of them acted in a contrary manner, they would fay to him, Che-Hakfet Kaneba, " You refemble fuch as were beat in Canaan." This unconcern, doubtlefs proceeded originally from a virtuous principle but now, it may be the mere effect of habit: for, jealoufy and revenge excepted, they feem to be divefted of every mental paffion, and entirely incapable of any lafting affection. I fhall give an inftance of this.—If the hufband has been a year abfent on a vifit to another nation, and fhould by chance overtake his wife near home, with one of his children fkipping along fide of her; inltead of thofe fudden and ftrong emotions of joy that naturally arife in two generous breafts at fuch an unexpected meeting, the felf-interefted pair go along as utter ftrangers, without fceming to take the leaft notice of one another, till a con-fiderable time after they get home. The Indians formerly obferved the grand feftival of the annual expiation of fin, at the beginning of the firft new moon, in which their corn became full-eared j but for many years palt they are regulated by the feafon of their harveft. And on that head, they fhew more religious patience than the Hebrews formerly did ; who, inltead of waiting till their grain was ripe, forced their barley, which ripened before any other fort they planted. And they are perhaps as fkilful in obferving the revolutions of the moon, as ever the Ifraelites were, at leaft till the end of the firft temple ; for during that period, inltead of meafuring time by aftronomical calculations, they O 2 knew knew it only by the phafes of the moon. In like manner, the fuppofed red Hebrews of the American delarts, annually obferved their feftivals, and Neetak Yah-ab, " days of afflicting themfelves before the Deity," at a prefixed time of a certain moon. To this day, a war-leader, who, by the number of his martial exploits is entitled to a drum, always fanctifies him-felf, and his out-ftanding company, at the end of the old moon, fo as to go off at the appearance of the new one by day-light; whereas, he who has not fufficiently diftinguifhed himfelf, mull fet out in the night. As the firft of the Neetak Hoollo, precedes a long ftrict faft of two nights and a day, they gormandize fuch a prodigious quantity of ftrong food, as to enable them to keep inviolate the fucceeding faft, the fab-bath of fabbaths, the Neetak Yah-ah ; the feaft lafts only from morning till fun-fet. Being great lovers of the ripened fruits, and only tantalized as yet, with a near view of them; and having lived at this feafon, but meanly on the wild products of nature—fuch a faft as this may be truly faid to afflict their fouls, and to prove a fufficient trial of their religious principles. During the feftival, fome of their people are clofely employed in putting their temple in proper order for the annual expiation ; and others are painting the white cabbin, and the fuppofed holieft, with white clay •, for it is a facred, peaceable place, and white is its emblem. Some, at the fame time are likewife painting the war-cabbin with red clay, or their emblematical red root, as occafion requires; while others of an inferior order, are covering all the feats of the beloved fquare with new mat-treffes, made out of the fine fplinters of long canes, tied together with flags. In the mean time, feveral of them are bufy in fweeping the temple, clearing it of every fuppofed polluting thing, and carrying out the allies from the hearth which perhaps had not been cleaned fix times fince the laft year's general offering. Several towns join together to make the annual facrifice; and, if the whole nation lies in a narrow compafs, they make but one annual offering : by which means, either through a fenfual or religious principle, they ftrike off the work with joyful hearts. Every thing being thus prepared, the Archi-magus orders fome of his religious attendants to dig up the old hearth, or altar, and to fweep out the remains that by chance might either be left, or drop down. Then he puts a few roots of the but-ton-fnake-root, with fome green leaves of an uncommon fmall fort of tobacco, and a little of the new fruits, at the bottom of the fire-place, which he I orders orders to be covered up with white marley clay, and wetted over with clean water *. Immediately, the magi order them to make a thick arbour over the altar, with green branches of the various young trees, which the warriors had de-fignedly chofen, and laid down on the outfide of the fuppofed holy ground: the women, in the interim are bufy at home in cleaning out their houfes, renewing the old hearths, and cleanfing all their culinary veffeis, that they may be fit to receive the pretended holy fire, and the fanctified new fruits, according to the purity of the law; left by a contrary conduct, they fhould incur damage in life, health, future crops, &c. It is frelti in the memory of the old traders, that formerly none of thefe numerous nations of Indians would eat, or even handle any part of the new harveft, till fome of it had been offered up at the yearly feftival by the Archi-magus, or thofe of his appointment, at their plantations, though the light harveft of the pait year had forced them to give their women and children of the ripening fruits, to fullain life. Notwithftanding they are vifibly degenerating, both in this, and every other religious obfervance, except what concerns war; yet their magi and old warriors live contentedly on fuch harfh food as nature affords them in the woods, rather than tranfgrefs that divine precept given to their forefathers. Having every thing in order for the facred folemnity, the religious waiters carry off the remains of the feaft, and lay them on the outfide of the fquare ; others of an inferior order carefully fweep out the fmalleft crumbs, for fear of polluting the firft-fruit offering ; and before fun-fet, the temple muit be cleared, even of every kind of veffel or utenfil, that had contained, or been ufed about any food in that expiring year. The women carry all off, but none of that fex, except half a dozen of old beloved women, are allowed in that interval to tread on the holy ground, till the fourth day. Now, one of the waiters proclaims with a loud voice, for all the warriors and beloved men, whom the purity of the law admits, to come and enter the beloved fquare, and obferve' the faft; he likewife exhorts all * Under the palladium of Troy, were placed things of the like nature, as a prefervativc from evil ; but the above practice feems to be pretty much tempered with the Mofaic inftitution ; for God commanded them to make an altar of earth, to facrifice thereon. Exod. xx. 24. the -the women and children, and thofe who have not initiated themfelves in war, to keep apart from them, according to law. Should any of them prove difobedient, the young ones would be dry-fcratched, and the others ftript of every thing they had on them. They obferve the fame ftrict law of purity, in their method of fanctifying themfelves for war, in order to obtain the divine protection, alfiftance, and fucccls. But a few weeks Since, when a large company of thefe warlike favages were on the point of fetting off to commence war againft the Mufkohge, fome of the wags decoyed a heedlefs trader into their holy ground, and they ftript him, fo as to oblige him to redeem his clothes with vermilion. And, on account of the like trefpafs, they detained two Indian children two nights and a day, till their obftinate parents paid the like ranfom. Their great beloved man, or Archi-magas, now places four centinels, one at each corner of the holy fquare, to keep out every living creature as impure, except the religious order, and the warriors who are not known to have violated the law of the firft-fruit-offering, and that of marriage, fince the laft year's expiation. Thofe centinels are regularly relieved, and firm to their facred truft; if they difcerned a dog or cat on the out-limits of the holy fquare, before the firft-fruit-offering was made, they would kill it with their arrows on the fpot. They obferve the faft till the riling of the fecond fun *, and be they ever fo hungry in that facred interval, the healthy warriors deem the duty fo awful, and the violation fo inexpreflibly vicious, that no temptation would induce them to violate it; for, like the Hebrews, they fancy temporal evils are the neceffary effect of their immoral conduct, and they would for ever ridicule and reproach the criminal for every bad occurrence that befel him in the new year, as the finful author of his evils; and would fooner fhoot themfelves, than Suffer fuch long-continued fharp difgrace. The religious attendants boil a fufficient quantity of button-lnake-root, highly im-bittered, and give it round pretty warm, in order to vomit and purge their {infill bodies. Thus they continue to mortify and purify themfelves, till the end of the faft. When we confider their earneft invocations of the divine effence, in this folemnity—their great knowledge of Specific virtues in fimples—that they never apply the afotefaid root, only on religious occafions— that they frequently drink it to fuch excefs as to impair their health, j and and fometimes fo as to poifon themfelves by its acrid quality—and take into* the account, its well-known medicinal property of curing the bite of the moll dangerous fort of the ferpentine generation ; mult not one think, that the Aboriginal Americans chofe it, as a ftrong emblem .of the certain cure of the bite of the old ferpent in Eden. That the women and children, and thofe worthlefs fellows who have not hazarded their lives in defence of their holy places and holy things, and for the beloved people, may not be entirely godlefs, one of the old beloved men lays down a large quantity of the fmall-leafed green tobacco, on the outfide of a corner of the facred fquare •, and an old beloved woman, carries it orT, and diflributes it to the finners without, in large pieces, which they chew heartily, and fwallow, in order to afflict their fouk. She commends thofe who perform the dury with cheerfulnefs, and chides thofe who feem to do it unwillingly, by their wry faces on account of the bitternefs of the fuppofed fanctifying herb. She diftribut.es it in fuch quantities, as fhe thinks are equal to their capacity of finning, giving to the reputed* worthlefs old He-hen-pickers, the proportion only of a ehild, becaufe fhe thinks fuch fpiritlefs pictures of men cannot fin with married women; as all the females love only the virtuous manly warrior, who has often fuccefsfully accompanied the beloved ark. In the time of this general faft, the women, children; and men of weak, conftitutions, are allowed to eat, as foon as they are certain the fun-has begun to decline from his meridian altitude •, but not before that period. Their indulgence to the fick and weak, feems to be derived from divine precept, which forbad the offering of faenfice at the coft of mercy and the fnake-root joined with their fanctifying bitter green tobacco, feem to be as ftrong expreffive emblems as they could have poffibly chofen, according to their fituation in life, to reprefent the facred inftitution of. eating the pafchal lamb,, with bitter herbs; and to fhew, that though the. old ferpent bit us in Eden, yet there is a branch from the root of Jelfe, to, be hoped for by thofe who deny themfelves their preftnt fweet tafte, which, will be a fufTicient purifier, and effect the cure. The whole time of this faft may with truth be called a faft, and to the Archimagus,. to all the magi, and preicnded prophets, in particular; for, by* ancient ancient cuftom, the former is obliged to eat of the fanctifying fmall-leafed tobacco, and drink the fnake-root, in a feparate hut for the fpace of three days and nights without any other fubfiftence, before the folemnity begins-, befides his full portion along with the reft of the religious order, and the old war-chieftains, till the end of the general faft, which he pretends to obferve with the ftricteft religion. After the firft-fruits are fanctified, he lives moft abflemioufly till the end of the annual expiation, only fucking water-melons now and then to quench thirft, and fupport life, fpit-ting out the more fubftantial part. By the Levitical law, the priefts were obliged to obferve a Stricter fanctity of life than the laity-, all the time they were performing the facerdotal offices, both women and wine were ftrictly forbidden to them. Thus the Indian religious are retentive of their facred myfteries to death, and the Archi-magm is vifibly thin and meagre at the end of the folemnity. That rigid felf-denial, feems to have been defigned to initiate the Levite, and give the reft an example of leading an innocent fimple life, that thereby they might be able to fubdue their unruly paflions; and that by mortifying and purifying himfelf fo exceflively, the facrifice by palling through his pure hands, may be accepted, and the holy Spirit of fire atoned, according to the divine law. The Superannuated religious are alfo emulous in the higheft degree, of excelling one another in their long fafting for they firmly believe, that fuch an annual felf-denying method is fo highly virtuous, when joined to an obedience of the reft of their laws, as to be the infallible means of averting evil, and producing good things, through the new year. They declare that a fteady virtue, through the divine co-operating favour, will infallibly infure them a hfting round of happinefs. At the end of this folemn faft, the women by the voice of a crier, bring to the outfide of the holy fquare, a plentiful variety of the old year's food newly dreft, which they lay down, and immediately return home for every one of them know their feveral duties, with regard both to time and place. The centinels report the affair, and foon afterward the waiters by order go, and reaching their hands over the holy ground, they bring in the provifions, and fet them down before the famifhed multitude. Though moft of the people may have feen them, they reckon it vicious and mean to fhew a gladnefs for the end of their religious duties; and fhameful to to haften the holy attendants, as they are all capable of their facred offices. They are as ftricTt obfervers of all their fet forms, as the Ifraelites were of thofe they had from divine appointment. Before noon, the temple is fo cleared of every thing the women brought to the fquare, that the feftival after that period, relembles a magical entertainment that had no reality in it, confifting only in a delufion of the fenfes. The women then carry the veffels from the temple to the water, and wafh them clean for fear of pollution. As foon as the fun is vifibly declining from his meridian, this third day of the faft, the Archi-magus orders a religious attendant to cry aloud to the crowded town, that the holy fire is to be brought out for the facred altar—commanding every one of them to ftay within their own houfes, as becomes the beloved people, without doing the leaft bad thing—and to be fure to extinguish, and throw away every fpark of the old fire •, otherwife, the divine fire will bite them feverely with bad difeafes, ficknefs, and a great many other evils, which he fenten-tioufiy enumerates, and finifhes his monitory caution, by laying life and death before them. Now every thing is huftied.—Nothing but filence all around : the Archi-magus, and his beloved waiter, rifing up with a reverend carriage, fteady countenance, and compofed behaviour, go into the beloved place, or holieft, to bring them out the beloved fire. The former takes a piece of dry poplar, willow, or white oak, and having cut a hole, fo as not to reach through it, he then fharpens another piece, and placing that with the hole between his knees, he drills it brifkly for feveral minutes, till it begins to fmoke — or, by rubbing two pieces together, for about a quarter of an hour, by friction he collects the hidden fire which all of them reckon to immediately iffue from the holy Spirit of fire. The Mufkohge call the fire their grandfather—and the fupreme Father of mankind, Efakdta-Emijbe, " the breath mafter," as it is commonly explained. When the fire appears, the beloved waiter cherifhes it with fine chips, or fhaved fplinters of pitch-pine, which had been depofited in the holieft: then he takes the unfullied wing of a fwan, fans it gently, and cherifhes it to a flame. On this, the Archi-magus brings it out in an old earthen veffel, whereon he had placed it, and lays it on the facred altar, which is under an arbour, thick-weaved a-top with green boughs. It is ubfervable, that, when the Levites laid wood on the facred fire, it was un- P lawful lawful for them either to blow it with bellows, or their breath. The Magians, or followers of Zoroafter, poured oil on their fuppofed holy fire, and left it to the open air to kindle it into flame. Is not this religious ceremony of thefe defolate Indians a flrong imitation, or near refemblance of the Jewifh cuftoms ? Their hearts are enlivened with joy at the appearance of the reputed holy fire, as the divine fire is fuppofed to atone for all their pad crimes, except murder: and the beloved waiter fhews his pl'eafure, by his cheerful induflry in feeding it with dry frefh wood ; for they put no rotten wood on it, any more than the Levites would on their facred altars. Although the people without, may well know what is tranfaeting within, yet, by order, a crier informs them of the good tidings, and orders an old beloved woman to pull a bafket-full of the new-ripened fruits, and bring them to the beloved fquare. As fhe before had been appointed, and religioufly prepared for that folemn occafion, fhe readily obeys, and foon lays it down with a cheerful heart, at the out-corner of the beloved fquare. By ancient cuftom, fhe may either return home, or Hand there, till the expiation of fin hath been made, which is thus performed — The Archi-magus, or fire-maker, rifes from his white feat and walks northward three times round the holy fire, with a flow pace, and in a very fedate and grave manner, flopping now and then, and fpeaking certain old ceremonial words with a low voice and a rapidity of expreffion, which none underftand but a few of the old beloved men, who equally fecrete their religious myfteries, that they may not be prophaned. He then takes a little of each fort of the new harveft, which the old woman had brought to the extremity of the fup* pofed holy ground, rubs fome bear's oil over it, and offers it up together with fome flefh, to the bountiful holy Spirit of fire, as a firft-fmit offering, and an annual oblation for fin. He likewife confecrates the but-ton-fnake-root, and the cuffeena, by pouring a little of thofe two ftrong decoctions into the pretended holy fire. He then purifies the red and white feats with thofe bitter liquids, and fits down. Now, every one of the outlaws who had been catched a tripping, may fafely creep out of their lurking holes, anoint themfelves, and drefs in their fineft, to pay their grateful thanks at an awful diftance, to the forgiving divine fire. A religious waiter is foon ordered to call to the women around, to come for the facred fire : they gladly obey.—When they come to the outfide of the quadrangular holy ground, the Archi-magus addreffes the warriors, and gives them them all the particular pofitive injunctions, and negative precepts they yet retain of the ancient law, relating to their own manly ftation. Then he changes his note, and ufes a much fharper language to the women, as fuf-'fpecting their former virtue. He firft tells them very earneflly, that if there are any of them who have not extinguifhed the old evil fire, or have contracted any impurity, they muff, forthwith depart, left the divine fire fhould fpoil both them and the people he charges them to be fure not to give the children a bad example of eating any unfanctified, or impure food, otherwife they will get full of worms, and be devoured by famine and dif-eafes, and bring many other dangerous evils both upon themfelves, and all the beloved, or holy people. This feems to allude to the theocratic government of the Jews, when fuch daring criminals were afflicted with immediate and vifible divine punilhment. drum! • frw Jio^u HiwJ;fl6" nwbh':i \£P brut f*5fnor: ll -^ruso vtb^fa it In his female lecture, he is fharp and prolix : he urges them with much earneflnefs to an honeft obfervance of the marriage-law, which may be readily excufed, on account of the prevalent paffion of felf-interelt. Our own chriftian orators do not exert themfelves with half the eloquence or eagernefs, as when that is at itake which they molt value. And the old wary favage has fenfe enough to know, that the Indian female virtue is very brittle, not being guarded fo much by inward principle, as the fear of fhame, and of incurring fevere punifhment; but if every bufli of every thicket was an hundred-eyed Argos, it would not be a fufficient guard over a wanton heart. So that it is natural they fhould fpeak much on this part of the fubject, as they think they have much at flake. After that, he ad-dreffes himfelf to the whole body of the people, and tells them, in rapid bold language, with great energy, and expreffive geftures of body, to look at the holy fire, which again has introduced all thofe fhameful adulterous criminals into focial privileges; he bids them not to be guilty of the like for time to come, but be fure to remember well, and flrongly •fhake hands with the old beloved flraight fpeech, otherwife the divine fire, which fees, hears, and knows them, will fpoil them exceedingly, if at any time they relapfe, and commit that deteltable crime. Then he enumerates all the fuppofed leffer crimes, and moves the audience by the great motives of the hope of temporal good, and the fear of temporal evil, affuring them, that upon their careful obfervance of the ancient law, the holy fire will enable their prophets, the rain-makers, to procure them plentiful har-veits, and give their war-leaders victory over their enemies — and by the P 2 commu- communicative power of their holy things, health and prosperity are certain: but on failure, they are to expect a great many extraordinary calamities), fuch as hunger, uncommon dileafes, a Subjection to witchcraft, and captivity and death by the hands of the hateful enemy in the woods, where the wild fowls will eat their flefh, and beafts of prey deftroy the remaining bones, fo as they will not be gathered to their forefathers—becaufe their ark abroad, and beloved things at home, would lofe their virtual power of averting evil. He concludes, by advifing them to a ftrict obfervance of their old rites and cuftoms, and then every thing fhall go well with them. He foon orders fome of the religious attendants to take a fufficient quantity of the fuppofed holy fire, and lay it down on the outfide of the holy ground, for all the houfes of the various affociated towns, which fometimes lie feveral miles apart. The women, hating fharp and grave leffons, fpeedily take it up, gladly carry it home, and lay it down on their unpolluted hearths, with the profpect of future joy and peace. While the women are running about, and getting ready to drefs the fanctified new-fruits on the facred fire, the Archi-magus fends a religious attendant to pull fome cuffeena, or yopm, belonging to the temple-, and having parched it brown on die altar, he boils, it with clear running water in a large earthen pot, about half full; it has fuch a ftrong body, as. to froth above the top by pouring it up and down with their confecrated veffels, which are kept only for that.ufe:.of this they drink now and then, till the end of the feftival, and on every other religious occafion from year to year. Some of the old beloved men, through a religious emulation in fanctifying themfelves, often drink this"j and other bitter decoctions, to fuch excefs, as to purge themfelves very feverely—when they drink it, they always invoke YO He Wah.. If any of the warriors are confined at home by ficknefs, or wounds, and are either deemed incapable or unfit to come to the annual expiation, they are allowed one of the old confecrated conch-fhells-full of their fanctifying bitter, cuffeena, by their magi. The traders hear them often difpute for it, as their proper due, by ancient cuftom : and they often repeal their old religious ceremonies to one another, efpecially that part which they imagine moft affects their prefent welfare ; the aged are fent to instruct the young ones in thefe particulars. The above allowance, feems to be derived from the divine precept of mercy, in allowing a fecond paf&- over Thctr religious fejllvals, fajls> &c. 109 over in favour of thofe who could not go, or were not admitted to the firft i and the latter cuftom, to be in obedience to the divine law, which their fuppofed progenitors were to write on the pofts of the doors, to wear as frontlets before their eyes, and teach to their children. Though the Indians do not ule fait in their firft-fruk-oblation till the fourth day; it is not to be doubted but they formerly did. They reckon they cannot obferve the annual expiation of fins, without bear's oil, both to mix with that yearly offering, and to eat with the new fanctified fruits; and fome years they have a great deal of trouble in killing a fufficient quantity of bears for the ufe of this religious folemnity, and their other facred rites for the approaching year; for at fuch feafons they are hard to be found, and quite lean. The traders commonly fupply themfelves with plenty of this oil from winter to winter; but the Indians are fo prepoffeffed with a notion of the white people being all impure and accurfed, that they deem their oil. as polluting on thofe facred occafions, as Jofephus tells us the Jews reckoned that of the Greeks. An Indian warrior will not light his pipe at a white man's fire if he fufpects any unfanctified food has been dreffed at it in the new year. And in the time of the new-ripened fruits, their religious men carry a flint, punk,,and fteel, when they vifit us, for fear of polluting themfelves by lighting their pipes at our fuppofed Loak ookproofe, " accurfed fire," and fpoiling the power of their holy things. The polluted would, if known, be infallibly anathamatized, and expelled from the temple, with the women,, who are fufpected of gratifying their vicious tafte. During the eight days feftival, they are forbidden even to touch the fkin of a female child : if they are detected, either in cohabiting with, or laying their hand on any .of their own wives, in that facred interval, they are ftripped naked, and the offender is univerially deemed fo atrocious a criminal, that he lives afterwards a miferable life.- Some have fhot themfelves dead, rather than ftand the fhame, and the long year's continual reproaches calf upon them, for every mifchance that befalls any of their people, or the enfuing harveft,—a neceffary effect of the divine anger, they fay, for fuch a crying fin of pollution. An inftance of this kind I heard happened fome years ago in Talafe, a town of the Mufkohge, feven miles above the Alebama garrifon. "When we confider how fparingly they eat in their ufual way of living, it is furprizing to fee what a vaft quantity of food they confume 5 on,. on their feftival days. It would equally furprize a ftranger to fee how exceedingly they vary their diihes, their dainties confiding only of dried flefh, fifh, oil, corn, beans, peafe, pompions, and wild fruit. During this rejoicing time, the warriors are drcft in their wild martial array, with their heads covered with white down : they carry feathers of the fame colour, either in their hands, or fattened to white fcraped canes, as emblems .of purity, and fcepters of power, while they are dancing in three circles, and fmging their religious praifes around the facred arbour, in which Hands the holy fire. Their mufic confifts of two clay-pot drums, covered on the top with thin wet deer-fkins, drawn very tight, on which each of the noify muficians beats with a flick, accompanying the noife with their voices; at the fame time, the dancers prance it away, with wild and quick Hiding fteps, and variegated poftures of body, to keep time with the drums, and the rattling calabafhes fhaked by fome of their religious heroes, each of them fmging their old religious fongs, and ftriking notes in tympano et choro. Such is the graceful dancing, as well as the vocal and inftrumcntal mufic of the red Hebrews on religious and martial occafions, which they muft have derived from early antiquity. Toward the conclufion of the great feftival, they paint and drefs themfelves anew, and give themfelves the moft terrible appearance they poffibly can. They take up their war-inftruments, and fight a mock-battle in a very exact manner: after which, the women are called to join in a grand dance, and if they difobey the invitation they are fined. But as they are extremely fond "of fuch religious exercife, and deem it productive of temporal good, all foon appear in their fineft apparel, as before fuggefted, decorated with filver ear-bobs, or pendants to their ears, feveral rounds of white beads about their necks, rings upon their fingers, large wire or broad plates of filver on their wrifts, their heads Shining with oil, and torrepine-fhclls containing pebbles, faftened to deer-fkins, tied to the outfide of their legs. Thus adorned, they join the men in three circles, and dance a confider-able while around the facred fire, and then they feparate. At the conclufion of this long and folemn feftival, the Archi-magus orders one of the religious men to proclaim to all the people, that their facred annual folemnity is now ended, and every kind of evil averted from the beloved people, according to the old Straight beloved fpeech •, they muft therefore paint themfelves, and come along with him according to ancient 5 cuftom. cuftom. As they know the-dated time, the joyful found prefently reaches their longing ears: immediately they fly about to grapple up a kind of chalky clay, to paint themfelves white. By their religious emulation, they foon appear covered with that emblem of purity, and join at the outfide of the holy ground, with all who had fanctified themfelves within it, who are likewife painted, fome with ftreaks, and others all over, as white as the clay can make them : recufants would undergo a heavy penalty. They go along in a very orderly folemn proceffion, to purify themfelves in running water. Tiie Archi-magus heads the holy train — his waiter next—-the beloved men according to their feniority—and the warriors by their reputed merit. The women follow them in the fame orderly manner, with all the children that can walk, behind them, ranged commonly according to their height; the very little ones they carry in their arms. Thofe, who are known to have eaten of the unfanctified fruits, bring up the rear. In this manner the proceffion moves along, fmging Aleluiah to YO He Wah, &:c. till they get to the water, which is generally contiguous, when the Archi-magus jumps into it, and all the holy train follow him, in the fame order they obferved from the temple. Having purified themfelves, or wafhed away their fins, they come out with joyful hearts, believing themfelves out of the reach of temporal evil, for their pafl vicious conduct: and they return in the fame religious cheerful manner, into the middle of the holy ground, where having made a few circles, fmging and dancing around the altar, they thus finifli their annual great feftival, and depart in joy and peace. Ancient writers inform us, that while the Scythians or Tartars were heathens, their priefts in the time of their facrifices, took fome blood, and mixing it with milk, horfe-dung, and earth, got on a tree, and having exhorted the people, they fprinkled them with it, in order to purify them, and defend them from every kind of evil: the heathens alfo excluded fome from religious communion. The Egyptians excommunicated thofe who ate of animals that bore wool, or cut the throat of a goat *. And in ancient times, they,, and the Phoenicians, Greeks, &c. adored the ferpent, and expelled thofe who killed it. The Eaft-Indians likewife, drive thofe from the * -Lanatis animalibus abftinet omnis Menfa ; ncfas illic factum jugulare capellx. Juvenal, Sat. xv. fuppofed fuppofed benefit: of their altars, who eat of a cow, and drink wine, or that eat with foreigners, or an inferior caft. Though the heathen world offered facrifice, had ablutions, and feveral other forts of purifications, and frequently by fire •, yet at the belt, their religious obfervances differed widely from the divine inftitutions; whereas the American Aborigines obferve ftrict. purity, in the mod effential parts of the divine law. The former concealed their various worfhip from the light of the fun ; fome feeking thick groves, others defcending into the deep valleys, others crawling to get into caverns, and under their favourite rocks. But we find the latter, in their ftate-houfes and temples, following the Jerufalem copy in a furprizing manner. Thofe of them who yet retain a fuppofed moft holy place, contrary to the ufage of the old heathen world, have it Handing at the weft end of the holy quadrangular ground : and they always appoint thofe of the meaneft rank, to fit on the feats of the eaftern fquare, fo that their backs are to the eaft, and faces to the weft *. The red fquare looks north; and the fecond men's cabbin, as the traders term the other fquare, of courfe looks fouth, which is a ftrong imitation of Solomon's temple, that was modelled according to the divine plan of the Ifraelitifti camp in the wildernefs. We find them alfo fancYifying themfelves, according to the emblematical laws of purity, offering their annual facrifice in the centre of their quadrangular temples, under the meridian light of the fun. Their magi are devoted to, and bear the name of the great holy One; their fuppofed prophets likewife that of the divine fire; and each of them bear the emblems of purity and holinefs—while in their religious duties, they fing Aleluiah, YO He Wah, &c. both day and night. Thus different are the various gods, * The Hebrews had two presidents in the great fynhedrion. The firft was called Na/be Tot «* a prince of God." They elected him on account of his wifdom : The fecond was called JLojb Ha-Yojbibbab, " the father of the afiembly he was chief in the great council. And Ab betb din, or * the father of the confiftory," fat at his right hand, as the chief of the Seventy-two, of which the great fynhedrion confifted, the reft fitting according to their merit, in a gradual declenfion from the prince, to the end of the femicircle. The like order is obferved by the Indians,—and Jer, ii. 27, God commanded the Ifraelites, that they fhould not turn their backs to him, but their faces toward the propitiatory, when they worfhipped him. I remember, in Koofah, the uppermoft weftern town of the Mufkohge, which was a place of refuge, their fuppofed holieft confifted of a neat houfe, in the centre of the weftern fquare, and the door of it was in the fouth gable-end clofe to the white cabbin, each on a direct line, porth and fouth. temples, Their folemn feajl of love. temples, prophets, and priefts of all the idolatrous nations of antiquity, from the favage Americans; which fhews with convincing clearnefs, efpecially by recollecting the former arguments, that the American Aborigines were never idolaters, nor violated the fecond commandment in worshipping the incomprehenfible, omniprefent, divine effence, after the manner defcribed by the popifh historians of Peru and Mexico; but that the greateft part of their civil and religious fyftem, is a ftrong old picture of the Ifraelitifh, much lefs defaced than might be reafonably expected from the circumftances of time and place. Every fpring feafon, one town or more of the Miftifippi Floridians, keep a great folemn feaft of love, to renew their old friendlhip. They call this annual feaft, Hottuk Aimpa, Heettla, Tatida, " the people eat, dance, and walk as twined together"—The ftiort name of their yearly feaft of love, is Hottuk Impanda, " eating by a ftrong religious, or focial principle Impanda fignifies feveral threads or Strands twifted, or warped together. UiJToobiJlarakjhc., and Telpbbha Panda., is " a twifted horfe-rope," and " warped garter This is alfo contrary to the uSage of the old heathen world, whofe feltivals were in honour to their chief idols, and very often accompanied with deteltable lewdnefs and debauchery. They affemble three nights previous to their annual feaft of love; on the fourth night they eat together. During the intermediate fpace, the young men and women dance in circles from the evening till morning. The men mafque their faces with large pieces of gourds of different fhapes and hieroglyphic paintings. Some of them fix a pair of young bifffjlo horns to their head ; others the tail, behind. When the dance and their time is expired, the men turn out a hunting, and bring in a Sufficient quantity of venifon, for the feaft of renewing their love, and confirming their friendftiip with each other. The women drefs it, and bring the belt they have along with it; which a few fprings paft, was only a variety of Efau's fmall red acorn pottage, as their crops had failed. When they have eaten together, they fix in the ground a large pole with a bufli tied at the top, over which * The name of a horfe-rope is derived from TarUjh: " to tie," and Hijfooba " an or horfe that carries a burthen which fuggcih that they formerly faw elks carry burthens, though perhaps not in the northern provinces. Q. they they throw a ball. Till the corn is in, they meet there almoft every day, and play for venifon and cakes, the men againft the women which the old people lay they have obferved for time out of mind. Before I conclude this argument, I muft here obferve, that when the Indians meet at night to gladden and unite their hearts before Yohewah, they fing Yoheiva-fJjoo Yohhva-f}:oo, Yoheueahpee Yohewdjljcc, and Yohewahfoai Yo-hewdhfmi, with much energy. The firft word is nearly in Hebrew characters, jntnrv, the name of Jofhua, or Saviour, Numb. xiii. 8. That y is properly expreffed by our double vowel oo, let it be obferved, that as bv2 is *' a ruler," or ''commanding"—fo the Indians fay Boole Hakfe " Strike a " perfon, that is criminal." In like manner, they ting Mejhi Yo, Mejhi Yo, Mejhi He, Mejhi He, Mefln JVah Mefln Wah; likewife, Mejhi Hah Yo, &c.; and Mejhi Wah Hah Mefln Wah He, tranfpofing and accenting each fyllable differently, fo as to make them appear different words. But they commonly make thofe words end with one fyllable of the divine name, Yo He Wah. If we connect this with the former part of the fubject, and confider they are commonly anointed all over, in the time of their religious fongs and circuiting dances, the words feem to glance at the Hebrew original, and perhaps they arc fometimes fynonymo.us ; for lottf fignifies oil; the perfon. anointed ntPD, Mcffiah, and he who anointed "HTtPD, which with the Indians is Mefhihdh Yo. That thefe red favages formerly underftood the radical meaning, and emT blematical defign, of the important words they ufe in their religious dances and facred hymns, is pretty obvious, if we confider the reverence they pay to the myfterious divine name YO. He Wah, in paufing during a long breath on each of the two firft fyllables their defining good by joining Wah to the end of a word, which otherwife expreffes moral evil, as before noticed ; and again by making the fame word a negative of good,, by Separating the firft Syllable of that divine name into two fyllables, and adding U as a fuperlative termination, Y-O-U.: all their Sacred fongs feem likewife to illustrate it very clearly •, IIalelu~Yah, Sbilu Wah, Mefln Wah, Meflnha Yo, &c. The words which they repeat in their divine hymns, while dancing in three circles around their fuppofed holy fire, are deemed fo facred, that they have not been known ever to mention them at any other time : and as they are a moft erect people, Their daily facrifice. 115 people, their bowing pofture during the time of thofe religious acclamations and invocations, helps to confirm their Hebrew origin. ARGUMENT IX, The Hebrews offered daily sacrifice, which the prophet Daniel calls Tamid, " the daily." It was an offering of a lamb every morning and evening, at the charges of the common treafury of the temple, and except the fkin and intrails, it was burnt to afhes — upon which account they called it, Oolah Kalile, to afcend and confume. The Indians have a fimilar religious fervice. The Indian women always throw a fmall piece of the fatteft of the meat into the fire when they are eating, and frequently before they begin to eat. Sometimes they view it with a pleafing attention, and pretend to draw omens from it. They firmly believe fuch a method to be a great means of producing temporal good things, and of averting thofe that arc evil: and they are fo far from making this fat-offering through pride or hy-pocrify, that they perform it when they think they are not feen by thofe of contrary principles, who might ridicule them without teaching them better. Inftead of blaming their religious conduct, as fome have done, I advifed them to peril ft in their religious doty to Ifhtehoollo Aba, becaufe he never failed to be kind to thofe who firmly fhaked hands with the old beloved fpeech, particularly the moral precepts, and after they died, he would bring them to their beloved land ; and took occafion to fhew them the innumerable advantages their reputed forefathers were bleft with, while they obeyed the divine law. The white people, (I had almoft faid chriftians) who have become Indian profelytes of juftice, by living according to the Indian religious fyftem, allure us, that the Indian men obferve the daily facrifice both at home, and in the woods, with new-killed venifon ; but that otherwife they decline it. The difficulty of getting fait for religious tifes.from the fea-fhore, and likewife its irritating quality when eaten by thofe who have green wounds, might in time occafion them to difcontinue that part of the facrifice. 0^2 They They make fait for dome/tic ufe, out of a faltifh kind of grafs, which grows on rocks, by burning it to afhes, making ftrong lye of it, and boiling it in earthen pots to a proper confiftence. They do not offer any fruits of the field, except at the firft-fruit-offering : fo that their neglect of facrifice, at certain times, feems not to be the effect of an ignorant or vicious, but of their intelligent and virtuous difpofmon, and to be a ftrong circumftantial evidence of their Ifraelitifh extraction. Though they believe the upper heavens to be inhabited by Ijljiohoollo Aba, and a great multitude of inferior good fpirits; yet they are firmly per-fuaded that the divine omniprefent Spirit of fire and light refides on earth, in their annual facred fire while it is unpolluted ; and that he kindly accepts their lawful offerings, if their own conduct is agreeable to the old divine law, which was delivered to their forefathers. The former notion of the Deity, is agreeable to thofe natural images, with which the divine penmen, through all the prophetic writings, have drawn Yohewah Elohim. When God was pleafed with Aaron's pricfthood and offerings, the holy fire defcended and confumed the burnt-offering on the altar, &c. By the divine records of the Hebrews, this was the emblematical token of the divine prefence and the fmoke of the victim afcending toward heaven, is reprefented as a fweet favour to God. The people who have lived fo long apart from the reft of mankind, are not to be'wondered at, if they have forgotten the end and meaning of the facrifice; and are rather to be pitied for feeming to believe, like the ignorant part of the Ifraelites, that the virtue is either in the form of offering the facrifice, or in the di-vini"y,they imagine to refide on earth in the facred annual lire; likewife, for feeming to have forgotten that the virtue was in the thing typified. In the year 1748, when I was at the Koosih on my way to the Chikkafah country, 1 had a converfation on this fubject, with feveral of the more intelligent of the Mufkohge traders. One of them told me, that juft before, while he and feveral others were drinking fpirituous liquors with the Indians, one of the warriors having drank to excefs, reeled into the fire, and burned himfelf very much. He roared, foamed, and fpoke the worft things againft God, that their language could exprefs. He upbraided him with ingratitude, Ingratitude, for having treated him fo barbaroufly in return for his religious offerings, affirming he had always facrificed to him the firft young buck he killed in the new year*, as in a conftant manner he offered him when at home, fome of the fatteft of the meat, even when he was at fhort allowance, on purpofe that he might mine upon him as a kind God.—And he added, " now you have proved as an evil fpirit, by biiing me fo feverely who was your conftant devotee, and are a kind God to thofe accurfed nothings, who are laughing at you as a rogue, and at me as a fool, 1 allure you, 1 fhall renounce you from this time forward j and inftead of making you look merry with fat meat, you fhall appear fad with water, for Spoiling the old beloved fpeech. I am a beloved warrior, and confequently 1 fcorn to lie •, you fhall therefore immediately fly up above the clouds, for I (hall pifs upon you." From that time, his brethren faid, God forfook that ter-reftriai refidcnce, and the warrior became godlefs. This information exactly agrees with many fuch inftances of Indian impiety, that happened within my own obfervation—>and fhews the bad confequences of that evil habit of ufing fpirituous liquors intemperately,, which they have been taught by the Europeans. The Indians have among them the refemblance of the Jewifli Sin-Offer-ing, and Trespass-Offertng, for they commonly pull their new-killed venifon (before they drefs it) feveral times through the fmoke and flame of the fire, both by the way of a facrifice, and to confume the blood, life, or animal fpirits of the beaft, which with them would be a moft horrid abomination to eat. And they facrifice in the woods, the milr, or a large fat piece of the firft buck they kill, both in their fummer and winter hunt -r and frequently the whole carcafs. This they offer up, either as a thankf-giving for the recovery of health, and for their former fuccefs in hunting ; or that the divine cafe and goodnefs may be ftill continued to them. When the Hebrews doubted whether they had finned againft any of the divine precepts, they were obliged by the law to bring to the pried a ram of their flock, to be facrificed, which they called Afcham. When the prieft offered this, the perfon was forgiven. Their facrifices and offerings were called Sbilomim, as they typified Sli/o-Beritb, " the purifying root," who was to procure them peace, reft, and plenty. The Indian imitates the Ifraelite 7 in in his religious offerings, according to the circumftances of things; the Hebrew laid his hands on the head of the clean and tame victim, to load it with his fins, when it was to be killed. The Indian religi-oufly chufes that animal which in America comes neareft to the divine-law of facrifice, according to what God has enabled him ; he fhoots down a buck, and Sacrifices either the whole carcafs, or fome choice part of it, upon a fire of green wood to burn away, and afcend to Tohetvah. Then he purifies himfelf in water, and believes himfelf fecure from temporal evils. Formerly, every hunter obferved the very fame religious ceconomy; but now it is practifed only by thofe who are the moft retentive of their old religious myfteries. The Mufkohge Indians facrifice a piece of every deer they kill at their' hunting camps, or near home; if the latter, they dip their middle finger in the broth, and fprinkle it over the domeftic tombs of their dead, to keep them out of the power of evil fpirits, according to their mythology; which feems to proceed from a traditional knowledge, though corruption of the Hebrew law of Iprinkling and of blood. The Indians obferve another religious cuftom of the Hebrews, in making a Peace-Offering, or facrifice of gratitude, if the Deity in the fuppofed holy ark is propitious to their campaign againft the enemy, and brings them all fafe home. If they have loft any in war, they always decline ir, becaufe they imagine by fome neglect of duty, they are impure : then they only mourn their vicious conduct which defiled the ark, and thereby oc-cafioned the lofs. Like the Ifraelites, they believe their fins are the true caufe of all their evils, and that the divinity in their ark, will.always blefs the more religious party with the bed fuccefs. This is their invariable fentiment, and is the fole reafon of their mortifying themfelves in fo fevere a manner while they are out at war, living very fcantily, even in a buffalo-range, under a ftrict rule, left by luxury their hearts fhould grow evil, and give them occafion to mourn. The common fort of Indians, in thefe corrupt times, only facrifice a fmall piece of unfaltcd fat meat, when they are rejoicing in the divine prefence, finging To To, &c. for their fuccefs and fafety: but, according to the religious cuftom of the Hebrews,, who offered facrifices of thankfgiving i for for every notable favour that Elohim had conferred either on individuals, or the body,—both the war-leader and his religious afliftant go into the woods as foon as they are purified, and there facrifice the firft. deer they kill $ yet, as hath been obferved, they always celebrate the annual expiation of fins in their religious temples. The red Hebrews imagine their temples to have fuch a typical holinefs, more than any other place, that if they offered up the annual Sacrifice elfe-where, it would not atone for the people, but rather bring down the anger of IftjtohoGUo Aba, and utterly fpoil the power of their holy places and holy things. They who facrifice in the woods, do it only on the particular occafions now mentioned •, unlefs incited by a dream, which they efteem a monitory leffon of the Deity, according to a fimilar opinion of the Hebrews. To conclude this argument, it is well known, that the heathens offered the moft abominable and impure facrifices to a multiplicity of idol gods; fome on favourite high places, others in thick groves, yea, offerings of their own children were made ! and they likewife proftituted their young women in honour of their deities. The former is fo atrocious in the eyes of the American Hebrews, that they reckon there needs no human law to prevent fo unnatural a crime; the vileft reptiles being endued with an intenfe love to' their young ones : and as to the latter, if even a great war-leader is known-to cohabit with his own wife, while fanctifying himfelf according to their mode on any religious occafion, he is deemed unclean for the fpace of three days and nights •, or fhould he during the annual atonement of fins, it is deemed fo dangerous a pollution, as to demand a ftrict ex-clufion from the reft of the fanctified head-men and warriors, till the general atonement has been made at the temple, to apperfe the offended Deity : befides, as a fhameful badge of his impiety, his clothes are ftripped off. Thus different are the various modes and fubjects of the heathenifh worfiYip and offerings, from thofe of the favage Americans. The furprizing purity the latter ftill obferve in their religious ceremonies, under the circumftances of time and place, points ftrongly at their origin. ARGU- ARGUMENT X. The Hebrews had various Ablutions and Anointings, according to the Mofaic ritual — and all the Indian nations constantly obferve fimilar cuftoms from religious motives. Their frequent bathing, or dipping themfelves and their children in rivers, even in the fevereft weather, feems to be as truly Jewifli, as the other rites and ceremonies which have been mentioned. Frequent waffling of the body was highly neceffary to the health of the Hebrews in their warm climate, and populous ftate—but it is ufeleis in this point of view to the red Americans, as their towns are widely diftant from each other, thin peopled, and fituated in cold regions. However, they practife it as a religious duty, unlefs in very hot weather, which they find by experience to be prejudicial to their health, when they obferve the law of mercy, rather than that of facrifice. In the coldeft weather, and when the ground is covered with fnow, againft their bodily cafe and pleafure, men and children rum out of their warm houfes or ftoves, reeking with fweat, fmging their uftia] facred notes, To To, eVc. at the dawn of day, adoring YO He Wah, at the gladfome light of the morn ; and thus they fkip along, echoing praifes, till they get to the river, when they inftantaneoully plunge into it. If the water is frozen, they break the ice with a religious impatience: After bathing, they return home, rejoicing as they run for having fo well performed their religious duty, and thus purged away the impurities of the preceding day by ablution. The neglect of this hath been deemed fo heinous a crime, that they have raked the legs and arms of the delinquent with fnake's teeth, not allowing warm water to relax the ftiffened ikin. This is called dry-fcratching •, for their method of bleeding confifts in fcratching the legs and arms with goir-fifh teeth, when the Ikin has been firft well loofened by warm water. The criminals, through a falfe imitation of true martial virtue, fcorn to move themfelves in the leaft out of their erect pofture, be the pain ever fo intolerable ; if they did, they would be laughed at, even by their own relations — firft, for being vicious; and next, for being timorous. This will help to leffen our furprize at the uncommon patience and conftancy with which they are endued, beyond the reft of mankind, in differing long-continued torture ; efpecially as it is one of Their bathing and anointing. 121 of the firft, and ftrongeft impreffions they take-, and they have conftant leifons and examples of fortitude, exhibited before their eyes. The Hebrews had convenient feparate places for their women to bathe in, and purify themfelves as occafion required : and at the temple (and the fynagogues, after the captivity) they worfhipped apart from the men, left they mould attract one another's attention from the divine worfhip: and it was cuftomary for the women to go veiled, for fear of being feen, when they walked the ftreets. No doubt but jealoufy had as great a fhare in introducing this cuftom as modefty, efpecially while poligamy was fuf* fered in the rich. But the fcantinefs of the Jewilh American's circumftances, has obliged them to purify themfelves in the open rivers, where modefty forbad them to expofe their women ; who by this means, are now lefs religious than the men in that duty, for they only purify themfelves as their difcretion directs them. In imitation of the Hebrew women bein<* o kept apart from the men at their worfhip, the Indians intirely exclude their females from their temples by ancient cuftom, except fix old beloved women, who are admitted to fing, dance, and rejoice, in the time of their annual expiation of fins, and then retire. In their town-houfes alfo they feparate them from the warriors, placing them on the ground at each fide of the entrance of the door within, as if they were only cafual fpec-tators. It may be objected, that the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans •worfhipped their Gods, at the dawn of day : and the Perfian Magi, with all the other worfhippers of fire, paid their religious devoirs to the riling fun, but, as the Indians are plainly not idolaters, or poly-theifts; as they fing to, and invoke Yah, and YO He Wah, the divine effence, as they run along at the dawn of day to purify themfelves by ablution ; it feems fufficiently clear, they are not defcended from either of the laft mentioned ftates, but that their origin is from the Ifraelites. This law of purity, bathing in water, was effential to the Jews—and the Indians to this day would exclude the men from religious communion who neglected to obferve it. It was cuftomary with the Jews alfo after bathing to anoint themfelves with oil. All the orientalifts had a kind of facred refpect to Oil ; particularly the Jews. With them, the fame word which fignified " noon-day1' or fplendor, Vtt, denoted alfo " lucid oil."—And the olive-tree is derived R from from the verb, to fhine—Bccaufe, the fruit thereof tended to give their faces a favourite glittering colour. 'Tis well known that oil was applied by the Jews to the moft facred, as well as common ufes. Their kings, prophets and priefts, at their inauguration and confecration were anointed with oil — and the promifed Saviour was himfelf defcribed, by the epithet " anointed," and is faid Pfal. xlv. 7. to be " anointed with the oil of gladnefs above his fellows." We fhall on this point, difcover no fmall refemblance and conformity in the American Indians. The Indian priefts and prophets are initiated by unction. The Chikkafah fome time ago fet apart fome of their old men of the religious order. They firft obliged them to fwcat themfelves for the fpace of three days and nights, in a fmall green hut, made on purpofe, at a confiderable diftance from any dwelling •, through a fcrupulous fear of contracting pollution by contact, or from the effluvia of polluted people—and a ftrong defire of fecreting their religious mylleries. During that interval, they were allowed, to eat nothing but green tobacco, nor to drink any thing except warm water, highly imbittered with the button-fnake-root, to cleanfe their bodies,, and prepare them to ferve in their holy, or beloved office, before the divine effence, whom during this preparation they conftantly invoke by his effen-. tiaf name, as before defcribed. After which, their prieftly garments and ornaments, mentioned under a former argument, page 84, are put on, and then bear's oil is poured upon their head.—If they could procure olive, or palm oil, inftcad of bear's oil, doubtlefs they would prefer and ufe it in their facred ceremonies; efpecially, as they are often deftitute of their, favourite bears oil for domeftic ufes. The Jewifli women were fo exceedingly addicted to anoint their faces and bodies, that they often preferred oil to the neceffarics of life the widow who addreffed herfelf to Elifha, though fhe was in the moft pinchu ing flraits, and wanted every thing elfe, yet had a pot of oil to anoint her^ felf. This cuftom of anointing became univerfal, among the eaftern nations. They were not fatisfied with perfuming themfelves with fweet oils, and fine effences; but anointed birds—as in the ninth ode of Anacreon ; Tot unde nunc odores ? Hue advolans per auras, Spirafque, depluifque ■, The. Their anointing. 123 The poet introduces two doves converfing together*, one of which carried a letter to Bathyllus, the anointed beau ; and the other willies her much joy, for her perfumed wings that diffufed fuch an agreeable fmell around. And the fame poet orders the painter to draw this Samian beau, with his hair wet with effence, to give him a fine appearance. Nitidas comas ejus facilto. Ode 29. Virgil defcribes Turnus, jufl after the fame manner, Vibratos calido ferro, myrrhaque madentes. ^Eneid, 1. 12. Homer tells us, that Telemachus and Philiftratus anointed their whole bodies with effences, after they had vifited the palace of Menelaus, and before they fat down at table. Odyff. 1. 4, The Jews reckoned it a fingular piece of difrefpecf to their gueft, if they offered him no oil. When any of them paid a friendly vifit, they had eifences prefented to anoint their heads ; to which cuftom of civility the Saviour alludes in his reproof of the parfimonious Pharifee, at whofe houfe he dined. Luke vii. 46. All the Indian Americans, efpecially the female fex, reckon their bear's oil or greafe, very valuable, and ufe it after the fame manner as the Afiatics did their fine effences and fweet perfumes the young warriors and women are uneafy, unlefs their hair is always fhining with it-, which is probably the reafon that none of their heads are bald. But enough is faid on this head, to fhew that they feem to have derived this cuftom from the eaft. ARGUMENT XI, The Indians have cuftoms confonant to the Mofaic Laws of Unclean-ness. They oblige their women in their lunar retreats, to build fmall huts, at as considerable a diftance from their dwelling-houfes, as they imagine may be out of the enemies reach ; where, during the fpace of that period, they are obliged to ftay at the rifque of their lives. Should they be known to violate that ancient law, they muft anfwer for every misfortune that befalls R 2 any any of the people, as a certain effect of the divine fire-, though the lurking enemy fometimes kills them in their religious retirement. Notwithstanding they reckon it conveys a moft horrid and dangerous pollution to thofe who touch, or go near them, or walk any where within the circle of their retreats and are in fear of thereby fpoiling the fuppofed purity and power of their holy ark, which they always carry to war •, yet the enemy believe they can fo cleanfe themfelves with the confecrated herbs, roots, &c. which the chieftain carries in the beloved war-ark, as to fecure them in this point from bodily danger, becaufe it was done againft their enemies. The non-obfervance of this feparation, a breach of the marriage-law, and murder, they efteem the moft capital crimes. When the time of the women's feparation is ended, they always purify themfelves in deep running water, return home, drefs, and anoint themfelves. They afcribe thefe monthly periods, to the female ftructure, not to the anger of Ifitohoolio Aba, Correfpondent to the Mofaic law of women's purification after travel^ the Indian women abfent themfelves from their hufbands and all public company, for a confiderable time.—The Mujkohge women are feparate for three moons, exclufive of that moon in which they are delivered. By the jewifli law, women after a male-birth were forbidden to enter the temple -Y and even, the very touch of facred tilings, forty days.—And after a female,, the time of feparation was doubled. Should any of the Indian women violate this law of purity, they would be cenfured, and fufier for any fudden ficknefs, or death that might happen among the people, as the neceffary effect of the divine anger for their polluting fin, contrary to their old traditional law of female purity. Like the greater part of the llraclires, it is the fear of temporal evils, and the profpect of temporal good, that makes them fo tenacious and obfervant of their laws. At the dated period, the Indian womeng impurity is finilhed by ablution, and they are again admitted to focial and holy privileges. By the Levitical law, the people who had running ij/ues, or fires, were deemed unclean, and ftrictly ordered apart from the reft, for fear of polluting them j for every thing they touched became unclean. The Indians,, in as ftrict a manner, obferve the very fame law; they follow the ancient Ifraelitilh. Their laws of uncleannefs and purification. i 2 C rfraelitifli copy fo clofe, as to build a fmall hut at a confiderablc diftance from the houfes of the village, for every one of their warriors wounded in war, and confine them there, (as the Jewifh lepers formerly were, without the wails of the city) for the fpace of four moons, including that moon in which they were wounded, as in the cafe of their women after travel : and they keep them ftrictly feparate, left the impurity of the one fhould prevent the cure of the other. The reputed prophet, or divine phyfician, daily pays them a due attendance, always invoking YO He Wah to blefs the means they apply on the fad occafion ; which is chiefly mountain all urn, and medicinal herbs, always injoyning a very abftemious life, prohibiting them women and fait in particular, during the time of the cure, or lanctifying the reputed finners. Like the Ifraelites, they firmly believe that fafcty, or wounds, &c. immediately proceed from the pleafed, or angry deity, for their virtuous, or vicious conduct, in obferving, or violating the divine law* In this long fpace of purification, each patient is allowed only a fuper-annuated woman to attend him, who is paft the temptations of finning with men, left the introduction of a young one fhould either reduce him ta-folly i or fhe having committed it with others—or by not obferving her appointed time of living apart from the reft, might thereby defile the place, and totally prevent the cure. But what is yet more furprifing in* their phylical, or rather theological regimen, is, that the phyfician is fo re-ligioufly cautious of not admitting polluted perfons to vifit any of his patients, left the defilement fhould retard the cure, or fpoil the warriors, that before he introduces any man, even any of their priefts, who are married according to the law, he obliges him to allert either by a double affirmative, or by two negatives, that he has not known even his own wife, in the fpace of the laft natural day. This law of purity was peculiar to the Hebrews, to deem thofe unclean who cohabited with their wives, till they purified themfelves in clean water. Now as the heathen world obferved no fuch law, it feems that the primitive Americans derived this religious-cuftom alfo from divine precept; and that thefe ceremonial rites were originally copied from the Mofaic inftitution. The Ifraelites became unclean only by touching their dead, for the fpace of feven days •, and the high-prieft was prohibited to come near the dead. JTis much the fame with the Indians to this day. To prevent pollution, when the fick perfon is paft hope of recovery, they dig a grave, prepare the tomb, anoint his hair, and paint his face j and when his breath ceaics, they haflen the remaining funeral preparations, and foon bury the corpfe. One of a different family will never, or very rarely pollute himfelf for a flranger; though when living, he would cheerfully hazard his life for his fafety : the relations, who become unclean by performing the funeral duties, muftTive apart from the clean fof feveral days, and be cleanfed by fome of their religious order, who chiefly apply the button-fhake-root for.their purification, as formerly defcribed: then they purify themfelves by ablution. After three days, the funeral affiftants may convene at the town-houfe, and follow their ufual diverfions. But the relations live reclufe a long time, mourning the dead. * The Cheerake, notwithftanding they have corrupted moft of their primitive cuftoms, obferve this law of purity in fo ftrict a manner, as not to touch the corpfe of their nearefl relation though in the woods. The fear of pollution (not the want of natural affection, as the unfkilful obferve) keeps them alfo from burying their dead, in our reputed unfanctified ground, if any die as they are going to Charles-town, and returning home becaufe they are diftant from their own holy places and holy things, where only they could peform the religious obfequies of their dead, and purify themfelves according to law. An incident of this kind happened feveral years fince, a little below Ninety-fix, as well as at the Conggarees, in South-Carolina:—at the former place, the corpfe by our humanity was interred; but at the latter, even the -twin-born brother of an Indian chriftian lady well known by the name of the Dark-lantbcm, left her dead and unburied. The converfion of this rara avis was in the following extraordinary manner.—There was a gentleman who married her according to the manner of the Cheerake ; but obferving that marriages were commonly of a fhort * One of the Cheerake traders, who now refides in the Choktah country, aflures me, that a little before the commencement of the late war with the Cheerake, when thc£ud, a native of Nuqu6fe-town, died, none of the warriors would help to bury him, becaufe of the dangerous pollution, they imagined they fhould neceffarily contract, from fuch a white corpfe ; as he was begotten by a white man and a half-breed Cheerake woman—and as the women arc only allowed to mourn for the death of a warrior, they could not affift in this friendly duty. By much felicitation, the gentleman (my author) obtained the help of an old friendly half, bred-warrior. 1 hey interred the corpfe j but the favage became unclean, and was feparate from every kind of communion with the reft, for the fpace of three days. I duration, Their ideas of purity. 127 duration in that wanton female government, he flattered himfelf of ingrowing her affections, could he be fo happy as to get her fanctified by one of our own beloved men with a large quantity of holy water in baptifm—and be taught the conjugal duty, by virtue of her new chriftian name, when they were married a-nevv. As ("he was no ftranger in the Englifh fettlements, he foon perfuaded her to go down to the Conggarees, to get the beloved fpeech, and many fine things befide. As the prieft was one of thofe tons of wifdom, the church fent us in her maternal benevolence, both to keep and draw us from effential errors, he readily knew the value of a convert,, and grafping at the opportunity, he changed her from a wild fava?e to a believing chriftian in a trice. He afked her a few articles of her creed, which were foon anfwered by the bridegroom, as interpreter, from fome words fhe fpoke on a trifling queftion he afked her. When the prieft propofed to her a religious queftion, the bridegroom, by reafon of their low ideas, and the idiom of their dialects, was obliged to mention fome of the virtues, and fay he recommended to her a very ftrict chaftity in the married ftate. *■« Very well, faid fhe, that's a good fpeech, and fit for every woman alike, unlefs fhe is very old — But what fays he now ?" The interpreter, after a fhort paufe, replied, that he was urging her to ufe a proper care in domeftic life. " You evil fpirit, faid fhe, when was I wafteful, or carelefs at home ?" He replied, " never" : " Well then, faid fhe, tell him his fpeech is troublefomc and light. — But, firft, where are thofe fine things you promifed me ?" He bid her be patient a little, and fhe fhould have plenty of every thing fhe liked beft; at this fhe fmiled. Now the religious man was fully confirmed in the hope of her converfion however, he afked if fhe understood, and believed that needful article, the doctrine of the trinity. The bridegroom fwore heartily, that if he brought our all the other articles of his old book, fhe both knew and believed them, for fhe was a fenfiole young woman. The bridegroom had a very difficult part to act, both to pleafe the humour of his Venus, and to fatisfy the inquifitive temper of our religious fon of Apollo-, he behaved pretty well however, till he was defired to afk her belief of the uni-trjnity, and tri-unity of the deity-, which the beloved man endeavoured to explain. On this, fhe fmartly afked him the fubject of fthe.ir long and crooked-like difcourfe. Bur, as his patience was now ex- haufted, handed, inltead of anfwering her queftion, he faid with a loud voice, that he believed the religious man had picked Out all the crabbed parts of his old book, only to puzzle and dagger her young chriftian faith-, otherwife how could he defire him to perfuade fuch a fharp-difcerning young woman, that one was three, and three, one ? Befides, that if his book had any fuch queftion, it belonged only to the deep parts of arithmetic, in which the very Indian beloved men were untaught. He affurcd the prieft, that the Indians did not mind what religion the women were of, or whether they had any, and that the bride would take it very kindly, if he fhortened his difcourfe, as nothing can difturb the Indian women fo much as long lectures. The Dark-Ian thorn, (which was the name of the bride) became very un-eafy, both by the delay of time, and the various paflions die attentively-read in the bridegroom's face and fpeech, and fhe afked him fharply the meaning of fuch a long difcourfe. He indantly cried out, that the whole affair was fpoiled, unlefs it was brought to a fpeedy conclufion: but the religious man infided upon her belief of that article, before he could proceed any farther. But by way of comfort, he allured him it fhould be the very laft queftion he would propofe, till he put the holy water on her face, and read over the marriage ceremony. The bridegroom revived at this good news, immediately fent the bowl around, with a cheerful countenance -, which the bride obferving, fhe afked him the reafon of his Hidden joyful looks.—But, what with the length of the lecture, the clofe application of the bowl, and an over-joy of foon obtaining his willies, he propofed the wrong queftion ; for inftead of afking her belief of the myfterious union of the tri-une deity, he only mentioned the manly faculties of nature. The bride fmiled, and afked if the beloved man borrowed that fpeech from his beloved marriage-book? Or whether he was married, as he was fo waggifti, and knowing in thofe affairs.—The prieft imagining her cheerful looks proceeded from her fwallowing his doctrine, immediately called for a bowl of water to initiate his new convert. As the bridegroom could not mediate with his ufual friendly offices in this affair, he perfuaded her to let the beloved man put fome beloved water on her face, and it would be a fure pledge of a lafting friendfhip between her and the Englifh, and intitle her to every thing fhe liked beft. By the perfuafive force of his promifes, flic confented : and had the conftancy, though fo ignorant a novitiate Their ideas of contracting pollution* 129 novitiate in onr facred myfleries, to go through her catechilm, and the long marriage ceremony,—although it was often interrupted by the bowl. This being over, fhe proceeded to go to bed with her partner, while the beloved man fung a pfalm at the door, concerning the fruitful vine. Her name he foon entered in capital letters, to grace the firft title-page of his church book of converts; which he often fhewed to his Englifh fheep, and with much fatis-faction would inform them how, by the co-operation of the Deity, his earneft endeavours changed an Indian Dark-lanthorn into a lamp of chriftian light. However, afterward to his great grief, he was obliged on account of her adulteries, to erafe her name from thence, and enter it anew in fome of the crowded pages of female delinquents. When an Ifraelite died in any houfe or tent, all who were in it, and the furniture belonging to it contracted a pollution, which continued for feven days. All likewife who touched the body of a dead perfon, or his grave, wire impure for feven days. Similar notions prevail among the Indians. The Choktah are fo exceedingly infatuated in favour of the infallible judgment of their pretended prophets, as to allow them without the leaft regret, to dillocate the necks of any of their fick who are in a weak ftate of body, to put them out of their pain, when they prefume to reveal the determined will of the Deity to fhorten his days, which is afferted to be communicated in a dream *, by the time that this theo-phyfical operation is performed on a patient, they have a fcaffold prepared oppofite to the door, whereon he is to lie till they remove the bones in the fourth moon after, to the remote bone-houfe of that family : they immediately carry out the corpfe, mourn over it, and place it in that dormitory, which is ftrongly pallifadoed around, left the children fhould become polluted even by paffing under the dead. Formerly when the owner of a houfe died, they fet fire to it, and to all the provifions of every kind j or fold the whole at a cheap rate to the trading people, without paying the leaft regard to the fcarcity of the times. Many of them ftill obferve the fame rule, through a wild imitation of a ceremonial obfervance of the Ifraelites, in burning the bed whereon a dead perfon lay, becaufe of its impurity. This is no copy from the ancient heathens, but from the Hebrews. A R G U- A R G U M. E N T XII. Like the Jews, the greateft part of the fouthern Indians abjia'm from-moft things that are either in themfelves, or in the general apprehenfion of mankind, loathfomc, or unclean: where we find a deviation from that general rule among any of them, it is a corruption —either owing to their intercourfc with Europeans, or having contracted an ill habit from ne-ceflity. They generally affix very vicious ideas to the eating of impure things and all their prophets, priefts, old warriors and war-chieftains, before they enter on their religious duties, and while they are engaged in them, obferve the ftricteft abftinence in this point. Formerly, if any of them did eat in white people's houfes, or even of what had been dreffed there, while they were fanctifying themfelves, it was deemed a dangerous fin of pollution. When fome of them firft corrupted their primitive virtue, by drinking of our fpirituous liquors, the religious fpectators called it colza hoome,. " bitter waters j" alluding, I conjecture, to the bitter waters of jealoufy, that produced fwelling and death to thofe who committed adultery, but had no power over the innocent. That this name is not accidental, but defign-edly pointed, and expreffive of the bitter waters of God, feems obvious, not only from the image they ftill retain of them, but likewife when any of them refufe our invitation of drinking fpirituous liquors in company with us, they fay Ahijkbla Awa, Ooka Hoomeh IiJIito, " 1 will not drink, they are the bitter waters of the great One." Though IJhto, one of the names of God, fubjoined to nouns, denotes a fuperlative degree, in this cafe they deviate from that general rule—and for this reafon they never affix the idea of bitter to the fpirituous liquors we drink among them. Hoomeh is the only word they have to convey the meaning of bitter as Aneh Hoomeh, «* bitter ears," or pepper. They reckon all birds of prey, and birds of night, to be unclean, and unlawful to be eaten. Not long ago, when the Indians were making their winter's hunt, and the old women were without flefh-meat at home, I fliot a,fmall fat hawk, and defired one of them to take and drefs it; but though I, ftrongly importuned her by way of trial, fhe, as earneftly refufed it for fear: Their ahjiaining from things deemed unclean. 131 fear of contracting pollution, which flip called the " accurfed ficknefs," fuppofing difeafe would be the necelTary effect of fuch an impurity. Eagles of every kind they efteem unclean food; likewife ravens (though the name of a tribe with them) crows, buzzards, fwallows, bats, and every fpecies of owls: and they believe that fwallowing flies, mufketoes, or gnats, always breeds ficknefs, or worms, according to the quantity that goes into them; which though it may not imply extraordinary fkill in phyfic, fhews their retention of the ancient law, which prohibited the fwallowing of flies : for to this that divine farcafm alludes, " fwallowing a camel, and ftraining at a gnat." Such infects were deemed unclean, as well as vexatious and hurtfuk The God of Ekron was Beehebub, or the God and ruler of flies. None of them will eat of any animal whatfoever, if they either know, or fufpect that it died of itfelf. I lately afked one of the women the reafon of throwing a dung-hill-fovvl out of doors, on the corn-houfe ; fhe faid, that fhe was afraid, Oophe Abeeka Hakfet Uleh, " it died with the diftemper of the mad dogs," and that if fhe had eaten it, it would have affected her in the very fame manner. I faid, if fo, fhe did well to fave herfelf from danger, but at the fame time, it feemed fhe had forgotten the cats. She replied, " that fuch impure animals would not contract the accurfed ficknefs, on account of any evil thing they eat; but that the people who ate of the flefh of the fwine that fed on fuch polluting food, would certainly become mad." In the year 1766, a madnefs feized the wild beafts in the remote woods of Weft-Florida, and about the fame time the domeftic dogs were attacked with the like diftemper; the deer were equally infected. The Indians in their winter's hunt, found feveral lying dead, fome in a helplefs condition, and others fierce and mad. But though they are all fond of increafing their number of deer-fkins, both from emulation and for profit, yet none of them durft venture to flay them, left they fhould pollute themielves, and thereby incur bodily evils. The head-man of the camp told me, he cautioned one of the Hottuk Hakfe, who had refuted a long time at Savannah, from touching fuch deer, faying to him Chcbakfinna, " Do not become vicious and mad," for Jffe Hakfet lllehtahah, " the deer were mad, and are dead •," adding, that if he acted the part of Hakfe, he would caufe both him- S 2 fclfj felf, and the reft of the hunting camp to be fpoiled ; neverthelefs he fhut his ears againft his honeft fpeech, and brought thofe dangerous deer-fkins to camp. But the people would not afterward affociate with him > and he foon paid dear for being Hakfe, by a fharp fplintered root of a cane running almoft through his foot, near the very place where he. firft polluted himfelf; and he was afraid fome worfe ill was ftill in wait for him. In 1767, the Indians were ftruck with a dileafe, which they were unao-quainted with before. It began with fharp pains in the head, at the lower, part of each of the ears, and fwelled the face and throat in a very extraordinary manner, and alfo the tefticles. It continued about a fortnight, and in the like fpace of time went off gradually, without any dangerous confe-quence, or ufe of outward or inward remedies: they called it Wahka Abeeka,. ** the cattle's diftemper," or ficknefs. Some of their young men had by Health killed and eaten a few of the cattle which the traders had brought up, and they imagined they had thus, polluted themfelves, and were fmitten in that ftrange manner, by having their heads, necks, cVc. magnified like the fame parts of a fick bull. They firft concluded, either to kill all the cattle, or fend them immediately off their land, to prevent, the like mifchief, or greater ills from befalling the beloved people—for their cunning old phyficians or prophets would not undertake to cure them, in order to inflame the people to execute the former refolution ; being jealous of encroachments, and afraid the cattle would fpoil their open cornfields-, upon which account, the traders arguments had no weight with thefe red Hebrew philofophcrs. But fortunately, one of their head warriors had a few cattle foon prefented to him, to keep off the wolf; and his rea-ibning proved fo weighty, as to alter, their refolution, and produce in them, a contrary belief. t They reckon all thofe animals to be unclean, that are either carnivorous, or live on nafty food; as hogs, wolves, panthers, foxes, cats, mice, rats. And if we except the bear, they deem all beafts of prey, unhallowed, and polluted food ; all amphibious quadrupeds they rank in the fame clafs. Our old traders remember when they firft began the cuftom of eating beavers: and to this day none eat of them, except thofe who kill: them i, Their abjlalnlngfrom things deemed unclean* 133, them though the flefh is very wholefome, on account of the bark of trees they live upon. It muft be acknowledged, they are all degenerating a-pace, infomuch, that the Choktah Indians, on account of their fcantinefs of ammunition while they traded with the French, took to eat horfc-fiefh, and even fnakes of every kind •, though each of thefe fpecies, and every fort of reptiles, are accounted by the other neighbouring nations, impure food in the higheft degree. And they ridicule the Choktah for their cannibal apoftacy, and term them in common fpeech, " the evil, ugly, Choktah." They abhor moles fo exceedingly, that they will not allow their children even to touch them, for fear of hurting their eye-fight •, reckoning it contagious. They believe that nature is poffeft of fuch a property, as to tranf-fufe into men and animals the qualities, either of the food they ufe, or of thofe objects that are prefented to their fenfes; he who feeds on venifon, is according to their phyfical fyftem, fwifter and more fagacious than the man who lives on the flelh of the clumfy bear, or helplcfs dunghill fowls, the flow-footed tame cattle, or the heavy wallowing fwine. This is the reafon that feveral of their old men recommend, and fay, that formerly their oreateft chieftains obferved a conftant rule in their diet, and feldom ate of any animal of a grofs quality, or heavy motion of body, fancying it conveyed a dullnefs through the whole fyftem, and difabled them from ex-exerting themfelves with proper vigour in their martial, civil, and relU gious duties. 1 have already fhewn their averfion to eating of unfan<£lified fruits and m tliis argument, that they abftain from feveral other things, contrary to the ufage of all the old heathen world. It may be objected, that now they feldom refufe to eat hogs flefti, when the traders invite them to it but this proceeds entirely from vicious imitation, and which is common with the moft civilized nations. When fwine were firft brought among them, they, deemed it fuch a horrid abomination in any of their people to eat that filthy and impure food, that they excluded the criminal from all religious communion in their circular town-houfe, or in their quadrangular holy ground at the annual expiation of fins, equally as if he had eaten unfancti-fied fruits. After the yearly atonement was made at the temple, he was: indeed re-admitted to his ufual privileges. Formerly, none of their be- 7 loved- loved men, or warriors, would eat or drink with us on the moll prefling invitation, through fear of polluting themfelves, they deemed us fuch impure animals. Our eating the fiefft of fwine, and venifon, with the gravy in it, helped to rivet their diflike, for this they reckon as blood. I once afked the Archimagus, to fit down and partake of my dinner but he excufed himfelf, faying, he had in a few days fome holy duty to perform, and that if he eat evil or accurfed food, it would fpoil him,—alluding to fwine's flefli. Though mod of their virtue hath lately been corrupted, in this particular they ftill affix vicious and contemptible ideas to the eating of fwine's fiefih infomuch, that Sbttkapa, " fwine eater," is the moft opprobious epithet they can ufe to brand us with: they commonly iubjoin Akanggapa, *' eater of dunghill fowls." Both together, lignify *' filthy, helplefs animals." By our furprifing mifmanagement in allowing them a long time to infuJt, abufe, rob, and murder the innocent Britifh fub-at pleafure, without the leaft fatisfaction, all the Indian nations formerly defpifed the Englifh, as a fwarm of tame fowls, and termed them to, in their fet fpeeches. , , The Indians through a ftrong principle of religion, abftain in the ftricteft manner, from eating the Blood of any animal; as it contains the life, and fpirit of the beaft, and was the very effence of the facri-fices that were to be offered up for finners. And this was the Jewifli opinion and law of facrifice, Lev. xvii. It. "for the life of the flefli is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar, to make an atonement for your fouls; for it is the blood, which maketh an atonement for the foul." "When the Englifh traders have been making faufages mixt with hog's blood, I have obferved the Indians to caft their eyes upon them, with the horror of their reputed fore-fathers, when they viewed the predicted abomination of defolation, fulfilled by Antiochus, in defiling the temple. An imiance lately happened, which fufflciently fhews their utter averfion to blood; A Chikkefah woman, a domeftic of one of the traders, beinc very ill vvith a complication of diforders, the Indian phyfician fcemed to ufe his belt endeavours to cure her, but without the leaft vifibie effect. Their abfalnlng from blood. 135 To prefcrve his medical credit with the people, he at laft afcribed her ailment to the eating of fwine's flefli, blood, and other polluting food : and faid, that fuch an ugly, or accurfed ficknefs, overcame the power of all his beloved fongs, and phytic; and in anger, he left his fuppofed criminal patient to be punilhed by Loak Ifhtohoollo. I afked her fome time afterwards, what her ailments were, and what fhe imagined might have occa-floned them ? She faid, fhe was full of pain, that fhe had Abeeka Ookproo, *c the accurfed ficknefs," becaufe fhe had eaten a great many fowls after the manner of the white people, with the IffiJJj Ookproo, " accurfed blood," in them. In time fhe recovered, and now IlricTtly abftains from tame fowls, unlets they are bled to death, for fear of incurring future evil, by the like pollution. There is not the leaft trace among their ancient traditions, of their de-ferving the hateful name of cannibals, as our credulous writers have carefully copied from each other. Their tafte is fo oppofite to that of the An-throphagi, that they always over-drefs their meat whether roafted or boiled. The Mufkoghe who have been at war, time out of mind, againft the Indians of Cape-Florida, and at length reduced them to thirty men, who removed to the Havannah along with the Spaniards; affirm, they could never be informed by their captives, of the leaft inclination they ever had of eating human fielfi, only the heart of the enemy—which they all do, fym-pathctically (blood for blood) in order to infpire them with courage ; and yet the conftant Inffes they fuffered, might have highly provoked them to exceed their natural barbarity. To eat the heart of an enemy will in their opinion, like eating other things, before mentioned, communicate and give greater heart againft the enemy. They alfo think that the vigorous faculties of the mind are derived from the brain, on which account, I have feen fome of their heroes drink out of a human fkull; they imagine, they only imbibe the good qualities it formerly contained. When fpeaking to the Archimagus concerning the Flottentots, thofe heterogeneous animals according to the PortU£uefe and Dutch accounts, he afked me, whether they builded and planted—and what fort of food they chiefiy chiefly lived upon. I told him, I was informed that they dwelt in fmall nafly huts, and lived chiefly on fneep's guts and crickets. He laughed, and faid there was no credit to be given to the far-diflant writers of thofe old books, becaufe they might not have underflood the language and cuftoms of the people 5 but that thofe, whom our books reported to live on fuch nally food, (if they did not deceive us) might have been forced to it for the want of better, to keep them from dying; or by the like occafion, they might have learned that ugly cuflom, and could not quit it when they were free from want, as the Choktah eat horfe-flefh, though they have plenty of venifon : however, it was very eafy, he faid, to know whether they were poffeffed of human reafon, for if they were endued with fhame to have a defire of covering their nakednefs, he concluded them to be human. He then afked me, whether I had been informed of their having any fort of language, or method of counting as high as the number of their fingers, either by words or expreffive motion ; or of bearing a nearer refemblance to Ydwe the human creature/ in laughter, than Shawe the ape bore ; or of being more focial and gregarious than thofe animals of the country where they lived. If they were endued with thofe properties, he affirmed them to 'be human creatures and that fuch old lying books fhould not be credited. The more religious, or the leaft corrupted, of the various remote Indian nations, will not eat of any young beaft when it is newly yeaned ; and their old men think they would iuffer damage, even by the bare contact: which teems to be derived from the Mofaic law, that prohibited fuch animals to be offered up, or eaten, till they were eight days old; becaufe, till then, they were in an imperfect and polluted ftate! They appear, however, to be utterly ignorant of the defign and meaning of this appointment and practice, as well as of fome other cuftoms and inftitutions: But as the time of circumcifing the Ifraelitifh children was founded on this law of purity, it feems probable, that the American Aborigines obferved the law of circum-cifion, for fome time after they arrived here, and defifted from it, when it became incompatible with the hard daily toils and fharp exercifes, which neceflity muft have forced them to purfue, to fupport life: efpecially when we confider, that the fharpeft and moft lafting affront, the moft opprobious, indelible epithet, with which one Indian can pof-iibly brand another, is to call him in public company, Hoobuk Wajke, Eunuchus, praeputio detccto. They refent it fo highly, that in the year Their reafon for difufing circumcifion. l^T 1750, when the Cheerakee were on the point of commencing a war againft ras, feveral companies of the northern Indians, in concert with them, compelled me in the lower Cheerakee town to write to the government of South-Carolina, that they made it their earned requeft to the Englifh no: to mediate in their war with the Katahba Indians, as they were fully refolved to prolecute it, with the greated eagernefs, while there was one of that hateful name alive; becaufe in the time of battle, they had given them the ugly name of fhort-tailed eunuchs. Now as an eunuch was a contemptible name with the Ifraelites, and none of them could ferve in any religious office ; it fhould feem that the Indians derived this opprobious and fingular epithet from Jewifh tradition, as cadration was never in ufe among the ancient or prefent Americans. The Ifraelites were but forty years in the wildernefs, and would not have renewed the painful act of circumcifion, only that Joftiua .inforced it: and by the neceffary fatigues and difficulties, to which as already hinted, the primitive Americans mud be expofed at their firft arrival in this wafte and extenfive wildernefs, it is likely they forbore circumcifion, upon the divine principle extended to their fuppofed predeceffors in the wildernefs, of not accepting facrifice at the expence of mercy. This might foothe them afterwards wholly to reject it as a needlefs duty, efpecially if any of the eaflern heathens accompanied them in their travels in queft of freedom. And as it is probable, that by the time they reached America, they had worn out their knives and every other fharp inftrument fit for the occafion ; fo had they performed the operation with flint-ftones, or fharp fplintcrs, there is no doubt that each of the mothers would have likewife faid, " This day, thou art to me a bloody hufband V However, from the contemptible idea the Americans fix. to caftration, &c. it feems very probable the more religious among them ufed circumcifion in former ages.. Under this argument, I muft obferve that Ai-u-be fignifies " the thigh" of any animal ; and E-ee-pattdh Tekdle, " the lower part of the thigh," or literally, " the hanging of the foot." And when in the woods, the Indians cut a fmall piece out of the lower part of the thighs of the deer they kill, length-ways and pretty deep. Among the great number of v.enifon-hams they bring to our trading houfes, I do not remember to f Exod. iv. 25, 26. T have- have obferved one without it; from which I conjecture, that as every ancient cuftom was defigned to convey, either a typical, or literal in-ftructive leflbn of fome ufeful thing-, and as no ufage of the old heathen world refcmbled this cuftom -, it feems ftrongly to point at Jacob's wreftling with an angel, and obtaining for himfelf and his pofterity, the name, [jNT'W, (perhaps, Yofher-ale) " divine guide," or *. one who prevails with the omnipotent," and to the children of Ifrael not eating the finew of the thigh of any animal, to perpetuate the memory of their ancestor's Anew being fhrunk, which was to obtain the blefling. The Indians always few their maccafenes with deer's fmews, though of a (harp cutting quality, for they reckon them more fortunate than the wild hemp : but to eat fuch, they imagine would breed worms, and other ailments, in proportion to the number they eat. And I have been affured by a gentleman of character, who is now an inhabitant of South-Carolina, and well acquainted with the cuftoms of the northern Indians, that they alfo cut a piece out of the thigh of every deer they kill, and throw it away, and reckon it fuch a dangerous pollution to eat it, as to occafion ficknefs and other misfortunes of fundry kinds, efpecially by fpoil-ing their guns from (hooting with proper force and direction. Now as none of the old heathens had fuch a cuftom, muft it not be confidered as of Ifraelitifh extraction? ARGUMENT XIII. The Indian Marriages, Divorces, and Punishments of adultery, ftill retain a ftrong likenefs to the Jewifli laws and cuftoms in thefe points. The Hebrews had fponfalia de prefenti, and fponfalia de futuro : a con-fiderable time generally intervened between their contract and marriage: and their nuptial ceremonies were celebrated in the night. The Indians obferve the fame cuftoms to this day; infomuch, that it is ufual for an elderly man to take a girl, or fometimes a child to be his wife, becaufe me is capable of receiving good impreflions in that tender ftate : frequently, a moon elapfes after the contract is made, and the value received, before the the bridegroom fleeps with the bride, and on the marriage day, he does not appear before her till night introduces him, and then without tapers. The grandeur of the'Hebrews confuted pretty much in the multiplicity of their wives to attend them, as a fliowy retinue: as the meaner for: could not well purchafe one, they had a light fort of marriage fuitable to their circumftances, called by the fcholiafts, ufu capio; " taking the woman for prefent ufe." When they had lived together about a year, if agreeable, they parted good friends by mutual confent. The Indians alio are fo fond of variety, that they ridicule the white people, as a tribe of narrow-hearted, and dull conftitutioned animals, for having only one wife at a time-, and being bound to live with and fuppprt her, though numberlefs circumftances might require a contrary conduct. When a young warrior cannot drefs alamode America, he ftrikes up one of thofe matches for a few moons, which they term loop/a Tdzvab, *' a make hade, marriage," becaufe it wants the ufual ceremonies, and duration of their other kind of marriages. The friendlieft kind of marriage among the Hebrews, was eating bread together. The bridegroom put a ring on the fourth finger of the bride's left hand before two witneffes, and faid, " Be thou my wife, according 10 the law of Mofes." Her acceptance and filence implying confent, confirmed her part of the marriage contract, becaufe of the rigid modelty of the eaftern women. When the fhort marriage contract was read over, he took a cake of bread and broke it in two, for himfelf and her ; or other-wife, he put fome corn between their hands : which cuftoms were ufed as ftrong emblems of the neceffity of mutual induftry and concord, to obtain prefent and future happinefs. When an Indian makes his firft addrefs to the young woman he intends to marry, fhe is obliged by ancient cuftom to fit by him till he hath done eating and drinking, whether fhe likes or diflikcs him ; but afterward, fhe is at her own choice whether to ltay or retire*. When the bridegroom marries the bride, after the ufual prelude, he takes a choice ear of corn, and divides it in two before witneffes, gives her one half in her hand, and keeps the other half to himfelf; or otherwife, * Cant. iii. 4. I held him and would not let him go, until I had brought him to my father's houfe, and into the chambers of her that conceived me : See Gen. xxiv. 67. »«ch was the cuftom of the Hebrews. T a he he gives her a deer's foot, as an emblem of the readinefs with which flic ought to ferve him : in return, Hie prefents him with fome cakes of bread, thereby declaring her domeftic care and gratitude in return for the offals for the men feaft by themfelves, and the women eat the remains. When this fhort ceremony is ended, they may go to bed like an honeft couple. Formerly, this was an univerfal cuftom among the native Americans; but this, like every other ufage of theirs, is wearing out apace. The Weft-Flori-dans, in order to keep their women fubjedf. to the law of adultery, bring fome venifon or buffalo's flefh to the houfe of their nominal wives, at the end of every winter's hunt: that is reckoned a fuflicient annual tye of their former marriages, although the hufbands do not cohabit with them. The Mufkohge men, if newly married, are obliged by ancient cuftom, to get their own relations to hoe out the corn-fields of each of their wives, that their marriages may be confirmed: and the more jealous, repeat the cuftom every year, to make their wives fubjecl: to the laws againft adultery. But the Indians in general, reckon that before the bridegroom can prefume to any legal power over the bride, he is after the former ceremonies, or others fomething fimilar, obliged to go into the woods to kill a deer, bring home the carcafs of venifon, and lay it down at her houfe wrapt up in its fkin ; and if fhe opens the pack, carries it into the houfe, and then drefles and gives him fome of it to eat with cakes before witneffes, fhe becomes his lawful wife, and obnoxious to all the penalties of an adulterefs. The Hebrews had another fort of marriage—by purchafe : the bridegroom gave the father of the bride as much as he thought fhe was worth : and according to the different valuation, fo fooner or later fhe went off at market. The only way to know the merit of a Hebrew lady, was to enquire the value for which her father would fell her, and the lefs rapacious he was, the fooner flie might get an hufband. Divine writ abounds with inftances of the like kind as Gen. xxxiv. 12. " Afk me never fo much dowry and I will give it." David bought Michal, and Jacob dearly pur-chafed Rachel, &c. The women brought nothing with them, except their clothes, rings and bracelets, and a few trinkets. When the Indians would exprefs a proper marriage, they have a word adapted according to their various dialects, to give them a fuitable idea of it •, but when they are fpcaking "fpcaking of their fenfual marriage bargains, they always term it, " buying a woman ;" for example—they fay with regard to the former, Cbe-Awa* las, " I fhall marry you," the laft fyllable denotes the firft perfon of the future tenfe, the former " I fhall make you, as Awa, or Hewa was to IJh" which is confirmed by a ftrong negative fimilar expreffion, Cbe-Awala Awa, " I fhall not marry you." But the name of their market marriages, is Otcoipba, Ebo Acbumbaras, Sacokchda, " In the fpring, I fhall buy a woman, if I am alive." Or Ebo Achumbara Awa, " I fhall not boy a woman," Salbafa toogat, " for indeed I am poor :" the former ufage, and method of language is exactly calculated to exprefs that fingular cuftom of the Hebrews, per coemptionem. They fometimcs marry by deputation or proxy. The intended bridegroom fends fo much in value to the neareft relations of the intended bride, as he thinks fhe is worth : if they are accepted, it is a good fign that her relations approve of the match, but fhe is not bound by their contract alone; her confent muft likewife be obtained, but perfuafions moft com • monly prevail with them. However, if the price is reckoned too fmall, or the goods too few, the law obliges them to return the whole, either to himfelf, or fome of his neareft kindred. If they love the goods, as they term it, according to the like method of expreffion with the Hebrews, the loving couple may in a fhort time bed together upon trial, and continue or dif-continue their love according as their fancy directs them. If they like each other, they become an honeft married couple when the nuptial ceremony is performed, as already defcribed. When one of their chieftains is married, feveral of his kinfmen help to kill deer and buffalos, to make a rejoicing marriage feaft, to which their relations and neighbours are invited: there the young warriors fing with their two chief muficians, who beat on their wet deer fkin tied over the mouth of a large clay-pot, and raife their voices, fmging To To, &c. When they are tired with feaft-ing, dancing, and fmging the Epithalamium, they depart with friendly glad hearts, from the houfe of praife. If an Ifraelite lay with a bond woman betrothed, and not redeemed, fhe was to be beaten, but not her fellow criminal j for in the original text, Lev. xix. 20. the word is in the fceminine gender. When offenders were beaten, they were bowed down, as Deut. xxv. 2. — fo that they neither neither fat nor flood, and their whip had a large knot to it, which commanded the thongs, fo as to expand, or contract them ; the punifhment was always to be fuited to the nature of the crime, and the conflituticn of the criminal. While the offenders were under the lafh, three judges flood by to fee that they received their full and juft due. The firft repeated the words of Deut. xxviii. 58. the fecond counted the itripes, and the third! faid, " Hack, or lay on." The offender received three lafhes on the breaft, three on the belly, thiee on each fhoulder, &c. But adultery was attended with capital punifhment, as Deut. xxii. 22. The parties when legally detected, were tried by the leffer judicatory, which was to confift, at leaft of twenty-three : the Sanhedrim gave the bitter waters to thofe women who were fufpectcd of adultery. The former were (toned to death ; and the latter burft open, according to their imprecation, if they were guilty : the omnipotent divine wifdom impreffed thofe waters with that wonderful quality, contrary to the common courfe of nature. The men married, and were divorced as often as their caprice directed them •, for if they imagined their wives did not value them, according to their own partial opinion of themfelves, they notified the occafion of the diiTike, in a fmall billet, that her virtue might not be fufpected: and when they gave, any of them the ticket, they ate together in a very civil manner, and thus diffolved the contract. I have premifed this, to trace the refemblance to the marriage divorces and punifhments of the favage Americans. The middle aged people of a place, which lies about half-way to Mobille, and the Illinois, affuTC us, that they remember when adultery was punifhed among them with death, by fhooting. the offender with barbed arrows, as there are no (tones there. But what with the loffes of their people at war with the French and their favage confederates, and the conftitiuional wantonnefs of their young men and women, they have through a political defire of continuing, or increafing their numbers, moderated the feverity of that law, and reduced it to the prefent ftandard of punifhment ± which is in the following manner. If a married woman is detected in adultery by one perfon, the evidence is deemed good in judgment againft her-, the evidence of a well grown boy or girl, they even reckon fufficienr, becaufe of the heinoufnefs of the crime, and-the difficulty of difcovering it in their thick forefts. This is a corruption of the Mofaic law, which required two evidences, and exempted both women' and. The nature of their divorces* and puhijfanints, for adultery-. 143 and (laves from public faith s becaufe of the reputed ficklenefs of the one, and the bafe, groveling temper of the other. When the crime is proved againfl: the woman, the enraged hufband accompanied by fome of his relations, furprifes and beats her moft barbaroufly, and then cuts off her hair and nofe, or one of her lips. There are many of that fort of disfigured females among the Chikkafah, and they are commonly the beft featured, and the moft tempting of any of their country-women, which expofed them to the fnares of young men. But their fellow-criminals, who probably firft tempted them, are partially exempted from any kind of corporal punifhment. With the Mufkohge Indians, it was formerly reckoned adultery, if a man took a pitcher of water off a married woman's head, and drank of it* But their law faid, if he was a few fteps apart, and fhe at his requeft fet it down, and retired a little way off, he might then drink without ex-pofing her to any danger. If we ferioufly reflect on the reft of their native cuftoms, this old law, fo Angular to themfelves from the reft of the world, gives vis room to think they drew it from the Jewifli bitter waters that were given to real, or fufpected adultereffes, either to prove their guilt, or atteft their innocence. Among thofe Indians, when adultery is difcovcred, the offending parties commonly fet off Ipeedily for the diftant woods, to fecure themfelves from the fhameful badge of the fharp penal law, which they inevitably get, if they can be taken before the yearly offering for the atonement of fin ; afterward, every cr'.me except murder is forgiven. But they are always purfued, and frequently overtaken •, though perhaps, three or four moons abfent, and two hundred miles off, over hills and mountains, up and down many creeks and rivers, on contrary courfes, and by various intricate windings—the purfuers are eager, and their hearts burn within them for revenge. When the hufband has the chilling news firft whifpered in his ear, he fleals off with his witnefs to fome of his kinfmen, to get them to aflift him in revenging his injury : they are foon joined by a fufficient number of the fame family, if the criminal was not of the fame tribe ; otherwife, he chufes to confide in his neareft relations. When the witnefs has afferted to them the tnuh of his evidence by a flrong affeveration, they feparate to avoid fufibicion, and meet commonly in the dufk of the evening, near the town of the adul- 7 ter^r, terer, where each of them provides a fmall hoop-pole, tapering to the pointy with knobs half an inch long, (allowed by ancient cuftom) whh which they correct the finners; for as their law in this cafe doth-not allow partiality, if they punifhed one of them, and either exculed or let the other efcape from juftice, like the Illinois, they would become liable to fuch punifhment as they had inflicted upon cither of the partis, They commonly begin with the adulterer, becaufe of the two, he is the more capable of making his efcape: they generally attack him at night, by furprife, It ft he fhould make a defperafe refiltance, and blood be fhed to cry for blood. They fall on eager and mercilefs, whooping their revengeful, noife, and thrashing their captive, with their long-knobbed hoop-flails; fome over his head and face-, others on his fhoulders and back. His belly, fides, legs, and arms, are gafhed all over, and at laft, he happily feems to be infenfible of pain : then they cut off his ears■*,. They obferve, however, a gradation of punifhment, according to the criminality of the adulterefs. For the firft breach of the marriage faith, they crop her ears and hair, if the hufband is fpiteful : either of thofe badges proclaim her to be a whore, or Hakfe Kaneha, " fuch as were evil in Canaan," for the hair of their head is their ornament: when loofe it commonly reaches below their back and when tied, it ftands below the crown of [the head, about four inches long, and two broad. As the * Among thefe Indians, the trading people's ears are often, in danger, by the fhnrpnefs of this law, and their fuborning falfe witnelTcs or admitting foolifh children as legal evidence; but generally either the tender-hearted females or friends, give them timely notice of their danger. Then they fall to the rum-keg, — and as foon as they find the purfuers approaching, they Hand to arms in a threading parade. Formerly, the traders like fo many .Britifh tars, kept them in proper awe, and confequently prevented them from attempting any mifchief. But fince the patenteed race of Daublers fet foot in their land, they have gradually become worfe every year, murdering valuable innocent Britifh fubjects at pleafure : and when they go down, they receive prefents as a tribute of fear, for which thefe Indians upbraid, and threaten us. The Mufkohge lately dipt off the ears of two white men for fuppofed adultery. One had been a difciple of Black Beard, the pirate ; and the other, at the time of going under the hands of thofe Jewifh clippers, was deputed by the whimfical war-governor, of Georgia, to awe the traders into an obedience of his defpotic power. His fucceffor loll his life on the Chikkafah war-path, twenty miles above the Koofah, or upperraoft weftern town of the Mufkohge, in an attempt to arreft the traders; which fhould not by any sjeans be undertaken in the Indian country. 7 offender offender cuts a comical figure among the reft of the women, by being trimmed fo fharp, fhe always keeps her dark winter hot houfe, till by-keeping the hair moiftened with greafe, it grows fo long as to bear tying. Then fhe accuftoms herfelf to the light by degrees and loon fome worth lets fellow, according to their ftandard, buys her for his And j which term hath been already explained. The adulterer's ears are flafhed off clofe to his head, for the firft act of adultery, becaufe he is the chief in fault. If the criminals repeat the crime with any other married perfons, their nofes and upper lips are cut off. But the third crime of the like nature, is attended with more danger \ for their law fays, that for public heinous crimes, fatisfaction fhould be made vifible to the people, and adequate to the injuries of the virtuous,—to let their aggrieved hearts at eafe, and prevent others from following fuch a dangerous crooked copy. As they will not comply with their mitigated law of adultery, nor be terrified, nor fhamed from their ill courfe of life that the one may not frighten and abufe their wives, nor the other feduce their hufbands and be a lafting plague and fhame to the whole fociety, they are ordered by their ruling magi and war-chieftains, to be fhot to death, which is accordingly executed : but this feldom happens. When I afked the Chikkafah the reafon of the inequality of their marriage-law, in punifhing the weaker paffive party, and exempting the ftronger, contrary to reafon and juftice ; they told me, it had been fo a confiderable time—becaufe their land being a continual feat of war, and the lurking enemy for ever pelting them without, and the women decoying them within, if they put fuch old crofs laws of marriage in force, all their beloved brilk warriors would foon be fpoiled, and their habitations turned to a wild wafte. It is remarkable, that the ancient Egyptians cut off the ears and nofe of the adulterefs; and the prophet alludes to this fort of punifhment, Ezek. xxiii. 25. u They fhall deal furioufly with thee: they (hall take away thy nofe and thine ears." And they gave them alfo a thoufand ftripes, with canes on the buttocks *. The Cheerake are an exception to all civilized or favage nations, in having no laws againft adultery ; they * When human laws were firft made, they commanded that if the hufband found the adulterer in the faft, he fhould kill them both. Thus the laws of Solon and Draco ordained : ;but the law erf the twelve tables foftened it. U have have been a confiderable while under petticoat-government, and allow their wo;nen full liberty to plant their brows with horns as oft as they pleafe,, without fear of puniihment. On this account their marriages are ill obferved, and of a fhort continuance j like the Amazons, they divorce their fighing bed-fellows at their pleafure, and fail not to execute their authority, when their fancy directs them to a more agreeable choice. However,, once in my time a number of warriors, belonging to the family of the hufband of the adulterefs, revenged the injury committed by her, in her own way ; for they faid, as fhe loved a great many men, inltead of a hufband,. juftice told them to gratify her longing defire—wherefore, by the information of their fpies, they followed her into the woods a little way from the town, (as decency required) and then ftretched her on the ground, with her hands tied to a fbake, and her feet alfo extended, where upwards of fifty of them lay with her, having a blanket for a covering. The Choktah obferve the fame favage cuftom with adultereffes. They term their female delinquents, Ahowwe IJhto •, the firft is a Cheerake word, fignifying, " a deer." — And through contempt of the Chikkafah, they altered their penal, law of adultery. The Muflcohge Indians, either through the view of mitigating their law againft adultery, that it might be -adapted to their patriarchal-like government or by mifunderftanding the Mofaic precept, from length of time, and uncertainty of oral tradition, oblige the adulterefs under the penalty of the fevereft law not to be free with any man, (unlefs fhe is inclined to favour her fellow fufferer) during the fpace of four moons, after the broken moon in which they fuffered for each other, according to the cuftom of the Maldivians. But her hufband expofes himfelf to the ntmoft feverity of the marriage law, if he is known to hold a familiar intercourfe with her after the time of her punifliment. ARGUMENT XIV, Many other of the Indian Punishments, referable thofe of the Jcv/cs,. "Whofoever attentively views the features of the Indian, and his eye, and; reflects. reflects on his fickle, obftinate, and cruel difpofition, will naturally think on the Jews. Englifh. America, feelingly knows the parity of the temper of their neighbouring Indians, with that of the Hebrew nation. The Ifraelites cut off the hands and feet of murderers, 2 Sam. iv.- 12.— ftrangled falfe prophets—and fometimes burned, ftoned, or beheaded thofe malefactors who were condemned by the two courts of judgment. The Indians either by the defect of tradition, or through a greedy defire of revenge, torture their prifoners and devoted captives, with a mixture of all thofe Jewifli capital punifhments. They keep the original fo clofe in their eye, as to pour cold water on the fufferers when they are fainting, or overcome by the fiery torture—to refrefli, and enable them to undergo longer tortures. The Hebrews gave wine mixt with the juice of myrrh, to their tortured criminals, to revive their fpirits; and fometimes vinegar to prevent too great an effufion of blood, left they fhould be difappointed in glutting their greedy eyes, with their favourite tragedy of blood: which was eminently exemplified in their infulting treatment of Chrift on the crofs. The Indians, beyond all the reft of mankind, feem in this refpect to be actuated with the Jewifli fpirit. They jeer, taunt, laugh, whoop, and re* joice at the inexpreflible agonies of thofe unfortunate perfons, who are under their butchering hands; which would excite pity and horror in any heart, but that of a Jew. When they are far from home, they keep as near to their diftinguifhing cuftoms, as circumftances allow them : not being able formerly to cut off the heads of thofe they killed in war, for want of proper weapons \ nor able to carry them three or four hundred miles without putrefaction, they cut off the fkin of their heads with their flint-ftone knives, as fpeaking trophies of honour, and which regifter them among the brave by procuring them war titles. Though now they have plenty of proper weapons, they vary not from this ancient barbarous cuftom of the American aborigines: which has been too well known by many of our northern colonifts, and is yet fhamefully fo to South-Carolina and Georgia barriers, by the hateful name of fcalping. The Indians ftrictly adhere more than the reft of mankind to that positive, unrepealed law of Mofes, " He who fheddeth man's blood, by u 2 man man fhall his blood be fhed :" like the Ifraelites, their hearts burn vio^ lently day and night without intermiflion, till they fhed blood for bloodj They tranfmit from father to fon, the memory of the lofs of their relation, or one of their own tribe or family, though it were an old woman—if fhe was either killed by the enemy, or by any of their own people. If indeed the murder be committed by a kinfman, the eldeft can redeem : however, if the circumftances attending the fact be peculiar and fhocking to nature, the murderer is condemned to die the death of a finner, " without any one to mourn for him," as in the cafe of filicide; contrary to their ufage toward the reft of their dead, and.which may properly be called the death ci» burial of a jewiih afs. When they have had fuccefs in killing the enemy, they tie fire-brands in the moft frequented places, with grape vines which hang pretty low, in order that they may be readily feen by the enemy. As they, reckon the aggreffors have loudly declared war, it would be madnefs or treachery in their opinion to ufe fuch public formalities before they have revenged crying blood •, it would inform the enemy of their defign of retaliating, and deftroy the honeft intention of war. They likewife ftrip the bark off feveral large trees in confpicuous places, and paint them with red and black hieroglyphics, thereby threatening the enemy with more blood and death. The laft were ftrong and fimilar emblems with the Hebrews, and. the firft is ana^ logous to one of their martial cuftoms; for when they arrived at the enemies territories, they threw a fire-brand within their land, as an emblem of the anger of AJh, " the holy fire" for their ill deeds to his peculiarly beloved people. To which cuftom Obadiah alludes, when he fays, (ver. 18.) " they fhall kindle in them and devour them, there fhall not be any re-r mainingof the houfe of Efau, &c." which the Septuagint tranflates, " one who carries a fire-brand." The conduct of the Ifraelitifh champion, Samp* fon, againft the Philiftines, proceeded from the fame war cuftom, when he took three-hundred Shugnalim, (which is a bold ftrong metaphor) fignify* ing Fulpesy foxes or ftieaves of corn 3 and tying them tail to tail, or one end to the other in a continued train, he fet fire to them, and by that means^ burned down their ftanding corn. In the late Cheerake war, at the earneft perfuafions of the trading people, feveral of the Mufkohge warriorscame down to thebarrier-fettlements of Georgia, gia, to go againfl the Cheerake, and revenge Englifh crying blood : but the main body of the nation fent a running embaffy to the merchants there, requefting them immediately to forbear their unfriendly proceedings, other-wife, they fhould be forced by difagreeable neceflity to revenge their relations blood if it fhould chance to be fpilt contrary to their ancient laws: this alludes to the levitical law, by which he who decoyed another to his end, was deemed the occafion-of his death, and confequently anfwerable for it. If an unruly horfe belonging to a white man, fhould .chance to be tied at a rrading houle and kill one of the Indians, either the owner of the houfe, or the perfon who tied the bcaft there, is refponfible for it, by their lex talionis j which feems to be derived alfo from the Mofaic precept,—if an ox known by its owner to pufh with its horn, fhould kill a perfon, they were both to die the death. If the Indians have a diflike to a perfon, who by any cafualty was the death of one of their people, he ftands accountable, and will certainly fuffer for it, unlefs he. takes fanctuary. I knew an' under trader, who being intrufled by his employer with a cargo of goods for the country of the Mufkohge, was forced by the common, law of good faith, to oppofe fome of thofe ravages in the remote woods, to prevent their robbing the camp: the.chieftain being much intoxicated with fpirituous liquors, and becoming outrageous in proportion to the re Pittance he met with, the trader like a brave man, oppofcd lawlefs force by force : fome time after, the lawlefs bacchanal was attacked with a pleurify, of which he died. Then the heads of the family of the deceafed convened the leffer judicatory, and condemned the trader to be fhot to death for the fuppoled murder of their kinfman which they eafily effected, as he was off his guard, and knew nothing of their murdering, defign. His employer however had fuch a friendly intercourfe with them, as to gain timely notice of any thing that, might affect his perfon or intereft j but he was fo far from affifting the unfortunate brave man, as the laws of humanity and common honour obliged him, that as a confederate, he not only concealed their bloody intentions, but went bafely to the next town, while the favages painted themfelves red. and black, and give them an opportunity of perpe^ trating the horrid murder. The poor victim could have eafily efcaped to the Englifh fettlements if forewarned, and got the affair accommodated by the mediation of the. government. In acts of blood, if the fuppofed murderer tlerer efcapes, his neareft kinfman either real or adopted, or if he has none there, his friend ftands according to their rigorous law, anfwerable for the fact. But though the then governor of South Carolina was fufriciently informed of this tragedy, and that it was done contrary to the treaty of amity, and that there is no poffibility of managing them, but by their own notions of virtue, he was paflive, and allowed them with impunity to flied this innocent blood-, which they ever fince have improved to our ihame and forrow. They have gradually become worfe every year j and corrupted other nations by their contagious copy, fo as to draw them into the like bloody fcenes, with the fame contempt, as if they had killed fo many helplefs timorous dunghill fowls, as they defpitefully term us. There never was any fet of people, who purfued the Mofaic law of retaliation with fuch a fixt eagernefs as thefe Americans. They are fo determined in this point, that formerly a little boy (hooting birds in the high and thick corn-fields, unfortunately chanced flightly to wound .another with his childifh arrow, the young vindictive fox, was excited by cuftom to watch his ways with the utmoft earneftnefs, till the wound was returned in as equal a manner as could be expected. Then, " ail was ftraight," according to their phrafe. Their hearts were at reft, by having executed that ftrong law of nature, and they fported together as before. This obfervation though fmall in itfelf, is great in its combined circumftances, as it is contrary to the ufage of the old heathen world. They forgive all crimes at the annual atonement of fins, except murder, which is always punifhed with death. The Indians conftantly upbraid us in their bacchanals, for inattention to this maxim of theirs ; they fay, that all nations of people who are not utterly funk in cowardice, take revenge of blood before they can have reft, coft what it will. The Indian Americans are more eager to revenge blood, than any other people on the whole face of the earth. And when the heart of the revenger of blood in Ifrael was hot within him, it was a terrible thing for the cafual man/layer to meet him, Deut. xix. 6. " Left the avenger of blood purfue the flayer while his heart is hot, and overtake him, becaufe the way is long, and flay him ; whereas he was not worthy of death, inafmuch as he hated him not in time paft." .V-T.-rnopt; liltta Sro jc*> pns -^rnswaioi ii alnarnMijot fflilgnH^ri- I have known the Indians to go a thoufand miles, for the purpofe of revenge, in pathlefs woods; over hills and mountains j through large cane 3 fwamps, fwamps, full of grape-vines and briars; over broad lakes, rapid rivers, and deep creeks -, and all the way endangered by poifonous fnakes, if not with the rambling and lurking enemy, while at the fame time they were expofed to the extremities of heat and cold, the vicifTitude of the feafons to hunger and third, both by chance, and their religious fcanty method of living when at war, to fatigues, and other difficulties. Such is their overboiling revengeful temper, that they utterly contemn all thole things as imaginary trifles, if they are fo happy as to get the fcalp of the murderer, or enemy, to fatisfy the fuppofed craving ghofts of their deceafed relations. Though they imagine the report of guns will fend off the ghofts of their kindred that died at home, to their quiet place, yet they firmly believe, that the fpirits of thofe who are killed by the enemy, without equal revenge of blood, find no reft, and at night haunt the houfes of the tribe to which they belonged*: but, when that kindred duty of retaliation is juftly executed, they immediately get eafe and power to fly away : This opinion, and their method of burying and mourning for the dead, of which we fhall fpeak prefently, occafion them to retaliate in fo earneft and fierce a manner. It is natural for friends to ftudy each others mutual happinefs, and we fhould pity the weaknefs of thofe who are deftitute of our advantages; whofe intellectual powers are unimproved, and who are utterly unacquainted with the fciences, as well as every kind of mechanical bufinefs, to engage their attention at home. Such perfons cannot well live without war and being deftitute of public faith to fecure the lives of em-baffadors in time of war, they have no fure method to reconcile their differences : confequently, when any cafual thing draws them into a war, it grows every year more fpitcful till it advances to a bitter enmity, fo as to excite them to an implacable hatred to one another's very national names. Then they muft go abroad to fpill the enemy's blood, and to revenge crying blood. We muft alfo confider, it is by fcalps they get all their war- titles, which diftinguifh them among the brave : and thefe they hold in as high efteem, as the moft ambitious Roman general ever did a great triumph. By how much the deeper any fociety of people are funk in ignorance, fo much the more they value themfelves on their bloody merit. This was * As the Hebrews fuppofed there was a holinefs in Canaan/more than in any other land, fo they believed that their bodies buried out of it, would be carried through caverns, or fub-terraneous paffages of the earth to the holy land, where they fhall rife again and dart up to thtii holy attracting centre. long the characteristic of the Hebrew nation, and has been conveyed down to thefe their fuppofed red defcendants. I lowever, notwithstanding their bloody temper and conduct, towards enemies, when their law of blood does not interfere, they obferve that Mofaic precept, " He fhall be dealt1 with according as he intended to do to his neighbour, but the innocent and righteous man thou (halt not flay." I muft obferve alfo that as the Jewifli priefts were by no means to fhed human blood, and as king David was forbidden by the prophet to build a temple becaufe he was a man of war and had fhed blood — fo, the Indian JjhtohooUo " holy men" are by their function abfolutely forbidden to flay ; notwithstanding their propenfity thereto, even for fmall injuries. They will not allow the gvcateft warrior to officiate, when the yearly grand facrifice of expiation is offered up, or on any other religious occafion, except the leader. All muft be performed by their beloved men, who are clean of every ftain of blood, and have their foreheads circled with ftreaks of white ;clay. As this branch of the general fubject cannot be iiluftrated, but by well-known facts, I fhall exemplify it with the late and long-continued conduct of the nothern Indians, and thofe of Cape Florida, whom our navigators have reported to be cannibals. The Muskohge, who have been bitter enemies to the Cape Florida Indians, time immemorial, affirm their manners, tempers and appetites, to be the very fame as thofe of the neighbouring Indian nations. And the Florida captives who were fold in Carolina, have told me, that the Spaniards of St. Auguftine and St. Mark's garrifons, not only hired and paid them for murdering our feamen, who were fo unfortunate as to be fhipwrecked on their dangerous coaft ; but that they delivered up to the lavages thofe of our people they did not like, to be put to the fiery torture. From their bigotted perfecuting fpirit, we may conclude the victims to have been thofe who would not worfhip their images and crucifixes. The Spaniards no doubt could eafily influence this decayed fmall tribe to fuch a practice, as they depended upon them for the neceffaries of life : and though they could never fettle out ■of their garrifons in Weft-Florida, on account of the jealous temper of the neighbouring unconquered Indians, yet the Cape-Floridans were only Spanifli mercenaries, (bedding blood for their maintenance. A feduced In- .7 dian dian is certainly lefs faulty than the apoftate Chriftian who inftigated him: when an Indian llieds human blood, it does not proceed from wantonnefs, or the view of doing evil, but folely to put the law of retaliation in force, to return one injury for another; but, if he has received no ill, and has no fuipicion of the kind, he ufually offers no damage to thofe who fall in his power, but is moved with companion, in proportion to what they feem to have undergone. Such as they devote to the fire, they flatter with the hope of being redeemed, as long as they can, to prevent the giving them any previous anxiety or grief, which their law of blood does not require. The French Canadians are highly cenfurable, and their bloody popifli clergy, for debauching our peaceable northern Indians, with their infernal catechifm,—the firft introduction into their religious myfleries. Formerly, when they initiated the Indian fucklings into their mixt idolatrous worfhip, they faftened round their necks, a bunch of their favourite red and black beads, with a filver crofs hanging down on their breafts, thus engaging them, as they taught, to fight the battles of God. Then they infected the credulous Indians with a firm belief, that God once fent his own beloved fon to fix the red people in high places of power, over the reft of mankind i that he paffed through various countries, to the univerfal joy of the inhabitants, in order to come to the beloved red people, and place them in a fuperior ftation of life to the reft of the American world ; but when he was on the point of failing to America, to execute his divine embaffy, he was murdered by the bloody monopolizing Englifh, at the city of London, only to make the red people weigh light. Having thus inftructed, and given them the catechifm by way of queftion and anfwer, and furnifbed them with 2000 grofs of fcalping knives and other murdering articles, the catechumens foon fallied forth, and painted themfelves all over with the innocent blood of our fellow-fubjects, of different ftations, and ages, and without any diftinction of fex,—contrary to the Handing Indian laws of blood. The Britifh. lion at laft however triumphed, and forced the French themfelves to fue for that friendly intercourfe and protection, which their former catechifm taught the Indians to hate, and fly from, as dangerous to their univerfal happinefs. X When When | nave reafoned with fome of the old headmen, againft their barbarous cuftom of killing defencelefs innocent perfons,. who neither could nor would oppofe thenv in battle, but begged that they might only live to be their Haves, they told me that formerly they never waged war, but in revenge of blood •, and that in fuch cafes, they always devoted the guilty to be burnt alive when they were purifying themfelves at home, to obtain victory over their enemies. But otherwife they treated the vanquished with the greateft clemency, and adopted them in the room of their relations, who had either died a natural death, or had before been fufficiently revenged, though killed by the enemy. The Ifraelites thus often devoted their captives to death, without any di-ftinction of age or fex,—as when they took Jericho, they faved only merciful Rahab and her family —after they had plundered the Midianites of their riches, they put men women and children.to death,, dividing among themfelves a few virgins and the plunder y—with other inftances that.might be quoted. The Indian Americans, beyond all the prefent race of Adam, are actuated by this bloody war-cuftom of the Ifraelites; they put their captives to various lingering torments,, with, the fame unconcern as the Levite, when he cut up his beloved concubine into eleven portions^, and fent them to the eleven tribes, to excite them to revenge the affront, the Benjamites had given him. When.equal blood has not been ihed to quench the crying blood of their relations, and give reft to their ghofts, according to their credenda, while they are fanctifying themfelves for war, they always allot their captives either to be killed or put to the fiery torture: and they who are thus devoted, cannot by any means be faved, though: they refembled an angel in beauty and virtue. Formerly, the Indians defeated a great body of the French, who at. two different times came to invade their .country. They put to the fiery torture a confiderable number of them-, and two in particular, whom they imagined to have carried the French ark againft them. The Englifh: traders folicited with the moft earneft entreaties, in favour of the unfortunate captives; but they averred, that as it was not our bufinefs to intercede in behalf of a deceitful enemy who came to fhed blood, unlefs we were refolved to fhare their deferved fate, fo was it entirely out of the reach of goods, though piled as high as the Ikies, to redeem them,— J becaufe becaufe they were not only the chief fupport of the French army, in fpoil-ing fo many of their warriors by the power of their ugly ark, before they conquered them; but were delivered over to the fire, before they entered into battle. When I was on my way to the Chikkafah, at the Okchai, in the year 1745, the conduct of the Mufkohge Indians was exactly the fame with regard to a Cheerake ftripling, whofe father was a white man, and mother an half-breed,—regardlefs of the preffing entreaties and very high offers of the Englilh traders, they burned him in their ufual manner. This feems to be copied from that law which expreily forbad the redeeming any devoted perfons, and ordered that they fhould be furely put to death, Lev. xxvii. 29. This precept had evidently a reference to the law of retaliation.—Saul in a fuperftitious and angry mood, wanted to have mur* dered or facrificed to God his favourite fon Jonathan, becaufe when he was fainting he tafled fome honey which cafually fell in his way, juft after he had performed a prodigy of martial feats in behalf of Ifrael: but the gratitude, and reafon of the people, prevented him from perpetrating that horrid murder. If devoting to death was of divine extraction, or if God delighted in human facrifices, the people would have been criminal for daring to oppofe the divine law,—which was not the cafe. Such a law if taken in an extenfive and literal fenfe, is contrary to all natural reafon and religion, and confequently in a ftrict fenfe, could not be enjoined by a benevolent and merciful God who commands us to do juftice and fiie'vv mercy to the very beafts i not to muzzle the ox while he is treading out the grain nor to infnare the bird when performing her parental offices. ** Are ye not of more value than many fparrows ?" The Indians ufe no ftated ceremony in immolating their devoted captives, although it is the fame thing to the unfortunate victims, what form their butchercrs ufe. They are generally facrificed before their conquerors fet off for war with their ark and fuppofed holy things. And fometimes the Indians devote every one they meet in certain woods or paths, to be killed there, except their own people this occafioned the cowardly Cheerake in the year 1753, to kill two white men on the Chikkafah war-path, which leads from the country of the Mufkohge. And the Shawanoh Indians who X 2 fettled fettled between the Ooe-Afa and Koofah-towns, told us, that their people to the northward had devoted the Englifh to death for the fpace of (ix years but when that time was expired and not before, they would live in friend-ikip as formerly. If the Englifh had at that time executed their own law againft them, and demanded equal blood from the Cheerake, and ftopt all trade with them before they dipt themfelves too deep in blood, they would foon have had a firm peace with all the Indian nations. This, is the only way of treating them now, for when they have not the fear of offending, they will fhed innocent blood, and proceed in the end. to lay all reftraint afide. The late conduct of the Chikkafah war-council, in condemning two pretended friends to death, who came with a view of ihedding blood ■, ihews* their knowledge of that equal law of divine appointment to the Jews, " he. fhall be dealt with exactly as he intended to do to his neighbour." It ought to be remarked, that they are careful of their youth, and fail not to punifh them when they tranfgrefs. Anno 1766, I faw an old* head man, called the Bog-King (from the nature of his office) correct feveral young perfons — fome for fuppofed faults, and others by way of. prevention. He began with a lufty young fellow, who was charged with, being more effeminate than became a warrior -, and with acting contrary to their old religious rites and cuftoms, particularly, becaufe he lived nearer than any of the reft to an opulent and helplefs German, by whom they fuppofed he might have been corrupted. He baftinadoed the young fmner feverely, with a thick whip, about a foot and a half long, compofed of plaited filk grafs, and the fibres of the button fnake-root (talks, tapering to the point, which was fecured with a knot. He reafoned with him, as he corrected him : he told him that he was Chehakfe Kaneba-1'Ie, literally, " you: are as one who is wicked, and almoft loft*." The grey-hair'd corrector-faid, he treated him in that manner according to ancient cuftom, through an effect of love, to induce him to fhun vice, and to imitate the virtues of * As Chin-Kanehab fignifies. " you have loft," and Che-Kanthah, " you are loft," it. feems to point at the method the Hebrews ufed in correcting their criminals in Canaan, and. to imply a fimilarity of manners. The word they ufe to exprefs " forgetfulncfs," looks the very fame way, Jjb Al Kamhah, ** you forget," meaning that Ijb and Canaan are forgotten, by AU, his. Their cor reel ion of children and youth, 157 his illuftrious fore-fathers, which he endeavoured to enumerate largely : when the young finner had received his fuppofed due, he went off feem-ingly well pleafed. This Indian correction leffens gradually in its feverity, according to the age of the pupils. While the Bog-King was catechifing the little ones, he faid Che TIakfinna, " do not become vicious." And when they wept,, he faid Che-Abela Awa, " I fhall not kill you," or " I fhall not put you into, the ftate of bleeding Abele *." Like the prefent Jews, their old men are tenacious of their ancient rites, and cuftoms; imagining them to be the fure channel through which all temporal good things flow to them, and by which the oppofite evils are averted. No wonder therefore, that they ftill retain a multiplicity of Hebrew words, which were repeated often with great reverence in the temple;. and adhere to many of their ancient rules and methods of punifliment. * The Indians ufe the word Ha&fe, to convey the idea of a perfon Vbeing criminal in any thing vvhatfoever. If they mention not the particular crime, they add, Hakfet Kanchab7 pointing as it were to thofe who were punifhed in Canaan. Such unfortunate perfons as are mad, deaf, dumb or blind, are called by no other name than Hakfe. In like manner Kallnhfe fignifies " contemptible, unfleady, light, or eafily thrown afide,"—it is a diminutive of^^p* of the fime meaning. And they fay fuch an one is Kallake-]fi:to, " execrated^ or accurfed to God," becaufe found light in the divine balance. As the American Aborigines ufed no weights, the parity of language here with the Hebrew, feems to affure uv they originally derived this method of expreffion from the Ifraelites, who took tiie fame idea from the poife of a balance, which divine writ frequently mentions. Job, chap, xxxi,' defcribes juftice with a pair of fcales, "Let me be weighed in an even balance, that I may know my perfection-" And they call weighing, or giving a preference, Tjtkalt. according to the fame figure of fpeech : and it agrees both in expreffion and meaning, with the. Chaldean Tekel, if written with Hebrew characters, as in that extraordinary appearance on the wall of the Dabyloniih monarch, interpreted by the prophet Daniel. When they prefer one perfon and "would leffen another, they fay Eeapa Wibke Tekale, " this one weighs heavy," and EeUo Kallakfe, or Ka/Paks'oojbe Tekale, " that one weighs light, very light." When any of their people are killed on any of the hunting paths, they frequently fay, Htenna tungga *Tan>iip Tekale, " right on the path, he was weighed for the enemy, or the oppofite party," for Tannip is the only word they have to exprefs the words enemy and the oppofite \ as Ook'brenna Tannip, " the oppofite fide of the water path :" hence it is probable, they borrowed that notable AlTyrian expreffion while in their fuppofed captivity, brought it with them to America, and introduced it into their language, to commemorate fo furprifing an event. A R G U- ARGUMENT XV. The Ifraelites had Cities of Refuge, or places of fafety, for thofe who killed a perfon unawares, and without defign to fhelter them from the blood-thirfty relations of the deceafed, or the revenger of blood, who always purfued or watched the unfortunate perfon, like a ravenous wolf: but after the .death of the high-prieft the man-flayer could fafely return home, and nobody durft moleft him. According to the fame particular divine law of mercy, each of thefe Indian nations have either a houfe or town of refuge, which is a fure afylum to protect a man-flayer, or the unfortunate captive, if they am once enter into it. The Cheerake, though now exceedingly corrupt, ,ftill obferve that .law fo inviolably, as to allow their beloved town the •privilege of protecting a wilful murtherer : but they feldom allow him to return home afterwards in fafety—they will revenge blood for blood, unlefs in fome very particular cafe when the eldeft can redeem. However, if he ftiould accept of the price of blood to wipe away its ftains, and dry up the tears of the reft of the neareft kindred of the deceafed, it is generally productive of future ills ; either when they are drinking fpirituous liquors, or dancing their enthufiaftic war dances, a tomohawk is likely .to be funk into the head of fome of his relations. Formerly, when one of the Cheerake murdered an Englifh trader he immediately ran off for the town of refuge; but as foon as he got in view of it, the inhabitants difcovered him by the clofe purfuit of the fhrill war-whoo-whoop ; and for fear of irritating the Englifh, they inftantly anfwered the war cry, ran to arms, intercepted, and drove him off into Tennafe river (where he efcaped, though mortally wounded) left he fhould have entered .the reputed holy ground, and thus it had been ftaincd with the blood of .their friend ; or he had obtained fanctuary to the danger of the community, .and the foreign contempt of their facred altars, This Their cities of refuge. j^g This town of refuge called Cboaie, is fituated on a large dream of the Miflifippi, five miles above the late unfortunate Fort-Loudon,—where fome years ago, a brave Englifhman was protected after killing an Indian warrior in defence of his property. The gentleman told me, that as his trading houfe was near to that town of refuge, he had refolved with himfelf, after fome months ftay in it, to return home; but the head-men affured him, that though he was then fafe, it would prove fatal if he removed thence; fo he continued in his afylum ftill longer, till the affair was by time more obliterated, and he had wiped off all their tears with various prefents. In the upper or moft weftern part of the country of the Mufkohge, there was an old beloved town, now reduced to a fmall ruinous village, called Koofab,. which is ftill a place of fafety for thofe who kill undefignedly. It Hands-on commanding ground, over-looking a bold river, which after running about forty leagues, fweeps clofe by the late mifchievous French garrifon Alebdmah, and down to Mobille-Sound, 200 leagues diftance, and fo into the gulph of Florida. In almoft every Indian nation, there are feveral peaceable towns^ which are called " old-beloved," " ancient, holy, or white towns *;" they feem to have been formerly " towns of refuge," for it is not in the memory of their oldeft people, that ever human blood was fhed in them •, although they often force perfons from thence, and put them to death elfewhere. ARGUMENT XVI. Before the Indians go to War, they have many preparatory ceremonies of purification and fqfting, like what is recorded of the Ifraelites. In the firft commencement of a war, a party of the injured tribe turns-out firft, to revenge the innocent crying blood of their own bone and flefli,. as they term it. When the leader begins to beat up for volunteers,-he goes three times round his dark winter-houfe, contrary to the courfe of the fun, founding the war-whoop, ringing the war-fong, and beating the drum. ♦White is their fixt emblem of peace, friendfhip, happinefs, profpenty, purity, holi-aefs,.&c as with the Ifraelites.. Then - Then he fpeaks to the liftening crowd with very rapid language, fhort •paufes, and an awful commanding voice, tells them of the continued friendly offices they have done the enemy, but which have been ungratefully returned with the blood of his kinfmen therefore as -die white paths have changed their beloved colour, his heart burns within him with eagernefs to tincture them all along, and even to make them flow over with the hateful blood of the bale contemptible enemy. Then he ftrongly perfuades his kindred warriors and others, who are not afraid of the enemies bullets and arrows, to come and join him with manly cheerful hearts: he affures them, he is fully convinced, as they are all bound by the love-knot, fo they are ready to hazard their lives to revenge the blood of their kindred and coun-.try-men that the love of order, and the neceflity of complying with the old religious cuftoms of their country, had hir.herto checked their daring generous hearts, but now, thofe hindrances are removed: he proceeds to whoop again for the warriors to come and join him, and hnttify themfelves for fuccefs againft: the common enemy, according to their ancient religious law. By his eloquence, but chiefly by their own greedy thirft of revenge, and intenfe love of martial glory, on which they conceive their liberty and happinefs depend, and which they conftantly inft.il into the minds of their youth — a number foon join him in his winter-houfe, where they live feparate from all others, and purify themfelves for the fpace of three days and nights., cxclufive of the firft broken day. In each of thofe days they obferve a ftrict faft till fun-fet, watching the young men very narrowly who have not been initiated in war-titles, left unufual hunger fhould tempt them to violate it, to the fuppofed danger of all their Jives in war, by deftroying the power of their purifying beloved phyfic, which they .drink plentifully during that time. This purifying phyfic, is warm water highly imbittered with button-rattle-fnake-root, which as hath been before obferved, they apply only to religious purpofes. Sometimes after bathing they drink a decoction made of the faid root—and in like manner the leader applies afperfions, or fp rink lings, both at home and .when out at war. They are fuch .ftrict obfervers of the law of purification, and think it fo effential in obtaining health and fuccefs in war, as not to allow the beft beloved trader that ever lived among them, even to enter Xhe beloved ground, appropriated to the religious duty of being fancti-7 fled Their preparatory ceremonies for war. 161 fied for war; much lefs to affociate with the camp in the woods, though he went (as I have known it to happen) on the fame war defign ■,—they oblige him to walk and encamp feparate by himfelf, as an impure dangerous animal, till the leader hath purified him, according to their ufual time and method, with the confecrated things of the ark. With the Hebrews, xhe ark of Berith, " the purifier," was a fmall wooden cheft, of three feet nine inches in length, two feet three inches broad, and two feet three inches in height. It contained the golden pot that had manna in it, Aaron's rod, and the tables of the law. The Indian Ark is of a very fimple conftruc-tion, and it is only the intention and application of it, that makes it worthy of notice; for it is made with pieces of wood fecurely fattened together in the form of a fquare. The middle of three of the fides extend a little out, but one fide is flat, for the conveniency of the perfon's back who carries it. Their ark has a cover, and the whole is made impenetrably clofe with hiccory-fplinters ; it is about half the dimenfions of the divine Jewifli ark, and may very properly be called the red Hebrew ark of the .purifier, imitated. The leader, and a beloved waiter, carry it by turns. It contains feveral confecrated ^vefTels, made by beloved fuperannuated women, and of fuch various antiquated forms, as would have puzzled Adam to have given fip-nificant names to each. The leader and his attendant, are purified longer than the reft of the company, that the firft may be fit to act in the religious office of a prieft of war, and the other to carry the awful facred ark. All the while they are at war, the HetiJJu, or " beloved waiter," feeds each of the warriors by an exact ftated rule, giving them even the water they drink, out of his own hands, left by intemperance they fhould fpoil the fuppofed communicative power of their holy things, and occafion fatal difafters to .the war camp. The ark, mercy-feat, and cherubim, were the very elTence of the levi-tical law, and often called " the teftimonies of Yohezvah" The ark of the temple was termed his throne, and David calls it his foot-ftool. In fpeaking of the Indian places of refuge for the unfortunate, I obferved, that if a captive taken by the reputed power of the beloved ithings of the ark, fhould be able to make his efcape into one of thefe towns,—or even into the winter-houfe of the Archi-magus, he is delivered from the fiery torture, otherwife inevitable. This when joined to the reft of the faint images of the Mofaic cuftoms they ftill retain, feems to point at the mercy-feat in the fanctuary. It is alfo highly worthy of notice, that they Y never never place the ark on the ground, nor fit on the bare earth while they-are carrying it againft the enemy. On hilly ground where ftones are plenty, they place it on them: but in level land upon fhort logs, always fefting themfelves on the like materials. Formerly, when this trad was the Indian Flanders of America, as the French and all their red Canadian confederates were bitter enemies to the inhabitants, we often faw the woods full of fuch religious war-reliques. The former is a ftrong imitation of the pedeftal, on which the Jewifli ark was placed, a ftone rifing three fingers -breadth above the floor. And when we confider—in what a furprifing manner the Indians copy after the ceremonial law of the Hebrews, and. their ftricl purity in their war camps that Opae, ** the leader," obliges all during the firft campaign they make with the beloved ark,,to ftand, every day they lie by, from fun-rife to fun-fet—and after a fatiguing day's march,, and fcanty allowance, to drink warm water imlpittered with rattle-fnake-root very plentifully,, in order to be purified—that they have alfo as ftrong a. faith of the power and holinefs of their ark, as ever the Ifraelites retained of their's, afcribing the fuperior fuccefs of the party, to their ftricter adherence to the law than the other-, and after they return home, hang-it on the leader's red-painted war pole—we have ftrong reafon to conclude their origin is Hebrew. From the Jewifli ark of the tabernacle and the temple, the ancient heathens derived their arks, their cift tortoife-fhells with pebbles or beads in them, fattened to pieces of deer-fkins, which they tie to the outfide of their legs, when they mix with the men in their religious dances. The Indian nations are agreed in the cuflom of thus adorning themfelves with beads of various fizes and colours; fometimes wrought in garters, fames, necklaces, and in firings round their wrifts ; and fo from the crown of their heads fometimes to the cartilage of the nofe. And they doat on them fo much, as to make them their current money in all payments to this day. Before we fupplied them with our European beads, they had great quan^ titles of wampum-, (the Buccinum of the ancients) made out of conch-fhcll, by rubbing them on hard flones, and fo they form them according to their liking. With thefe they bought and fold at a flated current rate, without the lead variation for circumftances either of time or place -, and now they will hear nothing patiently of lofs or gain, or allow us to heighten the price of our goods, be our reafons ever fo ftrong, or though the exigencies and changes of time may require it. Formerly, four deer-fkins was the price of a large conch-fhell bead, about the length and thicknefs of a man's fore-finger which they fixed to the crown of their head, as an high ornament—fo greatly they valued them. Their beads bear a very near re-lemblance to ivory, which was highly efteemed by the Hebrews. The New-England writers affure us, that the Naraganfat Indians paid to the colony of Maffachufetts, two hundred fathoms of wampum, only in part of a debt; and at another payment one-hundred fathoms: which fhews the Indian cuftom of wearing beads has prevailed far north on this continent, and before the firft fettling of our colonies. According to the oriental cuftom, they wear ear-rings and finger-rings in abundance. Tradition fays, they followed the like cuftom before they became acquainted with the Englifh. The men and women in old times ufed fuch coarfe diamonds, as their own hilly country produced, when each had a bit of ftone fattened with a deer's deer's finew to the tying of their hair, their nofe, ears, and maccafeenes: but from the time we fupplied them with our European ornaments, they have ufed brafs and filver ear-rings, and finger-rings \ the young warriors now frequently fallen bell-buttons, or pieces of tinkling brafs to their maccafeenes, and to the outfide of their boots, inftead of the old turky-cock-fpurs which they formerly ufed. Both fexes efteem the above things, as very great ornaments of drefs, and commonly load the parts with each fort, in proportion to their ability of purchafing them : it is a common trading rulo with us, to judge of the value of an Indian's effects, by the weight of his fingers, wrifts, ears, crown of his head, boots, and maccafeenes—by the quantity of red paint daubed on his face, and by the fhirt about the collar, fhoulders, and back, fhould he have one. Although the fame things are commonly alike ufed or difufed, by males and females; yet they diftinguifh their fexes in as exact a manner as any civilized nation. The women bore fmall holes in the lobe of their ears for their rings, but the young heroes cut a hole round almoft the extremity of both their ears, which till healed, they ftretch out with a large tuft of buffalo's wool mixt with bear's oil: then they twift as much fmall wire round as will keep them extended in that hideous form. This cuftom however is wearing off apace. They formerly wore noje-rings, or jewels, both in the northern and fouthern regions of America, according to a fimilar cuftom of the Jews and eafterns •, and in fome places they ftill obferve it. At prefent, they hang a piece of battered filver or pewter, or a large bead to the noflril, like the European method of treating fwine, to prevent them from rooting the earth •, this, as well as the reft of their cuftoms, is a true picture and good copy of their fuppofed early progenitors. I have been among the Indians at a drinking match, when feveral of their beaus have been humbled as low as death, for the great lofs of their big ears. Being fo widely extended, it is as eafy for a perfon to take hold of, and pull them off, as to remove a couple of fmall hoops were they hung within reach •, but if the ear after the pull, ftick to their head by one end, when they get fober, they pare and few it together with a needle and deer's finevvs, after fweating him in a ftove. Thus the difconfolate warrior recovers his former cheerfulnefs,and hath a lafting caution of not putting his ears a fecond time in danger with bad company : Z 2 however, however, ic is not deemed a fcandal to lofe their ears by any accident, be* caufe they became (lender and brittle, by their virtuous compliance with: that favourite cuftom of their anceftors, ARGUMENT XVIII. The Indian manner of Curing their Sick., is very fimilar to that of the Jews. They always invoke YO He Wah, a confiderable fpace of time before they apply any medicines, let the cafe require ever fo fpeedy an application. The more defperately ill their patients are, the more earneftly they invoke the deity on the fad occafion. Like the Hebrews, they firmly believe that difeafes and wounds are occafioned by the holy fire, or divine anger, in proportion to fome violation of the old beloved fpeech. The Jews had but fmall (kill in phyfic.—They called a phyfician " a binder of wounds," for he chiefly poured oil into the wounds and bound them up. They were no great friends to this kind of learning and fcience and their Talmud has this proverb, ** the beft phyficians go to hell." King Afa was reproved for having applied to phyficians, for his difeafe in his feet. The little ufe they made of the art of medicine,, efpecially for internal maladies ; and their perfuafion that diftempers were either the immediate effects of God's anger, or caufed by evil fpirits, led them to apply themfelves to the prophets, or or to diviners, magicians and enchanters. Hezekiah's boil was cured by Ifaiah—Benhadad king of Syria, and Naaman the Syrian applied to the prophet Elifha, and Ahaziah king of Ifrael fent to confult Baal-zebub. The Indians deem the curing their fick or wounded a very religious duty \ and it is chiefly performed by their fuppofed prophets, and magi, becaufe they believe they are infpired with a great portion of the divine fire. On thefe occafions they fir,.1, yo YO, on a low bafs key for two or three minutes very rapidly in like manner, He He, and Wa Wa. Then they tranfpofe and accent thofe facred notes with great vehemence, and fupplicating fervor, rattling all the while a calabalh with fmall pebble-ftones, in imitation of the old Jewilh rattles, to make a greater found, and 7 1 ai Their manner of curing the ftck* 173 as it were move the deity to co-operate with their fimple means and finifh the cure *. When the Indian phyficians vifit their fuppofed irreligious patients, they approach them in a bending pofture, with their rattling calabafh, preferring that fort to the North-American gourds : and in that bent pofture of body, they run two or three times round the fick perfon, contrary to the courfe of the fun, invoking God as already expreft. Then they invoke the raven, and mimic his croaking voice : Now this bird was an ill omen to the ancient heathens, as we may fee by the prophet Ifaiah ; fo. that common wifdom, or felf-Iove, would not have direded them to fuch a choice, if their traditions had reprefented it as » bad fymbol. But they chofe it as an emblem of recovery, probably from its indefatigablenefs in flying to and fro when fent out of the ark, till he * Formerly, an old Nachee warrior who way blind of one eye, and very dim-fighted in the other, having heard of the furprifing fkill of the European oculifts, fancied I. could cure him. He frequently importuned me to perform that friendly office, which 1 as often declined. But he imagining all my excufes were the effeft of modefty and caution, was the more importunate, and would take no denial. I was at laft obliged to commence Tndian oculift. I had juft drank a glafs of rum when he came to undergo the operation at the time appointed ; he obferving my glafs, faid, it was bell to defer it till the next day.—I told him, I drank fo on purpofe, for as the white people's phyfic and beloved fongs were quite different from what the red people applied and fung, it was ufual with our belt phyficians to drink a little, to heighten them fpirits,. and enable them to fing with a ftrong voice, and Hkcwife to give their patients a litde, to make their hearts weigh even within them; he confented, and lay down as if he was dead, according to their ufual cuilom. After a good' many wild ceremonies, Ifung up Sheela no. Guira,. " will you drink wine:" Then I drank to my patient, which on my raifing him up, he accepted : I gave him feveral drinks of grogg,. both to divert myfelf, and purify the obtruding fuppofed finner. At laft, I .applied my materia medica, blowing a quill full of fine burnt allum and roman vitriol into his eye. Juft as I was ready to repeat ir, he bounded up out of his feemingly dead ftate, jumped about, and> faid, my fongs and phyfic were not good. When I could be heard, I told him the Englilh beloved fongs and phyfic were much ftronger than thofe of the red people, and that when they did not immediately produce fuch an efFea as-he found, if Wit* fure fign they were-good for nothing, buf as they were taking place, he would foon be well. He acquiefced i becaufe of the foporiftc dofe I gave him. But ever after, he reckoned he had a very narrow chance of having his eye burnt out b- Loak IJbtoboolloi for drinking Ooka Hoome* " the bitter waters," and prefuming to get cured by an impure accurfed nothing, who lied, drank, ate hog's flefh, and fangTarooa Qoiproo'sto, " the devil's tune," or the fong of the evil ones. found f^4 On the dcfc perhaps it was originally defigned to reprefent the holy fire, light, and fpirit, who formerly prefided over the four principal ftandards of the twelve tribes of Ifrael.. When any of their people die at home, they waili and anoint the corpfe, and foon bring it out of doors for fear of pollution •, then they place it oppofite to the door, on the fkins of wild beafts, in a fitting pofture, as looking into the door of the winter houfe, weftward, fufficiently fupported with all his moveable goods; after a fhort elogium, and fpace of mourning, they carry him three times around the houfe in which he is to be interred, ftoping half a minute each time, at the place where they began the circle, while the religious man of the deceafed perfon's family, who goes before the hearfc, fays each time, Tab, fhort with a bafs voice, and then invokes on a tenor key, To, which at the fame time is likewife fung by all the proceffion, as long as one breath allows. Again, he ftrikes up, on a fharp treble key, the fceminine note, He, which in like manner, is taken up and continued by the reft: then all of them fuddenly ftrike off the folemn chorus, and facred invocation, by faying, on a low key, JVah; which conftitute the divine effential name, Tobewab. This is the method in which they performed the funeral rites of the chieftain before referred to ; during which time, a great many of the traders were prefent, as our company was agreeable at the interment of our declared patron and friend. It feems as if they buried him in the name of the divine effence, and directed their plaintive religious notes to the author of life and death, in hopes of a refurrection of the body-, which hope engaged the Hebrews to ftile their burying places, " the houfe of the living.!' When. When they celebrated thefe funeral rites of the above chieftain, they laid the corpfe in his tomb, in a fitting pofture, with his face towards the eaft, his head anointed with bear's oil, and his face painted red, but not ftreaked with black, becaufe that is a conftant emblem of war and death ; he was dreft in his fined apparel, having his gun and pouch, and trufty hiccory bow, with a young panther's fkin, full of arrows, along fide of him, and every other ufeful thing he had been poffeffed of,—that when he rifes again, they may ferve him in that tract of land which pleafed him beft before he went to take his long deep. His tomb was firm and clean in-fide. They covered it with thick logs, fo as to bear feveral tiers of cyprefs-bark, and fuch a quantity of clay as would confine the putrid fmell, and be on a level with the reft of the floor. They often fleep over thofe tombs; which, with the loud wailing of the women at the dufk of the evening, and dawn of the day, on benches clofe by the tombs, muft awake the memory of their relations very often : and if they were killed by an enemy, it helps to irritate and fet on fuch revengeful tempers to retaliate blood for blood. The Egyptians either embalmed, or buried, their dead : other heathen nations imagined that fire purified the body ; they burned therefore the bodies of tht-ir dead, and put their allies into fmall urns, which they religioufly kept by them, as facred relicks. The Tartars called KyrgeJJi, near the frozen fea, formerly ufed to hang their dead relations and friends upon trees, to be eaten by ravenous birds to purify them. But the Americans feem evidently to have derived their copy from the Ifraelites, as to the place where they bury their dead, and the method of their funeral ceremonies, as well as the perfons with whom they are buried, and the great expences they are at in their burials. The Hebrews buried near the city of Jerufalem, by the brook Kedron j and they frequently hewed their tombs out of rocks, or buried their dead oppofite to their doors, implying a filcnt leffon of friendfhip, and a pointing caution to live well. They buried all of one family together to which cuftom David alludes, when he fays, " gather me not with the wicked :'* and Sophronius faid with regard to the like form, " noli me tangere, haeretice, neque vivum nec mortuum." But they buried ftrangers apart by themfelves, and named the place, Kebhare Galeya, " the burying place of ftrangers." And thefe rude Americans are £o Itrongly partial to the fame cuftom, that they imagine if any of us were Their manner of embalming.. i83; were buried in the domeftic tombs of their kindred, without being adopted, it would be very criminal in them to allow it; and that our fpirits would haunt the eaves of their houfes at night, and caufe feveral misfortunes to-their family. .* » In refemblance to the Hebrew cuftom of embalming their dead, the Choktah treat the corpfe juft as the religious Levite did his beloved concubine, who was abufed by the Benjamites for having placed the dead on a high fcaffold ftockaded round, at the diftance of twelve yards from his houfe oppofite to the door, the whole family convene there at the beginning of the fourth moon after the interment, to lament and feaft together: after wailing a while on the mourning benches, which (land on the eaft fide of the quadrangular tomb, they raife and bring out the corpfe, and while the feaft is getting ready, a perfon whofe office it is, and properly called the bone-picker, diffecls it, as if it was intended for the fhambles in the time of a great famine, with his fharp-pointed, bloody knife. He continues bufily employed in his reputed facred office, till he has finifhed the tafk, and fcraped all the flefh off the bones ; which may juftly be called the Choktah method of enbalming their dead. Then, they carefully place the bones in a kind of fmall cheft, in their natural order, that they may with eafe and certainty be fome time afterward reunited, and proceed to ftrike up a fong of lamentation, with various wailing tunes and notes : afterwards, they join as cheerfully in the funeral feaft, as if their kinfman was only taking his ufual fleep. Having regaled themfelves with a plentiful variety, they go along with thofe beloved relicks of their dead, in folemn proceffion, lamenting with doleful notes, till they arrive at the bone-houfe, which ftands in a folitary place, apart from the town: then they proceed around it, much after the manner of thofe who performed the obfequies of the Chikkafah chieftain, already defcribed, and there depofit their kinfman's bones to lie along fide of his kindred-bones, till in due time they are revived by Ifhtohoollo Aba, that he may repoffefs his favourite place. Thofe bone-houfes are fcaffolds raifed on durable pitch-pine forked pofts, in the form of a houfe covered a-top, but open at both ends. I faw three of them in one of their towns, pretty near each other—the place feemed to be unfrequented j each houfe contained the bones of one tribe, 3 feparately,. o Separately, with the hieoglyphical figures of the family on each of the old-fhaped arks : they reckon it irreligious to mix the bones of a relation with thofe of a ftranger, as bone of bone, and flefli of the fame flefh, fhould be always joined together; and much lefs will they thruft the body of their beloved kinfman into the abominable tomb of a hateful enemy. I obferved a ladder fixed in the ground, oppofite to the middle of the broad-fide of each of thofe dormitories of the dead, which was made out of a -broad board, and ftood confiderably bent over the facred repofitory, with the fleps on the infide. On the top was the carved image of a dove, with its wings flretched out, and its head inclining down, as if ear-neftly viewing or watching over the bones of the dead: and from the top of the ladder to almoft the furface of the earth, there hung a chain of grape-vines twifted together, in ci.cular links, and the fame likewife at their domeftic tombs. Now the dove after the deluge, became the emblem of Rowaht the holy fpirit, and in procefs of time was deiHed by the heathen world, inftead of the divine perfon it typified : the vine was like-wife a fymbol of fruitfulnefs, both in the animal and vegetable world. To perpetuate the memory of any remarkable warriors killed in the woods, I muft here obferve, that every Indian traveller as he paffes that way throws a ftone on the place, according as he likes or diflikes the occafion, or manner of the death of the deceafed. In the woods we often fee innumerable heaps of fmall ftones in thofe places, where according to tradition fome of their diftinguifhed people were either killed, or buried, till the bones could be gathered : there they add Pelion to OJfa, ftill increafing each heap, as a lafting monument, and honour to them, and an incentive to great actions. Mercury was a favourite god with the heathens, and had various employments ; one of which was to be god of the roads, to direct travellers aright—from wliich the ancient Romans derived their Dii Compitalcs, or Dei Viales, which they likewife placed at the meeting of roads, and in the high ways, and efteemed them the patrons and protectors of travellers. The early heathens placed great heaps of ftones at the dividing of 3 the o Their raffing heaps of ftones over their dead. 185 the roads, and confecrated thofe heaps to him by uncT.ion*, artel other religious ceremonies. And in honour to him, travellers threw a ftone to them, and thus exceedingly increafed their bulk: this might occafion So* lomon to compare the giving honour to a fool, to throwing a ftone into a heap, as each were alike infenfible of the obligation •„ and to caufe the Jewifli writers to call this cuftom a piece of idolatrous worfhip. But the Indians place thofe heaps of ftones where there are no dividings of the roads, nor the leaft trace of any road -j-. And they then obferve no kind of religious ceremony, but raife thofe heaps merely to do honour to their dead, and incite the living to the purfuit of virtue. Upon which account, it feems to be derived from the ancient Jewifh ctiftom of increafing Abfalom's tomb for the laft things are eafieft retained, becaufe people repeat them ofteneft, and imitate them moft. * They rubbed the principal ftone of each of thofe heaps all over with oil, as a facrifice of libation ; by which means they often became black, and flippery ; as Arnobius relates of the idols of his time; Lubricatum lapidem, et ex olivi unguine fordidatum, tanrjuam inefli't vis prcfens, adulabar. Arnob. Adwrf. Gent. f Laban and Jacob raifed a heap of ftones, as a lading monument of their friendly covenant. And Jacob called the heap Gahed, 11 the heap of witnefs." Gen, xxxi. 47. Though the Cheerake do not bow collect the bones of their dead, yet they continue to raife and multiply heaps of ftones, as monuments for their dead ; this the Englifh army remembers well, for in the year 1760, having marched about two miles along a wood-land path, beyond a hill where they had feen a couple of thefe reputed tombs, at the war-woman's creek, they received fo fharp a defeat by the Cheerake, that another fuch muft have inevitably ruined the whole army. Many of thofe heaps are to be feen, in all parts of the contiaent of North-America: where ftones could not be had, they raifed large hillocks or mounds of earth, wherein they carefully depofited the bones of their dead„ which were placed either in earthen veftels, or in a fimple kind of arks, or chefts. Although the Mohawk Indians may be reafonably ex-pefted to have loft their primitive cuftoms, "by reafon of their great intercourfe with foreigners, yet I was told by a gentleman of diftinguimcd character, that they obferve the aforefaid ■fcpulchral cuftom to this day, infomuch, that when they are performing that kindred-duty, .they cry out, Maboom Tagujn Kamewb, *} Grandfather, I cover you."" A RGB ARGUMENT XX, The Jewifli records tell us, that their women Mourned for the lofs of their deceafed hufbands, and were reckoned vile, by the civil law, if they married in the fpace, at leaft, of ten months after their death. In refemblance to that cuftom, all the Indian widows, by an eftablifhed ftrict: penal law, mourn for the lofs of their deceafed hufbands j and among fome tribes for the fpace of three or four years. But the Eaft-India Pagans forced the widow, to fit on a pile of wood, and hold the body of her hufband on her knees, to be confumed together in the flames. The Mufkohge widows are obliged to live a chaftelingle life, for the tedious fpace of four years ■, and the Chikkafah women, for the term of three, at the rifque of the law of adultery being executed againft the recufants. Every evening, and at the very dawn of day, for the firft year of her widowhood, fhe is obliged through the fear of fhame to lament her lofs, in very intenfe audible ftrains. As Tab ah fignifies weeping, lamenting, mourning, or Ah God ; and as the widows, and others, in their grief bewail and cry To He {ta) Wah, Tohetaweh; Tohetaha Tohetahe, the origin is fuffici-cntly clear. Eor the Hebrews reckoned it fo great an evil to die unla-mented, like Jehoiakim, Jer. xxii. 18. " who had none to fay, Ah, my brother! Ah, my fifter ! Ah, my Lord! Ah, his glory 1" that it is one of the four judgments they pray againft, and it is called the burial of an afs. "With them, burying fignified lamenting, and fo the Indian widows direct their mournful cries to the author of life and death, infert a plural note in the facred name, and again tranfpofe the latter, through an invariable religious principle, to prevent a prophanation. Their law compels the widow, through the long term of her weeds* to refrain all public company and diverfions, at the penalty of an adul- 3 terefs; The women's time and manner of mourning for their hujhands. 187 terefs; and likewife to go with flowing hair, without the privilege of oil to anoint it. ! The ntarefl; k'infmen of the deceafed hufband, keep a very watchful eye over her conduct, in this refpect. The place of interment is alfo calculated to wake the widow's grief, for he is intombed in the houfe under her bed. And if he was a war-leader, me is obliged for the firft moon, to fit in the day-time under his mourning war-pole *, which is ctecked with all his martial trophies, and muft be heard to cry with bewailing notes. But none of them are fond of that month's fuppofed religious duty, it chills, or fweats, and waftes them fo exceedingly j for they are allowed no fhade, or fhelter. This fharp rigid cuftom excites the women to honour the marriage-ftate, and keeps them obliging to their hufbands, by anticipating the vifible fharp difficulties which they muft undergo for fo great a lofs. The three or four years monaftic life, which fhe lives after his death, makes it her intereft to ftrive by every means, to keep in his lamp of life, be it ever fo dull and worthlefs \ if fhe is able to fhed tears on fuch an occafion, they often proceed from felf-love. We can generally diftinguilh between the widow's natural mourning voice, and her tuneful laboured (train. She doth not fo much bewail his death, as her own re-clufe life, and hateful ftate of celibacy •, which to many of them, is as uneligible, as it was to the Hebrew ladies, who preferred death before the unmarried ftate, and reckoned their virginity a bewailable condition, like the ftate of the dead. The Choktah Indians hire mourners to magnify the merit and lofs of their dead, and if their tears cannot be feen to flow, their fhrill voices will be heard to cry, which anfwers the folemn chorus a great deal better f. However, they are no way churlifh of their tears, for I have feen them, on the occafion, pour them out, like fountains of water : but after having .bo .-hi i; ;!{";.] ir< t>,:hi:< :i MliH'-fuuvJ'. ?;;;i!o"fr::b *\' ti ii d..]Yv * The war-pole is a fmall peeled tree painted red, the top and boughs cut off fhort: it is fixt in the ground oppofite to his door, and all his implements of war, are hung on the fhort boughs of it, till they rot. ■f Jer. ix. 17. 19. Thus faith the Lord of holts: confider ye, and call for the mourning, women, that they may come; and fend for cunning women, that they may come. For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, how are we fpoiled ? we are greatly confounded, becaufe we have forfaken the land, becaufe our dwellings have call us out. B b 2 thus thus tired themfelves, they might with equal propriety have afked by-ftanders in the manner of the native Irifh, Ara ci fuar bafs—" And who is. dead ?" They formerly drelfed their heads wir.1i black mofs on thofe folemn occafions and the ground adjacent to the place of interment, they now beat with: kurel-buih.es, the women having their hair difheveled: the firft of which' cuftoms feems to be derived from the Hebrew cuftom of wearing fack-cloth -at their funeral folemnities, and on other occafions, when they afflicted their fowls before God—to which divine writ pften alludes, in defcribing. the blacknefs. of the fkies: and the laurel being an ever-green, is a lively: emblem of the eternity of the human foul, and the pleafant ftate it enters, into after death, according to antiquity. They beat it on the ground, to-exprefs their fharp pungent grief; and, perhaps, to imitate the Hebrew trumpeters for the dead, in order to make as ftriking a found as they poiV fibly can on fo doleful an occafion. Though the Hebrews had no pofitive precept that obliged the widow to> mourn the death of her hufband, or to continue her widowhood, for any> time ■, yet the gravity of their temper, and their fcrupulous nicety of the luw of purity, introduced the obfervance of thofe modeft and religious cuftoms, as firmly under the penalty of fhame, as if they bore the fanction* of law +. In imitation of them, the Indians have copied fo exactly, as to compel' the widow to act the part of the difconfolate dove, for the irreparable lofs of her mate. Very different is the cuftom of. other nations:—the Africans, when any of their head-men die, kill all their flaves, their friends that were deareft to them, and all their wives whom they loved beft, that they may accompany and ferve them, in the othes world, which is a moft diabolical Ammonitifti facrifice of human blood. The Eaft-India widows may refufe to be burned on their hufbands funeral piles, with impunity, if they become proftitutes, or public women to fing and dance at marriages, or on other occafions of rejoicing. How fuperior. f Theodoiius tells us, Lib. i, Legum de fecundis nuptiis, that women were infamous by the civil law, who married a. fecond time before a year,.or at leaft ten months were expired, IS The furviving brother raifes feed to the deceafed. 189 is the virtuous cuftom of the favage Americans, concerning female chastity during the time of their widowhood ? The Indian women mourn three moons, for the death of any female of their own family or tribe. During that time, they are not to anoint, or tie up their hair; neither is the hufband of the deceafed allowed, when the offices of nature do not call him, to go out of the houfe, much lefs to join any company : and in that time of mourning he often lies among; the afhes. The time being expired', the female mourners meet in the evening of the beginning of the fourth moon, at the houfe where their female relation is intombed, and ftay there till morning, when the neareft furviving old kinfwoman crops their fore-locks pretty fhort. This they call Ebo Intd-Tjdab, " the women have mourned the appointed time." Ebo fignifies " a woman," Inta " fTnifhed by divine appointment," Ad " moving" or walking, and Ah, " their note of grief, forrow, or mourning:" the name ex-prcffes, and the cuftom is a vifible certificate of, their having mourned the appointed time for their dead. When they have eaten and drank together, they return home by fun-rife, and thus finifh their folemn Tah-ah. ARGUMENT XXL The furviving brother, by the Mofaic law, was to Raise Seed to a deceafed brother who left a widow childlefs, to perpetuate his name and family, and inherit his goods and eft'ate, or be degraded : and, if the iflue he begat was a male child, it affumed the name of the deceafed. The Indian cuftom looks the very fame way; yet it is in this as in their law of blood—the cldeft brother can redeem; Although a widow is bound, by a.ftricr. penal law, to mourn the death of her hufband for the fpace of three or four years; yet, if fhe be known to lament her lofs with a fincere heart, for the fpace of a year, and her circumftances of. living are fo ftrait as to need a change of her ftation—and th« elder brother of her deceafed hufband lies with her, fhe is thereby ex- 7 empted cmpted from the law of mourning, has a liberty to tie up her hair, anoint and paint herfelf in the fame manner as the Hebrew widow, who was refufed by the furviving brother of her deceafed hufband, became free to marry whom fhe pleafed. The warm-conftitutioned young widows keep their eye fo intent on this mild beneficent law, that they frequently treat their elder brothers-in-law with fpirituous liquors till they intoxicate them, and thereby decoy them to make free, and fo put themfelves out of the reach of that mortifying law. If they are difappointed, as it fometimes happens, they fall on the men, calling them Hoobuk Wakfe, or Skoobdle, Hajfe kroopba, " Eunuchus prseputio deteclo, et pcne brevi •," the moft degrading of epithets. Similar to the Hebrew ladies, who on the brother's refufal loofed his Ihoe from his foot, and fpit in his face, (Deut. xxv. 9.); and as fome of the Rabbies tell us they made water in the fhoe, and threw it with defpite in his face, and then readily went to bed to any of his kinfmen, or moft diftant relations of the fame line that fhe liked befti as Ruth married Boaz. Jofephus, to palliate the fact, fays fhe only beat him with the fhoe over his face. David probably alludes to this cuftom, Pfal. Ix. 8. " Over Edom I will eaft out my fhoe," or detraction. Either by corruption, or mifunderftanding that family-kifung cuftom of the Hebrews, the corrupt Cheerake marry both mother and daughter at once though, unlefs in this inftance, they and all the other favage nations obferve the degrees of confanguinity in a ftricter manner than the Hebrews, or even the chriftian world. The Cheerake do not marry their firft or fecond coufins; and it is very obfervable, that the whole tribe reckon a friend in the fame rank with a brother, both with regard to marriage, and any other affair in focial life. This feems to evince that they copied from the ftable and tender friendlhip between Jonathan and David; efpecially as the Hebrews had legal, or adopted, as well as natural brothers. ARGU- Their method of giving names. 191 ARGUMENT XXII. When the Ifraelites gave names to their children or others, they chofe fuch appellatives as fuited belt with their circumftances, and the times. This cuftom was as early as the Patriarchal age for we find Abram was changed into Abraham; Sarai into Sarah, Jacob into Ifrael;—and afterwards Ofhea, Jofh.ua, Solomon, Jedidiah, &c. &x. This cuftom is a Handing rule with the Indians, and I never obferved the leaft deviation from it. They give their children names, expreffive of their tempers, outward appearances, and other various circumftances; a male child, they will call Chocla, " the fox ;" and a female, Pakahle, " the bloffom, or flower.'* The father and mother of the former are called Choollingge, and Cboollijhkr, *' the father and mother of the fox in like manner, thofe of the latter, Pa-kahlinggc, and Pakahlijhke; for Ingge fignifies the father, and Ifike the mother. In private life they are fo termed till that child dies; but after that period they are called by the name of their next furviving child, or if they have none, by their own name: and it is not known they ever mention the name of the child that is extinct. They only faintly allude to it, faying, " the one that is dead," to prevent new grief, as they had before mourned the appointed time. They who have no children of their own, adopt others, and affume their names, in the manner already mentioned. This was of divine appointment, to comfort the barren, and was analogous to the kindred method of counting with the Hebrews : inftead of furnames, they ufed in their genealogies the name of the father, and prefixed Ben, " a fon," to the perfon's name. And thus the Greeks, in early times. No nation ufed furnames, except the Romans after their league and union with the Sabines. And they did not introduce that cuftom, with the leaft view of diftinguilhing their families, but as a politic feal to their ftrong compact of friendfhip; for as the Romans prefixed Sabine names to their own, the Sabines took Roman names in like manner. A fpecimen of the Indian war-names, will illu-ftrate this argument with more clearnefs. They 'They crown a warrior, who has killed a diftinguifhed enemy, with the ■name, Tanafabe, " the buffalo-killer Tana fa is a buffalo, compounded cf Tab, the divine effence, and A fa, " there, or here is," as formerly mentioned : and Abe is their conftant war-period, fignifying, by their rhetorical figure " one who Taills another." It fignifies alfo to murder a perfon, or beat him feverely. This proper name figriifies, the profperous killer, or deftroyer of the buffalo, or ftrong man—it cannot pofiibly be derived rromrON, Abeh, which fignifies good-will, brotherly love, or tender affection i but from Abele, grief, forrow, or mourning, as an effect: of that hoftile act. Anoah, with the Indians, is the name of a rambling perfon, or one of unlettled refidence, and Anoah ookproo, is literally a bad rambling perfon, ** a renagadoe :" likewife Anoah ookprco'fito makes it^a fuperlative, on account of the abbreviation of IJhto, one of the divine names which they fub-join. In like manner, Nvabe is the war-name of a perfon who kills a rambling enemy, or one detached as a fcout, fpy, or the like. It confifts of the •patriarchal name, Noah, and Abe, " to kill," according to the Hebrew original, of which it is a contraction, to make it fmoother, and to indulge a rapidity of expreffion. There is fo ftrong an agreement between this compounded proper name, and two ancient Hebrew proper names, that 4t difplays the greateft affinity between the warfaring red and white Hebrews j efpecially as it fo clearly alludes to the divine hiftory of the firft homicide, and the words are adapted to their proper fignifications. Becaufe the Choktah did not till lately trim their hair, the other tribes through contempt of their cuftom, called them Pas' Phardah, " long hair," and they in return, gave them the contemptuous name, Skoobdlffhto, " very naked, or bare heads," compounded of Skooba, Ale, and IJhto: the fame word, or WakfiJhto, with llafjeh prefixed, exprefTes the penem praputio detetlo \ which fhews they lately retained a glimmering, though confufed notion of the law of circumcifion, and the prohibition of not polling their hair. They call a crow, Pharah; and Pas'pharcdbe is the proper name of a warrior, who killed an enemy wearing long hair. It is a triple compound from Pdfeh, ** the hair of one's head, Pharaah " long," and Abe, " killing," which they croud together. They likewife lay, their tongue is not Pharaho, Their method of giving names. *93 "Pharnkto, " forked," thereby alluding probably to the formerly-hateful name of the Egyptian kings, Pharaoh. When the Indians diftinguifti themfelves in war, their names are always compounded,—drawn from certain roots fuitable to their intention, and expreffive of the characters of the perfons, fo that their names joined together, often convey a clear and diftinct idea of feveral circumftances—as of the time and place, where the battle was fought, of the number and rank of their captives, and the flain. The following is a fpecimen : one initiating in war-titles, is called Tannip-Abe, " a killer of the enemy ■,"—he who kills a perfon carrying a kettle, is crowned Soonak-Abe-Tujka ; the firft word fignifies a kettle, and the laft a warrior. Minggdjhtabe fignifies " one who killed a very great chieftain," compounded of Mingo, Ajh, and Abe. Pac-Majhtcibe, is, one in the way of war-gradation, or below the higheft in rank, Pae fignifying " far off." Tifshu Ma/htabe is the name of a warrior who kills the, war-chieftain's waiter carrying the beloved ark. Shulajhum-majhtabc, the name of the late Choktah great war-leader, our firm ^ friend Red-JJjoes, is compounded of Sbulafs\ " Maccafeenes," or deer fkin-fhoes, Humma, " red," AJh, " the divine fire;" ST is inferted for the fake of a bold found, or to exprefs the multiplicity of the exploits he performed, in killing the enemy. In treating of their language, I obferved, they end their proper names with a vowel, and contract their war-titles, to give more fmoothnefs, and a rapidity of expreffion. Etehk is the general name they give to any female creature, but by adding their conftant war-period to it, it fignifies " weary •," as Chetchkabe, " you are weary :" to make it a fuperlative, they fay Cbetebkabe-0 : or Chetehkabejhto. The Cheerake call a dull ftalking fellow, Sooreb, " the turkey-buzzard," and one of an ill temper, Kana Cbeejleche, " the wafp," or a perfon refembling the dangerous Canaan rabbit, being compounded of the abbreviated name of Canaan, and Cheefio " a rabbit," which the Ifraelites were not to meddle with. One of our chief traders, who was very loquacious, they called Sekakee, " the grafs-hopper," derived from Sekako, " to make hafte." To one of a hoarfe voice, they gave the name, Katioona, " the bull-frog." The The Katahba Indians call their chief old interpreter, on account of his obfeene language, Emate-Atikke, ** the fmock-interpreter." The " raven" is one of the Cheerake favourite war-names. Carolina and Georgia remember Quorinnah, " the raven," of Huwhafe-town; he was one of the mod daring warriors of the whole nation, and by far the moft intelligent, and this name, or war-appellative, admirably fuited his well-known character. Though with all the Indian nations, the raven is deemed an impure bird, yet they have a kind of facred regard to it, whether from the traditional knowledge of Noah's employing it while he was in the ark, or from that bird having fed Elijah in the wildernefs • (as fome fuppofe) cannot be determined -, however with our fuppofed red Hebrews the name points out an indefatigable, keen, fuccefsful warrior. ARGUMENT XXIII. Although other refemblances of the Indian rites and cuftoms to thofe of the Hebrews, might be pointed out •, not to feem tedious, I proceed to the Jaft argument of the origin of the Indian Americans, which fhall be from their own traditions,—from the accounts of our Englifh writers—and from the teftimonies which the Spanifti writers have given, concerning the primitive inhabitants of Peru and Mexico. The Indian tradition fays, that their forefathers in very remote ages came from a far diftant country, where all the people were of one colour *, and that in procefs of time they moved eaftward, to their prefent fettlements. So that, what fome of our writers have afferted is not juft, who fay the Indians affirm, that there were originally three different tribes in thofe countries, when the fupreme chieftain to encourage fwift running, propofed a proportionable reward of diftincfion to each, as they excelled in fpeed in paf-fing a certain diftant river; as, that the firft fhould be polifhed white— the fecond red—and the third black •, which took place accordingly after the race was over. This ftory fprung from the innovating fuperftitious ignorance Their own traditions of their origin. ignorance of the popifli priefts, to the fouth-weft of us. Onr own Indian tradition is literal, and not allegorical, and ought to be received; becaufe people who have been long feparated from the reft of mankind, muft know their own traditions the beft, and could not be deceived in fo material, and frequently repeated an event. Though they have been disjoined through different interefts, time immemorial; yet, (the rambling tribes of northern Indians excepted) they aver that they came over the Miflifippi from the weftward, before they arrived at their prefent fettlements. This -we fee verified by the weftern old towns they have left behind them ; and by the fituation of their old beloved towns, or places of refuge, lying about a weft courfe from each different nation. Such places in Judea were chiefly built in the moft remote parts of the country-, and the Indians deem thofe only as beloved towns, where they firft fettled. This tradition is corroborated by a current report of the old Chikkafah Indians to our traders, " that about forty years fince, there came from Mexico fome of the old Chikkafah nation, (the Chichemicas, according to the Spa-nifli accounts) in queft of their brethren, as far north as the Aquahpah nation, about 130 miles above the Nachee old to«vns, on the fouth fide of the Miflifippi; but through French policy, they were either killed, or fent back, fo as to prevent their opening a brotherly intercourfe, as they had propofed." And it is worthy of notice, that the Mufkohgeh cave, out of which one of their politicians perfuaded them their anceftors formerly afcended to their prefent terrcftrial abode, lies in the Nanne Hamgeh old town, inhabited by the Miflifippi-Nachee Indians, which is one of the moft weftern parts of their old-inhabited country. I hope I fhall be excufed in reciting their ancient oral tradition, from father to fon to the prefent time. They fay, that one of their cunning old religious men finding that religion did not always thrive beft, refolved with himfelf to impofe on his friends credulity, and alter in fome refpecls their old tradition ; he accordingly pretended to have held for a long time a continual intercourfe with their fubterranean progenitors in a cave, above Coo miles to the weftward of Charles-town in South-Carolina, adjoining to the old Chikkafah trading path ; this people were then poffeft of every thing convenient for human life, and he promifed them fully to fupply their wants, C c 2 in in a conftant manner, without fweating in the field ; the moft trouble-fome of all things to manly brifk warriors. He infifted, that all who were delimits of fo natural and beneficial a correfpondence, fhould contribute large prefents, to be delivered on the embafiy, to their brethren—terras-filii,—to clear the old chain of friendlhip from the ruft it had contracted, through the fault of cankering time. He accordingly received prefents' from moft of the people, to deliver them to their beloved fubterranean* kindred: but it feems, they fhut up the mouth of the cave, and detained him there in order to be purified. The old wafte towns of the Chikkafah lie to the weft and fouth-weft, from where they have lived fince the time we firft opened a trade with them ; on which courfe they formerly went to war over the Miflifippi,.becaufe they, knew it beft, and had difputes with the natives of thofe parts, when they firft came from thence. Wifdom directed them then to connive at fome injuries on account of their itinerant camp of women and children ; for-their tradition fays, it confifted of ten thoufand men, befides women and children, when they came from the weft, and pafled over the Miflifippi.. The fine breed of running wood horfes they brought with them, were the prefent Mexican or Spanifli barbs. They alfo aver, that their anceftors cur off, and defpoiled the greateft part of a caravan, loaded with gold and filver; but the carriage of it proved fo troublefome to them, that they threw it into a river where it could not benefit the enemy. If we join together thefe circumftances, it utterly deftroys the fine Peruvian and Mexican temples of the fun, &c—which the Spaniards hava lavifhly painted from their own fruitful imaginations, to fhew their own capacity of writing, though at the expence of truth; and to amufe the gazing diftant world, and leffen our furprife at the fea of reputed hea-thenifh blood, which their avaricious tempers, and flaming iuperftitious zeal, prompted them to fpill. If any Englifh reader have patience to fearch the extraordinary volumes of the Spanifh writers, or even thofe of his catholic majefty's chief hifto-riographer, he will not only find a wild portrait, but a ftriking refemblance and unity of the civil and martial cuftoms, the religious rites, and traditions, of the . * ancient t. ancient Peruvians and Mexicans, and the North-Americans* according to-the manner of their morefque paintings : likewife, the very national name of the primitive Chikkafah, which they ftile Chichemicas, and whom they repute to have been the firft inhabitants of Mexico. However, I lay little ftrefs upon Spanifh teftimonies, for time and ocular proof have convinced us of the laboured falftiood of almoft all their hiftorical narrations concerning every curious thing relative to South America. They were fo diverted of thofe principles inherent to honeft enquirers after truth, that they have recorded themfelves to be a tribe of prejudiced bigots, ftriving to aggrandife the Mahometan valour of about nine hundred fpurious catholic chriftians, under the patronage of their favourite faint, as perfons by whom heaven defigned to extirpate thofe two great nominal empires of pretended cannibals. They found it convenient to blacken the natives with ill names, and report them to their demi-god the mufti of Rome, as facri-ficing every day, a prodigious multitude of human victims to numerous, idol-gods.. The learned world is already fully acquainted with the falfehood of their hiftories ; reafon and later difcoverics condemn them. Many years have elapfed, fince I firft entered into Indian life, befides a good acquaintance with feveral fouthern Indians, who were converfant with the Mexican Indian rites and cuftoms; and it is incontrovertible, that the Spanifh monks andjefuits in defcribing the language, religion, and cuftoms, of the ancient Peruvians and Mexicans, were both unwilling, and incapable to perform fo arduous an undertaking,, with j uftice and truth. They did not converfe with the natives as friends, but defpifed, hated,. and murdered them, for the lake of their gold and filver: and to excufe their own ignorance, and moft (hocking, cool, premeditated murders, they artfully defcribed them as an abominable fvvarm of idolatrous cannibals offering human facrifices to their various falfe deities, and eating of the unnatural victims. Neverthelefs, from their own partial accounts, we can trace a near agreement between the civil and martial cuftoms, the religious worfhip, traditions, drefs, ornaments, and other particulars of the ancient Peruvians and Mexicans, and thofe of the prefent North-American Indians.. Acofta. Acofta tells us, that though the Mexicans have do proper name for God, yet they allow a fupreme omnipotence and providence : his capacity was not fufficient to difcover the former; however, the latter agrees with the prefent religious opinion of the Englifh-American Indians, of an univerfal divine wifdom and government. The want of a friendly intercourfe between our northern and fouthern Indians, has in length of time occafioned fome of the former a little to corrupt, or alter the name of the felf-exiftent creator and preferver of the univerfe, as they repeat it in their religious invocations, TO He a Ah. But with what mow of truth, confiftent with the above conceffion, can Acofta defcribe the Mexicans as offering human facrifices alfo to devils, and greedily feafting on the victims! We are told alfo that the Nauatalcas believe, they dwelt in another region before they fettled in Mexico-, that they wandered eighty years in fearch of it, through a ftrict: obedience to their gods, who ordered them to go in queft of new lands, that had fuch particular figns ;—that they punctually obeyed the divine mandate, and by that means found out, and fettled the fertile country of Mexico. This account correfponds with the Chikkafah tradition of fettling in their prefent fuppofed holy land, and feems to have been derived from a compound tradition of Aaron's rod, and the light or divine prefence with the Ifraelites in the wildernefs, when they marched. And probably the Mexican number of years, was originally forty, inltead of eighty. Lopez de Gomara tells us, that the Mexicans were fo devout, as to offer to the fun and earth, a fmall quantity of every kind of meat and drink, before any of themfelves tafted it; and that they facrificed part of their corn, fruits, &c. in like manner otherwife, they were deemed haters of, and contemned by their gods. Is not this a confufed Spanifh picture of the Jewifh daily facrifice, and firft-fruit-offering, as formerly obferved ? and which, as we have feen, are now offered up by the northern Indians, to the bountiful giver, the fupreme holy fpirit of fire, whom they invoke in that moft facred and awful fong, YO He Wah, and loudly afcribe to him Hallelu-Yah, for his continued goodnefs to them. The Spanifh writers fay, that when Cortes approached Mexico, Montezuma flrut himfelf up, and continued for the fpace of eight days in 2 prayers prayers and fading: but to blacken him, and excufe their own diabolical butcheries, they affert he offered human facrifices at the fame time to abominable and frightful idols. But the facrifices with morejuftice may be attributed to the Spaniards than to the Mexicans—as their narratives alfo are a facrifice of truth itfelf. Montezuma and his people's fallings, prayers, cVc. were doubtlefs the fame with thofe of the northern Indians, who on particular occafions, by feparate fallings, ablutions, purgations, &c. feck to fanctify themfelves, and fo avert the ill effefts of the divine anger, and regain the favour of the deity. They write, that the Mexicans offered to one of their gods, a facrifice-compounded of fome of all the feeds of their country, grinded fine, and mixed with the blood of children, and of facrificed virgins; that they plucked out the hearts of thofe victims, and offered them as firft-fruits to the idol; and that the warriors imagined, the leaft relic of the facrifice would preferve them from danger. They foon afterwards tell us of a temple of a quadrangular form, called Teucalli, " God's houfe," and Chacal-mua, 14 a minifler of holy things," who belonged to it. They likewife ■fpeak of " the hearth of God,—the continual fire of God,—the holy ark," &c. If we cut off the jefuitical paintings of the unnatural facrifice, the reft is confonant to what hath been obferved, concerning the North American Indians. And it is very obvious, the North and South American Indians are alike of vindictive tempers, putting moft of their invading enemies that fall into their power to the fiery torture. The Spaniards looking upon themfelves as divine embaffadors, under the imperial fig-nature of the Holy Lord of Rome, were excelfwely enraged againfl the fimple native South-Americans, becaufe they tortured forty of their captivated people by reprilal, devoting them to the fire, and ate their hearts, according to the univerfal war-cuftom of our northern Indians, on the like occafion. The Spanifh terror and hatred on this account, their pride, religious bigotry, and an utter ignorance of the Indian dialects, , rites, and cuftoms, excited them thus to delineate the Mexicans; — and equally hard names, and unjuft charges, the bloody members of their diabolical inquifition ufed to bellow on thofe pretended heretics, whom they gave over to be tortured and burnt by the fecular power. But it is worthy of notice, the Spanifh writers acknowledge that the Mexicans brought their human facrifices from the oppofite fea; and : did not offer up any of their own people : lb that this was but the fame as i as our North-American Indians ftill practife, when they devote their captives to death which is ufhered in with ablutions, and other methods of fanctifying themfelves, as have been particularly defcribed and they perform the lolemnity with finging the facred triumphal fong, with beating of the drum, dances, and various forts of rejoicings, through gratitude to the beneficent and divine author of fuccefs againfl; their common enemy. By the defcription of the Portuguefe writers, the Indian-Brafilian method of war, and of torturing their devoted captives, very nearly refembles the cuftoms of our Indians. Acofta, according to his ufual ignorance of the Indian cuftoms, fays, that fome in Mexico underftood one another by whiffling, on which he attempts to be witty—but notwithftanding the great contempt and furprife of the Spaniards at thofe Indians who whiffled as they went-, this whiffle was no other than the war-whoop, or a very loud and fhrill fhout, denoting death, or good or bad news, or bringing in captives from war. The fame writer fays they had three kinds of knighthood, with which they honoured the beft foldiers the chief of which was the red ribbon ; the next the lion, or tyger-knight -, and the meaneft was the grey knight. He might with as much truth, have added the turky-buz-zard knight, the fun-blind bat knight, and the night-owl knight. His account of the various gradations of the Indian war-titles, fhews the unfkil-fulnefs of that voluminous writer, even in the firft principles of his Indian fubject, and how far we ought to rely on his marvellous works. The accounts the Spaniards formerly gave us of Florida and its inhabitants, are written in the fame romantic ftrain with thofe of Mexico. Ramufius tells us, that Alvaro Nunes and his company reported the Apalahchee Indians to be fuch a gigantic people, as to carry bows, thick as a man's arm, and of eleven or twelve fpans long, fhooting with proportional force and direction. It feems they lived then a fober and temperate life, for Morgues fays, one of their kings was three hundred years old ; though Laudon reckons him only two hundred and fifty : and Morgues affures us, he faw this youn adding to it occafionally fome other ftrong compound words. He fays alfo, that the metropolis of Cholola had as many temples as there were days in the year •, and that one of them was the moft famous in the world, the bans of the fpire being as broad as a man could (hoot with a crofs bow, and the fpire itfelf three miles high. The temples which the holy man fpeaks of, feem to have been only the dwelling-houfcs of ftrangers, who incorporated with the natives, differing a little in their form of ftructure, according to the ufual cuftom of our northern Indians: and his religious principles not allowing him to go near the reputed fbambles of the devil, much lefs to enter the fuppofed territories of hell, he has done pretty well by them, in allowing them golden funs and moons—veftry keepers, &c. The badnefs of his optic inftruments, if joined with the fuppofed dimnefs of his fight, may plead in excufe for the fpiral altitude, which he fixes at 15,480 feet; for from what we know of the northern Indians, we ought to ftrike off the three firft figures of its height, and the remaining 40 is very likely to have been the juft height of the fpire, alias the red-painted, great, war-pole. The fame writer tells us, that the Peruvian pontifical office belonged to the eldeft fon of the king, or fome chief lord of the country : and that it devolved by fucceffion. But he anoints him after a very folemn manner, with an ointment which he carefully mixes with the blood of circumcifcd infants. This prieft of war dealing fo much in blood himfelf, without doubt, fufpected them of the like-, though at the fame time no Indian prieft will either (lied, or touch human blood : but that they formerly circumcifed, may with great probability be allowed to the holy man. The temples of Peru were built on high grounds, or tops of hills, he fays, and were furrounded with four circular mounds of earth, the one rifing 3 gradually gradually above the other, from the outermoft circle; and that the temple ftood in the center of the inclofed ground, built in a quadrangular form, having altars, &:c. He has ofRcioufly obtruded the fun into it; perhaps, becaufe he thought it dark within. He defcribes another religious houfe, on the eaftern part of that great inclofure, facing the rifing fun, to which they alcended by fix fteps, where, in the hollow of a thick wall, lay the image of the fun, &c. This thick wall having an hollow part within it, was no other than their fan&um fanctorum, conformably to what I obferved, concerning the pretended holieft place of the Mufkohge Indians. Any one who is well acquainted with the language, rites, and cuftoms of the North-American Indians, can fee with a glance when thefe monkifh writers ftumble on a truth, or ramble at large. Acofta fays, that the Mexicans obferved their chief feaft in the month of May, and that the nuns two days before mixed a fufficient quantity of beets with honey, and made an image of it. He trims up the idol very genteelly, and places it on an azure-coloured chair, every way becoming the fcarlet-coloured pope. He foon after introduces flutes, drums, cornets, and trumpets, to celebrate the feaft of Eupania Vitzliputzli, as he thinks proper to term it: on account of the nuns, he gives them Pania, " feminine bread," inftead of the mafculine Pants; which he makes his nuns to diftribute at this love-feaft, to the young men, in large pieces refem-bling great bones. When they receive them, they religioufly lay them down at the feaft of the idol, and call them the flefli and bones of the God VitzlipHtzli. Then he brings in the priefts vailed, with garlands on their heads, and chains of flowers about their necks, each of them ftrictly obferving their place : if the inquifitive reader fhould defire to know how he difcovered thofe garlands and flowery chains ; (efpecially as their heads were covered, and they are fecret in their religious ceremonies) I muft inform him, that Acofta wrought a kind of cotton, or woollen cloth for them, much finer than filk, through which he might have eafily feen them—befides, fuch a religious drefs gave him a better opportunity of hanging a crofs, and a firing of beads afterwards round their necks. Next Next to thofe religious men, he ufhers in a fine company of gods and goddefles, in imagery, dreffed like the others, the people paying them divine worfhip ■, this without doubt, is intended to fupport the popiih faint-worfhip. Then he makes them fing, and dance round the pafte, and ufe feveral other ceremonies. And when the eyes are tired with viewing thofe wild circlings, he folemnly bleffes, and conlecrates thofe morfels of pafte, and thus makes them the real flefh and bones of the idol, which the people honour as gods. When he has ended his feaft of tranfubftan-tiation, he fets his facrificers to work, and orders them to kill and facrifice more men than at any other feftival,—as he thinks proper to make this a greater carnival than any of the reft. When he comes to finifh his bloody facrifices, he orders the young men and women into two rows, directly facing each other, to dance and fing by the drums, in praife of the feaft and the god ; and he fets the oldeft and the greateft men to anfwer the fong, and dance around them, in a great circle. This with a little alteration, refembles the cuftom of the northern Indians. He fays, that all the inhabitants of the city and country came to this great feaft,—that it was deemed facri-legious in any perfon to eat of the honeyed pafte, on this great feftival-day, or to drink water, till the afternoon ; and that they earneftly advifed thofe, who had the ufe of reafon, to abftain from water till the afternoon, and carefully concealed it from the children during the time of this ceremony. But, at the end of the feaft, he makes the priefts and ancients of the temple to break the image of pafte and confecrated rolls, into many pieces, and give them to the people by the way of facrament, according to the ftricteft rules of order, from the greateft and eldeft, to the youngeft and leaft, men, women and children: and he fays, they received it with bitter tears, great reverence, and a very awful fear, with other ftrong figns of devotion, faying at the fame time,—" they did not eat the flefh and bones of their God." He adds, that they who had fick people at home, demanded a piece of the faid pafte, and carried and gave it to them, with the moft profound reverence and awful adoration j that all who partook of this propitiating facrifice, were obliged to give a part of the feed of Maiz, of which the idol was made ; and then at the end of the folemnity, a prieft of high authority preached to 3 the the people on their laws and ceremonies, with a commanding voice, and expreflive geftures; and thus difmiffed the affembly. Well may Acofta blame the devil in the manner he does, for introducing among the Mexicans, fo near a refemblance of the popifh fuperflitions and idolatry. But whether fhall we blame or pity this writer, for obfeuring the truth with a confufed heap of falflioods ? The above is however a carious Spanifh picture of the Mexican paffover, or annual expiation of fins, and of their fecond paffover in favour of their fick people,—and of paying their tythes,—according to fimilar cuftoms of our North-American Indians. We are now fufficiently informed of the rites and cuftoms of the remote, and uncorrupt South-Americans, by the Mifiifippi Indians, who have a communication with them, both in peace and war. Ribault Laudon defcribing the yearly feftival of the Floridans, fays, that the day before it began, the women fweeped out a great circuit of ground, where it was obferved with folemnity;—that when the main body of the people entered the holy ground, they all placed themfelves in good order, ftood up painted, and decked in their beft apparel, when three Ia-was, or priefts, with different paintings and geftures followed them, playing on mufical inftruments, and finging with a folemn voice—the others anfwering them: that when they made three circles in this manner, the men ran off to the woods, and the women ftaid weeping behind, cutting their arms with mufcle-fhells, and throwing the blood towards the fun , and that when the men returned, the three days feaft was finifhed. This is another confufed Spanifh draught of the Floridan paffover, or feaft of love; and of their univerfal method of bleeding themfelves after much exercife, which according to the Spanifh plan, they offered up to the lun. From thefe different writers, it is plain that where the Indians have not been corrupted by foreigners, their cuftoms and religious worfhip are nearly alike; and alio that every different tribe, or nation of Indians, ufes luch-like divine proper name, and awful founds, as Tah-Wah, Hetovah, Sec. being tranf-pofitions of the divine effential name, as our northern Indians often repeat in their religious dances. As the found of Tah-wah jarred in Lau-don's ear, he called it Java, in refemblance to the Syriac and Greek method of expreffing the tetra-grammaton, from which Galatinus impofed it upon us, calling it Jehowah, inftead of 2"ohewah. The The Spanifh writers tell us, that the Mexicans had a feaft, and month, which they called llueitozolti, when the maiz was ripe ; every man at that time bringing an handful to be offered at the temple, with a kind of drink, oiled Utuli-t made out of the fame grain.—But they foon deck up an idol with rofes, garlands, and flowers, and defcribe them as offering to it fweet gums, cVc. Then they fpeedily drefs a woman witli the apparel of either the god, or goddefs, of fait, which muft be to feafon the human facrifices, as they depicture them according to their own difpofitions. But they foon change the fcene, and bring in the god of gain, in a rich temple dedicated to him, where the merchants apart facrifice vaft numbers of purchafed captives. It often chagrines an inquifitive and impartial reader to trace the contradictions, and chimerical inventions, of thofe afpiring bigoted writers; who fpeak of what they did not underftand, only by figns, and a fevr chance words. The difcerning reader can eafily perceive them from what hath been already faid, and muft know that this Spanifh mountain in labour, is only the Indian firft fruit-offering, according to the ufagc Of our North-American Indians. It is to be lamented that writers will not keep to matters of fact: Some of our own hiftorians have defcribed the Mohawks as cannibals, and continually hunting after man's flefh ; with equal truth Diodorus Siculus, Strabo, and others report, that in Britain there were formerly Anthropophagi, " man-eaters." Garcillaffo de La Vega, another Spanifh romancer, fays, that the Peruvian fhepherds worfhipped the ftar called Lyra, as they imagined it pre-ferved their flocks: but he ought firft to have fupplied them with flocks, for they had none except a kind of wild fheep, that kept in the mountains, and which are of fo fsetid a fmell, that no creature is fond to approach them. The fame afpiring fictitious writer tells us, the Peruvians worfhipped the Creator of the world, whom he is pleafed to call Viracocha Pachuyacha ha hie : any perfon who is in the leaft acquainted with the rapid flowing manner of the Indian American dialects, will conclude from the wild termination that the former is not the Peruvian divine name. Next to this great Creator of the univerfe, he affirms, they worfhipped the fun j and E e next next to the folar orb, they deified and worshipped thunder, believing it proceeded from a man in heaven, who had power over the rain, hail, and thunder, and every thing in the ajrial regions ; and that they offered up facrifices to it, but none to the univerfal Creator. To prefer the effect to the acknowledged prime caufe, is contrary to the common reafon of mankind, who adore that object which they efteem either the moft beneficent, or the moft powerful. Monfieur Le Page Du Pratz tells us, he lived feven years among the Nachee Indians, about one hundred leagues up the Miflifippi from New-Orleans •, and in order to emulate the Spanifh romances of the Indians, in his performance, he affirms their women are double-breafted, which he particularly defcribes: and then following the Spanifh copy, he allures us, the higheft rank of their nobles is called funs, and that they only attend the facred and eternal fire ; which he doubtlefs mentioned, merely to introduce his convex lens, by which he tells us with a great air of confidence, he gained much efteem among them, as by the gift of it, he enabled them to continue their holy fire, if it fhould cafually be nctr extinguished. According to him, the Chikkafah tongue was the court language of the Miflifippi Indians, and that it had not the letter R.—The very reverfe of which is the truth for the French and all their red favages were at conftant war with them, becaufe of their firm connection with the Englifh, and hated their national name; and as to the language, they could not converfe with them, as their dialects are fo different from each other. I recited a long firing of his well-known ftories to a body of gentlemen, well fkilled in the languages, rites, and cuftoms of our Eaft and Weft-Florida Indians, and they agreed that the Koran did not differ more widely from the divine oracles, than the accounts of this writer from the genuine cuftoms of the Indian Americans. The Spanifh artifts have furniflied the favage war-chieftain, or their Emperor Montezuma, with very fpacious and beautiful palaces, one of which they raifed on pillars of fincjafper; and another wrought with exquifite fkill out of marble, jafper, and other valuable ftones, with veins glittering like rubies,—they have finilhed the roof with equal fkill, compofed of carved and painted cyprefs, cedar, and pine-trees, without any kind of nails. They fhould have furnilhed fome of the chambers with fuitable pavilions and and beds of Mate ; but the bedding and furniture in our northern Indian ' huts, is the fame with what they were ple*afed to defcribe, in the wonderful Mexican palaces. In this they have not done juftice to the grand red .monarch, whom they raifed up, (with his iooo women, or 3000 according to fome,) only to magnify the Spanifh power by overthrowing him. Montezuma in an oration to his people, at the arrival of the Spaniards, is faid by Malvendar, to have perfuaded his people to yield to the power of his Catholic Majefty's arms, for their own fore-fathers were ftrangers in that land, and brought there long before that period in a fleet. The emperor, who they pretend bore fuch univerfal arbitrary fway, is raifed by their pens, from the ufual rank of a war chieftain, to his imperial great-nefs: But defpotic power is death to their ears, as it is deftructive of their darling liberty, and reputed theocratic government; they have no name for a fubject, but fay, " the people.'* In order to carry on the felf-flattering war-romance, they began the cpocha of that great fictitious empire, in the time of the ambitious and formidable Montezuma, that their handful of heaven-favoured popifli faints might have the more honour in deftroying it: had they defcribed it of a long continuance, they forefaw that the world would detect the fallacy, as foon as they learned the language of the pretended empire; correfpondent to which, our own great Emperor Powhatan of Virginia, was foon dethroned. We are fufHciently informed by the rambling Miflifippi Indians, that Motehjhuma is a common high war-name of the South-American leaders; and which the fate he is faid to receive, ftrongly corroborates. Our Indians urge with a great deal of vehemence, that as every one is promoted only by public virtue, and has his equals in civil and martial affairs, thofe Spanifh books that have mentioned red emperors, and great empires in America, ought to be burnt in fome of the remaining old years accurfed fire. And this Indian fixed opinion feems to be fufHciently confirmed by the fituation of Mexico, as it is only about 315 miles from fouth to north and narrower than 200 miles along the northern coaft—and lies between Tlafcala and Mechoacan, to the weft of the former, and eaft of the latter, whence the Mexicans were continually harraffed by thofe lurking fwift-footed favages, who could fecure their retreat home, in the fpace of two or three days. When we confider the vicinity of thofe two inimical ftates to the pretended puiffant empire of Mexico, which might have eafily crufhed them to pieces, with her for- E e 2 midablc midable armies, in order to fecure the lives of the fubjects, and credit of the ftate, we may fafely venture to affirm, from the long train of circumftances already exhibited, that the Spanifh Peruvian and Mexican empires are without the leaft foundation in nature; and that the Spaniards, defeated the tribe of Mexico (properly called Mechiko) &c. chiefly, by the help of their red allies. In their defcriptions of South-America and its native inhabitants, they-treat largely of heaven, hell, and purgatory •, lions, falamanders, maids of honour, maids of penance, and their abbeffes; men whipping themfelves with cords ; idols, mattins, monadic vows, cloifters of young men, with a prodigious group of other popifh inventions : and we muft not forget to do juftice to thofe induftrious and fagacious obfervers, who difcovered two golgothas, or towers made of human fkulls, plaiftered with lime, Acofta tells us, that Andrew de Topia affured him, he and Gonfola de Vimbria reckoned one hundred and thirty-fix thoufand human fkulls in them. The temple dedicated to the air, is likewife worthy of being mentioned, as they affert in the ftrongeft manner, that five thoufand priefts ferved conftantly in it, and obliged every one who entered, to bring fome human facrifice that the walls of it were an inch thick, and the floor a foot deep, with black, dry, clotted blood. If connected herewith, we reflect, that befide this blood-thirfty god of the air, the Spaniards have repre-lented them as worshipping a multitude of idol gods and goddeffes, (no lefs than two thoufand according to Lopez de Gomara) and facrificing to them chiefly human victims; and that the friars are reported by a Spanifh bifhop of Mexico, in his letters of the year 1532, to have broken down twenty thoufand idols, and defolated five hundred idol temples, where the natives facrificed every year more than twenty thoufand hearts of boys and girls; and that if the noblemen were burnt to afhes, they killed their cooks, butlers, chaplains, and dwarfs*—and had a plenty of targets, maces, and en-figns hurled into their funeral piles : this terrible (laughter, points out to us clearly from their own accounts, that thefe authors either gave the world a continued chain of faliehoods, or thofe facrifices, and human maffacres * With regard to Indian dwarfs, I never heard of, or faw any in the northern nation.'?,, but one in Khtatoe, a northern town of the middle part of the Cheerake country,—and he was a great beloved man.. they they boaftingly tell us of, would have, long before they came, utterly depopulated Peru and Mexico. I fhall now quote a little of their lefs romantic defcription, to confirm the account I have given concerning the genuine rites, and cuftoms, of our North-American Indians. The ornaments of the Indians of South and North America, were formerly, and ftill are alike, without the leaft difference, except in value. Thofe fuperficial writers agree, that the men and women of Peru and Mexico wore golden ear-rings, and bracelets around their necks and wrifts; that the men wore rings of the fame metal in their nofe, marked their bodies with various figures, painted their faces red, and the women their cheeks, which feems to have been a very early and general cuftom. They tell us, that the coronation of the Indian kings, and inftallment of their nobles, was folemnized with comedies, banquets, lights, &c. and that no plebeians were allowed to ferve before their kings; they muft be knights, or noblemen. All thofe founding high titles are only a confufed picture of the general method of the Indians in crowning their warriors, performing their war-dances, and efteeming thofe fellows as old women, who never attended the reputed holy ark with fuccefs for the beloved brethren, Don Antonio de Ulloa informs us, that fome of the South-American; natives cut the lobes of their cars, and for a confiderable time, fattened fmall weights to them, in order to lengthen them; that others cut holes in their upper and under lips; through the cartilege of the nofe, their chins, and jaws, and either hung or thruft through them, fuch things as they moft fancied, which alfo agrees with the ancient cuftoms of our Northern Indians. Emanuel de Moraes and Acofta affirm, that the Brafilians marry in their own family, or tribe. And Jo. de Laet. fays, they call their uncles and aunts, H fathers and mothers," which is a cuftom of the Hebrews, and of all our North-American Indians : and he affures us they mourn very much for their dead; and that their clothes are like thofe of the early jews.. Ulloa- Ulloa allures us, that the South American Indians have no other method of weaving carpets, quilts, and other fluffs, but to count the threads one by one, when they are palling the woof; — that they fpin cotton and linnen, as their chief manufacture, and paint their cloth with the images of men, beatts, birds, fifh.es, trees, flowers, &c. and that each of thofe webs was adapted to one certain ufe, without being cur, and that their patience was equal to fo arduous a tafk. According to this defcription, there is not the leaft difparity between the ancient North-American method of manufacturing, and that of the South Americans. Acofta writes, that the clothes of the South-American Indians are fhaped like thofe of the ancient Jews, being a fquare little cloak, and a little coat: and the Rev. Mr. Thorowgood, anno 1650, obferves, that this is a proof of fome weight in fhewing their original defcent; efpecially to fuch who pay a deference to Seneca's parallel arguments of the Spaniards having fettled Italy \ for the old mode of drefs is univerfally alike, among the Indian Americans. Laet. in his defcription of America, and Efcarbotus, aflure ns, they often heard the South American Indians to repeat the facred word Halleluiah, which made them admire how they firft attained it. And Malvenda fays, that the natives of St. Michael had tomb-ftones, which the Spaniards digged up, with feveral ancient Hebrew characters upon them, as, ** "Why is God gone away ?" And, " He is dead, God knows." Had his curiofity induced him to tranfcribe the epitaph, it would have given more fatisfaction ; for, as they yet repeat the divine effential name, To He {ta) Wah, fo as not to prophane it, when they mourn for their dead, it is probable, they could write or engrave it, after the like manner, when they firft arrived on this main continent. We are told, that the South American Indians have a firm hope of the refurrection of their bodies, at a certain period of time-, and that on this account they bury their moft valuable treafures with their dead, as well as the moft ufeful conveniences for future domeftic life, fuch as their bows and arrows: And when they faw the Spaniards digging up their graves for gold and filver, they requefted them to forbear fcattering the bones of their 5 dead The teftimonies of French writers, 21$ dead in that manner, left it fhould prevent their being raifed and united again *. Monfieur de Poutrincourt fays, that, when the Canada Indians faluted him, they faid He Ho Ho; but as we are well allured, they exprefs To He a Ah, in the time of their feftivals and other rejoicings, we have reafon to conclude he made a very material miftake in letting down the Indian folemn blefling, or invocation. He likewife tells us, that the Indian women will not marry on the graves of their hufbands, i. e. " foon after their deceafe,1* —but wait a long time before they even think of a fecond hufband. That, if the hufband was killed, they would neither enter into a fecond marriage, nor eat flefli, till his blood had been revenged : and that after child-bearing, they obferve the Mofaic law of purification, fhutting up themfelves from their hufbands, for the fpace of forty days. Peter Martyr writes, that the Indian widow married the brother of her deceafed hufband, according to the Mofaic law : and he fays, the Indians worfhip that God who created the fun, moon, and all invifible things, and who gives them every thing that is good. He affirms the Indian priefts had chambers in the temple, according to the cuftom of the Ifraelites, by divine appointment, as 1 Chron. ix. 26, 27. And that there were certain places in it, which none but their priefts could enter, i. e. " the holieft." And Key fays alfo, they have in fome parts of America, an exact form of king, prieft, and prophet, as was formerly in Canaan. Robert Williams, the firft Englishman in New-England, who is faid to have learned the Indian language, in order to convert the natives, believed them to be Jews: and he affures us, that their tradition records that their anceftors came from the fcuth-weft, and that they return there at death ; that their women feparate themfelves from the reft of the people at certain periods; and that their language bore fome affinity to the Hebrew. Baron Lahontan writes, that the Indian women of Canada purify themfelves after travail ; thirty days for a male child—and forty for a female: that during the faid time, they live apart from their hufband—that the unmarried brother of the deceafed hufband marries the widow, fix months * Vid.Ceuto ad Solin. Bcnz. & Hill. Peruv. after \ after his deceafe ; and that the outftanding parties for war, addrefs the great fpirit every day till they fet off, with facrifices, longs, and feafting. We are alfo told, that the men in Mexico fat down, and the women, flood, when they made water, which is an univerfal cuftom among our North-American Indians. Their primitive modefty, and indulgence to their women, feem to have introduced this lingular cuftom, after- the manner of the ancient Mauritanians, on account of their fcantinefs of clothing, as I formerly obferved. Lerius tells us, that the Indians of Brafil waili themfelves ten times a day i and that the hufbands have no matrimonial intercoufe with their wives, till their children are either weaned, or grown pretty hardy ; which is fimilar to the cuftom of thefe northern Indians, and that of the Ifraelites, as Hof. i. 8. He fays, if a Peruvian child was weaned before its time, it was called Ahifco, " a baftard." And that if a Brafilian wounds another, he is ■wounded in the fame part of the body, with equal punifhment ; limb for limb, or life for life, according to the Mofaic law $—which, within our own memory, thefe Indian nations obferved fo eagerly, that if a boy fhooting at birds, accidentally wounded another, though out of fight, with his arrow ever fo flightly, he, or any of his family, wounded him after the very fame manner ; which is a very ftriking analogy with the Jewifh retaliation. He likewife tells us, that their Sachems, or Emperors, were the heads of their church: and according to Laet. Defcript. America, the Peruvians had one temple confecrated to the creator of the world ; befides four other religious places, in refemblance of the Jewifli fynagogues. And Mal-venda fays, the American idols were mitred, as Aaron was. He likewife affirms, as doth Acofta, that the natives obferved a year of jubilee, according to the ufage of the Ifraelites. Benzo fays, that the men and women incline very much to dancing; and the women often by themfelves, according to the manner of the Hebrew nation; as in i Sam. xxi. 11. efpecially after gaining a victory over the enemy, as in Judg. xi. 34.— xxi. 21. 23, and 1 Sam. xviii, 6, 7. Acofta tells us, that though adultery is deemed by them a capital crime, yet they at the fame time fet little value by virginity, and it feems to have been a bewailable condition, in Judea. He likewife fays, they wafh their 1 new The teftimonies of different writers. 217 new born infants, in refemblance of the Mofaic law *, as Ezek. xvi. 9. And the Spaniards fay, that the priefts of Mexico, were anointed from head to foot; that they conftantly wore their hair, till they were fuperannuatcd j and that the hufband did not lie with his wife, for two years after fhe was delivered. Our northern Indians imitate the firft cuftom ; though in the fecond, they refemble that of the heathen by polling or trimming their hair-, and with regard to the third, they always fleep apart from their wives, for the greater part of a year, after delivery. By the Spanifh authorities, the Peruvians and Mexicans were Polyga-mifts, but they had one principal wife, to whom they were married with certain folemnities; and murder, adultery, theft, and inceft, were punifhed with death.—But there was an exception in fome places, with regard to in-ceftuous intercourfes: which is intirely confonant to the ufage of the northern Indians. For as to inceft, the Cheerake marry both mother and daughter, or two fitters ; but they all obferve the prohibited laws of confanguinity, in the ftricteft manner. They tell us, that when the priefts offered facrifice, they abftained from women and ftrong drink, and fatted feveral days, before any great feftival •, that all of them buried their dead in their houfes, or in high places-, that when they were forced to bury in any of the Spanifh church-yards, they frequently ftole the corpfe, and interred it either in one of their own houfes, or in the mountains; and that Juan de la Torre took five hundred thoufand Pezoes out of one tomb. Here is a long train of Ifraelitifh cuftoms : and, if we include the whole, they exhibit a very ftrong analogy between all the effential traditions, rites, cuftoms, cVc. of the South and North American Indians; though the Spaniards mix an innumerable heap of abfurd chimeras, and romantic dreams, with the plain material truths I have extracted, I lately perufed the firft volume of the Hiftory of North-America, from the difcovery thereof by Sylvanus Americanus, printed in New Jerfey, ■ Anno 1761, from, I believe, the Philadelphia monthly paper—and was not a little furprifed to find in fuch a ufeful collection, the conjectural, though perhaps well-intended accounts of the firft adventurers, and fettlers, in North-America, concerning the natives : and which are laid as the only bafis for inquifitive writers to trace their origin, inftead of later and more fubftantial obfervations. Though feveral of thofe early writers were un- V f doubtedly doubtedly fagacious, learned, and candid j yet under the circumftances in which they wrote, it was impoflible for them to convey to us any true knowledge of the Indians, more than what they gained by their fenfes, which muft be iuperficial, and liable to many errors. Their conjectural accounts ouoht to have been long fince examined, by fome of that learned body, or they ftiould not have given a fanction to them. However, they are lefs faulty than the Spanitti accounts. I prefume, enough hath been faid to point out the fimilartty between the rites and cuftoms of the native American Indians, and thofe of the Ifraelites.—And that the Indian fyftem is derived from the moral, ceremonial, and judicial laws of the Hebrews, though now but a faint copy of the divine original.—Their religious rites, martial cuftoms, drefs, mufic, dances, and domeftic forms of life, feem clearly to evince alfo, that they came to America in early times, before feds had fprung up among the Jews, which was foon after their prophets ceafed, and before arts and fciences had arrived to any perfection ; otherwife, it is likely they would have retained fome knowledge of them, at leaft where they firft fettled, it bein" in a favourable climate, and confequently, they were in a more compact "body, than on this northern part of the American continent. The South-American natives wanted nothing that could render life eafy and agreeable : and they had nothing fuperfluous, except gold and filver. When we confider the fimplicity of the people, and the fkill they had in collecting a prodigious quantity of treafures, it feems as if they gained that fkill from their countrymen, and the Tyrians; who in the reign of Solomon exceedingly enriched themfelves, in a few voyages. The conjecture that the aborigines wandered here from captivity, by the north eaft parts of Afia, over Kamfchatfl-dian : and too much indulgence is as bad ; for then they would think, what Was an effect of politic friendlhip, proceeded from a tribute of fear. We may obferve of them as of the fire, " it is fafe and ufeful, cherifhed at proper diftance ; but if too near us, it becomes dangerous, and will fcorch if not confume us." We are not acquainted with any favages of fo warlike a difpofition, as the Katahba and the Chikkafah. The fix united northern nations have been time immemorial engaged in a bitter war with the former, and the Katahba are now reduced to very few above one hundred fighting men—the fmall pox, and intemperate drinking, have contributed however more than their wars to their great decay. When South-Carolina, was in its infant ftate, they muttered fifteen hundred fighting men: and they always behaved as faithful and friendly to the Englifh as could be reafonably expected, from cunning, fufpicious, and free favages. About the year 1743, their nation confifted of almoft 400 warriors, of above twenty different dialects. I Ihall mention a few of the national names of thofe, who make up this mixed language ;—the Katahba, is the ftan-dard, or court-dialect — the Watares, who make up a large town ; Eeno\. v 3. Chardhy wah, now Chowan, Canggaree, Nachee, Tamafee, Coo/ah, Sec. Their country had an old wafte field of feven miles extent, and feveral others of fmal-ler dimenfions; which fhews that they were formerly a numerous people, to cultivate fo much land with their dull ftone-axes, before they had an opportunity of trading with the Englifh, or allowed others to incorporate with them. 11 ACCOUNT ACCOUNT OF THE CHEERAKE NATION, &c. E fhall now treat of the Cheerake nation, as the next neighbour to South-Carolina, Their national name is derived from Chee-ra, " fire," which is their reputed lower heaven, and hence they call their magi, Cheera-tahge, 11 men poflefled of the divine fire. The country lies in about 34 degrees north latitude, at the diftance of 340 computed miles to the north-weft of Charles-town,—140 miles weft-fouth-weft from the Katahba nation,—and almoft 200 miles to the north of the Mufkohge or Creek country. They are fettled, nearly in an eaft and weft courfe, about 140 miles in length from the lower towns where Fort-Prince-George ftands, to the late unfortunate Fort-Loudon. The natives make two divifions of their country, which they term Ayrate, and Ottare, fignifying w low," and " mountainous." The former divifion is on the head branches of the beautiful Savanah river, and the latter on thofe of the eafternmoft river of the great Miflifippi. Their towns are always clofe to fome river, or creek ; as there the land is commonly very level and fertile, on account of the frequent wafhings off the mountains, and the moifture it receives from the waters, that run through their fields. And fuch a fituation enables them to perform the ablutions, connected with their religious woifhip. The eaftern, or lower parts of this country, are fharp and cold to a Carolinian in winter, and yet agreeable : but thofe towns that lie among the Apalahche Apalahche mountains, are very pinching to fuch who are unaccuftomed to a favage life. The ice and fnow continue on the north-fide, till late in the fpring of the year : however, the natives are well provided for it, by their bathing and anointing themfelves. This regimen ihuts up the pores of the body, and by that means prevents too great a perfpiration •, and an accuf-tomed exercife of hunting, joined with the former, puts them far above their climate: they are almoft as impenetrable to cold, as a bar of fteel, and the fevereft cold is no detriment to their hunting. Formerly, the Cheerake were a very numerous and potent nation. Not' above forty years ago, they had 64 towns and villages, populous, and full of women and children. According to the computation of the moft intelligent old traders of that time, they amounted to upwards of fix-thoufand fighting men ; a prodigious number to have fo clofe on our fettlements, defended by blue-topped ledges of inaccefllble mountains: where, but three of them can make a fuccefsful campaign, even againft their own watchful red-colour enemies. But they were then fimple, and peaceable, to what they are now. As their weftern, or upper towns, which are fitnated among the Apalah-che-mountains, on the eaftern branches of the Miflifippi, were alway engaged in hot war with the more northern Indians; and the middle and lower towns in conftant hoftility with the Mufkohge, till reconciled by a governor of South-Carolina for the fake of trade,—feveral of their beft towns, on the fouthern branch of Savanah-river, are now forfaken and deftroyed : as Jfotatohe, Echia, Toogalo, Sec. and they are brought into a narrower compafs. At the conclufion of our laft war with them, the traders calculated the number of their warriors to confift of about two thoufand three-hundred, which is a great diminution for fo fhort a fpace of time: and if we may conjecture for futurity, from the circumftances already paft, there will be few of them alive, after the like revolution of time. Their towns are ftill fcattered wide of each other, becaufe the land will not admit any other fettlement: it is a rare thing to fee a level tract of four hundred acres. They are alfo ftrongly attached to rivers,—all retaining the opinion of the ancients, that rivers are neceflary to constitute a paradife. Nor is it only ornamental, but likewife beneficial to them, on account of purifying themfelves, and alfo for the fervices of common life,—fuch as fifhing, G g 2 fowling, fowling, and killing of deer, which come in the warm feafon, to eat the faltifli mofs and grafs, which grow on the rocks, and under the furface of the waters. Their rivers are generally very mallow, and pleafant to the eye ; for the land being high, the waters have a quick defcent they feldom overflow their banks, unlefs when a heavy rain falls on a deep fnow. —Then, it is frightful to fee the huge pieces of ice, mixed with a prodigious torrent of water, rolling down the high mountains, and over the deep craggy rocks, fo impetuous, that nothing can refill their force. Two old traders faw an inftance of this kind, which fwept away great plantations of oaks and pines, that had their foundation as in the center of the earth. —It overfet feveral of the higher rocks, where the huge rafts of trees and ice had flopped up the main channel, and forced itfelf acrofs through the fmaller hills. From the hiflorical defcriptions of the Alps, and a perfonal view of the Cheerake mountains—I conclude the Alps of Italy are much inferior to feveral of the Cheerake mountains, both in height and rockinefs : the laft are alfo of a prodigious extent, and frequently impaflable by an enemy. The Alkgeny, or " great blue ridge," commonly called the Apalakche-mountains, are here above a hundred miles broad and by the beft accounts we can get from the Miflifippi Indians, run along between Peru and Mexico, unlefs where the large rivers occafion a break. They ftretch alfo all the way from the weft of the northern great lakes, near Hudfon's Bay, and acrofs the Miflifippi, about 250 leagues above New-Orleans. In the lower and middle parts of this mountainous ragged country, the Indians have a convenient paffable path, by the foot of the mountains: but farther in, they are of fuch a prodigious height, that they are forced to wind from north to fouth, along the rivers and large creeks, to get a fafe paffage : and the paths are fo fleep in many places, that the horfes often pitch, and rear an end, to fcramble up. Several of the mountains are fome miles from bottom to top, according to the afcent of the paths: and there are other mountains I have feen from thefe, when out with the Indians in clear weather, that the eye can but faintly difcern, which therefore muft be at a furprifing diftance. Where the land is capable of cultivation, it would produce any thing fuitable to the climate. Hemp, and wine-grapes grow there to admiration : they they have plenty of the former, and a variety of the latter that grow fpontaneoufly. If thefe were properly cultivated, there mud be a good return. I have gathered good hops in the woods oppofite to Nuquofe, where our troops were repelled by the Cheerake, in the year 1760. There is not a more healthful region under the fun, than this country for the air is commonly open and clear, and plenty of wholefome and pleafant water. I know feveral bold rivers, that fill themfelves in running about thirty miles, counting by a direct courfe from their feveral different fountains, and which are almoft as tranfparent as glafs. The natives live commonly to a great age; which is not to be wondered at, when we confider the high fituation of their country,—the exercifes they purfue,—the rich-nefs of the foil that produces plenty for a needful fupport of life, without fatiguing, or over-heating the planters,—the advantages they receive from fuch excellent good water, as gufhes out of every hill; and the great additional help by a plain abftemious life, commonly eating and drinking, only according to the folicitations of nature. I have feen ftrangers however, full of admiration at beholding fo few old people in that country; and they have concluded from thence, and reported in the Englifh fettlements, that it was a fickly fhort-lived region: but we fhould confider, they are always involved in treacherous wars, and expofed to perpetual dangers, by which, infirm and declining people generally fall, and the manly old warrior will not fhrink. And yet many of the peaceable fellows, and women, efpecially in the central towns, fee the grey hairs of their children, long before they die; and in every Indian country, there are a great many old women on the frontiers, perhaps ten times the number of the men of the fame age and place—which plainly fhews the country to be healthy. Thofe reach to a great age, who live fecure by the fire-fide, but no climates or conftitutions can harden the human body, and make it bullet-proof. The Cheerake country abounds with the belt herbage, on the richer parts of the hills and mountains •, and a great variety of valuable herbs is promifcuoufly fcattered on the lower lands. It is remarkable, that none of our botanifts Ihould attempt making any experiments there, notwithstanding the place invited their attention, and the public had a right to expect fo generous an undertaking from feveral of them *, while at the fame time, they would be recovering, or renewing their health, at a far eafier, cheaper, and fafer rate, than coafling it to our northern colonies. £ On On the level parts of the water-fide, between the hills, there are plenty of reeds: and, formerly, fuch places abounded with great brakes of winter-canes. — The foliage of which is always green, and hearty food for horfes and cattle. The traders ufed to raife there ftocks of an hundred, and a hundred and fifty excellent horfes ; which are commonly of a good fize, well-made, hard-hoofed, handfome, ftrong and fit for the faddle or draught: but a perfon runs too great a rifk to buy any to take them out of the country, becaufe, every fpring-feafon moft of them make for their native range. Before the Indian trade was ruined by our left-handed policy, and the natives were corrupted by the liberality of our dim-fighted politicians, the Cheerake were frank, fincere, and induftrious. Their towns then, abounded with hogs, poultry, and every thing fufficient for the fupport of a reafonable life, which the traders purchafed at an eafy rate, to their mutual fatisfaction : and as they kept them bufily employed, and did not make themfelves too cheap, the Indians bore them good-will and re-fpedf—and fuch is the temper of all the red natives. I will not take upon me to afcertain the real difference between the value of the goods they annually purchafed of us, in former and later times-, but, allowing the confumption to be in favour of the laft, what is the gain of fuch an uncertain trifle, in comparifon of our charges and lofles by a mercilefs favage war? The orderly and honeft fyftem, if refumed, and wifely purfued, would reform the Indians, and regain their loft affections * but that of general licences to mean reprobate pedlars, by which they are inebriated, and cheated, is pregnant with complicated evils to the peace and welfare of our valuable fouthern colonies. As the Cheerake began to have goods at an under price, it tempted them to be both proud, and lazy. Their women and children are now far above taking the trouble to raife hogs for the ugly white people, as the beautiful red heroes proudly term them. If any do—they are forced to feed them in fmall penns, or inclofures, through all the crop-feafon, and chiefly on long purfly, and other wholfome weeds, that their rich fields abound with. But at the fall of the leaf, the woods are full of hiccory-nuts, acorns, chefnuts, and the like y which occafions the Indian bacon to be more ftreaked, firm, and better tafted, than any we meet with in 5 the the Englilh fettlements. Some of the natives are grown fond of horned cattle, both in the Cheerake and Mufkohge countries, but moft decline them, becaufe the fields are not regularly fenced. But almoft every one hath horfes, from two to a dozen; which makes a confiderable number, through their various nations. The Cheerake had a prodigious number of excellent horfes, at the beginning of their late war with us; bur pinching hunger forced them to eat the greateft part of them, in the time of that unfortunate event. But as all are now become very active and fociable, they will foon fupply themfelves with plenty of the beft fort, from our fettlements—they are fkilful jockies, and nice in their choice. From the head of the fouthern branch of Savanah-river, it does not exceed half a mile to a head fpring of the Miflifippi-water, that runs through the middle and upper parts of the Cheerake nation, about a north-weft courfe,—and joining other rivers, they empty themfelves into the great Miflifippi. The above fountain, is called " Herbert's fpring * :" and it was natural for ftrangers to drink thereof, to quench thirft, gratify their cu-riofity, and have it to fay they had drank of the French waters. Some of our people, who went only with the view of flaying a fhort time, but by fome allurement or other, exceeded the time appointed, at their return, reported either through merriment or fuperltition, that the fpring had fuch a natural bewitching quality, that whofoever drank of it, could not poflibly quit the nation, during the tedious fpace of feven years. All the debauchees readily fell in with this fuperftitious notion, as an excufe for their bad merhod of living, when they had no proper call to flay in that country j and in procefs of time, it became as received a truth, as any ever believed to have been fpoken by the delphic oracle. One curfed, becaufe its enchantment had marred his good fortune; another condemned his weaknefs for drinking down witchcraft, againft his own fecret fufpicions; one fwore he would never tafte again fuch known dangerous poifon, even though he fhould be forced to go down to the Miflifippi for water; and another comforted himfelf, that fo many years out of the feven, were already palled, and wiflied that if ever he tafted it again, though under the greateft neceflity, he might be confined to the ftygian waters. Thole who had their minds more inlarged, diverted themfelves much at their colt, * So named from an early commiflioncr of Indian affairs. for for it was a noted favourite place, on account of the name it went by; and being a well-fituated and good fpring, there all travellers commonly drank a bottle of choice : But now, moft of the packhorfe-mcn, though they be dry, and alio matchlefs fons of Bacchus, on the moft prefiing invitations to drink there, would fwear to forfeit facred liquor the better part of their lives, rather than bafcly renew, or confirm the lofs of their liberty, ~ which that execrable fountain occafions. About the year 1738, the Cheerake received a moft depopulating fhock, by the fmall pox, which reduced them almoft one half, in about a year's time: it was conveyed into Charles-town by the Guinea-men, and foon after among them, by the infected goods. At firft it made flow advances, and as it was a foreign, and to them a ftrange difeafe, they were fo deficient in proper fkill, that they alternately applied a regimen of hot and cold things, to thofe who were infected. The old magi and religious phyficians who were confulted on fo alarming a crifis, reported the ficknefs had been fent among them, on account of the adulterous intercourfes of their young married people, who the paft year, had in a moft notorious manner, violated their ancient laws of marriage in every thicket, and broke down and polluted many of the honeft neighbours bean-plots, by their heinous crimes, which would coft a great deal of trouble to purify again. To thofe flagitious crimes they afcribed the prefent difeafe, as a neceflary effect of the divine anger; and indeed the religious men chanced to fuffer the moft in their fmall fields, as being contiguous to the town-houfe, where they ufually met at night to dance, when their corn was out of the ftalks; upon this pique, they fhewed their prieft-craft. However, it was thought needful on this occafion, to endeavour to put a flop to the progrefs of fuch a dangerous difeafe : and as it was believed to be brought on them by their unlawful copulation in the night dews, it was thought moft practicable to try to effect the cure, under the fame cool clement. Immediately, they ordered the reputed finners to lie out of doors, day and night, with their breaft frequently open to the night dev/s, to cool the fever: they were likewife afraid, that the difeafed would otherwife pollute the houfe, and by that means, procure all their deaths. Inltead of applying warm remedies, they at laft in every vifit poured cold water on their naked breafts, fung their religious myftical fong, To To, Sec. with a doleful tune, and and fhaked a callabafh with the pebble-ftones, over the Tick, ufing a •great many frantic geftures, by way of incantantion. From the reputed caufe of the difeafe, we may rationally conclude their phyfical treatment of it, to be of a true old Jewifli defcent-, for as the Ifraelites invoked the deity, or afked a blciTing on every thing they undertook, fo all the Indian Americans feek for it, according on the remaining faint glimpfc of their tradition. When they found their theological regimen had not the defired effect, but that the infection gained upon them, they held a fecond confultation, and deemed it the beft method to fweat their patients, and plunge them into the river,—which was accordingly done. Their rivers being very cold in fummer, by reafon of the numberlefs fprings, which pour from the hills and mountains—and the pores of their bodies being open to receive the cold, it ruining in through the whole frame, they immediately expired : upon which, all the magi and prophetic tribe broke their old confecrated phyfic-pots, and threw away all the other pretended holy things they had for phyfical ufe, imagining they had loft their divine power by being polluted ; and fhared the common fate of their country. A great many killed themfelves ; for being naturally proud, they are always peeping into their looking glaffes, and are never genteelly dreft, according to their mode, without carrying one hung over their fhoulders: by which means, feeing themfelves disfigured, without hope of regaining their former beauty, fome fhot themfelves, others cut their throats, fome ftabbed themfelve* with knives, and others with fharp-pointed canes; many threw themfelves with Allien mad-nefs into the fire, and there fiowly expired, as if they had been utterly diverted of the native power of feeling pain. I remember, in Tymafe, one of their towns, about ten miles above the prefent Fort Prince-George, a great head-warrior, who murdered a white man thirty miles below Cheeozvbee, as was proved by the branded deer-fkins he produced afterward — when he faw himfelf disfigured by the imall pox, he chofe to die, that he might end as he imagined his fhame. When his relations knew his defperatc defign, they narrowly watched him, and took away every ftiarp inftrument from him. When he found he was balked of his intention, he fretted and faid the worft things their language h h could could exprefs, and mewed all the fymptoms of adefperate perfon enraged at his difappointment, and forced to live and fee his ignominy j he then darted himfelf againft the wall, with alf his remaining vigour, — his ftrength being expended by the force of his friends oppofition, he fell fullenly on the bed, as if by thofe violent ftruggles he was overcome, and wanted to repofe himfelf. His relations through tendernefs, left him to his reft—but as foon as they went away, he raifed himfelf, and after a. tedious fearch, finding nothing but a thick and round hoe-helve, he took the fatal inftrument, and having fixed one end of it in the ground, he repeatedly threw himfelf on it, till he forced it down his throat, when he immediately expired. — He was huried in filence, without the leaft mourning. Although the Cheerake fhewed fuch little fkill in curing the fmall pox, yet ihey, as well as all other Indian nations, have a great knowledge of fpe-cific virtues in fimples ; applying herbs and plants, on the moft dangerous occafions, and feldom if ever, fail to effect, a thorough cure, from the natural bufh. In the order of nature, every country and climate is-bleft with fpecific remedies for the maladies that are connatural to it-r-Na-turalifts tell us they have obferved, that when the wild goat's fight begins to decay, he rubs his head againft a thorn, and by fome effluvia, or virtue in the vegetable, the fight is renewed. Thus the fnake recovers after biting any creature, by his knowledge of the proper antidote •,- and many of our arts and forms of living, are imitated by lower ranks of the animal creation : the Indians, inftigated by nature, and quickened by experience, have difcovered the peculiar properties of vegetables,. as far as needful in their fixation of life. For my own part, I would prefer an old Indian before any chirurgeon whatfoever, in curing green wounds by bullets, arrows, &c. both for the certainty, eafe, and fpeedinefs of cure; for if thofe parts of the body are not hurt, which are effential to the pre-fervation of life, they cure the wounded in a trice. They bring the patient into a good temperament of body, by a decoction of proper herbs • and roots, and always enjoin a moft abftemious life: they forbid them women, fait, and every kind of ftenVmeat, applying mountain all urn, as the chief ingredient. In the year 1749, I came'down, by the invitation of the governor of South-Carolina, to Charles-Town, with a body of our friendly Chikkafah Indians: one of his majefty's furgeons, that very day we,arrived, cutoff the wounded arm of a poor man. On my relating it to the Indians, they were fhocked at the information, and faid, " The man's poverty mould have induced him to exert the common fkill of mankind, in fo trifling an hurt -, efpecially, as fuch a butchery would not, only disfigure, but difable the poor man the red of his life-, that there would have been more humanity in cutting off the head, than in fuch a barbarous amputation, becaufe it is much better for men to die once, than to be always dying, for when the hand is loft, how can the poor man feed himfelf by his daily labour — By the fame rule of phyfic, had he been wounded in his head, our furgeons fhould have cut that off, for being unfortunate." I told the benevolent old warriors, that the wifdom of our laws had exempted the head from fuch fevere treatment, by not fettling a reward for the fevering it, but only fo much for every joint of the branches of the body, which might be well enough (pared, without the life; and that this medical treatment was a ftrong certificate to recommend the poor man to genteel lodgings, where numbers belonging to our great canoes, were provided for during life. They were of opinion however, that fuch brave hardy fellows would rather be deemed men, and work for their bread, than be laid afide, not only as ufelefs animals, but as burdens to the reft of fociety. I do not remember to have feen or heard of an Indian dying by the bite of a fnake, when out at war, or a hunting although they are then often bitten by the moft dangerous fnakes—every one carries in his fhot-pouch, a piece of the beft fnake-root, fuch as the Seneeka, or fern-fnake-root,— or the wild hore-hound, wild plantain, St. Andrew's crofs, and a variety of other herbs and roots, which are plenty, and well known to thofe who range the American woods, and are expofed to fuch dangers, and will effect a thorough and fpcedy cure if timely applied. When an Indian perceives he is ftrtrck by a fnake, he immediately chews fome of the root, and having fwallowed a fufTicient quantity of it, he At plies fome to the wound ; which he repeats as occafion requires, and i.i proportion to the poifon the fnake ha's infufed into the wound,. For a fhort fpace of time, there is a terrible conflict through all the body, by the jarring qualities of II ha < -d* the burning poifon, and the ftrong antidote4 but the poifon is foon repelkcl through the lame channels it entered, and the patient is cured.. The Cheerake mountains look very formidable to a {banger, when he is. among their valleys, incircled with their prodigious, proud, contending, tops; they appear as a great mafs of black and blue clouds, interfperfed with fome rays of light. But they produce, or contain every thing for health, and wealth, and if cultivated by the rules of art, would furnifh perhaps,, as valuable medicines as the eaftern countries; and as great quantities of, gold and filver, as Peru and Mexico, in proportion to their fituation with the equator. On the tops of feveral of thofe mountains, I have obferved tufts of grafs deeply tinctured by the mineral exhalations from the earth and on the iides, they gliftcred from the fame caufe. If fkilful alchymifts made experiments on thefe mountains, they could foon fatisfy themfelves, as to the value of their contents, and probably would find their account in it. Within twenty miles of the late Fort-Loudon, there is great plenty of whet-ftones for razors, of red, white, and black colours. The filver mines-are fo rich, that by digging about ten yards deep, fome defperate vagrants, found at fundry times, fo much rich ore, as to enable them to counterfeit dollars, to a great amount; a horfe load of which was detected in pafling for the pure hale of negroes, at Augufta, which ftands on the fouth-fide of the meandering beautiful Savanah river, half way from the Cheerake country, to Savanah, the capital of Georgia. The load-ftone is likewife found there, but they have no fkill in fearching for it, only on the furface ; a great deal of the magnetic power is loft, as being expofed. to the various changes of the weather, and frequent firing of the woods. I was told by a trader, who lives in the upper parts of the Cheerake country, which is furrounded on every fide, by prodigious piles of mountains called Cheeowhee, that within about a mile of the town of that name, there is a hill with a great plenty of load-ftones—the truth of this any gentleman of curiofity may foon afcertain, as it lies on the northern path that leads from South-Carolina, to the remains of Fort-Loudon : and while he is in fearch of this, he may at the fame time make a. great acqueft of riches, for the load-ftone is known to accompany rich metals. I was once near that load-ftonc hill;, hill-, but the heavy rains which at that time fell on the deep fnow, prevented the gratifying my curiofity, as the boggy deep creek was thereby rendered impaffable. In this rocky country, are found a great many beautiful, clear, chry-ftaline ftones, formed by nature into feveral angles, which commonly meet in one point: feveral of them are tranfparent, like a coarfe diamond— others refemble the onyx, being engendered of black and thick humours, as we fee water that is tinctured with ink, (till keeping its fur-face clear. I found one (tone like a ruby, as big as the top of a man's thumb, with a beautiful dark fhade in the middle of it. Many ftones of various colours, and beautiful luftre, may be collected on the tops of thofe hills and mountains, which if fkilfully managed, would be very valuable, for fome of them are clear, and very hard. From which, we may rationally conjecture that a quantity of fubterranean treafures is contained there; the Spaniards generally found out their fouthern mines,, by fuch fuperfkial indications. And it would be an ufeful, and profitable fervice for fkilful artifts to engage in, as the prefent trading white favages are utterly ignorant of it. Manifold curious works of the wife author of nature, are bountifully difperfed through the whole of the country, obvious to every curious eye. Among the mountains, are many labyrinths, and fome of a great length, with many branches, and various windings; likewife different forts of mineral waters, the qualities of which are unknown to the natives, ashy their temperate way of living, and the healthinefs of their country,, they have no occafion to make experiments in them. Between the heads of the northern branch of the lower Cheerake river, and the heads of that of Tuckafehchee, winding round in a long courfe by the late Fort-Loudon, and afterwards into the Miflifippi, there is, both in the nature and circumftances, a great phenomenon — Between two high mountains, nearly covered with old mofTy rocks, lofty cedars, and pines, in the valleys of which the beams of the fun reflect a powerful heat, there are, as the natives affirm,, forne bright old inhabitants, or rattle fnakes, of a more enormous fize than is mentioned in hiftory. They are fo large and unwieldy, that they take a circle, almoft as wide as their length, to crawl round in their fhorteft orbit: but bountiful nature compenfates the heavy motion of their bodies, for 1 , as as they fay, no living creature moves within the reach of their fight, but they can draw it to them ; which is agreeable to what we obferve, through the whole fyftem of animated beings. Nature endues them with proper capacities to fuftain life-,—as they cannot fupport themfelves, by their fpeed, or cunning to fpring from an ambufcade, it is needful they fhould have the bewitching craft of their eyes and forked tongues. The defcription the Indians give us of their colour, is as various as what we are told of the camelion, that feems to the fpectator to change its colour, by every different pofition he may view it in ; which proceeds from the piercing rays of light that blaze from their foreheads, fo as to dazzle the eyes, from whatever quarter they poft themfelves — for in each of their heads, there is a large carbuncle, which not only repels, but they affirm, fullies the meridian beams of the fun. They reckon it fo dangerous to difturb thofe creatures, that no temptation can induce them to betray their fecret recefs to the prophane. They call them and all of the rattle-fnake kind, kings, or chieftains of the fnakes; and they allow one fuch to every different fpecies of the brute creation. An old trader of Cheeowhee told me, that for the reward of two pieces of ftroud-cioth, he engaged a couple of young warriors to fhew him the place of their refort.; but the head-men would not by any means allow it, on account of a fuperftitious tradition—for they fancy the killing of them would expofe them to the danger of being bit by the other inferior fpecies of that ferpentine tribe, who love their chieftains, and know by inftin6l thofe who malicioufly killed them, us they fi&hr. only in their own defence, and that of their young ones, never biting thofe who do not difturb them. Although they efteem thofe rattle fnakes as chieftains of that fpecies, yet they do not deify them, as the Egyptians did all the ferpentine kind, and likewife Ibis, that preyed upon them; however, it feems to have fprung from the fame origin, for I once law the Chikkafah Archi-magus to chew fome fnake-root, blow it on his hands, and then take up a rattle fnake wiihout damage — foon afterwards •he laid it down carefully, in a hollow tree, left 1 fhould have killed it. Once on the Chikkafah trading war-path, a little above the country of the Mulkohge, as I was returning to camp from hunting, 1 found in a large /:ane fwamp, a fellow-traveller, an old Indian trader, inebriated and naked, except his Indian breeches and maccafeenes -, in that habit he fat, a -holding holding a great rattle-fnake round the neck, with his left hand be-fmeared with proper roots, and with the other, applying the roots to the teeth, in order to repel the poifon, before he drew them out; which having effected, he laid it down tenderly at a diftance. I then killed it, to his great diflike, as he was afraid it would occafion misfortunes to himfelf and me. I told him, as he had taken away its teeth, common pity fhould induce one to put it out of mifery, and that a charitable action could never bring ill on any one; but his education prevented his fears from fub-tiding. On a Chriftmas-day, at the trading houfe of that harmlefs, brave, but unfortunate man, I took the foot of a guinea-deer out of his (hot-pouch—and another from my own partner, which they had very fafely fewed in the corner of each of their otter-fkin-pouches, to enable them, according to the Indian creed, to kill deer, bear, buffaloe, beaver, and other wild beads, in plenty: but they were fo infatuated with the Indian fuper-ftitious belief of the power of that charm, that all endeavours of reconciling them to reafon were ineffectual: I therefore returned them, for as-they were Nimrods, or hunters of men, as well as of wild beafts, I imagined, I fhould be anfwerable to myfelf for every accident-that might befaf them, by depriving them of what they depended upon as their chief good, in that wild fphere of life. .No wonder that the long-defolate favages of. the far extending defarts of America, fhould entertain the former fuperftitious notions of ill luck by that, and good fortune by this; as thofe of an early chriftian education, are fo foon impreft with the like opinions. The latter was killed on the old Chikkafah, or American-Flanders path, in company with another expert brave man, in the year 1745, by twenty Choktah lavages, fet on by the chriftian French of Tumblkpe garrifon; in confequence of which, I ftaid by myfelf the following fummer-feafon, in the Chikkafah country, and when the reft of the trading people and all our horfes were orjne down to the Englifh fettlements, I perfuaded the Choktah to take up the bloody tomahawk againft thofe perfidious French, in revenge of a long train of crying blood : and had it not been for the felf-interefteti policy of a certain governor, thofe numerous favages, with the war-like Chikkafah, would have deftroyed the Miflifippi fettlements, root and branch, except thofe who kept themfelves clofely confined in garrifon. When I treat of the Choktah country, I fhall more particularly relate that very material affair. The fuperior policy of the French fo highly intoxicated the light head: •of the Cheerake, that they were plodding mifchief for twenty years before we forced them to commit hoftilities. The illuftration of this may divert the reader, and fhew our fouthern colonies what they may ftill expect from the mafterly abilities of the French Louifianians, whenever they can make it fuit their intereft to exert their talents among the Indian nations, while our watch-men are only employed in treating on paper, in our far.diftant capital feats of government. In the year 1736, the French fent into South-Carolina, one Priber, a gentleman of a curious and fpeculative temper. lie was to tranfmit them a full account of that country, and proceed to the Cheerake nation, in order to feduce them from the Britifh to the French intereft. Fie went, and though he was adorned with every qualification that conftitutes the gentleman, foon after he arrived at the upper towns of this mountainous country, he exchanged his clothes and every thing he brought with him, and by that means, made friends with the head warriors of great Tel-liko, which ftood on a branch of the Mifiifippi. More effectually to anfwer the defign of his commiffion, he ate, drank, flept, danced, dreffed, and painted himfelf, with the Indians, fo that it was not eafy to diftinguifh. him from the natives,—he married alfo with them, and being endued with a ftrong underftanding and retentive memory, he foon learned their dialect, and by gradual advances, impreffed them with a very ill opinion of the Englifh, reprefenting them as a fraudulent, avaritious, and encroaching people : he at the fame time, inflated the artlefs favages, with a prodigious high opinion of their own importance in the American fcale of power, on account of the fituation of their country, their martial difpofition, and the great number of their warriors, which would baffle all the efforts of the ambitious, and ill-defigning Britifh colonifts. Having thus infected them by his fmooth deluding art, he eafily formed them into a nominal republican government — crowned their old Archi-magus, emperor, after a pleafing new favage form, and invented a variety of high-founding titles for all the members of his imperial majefty's red court, and the great officers of ftate; which the emperor conferred upon them, in a manner according to their merit. He himfelf received the honourable title of his imperial majefty's principal fecretary of ftate, and as fuch he fubferibed himfelf, in all the letters he wrote to our government, and lived in open defiance fiance of them. This feemed to be of fo dangerous a tendency, as to induce South-Carolina to fend up a commiffioner, Col. F—«x, to demand him as an' enemy to the public repofe—who took him into cuftody, in the great fquare of their ftate-houfe: when he had almoft concluded his oration on the occafion, one of the head warriors rofe up, and bade him forbear, as the man he entended to enflave, was made a great beloved man, and become one of their own people. Though it was reckoned, our agent's ftrength was far greater in his arms than his head, he readily de-fifted—for as it is too hard to ftruggle with the pope in Rome, a ftranger could not mifs to find it equally difficult to enter abruptly into a new emperor's court, and there feize his prime minifter, by a foreign authority *, efpecially when-he could not fupport any charge of guilt againft him. The warrior told him, that the red people well knew the honefty of the fecreta-ry'sJieart would never allow him to tell a lie; and the fecretary urged that he was a foreigner, without owing any allegiance to Great Britain,—that he only travelled through fome places of their country, in a peaceable manner, paying for every thing he had of them that in compliance with the requeft of the kindly French, as well as from his own tender feelings for the poverty and in fecure ftate of the Cheerake, he came a great way, and lived among them as a brother, only to preferve their liberties, by opening a water communication between them and New Orleans; that the diftance of the two places from each other, proved his motive to be the love of doing good, efpecially as he was to go there, and bring up a fufficient number of Frenchmen of proper fkill to inftruct them in the art of making gunpowder, the materials of which, he affirmed their lands abounded with.— Fie concluded his artful fpeech, by urging that the tyrannical dcCv^n of the F.nglifh commiflioner toward him, appeared plainly to be levelled againft them, becaufe, as he was not accufed of .having done any ill to the Englifh, before he came to the Cheerake, his crime muft confift in loving the Cheerake.—And as that was reckoned fo heinous a tranfgreflion in the eye of the Englifh, as to fend one of their angry beloved men to enflave him, it confirmed all thofe honeft fpeeches he had often fpoken to the prefent great war-chieftains, old beloved men, and warriors of each clafs. '£ An old war-leader repeated to the commiffioner, the effential part of the fpeech, and added more of his own fimilar thereto. He bade him to in- I i form form his fuperiors, that the Cheerake were as defirous as the Englifh ta continue a friendly union with each other, as " freemen and equals." That they hoped to receive no farther uncalinefs from them, for confulcing their own interefts, as their reafon dictated.—And they earneftly requested them to fend no more of thofe bad papers to their country, on any account; nor to reckon them fo bafe, as to allow any of their honeft friends to be taken out of their arms, and carried into flavery. The Englifh beloved man had the honour of receiving his leave of abience, and a fufficient pafs-port of fafe conduct, from the imperial red court, by a verbal order of the fecretary of ftate,—who was fo polite as to wifti him well home, and ordered a convoy of his own life-guards, who conducted him a confider-ablc way, and he got home in fafety. From the above, it is evident, that the monopolizing fpirit of the French had planned their dangerous lines of circumvallation, refpecting our envied colonies, as early as the before-mentioned period. Their choice of the man, befpeaks alfo their judgment.—Though the philofophic fecretary was an utter ftranger to the wild and mountainous Cheerake country, as well as to their language, yet his fagacity readily directed him to chufe a proper place, and an old favourite religious man, for the new red empire t which he formed by flow, but fure degrees, to the great danger of our fouthern colonies. But the empire received a very great fhock, in an accident that befel the fecretary, when it was on the point of rifmg into a far greater ftate of puiffance, by the acquifition of the Mufkohge, Choktah, and the weftern Miflifippi Indians. In the fifth year of that red imperial aera, he fet off for Mobille, accompanied by a few Cheerake. He proceeded by land, as far as a navigable part of the weftern great river of the Mufkohge there he went into, a canoe prepared for the joyful occafion, and proceeded within a day's journey of Alebahma garrifon — conjecturing the adjacent towns were under the influence of the French, he landed at Tallapoofe town, and lodged there all night. The traders of the neighbouring towns foon went there, convinced the inhabitants of the dangerous tendency of his unwearied labours among the Cheerake, and of his prefent journey, and then tool^liim into cuftody, with a large bundle of manufcripts, and fent him down to Frederica in Georgia-, the governor committed him to a place of confinement, though not with common felons, as he was a foreigner, and was faid to have held a place of confiderable rank in the the army with great honour. Soon after, the magazine took fire, which was not far from where he was confined, and though the centinels bade him make off to a place of fafety, as all the people were running to avoid danger from the explofion of the powder and fhells, yet he fquatted on his belly upon the floor, and continued in that pofition, without the leaft hurt: feveral blamed his rafhnefs, but he told them, that experience had convinced him, it was the moft probable means to avoid imminent danger. This incident difplayed the philofopher and foldier, and after bearing his misfortunes a confiderable time with great conftancy, happily for us, he died in confinement,—though he deferved a much better fate. In the firft year of his fecretarylhip I maintained a correfpond-ence with him ; but the Indians becoming very inquifitive to know the contents of our marked large papers, and he fufpecting his memory might fail him in telling thofe cunning fifters of truth, a plaufible flory, and of being able to repeat it often to them, without any variation,— he took the fhorteit and fafeft method, by telling them that, in the very fame manner as he was their great fecretary, I was the devil's clerk, or an accurfed one who marked on paper the bad fpeech of the evil ones of darknefs. Accordingly, they forbad him writing any more to fuch an accurfed one, or receiving any of his evil-marked papers, and our corre-fpondence ceafed. As he was learned, and poffefled of a very fagacious penetrating judgment, and had every qualification that was requifite for his bold and difficult enterprize, it is not to be doubted, that as he wrote a Cheerake dictionary, deiigned to be publifhed at Paris, he likewife fet down a great deal that would have been very acceptable to the curious, and ferviceable to the reprefen tatives of South-Carolina and Georgia; which may be readily found in Frederica, if the manufcripts have had the good fortune to efcape the defpoiling hands of military power. When the weftern Cheerake towns loft the chief fupport of their imperial court, they artfully agreed to inform the Englifh traders, that each of them had opened their eyes, and rejected the French plan as a wild fcheme, inconfiftent with their interefts except great Telliko, the metropolis of their late empire, which they faid was firmly refolved to adhere to the French propofals, as the fureft means of promoting their welfare and happinefs. Though the inhabitants of this town were only dupes to the reft, yet for I i 2 the the fake of the imagined general good of the country, their conftancy cnabled them to ufe that difguife a long time, in contempt of the Englifh,, till habit changed into a real hatred of the object, what before was only fictitious. They correfponded >vith the French in the name of thofe feven, towns, which are the moft warlike part of the nation : and they were fo-ftrongly prepoffeffed with the notions their beloved fecretary had infufed into their heads, in that early weak ftate of LouiGana, that they had rc-folved to remove, and fettle fo low down their river, as the French boats could readily bring them a fupply. But the hot war they fell into with the northern Indians, made them poll pone the execution of that favourite defign and the fettling of Fort Loudon, quieted them a little, as they expected to get prefents, and fpirituous liquors there, according to the manner of the French promifes, of which they had great plenty. The French, to draw off the weftern towns, had given them repeated afiurances of fettling a ftrong garrifon on the north fide of their river-,, as high up as their large pettiaugres could be brought with fafety, where there was a large tract of rich lands abounding with game and fowl, and the river with ii(h.—They at the fame time pro mi fed to procure a firm peace between the Cheerake and all the Indian nations depending on the French •, and to befiow on them powder, bullets, flints, knives, fciiTars, combs, fhirts, looking glaffes, and red paint,—befide favourite trifles to the fair fex: in the fame brotherly manner the Alebahma French extended their kindly hands to their Mufkohge brethren. By their afliduous endeavours, that artful plan was well fupported, and though the fituation of our affairs, in the remote, and leading Cheerake towns, had been in a ticklifh fituation, from the time their project of an empire was formed %. and though feveral other towns became uneafy and difcontented on fun-dry pretexts, for the fpace of two years before the unlucky occafion of the fucceeding war happened—yet his excellency our governor neglected the proper meafures to reconcile the wavering favages, till the gentleman who was appointed to fucceed him, had juft reached the American coaft : then, indeed, he fet off, with a confiderable number of gentlemen, in flourifiiing parade, and went as far as Ninety-fix * fettlement from whence, as moft probably he expected, he was fortunately recalled, and joyfully fuperfeded. I faw him on his way up, and plainly obferved he was unprovided for the journey ■, it muft unavoidably have proved abortive * So called from its diftance of miles from the Cheerake, before before he could have proceeded through the Cheerake country,—gratifying the inquifitive difpofition of the people, as he went, and quieting the jealous minds of the inhabitants of thofe towns, who are fettled among the Apa-lahche mountains, and thofe feven towns, in particular, that lie beyond them. He neither fent before, nor carried with him, any prefents wherewith to foothe the natives; and his kind promifes, and fmooth fpeeches, would have weighed exceedingly light in the Indian fcale. Having fliewn the bad ftate of our affairs among the remoteft parts of the Cheerake country, and the caufes.—I fhall now relate their plea, for commencing war againft the Britifli colonies and the great danger we were expofed to by the inceffant intrigues of the half-favage French garrifons, in thofe hot times, when all our northern barriers were fo prodigioufly harraffed. Several companies of the Cheerake, who joined our forces under General Stanwix at the unfortunate Ohio, affirmed that their alienation from us, was—becaufe they were confined to our martial arrangement, by Unjuft fufpicion of them—were very much contemned,—and half ftarved at the main camp : their hearts told them therefore to return home, as freemen and injured allies, though without a fupply of provifions. This they did, and pinching hunger forced them to take as much as barely fupported nature, when returning to their own country. In their journey, the German inhabitants, without any provocation, killed in cool blood about forty of their warriors, in different places—though each party was under the command of a Britifli fubject. They fcalped all, and butchered feveral, after a moft mocking manner, in imitation of the barbarous war-cuftom of the favages ; fome who efcaped the carnage, returned at night, to fee their kindred and war-companions, and reported their fate. Among thofe who were thus treated, fome were leading men, which had a dangerous tendency to difturb the public quiet. We were repeatedly informed, by public accounts, that thofe murderers were fo audacious as to impofe the fcalps on the government for thofe of French Indians; and that they ac- -tually obtained the premium allowed at that time by law in fuch a cafe. Although the vindictive difpofition of Indians in general, impetuoufly forces them on in queft of equal revenge for blood, without the leaft thought of confequences ; yet as a mifunderftanding had fubfiftcd fome time, between feveral diftant towns, and thofe who chanced to lofe their people in Virginia, the chiefs of thofe families being afraid of a civil war, in cafe of a rupture with us, dilTuaded the furious young warriors from commencing hoftilities againft: us, till they had demanded fatisfaclion, agreeable to the treaty of friendlhip between them and our colonies; which if denied, they would fully take of their own accord, as became a .free, warlike, and injured people. In this ftate, the affair lay, for the beft part of a year, without our ufing any proper conciliating meafures, to prevent the threatening impending ftorm from deftroying us: during that interval, they earneftly applied to Virginia for fatisfaftion, without receiving any, in like manner to North-Carolina ; and afterwards to South-Carolina, with the fame bad fuccefs. And there was another incident at Fort Prince-George, which fet fire to the fuel, and kindled it into a raging flame : three light-headed, diforderly young officers of that garrifon, forcibly violated fome of their wives, and in the moft fhamelefs manner, at their own houfes, while the hufbands were making their winter hunt in the woods—and which infamous conduct they madly repeated, but a few months before the commencement of the war: in other refpects, through a haughty overbearing fpirit, they took pleafure in infulting and abufing the natives, when they paid a friendly vifit to the garrifon. No wonder that fuch a behaviour, caufed their revengeful tempers to burft forth into action. When the Indians find no redrefs of grievances, they never fail to redrefs themfelves, either fooner or later. But when they begin, they do not know where to end. Their thirft for the blood of their reputed enemies, is not to be quenched with a few drops.—The more they drink, the more it inflames their thirft. When they dip their finger in human blood, they are reftlefs till they plunge themfelves in it. Contrary to the wife conduct of the French garrifons in fecuring the affection of the natives where they are fettled—our fons of Mars imbittered the hearts of thofe Cheerake, that lie next to South-Carolina and Georgia colonies, againft us, with the mid fettlements and the weftern towns on the ftreams of the Miflifippi: who were fo incenfed as continually to upbraid the traders with our unkind treatment of their people in the camp at Mo-nongahela,—and for our having committed fuch hoftilities againft our good friends, who were peaceably returning home through our fettlements, and often under pinching wants. The lying over their dead, and the wailing of the women in their various towns, and tribes, for their deceafed relations, at the dawn of day, and in the dufk of the evening, proved another ftrong provocative to them to retaliate blood for blood. The Mufkohge alfo alfo at that time having a friendly intercourfe with the Cheerake, through the channel of the governor of South-Carolina, were, at the in fiance of the watchful French, often ridiculing them for their cowardice in not revenging the crying blood of their beloved kinfmen and warriors. At the lame time, they promifed to affift them againft us, and in the name of the Alebahma French, affured them of a fupply of ammunition, to enable them to avenge their injuries, and maintain their lives and liberties againft the mifchievous and bloody Englifh colonids-, who, they faid, were naturally in a bitter ftate of war againft all the red people, and ftudied only how to fteal their lands, on a quite oppofite principle to the open fteady conduct: of the generous French, who afiilt* their poor red brothers, a great way from their own fettlements, where they can have no view, but that of doing good. Notwithstanding the repeated provocations we had given to the Cheerake,—and the artful infinuations of the French, inculcated with proper addrefs; yet their old chiefs not wholly depending on the finccrity of their fmooth tongues and painted faces, nor on the affiftance, or even neutrality of the remote northern towns of their own country, on mature deliberation, concluded that, as all hopes of a friendly redrefs for th^ blood of their relations now depended on their own hands, they ought to take revenge in that equal and juft manner, which became good warriors. They accordingly fent out a large company of warriors, againft thofe Germans, (or Tied-arfe people, as they term them) to bring in an equal number of their fcalps, to thofe of their own murdered relations. — Or if they found their fafety did not permit, they were to proceed as near to that fet dement, as they conveniently could, where having taken fufficient fatisfaction, they were to bury the bloody tomohawk they took with them. They fet off, hut advancing pretty far into the high fettlements of North-Carolina, the ambitious young leaders feparated into fmall companies, and killed as many of our people, as unfortunately fell into their power, contrary to the wife orders of their feniors, and the number far exceeded that of their own (lain. Soon after they returned home, they killed a reprobate old trader ; and two foldiers alfo were cut off near Fort Loudon. For thefe acts of hoftility, the government of South-Carolina demanded fatisfaction, without receiving any j the hearts of their young warriors were fo exceedingly enraged, as to render their ears quite deaf to any remonftrance of their feniors, refpecting an amicable accommodation t for as they expected to be expofed to very little danger, on our remote, difperfed, and 8 very very extenfive barrier fettlements, nothing but war-fongs and war-dances could pleafe them, during this flattering period of becoming great warriors, " by killing fwarms of white dung-hill fowls, iq the corn-fields, and aflcep," according to their war-phrafe. Previous to this alarming crifis, while the Indians were applying to our colonies for that fatisfaction, which our laws could not allow them, without a large contribution of white fcalps, from Tyburn, with one living criminal to fufler death before their eyes, — his excellency William Henry Lyttleton, governor of South-Carolina, itrenuoufly exerted himfelf in providing for the fafety of the colony ; regardlefs of fatigue, he vifited its extenfive barriers, by land and water, to have them put in as refpectable a condition, as circumftances could admit, before the threatening ftorm broke out: and he ordered the militia of the colony, under a large penalty, to be trained to arms, by an adjutant general, (the very worthy Col. G. P.) who faw thofe manly laws of defence duly executed. We had great pleafure to fee his excellency on his fummer's journey, enter the old famous New-Windfar garrifon, like a private gentleman, without the leaft parade ; and he proceeded in his circular courfe, in the fame retired eafy manner, without incommoding any of the inhabitants. He fully teftified, his fole aim was the fecuriry and welfare of the valuable country over which he prefided, without imitating the mean felf-interefted artifice of any predeceflbr. At the capital feat of government, he bufily employed himfelf in extending, and protecting trade, the vital part of a maritime colony ; in redreffing old neglected grievances, of various kinds; in puniihing corruption wherefo-ever it was found, beginning at the head, and proceeding equally to the feer •, and in protecting virtue, not by the former cobweb-laws, but thofe of old Britifli extraction. In fo laudable a manner, did that public-fpirited governor exert his powers, in his own proper fphere of action: but on an object much below it, he failed, by not knowing aright the temper and cuftoms of the favages. The war being commenced on both fides, by the aforefcud complicated caufes, it continued for fome time a partial one : and according to the well-known temper of the Cheerake in fimilar cafes, it might either have remained fo, or foon have been changed into a very hot civil war, had we x been been fo wife as to have improved the favourable opportunity. There were feven northern towns, oppofite to the middle parts of the Cheerake country, who from the beginning of the unhappy grievances, firmly di(Tented from the hoftile intentions of their fuffering and enraged country-men, and for a confiderable time before, bore them little good-will, on account of fome family difputes, which occafioned each party to be more favourable to itfelf than to the other : Thefe, would readily have gratified their vindictive difpofition, either by a neutrality, or an offensive alliance with our colonifts againft them. Our rivals the French, never neglected fo favourable an opportunity of fecuring, and promoting their interefts.—We have known more than one inftance, wherein their wifdom has not only found out proper means to difconcert the moft dangerous plans of dif-affected favages, but likewife to foment, and artfully encourage great ani-mofities between the heads of ambitious rival families, till they fixed them in an implacable hatred againft each other, and all of their refpcctlve tribes. Had the French been under fuch circumftances, as we then were, they would inflantly have fent them an embaffy by a proper perfon, to enforce it by the perfuafive argument of intereft, well fupported with prefents to all the leading men, in order to make it weigh heavy in the Indian fcale and would have invited a number of thofe towns to pay them a brotherly vifit, whenever it fuited them, that they might (hake hands, fmoke out of the white, or beloved pipe, and drink phyfic together, as became old friends of honeft hearts, &c. Had we thus done, many valuable and innocent perfons might have been faved from the torturing hands of the enraged Indians ! The favourite leading warrior of thofe friendly towns, was well known to South-Carolina and Georgia, by the trading name—Round O." on account of a blue impreflion he bore in that form. The fame old, brave, and friendly warrior, depending firmly on our friendlhip and ufual good faith, came down within an hundred miles of Charles-town, along with the head-men, and many others of thofe towns, to declare to the government, an inviolable attachment to all our Britifh colonies, under every various circumftance of life whatfoever; and at the fame time, earneftly to requeft them to fupply their prefent want of ammunition, and order the commanding officer of Fort-Prince-George to continue to do them the like fervice, when neceflity fhould force them to apply for it *, as they were fully determined to war K k to to the very lad, againft all the enemies of Carolina, without regarding who they were, or the number they confifted of. This they told me on the fpot j for hiving been in a fingular manner recommended to his excellency the general, I was pre-engaged for that campaign—but as I could not obtain orders to go a-head of the army, through the woods, with a body of the Chikkafah, and commence hoftilities, I declined the affair. Had our valuable, and well-meaning Cheerake friends juft mentioned, acted their ufual part of evading captivity, it would have been much better for them, and many hundreds of our unfortunate out-fettlers j but they depending on our ufual good faith, by their honeft credulity were ruined. It was well-known, that the Indians are unacquainted with the cuftom and meaning of hoftages j to them, it conveyed the idea of flaves, as they have no public faith to fecure the lives of fuch—yet they were taken into cuftody, kept in clofe confinement, and afterwards flint dead : their mortal crime confifted in founding the war-whoop, and hollowing to their countrymen, when attacking the fort in which they were imprifoned, to fight like ftrong-hearted warriors, and they would foon carry it, againft the cowardly traitors, who deceived and inflaved their friends in their own beloved country. A white favage on this cut through a plank, over their heads, and perpetrated that horrid action, while the foldiery were employed like warriors, againft the enemy : to excufe his bafenefs, and fave himfelf from the reproaches of the people, he, like the wolf in the fable, falfely accufed them of intending to poifon the wells of the garrifon. By our uniform mifconduct, we gave too plaufible a plea to the difaf-fected part of" the Mufkohge to join the Cheerake, and at the fame time, fixed the whole nation in a ftate of war againft us—all the families of thofe leading men that were fo fhamefully murdered, were inexpreffibly imbittered againft our very national name, judging that we firft deceived, then inflaved, and afterwards killed our beft, and moft faithful friends, who were firmly refolved to die in our defence. The means of our general fafety, thus were turned to our general ruin. The mixed body of people that were firft fent againft them, were too weak to do them any ill; and they foon returned home with a wild, ridiculous parade. There were frequent defertions among them—fome were afraid of the fmall-pox, which then raged in the country—others abhorred an inactive life; this fine filken body chiefly confifted of citizens and planters from the low fettlements, unacquainted with the hardlhips of a wood-land, fa- 3 vage vagc war, and in cafe of an ambufcade attack, were utterly incapable of Handing the (hock. In Georgiana, we were affured by a gentleman of character, a principal merchant of Mobille, who went a voluntier on that expedition, that toward the conclufion of it, when he went round the delicate camp, in wet weather, and late at night, he faw in different places from fifteen to twenty of their guns in a cluftcr, at the diftance of an equal number of paces from their tents, feemingly fo rufty and peaceable, as the lofs of them by the ufual fudden attack of Indian favages, could not in the leaft affect their lives. And the Cheerake nation were fenfible of their innocent intentions, from the difpofition of the expedition in fo late a feafon of the year : but their own bad fituation by the ravaging fmall-pox, and the danger of a civil war, induced the lower towns to lie dormant. However, foon after our people returned home, they firmly united in the generous caufe of liberty, and they acted their part fo well, that our traders fufpected not the impending blow, till the moment they fatally felt it: fome indeed efcaped by the aftiftance of the Indians. In brief, we forced the Cheerake to become our bitter enemies, by a long train of wrong meafures, the confe-quences of which were feverely felt by a number of high affeiTed, ruined, and bleeding innocents—May this relation, be a lading caution to our colonies againft the like fatal errors! and induce them, whenever neceftity compels, to go well prepared, with plenty of fit ftores, and men, againft any Indian nation, and firft defeat, and then treat with them. It concerns us to remember, that they neither fhew mercy to thofe who fall in their power, by the chance of war; nor keep good faith with their enemies, unlefs they are feelingly convinced of its reafonablenefs, and civilly treated afterward. Had South-Carolina exerted herfelf in due time againft them, as her fituation required, it would have faved a great deal of innocent blood, and public treafure : common fenfe directed them to make immediate preparations for carrying the war into their country, as the only way to conquer them but they ftrangely neglected fending war-like ftores to Ninety-fix, our only barrier-forr, and even providing horfes and carriages for that needful occafion, till the troops they requefted arrived from New-York : and then they fent only a trifling number of thofe, and our provincials, under the gallant Col. Montgomery, (now Lord Eglington). His twelve hundred brave, hardy highlanders, though but a handful, were much abler, however, to K k 2 fight fight the Indians in their country than fix thoufand heavy-accoutered and (low moving regulars: for thefe, with our provincials, could both fight and pur-fue, while the regulars would always be furrounded, and Hand a fure and fhining mark. Except a certain provincial captain who efcorted the cattle, every officer and private man in this expedition, imitated the intrepid copy of their martial leader-, but being too few in number, and withal, fcanty of provifions, and having loft many men at a narrow pafs, called Crow's Creek, where the path leads by the fide of a river, below a dangerous fteep mountain, — they proceeded only a few miles, to a fine fituated town called Nuquofe; and then wifely retreated under cover of the night, toward Fort-Prince-George, and returned to Charles-town, in Auguft 1760. Seven months after the Cheerake commenced hoftilities, South-Carolina by her ill-timed parfimony again expofed her barriers to the merci-lefs ravages of the enraged Indians—who reckoning themfelves alfo fupe-rior to any refinance we could make, fwept along the valuable out-fettle-ments of North-Carolina and Virginia, and like evil ones licenfed to deftroyr ruined every thing near them. The year following, Major Grant, the prefent governor of Eaft-Florida, was fent againft them with an army of regulars and provincials, and happily for him, the Indians were then in great want of ammunition: they therefore only appeared, and fuddenly difap-peared. From all probable circumftances, had the Cheerake been fufficiently fupplied with ammunition, twice the number of troops could not have defeated them, on account of the declivity of their ftupendous mountains, under which their paths frequently run; the Virginia troops likewife kept far off in flourifhing parade, without coming to our afMance, or making a diverfion againft thofe warlike towns which lie beyond the Apalahche mountains, — the chief of which are, Temiafe, Choate, Great-Tellih, and Hmvhdfe. At the beginning of the late Cheerake war, I had the pleafure to* fee, at Augufia in Georgia, the honourable gentleman who was our firft Indian fuper-intendant-, he was on his way to the Mufkohge country, to pacify their ill difpofition toward us, which had irritated the Cheerake, and engaged them in a firm confederacy againft us. They had exchanged their bloody tomohawks, and red and black painted fwans wings, a flrong emblem of blood and death, in confirmation of their offenfive and defenfive treaty. But, notwithftanding our dangerous fituation ought to have directed any gentleman worthy of public truft, to have have immediately proceeded to their country, to regain the hearts of thofe fickle and daring lavages, and thereby elude the deep-laid plan of the French i and though Indian runners Were frequently fent down by our old friendly head-men, urging the abfolute neceflity of his coming up foon, otherwife it would be too late—he trifled away near half a year there, and in places adjoining, in raifing a body of men with a proud uniform drefs, for the fake of parade, and to efcort him from danger, with fwivels, blun-derbufles, and many other fuch forts of blundering fluff, before he proceeded on his journey. This was the only way to expofe the gentleman to real danger, by fhewing at fuch a time, a diffidence of the natives—which he accordingly effected, merely by his pride, obftinacy, and unfkilful-nefs. It is well known, the whole might have been prevented, if he had liftened to the entreaties of the Indian traders of that place, to requeft one (who would neither refufe, nor delay to ferve his country on any important occafion) to go in his flead, as the dangerous fituation of our affairs demanded quick difpatch. But pride prevented, and he flovvly reached there, after much time was loft. The artful French commander, had in the mean while a very good opportunity to diffract the giddy favages, and he wifely took advantage of the delay, and perfuaded a confiderable body of the Shawano Indians to fly to the northward,—as our chief was affirmed to be coming with an army and train of artillery to cut them off, in revenge of the blood they had formerly fpilled. We foon heard, that in their way, they murdered a great many of the Britifh fubjects, and with the moft defpitcful eagcrnefs committed their bloody ravages during the whole war. After the head-men of that far-extending country, were convened to know the import of our intendants long-expected embafly, he detained them from day to day with his parading grandeur; not ufing the Indian friendly freedom, either to the red, or white people, till provi-fions grew fcanty. Then their hearts were imbittercd againft him, while the French Alebahma commander was bufy, in taking time by the forelock. But the former, to be uniform in his flifF, haughty conduct, crowned the whole, in a longer delay, and almoft gained a fuppofed crown of martydom,—by prohibiting, in an obflinate manner, all the war-chieftains and beloved men then afTembled together in the great beloved fquare, from handing the friendly white pipe to a certain greai o war- war-leader, well-known by the names of Yah-Yah-Tuftanage, or " the Great Mortar," becaufe he had been in the French intereft. Our great man, ought to have reclaimed him by ftrong reafoning and good treatment: but by his mifconduct, he inflamed the hearts of him and his relations with the bit-tereft enmity againft the Englifh name, fo that when the gentleman was proceeding in his laconic ftile,—a warrior who had always before been very kind to the Britifh traders, (called " the Tobacco-eater" on account of his chewing tobacco) jumped up in a rage, and darted his tomohawk at his head,—happily for all the traders prefent, and our frontier colonies, it funk in a plank directly over the fuperintendant \ and while the tobacco-eater was eagerly pulling it out, to give the mortal blow, a warrior, friendly to the Englifh, immediately leaped up, faved the gentleman, and prevented thofe dangerous confequences' which muft otherwife have immediately followed. Had the aimed blow fuceeded, the favages would have immediately put up the war and death whoop, deftroyed moft of the white people there on the fpot, and fet off in great bodies, both to the Cheerake country, and againft our valuable fettlements. Soon after that gentleman returned to Carolina, the Great Mortar perfuaded a party of his relations to kill our traders, and they murdered ten; — very fortunately, it flopped there for that time. But at the clofe of the great congrefs at Augufta, where four governors of our colonies, and his majefty's fuperintendant, convened the favages and renewed and confirmed the treaty of peace, the fame diiaffected warrior returning home, fent off a party, who murdered fourteen of the inhabitants of Long-Cane fettlement, above Ninety-Six. The refult of that dangerous congrefs, tempted the proud favages to act fuch a part, as they were tamely forgiven, and unafked, all their former fcenes of blood. During this diffracted period, the French ufed their utmoft endeavours to involve us in a general Indian war, which to have faved South-Carolina and Georgia, would probably have required the afTiftance of a considerable number of our troops from Canada. They ftrove to fupply the Cheerake, by way of the Miflifippi, with warlike ftores and alfo fent them powder, bullets, flints, knives, and red paint, by their ftaunch friend, the dif-affected Great Mortar, and his adherents. And though they failed in executing their mifchievous plan, both on account of the manly efcape of our traders, and the wife conduct of thofe below, they did not defpair. Upon itudious deliberation, they concluded, that, if the aforefaid chieftain Yah Tab Tab Tujlanage, his family, and warriors, fettled high up one of their leading rivers, about half way toward the Cheerake, it would prove the only means then left, of promoting their general caufe againft the Britifh colonifts: And, as the lands were good for hunting,— the river mallow, and abounding with faltilh grafs, for the deer to feed on in the heat of the day, free of troublefome infects,—and as the ftream glided by the Ale-bahma garrifon to Mobille, at that time in the French hands, it could not well fail to decoy a great many of the ambitious young warriors, and others, to go there and join our enemies, on any occafion which appeared moft conducive to their defign of fhedding blood, and getting a higher name among their wolfifh heroes. He and his numerous pack, confident of fuccefs, and of receiving the French fupplies by water, fet off for their new feat, well loaded, both for their Cheerake friends and themfelves. Fie had a French commifilon, with plenty of bees-wax, and decoying pictures ; and a flourifhing flag, which in dry weather, was difplayed day and night, in the middle of their anti-anglican theatre. It in a great meafure aidwered the ferpentine defign of the French, for it became the general rendezvous of the Miflifippi Indians, the Cheerake, and the more mifchicvous part of the Mufkohge. The latter became the French carriers to thofe high-land favages: and had they received the ammunition fent them by water, and that neft been allowed to continue, we fhould have had the French on our fouthern colonies at the head of- a dreadful confederated army of favages, carrying defolation where-evcr they went. But, the plan mifcarried, our friendly gallant Chikkafah, being well informed of the ill defign of this neft of hornets, broke it up. A confiderable company of their refolute warriors marched againft it •, and, as they readily knew the place of the Great Mortar's refidence, they attacked it, and though they miffed him, they killed his brother. This, fo greatly intimidated him, and his clan, that they fuddenly removed from thence •, and their favourite plan was abortive. When he-got near to a place of fafety, he fhewed how highly irritated he was againft us, and our allies. His difappointment, and difgrace, prevented him from returning to his own native town, and excited him to fettle in the remoteft, and moft northern one of the whole nation, toward the Cheerake, in order to aflift them, (as far as the French, and his own corroding temper might enable him) againft the innocent objects of his enmity: and during the continuance of the war we held with thofe favages, he and a numerous numerous party of his adherents kept palling, and repairing, from thence to the bloody theatre. They were there, as their loud infulting bravadoes teftified, during our two before-mentioned campaigns, under the Hon. Col. Montgomery, and Major Grant. The wife endeavours of Governor Bull, of South-Carolina, and the unwearied application of Governor Ellis, of Georgia, in concert with the gentlemen of two great trading houfes, the one at Augufta, and the other on the Carolina fide of the river, not far below, where the Indians crowded day and night, greatly contributed to demolifh the plan of the French and their ally, the Great Mortar. When public fpirit, that divine fpark, glows in the bread of any of the American leaders, it never fails to communicate its influence, all around, even to the lavages in the remotett wildernefs of which Governor Ellis is an iUuftripus inflance. He fpeedily reconciled a jarring colony—calmed the raging Mufkohge, though fet on by the mifchievous Alebmma French, —pacified the Cheerake, and the rell of their confederates—fent them off well pleafed, without executing their bafe defign, and engaged them into a neutrality. The following, is one inflance—As foon as the Indians killed our traders, they fent runners to call home their people, from our fettlements : a friendly head warrior, who had notice of it at night, near Augufta, came there next day with a few more, expreffed his forrow for the mifchief his countrymen had done us, protefted he never had any ill intentions againft us, and faid that, though by the law of blood, he ought to die, yet, if we allowed him to live as a friend, he fhould live and die one. Though thoufands of regular troops would mod probably have been totally cut off, had they been where the intended general maffa-cre began, without an efcortment of our provincials yet an unfkilful, haughty officer of Fort-Augufta laboured hard for killing this wairror, and his companion, which of courfe, would have brought on what the enemy fought, a complicated, univerfal war. But his excellency's humane temper, and wife conduct, actuating the Indian trading gentlemen of Augufta, they fuffered him to fet off to ftrive to prevent the further effufion of innocent blood, and thus procured the happy fruits of peace, to the infant colonies of Georgia and South-Carolina. ACCOUNT t 257 ] A C C O U N T OF THE MUS KOHGE N A T I O N, &c. THEIR country is fituated, nearly in the centre, between the Cheerake, Georgia, Eaft and Weft-Florida, and the Choktah and Chikkafah nations, the one 200, and the other 300 miles up the Miflifippi. It extends 180 computed miles, from north to fouth. It is called the Creek country, on account of the great number of Creeks, or fmall bays, rivulets and fwamps, it abounds with. This nation is generally computed to confift of about 3500 men fit to bear arms; and has fifty towns, or villages. The principal are Ok-wMs-key Ohcbai, Tuk-ke-fat-cbe, Tal-ld-fe, Kow-hi-tah, and Cha-hdh. The nation confifts of a mixture of feveral broken tribes, whom the Mufkohge artfully decoyed to incorporate with them, in order to ftrengthen themfelves againft hoftile attempts. Their former national names were Ta-me-tah, Tae-keo-ge, Ok-cbai, Pak-kd-na> Wet-tam-ka\ with them is alfo one town of the Sha-wa-no, and one of the Nab-chee Indians ; likewife two great towns of the Koo-a-fdb-te. The upper part of the Mufkohge country is very hilly—the middle lefs fo—the lower towns, level: Thefe are fettled by the remains of the Oofecba, Okone, and Sawakola nations. Moft of their towns are very commodioufly and pleafantly fituated, on large, beautiful creeks, or rivers, where the lands are fertile, the water clear and well tafted, and the air extremely pure. As the ftreams have a quick defcent, the climate is of a moft happy temperature, free from difagreeable heat or cold, unlefs for the fpace of a few days, in fummer and winter, according to all our American climes. In their country are four bold rivers, which fpring from the Apalahche mountains, and interlock with the eaftern branches of the Miflifippi. The Koofah river is the weftern boundary of their towns: It is 200 yards broad, and runs by the late Alebahma, to L 1 Mobille, Mobille, eaftward. Okwhufke lies 70 miles from the former, which taking-a confiderable fouthern fweep, runs a weftern courfe, and joins the aforefaid great ftream, a little below that deferted garrifon; fince the year 1764, the Mufkohge have fettled feveral towns, feventy miles eaftward from Okwhufke, on the Chatahooche river, near to the old trading path. This great lympid ftream is 200 yards broad, and lower down, it paffes by the Apalahche, into Florida \ fo that this nation extends 14,0 miles in breadth from eaft to weft, according to the courfe of the trading path. Their land is generally hilly, but not mountainous ■, which allows an army an eafy paffage into their country, to retaliate their infults and cruelties—that period feems to advance apace for the fine flourifhing accounts of thofe who gain by the art, will not always quiet a fuffering people. As the Mufkohge judge only from what they fee around them, they firmly believe they are now more powerful than any nation that might be tempted to invade them. Our paffive conduct toward them, caufes them to entertain a very mean opinion of our martial abilities : but, before we tamely allowed them to commit acts of hoftility, at pleafure, (which will foon be mentioned) the traders taught them fometimes by ftrong felt leffons, to conclude the Englifh to be men and warriors. They are certainly the moft powerful Indian nation we are acquainted with on this continent, and within thirty, years paft, they are grown very warlike. Toward the conclufion of their laft war with the Cheerake, they defeated them fo eafily, that in contempt, they fent feveral of their women and fmall boys againft them, though, at that time,, the Cheerake were the moft numerous. The Choktah were alfo much inferior to them, in feveral engagements they had with them ; though, perhaps, they are the moft artful ambufcaders, and wolfifih favages, in America.—But,, having no rivers in their own country, very few of them can fwim, which often proves inconvenient and dangerous, when they are in purfuit of the enemy, or purfued by them. We fhould be politically forry for their differences with each other to be reconciled, as long experience convinces us they cannot live without fhedding human blood fomewhere or other, on account of their jealous and fierce tempers, in refentment of any kind of injury, and the martial preferment each obtains for every fcalp of an enemy. They are fo extremely anxious to be diItinguiflied by high war-titles, that fometimes a fmall party of warriors, on failing of fuccefs in their campaign, have been detected in murdering {taring fome of their own people, for the fake of their fcalps. We cannot expect: that they will obferve better faith towards us—therefore common fenfe and felf-love ought to direct us to chufe the leaft of two unavoidable evils ever to keep the wolf from our own doors, by engaging him with his wolhih neighbours: at leaft, the officious hand of folly fhould not part them, when they are earneftly engaged in their favourite element againfl each other. All the other Indian nations we have any acquaintance with, are vifibly and fait declining, on account of their continual mercilefs wars, the immoderate ufe of fpirituous liquors, and the infectious ravaging nature of the fmall pox: but the Mufkohge have few enemies, and the traders with them have taught them to prevent the laft contagion from fpreading among their towns, by cutting off all communication with thofe who are infected, till the danger is over. Befides, as the men rarely go to war till they have helped the women to plant a fufficient plenty of provifions, contrary to the ufual method of warring favages, it is fo great a help to propagation, that by this means alfo, and their artful policy of inviting decayed tribes to incorporate with them, I am affured by a gentleman of diftinguifhed character, who fpeaks their language as well as their belt orators, they have in-crcafed double in number within the fpace of thirty years pad, notwithstanding their widows are confined to a ftrict ftate of celibacy, for the full fpace of four years after the death of their hufbands. When we confider that two or three will go feveral hundred miles, to way-lay an enemy— the contiguous fituation of fuch a prodigious number of corrupt, haughty, and mifchievous favages to our valuable colonies, ought to draw our attention upon them. Thofe of us who have gained a fufficient knowledge of Indian affairs, by long experience and obfervation, are firmly perfuaded that the feeds of war are deeply implanted in their hearts againft us; and that the allowing them, in our ufual tame manner, to infult, plunder, and murder peaceable Britifli fubjects, only tempts them to engage deeper in their diabolical fcenes of blood, till they commence a dangerous open war againft us: the only probable means to preferve peace, is either to fet them and their rivals on one another, or by prudent management, influence them to employ themfelves in raifing fdk, or any other ftaple commodity that would beft fine their own temper and climate. Prudence points out this, but the taik is too arduous for ftrangers ever to be able to effect, or they care not about it. L 1 2 Before Before the late ceffion of Eaft and Weft Florida to Great Britain, the country of the Mufkohge lay between the territories of the Englifh, Spaniards, French, Choktah, Chikkafah, and Cheerake.—And as they had a water carriage, from the two Floridas; to fecure their liberties, and a great trade by land from Georgia and South-Carolina, this nation regulated the Indian balance of power in our fouthern parts of North-America for the French could have thrown the mercenary Choktah, and the Miflifippi favages, into the fcale, whenever their intereft feemed to require it. The Mufkohge having three rival chriftian powers their near neighbours, and a French garrifon on the fouthern extremity of the central part of their country ever fince the war of the year 1715; the old men, being long informed by the oppofite parties, of the different views, and intrigues of thofe European powers, who paid them annual tribute under the vague appellation of prefents, were become furprifingly crafty in every turn of low politics. They held it as an invariable maxim, that their fecurity and welfare required a perpetual friendly intercourfe with us and the French as our political ftate of war with each other, would always fecure their liberties: whereas, if they joined either party, and enabled it to prevail over the other, their ftate, they faid, would then become as unhappy as that of a poor fellow, who had only one perverfe wife, and yet muft bear with her /toward temper but a variety of choice would have kept off fuch an afflicting evil, either by his giving her a filent caution againft behaving ill, or by enabling him to go to another, who was in a better temper. But as the French Alebahma Garrifon had been long directed by fkilful officers, and fupplied pretty well with corrupting brandy, taffy, and decoying trifles at the expence of government, they induftrioufly applied their mifchievous talents in imprefling many of the former fimple and peaceable natives with falfe notions of the ill intentions of our colonies. In each of their towns, the French gave a confiderable penfion to an eloquent head-man, to corrupt the Indians by plaufible pretexts, and inflame them againft us i who informed them alfo of every material occurrence, in each of their refpective circles. The force of liquors made them fo faithful to their truft, that they poifoned the innocence of their own growing families, by tempting them, from their infancy, to receive the worft impreflions of the Britifh colonifts: and as they very feldom got the better of thofe prejudices, they alienated the affections of their offspring, and riveted their bitter enmity againft us. That conduct of the Chriftian French has fixed many of the Mufkohge in in a ftrong native hatred to the Britifh Americans, which being hereditary, nuift of courfe increafe, as faft as they increafe in numbers; unlefs we give them fuch a fevere leffon, as their annual hoftile conduct to us, has highly deferved fince the year 1760. I fhall now fpeak more explicitly on this very material point. By our fu peri n tend ant's ftrange purfuit of improper meafures to appeafe the Mufkohge, as before noticed, the watchful French engaged the irritated Great Mortar to infpire his relations to cut off fome of our traders by fur-prife, and follow the blow at the time the people were ufually employed in the corn-fields, left our party fhould ftop them, in their intended bloody career. They accordingly began their hoftile attack in the upper town of the nation, except one, where their mifchievous red abettor lived: two white people and a negroe were killed, while they were in the horfe-pen, preparing that day to have fet off with their returns to the Englifh. fettlements. The trader, who was furly and ill-natured, they chopped to pieces, in a moft horrid manner, but the other two they did not treat with any kind of barbarity ; which fhews that the worft people, in-their worft actions, make a diftinction between the morally virtuous, and vicious. The other white people of that trading houfe, happily were at that time in the woods —they heard the favage platoon, and the death, and war-whoop, which fufHciently warned them of their imminent danger, and to fcek their fafety by the beft means they could. Some of them went through the woods after night, to our friend towns ; and one who happened to be near the town when the alarm was given, going to bring in a horfe, was obliged to hide himfelf under a large fallen tree, till night came 00. The eager favages came twice, pretty near him, imagining he would chufe rather to depend on the horfe's fpeed, than his own : when the town was engaged in dividing the fpoils, his wife fearing fhe might be watched, took a confiderable fweep round, through the thickets, and by fearching the place, and making fignals, where fhe expected he lay concealed, fortunately found him, and gave him provifions to enable him to get to our fettlements, and then returned home in tears : he arrived fafe at Augufta, though exceedingly torn with the brambles, as his fafety required him to travel through unfrequented trads. In the mean while, the favages having by this inflamed their greedy thirft for blood, fet off fwiftly, and as they darted 3 . along along founding the news of war, they from a few, increafed fo faft, that their voices conveyed fuch thrilling Ihocks to thofe they were in queft of, as if the infernal legions had broken loofe through their favourite Alebahma, and were inverted with power to deftroy the innocent. The great Okwhufke-town, where they reached, lay on the weftern fide of the large eafternmoft branch of Mobille river, which joins a far greater weftern river, almoft two miles below the late Alebahma; and the Englifh traders ftore-houfes lay oppofite to the town. Thofe red ambaffadors of the French, artfully paffed the river above the town, and ran along filently to a gentleman's dwelling houfe, where they firft fhot down one of his fervants, and in a minute or two after, himfelf: probably, he might have been faved, if he had not beera too defperate for a ftrong-bodied leading warrior of the town was at his houfe when they came to it, who grafped him behind, with his face toward the wall, on purpofe to fave him from being fhotas they durft not kill himfelf, under the certain pain of death. But very unluckily, the gentleman ftruggled, got hold of him, threw him to the ground, and fo became too fair a mark.—Thus the Frenchified favages cut off, in the bloom of his youth, the fon of J. R. Efq-, Indian trading merchant of Augufta, who was the moft ftately, comely, and gallant youth, that ever traded in the Mufkohge country, and equally bleft with every focial virtue, that attracts efteem. The very favages lament his death to this day, though it was ufual with him to correct as many of the fwaggering heroes, as could ftand round him in his houfe, when they became impudent and mifchievous, through the plea of drinking fpirituous liquors: when they recover from their bacchanal phrenzy, they regard a man of a martial fpirit, and contemn the pufillanimous. While the town was in the utmoft furprife, the ambitious warriors were joyfully echoing—"all is fpoiled-," and founding the death-whoop, they, like fo many infernal furies commiflioned to deftroy, fet off at full fpeed, difperfing their bloody legions to various towns, to carry general deftruction along with them. But before any of their companies reached to the Okchai war-town, (the native place of the Great Mortar) the inhabitants had heard the maffacre was begun, and according to their rule, killed two of our traders in their houfe, when quite off their guard: as thefe traders were brave, and regardlefs of danger by their habit of living, the favages were afraid to bring their arms with them, it being un- ufual, ufual, by reafon of the fecure fituation of the town. A few therefore entered the houfe, with a fpecious pretence, and intercepted them from the fire-arms, which lay on a rack, on the front of the chimney •, they inftantly feized them, and as they were loaded with large fhot, they killed thofe two valuable and intrepid men, and left them on the fire—but if they had been a few minutes fore-warned of the danger, their lives would have colt the whole town very dear, unlefs they had kindled the houfe with fire-arrows. Like peftilential vapours driven by whirlwinds, the mifchievous fa* vages endeavoured to bring defolation on the innocent objects of their fury, wherever they came : but the different flights of the trading people, as well as their own expertnefs in the woods, and their connections with the Indians, both by marriage and other ties of friendfhip, difap-pointed the accomplifhment of the main point of the French diabolical fcheme of dipping them all over in blood. By fun dry means, a con-fiderable number of our people met at. the friendly houfe of the old Wolf-King, two miles from the Alebahma Fort, where that faithful ftern chieftain treated them with the greateft kindnefs. But, as the whole nation was diltracted, and the neighbouring towns were devoted to the French intereft, he found that by having no fortrefs, and only forty warriors in his town, he was unable to protect the refugees. In order therefore to keep good faith with his friends, who put themfelves under his protection, he told them their fituation, fupplied thofe of them with arms and ammunition who chanced to have none, and conveyed them into a contiguous thick fwamp, as their only place of fecurity for that time j " which their own valour, he faid, he was fure would maintain, both againft the French, and their mad friends," He was not miftaken in his favourable opinion of their war abilities, for they ranged themfelves fo well, that the enemy found it impracticable to attack them, without fuitaining far greater lofs than they are known to hazard.—He fupplied them with necef-faries, and fent them fafe at length to a friendly town, at a confiderable diftance, where they joined feveral other traders, from different places,, and were foon after fafely efcorted to Savanah.. It is furprifing how thofe hardy men evaded the dangers they were fur-rounded with, efpecially at the beginning, and with fo little lofs. One of u them them told me, that while a party of the favages were on a corn-houfe fcaf-fold, painting themfelves red and black, to give the cowardly blow to him and his companions, an old woman overheard them concerting their bloody defign, and fpeedily informed him of the threatening danger: he mentioned the intended place of meeting to his friends, and they immediately fet off, one this way, and another that, to prevent a purfuit, and all met fafe, to the great regret of the Chriftian French and their red hirelings. I was informed that another confiderable trader, who lived near a river, on the outfide of a town, where he ftood fecure in the affection of his favage brethren, received a vifit from two lufty ill-looking ftrangers, without being difcovered by any of the inhabitants. They were anointed with bear's oil, and quite naked, except a narrow flip of cloth for breeches, and a light blanket. When they came in, they looked around, wild and con-. -fufed, not knowing how to execute the French commiflion, confiftently with their own fafety, as they brought no arms, left it fhould have difcovered their intentions, and by that means expofed them to danger. But they feated themfelves near the door, both to prevent his efcape, and watch a favourable opportunity to perpetrate their murdering fcheme. Flis white domeftics were a little before gone into the woods; and he and his Indian wife were in the ftorehoufe, where there chanced to be no arms of defence, which made his efcape the more hazardous. Fie was nearly in the fame light drefs, as that of his vifitants, according to the mode of their domeftic living : he was about to give them fome tobacco, when their countenances growing more gloomy and fierce, were obferved by his wife, as well as the mif-chievous direction of their eyes; prefently therefore as they bounded up, the one to lay hold of the white man, and the other of an ax that lay on the floor, (he feized it at the fame inftant, and cried, " hufband fight ftrong, and run off, as becomes a good warrior." The favage ftrove to lay hold of him, till the other could difengage himfelf from the (harp ftrug-gle the woman held with him but by a quick prefence of mind, the hufband decoyed his purfuer round a large ladder that joined the loft, and being ftrong and fwift footed, he there took the advantage of his too eager adverlary, dafhed him to the ground, and ran out of the houfe, full fpeed to the river, bounded into it, foon made the oppofite fhore, and left them at the ftore-houfe, from whence the woman, as a trufty friend, drove them off, with the utmoft defpight,—her family was her protection. protection. The remaining part of that day, he ran a great diftance through the woods, called at night on fuch white people, as he imagined his fafety allowed him, was joined by four of them, and went together to Penfacola. Within three or four days-march of that place, the lands, they told me, were in general, either boggy and low, or confiding of fandy pine-barrens. Although they were almoft naked, and had lived for many days on the produce of the woods, yet the daftardly Spaniards were fo hardened againft the tender feelings of nature in favour of the diftreflcd, who now took fancf.uary under the Spanifh flag, as to refufe them every kind of afliftance contrary to the hofpitable cuftom of the red favages, even towards thofe they devote to the fire. A north-country fkipper, who rode in the harbour, was equally divefted of the bowels of compaflion toward them, notwithstanding their prefflng entreaties, and offers of bills on very refpectable perfons in Charles-Town. But the commandant of the place foon inftructed him very feelingly in the common laws of humanity ; for on fome pretext, he feized the veffel and cargo, and left the narrow-hearted mifer to fhift for himfelf, and return home as he could : thofe unfortunate traders were kindly treated however by the head-man of an adjacent town of the Apalahche Indians, who being a conflderable dealer, fupplied them with every thing they ftood in need of, till, in time, they were recalled •, for which they foon very thankfully paid him and the reft of his kind family, with handfome prefents, as a token of their friendfbip and gratitude. In the mean while, fome of the eloquent old traders continued in their towns, where the red flag of defiance was hung up day and night, as the French had no intereft there : and, in a few other towns, fome of our thoughtlefs young men, who were too much attached to the Indian life, from an early purfuit in that wild and unlimited country, chofe to run any rifk, rather than leave their favourite fcenes of pleafure. In the day-time, they kept in the moft unfrequented places, and ufually returned at night to their friend's houfe: and they followed that dangerous method of living a conflderable time, in different places, without any mifchance. One of them told me, that one evening, when he was returning to his wife's houfe on horfe-back, before the ufual time, he was overtaken by a couple of young warriors, who pranced up along afide of him. They fpoke very kindly according to their cuftom, that they might fhed blood, like wolves, without hazarding their own carcafes. As neither of them had any weapons, except a long knife hanging round their neck in a fheath, they were afraid to attack him, on M 81 fo fo hazardous a lay. Their queftions, cant language, and difcompofed countenances, informed him of their bloody intentions, and cautioned him from falling into any of their wily ftratagems, which all cowards are dextrous in forming. When they came to a boggy cane-branch, they ftrove to per-fuade him to alight, and reft a little, but finding their labour in vain, they got down: one prepared a club to kill him, and the other a fmall frame of fplit canes tied together with bark, to bear his fcalp—feeing this, he fet off with the bravado whoop, through the high lands, and as he rode a-fwifc horfe, he left them out of fight in an inftant. He took a great fweep round, to avoid an after-chafe. At night, he went to the town, got fire-arms, and provifions, and foon arrived fafe in Georgia. Other inftances may be related, but thefe will fuffke to fhew how fer-viceable fuch hardy and expert men would be to their country, as heretofore, if our Indian trade was properly regulated and how exceedingly preferable the tenth part of their number would prove againft boafted regular troops, in the woods. Though the britifli legions are as warlike and formidable in the field of battle, as any troops whatever, as their martial bravery has often teftified •, yet in fome fituations they would be infignificant and help-lefs. Regular bred foldiers, in the American woods, would be of little fer-vice. The natives and old inhabitants, by being trained to arms from their infancy, in their wood-land fphere of life, could always furround them, and fweep them off entirely, with little damage to themfelves. In fuch a cafe, field-pieces are a mere farce. The abettors of arbitrary power, who are making great advances through the whole Britifli empire, to force the people to decide this point, and retrieve their conftitutional rights and liberties, would do well to confider this. Is it poflible for tyranny to be fo weak and blind, as to flatter its corrupt greatnefs with the wild notion of placing a defpotic military power of a few thoufand regular troops, over millions of the Americans, who are trained to arms of defence, from the time they are able to carry them—generally inured to dangers, and all of them pofTefling, in a high degree, the focial virtues of their manly free-minded fore-fathers, who often bled in the noble caule of liberty, when hateful tyranny perfifted in ftretching her rod of oppreflion over their repining country ? Tyrants are obftinately deaf, and blind j they will fee and hear only through the falfe medium of felf-interefted court-flatterers, and, "uiftead of redrefling the grievances of the people, have fometimes openly 7 defpifed defuilfld and infuked them, for even exhibiting their modeft prayers at the foot of the throne, for a reftoration of their rights and privileges. Some however have been convinced in the end they were wrong, and have juflly fuffered by the anathematizing voice of God and a focderal union. That " a prince can do no ill" is a flat contradiction of reafon and experience, and of the Englifh Magna Charta. Soon after Welt-Florida was ceded to Great-Britain, two warlike towns of the Koo-a-fah te Indians removed from near the late dangerous Alabahma French garrifon, to the Choktah country about twenty-five miles below Tumbikbe—a ftrong wooden fortrefs, fituated on the weftern fide of a high and firm bank, overlooking a narrow deep point of the river of Mobille, and diftant from that capital, one hundred leagues. The difcerning old war-chieftain of this remnant, perceived that the proud Mufkohge, inftead of reforming their conduce towards us, by our mild remonftrauces, grew only more impudent by our lenity; therefore being afraid of lharing thejuftly deferved fate of the others, he wifely withdrew to this fituation •, as the French could not poflibly fupply them, in cafe we had exerted ourfelves, either in defence of our properties, or in revenge of the blood they had fhed. But they were foon forced to return to their former place of abode, on account of the partiality of fome of them to their former confederates •, which proved lucky in its confequences, to the traders, and our fouthern colonies: for, when three hundred warriors of the Mufkohge were on their way to the Choktah to join them in a war againft us two Kooafahte horfemen, as allies, were allowed to pafs through their ambufcade in the evening, and they gave notice of the impending danger. Thefe Kooafahte Indians, annually fanctify the mulberries by a public oblation, before which, they are not to be eaten; which they fay, is according to their ancient law. I am affured by a gentleman of character, who traded a long time near the late Alebahma garrifon, that within fix miles of it, live the remains of feven Indian nations, who ufually converfed with each other in their own different dialects, though they underftood the Mufkohge language ; but being naturalized, they were bound to obferve the laws and cuftoms of the main original body. Thefe reduced, broken tribes, who have helped to multiply the Mufkohge to a dangerous degree, have alfo a fixed oral tradition, that they formerly came from South-America, and, after fundry ftrug- M m 2 glei gles in defence of liberty, fettled their prefent abode: but the Mofkohge record themfelves to be terras filii, and believe their original predeceiTors came from the welt, and relided under ground, which feems to be a faint image of the original formation of mankind out of the earth, perverted by time, and the ufual arts of prieft-craft. It will be fortunate, if the late peace between the Mufkohge and Choktah,. through the mediation of a fuperintendant, doth not foon affect the fecurity of Georgia, and Eaft and Weft-Florida, efpecially fhould it continue long, and Britain and Spain engage in a war againft each other: for Spain will fupply them with warlike (lores, and in concert, may without much oppofition, retake the Floridas ; which they feem to have much at heart. A Cuba velfel,. in the year 1767, which feemed to be coafling on purpofe to meet fome of the Mufkohge, found a camp of them almoft oppofite to the Apalache old fields, and propofed purchafmg thofe lands from them j in order to fecure their liberties, and, at the fame time, gratify the inherent, ardent defire they always had to oppofe the Englifh nation. After many artful flourifhes, well adapted to foothe the natives into a compliance on account of the reciprocal advantages they propofed, fome of the Mufkohge confented to go in the veffel to the Havannah, and there finiffi the friendly bargain. They went, and at the time propofed, were fent back to the fame place, but, as they are very clofe in their fecrets, the traders know not the re-fult of that affair-, but when things in Europe require, time will difclofe it. As the Mufkohge were well known to be very mifchievous to our barrier-inhabitants, and to be an over-match for the numerous and fickle Choktah, the few warlike Chikkafah, by being put in the fcale with thefe, would in a few years, have made the Mufkohge kick the beam. Thus our fouthern colonitts might have fat in pleafure, and fecurity, under their fig-trees, and in their charming arbours of fruitful grape-vines. But now, they are uncertain whether they plant for themfelves, or for the red favages, who frequently take away by force or Health, their horfes and other effects. The Mufkohge chieftain, called the " Great Mortar," abetted the Cheerake againft us, as hath been already noticed, and frequently, with his warriors and relations, carried them as good a fupply of ammunition, as the French of the Alebahmah-garrifon could well fpare : for by order of their government, they were bound to referve a certain quantity, for any unforefeen occafion fion that might happen. If they had been pofleft of more, they would have given with a liberal hand, to enable them to carry on a war againft us, and they almoft effected their earneft willies, when the Englifh little expected it; for as foon as the watchful officer of the garrifon, was informed by his trufty and well inftructed red difciple, the Great Mortar, that the Cheerake were on the point of declaring againft the Englifh, he faw the confequence, and fent a pacquet by a Mufkohge runner, to Tumbikbe-fort in the Choktah country, which was forwarded by another, and foon delivered to the governor of New-Orleans: the contents informed him of the favourable opportunity that offered for the French to fettle themfelves in the Cheerake country, where the late Fort-London flood, near the conflux of Great Telliko and Tennafe-rivers, and fo diflrefs our fouthern colonies, as the body of the Cheerake, Mufkohge, Choktah, Aquahpa, and the upper Miflifippi-Indians headed by the French, would be able to maintain a certain fuccefsful war againft us, if well fupplied with ammunition. Their deliberations were fhort—they foon fent off a large pettiaugre, fufHciently laden with warlike ftores,. and decoying prefents; and in obedience to the orders the crew had received of making all the difpatch they poflibly could, in the third moon of their departure from New Orleans, they arrived within a hundred and twenty computed miles of thofe towns that are a little above the unhappy Fort-Loudon : there they were luckily flopped in their mifchievous career, by a deep and dangerous cataract-, the waters of which rolled down with a prodigious rapidity, dafhed againft the oppofite rocks, and from thence rulked-off with impetuous violence, on a quarter-angled courfe. It appeared fo ihocking and unfurmountable to the monfleurs, that after flaying there a conflderable time, in the vain expectation of feeing fome of their friends, necefllty forced them to return back to New Orleans, about 2600 computed miles, to their inconfolable difappointment. Thefe circumftances are now well known to our colonies: and, if our ftate policy had not fufliciently difcovered itfelf of late, it would appear not a little furprifing that the Great Mortar, fhould have fuch influence on the great beloved man, (fo the Indians term the fuperintendant) as. to move him, at a congrefs in Augufta, to write by that bitter enemy of the Englifh name, a conciliating letter to the almoft-vanquifhed and de-fponding Choktah—for where the conquerors have not an oblique point in. view,, view, the conquered are always the firft who humbly fue for peace. This beloved epiflle, that accompanied the eagles-tails, fwans-wings, white beads, white pipes, and tobacco, was fent by a white interpreter, and Mefic-Jhetke, a Mufkohge war-chieftain, to the perfidious Choktah, as a ftrong confirmation of peace. Without doubt it was a mafter ltroke of court-policy, to ftrive to gain fo many expert red auxiliaries; and plainly fhews how extremely well he deferves his profitable place of public truft. I am affured by two refpectable, intelligent, old Indian traders, G. G. and L. M. G. JEfq.*, that they frequently diffuaded him from ever dab-ling in fuch muddy waters ■, for the confequence would unavoidably prove fatal to our contiguous colonies. This was confirmed by a recent inflance—the late Cheerake war, which could not have commenced, if the Mufkohge and Cheerake had not been reconciled, by the affiduous endeavours of an avaricious, and felf-intercfted governor. If any reader reckons this too bold, or perfonal, I requeft him to perufe a performance, entitled, " A modeft reply to his Excellency J. G. Efq-," printed in Charles-town, in the year 1750, in which every material circumftance is fufHciently authenticated. When we confider the defencelefs ftate, and near fituation of our three fouthern barrier colonies to the numerous Mufkohge and Choktah—what favourable opinion can charity reafonably induce us to form of the continued train of wrong meafures the managers of our Indian affairs have ftudioufly pur-fued, by officioufly mediating, and reconciling the deep-rooted enmity which fubfifted between thofe two mifchievous nations ? If they could not, confident with the tenour of their political office, encourage a continuance of the war, they might have given private inftrudions to fome difcreet trader to ftrive to influence them, fo as to continue it. It is excufable in clergymen that live in England to perfuade us to inculcate, and endeavour to promote peace and good will, between the lavages of the remote defarts of America ; efpecially if they employ their time in fpiritual affairs, to which they ought to be entirely devoted, and not as courtiers, in the perplexing labyrinths of ftate affairs: but what can be faid of thofe ftates-men, who inftead of faithfully guarding the lives and privileges of valuable lubjeefs, extend mercy to their murderers, who have a long a long time wantonly ihed innocent blood, and fometimes with dreadful tortures ? The blood cries aloud to the avenging God, to caufe juftice to be executed on their execrable heads: for a while they may efcape due punifliment, but at laft it will fall heavy upon them. When the fuperintendant's deputy convened moft of the Mufkohge head-men, in order to write a friendly mediating letter to the Chikkafah, in behalf of the Mufkohge, the Great Mortar, animated with a bitter refentment againft any thing tranfacfed by any of the Britifli nation, introduced a conflderable number of his relations, merely to difconcert this plan. The letter, and ufual Indian tokens of peace and friendlhip, were however carried up by a Chikkafah trader: but the Great Mortar timed it fo well, that he foon fet off after the other with ninety warriors, till he arrived within 150 miles of the Chikkafah country, which was half way from the weftern barriers of his own-, there he encamped with 83, and fent off feven of the ftauncheft to furprize and kill whomfoever they could. Two days after the exprefs was delivered, they treacheroufiy killed two young women, as they were hoeing in the field ; all the people being off their guard, on account of the late friendly tokens they received, and the affurance of the white man that there were no vifible tracks of any perfon on the long trading path he had come. This was the beginning of May, in the year 1768, a few hours after I had fet off for South-Carolina. As foon as the fculking barbarians had difcharged the contents of their guns into their innocent victims, they tomohawked them, and with their long (harp knives, took off the fcalps, put up the dea.th wkoo-whoop-whcop, and bounded away in an oblique courfe, to fhun the dreaded purfnic. The Chikkafah foon put up their fhrill war-whoop, to arm and purfue, and fixty fet off on horfe-back, full fpeed. They over-fhot that part of the woods the enemy were moft likely to have fled through ; and four young fprightly Chikkafah warriors who outran the reft, at laft difcovered, and intercepted them ;—they fhot dead the Great Mortar's brother, who was the leader, fcalped him, and retook one of the young women's fcalps that was faftened to his girdle. Three continued the chafe, and the fourth in a fhort time overtook them : foon afterward, they came up again with.the enemy, at the edge of a large cane-fwamp, thick-warped with vines, and china briers \ there they flopped, and were at firft in doubt of their being fome of their their own company : the purfued foon difcovered them, and immediately in-fwamped, whereupon the four were forced to decline the attack, the dtiad-vantage being as four to eight in an open engagement. In a few days after, I fell in with them their gloomy and fierce countenances cannot be expreffed ■, and I had the uncourted honour of their company, three different times before I could reach my declined place, on account of a very uncommon and fudden flow of the rivers, without any rain. Between fun-fet and eleven o'clock the next day, the river, that was but barely our height in the evening, was fwelled to the prodigious height of twenty-five feet perpendicular, and fwept along with an impetuous force. It may not be improper here to mention the method we commonly ufe in croffing deep rivers.—When we expect high rivers, each company of traders carry a canoe, made of tannned leather, the fides over-lapped about three fingers breadth, and well fewed with three feams. Around the gunnels, which are made of fapplings, are ftrong loop-holes, for large deer-fkin firings to hang down both the fides : with two of thefe, is fecurely tied to the ftem and (fern, a well-fliaped fappling, for a keel, and in like manner the ribs. Thus, they ufually rig out a canoe, fit to carry over ten horfe loads at once, in the fpace of half an hour; the apparatus is afterwards commonly hidden with great care, on the oppofite fhore. Few take the trouble to paddle the canoe for, as they are commonly hardy, and alfo of an amphibious nature, they ufually jump into the river, with their leathern barge a-head of them, and thruft it through the deep part of the water, to the oppofite fhore. When we ride only with a few luggage horfes, as was our cafe at Sip-fe, or " Poplar,", the above-mentioned high-fwelled river, we make a frame of dry pines, which we tie together with ftrong vines, well twifted •, when we have raifed it to be fufficiently buoyant, we load and paddle it acrofs the ftilleft part of the water we can conveniently find, and afterward fwim our horfes together, we keeping at a little diftance below them. At the time we firft began to fearch for convenient floating timber, I chanced to ftand at the end of a dry tree, overfet by a hurricane, within three feet of a great rattle fnake, that was coiled, and on his watch of felf-defence, under thick herbage. I foon efpied, and killed 7 him. killed him. But an aftrologer, of twenty years ftanding among the Indians, immediately declared with ftrong affeverations, we fhould foon be expofed to imminent danger; which he expatiated upon largely, from his imagined knowledge of a combination of fecond caufes in the celeftial regions, atfluating every kind of animals, vegetables, &c. by their fubtil and delegated power. I argued in vain to hum his groundlefs fears: however, while the raft was getting ready, another gentleman, to quiet his timorous apprehenfions, accompanied me with fire-arms, pretty near the path in the beforementioned cane-fwamp, and we (laid there a conflderable while, at a proper diftance apart—at laft we heard the well-mimicked voice of partridges, farther off than our fight could difcover, on which one of us ftruck up the whoop of friendlhip and indifference •, for I knew that the beft way of arguing on fuch occafions, was by a firmnefs of countenance and behaviour. I then went near to my companion, and faid, our cunning man was an Aberdeen wizard, as he had fo exactly foretold the event. The favages had both difcovered our tracks, and heard the found of the ax. We foon met them they were nine of the mifchievous Obchai town, who had feparated from the reft of their company. We converfed a little while together upon our arms, and in this manner exchanged provifions with each other—then we went down to the bank of the river, where they opened their packs, fpread out fome hairy deer and bear fkins with the flefhy fide undermoft, and having firft placed on them their heavy things, and then the lighter, with the guns which lay uppermoft, each made two knots with the fhanks of a fkin, and in the fpace of a few minutes, they had their leathern barge afloat, which they foon thruft before them to the other fhore, with a furprifingly fmall deviation from a direct courfe, confidering the ftrong current of the water. When our aftrologer faw them fafe off, he wifhed them a fpeedy journey home, without being expofed to the neceffity of any delay. He was'foon after carried fafe over on our raft, though once he almoft over-fet it, either by reafon of the ab-fence, or difturbance, of his mind. Had he contracted a fever, from the impending dangers his knowledge affured him were not yet paft, the cold fweat he got when left by himfelf, while we were returning with the raft, and afterward fwimming with the horfes, muft have contributed a good deal to the cure. Soon afterwards, we came in fight of their camp in a little fpot of clear land, furrounded by a thick cane-fwamp, where fome traders formerly had been killed by the Choktah. Our aftrologer N n urged urged the neceflity of proceeding a good way farther, to avoid the danger. I endeavoured to convince him by feveral recent inftances, that a timorous conduct was a great incentive to the bafe-minded favages, to do an injury, not expecting any defence ■> while an open, free, and refolute behaviour, a (how of taking pleafure in their company, and a dilcreet care of our fire-arms, leldom failed to gain the good will of fuch as are not engaged in actual war againft our country: he acquiefced, as I engaged to fit next to the Indian camp, which was about a dozen yards apart from our's. He chofe his place pretty near to mine, but in the evening, I told him, that as I did not understand the Mufkohge dialect, nor they much of the Chikkafah language, I would give him the opportunity of diverting himfelf at leifure with them, whilft on account of the fatigues of the day, I would repofe myfelf clofe at the root of a neighbouring tree. This method of encamping in different places, on hazardous occafions, is by far the fafeft way. I told them, before my removal to my night quarters, that he was almoft their countryman, by a refidcnce of above twenty years among them,—their chieftain therefore readily addreffed him, and according to what I expected, gave me an opportunity of decently retiring. But when he expected a formal reply, according to their ufual cuflom, our aftrological interpreter fpoke only a few words, but kept pointing to the river, and his wet clothes, and to his head, fhaking it two or three times ; thereby informing them cf the great danger he underwent in crofling the water, which gave him fy violent a head-ach, as to prevent his fpeaking with any pleafure. I laughed, and foon after endeavoured to perfuade him to go over a little while to their camp, as I had done, and by that means, he might know better their prefent difpofition; he replied with a. doleful accent,.that he was already too near them, to the great danger of his life, which he now too late faw expofed, by believing my doctrine of bringing them to obferve friendly meafures, inltead of pufhing beyond them as he had earneftly propofed. I afked him how he could reafonably fear, or expect to Ihun a fudden death, no account of his knowledge of the ftarry influences, and fkill in expounding dreams, and efpecially as he feemed firmly to believe the deity had pre-determined the exact time of every living creature's continuance here: upon this he prevaricated, and told me, that as I knew nothing of aftrology, nor of the uJeful and fkilful expofltion of important dreams, neither believed any thing or witches and wizards being troublefome and hurtful to odieis, he ou.kl not imagine I believed any thing of a divine providence or a reiuncction of the dead; which were evidently,. 5 alike alike true, as appeared both by divine writ, and the united confent of every ancient nation. He faid, people were ordered to watch and pray I therefore could not be ruled by the fcripture, for why did I go to bed fo foon, and leave all that trouble to him. I told him, I wiflied he might by prayer, obtain a calm compofure of mind. He faid, I was the caufe of all his uneafinefs, by inducing him, contrary to his over night's bloody dream, to lie fo near thofe wolfifh favages. Then, in an angry panic, he curfed me, and faid, he fhould not that night have prayed there, only that the devil tempted him to believe my damned lies, and fin againft the divine intimations he had received juft before. Within half a day's ride of Augufta, I met the gentlemen who were appointed to meet certain head-men of the Mufkohge, to run a line, between Georgia and the Mufkohge country. The fuperintendant's deputy before-mentioned, accompanying them ; I then informed him of the bad fituation of the Indian trade, both in the Chikkafah, and Mufkohge nations—The caufe thereof—The dangerous policy of having reconciled thofe jarring warlike favages—the ill difpofition of the latter toward us,—and that it was the opinion of all the traders (one excepted) that nothing, but their hot war with the Choktah, prevented them from executing their mifchievous intentions againft us. I faid this to the commiflary before the feveral gentlemen ; but his conduct, and that of his brother officer in the Chikkafah country, were no way correspondent to the advice. While he benefited the ungrateful Mufkohge, and gave them a plea to injure the traders, he was free from perfonal danger, from the red quarter; but one night at camp, after the line had been, at the friendly and artful perfuafions of G. G. Efq; run above twenty miles beyond the fouthern limits agreed upon, he almoft fatally experienced the effects of their revengeful temper-, which cannot be refirained when they imagine themfelves really injured, and afterwards infuked : for as he was chiding a noted warrior with fharp language, the favage leaped up, feized the other's gun, cocked, and prefented it againft his bread:-, but luckily he could not difcharge it, as it was double-tricker'd, contrary to the model of their fmooth-bored guns. The public prints, however, echoed the fuccefs of our directors of Indian affairs, on this important occafion; though it was entirely owing to the abilities and N n 2 faithful faithful application, firft, of Mr. G. G. and afterwards of Mr. L. M. G. which the deputy almoft prevented by his imprudent conduct, that had nearly coft him alfo his life, and endangered the public tranquility. In the year 1749, when I was going to Charles-town, under the provincial feal of South-Carolina, with a party of the Chikkafah Indians, the fmall-pox attacked them, not far from the Mufkohge country ; which becoming general through the camp, I was under the neceftity of fetting off by myfelf, between Flint river, and that of the Okmulgeh. I came up with a large camp of Mufkohge traders, returning from the Englifh fettlements: the gentlemen told me, they had been lately aftured at Augufta by the Cheerake traders, that above a hundred and twenty of the French Shawano might be daily expected near that place, to cut off the Englifti traders, and plunder their camps, and cautioned me, with much earneftnefs at parting, to keep a watchful eye during that day's march. After having rode fifteen miles, about ten o'clock, I difcovered ahead through the trees, an Indian amending a fteep hill: he perceived me at the fame inftant, for they are extremely watchful on fuch dangerous attempts — Ambufcade is their favourite method of attack. As the company followed their leader in a line, each at the diftance of a few yards from the other, all foon appeared in view. As foon as I difcovered the foremoft, I put up the fhrill whoop of friendlhip, and continually fecmcd to look earneftly behind me, till we approached near to each other, in order to draw their attention from me, and fix it that way, as fuppofing me to be the foremoft of a company ftill behind. Five or fix foon ran at full fpeed on each fide of the path, and blocked up two vallies, which happened to be at the place cf our meeting, to prevent my efcape. They feemed as if their defign was to attack me with their barbed arrows, left they fhould alarm my fuppofed companions by the report of their guns. I obferved that inftead of carrying their bow and quiver over their fhoulder, as is the travelling cuftom, they held the former in their left hand, bent, and fome arrows. I approached and addreifed them, and endeavoured to appear quite indifferent at their hoftile arrangement. While I held my gun ready in my right hand about five yards diftant from them, their leader who ftood foremoft came and ftruck my breaft with the but-end of one of my piftols, which I had in my left hand : I told him with that vehemence of fpeech, which is always requifite on fuch an occafion, that I was an Englifh Chikkafah ; and informed him by expreffive geftures that there were two tens of Chik-5 kalah kafah warriors, and more than half that number of women, befides children, a little behind, juft beyond the firft hill. At this news, they appeared to be much confufed, as it was unexpected for fuch a number of warlike enemies to be fo near at hand. This Shawano partly confifted only of twenty-three middle fized, but ftrong bodied men, with large heads and broad flat crowns, and four tall young perfons, whom I conjectured to be of the Cheerake nation. I fpoke a little to a hair-lipped warrior among them, who told me he lived in dl girt over one fhoulder, and acrofs under the other. We feemed equally glad to meet each other-, they, to hear how affairs ftood in their country, as well as on the trading path ; and I to find, that inftead of bitter-hearted foes, they were friends, and would fecure my retreat from any purfuit that might happen. 1 told them the whole circumftances attending niy meeting the Shawano, with their being conducted by our deceitful Cheerake friends, who were defirous of fpoiling the old beloved white path, by making it red ; and earneftly perfuaded them to be on their guard that night, as I imagined the enemy had purfued me when they found found I had eluded their bloody intention. Afcer a long convention together, I advifed them to go home through the woods, to prevent a larger body of the lurking enemy from fpoiling them, and their beloved country, by the lofs of fo many old beloved men, and noted warriors. I faid this, to roufe them againft the Cheerake-, well knowing that one pack of wolves, was the beft watch againft another of the fame kind. They thanked me for the friendly notice I gave them, and the care I fhewed for their fafety, and engaged me to call the next day at a hunting camp, where was a war-leader, the fon of the dog-king of the Huphale-Town, with a conflderable number of their people, and defire them to remove with all fpeed to their camp, at the place they then fixed on. We fmoked tobacco, and parted well pleated. According to promife, I went the next day to the camp, and delivered their mcfiage, which was readily complied with. The Shawano whom I had eluded, after rambling about, and by viewing the fmoke of fires from the tops of high hills and trees, and carefully liftening to the report of guns, fell in with two Chikkafah hunters, who were adopted relations of the Mufkohge, and killed, and fcalped them, and then ran off to the northern towns of the Cheerake. This was the true and fole caufe of the laft war between the Mufkohge and Cheerake : and the following account of the caufe of thofe nations entering into amity with each other, will, on the ftricteft enquiry, be found as true. The caufe and direful effects are ftill feelingly known to great numbers of the fuffering inhabitants, which I infert by way of caution to ftates-men hereafter. As the Indians have no public faith to fecure the lives of friendly meflengers in war-tirne, their wars are perpetuated from one generation to another, unlefs they are ended by the mediation of fome neutral party. A very polifhed courtier prefided in South Carolina, who was laid to have eaft a very earneft eye on the fuppofed profits of the Cheerake trade, which were much leffened by the Mufkohge war -, and, in order to eftablifh it at its former value, fo as to be worth fome hazard, he exerted himfelf to reconcile the Mufkohge and Cheerake. If he fucceeded, he was fure to be fomething in pocket, and could report at home, the profound peace he had effected between thofe nations by his unwearied endeavours. He accordingly applied to fome of the moft intelligent and leading traders among thofe warring favages, and attempted to perfuade them by the ruling motive of mutual intereft, to be reconciled through his brotherly mediation. Though the Cheerake were great lofers in the war, yet the furviving relations of thofe who had been killed without equal revenge of blood, were at firft inflexible, and deaf to the mediation: but, by the oratory of fome of their own fpeakers who had not fuffered, connected with our traders perfuafions, each feparate family at laft contented to meet their enemies, at the time and place appointed by brotherly requeft, and there bury the bloody tomohawk under ground, and fmoke together, out of the friendly white pipe. But, as the Mufkohge were conquerors, and frequently returned home in their favourite and public triumphant manner, and had then no mifchievous views againft the Englifh, as at prefent,. it was a very difficult tails: to reconcile them to our beloved man's pacific mea-fures: their head-men had great fvvay over the ambitious, and young rifing warriors, and by the former manly conduct of South-Carolina, in obtaining fpeedy redrefs for every material injury, the more fenfible and honeft part of the old leading men were as much averfe to peace, as the light-headed warriors. They well knew the fickle and ungovernable temper of their young men, and ambitious leaders, when they had no red enemies to war with, to obtain higher war-tides by fcalps—and their wifdom faw at a diftance, the dangerous confequences that muft attend a general peace: for 2.. conflderable time, therefore, they highly inveighed, and firmly guarded againft it. But when a man's private intereft coincides with what he intends to accomplish, he is afliduous and more intent to effect it. This was verified by the unwearied diligence of the prime magiftrate alluded to ; he knew the Indians could not kkll fo many deer and beaver in the time of war as of peace, and by his addrefs, he perfuaded feveral of the leading traders, even contrary to their own outward lecurity and inward choice, to exert their ftrongeft endeavours with the Mufkohge for. a reconciliation with the Cheerake. The chief of thofe trading gentlemen, who unwillingly involved himfelf in this' pernicious affair, was the humane and intelligent L. M'G—1—wr—, Efq. Each had their leffons, to fet forth the reciprocal advantages of the contending parties, by fuch a coalition-, but it was finifiied by that gentleman's earneft and well-timed application, connected with his great natural fenfe, and eafy flow of their own bold figurative way of expreffion—and their favourable opinion of his fteady, honeft principles. Since that unlucky period, he has as often lamented his fuccefs in that affair, as the difcerning honeft rulers of the Mufkohge oppofed it. He told me, that when when he was foliciting fome of the head-men to comply with the fraternal propofals of our kindly ruler, he unexpectedly met with a very fharp repulfe; —for, when he had finifhed his oration, on the disadvantages of frowning war, and the advantages of fmiling peace, an old war-leader retorted every paragraph he had fpoken, and told him, that till then he always had reckoned the Englifh a very wife people, but now he was forry to find them unwife, in the moft material point: adding, M You have made yourfelf very poor, by fweating, far and near, in our fmoky town-houfes and hot-houfes, only to make a peace between us and the Cheerake, and thereby enable our young mad people to give you, in a fhort time, a far worfe fweat than you have yet had, or may now expect, But, forafmuch as the great Englifh chieftain in Charles Town, is ftriving hard to have it fo, by ordering you to fhut your eyes, and ftop your ears, left the power of conviction fhould reach your heart, we will not any more oppofe you in this mad fchemc. We fhall be filent concerning it •, otherwife, I fhould be as mad as you, if I reafoned any more with one who is wilfully blind and deaf." A number of their warriors met at Charles Town, at the time appointed: their high-ftationed Englifh friend then took a great deal of pains to inform them of the mutual advantages, that would accrue to them, by a firm peace, and he convinced their fenfes of it, by a vifible proof; for he borrowed from one of them an arrow, and holding each end of it in his hands, he readily broke it, which furprized none of the red fpectators, except the owner,—they did not then regard it as a fym-bolical performance, but a boyifh action. He again requefted from the fame young warrior, the loan of his remaining fheaf of arrows, who reluctantly gave them, as he feared they would all fingly fare the fate of the former. But, when he held the bundle by each end in his hands, and could only bend it a little, he revived the watchful owner, and pleafingly furprized the attentive favages, as he thereby had ftrongly demon-ftrated to them, that vis unita fortior, upon which he expatiated, in eafy fine language, to the great joy of his red audience. By fuch evidence, they were induced to fhake hands firmly together; and likewife to endeavour to preferve a perpetual union with all their neighbouring nations, left the wolf fhould attack them feparately. And ever fince that impolitic mediation, they have been fo ftrongly convinced of their great advantage and fecurity, curity, by a clofe friendly union with each other, that all the efforts of the wife and honeft Georgia patriot, Governor Ellis, in concert with the Indian trading merchants, to diffolve it in the year 1760, proved abortive with the wary and jealous Mufkohge, while we were at war with the Ghee-rake—and many of the out-fettlers of Georgia and South Carolina were plundered and murdered by them, without fparing women or children many inftances of which we were too often well acquainted with on the fpot. The Cheerake, however, ftood in fuch great awe of about fixty Chikkafah warriors, that except once when they were repulfed by a treble inferior number, they durft no; attempt a*ny fort of attack on Georgia barriers, during the whole continuance of the war. The wifdom of the ruling members of that weak colony directed them, in their dangerous circumftances, to chufe the leaft of two evils,—to humour, and bear with thofe mifchievous Mufkohge, rather than involve themfelves in a complicated war with thofe two confederated nations *, which muft have ruined Georgia, in the weak condition it then was. And, notwithftanding they have confiderably increafed fince, both in wealth and number of inhabitants, it is probable, the colony is now lefs capable of bearing with any fort of firmnefs, a fudden fhock from thefe favages, than they were at that time. For, though the people were then fewer in numbers •, yet their fettlements were more compact. By this means, they could eafily join in focial defence, on any alarm: and, as the circumftances of molt of them did not tempt them to enervating luxury, fo the needful exercifes they daily purfued, enabled them to make a diverfion of ranging the woods, when occafion required. Plantations are now fettled, often at a great diftance from each other, even to the outmoft boundaries of the colony, where commonly the beft gunfmen refide, but who probably would be cut off by furprize, at the firft onfet: and, lower down, their difperfed fettlements are often feparated, either by difficult or unpaffable moraffes,—(low running black waters,—or broken falt-water founds; which of courfe would be a great impediment to the people fupporting each other: fo that each plantation is expofed to a feparate affault, by a fuperior body of thofe cunning favages, who attack, and fly away like a fudden thunder guft. We have no fure way to fight them, but in carrying the war into the bowels of their own country, by a fuperior body of the provincial troops, mixed with regulars and as we can expect no mercy in cafe of a defeat, we fhould not defpife their power, but prepare ourfelves for a fure conqueft. Oo ACCOUNT ACCOUNT OF THE CHOKTAH NATION, &c. TH E Choktah country lies in about 33 and 34. Deg. N. L. According to the courfe of the Indian path, their weftern lower towns are fituated two hundred computed miles to the northward of New Orleans •, the upper ones an hundred and fixty miles to the fouth ward of the Chikkafah nation; 150 computed miles to the weft of the late dangerous French Alebahma garrifon, in the Mufkohge country; and 150 to the north of Mobille, which is the firft fettlement, and only town, except New Orleans, that the French had in Weft-Florida. Their country is pretty much in the form of an oblong fquare. The barrier towns, which are next to the Mufkohge and Chikkafah countries, are compadtly fettled for focial defence, according to the general method of other favage nations; but the reft, both in the center, and toward the Miflifippi, are only fcattered plantations, as beft fuits a feparate eafy way of living. A ftranger might be in the middle of one of their populous extenfive towns, without feeing half a dozen of their houfes, in the direct courfe of his path. The French, to intimidate the Englifh traders by the prodigious number of their red legions in Weft-Florida, boafted that the Choktah confifted of nine thoufand men fit to bear arms : but we find the true amount of their numbers, fince Weft-Florida was ceded to us, to be not above half as many as the French report afcertained. And, indeed, if the French and Spanifh writers of the American Aborigines, had kept fo near the truth, as to mix one half of realities, with their flourijliing wild wild hyperboles, the literati would have owed them more thanks than is now their due. Thofe who know the Choktah, will firmly agree in opinion with the French, concerning them, that they are in the higheft degree, of a bale, , ungrateful, and thievilfi difpofition—fickle, and treacherous—ready-witted, and endued with a furprizing flow of fmooth artful language on every fubject, within the reach of their ideas ; in each of thefe qualities, they far exceed any fociety of people I ever faw. They are fuch great proficients in the art of ftealing, that in our ltore-houfes, they often thieve while they are fpeaking to, and looking the owner in the face. It is reckoned a fhame to be detected in the act of theft; but, it is the reward they receive, which makes it fhameful : for, in fuch a cafe, the trader baftinadoes the covetous finner, almoft as long as he feems fenfible of pain. A few years ago, one of the Chikkafah warriors told me, he heard a middle-aged Choktah warrior, boaft in his own country, at a public ball-play, of having artfully ftolen feveral things from one and another trader, to a conflderable amount, while he was cheapening goods of us, and we were blind in our own houfes. As their country is pleafantly interfperfed with hills, and generally abounds with fprings and creeks, or fmall brooks; and is in a happy climate, it is extremely healthful. Having no rivers in their country, few of them can fwim, like other Indians; which often proves hurtful to them, when high frefhes come on while they are out at war. Their towns are fettled on fmall ftreams that purl into Mobille river, and another a little to the fouth-ward of it. Koofah, the largeft town in their nation, lies within i 80 miles of Mobille, at a fmall diftance from the river which glides by that low, and unhealthy old capital. The fummer-breezes pafs by Mobille, in two oppofite directions, along the channel of the river; and very unhealthy vapours keep floating over the fmall femicircular opening of the town, which is on the fouth-fide of the river, oppofite to a very low rnarfli, that was formed by great torrents of water, fweeping down rafts of fallen trees, till they fettled there, and were mixt with the black foil of the low lands, carri d, and fubfiding there in the like manner. From thence, to the oppofite fhore, the river hath a fandy bottom, and at low water is fo very fhallow, that a perfon could almoft walk acrofs, though O02 it it is two leagues broad. The fouthern fide of the river is fo full of great trees, that (loops and fchooners have conflderable difficulty in getting up abreafh: and for a conflderable diftance from the fea-coaft, the land is low, and generally unfit for planting, even on the banks of the river. About forty miles up, the French had a fmall fcttlement of one plantation deep, from the bank of Mobille river. The reft of the land is fandy pine barrens, till within forty miles of the Choktah country, where the oak and the hie-cory-trees firft appear; from whence, it is generally very fertile, for the extenfive fpace of about fix hundred miles toward the north, and in fome places, two hundred and fifty, in others, two hundred and fixty in breadth, from the Miflifippi: This tract far exceeds the beft land I ever faw befides in the extenfive American world. It is not only capable of yielding the various produce of all our North-American colonies on the main continent, as it runs from the fouth, towards the north ; but, likewife, many other valuable commodities, which their fituation will never allow them to raife. From the fmall rivers, which run through this valuable large tract, the far-extending ramifications are innumerable; each abounding with evergreen canes and reeds, which are as good to raife cattle in winter, as the beft hay in the northern colonies, I need not mention the goodnefs of the fummer-ranges ; for, where the land is good, it always produces various forts of good timber, fuch as oak of different kinds; hiccory, wall-nut, and poplar-trees. The grafs is commonly as long and tender, as what the beft Englifh meadows yield; and, if thofe vacant fertile lands of the Miflifippi were fettled by the remote inhabitants of Virginia, the Ohio, and North-Carolina, they, from a fmall flock, could in a few years raife a prodigious number of horfes, horned cattle, fheep, and fwine, without any more trouble than branding, marking, and keeping them tame, and deftroying the beafts of prey, by hunting them with dogs, and fhooting them from the trees. Soon they might raife abundance of valuable productions, as would both enrich themfelves and their off-fpring, and, at the fame time, add in a very high degree to the naval trade and manufactures of Great-Britain. The Choktah flatten their foreneads with a bag of fand, which with great care they keep fattened on the fcull of the infant, while it is in its tender and imperfect ftate. Thus they quite deform their face, and give themfelves an appearance, which is dlfagreeable to any but thofe of their own. c likenefs. likenefs. Their features and mind, indeed, exactly correfpond together \ for, except the intenfe love they bear to their native country, and their utter contempt of any kind of danger, in defence of it, I know no other virtue they are pofleffed of: the general obfervation of the traders among them is juft, who affirm them to be diverted of every property of a human being, except fhape and language. Though the French at Mobille, and fome at New Orleans, could fpeak the Choktah language extremely well, and confequently guide them much better than the Englifh (notwithstanding we gave them a far greater fupply of every kind of goods than they could purchafe) yet, the French allowed none of them arms and ammunition, except fuch who went to war againft our Chikkafah friends. One "of thofe outftanding companies was compofed alfo of feveral row ns y for, ufually one town had not more than from five, to feven guns. When the owners therefore had hunted one moon, they lent them for hire to others, for the like fpace of time •, which was the reafon, that their deer-fkins, by being chiefly killed out of feafon, were then much lighter than now. The French commandant of Tumbikpe garrifon fupervifed the trade, as none was ever chofen to prefide in fo critical a place, unlefs well and early acquainted in the dialect, manners, and cuftoms of the favages. The French Indian garrifons confifted of chofen provincial families, who had not the leaft fpark of that haughty pride and contempt, which is too often predominant, at leaft among the ignorant part of the foidiery, againft all, except their own fraternity. The Choktah were known to be of fo fickle, treacherous, and bloody a difpor-fition, that only three or four pedlars were allowed to go among them at a time: when they returned to the fort, the fame number went out again, with as many trifles as a fmall barrel would conveniently contain. Thus they continued to amufe the favages of low rank, but they always kept the head-men in pay. Thefe, at every public meeting, and convenient occafion, gave Mated energetic orations in praife of the French •, and,, by this means, the reft were influenced. The pedlars thus got almoft what they were pleafed to afk, in return for their worthlefs trifles. All the way up the numerous ftreams of the Miflifippi, and down thofe of Canada river, their wifdom directed them to keep up the price of their goods, and, by that means, they retained the favages in the firmeft amity with them ; no trader was allowed among them, except thofe of fufficient fkill, in that dangerous fphere of life, and of faithful principles to government. The French very juftly fay, the Englifh fpoil the favages, wherever their trade extends among them. them. They were too wife ever to corrupt them, according to our modern mad fchemes. They had two great annual marts, where the Indians came to traffic for their deer-fkins, beaver, and peltry *, the one, at Montreal ; and the other, at the Illinois, under the cannon of thofe garrifons. But the Philadelphians, in order to ingrofs the trade of the latter place, by a foolifh. notion of under-felling the old French traders, have ruined, and, as I am lately informed, entirely difcontinued it. They who fpeak fo much in favour of lowering the Indian trade, ought firft to civilize the favages, and convince them of the abfolute neceffity there is of felling the fame fort of goods, at various prices, according to different circumftances, either of time or place. While the prefent ill adapted meafures are continued, nothing lefs than the miraculous power of deity can poflibly effect the Indians reformation ; many of the prefent traders are abandoned, reprobate, white favages. Inftead of fhewing good examples of moral conduct, befides their other part of life, they inftruct the unknowing and imitating favages, in many diabolical leffons of obfeenity and blafphemy. When the Englifh were taking pofTeffion of Mobille, the French commander had given previous orders to a fkilful interpreter, to inform the Choktah, that his Chriftian Majefty, for peace-fake, had given up Mobille garrifon to the avaricious Englifh nation ; but at the end of three years, the French would return and fee to what purpofe they had applied it. The Choktah believed the declaration to be as true, as if feveral of their old head-men had dreamed it. The fore-fighted French knew their fickle and treacherous difpofition, and that by this ftory, well fup-ported with prefents, they would be able, when occafion required, to excite them to commence a new war againft us. The mafterly fkill of the French enabled them to do more with thofe favages, with trifles, than all our experienced managers of Indian affairs have been able to effect, by the great quantities of valuable goods, they gave them, with a very prof ufe hand. The former beftowed their fmall favours with exquiflte wifdom ; and their value was exceedingly inhanced, by the external kindly behaviour, and well adapted fmooth addrefs of the giver. But our wife men in this department, bellow the prefents of the government, too often, in fuch a manner as to rivet the contempt they have imbibed againft us; for I have been frequently upbraided, even by the old friendly Chikkafah, when inebriated, that the Englifh in general defpifed their friends, and were were kindeft to thofe who moil: infulted and injured them ; and, that the fureft way for the red people to get plenty of prefents, was not to deferve them, but to act the murdering part of the ill-hearted Mufkohge. In confirmation of their ftrong invectives, they recited above feventy inftances of the Mufkohge having murdered the Englifh, not only with impunity, but with filent approbation ; as they foon afterward received large prefents, which muft be either as a due for the bloodfhed, or tribute given through fear. They enumerated fome facts, which were attended with fhocking circumtfances : as, an innocent mother of good report, and two of her little children, put to flow torture in boiling water •, and feveral of the like nature, which the Mufkohge themfelves had informed them of' in a way of boafting, and to induce them to imitate their mifchievous, but profitable example. While we bear any cool premeditated acts of Indian hoflility with that crouching bale behaviour, fuch paffive conduct will ferve only to tempt the Indians to advance in their favourite fcience of blood, and commence a general war. For cowards they always infuit and delpife, and will go any diftance to revenge the blood of one of their tribe, even that of an old woman. As it was confidently reported, that a military government would be continued by us in Weft Florida, till it was thick fettled, the French inhabitants imagining that event could not happen till doom'-day, moftly retired to New Orleans, in order to ihun fuch a tyrannic police. They were afraid of being itnprifoned, and whipped, at the Governor's caprice, and even for things unnoticeable in the eye of the law ; for as he ruled imperial over the foldiery, he would expect all his orders to be readily obeyed by every other perfon, without any hefitation. Such things are too common in a military government, and it was fatally experienced in this. In order to eftablifh his abfolute power, as the merchants, and other gentlemen at Mobille, of generous principles defpifed it, he found a plea to contend with one of them, though it was both illegal, and entirely out of his element. A Choktah having bought a fmall brafs-kettle of one of the principal merchants of that place, was perfuaded by a Frenchman, to return it, bring the value to him, and he would give him a better one in its ftead ; for there happened to be a very fmall crack of no confequence, and fcarcely discernible, juft above the rim. The Indian accordingly went to return it; but the gentleman would not receive it, as it was good, and fairly fold at 5 the the ufual price. The Choktah went back to the Frenchman to excufe himfelf in not being able to deal with him, as propofed who perfuaded him to complain to the Governor of the pretended injuftice he had received from the merchant—he did, and the ruler gladly embraced the opportunity to gratify his pride, and aggrandize his power. He immediately fent fome of his underlings, with a pofitive verbal command to the gentleman, to cancel the bargain with the Choktah, and deliver to him what he claimed, on receiving his own : the free-born Briton excufed his non-compliance, in a -rational and polite manner, according to his conftant eafy behaviour. Upon this, like a petty tyrant, the chief fent a file of mufqueteers for him. When he appeared before his greatnefs, he afferted the common privileges of a trading free fubject of Great Britain, with decent firmnefs *, and fet forth the ill confequences of giving the troublefome favages an example fo hurtful to trade, with other arguments well adapted to the occafion. The return was, an order to thruft the gentleman into the black-hole of the garrifon, where he was detained and treated as a capital criminal, till, by the lofs of health through the dampnefs of that horrid place, the love of life prompted him to comply with every demand. Had he waited the award of a court-martial, probably he would have had juftice done him •, for, except a couple of the officers of the commander's own principles, all the reft blamed, if not defpifed him for his haughtinefs and ungenerous principles. This is a genuine fample of military governments— the Canadians may expect many fuch inftauces of juftice and humanity in confequence of the late Quebec act, if it be not repealed. While this military man acted in the magifterial office, though in pain when not triumphing over thofe peaceable fubjects who would not ftoop before him below the character of freemen, .to flatter his lordly ambition ; yet it was affirmed, he could not ftand the fight of the inebriated Choktah. One inftance of his paflive conduct toward them, deferves to be recorded—As the centinels at the gates of his houfe, were ftrictly ordered not to refift the favages, thefe foon became fo impudent as to infult them at pleafure; and one of them, without the leaft provocation, (truck a foldier (while on his duty ftanding centry) with a full bottle on his head, with that violence, as to break his fcull; the unfortunate foldier languished, and died, by the blow, without the leaft retaliation; though fo abfolutely needful in our early ftate of fettling that part of the continent. We We well know the fate of the Britifli Americans in general, as to property, liberty, and life, if their court-enemies could but metamorphofe them into affes, and quietly impofe upon them military men as governors, and magiftrates, to inforce a ftricTt obedience to their grafping hand, and boundlefs will. But, may our wife itatefmen henceforth rather keep them at home, and place them over fuch mean fpirits as have fold their birth-rights for a mefs of pottage, and are degenerated from every virtue of the true and brave Englishman ! Though the French Americans were as defirous of purchaflng Indian deer-fkins and beaver as the Englifh could well be; yet they wifely declined, where the public peace and fecurity required it. By their wifdom, they employed the favages, as occafion offered, and kept them entirely dependant. They diftributed through each nation, a conflderable number of medals and flourifhing commifllons, in a very artful gradation, fo as to gratify their proud tempers, and obtain an univerfal fway over them. They alfo fent a gun-fmith to each of their countries, to mend the locks of their guns, at the expence of government: and any warrior who brought his chieftain's medal as a certificate, was waited on, and fent off with honour, and a very bon grace, to his entire fatisfaction: with this, and other inftances of good conduct, they led the favages at pleafure. When the French evacuated the Alebahma garrifon, the Mufkohge defpitefully objected againft receiving any fuch favours from us. Even our old friendly Chikkafah were only tantalized with our friendfhip on that occafion, for the gun-fmith was recalled—which, joined with the reft of the bad conduct of our managers of Indian affairs, vexed them fo exceedingly, that they were on the point of committing hoftilities againft us, in the year 1769 : fo widely different is our Indian-trading conduct from that of the French. They wifely preferred the fecurity of their valuable, but weak country to the dangerous profits of trade •, they kept the beft orators and the head-men as penfioners, on their fide, and employed the reft of the warriors in their favourite fcience againft the Chikkafah. As with the high placed mercenaries in Great Britain, fo it will be a very difficult tafk (for fome time) to manage any of the Indians well, particularly the Choktah, unlefs they in P p fome fome manner receive a favourite bribe, under the name of prefents, as they ufually had from the French. By reafon of our mifconducf, and the foolifh diftribution of prefents, fince Florida was ceded to us, they have been twice on the point of breaking with us, though the managers of our Indian affairs were at the fame time echoing in the public papers of Georgia and South-Carolina, the peaceable and friendly difpofition of all the favage nations around the colonies. The Choktah were de-figned to ftrike the firft blow on their traders, and immediately to follow it on the inhabitants of Mobille; which, they imagined, they could eafily effect by furprife in the night, and fo enrich themfelves with an immenfe booty. The firft of thofe bloody plans was concerted againft us, October the 18th 1765. The caufe of which I fhall relate. In the eaftern part of the Chikkafah nation, there is a young, and very enterprifing war-leader, called " the Torrepine Chieftain," or " The leader of the land-tortoife family his ambitious temper, which one of the traders at firft imprudently fupported againft our old friendly war chieftain, Pa-Yah-Matahaby has unhappily divided the nation into two parties, which frequently act in oppofition to any falutary meafure, which is either propofed, or purfued by the other. The Torrepine chief received an embafty from the Mufkohge Great Mortar to engage him againft vis, through a falfe pretence that we intended to take their lands, and captivate their women and children ; as the vaft ftrides we lately made through that extenfive tract, from Georgia, to New Orleans, and up the Miflifippi, all the way to the Illinois, he faid, would clearly convince fo wife a people. He exhorted the Choktah war-leaders and old beloved men to roufe their martial tempers to defend their liberty and property, and preferve their holy-places, and holy things, from the ambitious views of the impure and co* vetous Englifh people, to liften to the loud call of liberty, and join heart and hand in its generous defence, which they now could eafily effect, by crufhing the fnake in its' infant ftate ; whereas delay would allow it time to collect ftrength, to the utter danger of every thing they held as valuable—that now was the'time to avert thofe dangerous evils, and that their mutual fafety was at ftake. He allured them from repeated experience, that the very worft that could befall them would be only a trifling fcolding in their ears, and prefents in their hands to make up the breach. The afpiring Chikkafah leader was, in a great meafure, induced to fall in in with that cunning deceiver's meafures by having feen above fixty of the Mufkohge head-men and warriors, who received conflderable prefents from Geo. Johnftone, Efq; Governor of Weft-Florida, at Penfacola. They told him our liberality proceeded intirely from fear; that when they killed any of our defpicable and helplefs fwarms, they always received the like quantity, to quiet the martial hearts of their gallant young warriors; and that the fole reafon we were fo frugal to the Chikkafah, was owing to their unwife attachment to us; but if they followed their copy, they would foon become as rich as themfelves. If the fagactous, and gallant governor could have executed his will, they would not have thus boafted—he warmly debated in council to order each of them to be fecured, as hottages, and kept aboard a man of war in the harbour, till fatisfaction was remitted for the unprovoked, and wilful murders that nation had committed on feveral of his majefty's peaceable fubjects: but his fpirited refolution was overborne by a conflderable majority of votes. However, when they got home, they told our traders that his excellency's fpeech was quite different to that of the beloved white man, meaning the fuper-intendant, for it was very fharp and wounding ; and that his eyes fpoke, and glanced the fire alfo which was burning in his heart. No people are more obfervant of the paflions in the honeft face than they. Their eyes and judgment are furprifingly piercing; and in confequence of this Governors open, fteady, virtuous conduct, all our neighbouring nations honour and love him, to this very day. The Chikkafah chief fent his bloody embaffy to the Choktah by a cunning and trufty uncle, who accompanied me to the late Tumbikpe-fort. I was ignorant of the mifchievous plan, till we arrived at camp, near the Great Red Captain's: there, in bed at night, I plainly overheard the whole, and faw the white fwan's wings, and others painted red and black,— perfuafive and fpeaking emblems of friendlhip to the one party, and war, blood, and death to the other. They received thofe bafe tokens, according to the mifchievous intention of thofe who fent them. As they are fond of novelty, the news was conveyed through the nation, with profound fe-crefy : befides, they were very much rejoiced at fo favourable an opportunity of making peace with the Mufkohge, who awed them exceedingly, on account of their repeated loffes, which were chiefly occalioned by their want P p 2 Of of fkill in fwimming. Tumbikpe garrifon, a little before this time, was very unwifely removed ; but, to fupply that wrong meafure, our fuperintendant of Indian affairs, ftationed here one of his reprefentatives. He was as much unacquainted with the language, 'manners, and cuftoms of the Indians, as his employer: and yet wrote a conflderable volume how to regulate Indian affairs in general, and particularly in the Choktah country. Befides his want of proper qualifications in fo nice and difficult an office, he was in his temper fo turbulent, proud, and querulous, that his prefence inftead of quieting the favages, was more than fufficient to dif-oblige, and diffract them, in the moft friendly times. He lived in the deferted garrifon, as a place of fecurity, kept weighty pullies to the gates, and his own door fhut, as if the place had been a monaftery •, which was the worft meafure he could poffibly have purfued, confidering the proud and familiar temper of thofe he had to deal with, and the late foothing treatment of the French to them. Kapteny Humma Echeto " the Great Red Captain," fent word to him he would call there, on a certain day, to confer with him on fome material bulinefs. On account of their fluctuatine councils in fo weighty an affair as the intended war, he prolonged the time of going there, for the fpace of eight days; the gentleman engaged me to ftay till the affair was decided. I continued without the leaft reluctance, as I faw the black ftorm gathering, and hoped I might be able in fome meafure to difpel it. When the Red Captain came, his chief bufinefs was to demand prefents, in the fame manner they received them from the French, as the war-chiefs and beloved men were grown very poor and to know whether our government would enable them to revenge their dead, by beftowing on them ammunition to continue the war againft the Mufkohge, who highly defpifed us, and frequently committed acts of hofti-lity againft our people. Contrary to my advice, he gave a plain negar tive to each of his queries, without confidering contingencies—Becaufe the neighbouring town was filent, and very few of them came near the fort, he flattered himfelf that thofe dangerous tokens proceeded intirely from the cold reception, and frequent denials he had given them ;. and that for the future, he could live there in a retired and eafy manner. But had he taken the trouble to go among them, as I did, he might have feen by their gloomy faces what bitter rancour was in their hearts. Next day, I difcovered at the moft unfrequented part of the fort, which was near the fouth eaft corner, on the river-fide, that the wary favages had in the night timq forced forced two of the great polls fo far apart, as one perfon could eafily pafs through at a time ; as fuch ocular proof might have made my hoft un-eafy, I thought it wrong to moleft his tranquillity by the difcovery. The Red Chief would now drink no fpirituous liquors, though I preffed him to it. They know their weaknefs then, which might lead them to divulge their country's fecrets,—a great difgrace to a warrior. He went home with his heart greatly inebriated however, on account of the fiat denials he had received; efpecially, as the warriors would depreciate him for his ill fuccefs. In a few days after, I fet off with my red companion, and lay all night at the Red Captain's houfe, which Hands in one of their northern barrier towns. He walked out with me in the evening, but in his difcourfe, he ufed as much evafion and craft, as an old fox in his intricate windings to beguile the earned purfuers. At night his houfe was very quiet, as if their long heads and treacherous hearts were equally at reft ;—but I plainly faw into their favourite and laboured plan, and one of their females told me there was at that time, a great many head-men of different towns, at a neighbouring houfe, conferring together concerning the white people ; and that fhe believed their fpeech was not good, as they did not allow any women or boys to hear it. The Red Chief and I parted like courtiers; it foon began to rain, fo as to fwell the waters to fuch a conflderable height, as rendered them unpaffable to horfemen, whofe circumftances were not quite defperate. The Choktah leader fent a fprightly young man, his nephew, with me, under pretence of accompanying me and the above-mentioned Chikkafah warrior ; but I was not without ftrong fufpicion, that he was fent to fhoot me by furprife, as foon as he heard the whooping death-fignal in purfuit of me.. For they had fent runners to call home thofe who were hunting-in the woods, and the laft company of them we met, reaching our camp in the nio-ht, ftaid there till the morning. We converfed together with-out the leaft difguife ; they were confident the traders were killed, and' their favourite war and death-cry would foon reach their liftening ears. I thought it improper to make a jeft of fo ferious an affair, and determined to fet off, though my red companions endeavoured to delay me as much as they could. Early in the morning Ftook out my fiddle, which the Choktah mentioned to the others through a fufpicion I intended to make my efcape: but they quieted his jealoufy, by telling him I did fo, only becaufe I was lazy, to walk. About half a mile from camp, I foon catched and mounted one of 3 m| my horfes, and fet off, keeping clear of the trading path for about four miles, in order to perplex any purfuers that might be fent after me. When my horfe tired, I led it on foot through the pathlefs woods about fifty miles, and heard no more of them. Had the Choktah known how to obtain a fufficient fupply of ammunition, they would at this very time, have commenced war againft us. That only checked their bloody aim, to their unfpeakable grief, and prevented our being engaged in a dangerous war. All our Indian-traders well know, that the mifcondudl and obftinacy of the firft fuper-intendant of Indian affairs, was the fole occafion of irritating the Great Mortar to become bitter-hearted againft us, and devoting himfelf with a blood-thirfty defire to injure us, wherever his black policy could reach. And as the firft, by his ftiff behaviour fet on the Mortar,—his fuc-ceffor, by ill-timed prefents inftead of demanding fatisfacYion, gave him as good an opportunity as he could have defired, to imprefs the warriors of his own and other nations, with a ftrong opinion of our timid difpofition, and incapacity of oppofing them. The impreffion of Governor Johnftone's fpeech, plainly declares they would not have been fo weak as to utter their bale threats againft us, to the Chikkafah leader at Penfacola, only that they were previoufly corrupted by the mifmanagement of Indian affairs. I am well affured, they frequently applauded his martial conduct when they returned home, and laid he was a man and a warrior, which is as great an encomium, as they can beftow on any mortal. May Weft-Florida, and New Georgiana on the extenfive and fertile lands of the meandring Miflifippi, have a continual fucceffion of fuch chief magiftrat.es as Mr. John-ftonc, and his worthy fucceifor Montfort Browne, Kfq-, to ftudy and promote the public good, and caufe the balance of juftice to be held with an even hand ! The following relation will ferve to difplay what fhould be our manner of treating the Indians—A white man, on Mobille river, fold fpirituous liquors to a couple of the Choktah, till they were much intoxicated, and unable to purchafe any more •, he then ftrenuoufly denied to credit them : their ufual burning thirft exciting them to drink more, they became too troublefome for any fpirited perfon to bear with. He took up an ax, at firft in his own defence, but when they endeavoured to run off, he, in the heat of paffion . purfucd, and unhappily killed one of them. The other ran, and told his 3 relations -relations the fad difader. Prefently, nothing could be heard through the nation, but heavy murmurs and fharp threats. Governor Johnftone had the ■murderer foon apprehended, and confined him to be tried in due courfe of law. Tiiis delay of executing juftice on one, and whom we only fecured from their refentment as they imagined, tempted them to think on a general mafiacre. Soon after the fitting of the general court, their revengeful hearts became eafy I for the man was fairly tried, and condemned, becaufe he did not kill the favage in his own defence, but while he was retreating ff'"»m him. I have reafon to believe the Indians would not have allowed the French, v/hen in garrifon among them, to delay fhooting any of their peopl?, whom they but even fufpected of having killed the meaneft of their kindred : for, in the year 1740, the Mufkohge, on a falfe fufpicion, forced the commanding officer of the Alebahma garrifon, by their loud threats, to kill one of the militia foldiers. When they were leading him to the place of execution, he requefted the favour Of a bottle of wine, to enable him to die with the firm conftancy of an honeft French warrior: he received, and drank it off, and declared his innocence of'the imputed crime, with his laft words. The fignal was given, and the foldiers, by order, quickly fhot the unfortunate man. But the Englifhman, who had been likewife a foldier, would not have been condemned by the mere affertion of the Choktah favage, coft what it would •, as it was both repugnant to our law, and too dangerous a precedent to give to fo treacherous a people. He was juftly condemned on his companion's oath. His excellency Governor Johnftone acted fo fairly and tenderly in this affair, that, by his requeft, one of the Chikkafah traders was fummoned to fit on the trial, as he of a long time knew the bafe difpofition of the Choktah ; but no favourable circumftances appearing on his fide, he was condemned. Although the Choktah had their defired revenge, yet, when their leader came parading into Tumbikpe garrifon, with a gun he had taken from a white man, whom he murdered on the Chikkafah trading path ; our fuper-intendant's reprefentative fhamefully refufed to act the part of the magi* ftrate, or to impower the commanding officer ot the Fort to fecure the murderer, though he preffed him with manly earneftnefs, and proteftcd that he would gladly confine him, were it not contrary to the tenour of his com-miffion. The favage having boafted a while after his triumphal entrance, returned: returned exultingly to his country-men, to the fliame and regret of the traders. Our white beloved man thought himfelf beft employed in other affairs than thefe, and doubtlefs, profitable family jobbs ought to be well minded, His fuccefibr was equally fkilful in managing the Indians as himfelf, though much his inferior. His only merit was, the having been a clerk to the Chikkafah white beloved man, who refigned his place, on account of the difcontinuance of his Britifli pay. He corrupted and praclifed with the Indians, according to the fyftem his teacher pur-fued. One inftance, among many, will fhew this: a gentleman came to view the Miflifippi lands, from the fettlements which are on the Yadkin, a large and beautiful river, that, after gliding down 300 miles to the Sand-hill, Wilmington, and the wafte Brunfwick, is ftiled Cape-Fear-River. He was highly pleafed with the foil, climate, and fituation of the lands he came in queft of: but told me, in a humorous manner, that, when he was at a French man's houfe, on the Spanifh fide of the river, a very lufty Choktah called there, in company with others upon a hunt. As the French Choktah was defirous of ingratiating himfelf into the favour of the hoft, he began to ridicule my friend with geftures, and mocking language : the more civilly the Englifhman behaved, fo much the more impudently the favage treated him. At length, his paf-fions were inflamed, and he fuddenly feized him in his arms, carried him a few fteps off, and threw him down the bank into the Miflifippi. The laugh now turned againft him loud; for, if the Indians faw their grandmother break her neck by a fall from a horfe, or any other accident, they would whoop and halloo. The Baptift, or dipped perfon, came out afhamed, but appeared to be very good-humoured after his purification, as he found he had not one of the French wood-peckers to deal with. Flowever, one night, when the gentleman was on his return, the favages purfued, and endeavoured to kill him, and did feize his horfes and baggage. He had a narrow efcape for his life before he came to Quanfheto, where the towns-people of the late Great Red Shoes had fettled, and our white beloved man refided. He made his complaint to him, which might have been expect.ed to produce both pity and juftice in any heart that was not callous. But, inftead of endeavouring to redrefs his grievance, which he could have eafily effected, he aggravated his fufferings by by abufe. As the lavage had been brought up with the Englifh traders, fo as to be called the boy of one of them, and lived in TaJJjoo, the town of the prefent Red Shoes, our chief could eafily have had every thing returned, had he only demanded it in form. But^ like his predecelTor, he endeavoured to keep in with the Indians — he deemed their favourable report of his friendly con duel, to ward them, to be the main point he ought to obferve, in order to fecure the embaffy from fuffering damage, whatever became of truth, or juftice. The Choktah have a remote, but conflderable town, called ¥ewawt$. which is the name of a worm that is very dcftruclive to corn in a wet feafon. It lies forty miles below the feven fouthernmoft towns of the nation, toward Mobille, and 120 computed miles from thence, on a plcafant fmall river, that runs fouth of the town. As it is a remote barrier, it is greatly harrafled by the Mufkohge, when at war with them. Here, a company of them came lately looking for prey ■, but miffing it, as the Choktah v ere apprized, and ftaid at home, their pride and difappointment excited them to injure thofe ftrangers who chanced to fall in their way. About fix miles below the town, they came to the camp of two white men, who were juft ready to fet off to Mobille, whh loaded horfes; being refolvcd not entirely to mils their errand of blood and plunder, they attacked them with their tomohawks, cautious of not alarming the neighbouring enemy by the report of their guns. I'hey fpeedily difpatched one of them; but the other being ftrong bodied, very fiery, and defperate, held them a fharp ftruggle, as it appeared afterward : his gun was found much battered, and the long grafs quite beat down for a conflderable way round the place where the Yowanne Indians found him fufpended in the air. For as foon as thofe lavages perpetrated that diabolical aft, they hanged each of them on trees, with the horfes halters, and carried away fix of the horfes loaded with died deer-fkins, as far as Mobille-river. Minggo llumma Echcto, the Great Red Chieftain, of the aforefaid town, on his return from war with the Mufkohge, fortunately intercepted them, killed and fcalped two, and retook the horfes and leather. Thefe, he fent home, as he imagined the owner then refided in the nation, and would gladly redeem them with reafonable prefents: while he went down to Mobille to fhew his trophies of war, in full hopes of getting a new fupply of ammunition from the deputy fuper-intendant, to be ufed againft the common enemy. Fie flattered himfelf that the fcalps brought into our maritime town, in folemn Q^q triumph, triumph, would prove a gladfome fight to our people, and enlarge their hearts towards him and his fatigued poor warriors. But he perceived nothing of this kind, of which he complained to me with very fharp language, and returned home, highly ineenfed againft his new Englifti friends. I have reafon to remember this too well; for, a little after thofe white men were murdered, bufinefs calling me to Mobille by myfelf, I chofe to decline the eaftern path, and the middle one that leads by the Chakchooma old fields, as they were much expofed to the incurfions of the Mufkohge ; and rode through the chief towns of the nation, along the horfe-path- that runs from the Chikkafah, neareft the Miffifippi, to Mobille. About fix miles below the feven-towns that lie clofc together, and next to New Orleans, I met a conflderable party of the leaders and head-warriors returning home from war. We fhook hands together, and they feemed very glad to fee me. They earneftly diffuaded me from proceeding any farther, advifed me to return to their friendly towns, and reft awhile among them, declaring, that if my ears were mad, and would not hear their friendly fpeech, I Ihould furely be killed, the enemy were ranging the woods fo very thick. They were good judges of the danger, as they knew the treacherous plan they had concerted together at Yowanne. But the memory of paft times, moved them to give me that kindly caution. I thanked them, and faid, I wifhed hufinefs allowed me to adl according to their advice, and. accept of their generous invitation -, but it did not: however, if my limited days were-not finifhed before, I would ftrortly have the pleafure to fee them again. I proceeded, and met feveral parties of the fame main company, feveral-miles diftant from each other, carrying fmall pieces of a fcalp, finging the-triumphal fong, and founding the fhri11 death-whoop,- as if they had killed hundreds. On my refting and fmoking with the laft party, they informedi me, that their camp confifted of two hundred and fifty warriors, under great, leaders, who were then returning from war againft a town of the Koo-faahte Indians, who had fettled twenty-five miles above Mobille, on the-eaftern fide of the river •, that they had killed and wounded feveral of them, fufpecting them of abetting the Mufkohge, and ■ fortunately got one of* their fcalps, which the warriors of feparate towns divided, and were carryr ing home, with joyful hearts. A ftranger would be much furprifed to fee the boafting parade thefe-lavages made with one fcalp of a reputed enemy. To appearance, more* than than a thoufand men, women, lufty boys, and girls, went loaded with provifions to meet them; and to dance, fing, and rejoice at this camp, for their fuccefs in war, and fafe return. Their camps were made with the green bark and boughs of trees, and gave a ftriking picture of the eafy and fimple modes of early ages. Their chieftains and great warriors fat in ftate, with the affuming greatnefs of the ancient fenators of imperial Rome. I had the honour to fit awhile with them, and was diverted with the old circling and wheeling dances of the young men and women. I fmoked with them, and then took my leave of this lalt camp of rejoicing heroes. The Choktah are the moft formal in their addreffes, of all the Indian nations I am acquainted with : and they reckon the neglect of obferving their ufual ceremonies, proceeds from contempt in the traders, and from ignorance in ftrangers. I encamped early, and within two leagues of Towannc, as it feemed to be a good place for killing wild game. 1 imagined alfo, that here the people were awed by the Mufkohge from ranging the woods, but, it happened other-wife : for, foon afcer the horfe-bells began to ring, two fprightly young fellows came through the cane-fwamp, and as enemies, they crawled up the fteep bank of the creek, near to me, before I difcovered them. My firearms were clofe at hand, and I inftantly ftood on my guard. They looked earneftly around, to fee for the reft of my company, as it is very unufual for any of the traders, to take that journey alone. I afked them who they were, from whence they came, and what they were fo earneftly fearching for. They evaded anfwering my queries, and afked me if I did not come by myfelf. I told them, without hefitation, that fome way behind, my companion rode out of the path to kill deer, as his gun was good, and he could ufe it extremely well. On this, they fpoke a little together, with a low voice; and then told me, that they belonged to Towanne, and were part of a hunting camp, which was near at hand, and in view of the path. I afked them to fit down, which they did, but their difcourfe was difagreeable, as my fuppofed fellow-traveller was the chief fubject of it. They faid they would go back to their camp, and return to mine foon, to fee whether the white man was come from hunting. They went, and were as good as their word ; for, they did me the honour to pay me a fecond vifit. As they were fo very earneft in that which did not concern them, unlefs they had ill intentions, the fight of them would have inftantly inflamed the heart of one not infected with ftoicifm, to wifti for a proper Qj\ 2 place place to make a due retribution. At this time, the fun was near three hours from fetting. The white hunter's abfence was the firft and chief fubject of their difcourfe, till evening. As on a level place, all the favages fit crofs-legged, fo my vifitors did, and held their guns on their knee, or kept them very near, with their otter-fkin fhot pouch over one of their fhoulders, as is ufual in time of danger. I obferved their mifchievous eyes, inltead of looking out eaftwardly toward the Mufkohge country, were generally pointed toward the N. W. the way I had come. As by chance, I walked near to one of them, he fuddenly thatched up his gun. No friendly Indians were ever known to do the like, efpecially fo near home, and a conflderable camp of his own people : innocence is not fufpicious, but guilt. He knew his own demerit, and, perhaps imagined 1 knew it, from concurring circumftances. To fee whether his conduct proceeded from a fear of danger, or from accident, I repeated the trial, and he did the fame; which confirmed me in my opinion of their bale intentions. In this uneafy and reftlcfs manner we continued till fun-fet, when one of them artfully got between me and my arms. Then they ordered me to flop the bells of my horfes, which were grazing near the camp, (ufed partly on account of the number of big flies that infeit the country.) I afked them the reafon — they told me, becaufe the noife frightened away the deer. I took no notice at firft of their haughty command, but they repeated it with fpiteful vehemence, and I was forced to. obey their mandate. They looked, and fiftencd earneftly along the edge of the fwamp, but being difappointed of their expected additional prey, in about the fpace of ten minutes they ordered, me to open the bells again. Of the manifold dangers I ever was in, I deemed this by far the greateft, for I ftood cjuice defencelefs. Their language and behaviour plainly declared their mifchievous defigns. I expected every minute to have been fhot down : and though I endeavoured to fhew a manly afpect, the cold fweat trickled down my face-through uneafinefs, and a crowd of contrary paflions. After fome time, in this alarming fituation, they told me the ugly white man ftaid long, and, that they would go to their camp a little while, and return again, — they did as they faid. To deceive them, I had made my bed as for two people, of foftened bear and buffalo fkins, with the long hair and wool on, and blankets. My two watchmen came the third time, accompanied with one older than themfelves: he fpoke little, was artful, 7 and.. and very defigning. They (berried much concerned at the abfence of my fuppofed companion, left he fhould by unlucky mifchance be bewildered, or killed by the Mufkohge. I gave them feveral reafon s to fliew the futility of their kindly fears, and affured them he ufually ftaid late to barbicue the meat, when he killed much, as he could not otherways bring it to camp; but that he never failed, on fuch an occafion, to come fome time in the night. The cunning fox now and then afked me a ftudied fhort queftion, in the way of crofs examination, concerning the main point they had in view, and my anfvvers were fo cool and uniform, that I almoft perfuaded them firmly to credit all I faid. When he could no way trepan me, and there was filence for feveral minutes, he afked me, if I was not afraid to be at camp alone. I told him I was an Englifh warrior,—my heart was honeft—and as I fpoiled nobody, why fhould I be afraid ? Their longing eyes by this time were quite tired. The oldeft of them very politely took his leave of me in French ; and the others, through an earneft friendly defire of fmoking, and chatting a little with my abfent companion, told me at parting, to be fure to call them, by founding the news-whoop, as foon as he arrived at camp. I readily pro-mifed to comply, for the fake of the favour of their good company: and to prevent any fufpicion of the truth of my tale, I added, that if he failed in his ufual good luck, they ought to fupply us with a leg of venifon, or we would give them as much, if he fuccrcded. And now all was well, at leaft, with me; for I took time by the fore-lock, and left them to echoe the news-whoop. Yoivanne lay nearly fouth-eaft from me ; but to avoid my being either intercepted on the path, or heard by the quick-ear'd lavages, I. went a quarter of a mile up the large cane fwamp, and paffed through it on a fouth weft courfe, but very flow, as it was a dark thicket of great canes and vines, over-topped with large fprcading trees. 1 feldom had a glimpfe of any ftar to direct my courfe, the moon being then far fpent. About an hour before day-light, I heard them from the top of an high hill, fire ofT a gun at camp; which I. fuppofed was when they found me gone, and in order to decoy my fuppofed companion to anfwer then with the like report; conjecturing he would imagine it was I who fired for him, according to cuftom in fimilar cafes. I kept nearly at the diftance of three miles from the path, till I arrived at the out-houfes of Yowanne. As I had never before feen that town, nor gone to Mobille that way, one of the warriors at. my requeft conducted. ^ conducted me to the river, which we waded breaft-high, and went to the palifadoed fort of Minggo Hwnma Echeto, which ftood commodioufly on the bank of the river. He received and treated me very kindly •, I concealed what befel me at camp, though I had reafon to believe, he was informed of my efcape by a runner, as I faw frelh tracks when I returned. I pretended to have come from camp, only to confer with him, concerning the fituation of Mobille path, and follow his advice, either to proceed on, or return home, being convinced fo great a chieftain as he, who lived in defiance of the Mufkohge on that remote barrier, -muft be a better judge, than any of thofe I had met. He commended me for my caution, and affured me there were feveral companies of the Mufkohge, then out at war on the path; and that as they hated and de-fpifed the Englifh, they would furely kill me, if I continued my journey. I thanked him for his friendly caution, and told him it fhould not fall to the ground. I foon difcovered his great refentment againft the Englifh, on account of the impolitic and unkind treatment he had received at Mobille. He reafoned upon it with ftrong natural good fenfe, and fhewed me in his mufeum, the two red-painted fcalps of the Mufkohge who had murdered our people, and left them in contempt hanging like mangy dogs, with a horfe's rope round each of their necks. He then fhewed me the flourilliing commiffions he had received from both French and Englifh. He defcanted minutely on the wife and generous liberality of the former, on every material occafion ; and on the niggardly difpofition and difcouraging conduct of the latter, when they ought to ftretch out both their hands to thofe red people who avenged their wrongs, and brought them the fcalps of the very enemy who had lately fhed their blood. The French never fo ftarved the public caufe j and though they frequently gave fparingly, they bellowed their favours with a winning grace, and confummate wifdom. This conduct of ours excited the crafty Minggo Humma Echeto, to give loofe to his vindictive temper and at the fame time, to make it comcide with the general welfare of his country. For as the Mufkohge had proved an overmatch for them in almoft every engagement, and had lately committed hoftilities againft us in their neighbourhood, he perfuaded thofe head-men I had met, when convened in a council of war, that if they with proper fe-crefy repeated the like hoftile act on any of our people who firft came that way, and reported it to have been done by the Mufkohge, it would certainly certainly obtain that favourite point they had long wifhed for, of drawing us into an alliance with them againft the common enemy, as we muft have fome of the inward feelings of men for our loft people. Probably, the decree of that red council would have been foon put in execution had it not been for me. When I took my leave of the red chief to return, the drum was beat to convene the people to tell them the caufe of my coming to him, and returning home and that as the women and children had feen me in the town, their late plan of execution muft be entirely laid afide. One of the warriors was fent to accompany me, though rather by way of efcortment. In my return I'called at the before mentioned camp, and put up the whoop ; my two former watchmen, on feeing me, refembled wolves catched in a pit, they hung down their heads, and looked gloomy, and wrathful. I allied them why they were afhamed, and why their hearts weighed fo heavy ; they faid they were afhamed for me, I was fo great a liar, and had earneftly told them fo many ugly falfhoods. I'faid, my fpeech to them could hurt no honeft perfons.—My head, my eyes, my heart, affured me their hearts were then like the fnakes and my tongue only fpoke the fpeech of honeft wifdom,. fo as to fave myfelf from being bitten—That it was the property of poifonous fnakes, when they mifs their aim, to be enraged, and hide their beads in their hateful coil; and'concluded, by telling them I went through the woods to Yowanne, to fhew them publicly I was not hurt by lurking; fnakes—and that I would now return to the harmlefs Chikkafah, and tell them lb—on this weparted. A timely application of proper meafures with the favages, is our-only method to fecure their feeble affections. If thofe, who are employed for that falutary purpofe, juftly purfued that point, its effect would foon be openly declared, by the friendly behaviour and honeft conduct of the various weftern nations. But where intereft governs, iniquitous meafures arc purfued, and painters can be got who will flatter-the original, be it ever fo black. Some of our chiefs, with a certain military officer in Weft-Florida, like trembling mice, humbly voted not to demand any fatisfaction from the favages, for that - moft fhocking act of cool murder I have juft mentioned, left it Ihould provoke them to do us more mifchief. But to the honour of George Johnftone, Efq; then Governor of* Weft-Florida, as a reprefentative of the fuffering people, he defpifed fuch obfequious and pu-fsllanimous councils, and infifted, in his ufual manly manner, on an equal * revenge. revenge or blood, and had it fpeedily granted, as far as the fituation of affairs could poffibly allow : for by a council of the red Sanhedrim, they condemned three of the chief murderers to be killed, and formally fent down to him two of their fcalps to flop the loud voice of blood : but the third made off to the Cheerake, by which means he evaded his juftly deferred fate—and too nice a fcrutiny at fuch a time would not have been convenient. All the weftern Indian nations, bear the .higheft regard to that paternal governor, and plain friend of all the people : and I record his conduct to do juftice to fo uncommon a character in America, as well as to engage his fucceffors to purfue the fame meafures, and copy after him. The Choktah, by not having deep rivers or creeks to purify themfelves by daily ablutions, are become very irreligious in other refpects, for of late years, they make no annual atonement for fin. As very few of them can fwim, this is a full proof that the general opinion of the young brood of favages bein^ able to fwim like fifh, as foon as they come into the world, ought to be intirely exploded. The Indian matrons have fenfe enough to know, that the fwimming of human creatures is an art to keep the head above water, which is gained by experience-, and that their helplefs infants are incapable of it. Probably, the report fprung from their immerfing the new-born infants in deep running water by the way of purification. The Choktah are the craftieft, and moft ready-witted, of any of the red nations I am acquainted with. It is furprifing to hear the wily turns they ufe, in perfuading a perfon to grant them the favour they have in view. Other nations generally behave with modefty and civility, without ever kffening themfelves by afking any mean favours. But the Choktah, at every feafon, are on the begging lay. I feveral times told their leading men, they were greater beggars, and of a much meaner fpirit, than the white-haired Chikkafah women, who often were real objects of pity. I was once fully convinced that none was fo fit to baffle them in thofe low attempts without giving offence, as their own country-men. One, in my prefence, expatiated on his late difappointment and lofles, with the feveral unexpected caufes, and preffingly follicited his auditor as a benevolent kinfman, to affift him in his diftrefs: but the other kept kept his ear deaf to his importunity, and entirely evaded the artful aim of the petitioner, by carrying on a difcourfe he had begun, before his relation accofled him as a fuppliant. Each alternately began where they had left off, the one to inforce the compliance of his prayer, and the other, like the deaf adder, to elude the power of its charming him. Nature has in a very furprifing manner, endued the Indian Americans, with a ftrong comprehenfive memory, and great flow of language. I liftencd with elofe attention to their fpeeches, for a conflderable time •, at laft the petitioner defpairing of impreffing the other with fentiments in his favour, was forced to drop his falfe and tragical tale, and become feemingly, a patient hearer of the conclufion of the other's long narrative, which was given him with a great deal of outward compofure, and cool good-nature. In the years 1746 and 1747, I was frequently perplexed by the Choktah mendicants; which policy directed me to bear, and conceal as well as I could, becaufe I was then tranfacfing public bufinefs with them. In 1747, one of their warriors and a Chokchooma came to me for prefents ; which according to my ufual cuftom in thofe times, I gave, though much lefs than they prefumed to expect. The former, ftrongly declaimed againft the penurious fpirit of the French, and then highly applauded the open generous tempers of the Englifh traders : for a conflderable time, he con-trafted them with each other, not forgetting, in every point of compa-rifon, to give us the preference in a high degree. Fie was endued with fo much eloquence and fkill as to move the paffions, and obtain his point. A conflderable number of Chikkafah warriors who were prefent, told me foon after, that his fkilful method of addrefTing me for a bottle of fpirituous liquors, teemed to them aftonifhing : an old beloved man replied, that the worft fort of fnakes were endued with the greateft fkill to mfnare and fuck their prey, whereas, the harmlefs have no fuch power. The Indians In general do not chufe to drink any fpirits, unlefs they can quite intoxicate themfelves. When in that hdplefs and fordid condition, weeping and afking for more ookka boome, " bitter waters," I faw one of the drunkard's relations, who fome time before had taken a like dofe, hold the rum-bottle to the other's head, faying, when he had drank deep, " Hah, you were very poor for drinking." Though I appealed to all the Chikkafah warriors prefent, that rum never ftood on hand with me, when the R r people people were at home, and feveral times affirmed to the importunate Choktah, that in was entirely expended ; yet my denial ferved only to make him more earneft : upon this, I told him, that though I had no ookka hoome, I had a full bottle of the water of ane hoome, " bitter ears," meaning long pepper, of which he was ignorant, as he had feen none of that kind. We were of opinion that his eager thirft for liquor, as well as his igno-ance of the burning quality of the pepper, and the refemblance of the words, which fignify things of a hot, though different nature, would induce the bacchanal to try it. He accordingly applauded my generous difpofition, and faid, " his heart had all the while told him I would not act beneath the character I bore among his country-people." The bottle was brought : I laid it on the table, and told him, as he was then fpitting very much, (a general cuftom with the Indians, when they are eager for any thing) " if I drank it all at one fitting, it would caufe me to fpit in earneft, as I ufed it, only when I ate, and then very moderately; but though I loved it, if Jiis heart was very poor for it, I fhould be filcnt, and not in the leaft grudge him for pleafing his mouth." He faid, " your heart is honeft indeed ; I thank you, for it is good to my heart, and makes it greatly to rejoice." Without any farther ceremony, he feized the bottle, uncorked it, and fwallowed a large quantity of the burning liquid, till he was near ftrangled. He gafped for a conflderable time, and as foon as he recovered his breath, he faid Hah, and foon after kept ftroaking his throat with his right hand. When the violence of this burning draught was pretty well over, he began to fiourifli away, in praife of the ftrength of the liquor, and bounty of the giver. He then went to his companion, and held the bottle to his mouth, according to cuftom, till he took feveral hearty fwal-lows. This Indian feemed rather more fenfible of its fiery quality, than the other, for it fuffocated him for a conflderable time-, but as foon as he recovered his breath, he tumbled about on the floor in various poftures like a drunken perfon, overcome by the force of liquor. In this manner, each of them renewed their draught, till they had finifhed the whole bottle, into which two others had been decanted. The Chikkafah fpectators were furprifed at their taftelefs and voracious appetite, and laughed heartily at them, mimicking the actions, language, and gefture of drunken favages. The burning liquor fo highly inflamed their bodies, that one of the Choktah to cool his inward parts, drank water till he almoft burft: the other rather than bear the ridicule of the people, and the inward fire that diffracted diffracted him, drowned himfelf the fecond night after in a broad and mallow clay hole, contiguous to the dwelling houfe of his uncle, who was the Chikkafah Archimagus. Tl ".ere was an incident, fomething fimilar, which happened in the year 1736, in Kanootare, the moft northern town of the Cheerake. When all the liquor was expended, the Indians went home, leading with them at my requeft, thofe who were drunk. One, however, foon came back, and earneftly importuned me for more Nawobti, which fignifies both phyfic and fpirituous liquors. They, as they are now become great liars, fufpeft all others of being infefted with their own difpofition and principles. The more I ex-cufed myfelf, the more anxious he grew, fo as to become offenfive. I then told him, I had only one quarter of a bottle of ftrong phyfic, which fick people might drink in fmall quantities, for the cure of inward pains : and laying it down before him, I declared I did not on any account choofe to part with it, but as his fpeech of few words, had become very long and troublefome, he might do juft as his heart directed him concerning it. lie took it up, laying his heart was very poor for phyfic, but that would cure it, and make it quite {freight. The bottle contained almoft three gills of ftrong fpirits of turpentine, which in a fhort time, he drank off. Such a quantity of the like phyfic would have demolifhed me, or any white perfon. The Indians in general, are either capable of fuffering exquifite pain longer than we are, or of fhewing more conftancy and compofure in their torments. The troublefome vifitor foon tumbled down and foamed prodigiously.—I then fent for fome of his relations to carry him home. They came—I told them he drank greedily, and too much of the phyfic. They faid, it was his ufual cuftom, when the red people bought the Englifh phyfic. They gave him a decoction of proper herbs and roots, the next day fweated him, repeated the former draught, and he foon got well. As thofe turpentine fpirits did not inebriate him, but only inflamed his inteftines, he well remembered the burning quality of my favourite phyfic, which he had fo indifcreetly drank up, and cautioned the reft from ever teizing me for any phyfic I had concealed, in any fort of bottles, for my own ufe •, other-wife they might be fure it would fpoil them, like the eating of fire. The Choktah are in general more flender than any other nation of lavages I have feen. They are raw-boned, and furprifingly aftivc in ball- R r 2 playing playing-, which is a very fharp exercife, and requires great ftrength and exertion. In this manly exercife, no. perfons are known to be equal to them, or in running on level ground, to which they are chiefly ufed from their infancy, on account of the fituation of their country, which hath plenty of hills, but no mountains thefe lie at a conflderable diftance between them and the Mufkohge. On the furvey of a prodigious fpace of fertile land up the Miffifippi, and its numberlefs fine branches, we found the mountains full three hundred miles from that great winding mafs of waters. Though the lands of Weft-Florida, for a conflderable diftance fom the fea-lhore, are very low, four, wet, and unhealthy, yet it abounds with valuable timber for fhip-building, which could not well be expended in the long fpace of many centuries. This is a very material article to fo great a maritime power, as Great Britain, efpecially as it can be got with little expence and trouble. The French were faid to deal pretty much that way -, and the Spaniards, it is likely, will now refume it, as the bounty of our late miniftry has allowed the French to transfer New-Orleans to them, and by that means they are able to difturb the Britifh colonies at pleafure. It cannot fail of proving a conftant bone of contention : a few troops could foon have taken it during the late war, for it was incapable of making any conflderable refinance; and even FVench effrontery could not have prefumed to withhold the giving it up, if the makers of our laft memorable peace had not been fo extremely modeft, or fberal to them. If it be allowed that the firft difcoverers and potfeffors of a foreign watte country, have a juft title to it, the French by giving up New Orleans to Great Britain, would have only ceded to her, pofieflions, which they had no right to keep t for Col. Wood was the firft difcoverer of the Miflifippi, who ftands on public record, and the chief part of ten years he employed in fearching its courfe. This fpirited attempt he began in the year 1654, and ended 1664. Capt. Bolton made the like attempt, in the year 1670. Doctor Cox. of New Jerfey fent two fhips Anno 1698, which difcovered the mouth of it •, and having failed a hundred miles up, he took polfeflion of the whole country, and called it Carolana : whereas the French did not difcover it till the year 1699, when they gave it the name of Col-bert's-river, in honour of their favourite minifter, and the whole country they called Loifinana, which may foon be exchanged for Philippiana—till the Americans give it another and more deflrable name,. The The.Choktah being employed by the French, together with their other red confederates, againft the Englifh Chikkafah, they had no opportunity of inuring themfelves to the long-winded chace, among a great chain of fteep craggy mountains. They are amazingly artful however in deceiving an enemy ; they will faften the paws and trotters of panthers, bears, and buffalos, to their feet and hands, and wind about like the circlings of fuch animals, in the lands they ufually frequent. They alfo will mimick the different notes of wild fowl, and thus often outwit the favages they have difputes with. Their enemies fay, that when at war, it is impoflible to difcover their tracks, unlefs they fhould be fo lucky as to fee their perfons. They act very timoroufly againft the enemy abroad, but behave as defperate veterans when attacked in their own country. 'Till they were fupplied by the Englifh traders with arms and ammunition, they had very little fkill in> killing deer; but they improve very faft in that favourite art: no favages are equal to them in killing bears, panthers, wild cats, &c. that rcfort in thick cane-fwamps; which fwamps are fometimes two or three miles over, and an hundred in length, without any break either fide of the ftream. About Chriftmas, the he and fhe bears always feparate. The former ufually fnaps off a great many branches of trees, with which he makes the bottom of his winter's bed, and carefully railes it to a proper height, with the green tops of large canes; he choofes fuch folitary thickets as are impenetrable by the fun-beams. The flic bear takes an old large hollow tree for her yeaning winter-houfe, and cluifes to have the door above, to enable her to lecure her young ones from danger. When any thing difturbs them, they gallop up a tree, champing their teeth, and bridling their hair, in a frightful manner: and when they are wounded, it is furprifing from what a height they will pitch on the ground, with their weighty bodies, and how foon they get up, and run off. When they take up their winter-quarters, they continue the greater part of two months, in almoft. an entire ftate of inactivity : during that time, their tracks reach no farther than to the next water, of which they kldom drink, as they frequently fuck their paws in their lonely recefs, and impoverifh their bodies, to nourilh them. While they are employed in that furprifing talk of nature, they cannot contain themfelves in iilence, but are fo well pleated with their repair, that they continue fmging hum urn urn: as their pipes are none of the weakeft, the Indians by this. means means often are led to them from a conflderable diftance, and then (hoot them down. But they are forced to cut a hole near the root of the tree, wherein the flie bear and her cubs are lodged, and drive them out by the force of {ire and fuffocating fmoke ; and as the tree is partly rotten, and the in fide dry, it foon takes fire. In this cafe, they become very fierce, and would fight any kind of enemy •, but, commonly, at the firft fhot, they are either killed or mortally wounded. However, if the hunter chance to mils his aim, he fpeedily makes off to a fappling, which the bear by over-clafping cannot climb: the crafty hunting dogs then act their part, by biting behind, and gnawing its hams, till it takes up a tree. I have been often af-fured both by Indians and others, who get their bread by hunting in the woods, that the fhe-bear always endeavours to keep apart from the male during the helplefs ftate of her young ones-, otherwife he would endeavour to kill them; and that they had frequently feen the (he bear kill the male on the fpot, after a defperate engagement for the defence of her young ones. Of the great numbers I have feen with their young cubs, I never faw a he bear at fuch times, to alfociate with them : fo that it feems one part of the Roman Satyrift's fine moral leffon, inculcating peace and friendlhip, is not juft, Scavis inter fe convenit Urjis. At the time Mobille (that grave-yard for Britons) was ceded to Great-Britain, the lower towns of the Choktah brought down all the Chikkafah fcalps they had taken, in their thievifh way of warring, and had them new painted, and carrried them in proceffion on green boughs of pine, by way of bravado, to fhew their contempt of the Englifh. They would not fpeak a word to the Chikkafah traders, and they follicited the French for their confent to re-commence war againft us, and eftablifh them again by force of arms, in their weftern pofleflions; but they told them, their king had firmly concluded upon the cefiion, through his own benevolence of heart, to prevent the further effulion of innocent blood.—By this artful addrefs, they fupported their credit with the favages, in the very point which ought to have ruined it. When the Choktah found themfelves dipped in war with the Mufkohge ; they follicited the Englifh for a fupply of ammunition, urging with much truth, that common fenfe ought to direct us to aftift them, and deem the others our enemies as much as theirs. But Tumbikpe-garrifon was evacuated through the unmanly fear of giving umbrage to the Mufkohge, kohge, at the very time it would have been of the utmoft fervice to the oeneral intereft of our colonics to have continued it. D The commander concealed his timorous and precipitate retreat, even from me and another old trader, till the very night he confufedly fet off for Mobille by water, and left to us the trouble of apologizing to the favages for his mifconduct. But after he got to a place of fafety, he flourifhed away of his wifdom and prowefs. As a juft ftigma on thofe who abufe their public truft, I cannot help obferving, that in imitation of fome other rulers, he perfuaded the Indians not to pay us any of our numerous out-ftanding debts, though contrary to what was fpecified in our trading licences. They have not courage enough to venture their own valuable lives to thofe red marts of trade ; if they had, they would perfuade the Indians rather to pay their debts honeftly, year by year, as we truft them in their want, and depend on their promife and fidelity. The gentlemen, who formerly traded with the Mufkohge, told me that the Georgia-governor, through a like generous principle, forgave that nation once all the numerous debts they owed the traders. But as foon as the Indians underftood they would not be credited again, under any circumftances whatfoever, they confented to pay their debts, and declared the Governor to be a great mad-man, by pretending to forgive debts contracted for valuable goods, which he never purchafed, nor intended to pay for. Though the French Louifianians were few, and far difperfed, as well as furrounded by the favages, yet clofe application and abilities in their various appointments, fufHciently made up their lack of numbers. When, and where, their fecurity feemed to require it, they with a great deal of art fomented divifions among their turbulent red neighbours, and endeavoured to keep the balance of power pretty even between them. Though they had only one garrifon in the country of the Mufkohge, and another in that of the Choktah, yet the commanders of thofe two polts, managed fo well, that they intimidated thofe two potent nations, by raifing mifunderftandings between them, and threatening (when occafion required) to fet the one againft the other, with their red legions of the north, unlefs ample fatisfaction was fpeedily given by the offending party, and folemn promifes of a ftrict obfervance of true friendfhip for the time to come. Flow far our fuper-intendants, and commiffioners of Indian affairs, have imitated that wife 7 G°py, •copy, our traders can feelingly defcribe : and it will be a happinefs, if our three weftern colonies have not the like experience, in the (pace of a few years. We allure them, that either the plan, or the means, for producing fuch an effect, has been pretty well concerted by the authors of that dangerous and fatal peace between the Mufkohge and Choktah. Their own party indeed will greatly applaud it, and fo will the much obliged Spaniards, efpecially if they foon enter into a war with Great Britain. It is to be wifhed, that thofe who preach peace and good-will to all the favage murderers of the Britifli Americans, would do the fame as to their American fellow-lubjecls,—and not, as fume have lately done, cry peace to the Indians, and leek to plunge the mercenary fwordS of Ibl-diers into the breafts of thofe of our loyal colonifts, who are the moft: powerful of us, becaufe they oppofe the meafures of an arbitrary miniftry, and -will not be enflavcd. In the year 1766, the Choktah received a conflderable blow from the Mufkohge. Their old diftinguiihed war-leader, before fpoken of, Minggo Ilumma Echcto, fet off againfl the Mufkohge, with an hundred and fixty wariiors, to cut off by furprife one of their barrier towns : as the waters were low, a couple of runners brought him a meffage from the nation, acquainting him there were two white men on their way to the Mufkohge, and therefore defired him to fend diem back, left; they fhould inform them of the expedition, and by that means, endanger the lives of the whole. But though he treated thefe traders kind'y at his war-camp, and did not fhew the leaft diffidence of them refpecting their fecrccy \ and fent this account back by the running meflengers to his advifers, that the Englifh were his friends, and could not be reafonably fufpected of betraying them, if it were only on the fituation of their own trading bufinefs, which frequently called them 10 various places, — yet thofe bafe-minded and perfidious men violated the generous faith repofed in them, and betrayed the lives of their credulous friends. They fet off with long marches, and as foon as they arrived in the country of the Mufkohge, minutely informed them of the Chok-tah's hoftile intentions, and number, and the probable place of attacking the afortfaid camp, to the beft advantage. The news was joyfully received, and, as they had reafon to believe they could furprife the enemy, or take them at a difadvantage, in fome convenient 7 place place near their own barriers, a number of chofen warriors well prepared, fet off in order to fave their former credit, by revenging the repeated affronts the Choktah leader had given them in every engagement. He, in the moft infulting manner, had often challenged their whole nation to meet him and his at any fixt time of a moon, and place, and fight it out, when the conquerors fhould be mailers of the conquered—for the Mufkohge ufed to ridicule the Choktah, by faying, they were like wolf-cubs, who would not take the water, but the thick fwamp, as their only place of fecurity againfl the enemy. It mud here be remembered, that the Indians in general, are guided by their dreams when they attend their holy ark to war, reckoning them fo many oracles, or divine intimations, de-figncd for their good : by virtue of thofe fuppofed, facred dictates, they will fometimes return home, by one, two, or three at a time, without the leaft cenfure, and even with applaufe, for this their religious conduct. Thus, one hundred and twenty of thefe Choktah, after having intimidated themfelves apart from the reft, with vifionary notions, left the war-camp and returned home. Our gallant friend, Minggo Humma Ecbeto, addreffed his townfmen on this, and perfuaded them to follow him againft the enemy, faying, it was the part of brave warriors to keep awake, and not dream like old women. He told them their national credit was at (lake for their warlike conduct under him •, and that honour prompted him to proceed againft the hateful enemy, even by himfelf, though he was certain his townfmen and warlike relations would not forfake him. Forty of them proceeded, and next day they were furrounded by an hundred and fixty of the Mufkohge, feveral of whom were on horfeback to prevent their efcape. When the Choktah faw their dangerous fituation, and that they had no alternative but a fudden, or lingering death, they fought as became defperate men, deprived of hope. While cheir arrows and ammunition lifted, they killed and wounded a conflderable number of the oppofite party : but the enemy obferving their diftrelfed fituation, drew up into a narrow circle, and rullied upon the remaining and helplefs few, with their guns, darts, clubs, and tomohawks, and killed thirty-eight. They were not able to captivate but two, whom they deftined for the fiery torture : but at night, when the camp was afkcp in too great fecurity, one of them fortunately made his efcape out of a pair of wooden flocks. They had flattered him with the hopes of being redeemed i but he told them he was too much of a warrior to confide in their falfe promifes. He got fafe home, and related the whole affair. Formerly, by virtue of the preffing engagement of a prime magiflrate of South-Carolina, I undertook to open a trade with the Choktah, and reconcile their old-ftanding enmity with the Chikkafah. I was promifed to be indemnified in all neceflary charges attending that attempt. As the Choktah, by the perfuafions of the French, had killed my partner in the trade, I was defirous of any favourable opportunity of retaliating : efpecially, as we were expofed to perpetual dangers and loffes, by the French rewards offered either for our fcalps or horfes-tails; and as the French were ufually fhort of goods, while Great Britain was at war with them, we were liable to moft damages from them in time of peace. They ufed to keep an alphabetical lift of all the names of leading favages, in the various nations where they ingarrifoned themfelves; and they duly paid them, every year, a certain quantity of goods befides, for all the damages they did to the Chikkafah, and our traders which tempted them constantly to exert their abilities, to the good liking of their political employers. It happened, however, that one of the French of Tumbikpe-forr, being guided by Venus inftead of Apollo, was detected in violating the law of marriage jwith the favourite wife of the warlike chieftain of Quanfheto,. Shulajhummajhtabe, who by his fevei*al tranfeendant qualities, had arrived to the higheft pitch of the red glory. He was well known in Georgia and South-Carolina, by the name of Red Shoes; as formerly noticed. As there lived in his town, a number of the Chokchoomah, the fenior tribe of the Chikkafah and Choktah, and who had a free intercourfe with each of their countries, we foon had an account of every material thing that paffed there. I therefore refolved to improve fo favourable an opportunity as feemed to prefent itfelf, and accordingly foon privately convened two of the leading men of the Chikkafah nation, to affift me to execute the plan I had in view. One was the Archimagus, Paftabe, known in our colonies, by the name of " the Jockey,"—and the other, by that of Pahe-mingo-Amalahta, who was the only Indian I ever knew to die of a confumption; which he contracted by various engagements with the enemy when far off at war, contrary to their general rule of martial purification. The violent exercife of running a great diftance under the violent rays of the fun, and over fandy, or hilly grounds, would not allow him to infwamp. infwamp, and he fired his blood to fuch a degree, that a few years after this, when on a vifit to our Englifh fettlements, he died at Augufta with this ailment. It is needful to mention thofe well-known circumftances, as the following relation of facts, depends in a conflderable meafure on them. We three agreed to fend fome prefents to Red Shoes, with a formal fpeech, defiring him to accept them with a kind heart, and fhake hands with us as became brothers, according to the old beloved fpeech. Their own friendly meffages, and treaties of peace, are always accompanied with fo many forts of prefents, as their chiefs number. We in a few days packed up a fufficient quantity, to bury the tomohawk which the French had thruft into their unwilling hands, and to dry up the tears of the injured, and fee their hearts at eafe, for the time to come, by joining with the Engliffi and their old friendly Chikkafah, Inggona Sekanoopa toochenaje, " in the triple knot of friendlhip," in order to cut off the dangerous fnake's head, and utterly deftroy the power of its forked tongue. As our real grievances were mutually the fame, and numerous, we gave liberally. Having every thing as well concerted for the embafly, as fuch occafions require, my two red friends fent a trufty meffenger for a couple of the forefaid neutral Indians, who had been a few days in the Chikkafah country, to accompany him late at night to my trading houfe. They readily obeyed ; and, as the good-natured men and their families, through friendlhip to us, muft infallibly have been facrificed to French policy, if we failed of fuccefs, or they were difcovered by captives, or any other means, we ufed the greateft fecrefy, and placed a centinel to keep off all other perfons during our private congrefs. After we had converfed with them a conflderable time, on the neceffity of the propofed attempt, and the certainty of fucceed-ing in it, we opened our two large budgets, and read over the ftrong emblematical contents, according to their idiom, till we gave them a true impreffion of the whole. The next day we took care to fend them off well pleafed : and as feveral material circumftances confpired to affure us they would faithfully difcharge the office of truft, which we repofed in them, we in a fhort time had the fatisfaction to hear by other private runners of their countrymen, from our brave and generous patron, Red Shoes, that they were fo far from breaking the public faith, that they read to him every material head of our embafly, and urged it with all their powers. S f 2 That That red chieftain introduced our friendly embafly, with fuch fecrefy and addrefs to all the head-men he could confide in, that he foon perfuaded moft of them in all the neighbouring towns, to join heartily with him in his laudable plan. The fharpnefs of his own feelings for the bafe injury he had received from the French, and the well-adapted prefents we lent him and his wife and gallant affociates, contributed greatly to give a proper weight to our embaffy. Such motives as thefe are too often the main-fprings that move the various wheels of government, even in the chriftian world. In about a month from the time we began to treat with Reef-Shoes, he fent a conflderable body of his warriors, with prefents to me, as the reprefentative of the Englifh traders, and to my Chikkafah friends, confifting of fwans-wings, white beads, pipes and tobacco-, which was a. ftrong confirmation of our treaty of peace,-—and he earneftly requefted of me to inform them with that candour, which fhould always be obferved by honeft friends, whether I could firmly engage that our traders would live,, and deal among them, as we did with the Chikkafah ; for a difappointment that way, he faid, would prove fatal, fliould we entangle them with the French, in refentment of the many injuries they had long unprovokedly done us. I quieted their apprehenfions on that material point of jealoufy, to their entire fatisfaction, and my two Chikkafah friends foon expatiated upon the fubject. to him, with a great deal of that life, wit and humour, fo peculiar to the red Americans. We explained and confirmed anew, the whole contents of our former talk concerning the dangerous French fnake ; affuring them, that if they did not foon exert themfelves againft it, as became brave free-men, they would ftill continue not only poor, and fharne-fully naked, below the ftate of other human beings, but be defpifed, and abufed, in proportion to their mean paflive conduct,—their greateft and moft favourite war-chieftains not excepted, as they faw verified in their chief leader, Sheolajhummajhtabe. But if they exerted themfelves, they wouid be as happy as our friendly, brave, and free Chikkafah, whom the French armies, and all their red confederates, could no way damage but as hidden, fnakes, on account of their own valour, and the fteady friendfhip of the Englifh,—who were always faithful to their friends even to death, as every river and creek fufliciently teftificd, all the way from the Englifh fettlements to the Chikkafah country. We mentioned how many were killed at feveral places, as they were going in a warlike manner to fupply their beloved friends, without any being ever captivated by the numerous enemy, though though often attacked at a difadvantage—which ought to affure them, that whenever the Engliifi fhaked hands with people, their hearts were always honeft. We requefted them therefore to think, and act, as our brotherly Chikkafah, who by ftrongly holding the chain of friendlhip between them and the Englifh, were able in their open fields, to deftroy the' French armies, and in the woods bravely to fight, and baffle all the efforts of their defpicable mercenary enemies, though their numbers of fighting men confifted of few more than one hundred to what the Choktah contained in old hundreds, or thoufands. The French, we added, were liberal indeed ; but to whom, or for what ? They gave prefents to the head-men, and the moft eloquent fpeakers of their country, to inflave the reft, but would not fupply them with arms and ammunition, without the price of blood againft our traders and the friendly Chikkafah •, that they themfelves were witneffes, a whole town of fprightly promifing young men had not now more than five or fix guns; but they would learn to kill as many deer as the diftinguifhed Chikkafah hunters, if they firmly fhook hands with the Englifh. We convinced them, that the true emblem of the Englifh was a dreft white deer-fkin, but that the French dealt with them only in long fcalping knives; that we had a tender feeling, when we heard the mourning voice of the tender-hearted widow, and only fupplied our friends in their own defence, or in revenge of crying blood ; but that the French delighted in blood, and were always plotting how to deftroy them, and take away their lands, by fctting them at war againft thofe who loved them, and would fecure their liberties, without any other view than as became brothers, who fairly exchanged their goods. We defired them to view the Chikkafah ftriplings, how readily their kindly hearts led them to liften to the friendly fpeech of their Englifh trading fpeaker, becaufe they knew we loved them, and enabled them to appear in the genteel drefs of red people. At the whoop, they foon appeared, and cheerfully complied with our various requefts, to the great fatisfaction of our new Choktah friends. The Chikkafah head-men told them with pleafure, that they were glad their own honeft eyes had feen the pure effects of love to their Englifh trader i and that their old people, time out of mind, had taught them fo. Then they humouroufiy enlarged on the unfriendly conduct of the French in a comparative manner, and perfuaded them to keep their eyes open, and remember member well what they had feen and heard, and to tell it to all their head-men. We adjufted every thing in the moft friendly manner, to the intire fatif-faction of the Choktah. 1 fupplied each of them with arms, ammunition, and prefents in plenty — gave them a French fcalping knife which had been ufed againft us, and even vermilion, to be ufed in the flourifiling way, with the dangerous French fnakes, when they killed and fcalped them. They returned home extremely well pleafed, echoed every thing they had ieen and heard •, and declared that the Chikkafah, in their daily drefs, far exceeded the beft appearance their country-men could make in the moft fhowy manner, except thofe whom the French paid to make their lying mouths ftrong. They foon went to work—they killed the ftrolling French pedlars, —turned out againft the Miflifippi Indians and Mobillians, and the flame fpeedily raged very high. One of the Choktah women, ran privately to inform a French pedlar of the great danger he was in, and urged him immediately to make his efcape. He foon faddled a fine ftrong fprightly horfe he chanced to have at hand: juft as he mounted, the dreadful death whoo whoop was founded in purfuit of him, with the fwift-footed red Afahel, Shoolajhummafhtabe, leading the chace. Though, from that place, the land-path was moftly level to Tumpikbe-garrifon (about half a day's march) and though the Chikkafah and Choktah horfes are Spanifh barbs, and long winded, like wolves; yet Red-Shoes, far ahead of the reft, ran him down in about the fpace of fifteen miles, and had fcalped the unfortunate rider fome time before the reft appeared. It is furprifing to fee the long continued fpeed of the Indians in general— though fome of us have often ran the fwiftcft of them out of fight, when on the chafe in a collective body, for about the diftance of twelve miles; yet, afterward, without any feeming toil, they would ftretch on, leave us out of fight, and out-wind any horfe. When this retaliating fcheme was planned and executing, I was the only Britifh fubject: in the Chikkafah country ; and as I had many goods on hand, I ftaid in the nation, while we fent down our horfes to the firft Englifh fettlements,—which was full eight hundred miles diftant, before the two Floridas were ceded to us. Seventeen were the broken days, according to the Indian phrafe, when the Choktah engaged to return with the French fcalps, as a full confirmation of their hav-I ing i:ng declared war againft them, and of their ardent defire of always fliaking hands with the Englifh. The power of the French red mercenaries was however fo very great, that Red Shoes could not with fafety comply with his deputy's promife to me, to fend the French fnake's head, in the time appointed by our fticks hieroglyphically painted, and notched in due form. The fall time drawing on, obliged me to fet off for the Koofah-town, which is the moft weftern of the Mufkohge nation, about three hundred miles diftant. I was accompanied by my two cheerful and gallant Chikkafah friends, already mentioned, with forty of their chofen warriors, brave as ever trod the ground, and faithful under the greateft dangers even to the death. On our way down, efcorting the returning cargo, four Chikkafah, who were palling home through the woods, having difcovered us, and obferving in the evening a large camp of 80 French Choktah in purfuit of us ; they returned on our tracks at full fpeed, to put us on our guard : but though we were fo few, and had many women and children to protect, befides other incumbrances, yet as the enemy knew by our method of camping, and marching, we had difcovered them, they durft not attack us. Another time there was a hunting camp of only feventeen Chikkafah, with their wives and children, who were attacked by above fixty Choktah j but they fought them a long time, and fo defperately, that they killed and wounded feveral, and drove them fhamefully off, without any lofs. It is ufual for the women .to fing the enlivening war fong in the time of an attack •, and it inflames the men's fpirits fo highly, that they become as fierce as lions. I never knew an inftance of the Indians running off, though from a numerous enemy, and leaving their women and children to their barbarous hands. Soon after we arrived at the upper weftern town of the Mufkohge, which was called Ooe-Jfah, and fettled by the Chikkafah and Nahchee, a great company of Red Shoes warriors came up with me, with the French fcalps, and other trophies of war : but becaufe a body of our Mufkohge mercenary traders found their account in dealing with the FVench at the Ale bah ma-fort, they to the great rifk of their own country's welfare, lodged fo many caveats in my way by the mediation of the Mufkohge, that I found it necefiary to confent that the fcalps fhould be fent with the other trophies, in a Mufkohge white deer-fkin, to the French fort at the diftance of feventy miles, to be buried deep in the ground, inftead of fending them by the Choktah runners, to his excellency the governor of South-Carolina, who had engaged me to ftrive to open a trade with thofe Indians. Thefe opulent and mercenary white lavages being now dead, I fhall not difgrnce the page with .their worthlefs names. Soon after we had reached the Chikkafah country, Red Shoes came to pay us a friendly vilit, accompanied with a great many head-men and warriors, both to be relieved in their poverty, and to concert the beft meafures of .ftill annoying the common enemy. We behaved kindly and free to them, to their entire fatisfaction, and fent conflderable prefents to many head-men who ftaid at home, in confirmation of our ftrong fricndfhip •, acquainting them of our various plans of operation againft the enemy, in defence of their lives, freedom, and liberty of trade, in which the Englifh and Chikkafah would faithfully fupport them. Every thing was delivered to them according to our intention, and as kindly received. And as all the Indians are fond of well-timed novelty, efpecially when they expect: to be gainers by it, the name of the friendly and generous Englifh was now echoed, from town to town, except in thofe few which had large penfions from the French. In the beginning of the following fpring, which was 17-47, above fiftv •warriors from feveral towns of the Mufkohge, came to the Chikkafah country, on their way to war againft the Aquahpah Indians, on the weftern fide of the Miflifippi, one hundred and fifty miles above the Nahchee old fields. By our good treatment of them, and well-timed application, they joined a body of Chikkafah warriors under Payab Mat ah ah, and made a fleet of large cyprefs-bark-canoes, in which they embarked under the direction of three red admirals, in long pettiaugers that had been taken from the French, as they were pafling from New Orleans up to the Illinois. They proceeded down the Miflifippi to the French fettlements, and attacked and burned a large village at break of day, though under the command of a ftockade-fbrt •, from which the Chikkafah leader was wounded with ft grape-fliot in his fide. On this, as they defpaired of his life, according to their univerfal method in fuch a cafe, they killed moft of their unfortunate captives on the weftern bank of the Miflifippi ■> and enraged with I fury, fury, they overfpread the French fettlements, to a great diftance, like a dreadful whirlwind, deftroying every thing before them, to the aftonifhment and terror even of thofe who were far remote from the fkirts of the direful (form. The French Louifianians were now in a defponding ftate, as we had beaten them in their own favourite political element, in which they had too often been fuccefsful even at the Britifli court, after our troops and navies had fcoured them out of the field and the ocean. They had no reafon here to expect any favour of us, as we were only retaliating the long train of innocent blood of our fellow-fubjects they had wantonly caufed to be filed by their red mercenaries, and their fears now became as great as their danger—but they were needlefs •, for though the Alebahma French, and many towns of the Mufkohge, were in a violent ferment, when the fore-faid warriors returned home, yet by the treacherous mediation of the above-mentioned traders and their bafe affociates, the breach was made up. Had they been bleft with the leaft fpark of that love for the good of their country, which the favages and French are, they could have then perfuaded the Indians, to have driven the French from the dangerous Alebahma; and an alliance with the Chikkafah and Choktah would have effectually deftroyed the dangerous line of circumvallation they afterwards drew around our valuable colonies. And as the Cheerake, by their fituation, might eafily have been induced to join in the formidable treaty, they with encouragement, would have proved far fuperior to all the northern red legions the French were connected with. At that time I fent to the Governor of South Carolina, a large packet, relating the true fituation of our Indian affairs, directed on his majefty's fervice: but though it contained many things of importance, (which the French, under fuch circumftances, would have faithfully improved) and required immediate difpatch; our Mufkohge traders, to whofe care I had fent it by fome Chikkafah runners, were fo daringly bafe as to open it, and deftroy what their felf-interefted views feemed to require, and delayed the conveyance of the reft a conflderable time, to prevent others from reaping the benefit of the trade before them. When I went down, I complained of their mifconduct, and the Governor having promifed me a public feal, threatened them loudly ; but fome after circumftances in trade made him to think it not worth while to put his threats in execution. When the French were deftitute of goods at Tumbikpe-garrifon, while T t they they were at war with the Englifh, their policy allowed them to fuffer feveral of our traders to deal with the Choktah, without any interruption, in order to keep them quiet•, but as foon as they had a proper fupply, they excited their treacherous friends to plunder, and kill our people. They, who had the fortune to get fafe away, made great returns-, which induced fome to entertain too high notions of their profits, and fo ftrangers hazarded too much at once. While the French had poffeflion of Tumbikpe, we, who knew them, ufed to fend there only fmall cargoes from the Chikkafah country, to avoid tempting them too far : but one of our great men was reported to have perfuaded a couple of gentlemen to join in company with his brother, (well known by the name of the Sphynx company) in the Choktah trade, and to have fupplied them very largely. They loaded, and fent off 360 valuable horfes, which with all other concomitant charges, in going to fuch a far-diftant country, fwelled it to a high amount. The traders, who were employed to vend the valuable cargo, gave large prefents to fix of the Mufkohge leaders, known to be moft attached to the Britifli intereft, to efcort them, with a body of the Choktah, into the country. They paffed by Alebahma, in the ufual parade of the Indian-traders, to the terror of the people in the fort. They proceeded as far as a powerful body of our Choktah friends had appointed to meet them, but confiderably overftaid the fixed time there, in want of provifions, as their common fafety would not allow them to go a hunting : by the forcible perfuafion of the Mufkohge headmen, they unluckily returned about one hundred and forty miles back on a north-eaft-courfe. But a few days after, a party of Choktah friends came to their late camp, in order to encourage them to come on withou* the leaft dread, as a numerous paity were watching an opportunity to attack the French, and their own flavifh countrymen ; and that they would fairly engage them very fuccefsfully, while the traders were fording Mo-bille-river, eight miles above Tumbikpe-fort, under a powerful efcortment of their faithful friends. So wifely had they laid their plan, though it was difconceited by the cautious conduct of the Mufkohge head-men : for they are all fo wary and jealous, that when they fend any of their people on a diftant errand, they fix the exact time they are to return home ; and if they exceed but one day, they on the fecond fend out a party on difcovery *. Our * I fhall here mention an inflance of that kind ; at this nine, a hunting camp of the Chikkafah went out to the extent of their winter-limiis between the Choktah and Mufkohge countries '. Our Choktah traders having been thus induced to return to the Mufkohge country, proceeded foon afterwards feventy miles on almoft a northern courfe, and from thence to the Chikkafah about weft by north—300 miles of very mountainous land, till within forty miles of that extenfive and fertile country—afterward, on a fouthern direction to the Choktah, 160 miles. This was a very oblique courfe, fomewhat refembling the letter G reverted, its tail from Charles-town, confifting of 720 miles, and the head of 530, in all 1250 miles—a great diftance to travel- through woods, with loaded horfes, where they ffiifted as they could, when the day's march was over; and through the varying feafons of the year. Thefe traders were charged with great neglect, in being fo long countries: but being defirous of enlarging their hunt, they fent off a fprightly young warrior to difcover certain lands they were unacquainted with, which they pointed to by the courfe of the fun, lying at the diftance of about thirty miles. Near that place, he came up with a camp of Choktah, who feemcd to treat him kindly, giving him venifon and parched corn to eat: but while he was eating what fome of the women had laid before him, one of the Choktah creeped behind him, and funk his tomohawk into his head. His aflociates helped him to carry away the victim, and they hid it in a hollow tree, at a conflderable diftance from their camp; after which they fpeedily removed. When the time for his return was elapfed, the Chikkafah, next day, made a place of fecurity for their women and children, under the protection of a few warriors; and the morning following, painted themfelves red and black, and went in queft of their kinfman. Though they were ftrangers to the place, any farther than by their indications to him befoie he fet off, yet fo fwift and Ikilful woodsmen were they, that at twelve o'clock that day, they came to the Choktah camping place, where, after a narrow fearch, they difcovered the trace of blood on a fallen tree, and a few drops of frefh blood on the leaves of trees, in the courfe they had dragged the corpfe ; thefe directed them to the wooden urn, wherein the remains of their kinfman were inclofcd. They faid, as they were men and warriors, it belonged to the female relations to weep for the dead, and to them to revenge it. They foon concluded to carry off the corpfe, to the oppofite fide of a neighbouring-fwamp,, nnd then to purfue. Having depofited the body out of the reach of benfts of prey, they fet off in purfuit of the Choktah : they came up with them before day-light, furrounded their camp, attacked them, killed one, and wounded feveral, whooping aloud, <« that they were Chikkafah, who never firft loofed the friend-knot between them and others, nor failed in revenging blood ; but ye are roguifh Choktah ; you know you are likewife cowards; and that you are worfe than wolves, for they kill, only that they may eat, but you give your friends fomcthing to eaf, that you may kill them with fafety." They told them, as they had left their gallant relation unfcalped in a tree, they left their cowardly one in like manner, along-fide of another tree. They put up the death whoo whoop, returned, fcaffblded their dead kinfmao, and joined their own camp without any interruption. The reader will be able to form a proper judgment of the temper and abilities of the Indian favages, from thefe fafts. T t 2 before before they reached the Choktah country* this was to invalidate the pretentions of two other gentlemen, towards obtaining bills of exchange on the government, according to the ftrong promifes they had, for any loffes they might fuftain in their Choktah cargo of goods, &c. Not-withftanding the former were utter ftrangers to the Chikkafah and Choktah, and in juftice could only expect the common privilege of Britifli fubjects, yet his Excellency beftowed on them a l.irge piece of written fhecp-fkin, bearing the impreffion of the threatening lion and unicorn, to frighten every other trader from dealing with the Choktah, at their peril. The Chikkafah traders were much terrified at the unufual fight of the enlivened pictures of fuch voracious animals. My fituation caufed me then to be filent, on that ltrange point; but when the chief of them, who carried thofe bees-wax-pictures, came to my trading houfe, chiefly to inlarge on the dreadful power of thofe fierce creatures,—I told him, as they anfwered the defign, in making fo many trembling believers, among the Indians, I did not imagine him fo weak as to attempt to impofe his fcare-crows upon me; but that, as his Excellency had dipped me too deep in a dangerous and very expenflve affair, and had done me the honour to fend for me to Charles-town on his majefty's fervice, at the very time I could have fecured them in the efteem of the fickle Choktah, I fhould not by any means oppofe their aim of grafping the whole Choktah trade* be their plan ever fo unwife and unfair. The letter the gentleman delivered to me was dated April 22, Anno 1747* in which his excellency ac-knowleged, in very obliging terms, that I had been very ferviceable to the government, by my management among the Choktah, and might be af-fured of his countenance and frieudfliip. As the reft of it concerned myfelf in other matters, and contained fome things of the meafures of government relating to the point in view, it may be right not to publifh it: but it is among the public records in Charles-town, and may be feen in the fecretary's office. The traders, after this interview, fet off for the Choktah and I in a few days to South Carolina. Soon after I arrived at Charles-town, I could not but highly refent the governor's ungenerous treatment of, and injuftice to me, in fending for me to the neglect of my trade, only to carry on his unparalleled favourite fcheme,—and I foon fet off for the Chikkafah, without taking the leaft formal leave of his Excellency. By fome means, he foon knew of my depar- 3 tur^ ture, and perfuaded G. G--n, Efq; (one of the two friends in South-Carolina, who only could influence me againft my own liking) to follow till he overtook me, and urge me to return, and accompany me to his Excellency's houfe. At his earneft follicitations, the gentleman complied, came up with me, and prevailed on me to go back according to requeft. I had plenty of courtly excufes for my complaints and grievances, and in the hearing of my friend was earneftly prelfed to forget and forgive all that was paft; with folemn promifes of full redrefs, according to his former engagement of drawing bills of exchange in my favour, on the government, if South-Carolina had not honour enough to repay me what I had expended in opening a trade with the numerous Choktah—befides gratuities for hardfhips, hazards, ccc. I wifh I could here alfo celebrate his fincerity and faithfulnefs on this occafion—As I could not wellfufpect a breach of public faith, after it had been pledged in fo folemn a manner, he had not much difficulty in detaining me on fundry pretexts, till the expected great Choktah crop of deer-flkins and beaver muft have been gathered, before I could poflibly return to the Chikkafah country, and from thence proceed to rival the Sphynx-com-pany. Under thofe circumftances, I was detained fo late in November, that the fnow fell upon me at Edifto, the firft day, in company with Captain W--d, an old trader of the Okwhufke, who was going to Savanah. In the feverity of winter, froft, fnow, hail, and heavy rains fucceed each other, in thefe climes, fo that I partly rode, and partly fwam to the Chikkafah country for not expecting to ftay long below, I took no leathern canoe. Many of the broad deep creeks, that were almoft dry when I went down, had now far overflowed their banks, ran at a rapid rate, and were unpaffable to any but defperate people: when I got within forty miles of the Chikkafah, the rivers and fwamps were dreadful, by rafts of timber driving down the former, and the great fallen trees floating in the latter, for near a mile in length. Being forced to wade deep through cane-fwamps or woody thickets, it proved very troublefome to keep my fire arms dry, on which, as a fecond means, my life depended > for, by the high rewards of the French, fome enemies were always rambling about in fearch of us. On the eaftern fide of one of the rivers, in taking a fweep early in a wet morning, in queft of my horfes, I difcovered fmoke on a fmall piece of rifing ground in a fwamp, pretty near the edge , I moved moved nearer from tree to tree, till I difcovered them to be Choktah creeping over the fire. I withdrew without being difcovered, or the leaft ap-piehenfion of danger, as at the worft, I could have immediately infwamped, fecured a retreat with my trufty fire-arms, and taken through the river and the broad fwamp, which then refembled a mixt ocean of wood and water. I foon obferved the tracks of my horfes, found them, and fet off. At the diftance of an hundred yards from the river, there was a larne and deep lagoon, in the form of a femi-circle. As foon as I fvvam this, and got on the bank, I drank a good draught of rum :—in the middle of the river, I was forced to throw away one of my belt-piftols, and a long French fcalp-ing knife I had found, where the Choktah killed two of our traders. When I got on the oppofite fhore, T renewed my draught, put my firearms in order, and fet up the war-whoop. I had often the like fcenes, till 1 got to the Chikkafah country, which was alfo all afloat. The people had been faying, a little before I got home, that fhould I chance to be on the path, it would be near fifty days before I could pafs the neighbouring deep fwamps; for, on account of the levelnefs of the land, the waters contiguous to the Chikkafah, are ufually in winter fo long in emptying, before the fwamps become paffable. As I had the misfortune to lofe my tomohawk, and wet all the punk in my fhot-pouch by Swimming the waters, I could not ftrike fire for the fpace of three days, and k rained extremely hard, during that time. By being thoroughly wet fo long, in the cold month of December, and nipped with the froft, feven months elapfed before I had the proper ufe of the fingers of my right-hand. On that long and dangerous warpath, I was expofed to many dangers, and yet fo extricated myfelf, that it would appear like Quixotifm to enumerate them. I often repented of trulting to the governor's promifes, and fo have many others. The Cheerake, Attah Kullah Kullah, whofe name is the fuperlative of a fkilful cutter of wood, called by us, " The Little Carpenter," had equal honour with me of receiving from his Excellency a conflderable number-of letters, which he faid were not agreeable to the old beloved fpeech. He kept them regularly piled in a bundle, according to the time he received them, and often fhewed them to the traders, in order to expofe their fine promifing contents. The firft, he ufed to fay, contained a little truth truth, and he excufed the failure of the greater part of it, as he imagined much bufinefs might have perplexed him, fo as to occafion him to forget complying with his ftrong promife. " But count, faid he, the lying black marks of this one:" and he delcanted minutely on every circumftance of it. His patience being exhaufted, he added, " they were an heap of black broad papers, and ought to be burnt in the old years fire." Near the Mufkohge country, on my way to the Chikkafah, I met my old friends, Pa Tah-Matahah, the Chikkafah head war-chieftain, and Ming-gO'PuflikocJh, the great Red-Shoes' brother, journeying to Charles-town, with one of the beaus of the Sphynx-company, to relate the lofs of the moft part of that great cargo they fo unwifely carried at once, and to fo-licit for a further fupply. Thofe traders, one excepted, were very indiscreet, proud and ftubborn. They itrove who could out-drefs, or moft vilify the other even before the Indians, who were furprifed, as they never heard the French to degrade one another. The haughty plan they laid, againft the repeated perfuafions of the other, was the caufe of all their loffes—they firft loft the affection of the free, and equally proud Choktah ; for they fixed as an invariable rule, to keep them at a proper diftance, as they termed it-, whereas I, according to the frequent, ftiarp, upbraiding language of the familiar favages to them, fat and fmoked with the head-men on bear-fkins, fet the young people to their various diverfions, and then viewed them with pleafure. Notwithftanding the bad treatment I had received ; as I was apprehenfive of the difficulties they would neceffarily be expofed to, on account of their ignorance and haughtinefs, I wrote to them, by a few Chikkafah warriors, truly informing them of the temper of the Indians, and the difficulties they would probably be expofed to, from the policy of the French at Tumbikpe •, and that though I had purpofed to fet off for South-Carolina, I would poftpone going fo foon, if they were of my opinion, that Mr. J. C—1 (who joined with me in the letter) and I could be of any fervice to their mercantile affairs. They received our well-intended epiftle, and were fo polite as to order their black interpretrefs to bid our red couriers tell us, they thanked us for our friendly offer,, but did not ftand in need of our affiftance. They walked according to the weak crooked rule they had received below, and fared accordingly : for the dift obliged obliged lavages took moft pare of the tempting cargo. At this time, the French had only two towns and a half in their intereft, and they were fo wavering, that they could not rely on their friendlhip, much lefs on their ability of refilling the combined power of the reft of the nation; and they were on the very point of removing that ufeful and commanding garrifon Tumbikpe, and fettling one on another eaftern-branch of the river, called Potagahatche, in order to decoy many of the Choktah to fettle there by degrees, and intercept the Englifh traders, on their way up from our fettlements. This was as wife a plan as could poflibly have been concerted, under the difficult circumftances they laboured at that time. But the unjuft and unwife meafures of the governor of South-Carolina, in fending his favourite traders with a fcare-crow of bees-wax, to keep off others who were more intelligent, gave the defponding French a favourable opportunity to exert their powers, and regain the loft affections of a conflderable number of our red alliesfor none of our traders had now any goods in the Choktah country, nor were likely foon to carry any there. Mr. C-—— 1, the trader I juft mentioned, was of a long ftanding among the Chikkafah, and indefatigable in ferving his country, without regarding thofe dangers that would chill the blood of a great many others ; and he was perfect mafter of the Indian language. About a year after this period, he went to Red Shoes' town, and in a fummer's night, when he was chatting with our great Englilh friend along-fide of his Chikkafah wife, a party of the corrupt favages, that had been fent by the French, fhot him through the fnoulder, and her dead on the fpot. Red Shoes afterwards fared the fame fate, by one of his own country-men, for the fake of a French reward, while he was efcorting the forefaid gallant trader, and others, from the Chikkafah to his own country. Fie had the misfortune to be taken very fick on the path, and to lye apart from the camp, according to their ufual cuftom : a Judas, tempted by the high reward of the French for killing him, officioufly pretended to take great care of him. While Red Shoes kept his face toward him, the barbarian had fuch feelings of awe and pity, that he had not power to perpetrate his wicked defign-, but when he turned his back, then he gave the fatal fhot. In a moment the wretch ran off, and though the whole camp were out in an inftant, to a conflderable breadth, he evaded their purfuit, by darting himfelf like a fnake, into a deep crevice of the earth. earth. The old trader, who was fhot through the fhoulder, going two years after the death of this our brave red friend, unfortunately a quarter of a mile into the woods, from the fpacious clearing of the Chikkafah country, while all the men were on their winter hunt, and having only a to-mohawk in his hand, the cowardly French Indians attacked him by furprife, fhot him dead, and carried his fcalp to Tumbikpe-fort: another white man unarmed, but out of the circle they had fuddenly formed, ran for his fire-arms; but he and the traders came too late to overtake the bloodhounds. In this manner, fell thofe two valuable brave men, by hands that would have trembled to attack them on an equality. The French having drawn off fome towns from the national confederacy, and corrupted them, they began to fhew themfelves in their proper colours, and publicly offered rewards for our fcalps. Of this I was foon informed by two Choktah runners, and in a few days time, I fent them back well pleaied. I defired them to inform their head-men, that about the time thofe days I had marked down to them, were elapfed, I would be in their towns with a cargo, and difpofe of it in the way of the French, as they were fo earneft in ftealing the Englifh people. I charged them with a long relation of every thing I thought might be conducive to the main point in view which was, the continuance of a fair open trade with a free people, who by treaty were become allies of Great Britain not fubjecls, as our public records often wrongly term them—but people of one fire. As only merit in war-exploits, and flowing language and oratory, gives any of them the leaft preference above the reft, they can form no other idea of kings and fubjecls than that of tyrants domineering over bafe flaves: of courfe, their various dialects have no names for fuch. I left the Chikkafah, and arrived in the Choktah country before the expiration of the broken days, or time we had appointed, with a conflderable cargo. By the intended monopoly of our great beloved man, in frightening the Chikkafah traders, there were no Englifh goods in the nation, when I went: and the neceftity of the times requiring a liberal diftribution, according to my former melfage, that alone muft have fallen heavy upon me under the public faith, without any additional expences. A day before I got there, Minggo Pujhkoojh, the half-brother of Red Shoes, was returned home from Charles-town, and by him I had the honour of re- U u ceiving eeiving a friendly and polite letter from the governor. His main aim, ar this fickened time of Indian trade, was to recover the value of the goods that had been loft in the Choktah country. He recommended one of the traders of the Sphynx-company to my patronage, preffing me to affift him as far as I poffibly could, and likewife to endeavour to ftorm Tumbikpe-fort, promifing at the fame time, to become anfwerable to me for all my rear fonable charges in that affair. I complied with every tittle of the gentleman's requeft, as far as I could, without charging him for it in the leaft. As I had then, the greateft. part, of my cargo on hand, I lent the other what he ftood in need of, that he might regain what his former pride and folly had occafioned to be loft. At that time, powder and ball were fo very fcarce, that I could have fold to the Choktah, as much as would have produced fifteen hundred buck-fkins, yet the exigency was fo preffing, I gave them the chief part of my ammunition, though as fpar-ingly as I could—for the French by our purfuit of wrong meafures, (ah ready mentioned) and their own policy, had dipped them into a civil war. As I had then no call to facrifice my private intereft for the emolument of the public, without indemnity, fo I was not willing to fufpecft another breach of public faith. Red Shoes' brother came up freighted with plenty of courtly promifes, and for his own fecurity he was not backward in relating them to his brethren j otherwife, they would have killed both him and me which would have reconciled them to the French, who a few days before, had propofed our maffacre by a long formal mefTage to them, as they, afterwards informed me. I plainly faw their minds were unfixed, for their civil war proved very (harp. Minggo Pujhkoojh and feveral head-men conducted me from town to town,, to the crowd of the feven lower towns, which lie next to New Orleans: but they took proper care to make our ftages fhort enough, that I might have the honour to con-verfe with all their beloved men and chief warriors, and have the favour to give them plenty of prefents, in return for fo great an obligation. The Indian head-men deem it a trifle to go hundreds of miles, on fuch a gladfome errand j and very few of them are flow in honouring the traders with a vifit, and a long, rapid, poetic fpeech. They will come feveral miles to difpofe of a deer-fkin. When I arrived at. the thick fettlemant of thefe lower towns, I began to imagine they had opened a communication with their fubterranean brethren of Nanne Yah; I was honoured with the company of a greater number of •of red chiefs of war, and old beloved men, than probably ever appeared in imperial Rome. They in a very friendly manner, tied plenty of bead-garters round my neck, arms, and legs, and decorated me, a la mode America. I did myfelf the honour to fit them out with filver arm-plates, gorgets, wriil-plates, ear-bobs, &c. &c. which they kindly received, and proielfed they would never part with them, for the lake of the giver. However, by all my perfuafions, they would not undertake to florm Tumbikpe-fort, though I offered to accompany them, and put them in a fure way of carrying it. They told me I was mad, for the roaring of the cannon was as dreadful as the fharpefl thunder, and that the French with one of their great balls would tear me in pieces, as foon as I appeared in view. While they declined a French war, their own civil war became bitter beyond exprcfTion. They frequently engaged, one party againfl the other, in the open fields: when our friends had fired away all their ammunition, they took to their hiccory-bows and barbed arrows, and rufhed on the oppofite party, with their bare tomohawks, like the mofl defperate veterans, regardlefs of life. They did not feem to regard dying fo much, as the genteel appearance they made when they took the open field, on purpofe to kill or be killed. They ufed to tell the Englifli traders they were going on fuch a day to fight, or die for them, and earneftly importuned them for Stroud blanket, or white fhirt a-piece, that they might make a genteel appearance in Englifh cloth, when they died. It was not fafe to refufe them, their minds were fo diffracted by the defperate fituation of their affairs for as they were very fcarce of ammunition, the French wifely headed their friend-party, with fmall cannon, battered down the others itockaded-forts, and in the end reduced them to the neceffity of a coalition. Thefe evils were occafioned merely by the avarice and madnefs of thofe I have ftiled the Sphynx-Company. At this dangerous time, the fmall-pox alfo was by fome unknown means conveyed into the Choktah country, from below ; and it depopulated them as much as the civil war had done. The Choktah who efcorted me into the Chikkafah nation, were infected with that malady in the woods, and foon fpread it among others ; thefe, a little time after, among the Mufkohge, who were in company with me, on our way to Charles-town. I unluckily had U u 2 the the honour to receive from the Governor, another police letter, dated September the 17th, anno 1749, citing me, under the great feal of the province, to come down with a party of Indians, as I had given his excellency notice of their defire of paying a friendly vifit to South Carolina. And having purchafed and redeemed three French captives which the Chikkafah had taken in war, under their leader Pa-Yah-Matahah, I now bellowed them on him, to enable him to make a flourilhing entrance into Charles-town, after the manner of their American triumphs. He was very kind to them, though their manners were as lavage as his own : excepting a few beads they ufed to count, with a fmall filver crofs fattened to the top of them, they had nothing to diftinguifh them, and were ignorant of every point of Chriftianity. I fet off with above twenty warriors, and a few women, along with the aforefaid war-leader, for Charles-town. As the French kept a watchful eye on my conduct, and the commanding officers of Tumbikpe garrifon in the Choktah, and the Alebahma in the Mufkohge country kept a continual communication with each other, the former equipped a party of their Choktah to retake the French captives by force, if we did not previoufly deliver them to a French party of the Mufkohge, who were fent by the latter as in the name of the whole nation, though falfely, to terrify us into a compliance. "We had to pafs through the Mufkohge country in our way to the Britifli fettlements i and though the French were at a great diftance, yet they planned their fchemes with confummate wifdom : for the two companies met at the time appointed, from two oppofite courfes of about a hundred and fifty miles apart, on the moft difficult pafs from Charles-town to the Miflifippi, where the path ran through a fwamp of ten miles, between high mountains; which were impaffable in any other place for a great diftance, on either fide. Here, the Mufkohge left the Choktah company, and met us within half-a-day's march of their advantageous camping place. The foremoft of our party had almoft fired on thofe Mufkohge who were a-head of the reft •, but, as foon as they faw their white emblems of peace, they forebore, and we joined company. As foon as I heard them tell their errand, I fent out three warriors to reconnoitre the place, left we fhould unawares be furrounded by another' party of them but there was no ambufcade. The Mufkohge leader was called by the traders, " the Lieutenant," and had been a fteady friend to their intereft, till by our ufual mifmanagement in Indian affairs, he became entirely entirely devoted to the French j his behaviour was confident, and his ad-drefs artful. The red ambalTador fpoke much of the kindly difpofition of the French to fuch of his countrymen as were poor, and of their generous protection to the whole •, contracted with the ambitious views of the Englifh, who were not content with their deer-fkins and beaver, but coveted their lands, lie faid, " the Mufkohge were forry and furprifed that their old friends the Chikkafah, in concert with a mad Englishman, fhould feduce their warriors to join with them to fpill the blood of their French beloved friends, when they were by national confent, only to revenge crying blood againfl the Aquahpah •, and that the former would be afhamed to allow the latter to carry thofe captives, who were their friends, through their nation to Charles-town. But, faid he, as the Mufkohge are defirous always to fhake hands with the Chikkafah, the head-men have fent me in their name, to requeft you Pa-Yah-Matahab and other beloved warriors, to deliver to me thofe unfortunate prifoners, as a full proof you are defirous of tying faft the old friend-knot, which you have loofed in fome meafure." In this manner, the red ambaffador of the dangerous Alebahma French captain flourifhed away and waited for a favourable anfwer, according to the confident hopes his employer had taught him to entertain, by the ftrong motive of felf-intereft. But though the daring Chikkafah leader, and each of us, according to cuftom were filent, during the recital of the difagreeable harangue, only by ftern-fpeaking countenances, Pa-Yab-Matabah replied, " O you Mufkohge corrupted chieftain, who are degenerated fo low as to become a ftrong-mouthed friend of the FVench, whofe tongues are known of a long time, to be forked like thofe of the dangerous fnakes; your fpeech has run-through my ears, like the noife of a threatening high wind, which attacks the traveller as foon as he climbs to the top of a rugged fleep mountain : though as he came along, the air was fcarcely favourable enough for him to breathe in. You fpeak highly in praife of the French; and fo do the bafer fort of the Choktah, becaufe every year they receive prefents to make their lying mouths ftrong. That empty founding kettle, fattened at the top of your bundle along fide of you, I know to be French, and a true picture both of their melTages, and methods of fending them. The other other things ic contains, I guefs, are of the fame forked-tongued family t for if your fpeech had come from your own heart, it muft have been .ftraighter. What can be more crooked than it now is ? Though I have no occafion to make any reply to your unjuft complaints againft the Englifh people, as their chieftain, my friend, has his ears open, and can eafily confute all you laid againft his people and himfelf t yet to prevent any need-lefs delay on our day's march, I lhall give as full an anfwer to your fpeech, as the fhort time we can ftay here will allow. Since the time the Englilb firft fliaked hands with you, have not they always held you faft by the arm, clofe to their heart, contrary to the good liking of your favourite French ? And had they not helped you with a conftant fupply of every thing you ftood in need of, in what manner could you have lived at home ? Befides, how could you have fecured your land from being fpoiled by the many friendly red people of the French, iffuing from the cold north ? Only for their brotherly help, the artful and covetous French, by the weight of prefents and the fkill of their forked tongues, would before now, have fet you to war againft each other, in the very fame manner they have done by the Choktah, and when by long and fharp ftruggles, you had greatly weakened yourfelves, they by the afiiftance of their northern red friends, would have ferved you in the very fame manner, their lying mouths, from their own guilty hearts, have taught you fo unjuftly and fhamefully to repeat of the Englifh. You have openly acknowledged your bale ingratitude to your beft and old fteady friends, who, I believe, could damage you as much as they have befriended you, if you provoke them to it. Allowing the fpeech you have uttered with your mouth to be true, that you are fent by all the red chieftains of your Mufkohge people, were your hearts fo weak as to imagine it could any way frighten the Chikkafah ? Ye well know, the ugly yellow French have proved moft bitter enemies to us, ever fince we difappointed them in their fpitcful defign of inflaving and murdering our poor, defencelefs, and inoffenfive red brethren, the Nahchee, on the banks of the Mcfhcf-heepe water-path. Ye may love them, if it feems good to your hearts j your example that way fhall have no weight with us. We are born and bred in a ftate of war with them: and though we have loft the greater part of our people, chiefly through the mean fpirit of their red hirelings, who were continually ftealing our people for the fake of a reward ; yet they feelingly know we beat them, and their employers, in every public engage-rnent. We are the fame people, and we (hall certainly live and die, in J fuch fuch a manner as not to fully the ancient character of our warlike fore-fathers. As the French constantly employed their red people in acts of enmity againfl: our Englifh traders, as well as us,—my beloved friend, {landing there before you, complained of it to the Goweno-Minggo in Charles-town, (the Governor of South-Carolina) and he gave him. lloolbo Hoorefo Parafka Orehtoopa, (their method of exprefling our provincial feal, iorhoolbo fignifies a picture, hoorefo marked, or painted, parafka made bread of, and oretcopa beloved, or of high note or power,) I and my warriors gladly fluked hands with his fpeech ; and fo did thofe of your own country, who affured us, they always fcorned to be fervants to the crafty lying French. At their own defire, our old beloved men crowned them warriors, in the moft public and folemn manner. They were free either to fhut or open their ears to the Englifh beloved fpeech. And why. fhould we not be as free to go to war againft our old enemies, as you are againft yours ? We are your friends by treaty ; bur we fcorn a mean compliance to any demand, that would eaft a difgrace on our national character. You have no right to demand of me thofe ugly French prifoners. We took them in war, at the rifque of blood: and at home in our national council, we firmly agreed not to part with any of them, in a tame manner, till we got to Charles-town. If the Mufkohge are as defirous as we, to continue to hold each other firmly by the hand, we fhall never loofe the friend-knot: we believe fuch a tie is equally profitable to each of us, and hope to continue it, to the lateft times," When the French ambaffador found he muft fail in his chief aim, he with a very fubmiflive tone, requefled the Chikkafah war-leader to give him a token, whereby he might get the other captives who were left at home : but as they ufually deny with modefty, he told him, he could not advife him to take the trouble to go there, as he believed the head-men had kept them behind on purpofe that they fhould be burnt at the flake, if any mifchance befell him and his warriors, before they returned home, on account of his French prifoners. Finding that his threats and entreaties both proved ineffectual, he was obliged to acquiefce. Soon after, we fet off, and he and his chagrined mercenaries quietly took up their travelling bundles, and followed us. On that day's march, a little before we entered the long fwamp, all. our Chikkafah friends ftaid behind, killing and cutting up buffalo :. falo : By this means, I was a conflderable way before the pack-horfes, when we entered into that winding and difficult pafs, which was a continued thicket. After riding about a mile, I difcovered the frefh tracks of three Indians. I went back, put the white people on their guard, gave my horfe and fword to a corpulent member of the Sphynx-company, and fet off a-head, fliunning the path in fuch places where the favages were moft likely to poft themfelves. Now and then I put up the whoop on different fides of the path, both to fecure myfelf and intimidate the oppofite fcout-party otherwife, I might have paid dear for it, as I faw from a rifing point, the canes where they were pafling, to fhake. I became more cautious, and they more fearful of being inclofed by our party. They ran off to their camp, and fpeedily from thence up the craggy rocks, as their tracks teftified. Their lurking place was as artfully chofen, as a wolf could have fixed on his den. When our friendly Indians came to our camp, it was too late to give chafe: they only viewed their tracks. At night, the Chikkafah war-leader gave out a very enlivening war fpeech, -well adapted to the circumftances of time and place, and each of us lay in the woodland-form of a war-camp. As we were on our guard, the enemy did not think it confiftent with their fafety to attack us — ambufcading is their favourite plan of operation. The next day by agreement, the Indians led the van, and I brought up the rear with the French prifoners. A fhort way from our camp, there were fleep rocks, very difficult for loaded horfes to rear and afcend. Moft of them had the good fortune to get fafe up, but fome which I efcorted, tumbled backwards, this detained us fo long, that the van gained near three miles upon us. I polled myfelf on the top of one of the rocks, as a centinel to prevent our being furprifed by the Choktah, and difcovered them crawling on the ground behind trees, a conflderable way off, on the fide of a fteep mountain, oppofite to us. I immediately put up the war whoop, and told a young man with me the occafion of it; but he being fatigued and vexed with his fharp exercife, on account of the horfes, only curfed them, and faid, we were warriors, and would fight them, if they durft come near enough. As I was cool, I helped and haf-tened him off: in the mean while, I cautioned the captives againft attempting to fly to the enemy in cafe they attacked us, as their lives fhould certainly pay for it—and they promifed they would not. We at Jaft fet off, and met with no interruption : the enemy having a fharp 1 dread dread of our party ahead, who would have foon ran back to our afliftance, had they attacked us—About an hour after our company, we got to camp. The Choktah at night came down from the mountains, and creeped after us. Our camp was pitched on very convenient ground, and as they could not furprife us, they only viewed at a proper diftance, and retired. But they ufed an artful ftratagem, to draw fome of us into their treacherous fnares \ for they ftole one of the bell horfes, and led it away to a place near their den, which was about a mile below us, in a thicket of reeds, where the creek formed a femi-circle. This horfe was a favourite with the gallant and active young man I had efcorted the day before to camp. As he was of a chearful and happy temper, the people were much furprifed to find him at night peevifh and querulous, contrary to every part of his paft conduct; and though he delighted in arms, and carried them con-ftantly when he went from camp, yet he went out without any this night, though 1 prelfed him to take them. In lefs than an hour, he returned fafe, but confufed and dejected. When he fat down, he drooped his head on his hands, which were placed on his knees, and faid, the enemy were lurking, and that we fhould foon be attacked, and fome of us killed. As I pitied the ftate of his mind, I only told him, that yefterday, he and I knew the French favages were watching to take an advantage of us; but for his fatisfaction I would take a fweep, on foot, while the Chikkafah painted themfelves, according to their war-cuftom when they expect to engage an enemy. I went out with.my gun, pouch, and belt-piftols, and within two-hundred yards of the camp, difcovered the enemies tracks; they had palled over a boggy place of the creek, upon an old hurricane-tree. I proceeded with the utmoft caution, polting myfelf now and then behind large trees, and looking out fharply left I Ihould fall into an ambufcade, which the Choktah are cunning artifts in forming. In this manner I marched for three quarters of an hour, and then took to high ground, a little above the enemies camp, in order to return for help to attack them. But the aforefaid brave yoqth, led on by his ill genius, at this time mounted a fiery horfe, which foon ran into the ambufcade, where they fhot him with a bullet in his breaft, and another entered a little below the heart. The horfe wheeled round in an inftant, and fprung off, but in pitching over a large fallen tree, the unfortunate rider, by reafon of his mortal wounds, X x fell fell off, a victim to the barbarians. One of them foon flruck a tomohawk into his head, juft between his eyes, and jerked off a piece of fcalp about the bignefs of a dollar—they took alfo his Indian breeches, and an handkerchief he had on his head, and immediately flew through a thicket of briars, to fecure their retreat. When they fired their two guns, I immediately gave the fhrill war-whoop, which was refounded by one of the Chikkafah that had been out a hunting from the camp. They inftantly fet off full fpeed, naked, except their Indian breeches and macca-fenes. I put myfelf in the fame flying trim, on the enemies firing•, we foon came to the tragical fpot, but without flopping, we took their tracks, gave chafe, and continued it a great way : unluckily, as we were running down a deep hill, they difcovered us from the top of another, and foon difperfed themfelves; by which means, not being able to difcover one track of thofe foxes on the hard hilly ground, we were obliged to give over the chace, and returned to camp. We buried our friend, by fixing in a regular manner a large pile of great logs for the corpfe, with big tough fapplings bent over it, and on each fide, thruft deep into the ground, to fecure it from the wild beafts. Though the whole camp at firft imagined the enemy had killed me and captivated the other, yet the warriors did not (hew the leaft emotion of gladn: fs, nor even my favourite friend, the war-leader, when they firft faw me fafe : but the women received me with tears of joy. I mention this to fhew the force of education and habit—thofe who are ufed to fcenes of war and blood, become obdurate and are loll to all the tender feelings of nature ; while they, whofe employment it is to mourn for their dead, are fufceptible of the tender impreflions they were originally endued with by Deity. As the French frequently had been great fufferers by the Chikkafah, ever fince the year 1730, neceflity obliged them to bear their loiTes with patience, till they could get them revenged by the friendly hands of their red mercenaries. As foon as they had ingratiated themfelves into the affections of all thofe Indians who were incorporated among the Mufkohge, and had fettled them near the Alebahma-garrifon; and other towns, befides head-men, in fundry parts of the nation, being devoted to their fervice, they imagined they had now intereft enough to get feveral of thofe warriors killed, who had joined the Chikkafah againft their people over the Miflifippi. But the old head-men of the Mufkohge convened together, and and agreed to fend a peremptory melTage to the French, ordering them, forthwith, to defift from their bloody politics, otherwife the river fhould carry their blood down to Mobille, and tell that garrifon, their own treachery was the fole occafion of it, by mifchievoufly endeavouring to foment a civil war between them, as they boafted they had done among the foolifh Choktah. With much regret they laid afide their fcheme, and were forced openly to wipe away the memory of every thing which had before given them offence; and to include all indifcriminatcly in the treaty of friendship, as all had only one fire. This proved a mortifying ftroke to the French on fundry accounts: and during the continuance of this diffracted fcene, if any Britifli governor of capacity and public fpirit, had properly exerted himfelf, they mud have withdrawn to Mobille, without any poffibility of ever returning. For the enmity would foon have advanced to a moll implacable hatred, as in the cafe of the Chikkafah and French : but fuch a conduct was incompatible with the private views of fome among us. As the fmall-pox broke out in our camp, when we got nigh to the Mufkohge country, and detained the Indians there till they recovered, I fet off without them for Charles-town. By the benefit of the air, and their drinking a ftrong decoction of hot roots, they all recovered. A Choktah warrior of Yahfhoo-town, humoroufly told me afterwards, that ookka hoomeh, " the bitter waters," meaning fpirituous liquors, cured fome people, while it killed others. He, by the advice of one of the Englifh traders, ad-miniflered it in pretty good dofes to feven of his children in the fmall-pox, which kept out the corrupt humour, and in a fhort time perfectly cured each of them, he faid, without the lead appearance of any dangerous fymptoms; whereas the diforder proved very mortal to the young people in the neighbourhood, who purfued a different courfe of phyfic. As moft of the Indian traders are devotees of Bacchus, their materia medica confifts of fpirituous liquors, compounded with ftrong herbs and roots, of which they commonly have a good knowledge: and I have oblerved thofe who have left off the trade, and refide in the Britifli fettlements, to give their negroes for an anti-venereal, a large dofe of old Jamaica and qualified mercury mixt together,—which, they fay, the blacks cheerfully drink, without making a wry face, contrary to their ufage X x 2 with with every other kind of phyfic ; and it is affirmed, that by this prefcrip-tion, they foon get well. The fmall pox with which the upper towns of the Mufkohge were infected, was of the confluent fort, and it would have greatly depopulated them, if the officious advice of fome among us, for all the other towns to cut off every kind of communication with them, on the penalty of death to any delinquent, had not been given and purfued. They accordingly ported centinels at proper places, with Ariel: orders to kill fuch, as the moil dangerous of all enemies : and thefe cautious meafures produced the defired effect. And by the mean mediation of feveral of our principal traders, joined with the intereft of their red friends, the commandant of the Alebahma fort, prevailed at laft on the Chikkafah chieftain to take the three French prifoners to him, as he would pay him to his own fatisfaction, give him prefents, and drink with him as a friend, who had buried the bloody tomohawk deep in the ground. They were delivered up •, and by that means the Prench were enabled to difcourage thofe Mufkohge warriors, who had joined the Chikkafah in the aforefaid acts of hoftilky againft the Miflifippi inhabitants. In about the fpace of three months from the time the Chikkafah left their own country with me, they arrived at the late New-Windfor garrifon, the weftern barrier of South-Carolina, and beautifully fituated on a high commanding bank of the pleafant meandering Savanah river; fo termed on account of the Shawano Indians having formerly lived there, till by our foolifh meafures, they were forced to withdraw northward in defence of their freedom. At the requeft 'of the governor and council I rode there, to accompany our Chikkafah friends to Charles-town, where, I believe, on my account, they met with a very cold reception : for as fomeching I wrote to the two gentlemen who fitted out, and fuftained the lofs of the Sphynx-company, had been inferted in the " modeft reply to his Excellency the Governor," formerly mentioned, in order to obtain bills of exchange on Great Britain, I was now become the great object of his difpleafure, and of a certain fett, who are known to patronife any perfons if they chance to be born in the fame corner of the world with themfelves. The Chikkafah had a very ungracious audience : On account of of the exceffive modefty of this warlike people, their chieftain gave out a fhort oration, without hinting in the moft diftant manner, at any difficulties they underwent, by reafon of their ftrong attachment to the Britifli Americans,—concluding, that as the Englifh beloved men were endowed with a furprifing gift of expreffing a great deal in few words, long fpeeches would be troublefome to them. He intended to have fpoken afterwards of the Choktah affairs, and that I was a great fufferer by them, without any juft retribution, and accordingly was very defirous of a fecond public interview-, but our cunning beloved man artfully declined it, though they if aid as late as the middle of April. It was a cuftom with the colony of South-Carolina towards thofe Indians who came on a friendly vifit, to allow them now and then a tolerable quantity of fpirituous liquors, to cheer their hearts, after their long journey ; but, if I am not miftaken, thofe I accompanied, had not a drop, except at my coft. And when the Governor gave them, at the entrance of the council-chamber, fome trifling prefents* he hurried them off with fuch an air as vexed them to the heart; which was aggravated by his earneftly pointing at a noted war-leader, and myfelf, with an angry countenance, fwearing that Indian had been lately down from Savanah, and received prefents. They had fo much fpirit that they would not on any account have accepted his prefents, but for my perfua-fions. As for myfelf, I could not forbear faying, honour compelled me as fo<-lemnly to declare that his affertion was not true, and that I had often given more to the Choktah at one time, than he had ever given to the Chikkafah, in order to rivet their enmity againft the French of Louifiana, and thereby open a lafting trade with them, from which I was unfairly excluded, on account of a friendly monopoly, granted by him for a certain end to mere ftrangers. My words feemed to lie pretty fharp upon him, and I fuppofe contributed not a little to the uncourtly leave he took of our gallant, and faithful old friends. Soon after, at the requeft of the Governor and council however, I accompanied them the firft day's march, on their way home from Charles-town : they had no public order of credit for their needful travelling charges, though I follicited his Excellency and the council to grant them one, according to the ancient, hofpitable, and wife cuftom of South-Carolina, to all Indians who paid them a friendly vifir, whofe journey was far fhorter, were often uninvited, and of much lefs fervice, than the Chikkafah to the Britifh intereft. As their horfes were very very poor, I told the Governor they could travel only at a flow pace, and as the wild game was fcarce in our fettlements, hunger, and refent-ment for their unkind ufage, would probably tempt them to kill the planters ilock, which might produce bad confequences, and ought to be cau-tioufly guarded againft j but I was an unfortunate folicitor. With a flow of contrary paflions I took my leave of our gallant Chikkafah friends. I viewed them with a tender eye, and revolved in my mind the fatigues, difficulties, and dangers, they had cheerfully undergone, to teftify the intenfe affection they bore to the Bntifh Americans,—with the ill treatment they had received from our chief magiflrate, on account of his own dif-appointments, and fharp-felt cenfures, for fome fuppofed mifmanagement, or illicit meafures in trade. He is reported to have been no way churliih to feveral of the daftardly Choktah, notwithftanding his unprecedented and unkind treatment of our warlike Chikkafah—two hundred of which would attack five hundred of the others, and defeat them with little lofs. Their martial bravery has often teftified this againft enemies even of a greater fpirit. Not long after the Chikkafah returned homeward, I advertifed in the weekly paper, that as I intended to leave Charles-town in a fhort time, I was ready and willing to anfwer any of the legiflative body fuch queftions as they might be pleafed to propofe to me concerning our Indian affairs, before the expiration of fuch a time; and that if his Excellency defired my attendance, and either notified it in writing, or by a proper officer, I might be found at my old lodgings. On the evening of the very laft day I had propofed to ftay, he fent me a peremptory written order to attend that night, on public bufinefs, concerning Indian affairs; I punctually obeyed, with refpect to both time and place. He was now in a dilemma, by reafon of his (fuppofed) felf-interefted conduct concerning the Choktah trade, which occafioned the aforefaid modejl reply, that arraigned his proceedings with feverity and plainncfs. As I came down with the Indians, and was detained by his Excellency, under the great feal of the province, till this period, April 1750, I had juft reafon to expect that good faith would have been kept with me—that I fhould have been paid according to promife, at leaft for all the goods I gave the Indians, by virtue thereof; and have had a juft compenfation for the great expences I was was at in ferving the government •,—but except the the trifling fum of four pounds fterling, when I was fetting off* for the Indian country, I never received one farthing of the public money, for my very expenflve, faithful, and difficult fervices. In moft of our American colonies, there yet remain a few of the natives, who formerly inhabited thofe extenfive countries: and as they were friendly to us, and ferviceable to our interefts, the wifdom and virtue of our legiflature fecured them from being injured by the neighbouring nations. The French ftrictly purfued the fame method, deeming fuch to be more ufeful than any others on alarming occafions. "We called them " Parched-corn-Indians," becaufe they chiefly ufe it for bread, are civilized, and live moftly by planting. As they had no connection with the Indian nations, and were defirous of living peaceable under the Britith protection, none could have any juft plea to kill or inflave them. But the grafping plan of the French required thofe dangerous fcout-parties, as they termed them, to be removed out of the way ; and the dormant conduct of the South-Carolina chief, gave them an opportunity to effect that part of their defign •, though timely notice, even years before, had been given by the Cheerake traders, that the French priefts were poifoning the minds of thofe Indians againft us, who live among the Apalahche mountains, and were endeavouring to reconcile them to all the various nations of the Miflifippi and Canada favages, and that there was the greateft probability they would accomplish their dangerous plan, unlefs we foon took proper meafures to prevent it. The informers had ill names and refentment for their news, and the aflembly was charged with mifpending their time, in taking notice of the wild incoherent reports of illiterate obfeure perfons. But it afterwards appeared, that according to their teftimony, the intereft and fecurity of South-Carolina were in great danger. By the diligence of the French, their Indians entered into a treaty of friendlhip with the Cheerake : and their country became the rendezvous of the red pupils of the black Jefuits. Hence they ravaged South-Carolina, beginning at the frontier weak fettlements, and gradually advanced through the country, for the fpace of eight years, deftroying the live ftock, infulting, frightening, wounding, and fometimes killing the inhabitants, burning their houfes, carrying away their flaves, and committing every kind of devastation, till they proceeded fo low as within thirty miles of Charles-town. The fufferers often exhibited their complaints, in the moft pathetic and public manner, and 5 the the whole country felt the ill effects of the late over-bearing and negligent conduct. Falfe colouring could ferve no longer, and a few inconfiderable parties were fent out—but not finding any enemy, they were in a few months difbanded, and peaceable accounts were again fent home. Our Settlement-Indians were at this time clofely hunted, many were killed, and others carried off. A worthy gentleman, G. H, Efq-, who lived at the Conggarees, fuffered much on the occafion—he was employed to go to the Cheerake country, in queft of valuable minerals, in company with an Indian commiffioner :—in one of their middle towns, he retook fome of our Settlement-Indians from the Canada-favages, whom a little before they had captivated and carried off from South-Carolina in triumph. While they were beating the drum, fmging, dancing, and pouring the utmoft contempt on the Englifh name, honour prompted him to prefer the public credit to his own fafety. By the earneft mediation of one of the traders, the head-men of the town confented to be neutral in the affair, and act as impartial friends to both parties. He then, with Col. F—x, and fome of the traders, went in a warlike gallant manner, and regardlefs of the favages threats, took and brought to a trader's houfe, our captivated friends :—they ftood all night on their arms, and at a convenient interval, fupplied thofe whom they had liberated, with neceffaries to carry them to our fettlements, where their trufly heels foon carried them fafe. The gallant behaviour of thofe ■gentlemen gained the applaufe of the Cheerake—and each foon returned in fafety, without any interruption, to their refpective homes, where I wiih they had ever after continued. But Mr. G. H. having confiderably engaged himfelf in trade with the Katahba Indians, fet off afterwards in company with an half-bred Indian of that nation, the favourite fon of Mr. T. B. a famous old trader: in their way to the Katahba, they were intercepted, and taken by fome of the very favages who had threatened him among the Cheerake, when he releafed our domeftic Indians. The government of South-Carolina was foon informed of the unhappy affair: and they dif-patched a friendly embaffy to the lower towns of the Cheerake, requeuing them to intercept and retake the prifoners, if they paffed near their country, and offered a conflderable reward. Our friends were carried a little to the northward of the Cheerake nation, where their captors camped feveral days, and the Cheerake held with them an open friendly intercourfe, as in defpite to the Englifh. The head men of the lower towns, not only flopped the traders and their red friends from going to refcue them, 5 but but likewife threatened them for their generous intention. The favages, inftead of keeping a due northern courfe homeward, took a large com-pafs north-weft, by the fide of the Cheerake mountains, being afraid of a purfuit from the Katahba Indians. They marched faft with their two captives, to fecure their retreat till they got within the bounds of the French treaty of peace, and then fteered a due northern courfe, continuing it till they got nigh to their refpeclive countries, where they parted in two bodies, and each took one of the prifoners with them. But as travelling fo great a way in the heat of fummer, was what Mr. G. FI. was unaccustomed to, he was fo much overcome by fatigue and ficknefs, that for feveral days before, he could not poflibly walk. He then requefted thorn to put him out of his mifery, but they would not for they reckoned his civil language to them proceeded from bodily pains and from a martial fpirit, which they regard. They confented to carry him on a bier, which they did both with care and tendernefs. But on parting with his companion, he refufed abfolutely to proceed any farther with them, when they tomohawked him, juft as his parted friend was out of the hearing of it. The laft afterwards got home, and told us this melancholy exit of our worthy and much-lamented friend—who died as he lived, always de-fpifing life, when it was to be preferved only in a ftate of flavery. Though he was thus loft to his family and the community, by a manly performance of the duties of his office, in which he engaged by the preffing entreaties of the Governor, yet his widow was treated ungeneroufty and bafely, as was Capt. J. P. at the Conggarees.—But there would be no end, if we were to enter into particulars of court policy, and government honor and gratitude. If our watch-men had not been quite remifs, they would have at leaft oppofed the French emiffaries on their firft approach to our colonies, and have protected our valuable civilized Indians \ for our negroes were afraid to run away, left they fhould fall into their hands. The fcheming French knew of what importance they were to us, and therefore they employed their red friends to extirpate them. And while thofe remote favages of Miflifippi and Canada were pretending to feek the revenge of fome old grievance, they wounded us at the fame time in two very material points,—in getting a thorough knowledge of the fituation of our moft valuable, but weak fouthern colonies, and thus could ftrike us the Y y deeper, deeper,—and in deftroying fuch of our inhabitants, as were likely to prove the greateft check to their intended future depredations. By our own mif-conduct, we twice loft the Shawano Indians; who have fince proved very hurtful to our colonies in general. When the French employed them to weaken South-Carolina, a fmall company of them were furrounded and taken in a remote houfe of the lower fettlements: and though they ought to have been inftantly put to death, in return for their frequent barbarities to our people, yet they were conveyed to prifon, confined a conflderable time, and then difcharged, to the great lofs of many innocent lives. For as the Indians reckon imprifonment to be inflaving them, they never forgive fuch treatment; and as foon as thefe got clear, they left bloody traces of their vindictive tempers, as they pafTed along. About this time, a large company of French favages came from the head-ftreams of Monongahcla-river to the Cheerake, and from thence were guided by one of them to where our fettlement-Indians refided. They went to a fmall town of the Euhcbeey about twelve miles below Savanah-town, and two below Silver-bluff, where G. G. Efq; lives, and there watched like wolves, till by the mens making a day's hunt, they found an opportunity to kill the women and children. Immediately after which, they fcouted off different ways, fome through Savanah-river, which is about 200 yards broad and others to the hunting place, both for their own fecurity, and to give the alarm : We had on this occafion, a ftriking inflance of the tender affection of the Indian women to their children, for all thofe who efcaped, carried off their little ones. The men, by the alarming fignal of the fhrill-founding war-cry, foon joined, * ran home, and without flaying to view the bloody tragedy, inftantly took the enemies tracks, and eagerly gave chafe. To avoid the dreaded purfuit, the Cheerake guide led the French mercenaries a northern courfe, as far as the thick woods extended, which was about fifteen miles from the place of their murders. From thence they fhifted toward the north-weft, and were ftretching away about 10 miles to the north of Augufta, for Ninety-Six, which lay in a direct line to the lower towns of the Cheerake ; when unluckily for them, juft as they were entering into the open, and long-continued pine-barren, they were difcovered by one of our hunting white men, who was mounted on an excellent white horfe, and therefore a fine mark to be ftiot, which they would have done for their own fecurity, only he outftripped them, and kept in their back-tracks, to trace them to their theatre of blood— their pofture and countenances plainly told him what they had done, on 1 fome fome of our barriers. He had not proceeded far, when he met the enraged Euhchee, on the hot purfuit. He told them their courfe, and that their number was twenty-fix. In running about twelve miles farther, they came in fight of the objects of their hatred and rage : prefently, they ran on each fide of them, engaged them clofely, and killed feveral. Thofe who efcaped, were forced to throw away nine guns, (they had taken from fome of our people) and almoft every thing, even their light breeches, to fave their lives. They were fo exceedingly terrified, left the enraged purfuers fhould continue the chafe, that they paffed wide of our then weak fettlement of Ninety-Six, and kept on day and night, till they got near to their conductor's mountainous country. This was in the beginning of May 1750: and in our Indian-trading way, we fay that, when the heat of the new year enables the fnakes to crawl out of their lurking holes, the favages are equally moved to turn out to do mifchief. Many have experimentally felt the truth of this remark. I had at this time occafion to go to the Cheerake country; and happened to have a brave chearful companion, Mr. H. F. of Ninety-Six fettlement. We had taken a hearty draught of punch, about ten miles from Keeohwhee-town, oppofite to which the late Fort-Prince-George ftood, and were proceeding along, when we difcovered the frefh tracks of Indians in the path, who were gone a-head. As we could not reafonably have the leaft fufpicion of their being enemies, we rode quite carelefly: but they proved to be the above-mentioned Monongahela-Indians. Their watchfulnefs, and our finging, with the noife of our horfes feet, made them hear us before they could poffibly fee us,—when they fuddenly ported themfelves off the path, behind fome trees, juft in the valley of Six-mile-creek, in order to revenge their lofs by the Euhchee, which they afcribed to the information of the white man. But their Cheerake guide prevented them from attempting it, by telling them, that as his country was not at war with us, his life muft pay for it, if they chanced to kill either of us; and as we were frefli and well-armed, they might be fure we would fight them fo fuccefsfully, as at leaft one of us fhould efcape and alarm the towns: with this caution they forbore the hazardous attempt. They fquac-ted, and kept clofe therefore, fo as we did not fee one of them; and we fufpected no danger. By the difcontinuance of their tracks, we foon knew we had paffed them : but, juft when we had hidden two cags of Y y 2 rum rum, about two miles from the town, four of them appeared, unarmed, ftark naked, and torn by the thickets. When we difcovered them, we concluded they had been below on mifchief. If we had not been fo nigh the town, my companion would have fired at them. We went into the town, and the traders there foon informed us of their cowardly defign. We went as far as the mid-fettlements, and found moft of the towns much difaffected to us, and in a fluctuating fituation, through the artifice of the French. In a few days we returned, but found they had blocked up all the trading paths, to prevent our traders from making their efcape. Juft as we defcended a fmall mountain, and were about to afcend a very fteep one, a hundred yards before us, which was the firft of the Apalahche, or blue ridge of mountains, a large company of the lower town Indians ftarted out from the Hoping rocks, on the north fide of the path, a little behind us. As they were naked except their breech-cloth, were painted red and black, and accoutered every way like enemies, I bid my companion leave the luggage-horfes and follow me : but as he left his arms at the lower town, and was not accuftomed to fuch furprifes, it fhocked him, till they ran down upon him. On this I turned back, and ftood on my arms, expecting they would have fired upon us. However, they propofed fome queft'ions, which I anfwered, as to where we had been, and were going, and that we were not any of their traders. Had it been otherwife, the difpute would have been dangerous. We got over the mountain, and fafe to Tymahfe , here we retted two nights, and found the people diffracted for mifchief, to which the many caufes before mentioned prompted them. The governor, in lefs than a month after this period, had the ftrongeft confirmation of the ill intention of thefe favages and their allies. Many expreffes with intelligence I fent, but the news was pocketed, and my fervices traduced—becaufe I would not aflift the prime magiftrate in a bad caufe, he and his humble fcrvants depreciated the long feries of public fervices I had faithfully performed, and called them mere accidental trifles contrary to his former acknowledgments, both verbal and in writing. The French, however, had a different opinion of my fervices •, they were fo well acquainted with the great damages I had done to them, and feared others I might occafion, as to confine me a clofe prifoner for a fortnight when I went to the Alebahma-garrifon, in 5 the the Mufkohge country. They were fully refolved to have fent me down to Mobille or New Orleans, as a capital criminal, to be hanged for having abetted the Mufkohge, Chikkafah, and Choktah, to fhed a torrent of their chriftian blood; though I had only retaliated upon them, the long train of blood they had years before wantonly fpilled. They wanted to have confronted me with the French prifoners I formerly mentioned, and with the Long Lieutenant, whom we met two days before the Choktah killed one of our people below Boolipbaraah, or the long fwamp. I was well affured, he was to have gone down to be baptized, and fo become a good "Weft-Florida-French chriftian, in order to condemn me, the poor bloody heretic. I faw him, and they had by this time taught him to count beads; but I doubted not of being able to extricate myfelf fome way or other. They appointed double centries over me, for fome days before I was to be fent down in the French king's large boat. They were ftrictly charged againft laying down their weapons, or fuffering any hoftile thing to be in the place where I was kept, as they deemed me capable of any mifchief. I was not indeed locked up, only at night, left it fhould give umbrage to our friendly Indians, but I was to have been put in irons, as foon as the boat paffed the Indian towns, that lay two miles below the fort, in the forks of the Koofah and Okwhufke rivers. About an hour before we were to fet off by water, I efcaped from them by land: and though they had horfes near at hand, and a corrupt town of favages fettled within 150 yards of the garrifon, yet under thofe difadvantages, befides heavy rains that loofencd the ground the very night before, I took through the middle of the low land covered with briers, at full fpeed. I heard the French clattering on horfe-back along the path, a great way to my left hand, and the howling favages purfuing my tracks with careful fteps, but my ufual good fortune enabled me to leave them far enough behind, on a needlefs purfuit. As they had made my arms prifoners, I allowed them without the leaft regret to carry down my horfes, clothes, &c. and punifh them by proxy, in the manner they intended to have ferved the owner, for his faithful fervices to his country. While Governor G— prefided in South-Carolina, it was needlefs to apply for a payment of the large debt the government owed me : but on his being fucceeded by his Excellency W. FI. L. Elcp, I imagined this a favourable favourable-time to make my addrefs. This worthy patriot had been well informed, by feveral Indian trading merchants of eminent character, of the expenfive, difficult, and faithful fervices I had cheerfully done my country, to the amount of above one thoufand pounds fterling on the public faith, and of the ungenerous returns I had received: he according to his natural kindnefs and humanity, promifed to affift me, I then laid my cafe, with the well-known and important facts, before the members of the houfe of affembly in Charles town-, and when they convened, prefented a memorial to the legislative body. But feveral of the country reprefentatives happened >to be abfent -, and as the governor could not be reafonably expected in a fhort time, to purify the infected air which had prevailed in that houfe for fourteen years, a majority of the members had evidently determined not to alleviate my long complaint of grievances. To invalidate its force, they objected, that my claim was old ; but did not attempt to prove the leaft tittle of what I exhibited to them to be falfe: they knew they could not. After a long and warm debate, when my fecret enemies obferved the clerk of the houfe was drawing near to the conclufion of my memorial, they feized on a couple of unfortunate monofyllables. I had faid, that " the Indian Choktah had a great many fine promifes;" the word fine was put to the torture, as reflecting on the very fine-promifmg gentleman. And in another fentence, I mentioned the time his excellency the late Governor of South-Carolina did me the honour to write me a very fmootb artful letter, by virtue of which I went all the way to Charles-town, &c. The word fmootb, fo highly ruffled the fmooth tempers of thofe gentlemen, that they carried a vote by a majority, and had it regit4;ied, importing, that they objected againfl the indelicacy, or impropriety, cf the language in my memorial, but not againfl the merit of its contents. The minute, I here in a more public manner record anew, to the lading honour of the perfons who promoted it. The voice of oppreffed truth, and injured innocence, can never be wholly ftifled. Left my memorial fhould again appear at the public bar of juftice, in a lefs infected time, it was not fent to the office ■, which indicates that the former art of pocketing was not yet entirely forgotten. Indeed every ftate fuffers more or lefs, from fome malign influence, one time or other-, but I have the happinefs to fay that the infection was not univerfal. South-Carolina has always been bleffed with fteady patriots, even in the moft corrupt times: and may fhe abound with firm pillars of the constitution, according to our Magna Charta Americana, as in m the prefent trying sera of blelTed memory, fo long as the heavenly rays fhall beam upon us i As the power and happinefs of Great Britain greatly depends on the profperity of her American colonies, and the heart-foundnefs of her civil and ecclefiaftical rulers—and as the welfare of America hangs on the balance of a proper intercourfe with their Indian neighbours, and can never be continued but by obferving and inforcing on.both fides, a ftrict. adherence to treaties, fupporting public faith, and allowing only a fufficient number of fuch faithful and capable fubjedts to deal with them, as may gain their affections, and prove faithful centinels for the public fecurity—I prefume that the above relations, and obfervations, inftead of being thought to ber foreign, will be deemed effential to an hiftory of the Indians. The remarks may be conducive alfo to the public welfare. Ignorance, or felf-in-tereft, has hitherto wrongly informed the community of the true fituation. ©f our Indian affairs weftward. A N I 352 3 ACCOUNT OF THE CHIKKASAH NATION. The Chikkafah country lies in about 35 Deg. N. L. at the diftance of 160 miles from the eaftern fide of the Miflifippi *, 160 miles to the N. of the Choktah, according to the courfe of the trading path ; about half way from Mobille, to the Illinois, from S. to N ; to the W. N. W. of the Mufkohge (Creeks) about 300 computed miles, and a very mountainous winding path from the Cheerake nearly W. about 540 miles; the late Fort-Loudon is by water 500 miles to the Chikkafah landing place, but only 95 computed miles by land. The Chikkafah are now fettled between the heads of two of the moft weftern branches of Mobille-river •, and within twelve miles of the eaftern main fource of Tabre Hacbe, which lower down is called Chokchooma-river, as that nation made their firft fettlements there, after they came on the other fide of the Miflifippi. Where it empties into this, they call it TabJboo-riwGr. Their tradition fays they had ten thoufand men fit for war, when they firft came from the weft, and this account feems very probable as they, and the Choktah, and alfo the Chokchooma, who in pro-cefs of time were forced by war to fettle between the two former nations, came together from the weft as one family. The Chikkafah in the year 1 20, had four large contiguous fettlements, which lay nearly in the form of three parts of a fquare, only that the eaftern fide was five miles fhorter than the weftern, with the open part toward the Choktah. One was called Taneka> about a mile wide, and fix miles long, at the diftance of twelve miles miles from their prefent towns. Another was ten computed miles long, at the like diftance from their prefent fettlements, and from one to two miles broad. The towns were called Sbatara, Cbookbeerefi, Ilykebab, Trtf. kawillao, and Pbalacbebo. The other fquare was fing-le, began three miles from their prefent place of refidence, and ran four miles in length, and one mile in breadth. This was called Cbookka Pbardab, or " the long houfe." It was more populous than their whole nation contains at prefent. The remains of this once formidable people make up the northern angle of that broken fquare. They now fcarcely confift of four hundred and fifty warriors, and are fettled three miles weftward from the deep creek, in a clear trad of rich land, about three miles fquare, running afterward about five miles toward the N. W. where the old fields are ufually a mile broad. The fuperior number of their enemies forced them to take into this narrow circle, for focial defence j and to build their towns, on commanding ground, at fuch a convenient diftance from one another, as to have their enemies, when attacked, between two fires. Some of the old Nahchee Indians who formerly lived on the Miflifippi, two hundred miles weft of the Choktah, told me the French demanded from every one of their warriors a dreft buck-fkin, without any value for it, i. e. they taxed them; but that the warriors hearts grew very crofs, and loved the deer-fkins. According to the French accounts of the Mifll-fippi-Indians, this feems to have been in the year 1729. As thofe Indians were of a peaceable and kindly difpofition, numerous and warlike, and always kept a friendly intercourfe with the Chikkafah, who never had any good-will to the French thefe foon underftood their heart-burnings, and by the advice of the old Englifh traders, carried them white pipes and tobacco in their own name and that of South-Carolina,—perfuading them with earneftnefs and policy to cut off the French, as they were refolvcd to inllave them in their own beloved land. The Chikkafah fucceeded in their embaffy. But as the Indians are flow in their councils on things of great importance, though equally clofe and intent, it v/as the following year before they could put their grand fcheme in execution. Some of their headmen indeed oppofed the plan, yet they never difcovered it. But when thefe went a hunting in the woods, the embers burft into a raging flame." They attacked the French, who were flourifhing away in the greateft fecurity j and, as was affirmed, they entirely cut off the garrifon, and neighbouring fettle- Z 2 ments, merits, confining of fifteen hundred men, women, and children—the mif-conduct of a few indifereet perfons, occafioned fo great a number of inno* cent lives to be thus cut off. The Nahchce afterwards built and fettled a ftrong ftockade fort, well-ward of their old fields, near a lake that communicates with Bayouk Dar-gcnt\ but the enfuing fummer, near 2000 French regulars and provincials, befides a great body of the Choktah and other favages invelled it. The befieged tallied on them, with the utmoft fury, killed a conflderable number, and in all probability, would have totally deftroyed the white foldiery, but for the fharp opposition of the Choktah in their own method of fighting. The Nahchce were at length repulfed, and bombarded with three mortars, which forced them to fly off different ways. The foldier3 were too (low footed to purfue ; but the Choktah, and other red allies, captivated a great number of them, and carried them to New Orleans, where feveral were burned, and the reft fent as flaves to the Weft India Iflands: the greater part however went to the Chikkafah, where they were fecured from the power of their French enemies. The French demanded them, but being abfolutely refufed, unluckily for many thou-fands of them, they formally declared war againft the Chikkafah. In the open fields the Chikkafah bravely withftood, and repelled the greateft combined armies they were able to bring againft them, north and fouth, and gave them and their fwarms of red allies feveral notable defeats, A body of the lower French, and about fourteen hundred Choktah* attacked the Long Houfe Town, when only fixty warriors were at home; yet they fought fo defperately, as to fecure themfelves, their women and children, till fome of the hunters, who had been immediately fent for, came home to their affiftance; when, though exceedingly inferior in number, they drove them off .with great lofs. Another time, the lower and upper Louifiana-French, and a great body of red auxiliaries, furprifed late at night all their prefent towns, except Amalahta, that-had about forty warriors, and which ftood at fome diftance from the others. A conflderable number of the enemy were pofted at every door, to prevent their efcape; and what few ran out were killed on the fpot. The French feerr.ed quite fure of their prey, having fo well inctofed it. But, at the dawn-of day, when they were capering and ufing thofe fiourilhes, that are peculiar to to that volatile nation, the other town drew round them ftark naked, and painted all over red and black ; thus they attacked them, killed numbers on the fpot, releafed their brediren, who joined them like enraged lions, increa-fing as they fwept along, and in their turn incircled their enemies. Their re-leafe increafed their joy and fury, and they rent the fky with their founds. Their flamy enemies, now changed their boafting tune, into " Oh mor-blieu !" and gave up ail for loft-. Their red allies out-heel'd them, and left them to receive their juft fate. They were all cut off but two, an officer, and a negroe who faithfully held his horfe till he mounted, and then ran along fide of him. A couple of fwift runners were fent after them, who foon came up with them, and told them to live and go home and inform their people, that as the Chikkafah hogs had now a plenty of ugly French carcafes to feed on till next year, they hoped then to have another vifit from them and their red friends i and that, as meflengers, they wiftied them fafe home. They accordingly returned with heavy hearts to the Chikkafah landing place, N. W. on the Miflifippi, at the diftance of 170 miles, where they took boat, and delivered their unexpected meffage: — grief and trembling fpread through the country,—and the inhabitants could not fecure themfelves from the fury of thefe warlike, and enraged Chikkafah. Every one of their prifoners was put to the fiery torture, without any poflibility of redemption, their hearts were fo exceedingly imbittered againft them. Fluftied with this fuccefs, many parties turned out againft the French, and from time to time hunted them far and near:—fome went to the Miflifippi, made a fleet of cyprefs-bark canoes, watched their trading boats, and cut off many of them without faving any of the people. The French finding it impracticable for a few boats to pafs thofe red men of war, were obliged to go in a fleet, carry fwivel-guns in their long pettiaugres, with plenty of men ; but always fhunning the Chikkafah fide of the river, and obferving the ftricteft order in their movements by day, and in their ftations ac night. The walking of a wild beaft, I have been afiured, has frequently called them to their arms, and kept them awake for the whole night, they were in fo great a dread of this warlike nation. The name of a Chikkafah became as dreadful, as it was hateful to their ears. And had it not been more owing to French policy than bravery, in uniting all the M.ififippi and Canada-Indians in a confederacy and enmity againft them, Lou- Z z 2 ifiana- ifiana-fettlements would have been long fince, either entirely deflroyed, or confined to garrifons. When any of the French armies made a tolerable retreat, they thought themfelves very happy. Once, when the imprefiion was pretty much worn, out of their minds, and wine infpired them with new ftratagems, and hopes of better fuccefs, a great body of them, mixed with a multitude of favages, came to renew their attack. But as their hoftile intentions were early difcovered, the Chikkafah had built a range of ftrong ftockade forts on ground which could not fafely be approached, as the contiguous land was low, and chanced then to be we:. A number of the French, and their allies drew near the weftern fort, but in the manner o£ hornets,, flying about to prevent their enemies from taking a true aim, while feveral ranks followed each other in a flow and folemn proceffion, like white-robed, tall, midnight-ghofts, and as if fearlefs, and impenetrable. The Indians did not at firft know what fort of animals they were, for feveral fhots had been fired among them, without incommoding them, or retarding their direct courfe to the fort:—as they advanced nearer, the Chikkafah kept a continual fire at them, with a fure aim, according to their cuftom i this was with as little fuccefs as before, contrary to every attempt they had ever made before againft their enemies. The warriors concluded them to be wizards, or old French-men carrying the ark of war againft them. In their council, they were exceedingly perplexed: but juft as they had concluded to oppofe fome of their own reputed prophets to deftroy the power of thofe cunning men, or powerful fpirits of the French, lo ! thofe uncommon appearances fpread themfelves in battle-array, along the fouth-fide of the fort, and threw hand granadoes into the fort. FIoop Hoop Ha was now joyfully founded every where by the Chikkafah, being convinced they had fkin and bone to fight with, inftead of fpirits. The matches of the few fhells the French had time to throw, were too long y and as our traders had joined their friends by this time, they pulled out fome, and threw out other fhells, as near to the enemy as they poflibly could. They foon found thofe dreadful phantoms were only common French-men, covered with wool-packs, which made their breafts invulnerable to all their well-aimed bullets. They now turned out of the fort, fell on, fired at their legs, brought down many of them and fcalped them, and drove the others with conflderable lofs quite away to the fouthern hills, where the tFemblinc trembling army had polled themfelves out of danger. In the midft of the night they decamped, and faved themfelves by a well-timed retreat, left the Chikkafah triumphant, and infpired them with the fiercenefs of fo many tygers; which the French often fatally experienced, far and near, till the late rjeftion of Weft-Florida to Great Britain. I have two of thefe fhells,. which I keep with veneration, as fpeaking trophies over the boafting Mon-fieurs, and their bloody fchemes. In the year 1748, the French fent a party of their Indians to ftorm fome of the Chikkafah traders' houfes. They accordingly came to my trading houfe firft, as I lived in the frontier : finding it too dangerous to attempt to force it, they patted with their hands a conflderable time on one of the doors, as a decoy, imitating the earneft rap of the young women who go a vifiting that time of night. Finding their labour in vain, one of them lifted a billet of wood, and ftruck the fide of the houfe, where the women and children lay •, fo as to frighten them and. awake me—my. maftifTs had been filenced with their venifon. At laft, the leader went a-head with the beloved ark, and pretending to be directed by the dw vine oracle, to watch another principal trader's houfe, they accordingly, made for it, when a young woman, having occafion to go out of the houfe, was fhot with a bullet that entered behind one of her breads and through the other, ranging the bone-, fhe fuddenly wheeled round, and tumbled: down, within the threlhold of the houfe—the brave trader inftantly bounded up, founding the war whoop, and in a moment grafped his gun, (for the traders beds are always hung round with various arms of defence) and ref-cued her—the Indian phyfician alfo, by his fkill in fimples, foon cured her. As fo much hath been already faid of the Chikkafah, in the accounts of the Cheerake, Mufkohge, and Choktah, with whofe hiftory, theirs was neceffarily interwoven, my brevity here, I hope will be excufed. —The Chikkafah live in as happy a region, as any under the fun. It is temperate ; as cool in fummcr, as can be wilhed, and but moderately cold* in winter. There is froft enough to purify the air, but not to chill the blood -, and the fnow does not lie four-and-twenty hours together. This extraordinary benefit, is not from its fituation to the equator, for the Cheerake country, among the Apalahche mountains is colder, in a furprifing degree ; but from the nature and levelnefs of the extenfive circumjacent lands, which in general are very fertile. They have no running ftream in their. their prefent fettlement. In their old fields, they have banks of oyfter-ihells, at the diftance of four hundred miles from the fea-fhore •, which is a vifible token of a general deluge, when it fwept away the loofe earth from the mountains, by the force of a tempeftuous north-eaft wind, and thus produced the fertile lands of the Miflifippi, which probably was fea, before that dreadful event. As the Chikkafah fought the French and their red allies, with the utmoft firmnefs, in defence of their liberties and lands, to the very laft, without regarding their decay, only as an incentive to revenge their loffes •, equity and gratitude ought to induce us to be kind to our Heady old friends, and only purchafe fo much of their land, as they would difpofe of, for value. With proper management, they would prove extremely ferviceable to a Britifli colony, on the Miflifippi. I hope no future mifconduct will alienate their affections, after the manner of the fuper-intcndant's late deputy, which hath been already mentioned. The fkilful French could never confide in the Choktah, and we may depend on being forced to hold hot difputes with them, in the infant ftate of the Miflifippi fettlements: it is wifdom to provide againft the worft events that can be reafonably expected to happen. The remote inhabitants of our northern colonies are well acquainted with the great value of thofe lands, from their obfervations on the fpot. The foil and climate are fit for hemp, filk, indigo, wine, and many other valuable productions, which our merchants purchafe from foreigners, fometimes at a conflderable difadvantage-—The range is fo good for horfes, cattle, and hogs, that they would grow large, and multiply faft, without the leaft occafion of feeding them in winter, or at leaft for a long fpace of time, by reafon of the numberlefs branches of reeds and canes that are inter fperled, with nuts of various kinds. Rice, wheat, oats, bar-ley, Indian corn, fruit-trees, and kitchen plants, would grow to admiration. As the ancients tell us, ** Bacchus amat montes," fo grape-vines muft thrive extremely well on the hills of the Miflifippi, for they are fo rich as to produce winter-canes, contrary to what is known at any diftance to the northward. If Britifli fubjecls could fettle Weft-Florida in fecurity, it would in a few years become very valuable to Great Britain : and they would foon •have as much profit, as they could defire, to reward their labour. Flere, five hundred families would in all probability, be more beneficial to our mother-country, than the whole colony of North Carolina : befides innumerable 'branches toward Ohio and Monongahela. Enemies Enemies to the public good, may enter caveats againft our fettling where the navigation is precarious; and the extraordinary kindnefs of the late miniftry to the French and Spaniards prevented our having an exclufive navigation on the Miflifippi, Abervillc might ftill become a valuable mart to us; and from New Orleans it is only three miles to Saint John's Creek, where people pafs through the lake of Saint Louis, and embark for Mobille and Penfacola. The Spaniards have wifely taken the advantage of our mifconduct, by fortifying Louisiana, and employing the French to conciliate the affections of the fa*-vages; while our legiflators, fermented with the corrupt lees of falfe power, are ftriving to whip us with fcorpions. As all the Florida Indians are grown jealous of us, fince we fettled E. and W. Florida, and are unacquainted with the great power of the Spaniards in South America, and have the French to polifh their rough Indian politics, Louifiana is likely to prove more beneficial to them, than it did to the French. They are fortifying their Miflifippi fettlements like a New Flanders,, and their French artifts, on account of our minifterial lethargy, will have a good opportunity, if an European war fhould commence, to continue our valuable weftern barriers as wild and wafte, as the French left them. The warlike Chikkafah proved fo formidable to them, that, except a fmall fettlement above New Orleans, which was covered by the Choktah bounds, they did not attempt to make any other on the eaftern fide of the Miflifippi, below the Illinois-, though it contains fuch avail tract of fine land, as would be fufficient for four colonies of two hundred and fifty miles fquare. Had they been able by their united efforts, to have deftroyed the Chikkafah, they would not have been idle ; for, in that cafe, the Choktah would have been foon fwallowed up, by the afliftance of their other allies, as they never fupplied them with arms and ammunition, except thofe who went to war againft the Chikkafah. From North-Carolina to the Miflifippi, the land near the fea, is, in general, low and fandy; and it is very much fo in the two colonies of Florida, to a conflderable extent from, the fea-fhore, when the lands appear fertile, level, and diverfified with hills. Trees indicate the goodnefs or badnefs of land. Pine-trees grow on fandy, barren ground, which produces long coarfe grafs j the adjacent low lands abound with canes, reeds> 3 »c or bay and laurel of various forts, which are (haded with large expanding trees — they compofe an evergreen thicket, moftly impenetrable to the beams of the fun, where the horfes, deer, and cattle, chiefly feed during the winter: and the panthers, bears, wolves, wild cats, and foxes, refort there, both for the fake of prey, and a cover from the hunters. Lands of a loofe black foil, fuch as thofe of the Miflifippi, are covered with fine grafs and herbage, and well ihaded with large and high trees of hiccory, afh, white, red, and black oaks, great towering poplars, black walnut-trees, fafiafras, and vines. The low wet lands adjoining the rivers, chiefly yield cyprefs-trees, which are very large, and of a prodigious height. On the dry grounds is plenty of beach, maple, holly, the cotton-tree, with a prodigious variety of other forts. But we muft not omit the black mulberry-tree, which, likewife, is plenty. It is high, and, if it had proper air and fun-ftiine, the boughs would be very fpreading. On the fruit, the bears and wild fowl feed during their feafon; and alfo fwarms of paroquets, enough to deafen one with their chattering, in the time of thofe joyful repafts. I believe the white mulberry-tree does not grow fpontaneoufly in North-America. On the hills, there is plenty of chefnut-trees, and chef-nut-oaks. Thefe yield the largcft fort of acorns, but wet weather foon fpoils them. In winter, the deer and bears fatten themfelves on various kinds of nuts, which lie thick over the rich land, if the bloflbms have not been blafted by the north-eaft winds. The wild turkeys live on the fmall red acorns, and grow fo fat in March, that they cannot fly farther than three or four hundred yards and not being able foon to take the wing again, we fpeedily run them down with our horfes and hunting maf-tiffs. At many unfrequented places of the Miflifippi, they are fo tame as to be fhot with a piftol, of which our troops profited, in their way to take polTeflion of the Ulinois-garrifon. There is a plenty of wild parfley, on the banks of that river, the roots of which are as large as thofe of par-fnips, and it is as good as the other fort. The Indians fay, they have not feen it grow in any woods remote from their country. They have a large fort of plums, which their anceftors brought with them from South-America, and which are now become plenty among our colonies, called Chikkafah plums. To the North Weft, the Miflifippi lands are covered with filberts, which are as fweet, and thin-flielled, as the fcaly bark hiccory-nuts, o Hazel- Hazel-nuts are very plenty, but the Indians feldom eat them. Black haws grow here in duffers, free from prickles: and piffimmons, of which they make very pleafant bread, barbicuing it in the woods. There is a fort of fine plums in a few places, large, and well-tafted; and, if tranfplanted, they would become better. The honey-locufts are pods about a fpan-long, and almoft two inches broad, containing a row of large feed on one fide, and a tough fweet fubftance the other. The tree is large, and full of long thorns ; which forces the wild beafts to wait till they fall off, before they can gather that part of their harveft.-—The trees grow in wet four land, and are plenty, and the timber is very durable. Where there is no pitch-pine, the Indians ufe this, or the faffafras, for pofts to their houfes as they laft for generations, and the worms never take them. Chinquapins are very plenty, of the tafte of chefnuts, but much lefs in fize. There are feveral forts of very wholefome and pleafant-tatted ground nuts, which few of our colonifts know any thing of. In wet land, there is an aromatic red fpice, and a fort of cinnamon, which the natives feldom ufe. The Yopon, or Cuffeena, is very plenty, as far as the fait air reaches over the low lands. It is well tafted, and very agreeable to thofe who accuftom themfelves to ufe it: inftead of having any noxious quality, according to what many have experienced of the Eaft-India infipid and coftly tea, it is friendly to the human fyftem, enters into a conteft with the peccant humours, and expels them through the various channels of nature ; it perfectly cures a tremor in the nerves. The North-American tea has a pleafant aromatic tafte, and the very fame falubrious property, as the Cuffeena. It is an evergreen, and grows on hills. The bufhes are about a foot high, each of them containing in winter a fmall aromatic red berry, in the middle of the ftalk: fuch I faw it about Chriftmas, when hunting among the mountains, oppofite to the lower Mohawk Caftle, in the time of a deep fnow. There is no vifible decay of the leaf, and October feems to be the proper time to gather it. The early buds of lafiafras, and the leaves of ginfeng, make a moft excellent tea,' equally pleafant to the tafte, and conducive to health. The Chinefe have fenfe enough to fell their enervating and flow-poifoning teas, under various fine titles, while they themfelves prefer Ginfeng-leaves. Each of cur colonies abounds with ginfeng, among the hills that lie far from the fea. Ninety-fix fettlement, is the loweft place where I have feen it grow in South Carolina. It is very plenty on the fertile parts of the Cheerake A a a mountains; mountains; it refembles Angelica, which in mod places is alfo plenty. Its leaves are of a darker green, and about a foot and half from the root the ftalk fends out three equal branches, in the center of which a fmall berry grows, of a red colour, in Auguft.—The feeds are a very ftrong and agreeable aromatic : it is plenty in Weft-Florida. The Indians ufe it on religious occafions. It is a great lofs to a valuable branch of trade, that our people neither gather it in a proper feafon, nor can cure it, fo as to give it a clear mining colour, like the Chinefe tea. I prefume it does not turn out well to our American traders \ for, up the Mohawk river, «f gentleman who had purchafed a large quantity of it, told me that a fkippel, or three buftiels, coft him only nine fhillings of New York currency : and in Charles-Town, an inhabitant of the upper Yadkin fettlements in North Carolina, who came down with me from viewing the Nahchee old fields on the Mifiifippi, aifured me he could not get from any of the South Carolina merchants, one (hilling fterling a pound for it, though his people brought it from the Alehgany, and Apalahche mountains, two hundred miles to Charles-Town. It would be a fervice, worthy of a public-fpirited gentleman, to inform us how to preferve the Ginfeng, fo as to give it a proper colour; for could we once effect that, it muft become a valuable branch of trade. It is an exceeding good ftomachic, and greatly fupports nature againft hunger and thirft. It is likewife beneficial againft afthmatic complaints, and it maybe faid to promote fertility in women, as much as the Eaft-India tea caufes fterility in proportion to the baneful ufe that is made of it. A learned phyfician and botanift aifured me, that the eaftern teas are flow, but fure poifon, in our American climates and that he generally ufed the Ginfeng very fuccefsfully in clyfters, to thofe who had deftroyed their health, by that dangerous habit. I adyifed my friend to write a treatife on its medical virtues, in the pofterior application, as it muft redound much to the public good. He told me, it would be needlefs ; for quacks could gain nothing from the beft directions and that already feveral of his acquaintance of the faculty moftly purfued his practice in curing their patients. The eaftern tea is as much inferior to our American teas, in its nourifhing quality, as their album gnccum is to our pure venifon, from which we here iometimes collect it let us, therefore, like frugal and wife people, ufe our own valuable aromatic tea, and thus induce our Britifh tifh brethren to imitate our pleafant and healthy regimen; (hewinc* the utmoft indifference to any duties the ftatefmen of Great-Britain, in their affumed prerogative, may think proper to lay on their Eaft-India poifon-ing, and dear-bought teas. The induftry of the uncorrupt part of the Indians, in general, and of the Chikkafah, in particular, extends no farther than to fupport a plain fimple life, and fecure themfelves from the power of the enemy, and from hunger and cold. Indeed moft of them are of late grown fond of the ornaments of life, of raifing live ftock, and ufing a greater induftry than formerly, to increafe wealth. This is to be afcribed to their long intercourfe with us, and the familiar eafy way in which our traders live with them, begetting imperceptibly an emulous fpirit of imitation, according to the ufual progrefs of human life. Such a difpofition, is a great advance towards their being civilized ; which, certainly muft be effected, before we can reafonably expect to be able to bring them to the true principles of chriftianity. Inftead of reforming the Indians, the monks and friars corrupted their morals: for, in the place of inculcating love, peace, and good-will to their red pupils, as became melfengers of the divine author of peace, they only imprefTed their flexible minds with an implacable hatred againft every Britifli fubject, without any diftinction. Our "people will foon difcover the bad policy of the late Quebec act, and it is to be hoped that Great-Britain will in due time, fend thofe black croaking clerical frogs of Canada home to their infallible mufti of Rome. I muft here beg leave to be indulged, in a few obfervations on our own American mifllonaries. Many evils are produced by fending out Ignorant and wicked perfons as clergymen. Of the few I know,—two among them dare not venture on repeating but a few collects in the common prayer. A heathen could fay, " if thou wouldft have me weep, thou muft firft weep thyfelf:" and how is it poflible we lhould be able to make good im-preflions on others, unlefs they are firft vifible on ourfelves ? The very rudiments of learning, not to fay of religion, are wanting in feveral of our miflionary Evangelifts; the beft apology I have heard in their behalf, is, " an Englifh nobleman afked a certain bifhop, why he conferred holy orders on fuch a parcel of arrant blockheads ? He replied, becaufe it was better to have the ground plowed by afles, than leave it a wafte full of thirties " A a a 2 It It feems very furprifing, that thofe who are inverted with a power of conferring ecclefiaftical orders, mould be fo carelefs in propagating the holy gofpel, and affiduous to prophane holy things, in appointing and ordaining illiterate and irreligious perfons to the fervice. What is it ? but faying, ** go teach the American fools. My bleffing is enough. Cherifti confidence, and depend upon it, they will not have confidence to laugh at you: Leave the remote and poor fettlements to the care of divine providence, which is diffufive of its rich gifts. The harveft is great el few here. Only endeavour to epifcopize the northern colonies; it is enough : there they are numerous, and able to pay Peter's pence, as well as our old jewifh, and new parliamentary tithes; and in time your labours will be crowned with fuccefs." That court however, which fends abroad ftupid embaffadors to reprefent it, cannot be reafonably expected to have fuccefs, but rather fliame and de-rifion. What can we think at this diftance, when we fee the number of blind guides, our fpiritual fathers at home have fent to us, to lead us clear of the mazes of error ? but, that they think of us with indifference, and are ftudioufly bent on their own temporal intereft, inftead of our fpiritual welfare. There are thoufands of the Americans, who I believe have not heard fix fermons for the fpace of above thirty years—and in fact they have more knowledge than the teachers who are fent to them, and too much religion to communicate with them. And even the blinder fort^of the laity not finding truth fufficiently fupported by their purblind guides, grow proud of their own imaginary knowledge, and fome thereby proudly commence teachers,—by which means they rend the church afunder; and, inftead of peace and love, they plant envy, contempt, hatred, revilings, and produce the works of the fleih, inftead of thofe of the fpirit.. Not fo act the uncivilized Indians. Their fuppofed holy orders are obtained from a clofe attention to, and approved knowledge of their facred myfteries. No temptations can corrupt their virtue on that head : neither will they convey their divine fecrets to the known impure. This conduct is worthy to be copied, by all who pretend to any religion at all, and efpecially by thofe who are honoured with the pontifical dignity, and afiume the name of w Right reverend, and Moft reverend Fathers in God." I have been importunately requefted at different times, by feveral eminent gentle*. men. men, who wifh well to both church and ftate, to reprefent the evils refulting from fuch miffionaries, in hope of redrefs and on this occafion, I thought it criminal to refufc their virtuous requeft. The reprefentation is true, and the writer is perfuaded he cannot give the leaft offence by it, to any but the guilty. My fituation does not allow me, to fix the bounds our legifiators claim on the Miflifippi : but I have good reafon to believe that the fine court title which France, in her late dying will, has transferred to Great-Britain, moflly confifts in ideal poffeffions fhe never enjoyed. The monopolies already made, are equally unjuft and pernicious. They, who take up valuable lands, efpecially on fuch a barrier, ought to fettle them in a reafonable time, or be prevented from keeping out induftrious inhabitants, and caufing the place to continue in a defencelefs condition. Before we can fettle the Miflifippi, with any reafonable view of fuccefs, the government muft build fufficient places of ftrength, both to make the colony appear refpeclable in the eyes of the Indians, and guard it from the evil eye of the Spaniards, who are watching at New Orleans, and over the river, to impede our interefts, in that valuable but dangerous quarter. It might become an impenetrable barrier, if proper encouragement was given to the laborious and hardy inhabitants of our northern fettlements, on the various branches of the Ohio, and in the back fettlements of North Carolina, who are now almoft ufelefs to the community. As Great-Britain would be the chief gainer by their removal, fhe ought to encourage them to remove. Gre3t numbers of them were preparing to come down, even in the years 1768 and 1769; but finding too many inconveniencies and hazards in their way, they declined the attempt. As it is natural for every colony to endeavour to increafe its number of induftrious inhabitants, it i cannot be expected, even if the mother country behaved more prudently than of late, that any of them would exert themfelves much on fuch an occafion, as to raife dangerous rivals in their own ftaple commodity—However rice, indigo, filk, hemp, wine, and many other valuable productions are fuit-able to fo fine a foil and climate; befides great quantities of beef, pork, and every kind of ufeful timber for Jamaica, which is contiguous to the mouth of the Miflifippi. So great an acquifition of raw materials would foon prove very beneficial to Great-Britain, as well as a great fafe-guard to the beft part of our other colonies, and a very needful check to Spanifh info-c lence. lencc. Such a material undertaking, as the colonizing of fo important a barrier, deferves public encouragement to put it in a fair way of doing well; and the continuance of a fupply, and protection through its infant iiate, to fecure it from any artful attempts the Spaniards and their French fubjects might plot to difturb its tranquility, and thereby check its growth. There might be introduced even among the Indian nations I have defcribed, a fpirit of induftry, in cultivating fuch productions as would agree with their land and climates; efpecially, if the fuper-intendency of our Indian affairs, weftward, was conferred on the fenfible, public-fpirited, and judicious Mr. George Galphin, merchant, or Lachlan M4Gilwray, Efq; of equal merit. Every Indian trader knows from long experience, that both thefe gentlemen have a greater influence over the dangerous Mufkohge, than any others befides. And the fecurity of Georgia requires one or other of them fpeedily to fuperintend our Indian affairs. It was, chiefly, the fkilful management of thefe worthy patriots, which prevented the Mufkohge from joining the Cheerake, according to treaty, againft us in the years 1760 and 1761,—to their great expence and hazard of life, as they allowed thofe favages to eat, drink, and fleep at Silver-Bluff, below New Windfor garrifon, and at Augufta fifteen miles apart, and about 150 miles from Savanah. I write from my own knowledge, for I was then on the fpot, with a captain's commiflion from South Carolina. A Mufkohge war againft us, could eafily be prevented by either of thofe gentlemen, if chofen, and the de-ftructive plan of general licences was repealed. It is to be hoped, that they who are inverted with the power, will retract their former error, and have the pleafure of knowing the good effect it would produce, by giving an opportunity of civilizing and reforming the favages; which can never be effected by the former ufual means. Admit into Indian countries, a fufficient number of difcreet orderly traders.—This needful regulation will likewife benefit trade, which is almoft ruined ; and our valuable weak frontier colonies would thereby increafe in numbers, proportionable to their fecurity. Formerly, each trader had a licence for two towns, or villages •, but according to the prefent unwifc plan, two, and even three Arab-like pedlars fculk about in one of thofe villages. Several of them alfo frequently emigrate into the woods with fpirituous liquors, and cheating trifles, 5 after after the Indian hunting camps, in the winter feafon, to the great injury of a regular trader, who fupplies them with all the conveniencies of hunting : for, as they will fell even their wearing fhirt for inebriating liquors, they muft be fupplied anew in the fall of the year, by the trader. At my firft fetting out among them, a number of traders who lived contiguous to each other, joined through our various nations in different companies, and were generally men of worth : of courfe, they would have a living price for their goods, which they carried on horfeback to the remote Indian countries, at very great expences. Thefe fet an honeft copy for the imitation of the natives, for as they had much at ftake, their own intereft and that of the government co-inc'ided. As the trade was in this wife manner kept up to its juft ftandard, the favages were induftrious and frugal. But, lowering if, through a miftaken notion of regaining their affections, we made ourfelves too cheap to them, and they defpifed us for it. The trade ought to be raifed to a reafonable fixed price, the firft convenient opportunity—thus we fhall keep them employed, and ourfelves fecure. Should we lower the trade, even fifty per cent below the prime coft, they would become only the more difcontcnted, by thinking Ave had cheated them all the years paft. A mean fubmifiive temper can never manage our Indian affairs. The qualities of a kind friend, fenfible fpeaker, and active brifk warrior, muft conftitute the character of a fuperintendant. Great care ought to be taken, not to give the Indians offence, or a mean opinion of the people or government our Indian fuperintendants reprefent. At a general congrefs in Mobille, Anno 1765, where were prefent his Excellency the learned, cheerful, patriotic Governor of Weft-Florida, George Johnftone Efquire, the prefent fuperintendant of Indian affairs, and the head-men and warriors of the Choktah, and warlike Chikkafah nations, a tariff of trade was fettled on every material article, in the moft public and folemn manner, moftly according to the Mufkohge ftandard, and to the great fatisfaction of the Indians. The price for which the corrupt and Shamefully-indulged vagrant pedlars forced the traders at the rifque of their lives, to traffic with them, being then about 70 per cent, below the French tariff in Indian trade up the Miflifippi. Each of thefe traders took out Indian trading licences, to which the fixed prices of various goods were annext, thereby impowering them to traffic during the fpace of a twelvemonth j and they gave penal bonds of fecurity to the fecretary, fecretrary, for the juft obfervance of their inftructions. This proved however, through a bare-faced partiality, only a lhameful farce on ceconomy and good order. His Excellency, and the honourable Col. W—n, were fo ftrongly convinced of my former integrity, that in order co tettify publicly their approbation of my good conduct, they did me the honour to pafs fecurity in the fecretary's office, for my dealing with the Indians in ft rid conformity to the laws of trade. As I loft in the fpace of a year, to the amount of two and twenty hundred dollars-worth of goods at prime coft, by the diforderly conduct of other licenfed traders, and had juft reafon to hope for redrefs on exhibiting a well-fupported complaint •, I drew up on my own account, and at the importunate requeft of the Chikkafah head-men, a memorial, fetting forth their having notorioufly violated every effential part of their inftructions, enticing the Indians alfo to get drunk, and then taught them to blafpheme their maker. This I proved, and that fome of the lawlefs traders had furnifhed the Indians, in the fpace of a few months, with fo great a quantity of prohibited liquors, as either did, or might enable fome of them to decoy the favages to fquan-der away thoufands of dreft deer-fkins, — but they efcaped with impunity. A few months before this period, fome family difputes rofe very high between the Chikkafah, on the following account. The Indians being ambitious, free, and jealous of their liberties, as well as independent of each other, where mutual confent is not obtained •, one half of the nation were exceedingly difpleafed with the other, becaufe, by the reiterated per-fuafions of a certain deputy, the latter had difpofed of a tract: of land, twelve miles toward the fouth, on the upper trading Choktah, or Mobille path, to one of thofe diforderly traders. By the application of tfae deputy, the head-men of both parties met him according to appointment, and partook of a plentiful barbicued feaft, with plenty of fpirituous liquors. As fuch conduct was againft his majefty's proclamation, and appeared to me to be calculated, either for a ciandeftine trade, or family-job, I rejected the invitation, left otherwife I might be charged as a party. When they became intoxicated with liquor, a war-leader of the diiTenting party, (truck his tomohawk at the head of a noted chieftain, upbraiding him for bringing a ftrange fire into their land; but happily the blow rniffed its aim. Their difputes confequently rofe higher every day ; and the diffident* diffidents informed the Mufkohge of their then fituation, and future intentions. Yah-Yah-Tuftanage, " the Great Mortar," a bitter enemy of the Englifh, foon fent up a company of his war-relations, to perfuade them to guard in time, againft our dangerous encroachments, by killing all the Englifh, that planted their lands without the general confent of the owners,, and to take their black people as a good prize; becaufe they were building and planting for the reception of an Englifh garrifon, which was to come from the Miffifippi, and be the firft means of enflaving them. While, their tranfport of madnefs laftcd, it was fruitlefs to reafon with them ; but at every convenient opportunity, I ufed fuch plain, friendly, and perfuafiye arguments to footh them, as I imagined might regain their loft affections, and procraltinate the dangerous impending blow. They confented-at laft to forbear every kind of refentment againft our late fufpicious conduct, on condition of my writing to thofe who could redrefs them, and our people fpeedily withdrawing from their land the intruding planters. This* I did ; and at Mobille I delivered my remonftrance to the fuperintendant. Upon my urging the abfolute neceffity of pacifying our old fteady friends,, by removing the ungenerous caufe of their jealoufy, he allured me, that he would gladly comply with fo juft a requeft, efpecially, as it exactly coincided with his majefty's proclamation, then fixed on the fort-gate. In the fpace of about ten days after, by order of Governor Johnftone, all. the Chikkafah and Choktah traders were cited to appear before him and the fuperintendant, in order to know the merit of, and anfwer to, my numerous complaints. When they appeared, and every thing was properly adjufted, his fecretary read paragraph by paragraph, and his excellency, very minutely examined all the reputable traders, who confirmed to his full fatisfaction, the truth of every thing in my complaint. But tho* the memorial fet forth, among other inftances, that " but a few minutes after I had. once a troublefome difpute with the abovementioned Chikkafah leader, on account of the traders prohibited and poifoning liquors, he went home diffracted, and finding none but his aged mother, he would have killed her with his tomohawk, only for her earneft entreaties, and then fudden efcape,"—yet none of thofe diforderly people were either fufpended from trading with the Indians, or forfeited the penalty of their bonds—neither wes the Indians requeft complied with. Though, I believe, the termination was to the no fmall mortification of his excellency. B b b Anna, Anno 1767, the fuper-intendant's deputy convened all the Chikkafah traders and head-men of the nation, declaring that he had received pofitive orders from the fuperior over Indian affairs, to bring the trade to the late ftandard of the Mufkohge, The head-men replied, that if their traders, or the fuper-intendant acted unwifely, they were not bound to follow the copy. We urged, that he had already exceedingly lowered the Miffi-fippi-Indian trade, and had, at the Mobille congrefs, fixed a Tariff, a copy of which every one of us had, as well as a regular licence, having given approved fecurity for our peaceable conduct, and fair dealing with the Indians, for the fpace of a year: and that befides the wrong policy of fuch an edict, as he now propofed, if we proved rogues to our own intereft with them, we ought to be arretted as fools below. We concluded, by obferving the great difadvantage of navigation that Mobille lay under, to which Charles-town was no way expofed in imports and exports; and that if the aforefaid Indian trade fhould, by any act be reduced below its prefent ftandard, it muft neceffarily ceafe of itfelf, unlefs as free-men, we faid No to the command- Which the traders did, and refolved to fupport it. The deputies treatment of Capt. J. C—1—b—rt, who has lived among the Chikkafah from his childhood, and fpeaks their language even with more propriety than the Englifh, deferves to be recorded—but I hope the gentleman will foon do it himfelf, to fhew the higher powers the confequences of appointing improper, mercenary, and haughty perfons to fuch offices. Sir William Johnfon acted very differently—he was kind, intelligent, intrepid—he knew when to frown and when to fmile on the Indian nations he was connected with, and blended the ferpent with the dove* He chofe his deputies or reprefentatives in the Indian countries, according to their qualifications in the Indian life-, and not unfkilful men, and mere ftrangers, like fome who have been obtruded into our fouthern nations. His prudent and brave deputy Col. Craghan, did our chain of colonies more real fervice in a few months, than all our late fouthern commiffioners of Indian affairs could poffibly have done in ages. In the dangerous time of our fettling the Illinois-garrifon, 500 leagues up the Miffifippi, he went from Johnfon's Elall, in the lower part of the Mohawk country, and from thence courfed through the various nations of Indians, to the head-branches of Canada ; and in like manner, down thofe of the Miffifippi, to the garrifon, amidft the greateft dangers; plcaling and reconciling the favages as he proceeded. The 3 The Chikkafah firft informed me of his journey and fuccefs—and I had it fome time after, circumftantially confirmed to me by Sir W. John fon. When I fpoke to the Col. himfelf on his fatigues and perils, he modeftly replied " that while he was performing the needful duties of his office, and acting the part of a beloved man with the fwan's wing, white pipe, and white beads, for the general good of his country, and of its red neighbours, he had no leifure to think of any perfonal dangers that might befall a well-meaning peace-maker." Having reconciled the Kufkufke Indians, whom the French garrifon had decoyed by their falfe painting of us, to remove with them over the Miffifippi,—he from thence proceeded down by water to New Orleans *, afterwards, along the gulph-ftream of Mexico, to the place from whence he fet off, amounting nearly to 5000 miles, in the oblique courfe he was forced to take. In brief, able fuperintendants of Indian affairs, and who will often vifit the Indians, are the fafeft and ftrongeft barrier garrifons of our colonies—and a proper number of prudent honeft traders difperfed among the favages would be better than all the foldiers, which the colonies fupport for their defence againft them. The Indians are to be perfuaded by friendly language ; but nothing will terrify them to fubmit to what oppofes their general idea of liberty. In the difputes between governors, fuperintendants, their deputies, and the traders, care fhould be taken to keep them very fecret from the Indians,—for they love fuch traders as are governed by principle, and are eafily influenced by them. Several agents of governors and fuperintendants have experienced this, when difpatched into their countries to feize either the goods or perfons of one and another trader, who was obnoxious by not putting the neck under their lordly feet. Some have hardly efcaped from being tomohawked and cut to pieces on the fpot by the en-raped Indians, for the violence offered to their friendly traders.—When an Indian and trader contract: friendfnip, they exchange the clothes then upon them, and afterwards they chcrifh it by mutual prefents, and in general, will maintain it to the death. As early as 1736 the Georgia governor began to harrafs the licenfed traders, and fent a commiflioner to feize the goods of feveral Carolinian traders : in executing his commiflion, he was foon encircled by twenty-three Indians, and would have been inftantly difpatched,. but for the interceflion of one of the fuffering traders, Mr. J. G—r of. I'',n.When a governor of any of our colonies, is either weak in his B. b b 2 fotellectsfc intellects, or has felf-interefled purfuits in view, incompatible with the public good, he will firft opprefs the Indian traders, and mifreprefent all under his government who oppofe him; and then adopt and purfue the low and tyrannical court maxim " divide, and you will fubdue and rule them.'* Whether the animofities that fubfitted among the inhabitants of Georgia, when Mr. Ellis went to prefide there, fprung from any fuch caufe, I will not fay, but I well know that by his wifdom, cheerful and even temper, and an eafy winning behaviour, he foon reconciled the contending parties in his gay and friendly hall. The grateful anJ polite in that colony, have taught their rifing families to revere his name, on account of his generous and patriotic fpirit. He in-jtrufted the inhabitants of that infant colony, by example, how to fortify themfelves againft hoftile dangers. The people were few, weak, harraffed, and 'di(heartened : but as foon as the father and general put to his helping hand, their drooping fpirits recovered. Then, defenfible garrifons fprung up, after the manner of ancient Thebes; but as he knew that peace with the numerous nations of neighbouring Indians was effential to the welfare of a trading colony, he acted the part of the Archimagus, or great beloved man, with the fwan's wing, white pipes, and tobacco, between the mifchievous Mufkohge and our colonies, at Savanah, in concert with the two worthy gentlemen before-mentioned. At that time our Indian affairs in general wore a moft dangerous afpect—and the public ftock was expended:—when the governor faw that he could not (hake hands with the Indians, empty handed, he cheerfully fupplied their difcontented head-men with his own effects, and even his domeftic utenfils. They fet a high value on each gift, chiefly for the fake of the giver, whom they adopted as brother, friend, father. He gave the colony a ftrong example of public fpirit, by facrificing his eafe, and private intereft, to the welfare of the people i whom he faithfully patronized (during his too fhort flay) according to the paternal intentions of his late Majefty. He was never ordered by his Prince to inform the legiflative body of the colony, that, if the electors petitioned his majefty for the liberty of chufing reprefentatives, he, through his own grace and goodnefs, would order his governor to inform them he was pleafed to indulge them in the object of their fubmiflive prayer. But had it been other-wife, Mr. Ellis would have deemed fuch a minifterial order, a grofs attack upon his honour, if not on the conftitutional rights of Britifli fubjects, and 3 have have rejected it with contempt. When a gentleman of abilities employs his talents, in his proper fpherc, in promoting the general good of fociety (inftead of forwarding only his own intereft) he is both an honour and a blef-fing to the community : the grateful public always revere fuch a character, and fail not to hand it down to the lateft poftrrity, to ftimulate others to follow the example. Such was Mr. Ellis in Georgia-, and fuch was the learned, wife, polite, affable, and now much lamented Sir Henry Moore Bart, the late governor of New-York colony. His virtues fo ftrongly endeared him to thofe he governed, and to every one who had the pleafure of his acquaintance, that his memory will never be forgotten. He came to his government at the moft confufed time America ever knew. He found the fenior member of the council ftrongly barricaded in the fort,—but prefently he ordered away the cannon, and put a flop to other hoftile preparations. He converfed with the people as a father. They were foon convinced of his upright intentions, and he lived triumphant in their hearts. If ftrict integrity, great abilities, and the moft ardent defires and endeavours to promote the mutual interefts of prince and people,—if the moft impartial adminiftration of juftice to every denomination of faithful fubjects—if indefatigable application to public bufinefs, and a cheerfulnefs to redrefs every grievance that had the leaft tendency to affect the lives or property even of the meaneft perfon : if thefe be the characterifttcs of one of the beft of governors, our hearts feelingly teftify, and the tears of a grateful people plainly fhewed, he enjoyed them in the moft eminent degree. His ftay, however, among them was but fhort, for having given a finifhed copy for others to purfue, heaven called him home to reward him for his fhining virtues: and, though the other worthy patriot is in being, yet the honeft fons of Georgia deeply lament his being loft to them. % GENERAL GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS; displaying Their love to their country—Their martial fpirit—Their caution in war—Method of fighting—Barbarity to their captives—In-flances of their fortitude and magnanimity in the view of death —Their rewards of public fervices—The manner of crowning their warriors after victory—Their games—Method of fiihing, and of building—Their utenfils and manufactures — Conduct in domeftic life—Their laws, form of government, 6cc. &c. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. IN the following pages, the reader will find as great a variety of entertainment, as can well be expected in defcribing a rude and uncivilized people. The Indians having for a long time no intercourfe with the reft of the world, and feldom one nation of them with another, their rites and cuftoms are in feveral refpects different. But as they agree in effentials through the whole extent of the American world, fuch agreement is apparently owing to tradition, and the ufage of their anceftors, before they were fubdivided as at prefent. Uniformity cannot be attributed to chance. Through the whole continent, and in the remoteft woods, are traces of their ancient warlike difpofition. We frequently met with great mounds of earth, either of a circular, or oblong form, having a ftrong breaft-work at a diftance around them, made of the clay which had been dug up in forming the ditch, on the inner fide of the inclofed ground, and thefe were their forts of fecurity againft an enemy. Three or four of them, are in fome places raifed fo near to each other, as evidently for the garrifon to take any enemy that paffed between them. They were moftly built in low lands ; C c c and and fome are overfpread with large trees, beyond the reach of Indian tradition. About 12 miles from the upper northern parts of the Choktah country, there ftand on a level tract of land, the north-fide of a creek, and within arrow-fhot of it, two oblong mounds of earth, which were old garrifons, in an equal direction with each other, and about two arrow-fhots apart. A broad deep ditch inclofed thofe two fortreifes, and there they raifed an high breait-work, to fecure their houfes from the invading enemy. This was a itupendous piece of work, for fo fmall a number of favages, as could fupport themfelves in it ; their working inltruments being only of itone and wood. They called thofe old fortrelTes Nanne Tab, " the hills, or mounts of God." Probably, different parties, and even nations, were formed at firft, either by caprice, differences, or the fear of punifliment for offences. The demon of perfecution however was never among them—not an individual durft ever prefume to infringe on another's liberties. They are all equal—the only precedence any gain is by fuperior virtue, oratory, or prowefs ; and they elteem themfelves bound to live and die in defence of their country. A warrior will accept of no hire for performing virtuous and heroic actions; they have exquifite pleafure in purfuing their own natural dictates. The head-men reward the worthy with titles of honour, according to their merit in fpeaking, or the number of enemies fcalps they bring home. Their hearts are fully fatisfied, if they have revenged crying blood, enobled themfelves by war actions, given cheerfulnefs to their mourning country, and fired the breads of the youth with a fpirit of emulation to guard the beloved people from danger, and revenge the wrongs of their country. Warriors are to protect all, but not to moleft or injure the meanelt. If they attempted it, they would pay dear for their folly. The reafon they are more earneft than the reft cf mankind, in maintaining that divine law of equal freedom and juftice, I apprehend, is the notion imbibed from their (fuppofed) Hebrew anceftors of the divine theocracy, and that inexpreffible abhorrence of fiavery, which muft have taken place after their captivity by the A (Tynan's, or the Babylonians. Every warrior holds his honour, and the love of his country, in fo high efteem, that he prefers it to life, and will fuficr the moft exquifite tortures 3 rather rather than renounce it: there is no fuch thing among the Indians as defertion in war, becaufe they do not fight like the Swifs for hire, but for wreaths of fwan-feathers. If the Englifh acted on that noble principle, or were encouraged by an able, public-fpirited miniftry, to chcrith it, Britannia need neither fue, nor pay any of the German princes for protection, or alliances. The equality among the Indians, and the juft rewards they always confer on merit, are the great and leading — the only motives that warm their hearts with a ftrong and permanent love to their country. Governed ■ by the plain and honeft law of nature, their whole conftitution breathes nothing but liberty : and, when there is that equality of condition, manners, and privileges, and a conftant familiarity in fociety, as prevails in every Indian nation, and through all our Britifli colonies, there glows fuch a chearfulnefs and warmth of courage in each of their breafts, as cannot be defcribed. It were to be wiflied, that our military and naval officers of all ranks, inftead of their ufual harfh and imperious behaviour, would act the part of mild and good-natured patrons to thofe under them: kind, perfuafive language has an irrefiftible force, and never fails to overcome the manly and generous heart, and love is 'ftrong as death. If the governed are convinced that their fuperiors have a real affection for them, they will efteem it their duty and intereft to ferve them and take pleafure in it. The late gallant Lord Howe, General Wolfe, and Admiral Warren, arc ftill alive in the grateful hearts of the Americans, and alfo of the foldiers and feamen, who fought under them. No fervice was too difficult to oblige them, and they were afliamed to do any thing amifs. If every Britifli officer fet the like example, there would be little occafion for new mutiny acts, and other fuch like penal regulations. We have frequent inftances in America, that merely by the power of affability, and good-natured language, the favage Indian, drunk and foaming with rage and madnefs, can be overcome and brought to weep. Lately, fome came among us, inflamed and diffracted foes; we perfuaded them of our conftant kindly intentions, and they repented, made atonement in regard to themfelves, and checked the mad conduct of others. The Indians are not fond of waging war with each other, unlefs prompted by fome of the traders: when left to themfelves, they confider C c c 2 1 with with the greateft exadtnefs and foretight, all the attending circumftances of war. Should any of the young warriors through forwardnefs, or paflion, violate the treaty of peace, the aggrefling party ufually fend by fome neutral Indians, a friendly embaffy to the other, praying them to accept of equal retribution, and to continue their friendlhip, alluring them that the ram. unfriendly action did not meet with the approbation, but was highly condemned by the head-men of the whole nation. If the propofal be accepted, the damage is made up, either by facrificing one of the aggreffors, of a weak family, or by the death of fome unfortunate captive, who had been ingrafted in a wafted tribe. If a perfon of note was killed, the offended party take immediate fatisfaction of their own accord, and fend back the like embafly, acquainting them, that as crying blood is quenched with equal blood, and their beloved relation's fpirit is allowed to go to reft, they are fond of continuing the friend-knot, and keeping the chain of friendlhip clear of ruff, according to the old beloved fpeech : but, if they are determined for war, they fay Mattle, Mottle, " it is finiihed, they are weighed, and found light." In that cafe, they proceed in the following manner. A war captain announces his intention of going to invade the common enemy, which he, by confent of the whole nation, declares to be fuch : he then beats a drum three times round his winter houfe, with the bloody colours flying, marked with large ftrokes of black,—the grand war fignal of blood and death. On this, a fuflicient number of warriors and others, commonly of the family of the murdered perfon, immediately arm themfelves, and each gets a fmall bag of parched corn-flour, for his war-ftores. They then go to the aforefaid winter houfe, and there drink a warm decoction of their fuppofed holy confecrated herbs and roots for three days and nights, fometimes without any other refrefhment. This is to induce the deity to guard and profper them, amrdft their impending dangers. In the molt promiflng appearance of things, they are not to take the leaft nourilhment of food, nor fo much as to fit down, during that time of fanctifying themfelves, till after funfet. While on their expedition, they are not allowed to lean themfelves againft a tree, though they may be exceedingly fatigued, after a fharp day's march \ nor muft they lie by, a whole day to refrefh themfelves, or kill and barbicue deer and bear for their war journey. The more virtuous they are, they reckon the greater will be their fuccefs againft the enemy, by the bountiful fmiles of the deity, To 3 gaia gain that favourite point, fome of the aged warriors narrowly watch the young men who are newly initiated, left they fhould prove irreligious, and prophane the holy faft, and bring misfortunes on the out-ftanding camp. A gentleman of my acquaintance, in his youthful days obferved one of their religious fafts, but under the greateft fufpicion of his virtue in this refpeft, though he had often headed them againft the common enemy : during their three days purification, he was not allowed to go out of the fancTified ground, without a trufty guard, left hunger fhould have tempted him to violate their old martial law, and by that means have raifed the burning wrath of the holy fire againft the whole camp. Other, particulars of this facred procefs for war, have been related in their proper place. * When they have finifhed their faft and purifications, they fet off, at the fixed time, be it fair or foul, firing their guns, whooping, and hallooing, as they march. The war-leader goes firft, carrying the fuppofed holy ark : he foon ftrikes up the awful and folemn long before mentioned, which they never fing except on that occafion. The reft follow, in one line, at the diftance of three or four fteps from each other, now and then founding the war whoo-whoop, to make the leader's fong the more ftriking to the people. In this manner they proceed, till quite out of the fight, and hearing of their friends. As foon as they enter the woods, all are filent ; and, every day they obferve a profound filence in their march, that their ears may be quick to inform them of danger: their fmall black eyes are almoft as fharp alfo as thofe of the eagle, or the lynx; and with their feet they re-femble the wild cat, or the cunning panther, crawling up to its prey. Thus they proceed, while things promife them good fuccefs; but, if their dreams portend any ill, they always obey the fuppofed divine intimation and return home, without incurring the leaft cenfure. They reckon that their readinefs to ferve their country, fhould not be fubfervient to their own knowledge or willies, but always regulated by the divine im-pulfe. I have known a whole company who fet out for war, to return in fmall parties, and fometimes by fingle perfons, and be applauded by the united voice of the people ; becaufe they acted in obedience to their Nana ]j})tohodlo, " or guardian angels," who impreffed them in the vifionsof night, with the friendly caution. As their dreams are reckoned ominous, fo there is a fmall uncommon bird, called the " kind ill meffenger," which they • Vide p. 143 &c» always always deem to be a true oracle of bad news. If it fings near to them, they are much intimidated : but, if it perches, and fings over the war-camp, they fpeedily break up. This fuperftitious cuftom prevailed with the early heathens, who pretended to prophefy by the flight of birds, and it reached even down to the time of the Romans. Every war captain chufes a noted warrior, to attend on him and the company. He is called EtiJjTi, or " the waiter." Every thing they eat or drink during their journey, he gives them out of his hand, by a rigid ab-ftemious rule—though each carries on his back all his travelling convenien-cies, wrapt in a deer fkin, yet they are fo bigoted to their religious cuftoms in war, that none, though prompted by {harp hunger ^or burning thirft, dares relieve himfelf. They are contented with fuch trifling allowance as the religious waiter diftributes to them, even with a fcanty hand. Such a regimen would be too mortifying to any of the white people, let their opinion of its violation be ever fo dangerous. i When I roved the woods in a war party with the Indians, though I car-ried no fcrip, nor bottle, nor ftaff, I kept a large hollow cane well corked at each end, and ufed to ffieer off now and then to drink, while they fuf-fered greatly by thirft. The conftancy of the favages in mortifying their bodies, to gain the divine favour, is aftonifhing, from the very time they beat to arms, till they return from their campaign. All the while they are out, they are prohibited by ancient cuftom, the leaning againft a tree, either fitting or (landing : nor are they allowed to fit in the day-time, under the fbade of trees, if it can be avoided ; nor on the ground, during the whole journey, but on fuch rocks, ftones, or fallen wood, as their ark of war refts upon. By the attention they invariably pay to thofe fevere rules of living, they weaken themfelves much more than by the unavoidable fatigues of war : but, it is fruitlefs to endeavour to dilfuade them from thofe things which they have by tradition, as the appointed means to move r.hc deity, to grant them fuccefs againft the enemy, and a fafe return home. It may be expected I fnould defcribe the number of men their war companies confift of, but it is various, and uncertain : fometimes, two or three only will go to war, proceed as cautioufly, and ftrike their prey as panthers. In the the year 1747, a couple of the Mohawk Indians came againft th: lower towns of the Cheerake, and fo cunningly ambufcaded them through moft part of the fpring and fummer, as to kill above twenty in different attacks, before they were difcovered by any parry of the enraged and dejected people. They had a thorough knowledge of the moft convenient ground for their purpofe, and were extremely fwift and long winded—whenever they kdled any, and got the fcalp, they made off to the neighbouring mountains, and ran over the broad ledges of rocks, in contrary courk's, as occafion offered, fo as the purfucrs could by no means trace them. Once, when a large company was in chace of them, they ran round a fleep hill at the head of the main eaftern branch of Savana river, intercepted, killed, and fcalped the hindmoft of the party, and then made off between them-and Keeowhee: as this was the town to which the company belonged, they haftened home in a clofe body, as the proper place of fecurity from fuch enemy wizards. In this manner, did thofe two fp rightly gallant favages perplex and intimidate their foes for the fpace of four moons, in the greateft fecurity though they often were forced to kill and baibicue what they chiefly lived upon, in the midft of their watchful enemies. Having fufficiently revenged their relations' blood, and gratified their own ambition with an uncommon number of fcalps, they refolved to captivate one, and run home with him, as a proof of their having killed none but the enemies of their country. Accordingly, they approached very near to Keeowhee, about half-a-milc below the late Fort Prince George, advancing with the ufual caution on fuch an occafion—one crawled along under the beft cover of the place, about the diftance of an hundred yards a-head, while the other fhifted from tree to tree, looking fharply every way. In the evening, however, an old beloved man difcovered them from the top of an adjoining hill, and knew them to be enemies, by the cut of their hair, light trim for running, and their poftures; he returned to the town, and called firft at the houfe of one of our traders, and informed him of the affair, enjoining him not to mention it to any, left the people fhould fet: off againft them without fuccefs, before their tracks were to be difcovered, and he be charged with having deceived them. But, contrary to the true policy of traders among unforgiving favages, that thoughtlefs member of the Choktah Sphynx-company bufied himfelf as ufual out of his proper fphere, fent for the head-men, and told them the ftory. As the Mohawks were our allies, and not.known to moleft any of. the traders, AEt\ in the paths and woods, he ought to have obferved a ftrict neutrality. The youth of the town, by order of their head-men, carried on their noify public diverfions in their ufual manner, to prevent their foes from having any fufpicion of their danger, while runners were fent from the town to their neighbours, to come fdently and affift them to fecure the prey, in its ftate of fecurity. They came like fdent ghofts, concerted their plan of operation, paffed over the river at the old trading ford, oppofite to the late Fort, which lay between two contiguous commanding hills, and proceeding downward over a broad creek, formed a large femi-circle from the river bank, while the town feemed to be taking its ufual reft. They then clofed into a narrower compafs, and at laft difcovered the two brave unfortunate men lying clofe under the tops of fome fallen young pine-trees. The company gave the war fignal, and the Mohawks bounding up, bravely repeated it: but, by their fudden fpring from under thick cover, their arms were ufelefs; they made defperate efforts however to kill or be killed, as their fituation required. One of the Cheerake, the noted half breed of Iftanare town, which lay two miles from thence, was at the firft onfet, knocked down and almoft killed with his own cutlafs, which was wrefted from him, though he was the ftrongeft of the whole nation. But they were overpowered by numbers, captivated, and put to the moft exquifite tortures of fire, amid ft a prodigious crowd of exulting foes. One of the prefent Choktah traders who was on the fpot, told me, that when they were tied to the ftake, the younger of the two difcovering our traders on a hill pretty near, addrerfed them in F.nglifh, and entreated them to redeem their lives. The elder immediately fpoke to him, in his own language, to defift—on this, he recollected himfelf, and became compofed like a ftoic, manifesting an indifference to life or death, pleafure or pain, according to their ftandard of martial virtue •, and their dying behaviour did not reflect the leaft difhonour on their former gallant actions. All the pangs of fiery torture ferved only to refine their manly fpirits : and as it was out of the power of the traders to redeem them, they according to our ufual cuftom retired, as foon as the Indians began the diabolical tragedy. The common number of an Indian war company, is only from twenty lo forty, left their tracks fhould be difcovered by being too numerous: bur but if the waning nations are contiguous to each other, the invading party generally chufes to out-number a common company, that they may ftrike the blow with greater fafety and fuccefs, as their art of war is chiefly killing by furprife confident that in cafe of a difappointment, their light heels will enfure their return to their own country. When a fmall company go to war, they always chufe to have a fwamp along fide of them, with a thick covert for their ihelter, becaufe a fuperior number will fcarcely purfue them where they might reafonably expect to lofe any of their warriors. WThen they arrive at the enemies hunting ground, they act with the greateft caution and policy. They feparate themfelves, as far as each can hear the other's travelling fignal, which is the mimicking fuch birds and beafts as frequent the fpot. And they can exactly imitate the voice and found of every quadruped and wild fowl through the American woods. In this way of travelling, they ufually keep an hundred yards apart on the courfe agreed upon at camp. When the leader thinks it the fureft way of fucceeding againft the enemy, he fends a few of the beft runners to form an ambufcade near their towns: there, they fometimes fix the broad hoofs of buffalos, and bear's paws upon their feet, to delude the enemy: and they will for miles together, make all the windings of thefe beafts with the greateft art. But, as both parties are extremely wary and fagacious, I have known fuch arts to prove fatal to the delu-ders. At other times, a numerous company will walk in three different rows, by way of a decoy, every one lifting his feet fo high, as not to beat down the grafs or herbage ; and each row will make only one man's track, by taking the fteps of him who went before, and a gigantic fellow takes the rear of each rank, and thereby fmooths the tracks with his feet. When they are convinced the enemy is in purfuit of them, at fo conflderable a diftance from the country, as for themfelves not to be over-powered by numbers, they pott themfelves in the moft convenient place, in the form of an half-moon, and patiently wait a whole day and night, till the enemy runs inco it i and in fuch a cafe, the victory at one broad-fide is ufually gained. When they difcover the tracks of enemies in their hunting ground, or in the remote woods, it is furprifing to fee the caution and art they ufe, both to fecure themfelves, and take advantage of the enemy. If a fmall company be out at war, they in the day time crawl through D d d thickets thickets and fwamps in the manner of wolves—now and then they climb trees, and run to the top of hills, to difcover the fmoke of fire, or hear the report of guns: and when they crofs through the open woods, one of them ftands behind a tree, till the reft advance about a hundred yards, looking out iharply on all quarters. In this manner, they will proceed, and on tiptoe, peeping every where around •, they love to walk on trees which have been blown down, and take an oblique courfe, till they infwamp themfelves again, in order to conceal their tracks, and avoid a purfuit. As we can gain nothing by blows, with fuch warriors, it is certainly our intereft, as a trading people, to ufe proper meafures to conciliate their affect ions; for whether we are conquerors, or conquered, we are always great lofers in an Indian war. When the invaders extend themfelves crofs the woods, in queft of their prey, if they make a plain difcovery, either of frefh tracks, or of the enemy, they immediately pafs the war-fignal to each other, and draw their wings toward the centre. If the former, they give chace, and commonly by their wild-cat-method of crawling, they furround, and furprife the purfued, if unguarded—however, I have known them to fail in fuch attempts; for the Indians generally are fo extremely cautious, that if three ©f them are in the woods, their firft object is a proper place for defence, and they always fit down in a triangle, to prevent a furprife. When enemies difcover one another, and find they can take no advantage, they make themfelves known to each other; and by way of infuking bravado, they fpeak aloud all the barbarities they ever committed againft them ;—that they are now, to vindicate thofe actions, and make the wound for ever incurable; that they are their moft bitter enemies, and equally contemn their friendfhip and enmity. In the mean while, they throw down their packs, ftrip themfelves naked, and paint their faces and breafts red as blood, intermingled with black ftreaks. Every one at the fignal of the fhrill-founding war-cry, inftantly covers himfelf behind a tree, or in fome cavity of the ground where it admits of the beft fafety. The leader, on each fide, immediately blows, the fmall whiffle he carries for the occafion, in imitation of the ancient trumpet, as the laft fignal of engagement. Now hot work begins—-The guns are firing; the chewed bullets flying; the ftrong hiccory. bows a twanging;, the dangerous barbed arrows whizzing as they fly ; the fure-ihafted javelin ftriking death wherever it reaches; and the well-aimed tomohawk killing, or difabling its enemy. Nothing fcarcery can be heard; for for the fhrill echoing noife of the war and death-whoop, every one fu-rioufly purfues his adverfary from tree to tree, ftriving to incircle him for his prey and the greedy jaws of pale death are open on all fides, to fwallow them up. One dying foe is intangled in the hateful and faltering arms of another: and each party defperately attempts both to fave their dead and wounded from being fcalped, and to gain the fcalps of their opponents. On this the battle commences anew-—But rafh attempts fail, as their wary fpirits always forbid them from entering into a general clofe engagement. Now they retreat: then they draw up into various figures, ftill having their dead and wounded under their eye. Now they are flat on the ground loading their pieces—then they are up firing behind trees, and immediately fpring off in an oblique courfe to recruit—and thus they act till winged victory declares itfelf. The vanquished party makes for a fwampy thicket, as their only afy-lum :. but fhould any of them be either unarmed, or (lightly wounded, the fpeedy purfuers captivate them, and ufually referve them for a worfe death than that of the bullet. On returning to the place of battle, the victors beefin, with mad rapture, to cut and flafh thofe unfortunate perfons, who fell by their arms and power •, and they difmember them, after a mod inhuman manner. If the battle be gained near home, one hero cuts off and carries this member of the dead perfon, another that, as joyful trophies of a decifive victory. If a flranger faw them thus loaded with human flefh, without proper information, he might conclude them to be voracious canibals, according to the fhameful accounts of our Spanifh hiflorians. Their firft aim however is to take off the fcalp, when they perceive the enemy hath a proper fituation, and flrength to make a dangerous refiftance. Each of them is fo emulous of exceeding another in this point of honour, that it frequently flops them in their purfuit. This honourable fervice is thus performed—They feize the head of the difabled, or dead perfon, and placing one of their feet on the neck, they wiLh one hand twitted in the hair, extend it as far as they can— with the other hand, the barbarous artifls fpeedily draw their long fharp-pointed fcalping knife out of a fheath from their breait, give a flafh round the top of the fkull, and with a few dexterous fcoops, foon ltrip it off. D d d % They They are fo expeditious as to take off a fcalp in two minutes. When they have performed this part of their martial virtue, as foon as time permits, they tie with bark or deer's finews, their fpeaking trophies of blood in a fmall hoop, to preferve it from putrefaction, and paint the interior part of the fcalp, and the hoop, all round with red, their flourilhing emblematical colour of blood. They are now fatiated for the prefent, and return home. Tradition, or the native divine impreffion on human nature, dictates to them that man was not born in a ftate of war and as they reckon they arc become impure by fhedding human blood, they haften to obferve the faft of three days, as formerly mentioned, and be fanctified by the war-chieftain, as a prieft of war, according to law. While they are thus impure, though they had a fair opportunity of annoying the common enemy again, yet on this account they commonly decline it, and are applauded for their religious conduct, by all their countrymen. Indeed, formerly, when the whole combined power of the French, and their Indians, was bent againft the warlike Chikkafah, I have known the laft fometimes to hazard their martial virtue and fuccefs, and to fight three or four companies of French Indians, before they returned home; but the leaders excufed themfelves, by the necefilty of felf-defence. They have no fuch phrafe as the " fortune of war." They reckon the leader's impurity to be the chief occafion of bad fuccefs •, and if he lofe feveral of his warriors by the enemy, his life is either in danger for the fuppofed fault, or he is degraded, by taking from him his drum, war-whittle, and martial titles, and debating him to his boy's name, from which he is to rife by a frefh gradation. This penal law contributes, in a good meafure, to make them fo exceedingly cautious and averfe to bold attempts in war, and they are ufually fatisfied with two or three fcalps and a prifoner. It has been long too feelingly known, that inftead of obferving the generous and hofpitable part of the laws of war, and faving the unfortunate who fall into their power, that they generally devote their captives to death, with the moft agonizing tortures. No reprefentation can poffibly be given, fo {hocking to humanity, as their unmerciful method of tormenting their devoted prifoner; and as it is fo contrary to the ftandard of the reft of 5 the the known world, I (hall relate the circumftances, fo far as to convey proper information thereof to the reader. When the company return from war, and come in view of their own town, they follow the leader one by one, in a direct line, each a few yards behind the other, to magnify their triumph. If they have not fucceeded, or any of their warriors are loft, they return quite filent j but if they are all fafe, and have fucceeded, they fire off the Indian platcon, by one, two, and three at a time, whooping and infulting their prifoners. They camp near their town all night, in a large fquare plot of ground, marked for the purpofe, with a high war-pole fixed in the middle of it, to which they fecure their prifoners. Next day they go to the leader's houfe in a very folemn proceffion, but ftay without, round his red-painted war* pole, till they have determined concerning the fate of their prifoners. If any one of the captives fhould be fortunate enough to get loofe, and run into the houfe of the archi-magus, or to a town of refuge, he by ancient cuftom, is faved from the fiery torture—thefe places being a fure afylum to them if they were invaded, and taken, but not to invaders, becaufe they came to fhed blood. Thofe captives who are pretty far advanced in life, as well as in war-gradations, always atone for the blood they fpilt, by the tortures of fire.— They readily know the latter, by the blue marks over their breafts and arms; they being as legible as our alphabetical characters are to us, Their ink is made of the foot of pitch-pine, which fticks to the infide of a greafed earthen pot -3 then delineating the parts, like the ancient Pi&s of Britain, with their wild hieroglyphics, they break through the fkin with gair-fifh-teeth, and rub over them that dark compofition, to regifter them among the brave and the impreffion is tailing. I have been told by the Chikkafah, that they formerly erazed any falfe marks their warriors proudly and privately gave themfelves—in order to engage them to give real proofs of their martial virtue, being furrounded by the French and their red allies j and that they degraded them in a public manner, by ftretching the marked parts, and rubbing them with the juice of green corn, which in a great degree took out the impreffion. The young prifoners are faved, if not devoted while the company were fanctifying themfelves for their expedition; but if the latter be the cafe, they they are condemned, and tied to the dreadful (lake, one at a time. The victors firft ft rip their miferable captives quite naked, and put on their feet a pair of bear-fkin maccafeenes, with the black hairy part outwards •, others fallen with a grape-vine, a burning fire-brand to the pole, a little above the reach of their heads. Then they know their doom—deep bhek, and burning fire, are fixed feals of their death-warrant. Their punilh-ment is always left to the women •, and on account of their ialfe ftandard of education, they are no way backward in their office, but perform it to the entire fatisfaction of the greedy eyes of the fpectators. Each of them prepares for the dreadful rejoicing, a long bundle of dry canes, or the heart of fat pitch-pine, and as the victims are led to the flake, the women and their young ones beat them with thefe in a moft barbarous manner. Happy would it be for the miferable creatures, if their fufFerings ended here, or a merciful tomohawk flnifhed them atone ftroke; but this fhameful treatment is a prelude to future fufferings. The death-fignal being given, preparations are made for acting a more tragical part. The victims arms are faft pinioned, and a ftrong grape-vine is tied round his neck, to the top of the war-pole, allowing him to track around, about fifteen yards. They fix fome tough clay on his head, to fecure the fcalp from the blazing torches. Unfpeakable pkafure now fills the exulting crowd of fpectators, and the circle fills with the Amazon and niercilcfs executioners—The fuffering warrior however is not difmayed ; with an infulting manly voice he fings the war-fong! and with gallant contempt he tramples the rattling gourd with pebbles in it to pieces, and outbraves even death itfelf. The women make a furious on-fet with their burning torches: his pain is foon fo excruciating, that he rufhes out from the pole, with the fury of the moft favage beaft of prey, and with the vine iweeps down all before him, kicking, biting, and trampling them, with the greateft defpite. The circle immediately fills again, either with the lame, or frefh perfons: they attack him on every fide—now he runs to the pole for flicker, but the flames purfue him. Then with champing teeth, and fparkling eye-balls, he breaks through their contracted circle afrefli, and acts every part, that the higheft courage, moft raging fury, and blackeft defpair can prompt him to. But he is fure to be over-power'd by numbers, and after fome time the fire affects his tender parts.—Then they pour over him a quantity of cold water, and allow him a proper time of refpite, 7 till till his fpirits recover, and he is capable of fuffering new tortures. Then the like cruelties are repeated till he falls down, and happily becomes in-fenfible of pain. Now they fcalp him, in the manner before defcribed : difmember, and carry off all the exterior branches of the body, (pudendis non exceptis) in (hameful, and favage triumph. This is the moff favourable treatment their devoted captives receive: it would be too fhocking to humanity either to give, or perufe, every particular of their conduct; in fuch doleful tragedies—nothing can equal thefe fcenes, but thofe of the merciful Romifti inquifition. Not a foul, of whatever age or fex, manifefts the leaft pity during the prifoner's tortures: the women fing with religious joy, all the while they are torturing the devoted victim, and peals of laughter refound through the crowded theatre—efpecially if he fears to die. But a warrior puts on a bold auftere countenance, and carries it through all his pains:—as long as he can, he whoops and out-braves the enemy, dfcfcribing his own martial deeds againft them, and thofe of his nation, who he threatens will force many of them to eat fire in revenge of ids fate, as he himfelf had often done to fome of their relations at their coft. Though the fame things operate alike upon the organs of the human body, and produce an uniformity of fenfations; yet weaknefs, or conftancy eif mind derived from habit, helps in a great meafure, either to heighten,, or leffcn the fenfe of pain. By this, the affliited party has learned to ftifle nature, and (hew an outward unconcern, under fuch flow and acute tortures: and the furprifing cruelty of their women, is equally owing to< education and cuftom. Similar inftances verify this, as in Lifbon, and other places, where tender-hearted ladies are transformed by their bloody priefts, into fo many Medeas, through deluded religious principles; and fie and fee with the higheft joy, the martyrs of God, drawn along in dia,. bolical triumph to the fiery ftake, and fuffering death with lingering tortures. I cannot forbear giving another inftance or two here of the conftancy., vifible unconcern, and prefence of mind, of the Indians, at the approach ©f death, in its moft alarming drefs and terrors.. About About four years before the Shawano Indians were forced to remove from the late Savanah town, they took a Mufkohge warrior, known by the name of " Old Scrany;" they baftinadoed him in the ufual manner, and condemned him to the fiery torture. He underwent a great deal, without fhewing any concern j his countenance and behaviour were as if he fuffered not the leaft pain, and was formed beyond the common laws of nature. He told them, with a bold voice, that he was a very noted warrior, and gained moft of his martial preferment at the expence of their nation, and was defirous of fhewing them in the act of dying, that he was ftill as much their fuperior, as when he headed his gallant countrymen againft them.—That although he had fallen into their hands, in forfeiting the protection of the divine power, by fome impurity or other, when carrying the holy ark of war againft his devoted enemies yet he had ftill fo much remaining virtue, as would enable him to punifh himfelf more ex-quifitely than all their defpicable ignorant crowd could poffibly do, if they gave him liberty by untying him,'and would hand to him one of the red hot gun-barrels out of the fire. The propofal, and his method of addrefs, appeared fo exceedingly bold and uncommon, that his requeft was granted. Then he fuddenly feized one end of the red barrel, and brandifhing it from fide to fide, he forced his way through the armed and furprifed multitude, and leaped down a prodigious fleep and high bank into a branch of the river, dived through it, ran over a fmall ifiand, and paffed the other branch, amidft a ftiower of bullets from the commanding ground where Fort-Moore, or New Windfor-garrifon ftood ; and though numbers of his eager enemies were in clofe purfuit of him, he got to a bramble fwamp, and in that naked, mangled condition, reached his own country. He proved a fharp thorn in their fide afterwards to the day of his death. The Shawano alfo captivated a warrior of the Anantooeah, and put him to the ftake, according to their ufual cruel folemnities. Having unconcernedly fuffered much fharp torture, he told them with fcorn, they did not know how to punifh a noted enemy, therefore he was willing to teach them, and would confirm the truth of his affertion, if they allowed him the opportunity. Accordingly he requefted of them a pipe and fome tobacco, which was given him : as foon as he lighted it, he fat down, naked as he was, on the women's burning torches, that were within his •irele, and continued fmoking his pipe without the leaft difcompofure—-on this this a head-warrior leaped up, and faid, they had feen plain enough, that he was a warrior, and not afraid of dying ■, nor fliould he have died, only that he was both fpoiled by the fire, and devoted to it by their laws : however, though he was a very dangerous enemy, and his nation a treacherous people, it fliould appear they paid a regard to bravery, even in one, who was marked over the body with war ftreaks, at the coft of many lives of their beloved kindred. And then by way of favour, he, with his friendly tomohawk, inftantly put an end to all his pains :—though the merciful but bloody inftrument was ready fome minutes before it gave the blow, yet I was aifured, the fpectators could not perceive the fufferer to change, either his pofture, or his fteady erect countenance, in the leaft. A party of the Senekah Indians came to war againft the Katahba, bitter «nemies to each other. In the woods, the former difcovered a fprightly warrior belonging to the latter, hunting in their ufual light drefs \ on his perceiving them, he fprung off for a hollow rock, four or five miles diftant, as they intercepted him from running homeward. He was fo extremely fwift, and fkilful with the gun, as to kill feven of them in the running fight, before they were able to furround and take him. They carried him to their country in fad triumph : but, though he had filled them with uncommon grief and fhame, for the lofs of fo many of their kindred, yet the love of martial virtue induced them to treat him, during their long journey, with a great deal more civility, than if he had acted the part of a coward. The women and children, when they met him at their feveral towns, beat and whipped him in as fevere a manner as the occafion required, according to their law of juftice, and at laft he was formally condemned to die by the fiery tortures. It might reafonably be imagined that what he had for fome time gone through, by being fed with a fcanty hand, a tedious march, lying at night on the bare ground, expofed to the changes of the weather, with his arms and legs extended in a pair of rough ftocks, and fuffering fuch punifhments on his entering into their hoftile towns, as a prelude to thofe fharp torments for which he was deftined, would have fo impaired his health, and affected his imagination, as to have fent him to his long fleep out of the way of any more fuf-ferings. Probably, this would have been the cafe with the major part of white people, under fimilar circumftances j but I never knew this with any E e e of of the Indians: and this cool-headed brave warrior did not deviate from their rough leflbns of martial virtue, but acted his part fo well, as to furprife and forely vex his numerous enemies. For, when they were taking him unpinioned, in their wild parade, to the place of torture, which lay near to a river, he fuddenly daffied down thofe who ftood in his way, fprung off, and plunged into the water, fwimming underneath like an otter, only rifing to take breath till he made the oppofite fhore. He now afcended the fteep bank ; but though he had good reafon to be in a hurry, as many of the enemy were in the water, and others running every way, like blood-hounds, in purfuit of him, and the bullets flying around him, from the time he took to the river, yet his heart did not allow him to leave them abruptly, without taking leave in a formal manner, in return for the extraordinary favours they had done, and intended to do him. He firft turned his backfide toward them, and flapped it with his hand ■, then moving round, he put up the fhrill war whoo whoop-, as his laft falute, till fome more convenient opportunity offered, and darted off in the manner of a beaft broke loofe from its torturing enemies. He continued his fpeed fo as to run by about midnight of the fame day, as far as his eager purfuers were two days in reaching. There he refted, till he happily difcovered five of thofe Indians, who had purfued him—he lay hid a little way off their camp, till they were found afleep. Every circumftance of his fituation occurred to him, and infpired him with heroifm. He was naked, torn, and hungry, and his enraged enemies were come up with him. But there was now every thing to relieve his wants, and a fair opportunity to fave his life, and get great honour, and fweet revenge, by cutting them off. Refolution, a convenient fpot, and fudden furprize, would effect: the main object of all his willies and hopes. He accordingly creeped towards them, took one of their tomohawks, and killed them all on the fpot. He then chopped them to pieces, in as horrid a manner, as favage fury could excite, both through national and perfonal refent-ment,—he ftripped off their fcalps, clothed himfelf, took a choice gun, and as much ammunition and provifions as he could well carry in a running march. He fet off afrefh with a light heart, and did not fleep for feveral fucceflive nights, only when he reclined as ufual a little before day, with his back to a tree. As it were by inftinct, when he found he was free from the purfuing enemy, he made directly to the very place where he had killed feven of his enemies, and was taken by them for the fiery torture. He He digged them up, fcalped them, burned their bodies to allies, and went home in fafety with fingular triumph. Other purfuing enemies came on the evening of the fecond day to the camp of their dead people, when the fight gave them a greater fhock, than they had ever known before.' In their chilled war council, they concluded, that, as he had done fuch furprifing things in his defence, before he was captivated, ;*nd fince that, in his naked condition, and was now well armed, if they continued the purfuit, he would fpoil them all, for he furely was an enemy wizard. And therefore they returned home. When the Ch'kkafah were engaged in a former war with the Mufkohge, one of their young warriors fet off alone againft them, to revenge the blood of a near relation : his burning heart would not allow him to delay its gratification, and proceed with a company, after their ufual forms of purification were obferved, in order to gain fuccefs. He was replete with martial fire, and revenge prompted him to outrun his war virtue : however, he purfued as mortifying a regimen, as if he had been publicly fed like a dove, by the fcanty hand of a religious waiter. But, as he would not wait a few days, and accompany the reputed holy ark, they reckoned him irreligious, by depending on the power of his own arms, inftead of the powerful arm of the fupreme fatherly chieftain, To He Wah, who always beftows victory on the more virtuous party. He went through the moft unfrequented and thick parts of the woods, as fuch a dangerous enterprise required, till he arrived oppofite to the great, and old beloved town of refuge, Koofah, which ftands high on the eaftern fide of a bold river, about 250 yards broad, that runs by the late dangerous Alebahma fort, down to the black poifoning Mobille, and fo into the gulph of Mexico. There he concealed himfelf under cover of the top of a fallen pine tree, in view of the ford of the old trading path, where the enemy now and then palfed the river in their light poplar canoes. All his war ftore of provifions confifted in three ftands of barbicued venifon, till he had an opportunity to revenge blood, and return home. He waited, with watchfulnefs and patience almoft three days, when a young man, a woman, and a girl paffed a little wide of him, about an hour before fun-fer. The former he fhot down, tomohawked the other two, and fcalped .each of them in a trice, in full view of the town. By way of bravado, he fhaked the fcalps before them, founded the awful death whoop, and E e e 2 fet fet off" along the trading path, trufting to his heels, while a great many of the enemy ran to their arms, and gave chace. Seven miles from thence, he entered the great blue ridge of Apalahche mountains. About an hour before day, he had ran over feventy miles of that mountainous tract •,—then, after fleeping two hours in a fitting pofture, leaning his back againft a tree, he fet off again with frefh fpeed. As he threw away his venifon, when he found himfelf purfued by the enemy, he was obliged to fupport nature with fuch herbs, roots, and nuts, as his fharp eyes with a running glance, directed him to fnatch up in his courfe. Though I often have rode that war path alone, when delay might have proved dangerous, and with as fine and ftrong horfes as any in America, ic took me five days to ride from the aforefaid Koofah, to this fprightly warrior's place in the Chikkafah country, the diftance of 300 computed miles j yet he ran it, and got home (life and well, at about eleven o'clock of the third day ; which was only one day and half, and two nights. Thefe two well known inftances of the young Katahba, and this Chikkafah warrior, evince the furprifing and fuperior abilities of the Indians in their own element. And the intrepid behaviour of the two other red ftoics, their furprifing contempt of, and indifference to life or death, inftead of leiTening, helps to confirm our belief of that fupernatural power, which fupported the great number of primitive martyrs, who fealed the chriftian faith with their blood. The Indians, as I obferved in the former part, have as much belief, and expectation of a future ftate, as the greater part of the Ifraelites feem to have poflefied. But the chriftians of the firft centuries, may juftly be faid to exceed even the moft heroic American Indians •, for they bore the bittereft perfecution, with fteady patience, in imitation of their divine leader, Meffiah, in full confidence of divine fupport, and of a glorious recompence of reward ; and, inftead of even wifhing for revenge on their cruel enemies and malicious tormentors (which is the chief principle that actuates the Indians) they not only forgave them, but in the mid ft of their tortures, earneftly prayed for them, with compofed countenances, fincere love, and unabated fervor. And not only men of different conditions, but the delicate women and children fuffered with conftancy, and died praying for their tormentors: the Indian women and children, and their young men untrained to war, are incapable of displaying the like patience and magnanimity. 5 When When the Indians have finifhed their captive tragedies, they return to the neighbouring town in triumph, with the wild (hrieking noife of destroying demons: there, they cut the fcalps into feveral pieces, fix them on different twigs of the green leaved pine, and place them on the tops of the circular winter houfes of their deceafed relations—whofe deaths (if by the hand of an enemy) they efteem not revenged till then, and thus their ghofts are enabled to go to their intermediate, but unknown place of reft, till, after a certain time, they return again to live for ever in that tract, of land which pleafed them beft, when in their former ftate. They perform this iuppofed religious duty with great folemnity, attended by a long train of rejoicing women, chanting with foft voices, their grateful fong of triumph to To lit Wah \ while the favoured warriors echo their praifes of the giver of victory, with awful notes, and intermix with them the death whoo-whoop. They dance for three days and nights, rejoicing before the divine prefence, for their victory ; and the happinefs of fending the fpirits of their killed relations from the eaves of their houfes which they haunted, mourning with fuch painful notes as Koo-Koo-Kco, like the fuffering owls of night in pinching winter, according to their creed. In their dance, they reprefent all the wild-cat movements they made in crawling to furprife the enemy, and their woififh conduct in killing with fafety j or the whole engagement, when they could no way attack by furprife. Now, they lift up one foot, then put it down fiowly on tip-toe in a bent pofture, looking fharply every way. Thus, they proceed from tree to tree, till the fuppofed enemy be either defeated by ftratagem, or open battle. Then they ftrut about in parade, and the chief will tell the people he did not behave like a blind white man, who would have rufhed on with his eyes fhut, improvident of danger > but having wifely confidered that his bare breaft was not bullet proof, he cunningly covered himfelf from tree to tree, and by his fkilful conduct vanquifhed the hateful enemy, without expofing his own valuable life to danger. All people praife, or blame another's conduct, in proportion to the parity or difparity it bears to their own ftandard, and notion of virtue. In the time of their rejoicings, they fix a certain day for the warriors to be crowned j for they cannot fleep found or eafy, under an old title, while anew, or higher one is due. On that long-wifhed for day, they all appear on the field of parade, as fine and cheerful as the birds in fpring. Their martial tial drums beat, their bloody colours are difplayed, and moft of the voting people are dancing and rejoicing, for the prefent fuccefs of their nation, and the fafe return and preferment of their friends and relations. Every expectant warrior on that joyful day wears deer-fkin maccafeenes, painted red, his body is anointed with bear's oil, a young foftened otter-ikin is tied on each leg, a long collar of fine fwan feathers hangs round his neck, and his face is painted with the various ftreaks of the rain-bow. Thus they appear, when two of the old magi come forth holding as many white wands and crowns, as there are warriors to be graduated : and in a Handing pofture, they alternately deliver a long oration, with great vehemence of expreffion, chiefly commending their ftrict obfervance of the law of purity, whde they accompanied the beloved ark of war, which induced the fupreme chieftain to give them the victory, and they encourage the reft to continue to thirft after glory, in imitation of their brave anceftors, who died nobly in defence of their country. At the conclufion of their orations, one of the magi calls three times with a loud voice, one of the warriors by his new name, or war title, and holds up the white crown, and the fcep-ter, or wand. He then gladly anfwers, and runs whooping to, and around them, three times. One of the old beloved men puts the crown on his head, and the wand into his hand then he returns to his former place, whooping with joy. In like manner, they proceed with the reft of the graduate warriors, to the end of their triumphal ceremony, concluding with this ftrong caution, " Remember what you are (fuch a warrior, mentioning his titles) according to the old beloved fpeech." This is equal to the bold virtuous leffons of the honeft Romans, and uncorrupted Greeks. The concluding caution of the magi to the warriors, points at the different duties of their honourable ftation, that they fhould always afpire after martial glory, and prefer their own virtue, and the welfare of their country, more than life itfelf. The crown is wrought round with the long feathers of a fwan, at the lower end, where it furrounds his temples, and it is cu-rioufly weaved with a quantity of white down, to make it fit eafy, and appear more beautiful. To this part that wreathes his brows, the fkilful artift warps clofe together, a ringlet of the longeft feathers of the fwan, and turning them carefully upward, in an uniform pofition, he, in the ex-acteft manner, ties them together with deer's finews, fo as the bandage will not appear to the fharpeft eyes without handling it. It is a little open at the top, and about fifteen inches high. The crowns they ufe in confti- 5 tuting tuting war-leaders, are always worked with feathers of the tail of the cherubic eagle, which caufes them to be three or four inches higher than the former. This latter cuftom bears a linking refemblance to the ufage of the ancients on fimilar occafions, according to the conftitution of their different forms of government. They are exceedingly pointed againft our methods of war, and con*-ferring of titles. By the furprifing conduct of a Georgia governor, both the Mufkohge and Cheerake, who attended our army in the war before the laft, againft St. Augufline, have entertained, and will continue to have the meaneft opinion of the Carolina martial difpofition, till by fome notable brave actions, it wears off. The Indians concluded that there was treachery in our letting prifoners of diftinction return to the fort to put the reft on their guard, and in our fhutting up the batteries for four or five days fucceffively, not having our cannon difmounted, nor annoying the enemy, but having flags of truce frequently pafling and repaf-ling. They laid, that it was plain to their eyes, we only managed a fham fight with the Spaniards—and they became very uneafy, and held many conferences about our friendly intercourfe with the garrifon j concluding that we had decoyed them down to be flaughtered, or delivered to the Spaniard to purchafe a firm peace for ourfelves—and they no fooner reached their own countries, than they reported the whole affair in black colours, that we allured them to a far-diftant place, where we gave them only a fmall quantity of bad food ; and chat they were obliged to drink faltifh water, which, inftead of allaying, inflamed their thirft, while we were caroufing with various liquors, and fluking hands with the Spaniard, and fending the white beloved fpeech to one another, by beat of drum, although we had the afiurance to affirm that we held faft the bloody tomohawk. The minuteft circumftance was fo ftrongly reprefented, that both nations were on the very point of commencing war againft us. But the ** Raven** of Euwafe, a leading head warrior of the Cheerake, was confined in Augufta garrifon, till he fent up runners to flop a war, that his fpeeches and meffages had nearly fomented—his life was threatened on failure, and he had large promifes given, if he complied and fucceeded. The Indians are much addicted to gaming, and will often ftake every thing they poflefs. Ball-playing is their chief and moft favourite game: and is fuch fevere exerclfe, as to fhew it was originally calculated for a hardy hardy and expert race of people, like themfelves, and the ancient Spartans. The ball is made of a piece of fcraped deer-fkin, moiftened, and (luffed hard with deer's hair, and ftrongly fewed with deer's finews.—The ball-flicks are about two feet long, the lower end fomewhat refembling the palm of a hand, and wliich are worked with deer-fkin thongs. Between thefe, they catch the ball, and throw it a great diftance, when not prevented by fome of the oppofite party, who fly to intercept them. The goal is about five hundred yards in length : at each end of it, they fix two long bending poles into the ground, three yards apart below, but flanting a conflderable way outwards. The party that happens to throw the ball over thefe, counts one; but, if it be thrown underneath, it is eaft back, and played for as ufual. The gamefters are equal in number on each fide ; and, at the beginning of every courfe of the ball, they throw it up high in the center of the ground, and in a direct line between the two goals. When the crowd of players prevents the one who catched the ball, from throwing it off with a long direction, he commonly fends it the right courfe, by an artful fharp twirl. They are fo exceedingly expert in this manly cxercife, that, between the goals, the ball is moftly flying the different ways, by the force of the playing fticks, without falling to the ground, for they are not allowed to catch it with their hands. It is furprifing to fee how fwiftly they fly, when clofely chafed by a nimble footed purfuer i when they are intercepted by one of the oppofite party, his fear of being cut by the ball fticks, commonly gives them an opportunity of throwing it perhaps a hundred yards j but the antagonift fometimes runs up behind, and by a fudden ftroke daffies down the ball. It is a very unufual thing to fee them act fpitefully in any fort of game, not even in this fever* and tempting exercife. Once, indeed, I faw fome break the legs and arms of their opponents, by hurling them down, when on a defcent, and running at full fpeed. But I afterward underftood, there was a family difpute of long continuance between them: that might have raifed their fpleen, as much as the high bets they had then at ftake, which was almoft all they were worth. The Choktah are exceedingly addicted to gaming, and frequently on the flighteft and moft hazardous occafions, will lay their all, and as much as their credit can procure. By By education, precept, and cuftom, as well as ftrong example, they have learned to fhew an external acquiefcence in every thing that befalls them, either as to life or death. By this means, they reckon it a fcandal to the character of a fteady warrior to let his temper be ruffled by any accidents,— their virtue they fay, fliould prevent it. Their conduct is equal to their belief of the power of thofe principles: previous to this fharp exercife of ball playing, notwithstanding the irreligion of the Choktah in other refpects, they will fupplicate To He Wah, to blefs them with fuccefs. To move the deity to enable them to conquer the party they are to play againft, they mortify themfelves in a furprifing manner; and, except a fmall intermiftion, their female relations dance out of doors all the preceding night, chanting religious notes with their fhrill voices, to move To He Ijfah to be favourable to their kindred party: on the morrow. The men faft and wake from fun fet, till the ball play is over the next day, which is about one or two o'clock in the afternoon. During the whole night, they are to forbear fleeping under the penalty of reproaches and fhame; which would fit very fharp upon them, if their party chanced to lofe the game, as it would be afcribed to that unmanly and vicious conduct. They turn out to the ball ground, in a long row, painted white, whooping, as if Pluto's prifoners were all broke loofe : when that en-thufiaftic emotion is over, the leader of the company begins a religious invocation, by faying Tab, fhort •, then To long, which the reft of the train repeat with a fhort accent, and on a low key like the leader: and thus they proceed with fuch acclamations and invocations, as have been already noticed, on other occafions. Each party are defirous to gain the twentieth ball, which they efteem a favourite divine gift. As it is in the time of laying by the corn, in the very heat of fummer, they ufe this fe-vere exercife, a ftranger would wonder to fee them hold it fo long at full fpeed, and under the fcorching fun, hungry alfo, and faint with the excef-five ufe of fuch fharp phyfic as the button fnake root, the want of natural reft, and of every kind of nouriftiment. But their conftancy, which they gain by cuftom, and their love of virtue, as the fure means of fuccefs, enable them to perform all their exercifes, without failing in the leaft, be they ever fo fevere in the purfuit. The warriors have another favourite game, called Cbungke \ which, with propriety of language, may be called " Running hard labour." They F f f have have near their ftate houfe, a fquare piece of ground well cleaned, and fine fand is carefully ftrewed over it, when requifite, to promote a fwifter motion to what they throw along the furface. Only one, or two on a fide, play at this ancient game. They have a ftone about two fingers broad at the edge, and two fpans round : each party has a pole of about eight feet long, fmooth, and tapering at each end, the points flat. They fet off a-breaft of each other at fix yards from the end of the play ground j then one of them hurls the ftone on its edge, in as direct a line as he can, a conflderable diftance toward the middle of the other end of the fquare: when they have ran a few yards, each darts his pole anointed with bear's oil, with a proper force, as near as he can guefs in proportion to the motion of the ftone, that the end may lie clofe to the ftone — when this is the cafe, the perfon counts two of the game, and, in proportion to the nearnefs of the poles to the mark, one is counted, unlefs by meafuring, both are found to be at an equal diftance from the ftone. In this manner, the players will keep running moft part of the dayT at half fpeed, under the violent heat of the fun, ftaking their filver ornaments, their nofe, finger, and ear rings; their breaft, arm, and wrift plates, and even all their wearing apparel, except that which barely covers their middle. All the American Indians are much addicted to this game, which to us appears to be a talk of ftupid drudgery: it "feems however to be of early origin, when their fore-fathers ufed diver-fions as fimple as their manners. The hurling ftones they ufe at prefent, were time immemorial rubbed fmooth on the rocks, and with prodigious labour; they are kept with the ftricteft religious care, from one generation to another, and are exempted from being buried with the dead. They belong to the town where they are ufed, and are carefully preferved. Their manner of rambling through the woods to kill deer, is a very laborious exercife, as they frequently walk twenty-five or thirty miles riirough rough and fmooth grounds, and falling, before they return back to camp, loaded. Their method of fifhing may be placed among their diverfions, but this is of the profitable kind. When they fee large fifh near the furface of the water, they fire directly upon them, fometimes only with powder, which noife and furprize however fo flupifies them, that they injlantly turn up their bellies and float a top, when the fifherman fecures them. If they ftioot at fifh not deep in the water, either with an arrow or bullet, they aim 7 aft at the lower part of the belly, if they are near j and lower, in like manner, according to the diftance, which feldom fails of killing. In a dry fummer feafon, they gather horfe chefnuts, and different forts of roots, which having pounded pretty fine, and fteeped a while in a trough, they fcatter this mixture over the furface of a middle-fiztd pond, and ftir it about with poles, till the water is fufHciently impregnated with the inooxicating bittern. The fifh are foon inebriated, and make to the furface of the water, with their bellies uppermoft. The fifhers gather them in bafkets, and barbicue the largeft, covering them carefully over at night to preferve them from the fuppofed putrifying influence of the moon. It feems, that fifh catched in this manner, are not poifoned, but only ftupified ; for they prove very wholefome food to us, who frequently ufe them. By experiments, when they are fpeedily moved into good water, they revive in a few minutes. The Indians have the art of catching fifh in long crails, made with canes and hiccory fplinters, tapering to a point. They lay thefe at a fall of water, where ftones are placed in two doping lines from each bank, till they meet together in the middle of the rapid ftream, where theintangled fifh are foon drowned. Above fuch a place, I 'have known them to faften a wreath of long grape vines together, to reach acrofs the river, with ftones faf-tened at proper diftances to rake the bottom ; they will fwim a mile with it whooping, and plunging all the way, driving the fifh before them into their large cane pots. With this draught, which is a verv heavy one, they make a town feaft, or feaft of love, of which every one partakes in the moft foclal manner, and afterward they dance together, finging Halclu-yahy and the reft of their ufual praifes to the divine effence, for his bountiful gifts to the beloved people. Thofe Indians who are unacquainted with the ufe of barbed irons, are very expert in ftriking large fifh out of their canoes, with long ftiarp pointed green canes, which are well bearded, and hardened in the fire. In Savanah river, I have often accompanied them in killing ftur-geons with thofe green fwamp harpoons, and which they did with much pleafure and eafe; for, when we difcovered the fifh, we foon thruft into their bodies one of the harpoons. As the fifh would immediately ftrike deep, and rufh away to the bottom very rapidly, their ftrength was foon expended, by their violent ftruggles againft the buoyant force of the-green darts; as foon as the top end of them appeared again on the furface F f f 2 of of the water, we made up to them, renewed the attack, and in like manner continued it, till we fecurcd our game. They have a furprifing method of fifhing under the edges of rocks, that ftand over deep places of a river. There, they pull off their red breeches,, or their long flip of Stroud cloth, and wrapping it round their arm, fo as to reach to the lower part of the palm of their right hand, they dive under the rock where the large cat-fifh lie to fhelter themfelves from the fcorch-ing beams of the fun, and to watch for prey : as foon as thofe fierce, aquatic animals fee that tempting bait, they immediately feize it with the greateft violence, in order to fwallow it. Then is the time for the diver to. improve the favourable opportunity : he accordingly opens his hand, feizes. the voracious fifn by his tender parts, hath a fharp ftruggle with it againft. the crevices of the rock, and at laft brings it fafe afhore. Except the Choktah, all our Indians, both male and female, above the ftate of infancy, are in the watery element nearly equal to amphibious animals,, by practice: and from the experiments neceffity has forced them to, it feems as if few were endued with fuch ftrong natural abilities,—very few can equal them in their wild fituation of life. There is a favourite method among them of fifhing with hand-nets. The nets are about three feet deep, and of the fame diameter at the opening, made of hemp, and knotted after the ufual manner of our nets. On each fide of the mouth, they tie very fecurely a ftrong elaftic green cane, to which the ends are faftened. Prepared with thefe, the warriors a-breaft,. jump in at the end of a long pond, fwimming under water, with their net ftretched open with both hands, and the canes in a horizontal po-fition. In this manner, they will continue, either till their breath is expended by the want of refpiration, or till the net is fo ponderous as to force them to exonerate it afhore, or in a bafket, fixt in a proper place for that purpofe—by removing one hand, the canes inftantly fpring together. I have been engaged half a day at a time, with the old-friendly Chikkafah, and half drowned in the diverfion—when any of us was fo unfortunate as to catch water-fhakes in our fweep, and emptied them afhore, we had the ranting voice of our friendly poffe comitatus, whooping againft us, till another party v/as fo unlucky as to meet with the like misfortune. During this exercife, the women are fifhing afhore with coarfe bafkets, to catch the fifh 7 that that efcape our nets. At the end of our friendly diverfion, we cheerfully re;urn home, and in an innocent and friendly manner, eat together, ftu-dioufly diverting each other, on the incidents of the day, and make a cheerful night. The Indians formerly had ftone axes, which in form commonly rcfem-bled a fmith's chifel. Each weighed from one to two, or three pounds weight—They were made of a flinty kind of ftone : I have feen feveral, which chanced to efcape being buried with their owners, and were carefully preferved by the old people, as refpeclable remains of antiquity. They twifted two or three tough hiccory flips, of about two feet long, round the notched head of the axe *, and by means of this fimple and obvious invention, they deadened the trees by cutting through the bark, and burned them, when they either fell by decay, or became thoroughly dry. With thefe trees they always kept up their annual holy fire j and they reckon it unlawful, and productive of many temporal evils, to ex-tinguifti even the culinary fire with water. In the time of a ftorm, when I have done it, the kindly women were in pain for me, through fear of the ill confequences attending fo criminal an act. I never faw them to damp the fire, only when they hung up a brand in the appointed place, with a twifted grape-vine, as a threatening fymbol of torture and death to the enemy or when their kinfman dies. In the laft cafe, a father or brother of the deceafed, takes a fire-brand, and brandifhing it two or three times round his head, with lamenting words, he with his right hand dips it into the water, and lets it fink down. By the aforefaid difficult method of deadening the trees, and clearing the woods, the contented natives got convenient fields in procefs of time. And their tradition fays they did not live draggling in the American woods, as do the Arabians, and rambling Tartars; for they made houfes with the branches and bark of trees, for the fummer-feafon •, and warm mud-walls, mixt with foft dry grafs, againft the bleak winter, according to their prefent plan of building,.which I fhall prefently defcribe. Now, in the firft clearing of their plantations, they only bark the large timber, cut down the fappling.s and underwood, and burn them in heaps ; as the fuckers flioot up, they chop them off clofe by the flump, of which they make fires to deaden the roots,, till in time they decay. Though to a ftranger, this may feem to be a lazy "lazy method of clearing the wood-lands -t yet it is the moft expeditious method they could have pitched upon, under their circumftances, as a common hoe and a fmall hatchet are all their implements for clearing and planting. Every dwelling-houfe has a fmall field pretty clofe to it: and, as foon as the fpring of the year admits, there they plan: a variety of large and fmall beans, peas, and the fmaller fort of Indian corn, which ufually ripens in two months, from the time it is planted •, though it is called by the Englifh, the fix weeks corn. Around this fmall farm, they fatten flakes in the ground, and tie a couple of long fplit hiccory, or white oak-fapplings, at proper diftances to keep off" the horfes : though they cannot leap fences, yet many of the old horfes will creep through thefe enclofures, almoft as readily as fwine, to the great regret of the women, who fcold and give them ill names, calling them ugly mad horfes, and bidding them " go along, and be fure to keep away, otherwife their hearts will hang fharp within them, and fet them on to fpoil them, if envy and covetoufnefs lead them back.'* Thus they argue with them, and they are ufually as good as their word, by ftriking a tomohawk into the horfe, if he does not obferve the friendly caution they gave him at the laft parting. Their large fields lie quite open with regard to fencing, and they believe it to be agreeable to the beft rules of ceconomy ■, becaufe, as they fay, they can cultivate the beft of their land here and there, as it fuits their conveniency, without wafting their time in fences and childifhly confining their improvements, as if the crop would eat itfelf. The women however tether the horfes with tough young bark-ropes, and confine the fwine in convenient penns, from the time the provifions are planted, till they are gathered in—the men improve this time, either in killing plenty of wild game, or courfing againft the common enemy, and thereby fecure the women and girls, and get their own temples furrounded with the fwan-feathered cap. In this manner, the Indians have to me, excufed their long-contracted habit and practice. The chief part of the Indians begin to plant their out-fields, when the wild fruit is fo ripe, as to draw off the birds from picking up the grain. This is their general rule, which is in the beginning of May, about the time the traders fet off for the Englifh fettlements. Among feveral nations of Indians, each town ufually works together. Previous thereto, an old beloved beloved man warns the inhabitants to be ready to plant on a prefixed day. At the dawn of it, one by order goes aloft, and whoops to them with fhrill calls, ** that the new year is far advanced,—that he who expects to eat, mult work,—and that he who will not work, muft expect to pay the fine according to old cuftom, or leave the town, as they will not fweat themfelves for an healthy idle wafter." At fuch times, may be feen many war-chieftains working in common with the people, though as great emperors, as thofe the Spaniards bellowed on the old fimple Mexicans and Peruvians, and equal in power, (i. e. perfualive force) with the imperial and puiffant Powhatan of Virginia, whom our generous writers raifed to that prodigious pitch of power and grandeur, to rival the Spanifh accounts. About an hour after fun-rife, they enter the field agreed on by lot, and fall to work with great cheerfulnefs *, fometimes one of their orators cheers them with jefts and humorous old tales, and fings feveral of their moft agreeable wild tunes, beating alfo with a ftick in his right hand, on the top of an earthern pot covered with a wet and well-ftrctched deer-fkin : thus they proceed from held to field, till their feed is fown. Corn is their chief produce, and main dependance. Of this they have-three forts one of which hath been already mentioned. The fecond fort is yellow and flinty, which they call " hommony-com." The third is the largeft, of a very white and foft grain, termed " bread-corn." In July,, when the chefnuts and corn are green and full grown, they half boil the former, and take off the rind -r and having fliced the milky, fwelled, long rows of the latter, the women pound it in a large wooden mortar, which is wide at the mouth, and gradually narrows to the bottom : then they knead both together, wrap them up in green corn-blades of various fizes, about an inch-thick, and boil them well, as they do every kind of feethed food. This fort of bread is very tempting to the tafte, and reckoned moft delicious to their ftrong palates. They have another fort of boiled bread, which is mixed with beans, or potatoes; they put on the foft corn till it begins to boil, and pound it fufflciently fine;—their invention does not reach to the ufe of any kind of milk. When the flour is ftirred, and dried by the heat of the fun or fire, they fift it with fieves of different fizes, curioufiy made of the coar-fer or finer cane-fplinters. The thin cakes mixt with bear's oil,, were formerly baked on thin broad ftones placed over a fire, or on broad earthen bottoms fit for fuch a ufe: but now they ufe kettles. When they intend to bake bake great loaves, they make a ftrong blazing fire, with fhort dry fplit wood, on the hearth. When it is burnt down to coals, they carefully rake them off to each fide, and fweep away the remaining allies: then they put their well-kneeded broad loaf, firft fteeped in hot water, over the hearth, and an earthen bafon above it, with the embers and coals a-top. This method of baking is as clean and efficacious as could pofiibly be done in any oven \ when they take it off, they wafh the loaf with warm water, and it foon becomes firm, and very white. It is likewife very wholelome, and well-tailed to any except the vitiated palate of an Epicure. The French of Weft-Florida, and the Englifh colonifts, got from the Indians different forts of beans and peas, with which they were before entirely unacquainted. And they plant a fort of fmall tobacco, which the French and Englifh have not. All the Indian nations we have any acquaintance with, frequently ufe it on the moft religious occafions. The women plant alfo pompions, and different forts of melons, in feparate fields, at a conflderable diftance from the town, where each owner raifes an high fcaffold, to over-look this favourite part of their vegetable poffcfiions : and though the enemy fometimes kills them in this their ft rift watch 9 yet it is a very rare thing to pafs by thofe fields, without feeing them there at watch. This ufually is the duty of the old women, who fret at the very fhadow of a crow, when he chances to pafs on his wide furvey of the fields but if pinching hunger fhould excite him to defcend, they foon frighten him away with their fcreeches. When the pompions are ripe, they cut them into long circling flices, which they barbacue, or dry with a flow heat. And when they have half boiled the larger fort of potatoes, they likewife dry them over a moderate fire, and chiefly ufe them in the fpring-feafon, mixt with their favourite bear's oil. As foon as the larger fort of corn is full-eared, they half-boil it too, and dry it either by the fun, or over a flow fire which might be done, as well, in a moderately hot oven, if the heat was renewed as occafion required. This they boil with venifon, or any other unfalted flefh. They commonly have pretty good crops, which is owing to the richnef> of the foil •, for they often let the weeds out-grow the corn, before they begin to be in earneft with the'r work, owing to their lazinefs and unfkilfulnefs in planting : and this method is general through all thofe nations that work fe- parately parately in their own fields, which in a great meafure checks the growth of their crops. Befides, they are fo defirous of having muUum in parvoy without much fvvcating, that they plant the corn-hills fo clofe, as to thereby choak up the field,—They plant their corn in ftraight rows, putting five or fix grains into one hole, about two inches diftant—They cover them with clay in the form of a fmall hill. Each row is a yard afunder, and in the vacant ground they plant pumpkins, water-melons, marfh-mallows, fun-flowers, and fundry forts of beans and peas, the laft two of which yield •a large increafe. They have a great deal of fruit, and they dry fuch kinds as will bear it. At the fall of the leaf, they gather a number of hiccory-nuts, which they pound with a round ftone, upon a ftone, thick and hollowed for the purpofe. When they are beat fine enough, they mix them with cold water, in a clay bafon, where the fhells fubfide. The other part is an oily, tough, thick, white fubftance, called by the traders hiccory milk, and by the Indians the flefli, or fat of hiccory-nuts, with which they eat their bread. A hearty ftranger t would be as apt to dip into the fediments as I did, the firft time this vegetable thick milk was fet before me. As ranging the woods had given me a keen appetite, I was the more readily tempted to believe they only tantalized me for their diverfion, when they laughed heartily at my fuppofed ignorance. But luckily when the bafon was in danger, the bread was brought in piping hot, and the good-natured landlady being informed of my fimplicity, fhewed me the right way to ufe the vegetable liquid. It is furprifing to fee the great variety of difhes they make out of wild flefh, corn, beans, peas, potatoes, pompions, dried fruits, herbs and roots. They can diverfify their courfes, as much as the Englifti, or perhaps the French cooks: and in either of the ways they drefs their food, it is grateful to a wholefome ftomach. Their old fields abound with larger ftrawberries than I have feen in any part of the world \ infomuch, that in the proper feafon, one may gather a hat-full, in the fpace of two or three yards fquare. They have a fort of wild potatoes, which grow plentifully in their rich low lands, from South-Carolina to the Miflifippi, and partly ferve them inftead of bread, either in the woods a hunting, or at home when the foregoing fummer's crop fails them. They have a fmall vine, which twines, Ggg chiefly chiefly round the watry alder; and the hogs Teed "often upon the grapes, Their furface is uneven, yet inclining to a round figure. They are large, of a coarfe grain, well-tafted, and very wholefome •, in the woods, they are a very agreeable repair. There grows a long flag, in fhallow ponds, and on the edges of running waters, with an ever-green, broad, round leaf, a little indented where it joins the ftalk •, it bears only one leaf, that always floats on the furface of the water, and affords plenty of cooling fmall nuts, which make a fweet-tafted, and favourite bread, when mixed with Indian corn flour. It is a fort of marfh-mallows, and reckoned a fpeedy cure for burning maladies, either outward or inward,—for the former, by an outward application of the leaf-, and for the latter, by a decoction of it drank plentifully. The Choktah fo highly efleem this vegetable, that they call one of their head-towns, by its name. Providence hath furnifhed even the uncultivated parts of America with fufficient to fupply the calls of nature.—Formerly, about itfry miles to the north-ealt of the Chikkafah country, I faw the chief part of the main camp of the Shawano, confifting of about 450 perfons, on a tedious ramble to the Mufkohge country, where they fettled, feventy-miles above the Ala-bahma-garrifon : they had been ftraggling in the woods, for the fpace of four years, as they affured me, yet in general they were more corpulent than the Chikkafah who accompanied me, notwithstanding they had lived during that time, on the wild products of the American defarts. This evinces how eafily nature's wants are fupplied, and that the divine goodnefs extends to America and its inhabitants. They are acquainted with a great many herbs and roots, of which the general part of the Englifh have not the leaft knowledge. If an Indian were driven out into the extenfive woods, with only a knife and tomohawk, or a fmall hatchet, it is not to be doubted but he would fatten, even where a wolf would ftarve. He could foon collect fire, by rubbing two dry pieces of wood together, make a bark hut, earthen veffcls, and a bow and arrows then kill wild game, fifh, frefh water tortoifes, gather a plentiful variety of vegetables, and live in affluence. Formerly, they made their knives of flint-ftone, or of fplit canes j and fometimes they are now forced to ufe the like, in flaying wild animals, when in their winter hunt they have the misfortune to lofe their knives. I (hall I (hall mention one inftance, which will confirm what I have faid of their furprifing fkill and ability of living in defarts, inhabited only by wild beafts. In the winter of the year 1747, one of the Chikkafah traders went from home, about ten miles, accompanied only by a negro fix of the miles was an old wafte field, which the Chikkafah formerly had fettled, when they were more numerous. On their return home, within two miles of the outer-houfes, while riding carelefiy near two fteep gullies, there ftood a couple of Canada Indians behind a tree, (befide two others a little way off) within a few yards of the path, with their trunk guns, watching two boys then in fight—when the trader and his fer-vant came abreaft of them, the negro's horfe received a mortal ihot, and after carrying him about a quarter of a mile, on leaping a difficult pafs, he fell dead on the fpot the rider's heels carried him the reft of the way fafe: but, unluckily, it did not fare fo well with the gentleman, for as he rode a young Choktah horfe, which had been ufed only to a rope round his neck, the reining him with a bridle, checked him, and the French favages had an opportunity to give the gentleman two mortal wounds, with brafs-barbed arrows, the one in his belly, and the other a little below the heart befide two others in his left fhoulder. His horfe being frightened, fprung off at full fpeed, and brought him home. The gentleman in his rapid courfe twifted the murdering arrows out of his bowels, but could not reach thofe that were deeply lodged in his fhoulder. He lived two nights and a day after this in moft exquifite tortures, but fenfible to the laft-, when he had been forcibly kept down, a conflderable time on the bed, he entreated in the moft importunate manner, to be helped to lean his back againft the wall, and it would give him cafe. At my requeft it was allowed him—he immediately expired, and it is to be hoped, that, according to his defire, he immediately entered into eternal reft. While he lay a corpfe, and till we the next day buried him, the Indians were filent, and almoft invifible. The negro and his mafter, as foon as they difcovered the Canadians, put up the fhrill whoop, both to warn the Chikkafah, and draw them againft the enemy •, this made the two boys to ftretch home, which they did a little before fun-fet. But the latenefs of the day, prevented our friends purfuing, till next morning. By the diftance the enemy ran in the night, they for that time evaded their eager purfuers. Some went to the place of ambufcade, and found that the enemy being difappointed of the prey falling into their hands, had purfued till they came up with the negro's G g g 2 horfe, 412 Cmerai Obfervations on horfe, which they had chopped, and the faddle, with their tomohawkj, all to pieces. However, about half way between the Chikkafah country and the Illinois, three old Chikkafah warriors, on their way to join the main camp, came up with thofe Canadians in wet buffiy ground \—they clofely chafed them for feveral miles,- and forced them by degrees to throw away, every thing they carried, and feck their fafety by leaping quite naked into a deep and broad creek, that was much frozen on the two banks; it was for fome time imagined they had perifhed in the woods, by the feverity of winter, but we were well informed afterwards, that like hardy beafts of prey, they got fafe home. None of the Indians however eat any kind of raw fallads *, they reckon fuch food is only lit for brutes. Their tafte is fo very oppofite to that of" cannibals, that in order to deftroy the blood, (which with them is an abomination to eat) they ovemdrefs every kind of animal food they ufe. I have often jefted them for preffing me to eat eggs, that were boiled fo much as to be blue, and told them my teeth were too bad to chew bullets. They faid they could not fuck eggs after the manner of the white people,, otherwife they would have brought them raw but they hoped I would excufe the prefent,, and they would take particular care not to repeat the error, the next time I favoured them with a vifit. In the fpring of the year, they ufe a great many valuable greens and herbs, which nature has peculiarly adapted to their rich, and high-fituated regions : few of them have gardens, and it is but of late they have had any angelica, or belly-ach-rootj this is one of their phyfical greens, which they call Look-foojhe. I fhall now defcribe the domeftic life of the Indians, and the traders among them. The Indians fettle themfelves in towns or villages after an eafy manner •,. the houfes are not too clofe to incommode one another, nor too far diftant for focial defence. If the nation where the Englifh traders relide, is at war with the French, or their red confederates, which is the. fame, their houfes are built in the middle of the town, if defired, on account of greater fecurity. But if they are at peace with each other, both the Indians and traders chufe to fettle at a very convenient diftance, for the fake of their live ftock, efpecially the latter, for the Indian youth are as deftruftive to the pigs and poultry, as fo many young wolves or foxes,. Their Their parents now only give them ill names for fuch mifconducl, calling them mad; but the mifchievous, and thievilh, were formerly fure to be dry-fcratched, which punifhment hath been already defcribed. Moll of the Indians have clean, neat, dwelling houfes, white-warned within and without, either with decayed oyfter-ffiells, coarfe-chalk, or white marly clay; one or other of which, each of our Indian nations abounds with, be they ever fo far diftant from the fea-lhore : the Indians, as well as the traders, ufually decorate their fummer-houfes with this favourite white-warn.—The former have likewife each a corn-houfe, fowl-houfe, and a hot-houfe, or ftove for winter: and fo have the traders likewife feparate ftore-houfes for their goods, as well as to contain the proper remittances received in exchange. The traders hot-houfes are appropriated to their young-rifing prolific family, and their well-pleafed attendants, who are always as kindly treated as-brethren j and their various buildings, are like towers in cities, beyond the common fize of thofe of the Indians. Before the Indians were corrupted by mercenary empirics, their good fenfe led them to efteem the traders among them as their fecond fun, warming their backs with the Britifh fleeces, and keeping in their candle of life both by plentiful fupport, and continual protection and fafety, from the fire-arms and ammunition which they annually brought to them. "While the Indians were fimple in manners, and un- corrupt in morals, the traders could not be reckoned unhappy for they were kindly treated, and watchfully guarded, by a fociety of friendly and fagacious people, and pofleffed all the needful things to make a reafonable life eafy. Through all the Indian countries, every perfon lives at his own choice, not being forced in the leaft degree to any thing contrary to his own inclination. Before that moft impolitic ftep of giving-general licences took place,, only a fufficient number of orderly reputable traders were allowed to traffic, and refide among the Indians : by which means the laft were kept under proper reftraint, were eafy in their minds, and peaceable, on account of the plain honeft leffons daily inculcated on them. But at prefent, moft of their countries fwarm with white people, who are generally the dregs and off-fcourings of our colonies. The defcription is fo exceedingly difagreeable, that I fhall only obferve, the greater part of them could notably diftinguifh themfelves, among the moft profli-i gate gate by land or fea, no day of the week excepted, indeed the fabbatli day is the-worft. This is the true fituation of our Indian affairs,—the unavoidable refult of ignorant and wicked clergymen fettled as Miflionaries on the frontiers •, and of that pernicious practice of general licences, by which crowds of diforderly people infeft the Indian countries, corrupt their morals, and put their civilization out of the power of common means : the worft and meaneft may readily get nominal fecurity to intitle them to a trading licence; and ill ufes are made of them with impunity. Till of late years, the honeft traders lived among the Indians in the greateft plenty. They abounded with hogs, which made very firm ftreaked bacon, and much preferable to that in the Englifh fettlements chiefly owing to the acorns and hiccory-nuts they feed on : but the Indians are now grown fo proud and lazy, by having goods too cheap and plenty, that very few raife any. There are at leaft five times the number of trading houfes in all the weftern Indian nations, fince general licences, through the wifdom of our civil rulers, were firft granted, than was formerly, while experience directed South-Carolina to purfue and enforce proper meafures. Such a number of lewd, idle white favages are very hurtful to the honeft part of the traders, by heightening the value of vegetables, efpecially in the time of light crops, to an exorbitant price for by inebriating the Indians with their nominally prohibited, and poifoning fpirits, they purchafe the neccfiaries of life, at four or five hundred per cent cheaper, than the orderly traders; which is a great check to the few, who have a love to the welfare of their country, and ftrictly obferve the laws of trade. Befides, thofe men decoy the intoxicated favages to defraud the old fair dealer every winter, of many thoufand pounds of dreft deer-fkins, by the enchanting force of liquors, which, on account of their indolence and improvident difpofition, intereft abfolutely required him to credit them for: but when at the end of their mad career, they open their diffracted eyes, and bitterly inveigh againft the tempting authors of their nakednefs, then there is the fame neceflity of fruiting them a-new for the next feafon's hunt, and likewife the fame improbability, either of better fuccefs, or any fort of redrefs; for family jobs muft not be interrupted or retarded on any account. The The induftrious old traders have ftill a plenty of hogs, which they raife in folds, moftly on the weeds of the fields during the whole time the crops are in the ground j likewife fome hundreds of fowls at once,—plenty of venifon,—the dried flefh of bears and buffalos,—wild turkeys, ducks, geefe, and pigeons, during the proper feafon of their being fat and plenty j for the former fort of fowls are lean in the fummer, and the others are in thefe moderate climates only during the winter, for they return northward with the fun. The buffalos are now become fcarce, as the thoughtlefs and wafteful Indians ufed to kill great numbers of them, only for the tongues and marrow-bones, leaving the reft of the carcafes to the wild beafts. The traders commonly make bacon of the bears in winter •, but the Indians moftly flay off a thick tier of fat which lies over the flefh, and the latter they cut up into fmall pieces, and thruft them on reeds, or fuckers of fweet-tafted hiccory or faflTafras, which they barbecue over a flow fire. The fat they fry into clear well-tafted oil, mixing plenty of faffafras and wild cinnamon with it over the fire, which keeps fweet from one winter to another, in large earthen jars, covered in the ground. It is of a light digeftion, and nutritive to hair. All who are acquainted with its qualities, prefer it to any oil, for any ufe whatfoever : fmooth Florence is not to be compared in this refpcct with rough America. I have known gentlemen of the niceft tafte, who on the beginning of their firft trip into the Indian country, were fo greatly prejudiced againft eating bears-flefh, that they vehemently protefted, they would as foon eat part of a barbecued rib of a wolf, or any other beaft of prey, as a fpare-rib of a young bear •, but, by the help of a good appetite, which their exercife and change of air procured, they ventured to tafte a little : and prefently they fed on it more plentifully than others, to make up the lofs they had fuftained by their former fqueamifhnefs and neglect.. In the fpring of the year, bear-bacon is a favourite difh with the traders, along with herbs that the woods afford in plenty ; efpecially with the young tops of poke, the root of which is a very ftrong poifon. And this method they purfue year by year, as a phyfical regimen, in order to purge their blood. Buffalo flefli is nothing but beef of a coarfer grain, though of a fweeter tafte than the tame fort: elk-flefh has the like affinity to venifon. The deer 5 are ire very fat in winter, by reafon of the great quantities of chefnuts, and various forts of acorns, that cover the boundlefs woods. Though moft of the traders who go to the remote Indian countries, have tame ftock, as already defcribed, and are very expert at fire-arms and ranging the woods a hunting ; yet every fervant that each of them fits out for the winter's hunt, brings home to his mafter a large heap of fat barbecued brifkets, rumps, and tongues of buffalo and deer, as well as plenty of bear-ribs, which are piled on large racks: thefe are laid up and ufed not for ne-cefiity, but for the fake of variety. The traders carry up alfo plenty of chocolate, 'coffee, and fugar, which enables them with their numberlefs quantity of fowls-eggs, fruit, &c. to have puddings, pyes, paftics, fritters, and many other articles of the like kind, in as great plenty, as in the Englifh fettlements. Several of the Indians produce fugar out of the fweet maple-tree, by making an incifion, draining the juice, and boiling it to a proper conflftence. Though in moft of the Indian nations, the water is good, becaufe of their high fituation, yet the traders very feldom drink any of it at home- for the women beat in mortars their flinty corn, till all the hulks are taken off, which having well fifted and fanned, they boil in large earthen pots; then ftraining off the thinneft part into a pot, they mix it with cold water, till it is fufHciently liquid for drinking • and when cold, it is both pleafant and very nourilhing-, and Is much liked even by the genteel ftrangers. The Indians always ufed mortars, inftead of mills, and they had them, with almoft every other convenience, when we firft opened a trade with them—they cautioufly burned a large log, to a proper level and length, placed fire a-top, and wet mortar round it, in order to give the utenfil a proper form : and when the fire was extinguished, or occafion required, they chopped the infide with their ftone-inftruments, patiently continuing the flow procefs, till they finifhed the machine to the intended purpofe. I have the pleafure of writing this by the fide of a Chikkafah female, as great a princefs as ever lived among the ancient Peruvians, or Mexicans, and ffie bids me be fure not to mark the paper wrong, after the manner of moft of the traders; otherwife, it will fpoil the making good bread, or hommony, and of courfe beget the ill-will of our white women. I fhall I fhall now defcrrbe their method of building houfes to fecure themfelves and their food from injury—They are a very dilatory people, and noted for procraftinating every thing that admits of the lead delay : but they are the readier!:, and quickeft of all people in going to fhed blood, and returning home* whence the traders fay, " that an Indian is never in hafte, only when the devil is at his arfe." This proverb is fully verified by their method of building; for while the memory of the bleak pinching winds iafts, and they are covered with their winter-blackened fkins, they turn out early in the fpring, to ftrip clap-boards and cyprefs-bark, for the covering of their houfes : but in proportion as the fun advances, they ufually defift from their undertaking during that favourable feafon ; faying, " that in the time of warm weather, they generally plant in the fields, or go to war and that building houfes in the troublefome hot hammer, is a needlefs and foolifh affair, as it occafions much fweating,"— which is the moil: offenfive thing in life to every red warrior of manly principles. On this account, if we except the women chopping fire-wood for daily ufe, it is as rare to hear the found of an ax in their countries, as if they lived under the unhofpitable torrid zone ; or were nearly related to the South-American animal Pigritia, that makes two or three days journey in going up a tree, and is as long in returning. When the cold weather approaches, they return to their work, and necefiity forces them then to perform what a timely precaution might have executed with much more eafe. When they build, the whole town, and frequently the nearefl of their tribe in neighbouring towns, afiift one another, well knowing that many hands make fpeedy work of that, which would have difcouraged any of them from ever attempting by himfelf. In one day, they build, daub with their tough mortar mixed with dry grafs, and thoroughly finilh, a good commodious houfe. They firft trace the dimenfions of the intended fabric, and every one has his tafk prefcribed him after the exacfeft manner. In a few hours they get the timber ready from the ftump : every piece being marked, it is readily applied to the proper place, in a great hurry, and fo very fecure, as if it were to fcreen them from an approaching hurricane. Not-withftanding they build in this hafty manner, their houfes are commonly genteel and convenient. For their fummer houfes, they generally fix ftrong polls of pitch-pine deep in the ground, which will laft for feveral ages—The trees of dried locuft, and faffafras, are likewife very durable. H h h The The pofls are of an equal height •, and the wall-plates are placed on top of thefe, in notches. Then they fink a large poll: in the center of each gable end, and another in the middle of the houfe where the partition is to be, in order to fupport the roof-tree ; to thefe they tie the rafters with broad fplinters of white oak, or hiccory, unlefs they make choice of fuch long fapplings, as will reach from fide to fide over the ridge hole, which, with a proper notch in the middle of each of them, and bound as the other forr, lie very fecure. Above thofe, they fix either fplit fapplings, or three large winter canes together, at proper diftances, well tied. Again, they place above the wail-plates of both fides the houfe, a fufficient number of ftrong crooks to bear up the eave-boards: and they faften each of them, both to one of the rafters and the wall-plate, with the bandages before defcribed. As the poplar tree is very foft, they make their eave-boards of it, with their fmall hatchets: having placed one on each fide, upon the crooks, exceeding the length of the houfe, and jutting a foot heyond the wall, they cover the fabric with pine, or cyprefs clap-boards, which they can fplit readily •, and crown the work with the bark of the fame trees, all of a proper length and breadth, which they had before provided. In order to fecure this covering from the force of the high winds, they put a fufficient number of long fplit fapplings above the covering of each fide, from end to end, and tie them faft to the end of the laths. Then they place heavy logs above, refting on the eave-boards, oppofite to each crook, which overlap each other on the oppofite fides, about two feet a-top, whereon they fix a convenient log-, and tie them together, as well as the laths to the former, which bind it together, and thus the fabric becomes a favage philofopher's caftle, the fide and gables of which are bullet proof. The barrier towns cut port holes in thofe fummer houfes, daubing them over with clay, fo as an enemy cannot difcover them on the outfide;—they draw a circle round each of them in the infide of the houfe, and when they are attacked, they open their port holes in a trice, and fall to work. But thofe, that live more at eafe, indulge themfelves.accordingly. Herein, they teach us to fecure, our bai> rier fettlements with proper places of defence, before we flatter ourfelves with the uncertain hope of reaping what we plant, or grow fond of the fhowy parts of life. When the Britifh empire hath a fuflicieut plenty of ftrong frontier garrifons toprotecf fuch as the weak, and valuable colony of Weft Florida, fine and well furniihed houfes will foon rife of courfe. The Indians always make their doors of poplar, becaufe the timber is large, and and very light when feafoned, as well as eafy to be hewed ; they cut the tree to a proper length, and fplit it with a maul and hard wooden wedges, when they have indented it a little, in convenient places with their fmall hatchets. They often make a door of one plank in breadth, but, when it requires two planks, they fix two or three crofs bars to the inner fide, at a proper diftance, and bore each of them with a piece of an old gun barrel, heated and battered for the purpofe, and few them together with ftraps of a fhaved and wet buffalo hide, which tightens as it dries, and it is almoft as ftrong as if it were done with long nails, riveted in the ufual manner. Thus, they finifh their fummer houfe of pleafure, without any kind of iron, or working tools whatfoever, except a fmall hatchet of iron (that formerly was a long fharpened ftone) and a knife •, which plainly fhews them to be ingenious, and capable of attaining all the liberal arts and fciences, under a proper cultivation. The clothing of the Indians being very light, they provide themfelves for the winter with hot-houfes, whofe properties are to retain, and reflect the heat, after the manner of the Dutch ftoves. To raife thefe, they fix deep in the ground, a fufficient number of ftrong forked polls, at a proportional diftance, in a circular form, all of an equal height, about five or fix feet above the furface of the ground : above thefe, they tie very fecurely large pieces of the heart of white oak, which are of a tough flexible nature, interweaving this orbit, from top to bottom, with pieces of the fame, or the like timber. Then, in the middle of the fabric they fix very deep in the ground, four large pine polls, in a quadrangular form, notched a-top, on which they lay a number of heavy logs, let into each other, and rounding gradually to the top. Above this huge pile, to the very top, they lay a number of long dry poles, all properly notched, to keep ftrong hold of the under pofts and wall-plate. Then they weave them thick with their fplit fapplings, and daub them all over about fix or feven inches thick with tough clay, well mixt with withered grafs: when this cement is half dried, they thatch the houfe with the lougeft fort of dry grafs, that their land produces. They firft lay on one round tier, placing a fplit fappling a-top, well tied to different parts of the under pieces of timber, about fifteen inches below the eave: and, in this manner, they proceed circularly to the very fpire, where commonly a pole is fixed, that difplays on the top the figure of a large carved eagle. At a fmall dif- H h h 2 tance fiance below which, four heavy logs are ftrongly tied together acrofs, in a quadrangular form, in order to- fecure the roof from the power of envious blafts. The door of this winter palace, is commonly about four feet high,, and fo narrow as not to admit two to enter it abreaft, with a winding paffage for the fpace of fix or feven feet, to fecure themfelves both from the power of the bleak winds, and of an invading enemy. As they ufually build on rifing ground, the floor is often a yard lower than the earth, which ferves them as a bread work againft an enemy : and a fmall peeping window is level with the furface of the outfide ground, to enable them to rake any lurking invaders in cafe of an attack. As they have no metal to reflect the heat; in the fall of the year, as foon as the fun begins to lofe his warming power, fome of the women make a large fijre of dry wood, with, which they chiefly provide themfelves, but only from day to day, through, their thoughtlefsnefs of to-morrow. When the fire is a little more than half burnt down, they cover it oyer with afhes, and, as the heat declines, they ftrike off* fome of the top embers, with a long cane„ wherewith each of the couches, or broad feats, is conftantiy provided j and this method they purfue from time to time as need requires, till the fire is expended* which is commonly about day-light. While the new fire is burning down, the houfe, for want of windows and air, is full of hot fmoky darknefs and all this time, a number of them lie on, their broad bed places, with their heads, wrapped up. The infideof their houfes is furnifhed with genteel couches to fit, and lie upon, raifed on four forks of timber of a proper height,. to give the fwarmino-; fleas fome trouble in their attack, as they are not able to reach them at one fpring : they tie with fine white oak fplinters, a fufficient quantity of mid-dle-fized canes of proper dimenfions, to three or four bars of the fame fort, which they fallen above the frames and they put their mattreffes a-top, which are made of long cane fplinters. Their bedding confifts of the fkins of wild beafts, fuch as of buffalos, panthers, bears, elks, and deer, which they drels with the hair on, as foft as velvet. Their male children they chufe to raife on the fkins of panthers, on account of the-communicative principle,, which they reckon all nature is pofTeft ofj in conveying qualities according to the regimen that is followed : and, as the panther is endued with many qualities, beyond any of his. fellow animals in the American woods, as fmelling, ftrength, cunning, fring, and a prodigious fpring, they reckon fuch a bed is the firft rudi-mencs of war. But it is worthy of notice, they change the regimen in nurturing their young females •, thefe they lay on the fkins of fawns,, or buffalo calves, becaufe they are fliy and timorous: and, if the mother be in-difpofed by ficknefs, her neareft female relation fuckles the child, but only till fhe recovers. This practice gives a. friendly leffon to fuch mothers, who, oftrich like, as foon,as the tender infant fucks in the firft breath of air, commit1 it to the fwarthy breafts of a foetid African to graft it on her grofs flock. Their ftools they cut out of poplar wood, all of one piece, and of a convenient height and fhape. Their chefts are made of clap-boards fewed to crofs bars with fcraped wet buffalo firings. Their domeftic utenfils confift of earthen pots, pans, jugs, mugs, jars, &c. of various antiquated forrs, which would have puzzled Adam, to have given them fignificant. names. Their wooden difhes, and fpoons made of wood and buffalo horn, fhew fomething of a newer invention and date, being of nicer workr manfhip, for the fculpture of the laft is plain, and repreferits things that are within the reach of their own ideas* Every town has a large edifice, which with propriety may be called the mountain houfe, in comparifon of thofe already defcribed. But the only difference between it, and the winter houfe or ftove, is in its dimenfions,, and application. It is ufually built on the top of a hill ; and, in that feparate and imperial ftate houfe, the old beloved men and head warriors meet on material bufinefs, or to divert themfelves, and feaft and dance with the reft of the people. They furniih the infide with genteel couches, either to fit or lie on, about feven feet wide, and a little more in length, with a. defcent towards the wall, to fecure them from falling off when afleep.. Every one takes his feat, according to his reputed merit-, a worthlefs coxcomb dare not be guilty of the leaft intrufion—fhould he attempt it, he is • ordered to his proper place, before the multitude, with the vileftdifgrace,, and bears their flinging laughter. This may not be an unprofitable lelTon ■co fome of our young red coated men, who never traverfed the rough bloody fields of Flanders ; they would be more reflected if they were mOre. modeft, and difplayed fuperior virtues to thofe whom they affect to defpife.. Thou, who boafteft of the noble blood of the, Scipios running in thy veins,, dofti I 4 doft thou equal the brave actions of the Scipios? If not, thou art a dif-grace to them; their virtue would renounce thee, and fliould make thee afliamed to own them. Formerly, the Indians made very handfome carpets. They have a wild hemp that grows about fix feet high, in open, rich, level lands, and which ufually ripens in July : it is plenty on our frontier fettlements. When it is fit for ufe, they pull, fleep, peel, and beat it; and the old women fpin it off the diftaflfs, with wooden machines, having fome clay on the middle of them, to haften the motion. When the coarfe thread is prepared, they put it into a frame about fix feet fquare, and inftead of a ftiuttle, they thruft through the thread with a long cane, having a large firing through the web, which they fhift at every fecond courfe of the thread. When they have thus finifhed their arduous labour, they paint each, fide of the carpet with fuch figures, of various colours, as their fruitful imaginations devife; particularly the images of thofe birds and beafts they are acquainted with; and likewife of themfelves, acting in their focial, and martial ftations. There is that due proportion, and fo much wild variety in the defign, that would really ftrike a curious eye with pleafure and admiration. J. W—t, Efq-, a moft fkilful linguift in the Mufkohge dialect, affures me, that time out of mind they paffed the woof with a fhuttle; and they have a couple of threddles, which they move with the hand fo as to enable them to make good difpatch, fomething after our manner of weaving. This is fufficiently confirmed by their method of working broad garters, faflies, ihot-pouches, broad belts, and the like, which are decorated all over with beautiful ftripes and chequers. Probably, their method of weaving is fimilar to the practice of the eaftern nations, when they came from thence, during the infant ftate of arts and fciences. People who were forced to get their daily bread in the extenfive defarts with their bows and arrows, and by gathering herbs, roots, and nuts, would not be fond of making new experiments, but for the neceflities of common life ; and certainly they would not have chofen a more troublefome method of clothing themfelves, if they knew aneafier and quicker manner of effecting it—whoever knows any thing of an •Indian, will not accufe him of that fin. The The women are the chief, if not the only manufacturers ■, the men judge that if they performed that office, it would exceedingly depreciate them. The weight of the oar lies on the women, as is the cafe with the German Americans! In the winter feafon, the women gather buffalo's hair, a fort of coarfe. brown curled wool; and having fpun it as fine as they can, and properly doubled it, they put fmall beads of different colours upon the yarn, as they work it : the figures they work in thofe fmall webs, are generally uniform, but fometimes they diverfify them on both fides. The Choktah> weave lhot-pouches, which have raifed work infide and outfide. They likewife make turkey feather blankets with the long feathers of the neck, and bread of that large fowl—they twin: the inner end of the feathers very faft into a ftrong double thread of hemp, or the inner bark of the mulberry tree, of the fize and ftrength of coarfe twine, as the fibres are fufii-ciently fine, and they work it in the manner of fine netting. As the feathers are long and glittering, this fort of blankets is not only very warm,, but pleafing to the eye.. They make beautiful ftone pipes; and the Cheerake the beft of any of the Indians: for their mountainous country contains many different forts and colours of foils proper for fuch ufes. They eafily form them with their to-mohawks, and afterward finiffi them in any defired form with their knives ; the pipes being of a very foft quality till they are fmoked with, and ufed to the fire, when they become quite hard. They are often a full fpan long, and the bowls are about half as large again as thofe of our Englifh pipes. The fore part of each commonly runs out with a fharp peak, two or three fingers broad, and a quarter of an inch thick—on both fides of the bowl, lengthwife, they cut feveral pictures with a great deal of fkill and labour \ fuch as a buffalo and a panther on the oppofite fides of the bowl; a rabbit and a fox; and, very often, a man and a woman puris naturalibus. Their fculpture cannot much be commended for its modefty. The favages< work fo flow, that one of their artifts is two months at a pipe with his knife, before he finilhes it: indeed, as before obferved, they are great enemies to pro-fufe fweating, and are never- in a hurry about a good thing. The (terns are commonly made of foft wood about two feet long, and an inch thick, cut into four fquares, each fcooped till they join very near the hollow of the Item : the beaus always hollow the fquares, except a little at each comer to hold them together, to .which they fatten a parcel of bell-buttons, different 3j foct$s forts of fine feathers, and feveral fmall battered pieces of copper kettles hammered, round deer-fkin thongs, and a red painted fcalp; this is a boafting, valuable, and fuperlative ornament. According to their ftandard, fuch a pipe conftitutes the [poffeffor, a grand beau. They fo accurately carve, or paint hieroglyphic characters on the Item, that all the war-actions, and the tribe of the owner, with a great many circumftances of things, are fully delineated. This may feem ftrange to thofe who are unacquainted with the ancient fkill of the Egyptians this way, and the prefent knowledge of the Turkiih mutes. But fo it is, and there is not perhaps the like number of mimic mutes on the face of the earth, nor ever were among the old Greek or Roman Pantomimi, as with the Indian Americans, for reprefent-ing the great and minute things of life, by different geftures, movements of the body, and expreffive countenances } and at the fame time they are perfectly underftood by each other. They make the handfomeft clothes bafkets, I ever faw, confidering their materials. They divide large fwamp canes, into long, thin, narrow fplinters, which they dye of feveral colours, and manage the workmanfliip fo well, that both the infide and outfide are covered with a beautiful variety of pleafing figures ; and, though for the fpace of two inches below the upper edge of each bafket, it is worked into one, through the other parts they are worked afunder, as if they were two joined a-top by fome ftrong cement. A large neft confifts of eight or ten bafkets, contained within each other. Their dimenfions are different, but they ufually make the outfide bafket about a foot deep, a foot and an half broad, and almoft a yard long. The Indians, by reafon of our fupplying them fo cheap with every fort of goods, have forgotten the chief part of their ancient mechanical fkill, fo as not to be well able now, at leaft for fome years, to live independent of us. Formerly, thofe bafkets which the Cheerake made, were fo highly efteemed even in South Carolina, the politeft of our colonies, for domeftic ufefulnefs, beauty, and fkilful variety, that a large neft of them colt upwards of a moidore. They make earthen pots of very different fizes, fo as to contain from two to ten gallons ; large pitchers to carry water ; bowls, difhes, platters, bafons, 3 bafons, and a prodigious number of other veffels of fucli antiquated forms, as would be tedious to defcribe, and impoflible to name. Their method of glazing them, is, they place them over a large fire of fmoky pitch pine, which makes them fmooth, black, and firm. Their lands abound with proper clay, for that ufe ; and even with porcelain, as has been proved by experiment. They make perhaps the fined: bows, and the fmoothed barbed arrows, of all mankind. On the point of them is fixed either a fcooped point of buck-horn, or turkey-cock fpurs, pieces of brafs, or flint done. The latter fort our fore-fathers ufed, which our witty grandmothers call elf-ftones, and now rub the cows with, that are fo unlucky as to be fhot by night fairies. One of thofe flint arrow-points is reckoned a very extraordinary blefilng in a whole neighbourhood of old women, both for the former cure, as well as a prefervative againd every kind of bewitching charm. No people are more expert than the Indians in the ufe of fire-arms, and the bow and quiver: they can frefh dock their guns, only with a fmall hatchet and a knife, and dreighten the barrels, fo as to fhoot with proper direction. They likewife alter, and fix all the fprings.of the lock, with others of the fort they may have out of ufe ; but fuch a job cods the red artid about two months work. They are good fadlers, for they can finifia a faddle with their ufual indruments, without any kind of iron to bind the work: but the fhape of it is fo antiquated and mean, and fo much like thofe of the Dutch Weft-Indians, that a perfon would be led to imagine they had formerly met, and been taught the art in the fame fchool. The Indians provide themfelves with a quantity of white oak boards, and notch them, fo as to fit the faddle-trees ; which confift of two pieces before, and two behind, crofting each other in notches, about three inches below the top ends of the frame. Then they take a buffalo green hide, covered with its winter curls, and having properly fhaped it to the frame, they few it with large thongs of the fame fkin, as tight and fecure as need be; when it is thoroughly dried, it appears to have all the properties of a cuirafs faddle. A trimmed bearskin ferves for a pad ; and formerly, their bridle was only a rope round the I i i horfe's horfe's neck, with which they guided him at pleafure.. Moll: of the Choktah ufe that method to this day. It is ftrange that all the Indians mount a horfe on the off fide as we term it, efpecially as their horfes were originally brought from Europe. In the Choktah country, when I was going to a great ball play, at a conflderable diftance off, in company with feveral of the head-warnors, we alighted at. a cool ftream of water, to fmoke, and drink parched corn-flour and water, according to our ufual cuftom in the woods—when we again fet off, wejefted each other for mounting on the wrong fide. They urged it was moft natural, and commodious, to put the right foot into the ftirrup, and at the fame time lay hold of the mane with the ftrongeft hand, inftead of ufing either of the farthermoft or oppofite ones, as they term the left. They carried it againft me by a majority of voices, whooping and laughing: but, as they were boafting highly of the fwiftnefs of their- horfes, and their fkill in riding and guiding them, much better with a rope than with a bridle, I refolved to convince them of their miftake; for as the horfe I rode was juftly named Eagle, and reckoned the fwifteft of any in the Chikkafah country, I invited them to a trial by way of diverfion, in fo merry a fealbn, and"1 they gladly accepted the offer. We ranged ourfelves in a broad row, on each fide of the wood path, which was rather narrow and crooked, as is the cafe in their countries—they allowed me to take the center, and at the whoop fignal of the by-(landers we ftarted. My horfe being ufed to fuch diverfion foon left them behind, a conflderable diftance •, prefently I luckily difcovered a fwampy thicket,, a-head on my right hand, which ran almoft our direct courfe along-fide of a creek. As the wild courfers chiefly followed one another, according to their general cuftom, I there flew acrofs, and led two of them off the path, into the thicket covered with high brambles. I had little trouble in difpofing of the reft my whooping, and cracking the whip, fent each of them along with his neighbour, at full fpeed, and I continued them fo a great way : for, as their horfes were frightened, the riders had no command over them, with their boafted neck bridles. The horfes, at laft, brought them out into the open woods, to their great joy, when they whooped and hallooed, as defpifing what they had undergone \ they were however in a difmal pickle. For it being their cuftom to carry their ornaments, and looking glaffes over their fhoulder, on, on fuch public occafions, my companions were fully trimmed out, and did not drip themfelves, as they expected no fuch difafter. By (looping to fave themfelves from being difmounted, their favourite looking glaffes were (nattered to pieces, the paint moftly rubbed off their faces, their fk'ns of fmall hawks, and tufts of fine plumes, torn from their heads, and their other ornaments, as well as their clothing and (kin, fhared alfo in the misfortune. As ibon as they could (lop their horfes, they alighted : and, when I had done laughing at them, they according to cuftom, faid only, La pkene, " O ftrange !" The Indians are very happy in not fhewing the leaft emotion of anger, for any mifchance that befalls them, in their fportful exercifes. I jefted them in commending the fwiftnefs of their horfes, even through a bramble thicket, and applauded their fkill in fitting, and guiding them fo well, by the help of their neck bridles. By this time, the hindmoft of our company came up, who laughed heartily at the fight of our tattered horfemen, and told them, that they expected I would jockey them in fome fuch manner. But the young ambitious heroes afcribed the whole difafter only to the vicioufhefs of my horfe, faying " he was mad." From what hath been already faid, it muft be evident, that with proper cultivation,jhey would (hine in higher fpheres of life; and it is not an eafy matter to feduce them from their fuppofed interefts, to the incoherent projects, that our home-bred politicians confidently devife over their fpark-ling bowls and decanters. The friendly and warlike Indians have an intenfe affection to their country and people, and fo have the Britifli Americans : and whatever fome may think of the colonifts martial abilities, our wife ftatefmen may be foon convinced, that they will be able to maintain all the invaluable bleffings of free men for themfelves, and convey them to their pofte-rity in their purity and luftre, according to the old Englifh conditution, which is built on plain wholefome laws, and not on the fophifms of tyranny. This leads me to fpeak of the Indian method of government.-- In general, it confifts in a fcederal union of the whole fociety for mutual fafety. As the law of nature appoints no frail mortal to be a king, or ruler, over his brethren; and humanity forbids the taking away at pleafure, the I i i 2 life ' General Obfervations on life or property of any who obey the good laws of their country, they confider that the tranfgreffor ought to have his evil deeds retaliated upon himfelf in an equal manner. The Indians, therefore, have no fuch titles' or perfons, as emperors, or kings •, nor an appellative for fuch, in any of their dialects. Their higheft title, either in military .or civil life, fignifies only a Chieftain: they have no words to exprefs defpotic power, arbitrary kings, opprefied, or obedient fubjects •, neither can they form any other ideas of the former, than of " bad war chieftains of a numerous family, who inflaved the red." The power of their chiefs, is an empty found. They can only perfuade or difluade the people, either by the force of good-nature and clear reafoning, or colouring things, fo as to fuit their prevail ini* paflions. It is reputed merit alone, that gives them any titles of diftinclion above the meaneff of the people. If we connect with this their opinion of a theocracy, it does not promife well to the reputed eftablifh-ment of extenfive and puiffant Indian American empires. When any national affair is in debate, you may hear every father of a family fpeaking in his houfe on the fubject, with rapid, bold language, and the utmofl: freedom that a people can ufe. Their voices, to a man, have due weight in every public affair, as it concerns their welfare alike. Every town is independent of another. Their own friendly compact continues the union. An obfti-nate war leader will fometimes commit acts of hoftility, or make peace for his own town, contrary to the good liking of the reft of the nation. But a few individuals are very cautious of commencing war on fmall occafions, without the general confent of the head men: for fliould it prove un-fuccefsful, the greater part would be apt to punifh them as enemies, becaufe they abufed their power, which they had only to do good to the fociety. They are very deliberate in their councils, and never give an immediate anfwer to any meffage font them by ftrangers, but fuffer fome nights firft to elapfe. They reafon in a very orderly manner, with much coolnefs and good-natured language, though they may differ widely in their opinions. Through refpect to the filent audience, the fpeaker always addrefles them in a ftanding pofture. In this manner they proceed, till each of the head men hath given his opinion on the point in debate. Then they fit down together, and determine^ upon the affair. Not the leaft paflionate expreffion is to be heard among them, and they 428 they behave with the greateft civility to each other. In all their ftated orations they have a beautiful modeft way of exprefTIng their diflike of ill things. They only fay, " it is not good, goodly, or commendable." And their whole behaviour, on public occafions, is highly worthy of imitation by fome of our Britifh fenators and lawyers. Moft of their regulations are derived from the plain law of nature. Nature's fchool contemns all quibbles of art, and teaches them the plain eafy rule, " do to others, as you would be done by £ when they are able, without greater damage to themfelves, than benefit to their creditor, they dif-charge their honeft debts. But, though no difputes pafs between them on fuch occafions, yet if there be fome heart-burnings on particular affairs, as foon as they are publicly known, their red Archimagus, and his old beloved^ men, convene and decide, in a very amicable manner, when both parties become quite eafy. They have no compulfive power to force the debtor to pay; yet the creditor can diftrain his goods or chattels, and juftly fatisfy himfelf without the leaft interruption—and, by one of his relations, he fends back in a very civil manner, the overplus to the owner. Thefe inftances indeed feldom happen, for as they know each other's temper, they are very cautious of irritating, as the confequences might one day prove fatal—they never fcold each other when fober—they conceal their enmity be it ever fo violent, and will converfe together with fmooth kind language, and an obliging eafy behaviour, while envy is preying on their heart. In general, they are very punctual in paying what they owe among themfelves, but they are grown quite carelefs in difcharging what they owe to the traders, fince the commencement of our deftructive plan of general licences. " An, old debt," is a proverbial exprefTion with them, of " nothing." There are many petty crimes which their young people are guilty of,— to which our laws annex fevere punifhment, but their's only an ironical way of jelling. They commend the criminal before a large audience, for practifing the virtue, oppofite to the crime, that he is known to be guilty of. If it is for theft, they praife his honeft principles; and they commend a warrior for having behaved valiantly againft the enemy, when he acted cowardly-, they introduce the minuted circumftances of the affair, with fevere farcafms which wound deeply. I have known them to. General Obfervations on to ftrike their delinquents with thofe fweeteneeV darts, fo good na-turedly and fkilfully, that they would fooner die by torture, than renew their lb a me by repeating the actions. In this they exceed many christians. They are capable of being fhamed out of their ill habits, and their method of cure is exceedingly more proper and merciful, than what we apply. Stripes and fines only inflame the diftemper ; when inflicted publicly for petty crimes, the culprit lofes what is moft valuable to human nature, the fenfe of .ftiame. He that watches for perfons crimes, to benefit and enrich himfelf at their damage, and the ruin of their families, is an enemy to fo-ciety. Jf it is beneath our dignity to learn from the untaught Indian, let us turn to the records of Athens, Sparta, and Rome. "When their flaves were guilty of intemperance, they expofed_ them before their children, and thus fhewed them its deformity. And, by that, they Infufed into them an early fliame and abhorrence of vice, and a great love of virtue. Formerly, the Indian law obliged every town to work together in one body, in iowing or planting their crops; though their fields are divided by proper marks, and their harveft is gathered feparately. The Cheerake and Mufkohge ftill obferve that old cuftom, which is very neceffary for fuch idle people, in their element. The delinquent is afleffed more or lefs, according tp his neglect, by proper officers appointed to collect thofe afleflments, which they flrictly fulfil, without the leaft interruption, or exemption of any able perfon. They are likewife bound to affift in raifing public edifices. They have not the leaft trace of any other old compulfive law among them ; and they did not ftand in need of any other in their ftate. As they were neither able nor defirous to obtain any thing more than a bare fupport of life, they could not credit their neighbours beyond a mor-fel of food, and that they liberally gave, whenever they called. Moft of them obferve that hofpitable cuftom to this day. Their throwing away all their old provifions, as impure food, whenever the new harveft was fanctified, helped greatly to promote a fpirit of hofpitality. Their wants, and daily exercife in fearch of needful things, kept them honeft. Their ignorance of the gay part of life, helped in a great meafure to preferve their virtue. In their former ftate of fimplicity, the plain law of nature was enough j but, as they are degenerating very faft from their ancient fimpli-kiry, they, without doubt, muft have new laws to terrify them from com-7 mitting mftting new crimes, according to the ufage of other nations, who multiply their laws, in proportion to the exigencies of time. I fhall now give their opinion of our focial and military virtues; which joined with the foregoing, will fet the Indians in a yet clearer light. We can trace people by their opinion of things, as well as if we faw them prac-tife them. Moft of them blame us for uftng a provident care in domeftic life, calling it a flavifh temper : they fay we are covetous, becaufe we do not give our poor relations fuch a fhare of our poffefiions, as would' keep them from want. There are but few of themfelves we can blame, on account of thefe crimes, for they are very kind and liberal to every one of their own tribe, even to the laft morfel of food they enjoy. When we recriminate on the penurious temper of any of their people, they fay, if our accufation be true,, we by our ill examples tainted them on that head, for their fore-fathers were endued with all the 'virtues. They frequently tell us, that though we are poffelTed of a great deal of yellow and white ftone,. of black people, horfes, cows, hogs, and every thing elfe our hearts delight in—yet they create us as much toil and pain, as if we had none, inftead of that eafe and pleafure, which flow from enjoyment; therefore we are truly poor, and deferve pity inftead of envy : they wifli fome of their honeft warriors to have thefe things, as they would know how to ufe them, aright, without placing their happinefs, or merit, in keeping them, which would be of great fervice to the poor, by diffufing them with a liberal hand. They fay, they have often feen a panther in the woods, with a brace of large fat bucks at once, near a. cool ftream •, but that they had more fenfe than to value the beaft, on account of his large pofleflions: on the contrary, they hated his bad principles, becaufe he would needlefsly deftroy, and covetoufly engrofs, the good things he could not ufe himfelf, nor. would allow any othercreature to fhare of, though ever fo much pinched with hunger. They reckon, if we made a true eftimate of things, we fhould confider the man without any falfe props, and efteem him only by the law of virtue, which ennobles men by infpiring them with good fentiments and a generous difpofition \ they fay they are fure, from fundry obfervations, we fell to the higheft bidder, our high tides of war, which were only due to brave men who had often fought the enemy with fuccefs in defence of their country : that, they had feen, even. in. General Obfervations on in Charles-town, feveral young, lazy, deformed white men, with big bellies, who feemed to require as much help to move them along, as over-grown old women •, yet they underftood thefe were paid a great deal of our beloved yellow ftone for bearing the great name of warriors, which mould be kept facred from the effeminate tribe, even if they offered to purchafe it with their whole poffeffions.—That thefe titles fliould only be conferred on thofe who excel in martial virtue ; otherwife, it gives a falfe copy of imitation to the young warriors, and thereby expofes the whole body of the people to contempt and danger, by perverting the means which ought to fecure their lives and properties; for, when a country has none but helplefs people to guard it from hoftile attempts, it is liable to become a prey to any ambitious perfons, who may think proper to invade it. They allow that corpulency is compatible with marking paper black with the goofe quill j and with ftrong-mouthed labour, or pleading at law •, becaufe old women can fit beft to mark, and.their mouths are always the moft ftiarp and biting. But they reckon if our warriors had gained high titles by perfonal bravery, they would be at leaft in the fhape of men, if not of active brifk warriors ; for conftant manly exercife keeps a due temperament of body, and a juft proportion of fhape. They faid, fome were not fit even for the fervlce of an old woman, much lefs for the difficult and lively exercifes which manly warriors purfue in their rough element—that they could never have gone to war, but bought their beloved, broad paper with yellow ftone, or it muft have paffed from father to fon, like the reft of their poffeffions; and that by their intemperate method of eating and drinking without proper exercife, they had transformed themfelves into thofe over-grown fhapes, which our weavers, taylors, and plaiters of falfe hair, rendered more contemptible. The old men tell us, they remember our colonies in their infant ftate,—that when the inhabitants were poor and few in number, they maintained profperous wars againft the numerous combined nations of red people, who furrounded them on all fides •> becaufe in thofe early days, the law of reafon was their only guide. In that time of fimplicity, they lived after the temperate manner of the red people. They copied after honeft nature, in their food, drefs, and every purfuit, both in domeftic and focial life. That unerring guide directed them aright, as the event of things publicly declared. clared. But time is now grown perverfe and childifh, and has brought with it a flood of corrupting ills. Inftead of obferving the old beloved rule of temperance, which their honeft forefathers ftrictly purfued, they too often befot themfelves with bafe luxury, and thereby enervate all their manly powers, fo as to reduce themfelves to the ftate of old women, and efteem martial virtue to confift in the unmanly bulk of their bodies, and the finenefs and colour of their glittering coats and jackets: whereas fuch forms and habits only enable the red people to fort the large buffalos, the fine-feathered parroquets, and wood-peckers—their religious, civil* and martial titles are conferred on the lean, as well as the fat-bodied, without minding whether their clothes are coarfe or fine, or what colour they are of. They fay, their titles of war invariably befpeak the man, as they always make them the true attendants of merit, never conferring the leaft degree of honour on the worthlefs.—That corpulency, or a very genteel outward appearance, would be fo far from recommending any as war-leaders, that thofe qualities would render them fufpected, till they gave fufficient proof of their capacity of ferving their country—that when any diftinguifhed themfelves by martial virtue, their fine clothes reflected new beauties on the eyes of the people, who regard a genteel appearance, only on account of the fliining virtues of the gallant men who wear them. They often ridicule us, in our gay hours, that they have obferved our nominal warriors to value themfelves exceedingly on thofe unpleafant ihapes and undue covering—that like contemptible fliining lizards, they fwelled their breafts almoft as big as their bellies, fpoke very fharp to the poor people who were labouring in diftrefs, frowned with ugly faces at them (whereas they ought to have fmiled, in order to make their hearts cheerful,) and kept them off at a great diftance, with their hats in hand, as if they were black people. But fuch conduct, always a fure token of cowardice, teftilied with convincing clearnefs, they were unable to act the part of even an honeft black man. The Indians imagine the corruption is become too general to be cured, without a thorough change of our laws of war, becaufe when the head is fick, the feet cannot be well: and as our capital towns and regular troops are much infected with that deprefling and fhameful malady, they reckon our country places fuffcr much more by our fat fine men. They fail not to flourifh away as much in their own favour, as againft us, K k k faying, faying, that though they are unfkilfui in making the marks of our ugly lying books, which fpoil people's honefty, yet they are duly taught in the honeft volumes of nature, which always whifper in their ears, a ftrong Icifon of love to all of their own family, and an utter contempt of danger jn defence of their beloved country, at their own private coft i that they confer titles of honour only on thofe who deferve them,—that the fpcaking trophies of war declare the true merit of their contented warriors, without having the leaft recourfe to any borrowed help. They fay, that the virtue even of their young women does not allow them to bear the leaft regard to any of the young men, on account of their glittering clothes, and that none of their warriors would expect it, nor their laws allow it, if ever their country fliould unhappily produce fo contemptible an animal. Imitation is natural, and the red people follow virtue in the old track of their honeft fore-fathers, while we are bewildered by evil cuftom. As their own affairs lie in a very narrow circle, it is difficult to im-prefs them with a favourable opinion of the wifdom and juftice of our voluminous laws—They fay, if our laws were honeft, or wifely framed, they would be plain and few, that the poor people might underftand and remember them, as well as the rich—That right and wrong, an honeft man and a rogue, with as many other names as our large crabbed books could contain, are only two contraries that fimple nature enables every perfon to be a proper judge of promoting good, and preventing evil, either by determinations, rewards, or punifhments •, and that people cannot in juftice be accufed of violating any laws, when it is out of their power to have a proper knowledge of them. They reckon, that if our legiflators were not moved by fome oblique views, inftead of acting the part of mud-fifli, they would imitate the fkilful bee, and extract the ufeful part of their unwieldy, confufed, old books, and infert it in an honeft fmall one, that the poor people might be able to buy, and read it, to enable them to teach their rifing families to avoid fnares, and keep them from falling into the power of our cunning fpeakers—who are not aftiamed to fcold and lie publickly when they are well paid for it, but if intereft no longer r^mpted them to inforce hurtful lies for truth, would probably throw away all their dangerous quibbling books.—That the poor people might have eafy redrefs and juftice, this mould become a public concern, and the Go-7 vernor- nor-Minggo, all the head warriors, and old beloved men, fliould either entirely deftroy thofe books, or in an artful manner fend them to their enemy the French, in order to deftroy their conftitution : but they were of opinion, common fenfe would not allow even thofe to receive them, under any pretence whatfoever—therefore they ought to be burnt in the old year's accurfed fire. By that means, the honeft poor could live in peace and quiet; for now they were unable by poverty, or backward by. their honefty, to buy juftice, in paying thofe people of cunning heads and ftrong mouths to fpeak the truth : and the hearts of rich knaves muft then become honeft, as they would not needlefsly give thofe large bribes, for painting their black actions with a white colour. "They urge, that while litigious, expenfive, and tedious fuits are either encouraged by our artful fpeakers, or allowed by our legislators, the honeft poor man will always be a great lofer-, which is a crying evil. Becaufe he is humble, modeft, and poor, his feeble voice cannot be heard. The combined body of the noify rich muft drown his complaints-. His, only fatisfaction is, that his heart is honeft, though that muft prove very fmall comfort to a wife crying over helplefs children, in a fmall wafte houfe. They fay, that as no people are born rogues, truth appears plain enough \ for its native drefs is always fimple, and it never refides in troubled waters, but under the ftriking beams of the fun. It is not therefore juft, either to compel, or tempt people to buy juftice \ it fhould be free to all, as the poor are not able to purehafe it. They affirm, that as all laws fhould be enacted by the joint voice of the honeft part of the fociety for mutual good, if our great chieftain and hi* affiftants refufe altering thofe that are hurtful to the people, we ought to let them afide on account of their ill principles, and for driving to fupport their own- bad actions, by bad laws—that as wife free-men, we fhould. with all fpeed chufe honeft men in their room, to act the part of fathers of their country, and continue them juft" as long as they behaved fuch: for leading men- are chofen only to do good to the people ; and' whenever they make a breach of their truft, injuring the public good, their places of courfe become vacant, and juftly devolve to the people, who con-ferred them. Our law, they fay, condemns little rogues, but why fliould k fpare great ones ? That we hang the former with ftrong ropes of hemp^ K.kk 2 but; but we fliould firft do fo to, or fliorten the heads of, the latter, with a poi-foned tomohawk, as a juft emblem of their mifchievous poifoning conduct. I told them, that the effential part of our laws was fixed and unalterable, and alfo the fucceflion of each of our great chieftains, while they obferve them faithfully, and order them to be honeftly executed, but no longer. That formerly when the people's hearts became forely aggrieved, and bitterly vexed, as pride for unlimited power, had made fome of the rulers heads giddy, the enraged community had fhortened fome of them, and drove away others from corrupting the beloved land, without any poflibility of returning in fafety. May none of our prefent or future ftatefinen, by wilful mifcondudt, and bad principles, be ever forced to appear at the dreadful bar of an abufed and enraged community ! for as they mete, fo it will furely be meted to them again. The Indian fyftem feems to coincide with the grand fundamental law—" A natura lex, a virtute rex which the great conqueror of the eaft feelingly declared in his laft moments to be juft, by willing his crown to him who moft excelled in virtue. The ill opinion they entertain of our courts of judicature, may have rifen in fome degree from the wrong information of our interpreters, who have occafionally accompanied them to the courts : but they generally retain a long time the firft impreflions they imbibe from any one they efteem One law caufe which the Chikkafah attended, proved tedious, and was carried contrary to their opinion of juftice and equity: on their return to their own country, they faid, that two or three of their old women would have brought in a quicker, and honefter verdict. They compared our counfellors to the mercenary Choktah, who often kill people, and even one another, for the fake of a French reward, as they earneftly ftrove to draw fuffering truth to their own fide of the debate, and painted it contrary to its native form, with a deformed lying face. ; They tell us, that when their head-men are deliberating on public affairs, they difpaflionately examine things, and always fpeak the naked truth ; for its honeft face hates a mafk, having nothing to hide from a fearching eye, and its drefs plain and fimple; that people can as eafily diftinguifh it from falfliood, as light from darknefs, or clear and wholefome water from that which is turbid and hurtful, without giving up their reafon to hired fpeakers, who who ufe their fquint eyes and forked tongues like the chieftains of the fnakes, (meaning rattle-fnakes) which deftroy harmlefs creatures for the fake of food. They fay, that the quotation of dark quibbles out of their old books, fhould be deemed as white paint over a black man's face; or as black over one that is naturally white. They wonder that, as an honeft caufe is always plain, judgment is not given freely in its favour, and without the leaft delay; and infift, that every bad caufe fliould meet with a fuit-able and fevere award, in order to check vice, and promote virtue in focial life. One of the red Magi afked me, whether in our fcolding houfes, we did not always proportion the charges of the fuit in debate, to the value of the debt, or damages. Suggefting that it was wrong to make a perplexed fcience of granting equity with any charges attending it, to honeft poor people; that we fhould pity them on account of the diftreffes they labour under, and not in effect enflave or fine them becaufe they are poor. I told him and the reft of his brethren by way of excufe, that the different nature, and multiplicity of contracts in our great trading empire, with the immenfe difference that often happened between the eloquence and abilities of the contending parties, required a feries of decifions of right and wrong to be recorded in books, as an invariable precedent to direct future public determinations, in difputes of the like nature; that moft of our people were more unequal to each other in fine language than the bred lawyers; and that none were fo fit to fearch, or could poffibly underftand thofe regifters as well as they, becaufe they fpent the chief part of their time on fuch fubjects. He granted that they might be ufe-ful members of the community, but doubted their honefty was too much expofed to the alluring temptations of our rich people's yellow ftone; and that though our fore-fathers were no doubt as wife and virtuous as we, yet they were but men, and fometimes had paftions to gratify, efpecially in favour of a worthy and unfortunate friend, or relation, who was beloved. He faid, the length of ftealing time muft have naturally occafioned fuch an event; and that our wife men ought to be fo far from quoting a wrong copy, as a fixed precedent, that they fhould erafe it out of their old court books, and profit by the foibles of the old, the wife and the good. At At his requeft, I fpoke alfo of our fkilful phyficians and quack-doctors—-I told him that the former commonly cured the fick, or difeafed, unlefs the malady was of an uncommon nature, or very dangerous by not applying in time, before it took root beyond the reach of any cure; but that the empirics ieldom failed of poifoning their weak patients by flow degrees -r and that we had old women likewife who frequently did much good with bare fimples. He faid, if our phyficians ufed fimples in due time, to aflift nature, inftead of burning corrofive mixtures, they would have no occafion to difmember poor people, cutting off their limbs in fo horrid a manner, as feveral were reported to do •, and that, if our law was fo weak as not to condemn thofe to death, who took away the lives of low innocent people, yet the ftrong feelings of nature ought to incite the furviving relations of the murdered perfons, to revenge their blood on the murderers, by beating them with long knobbed poles, while they were fenfible of pain, and as foon as they recovered a little, to cut off their ears and nofe with a. dull knife, as in. the cafe of adultery, in order to quench innocent blood* and teach unwary people to avoid and deteft the execrated criminals. Here, the red audience highly applauded the wifdom and juftice of his medical obfervations, becaufe they exactly correfponded with their own ftandard in-fimilar cafes. Well, faid he, you have given us plainly to underftand the high efteem the Englifh bear to their people of cunning heads and ftrong mouths, and to the curers of ailments—If the former continue honeft when they have gained deep knowledge in their old books •, and the latter are fuc-cefsful in the killing, or healing quality of their ftrong medicines: We fliould rejoice, if you would likewife inform us, according to your written traditions, of the firft rife of Oobache, " bringers of rain," and of Ifhtohoollo Echeto, " high-priefts, popes, or arch-bilhops," whether the fupreme fatherly chieftain gave them from the beginning to the white people* or if not, how he came to give them afterward-, and whether their lives give virtuous leffons to. youth, to induce them to a ftrict obfervance of the divine law, as modefty and humility fhould always appear in the fpeech and behaviour of public teachers, on account of their charming influence____ Inform us of their ufefulnefs in religious and civil life, and the general opinion of the difinterefted and wife part of the community concerning them ^ as as all nations of red people have lately heard a great deal of their un-pcaceable,if not cruel difpofition towards the Britiih Americans, which their covetoufnefs of heart, it is faid, prompted them to, becaufe they could not prevail upon them by their invented fpeeches, to give them the tenth part of the yearly produce of their honeft labour—Let us know their true conduct over the broad water, whether they are covetous in demanding any part of the new harveft •, and if the young people do not violate the marriage-law when the crops fail by the want of refreftiing rains \ As the talk was difagrecable, I told him, had he been fo particular in his enquiries concerning the two former claffes, I could have much better informed him, as I had the pleafure of being long acquainted with many of them, who were learned, wife and benevolent, in a very great degree i and was convinced from my own knowledge, that feveral of them, not only fpoke earneftly for honeft poor people, and others cured them of their lingering ailments, without pay •, but fupplied them with needful utenfils for planting provifions for their fmall families, till they could conveniently repay the value, in their own produce: but that as I neither had nor defired the leaft acquaintance with any of our high-placed beloved men, I was very unfit to handle fuch a long firing of queries. He faid, my denying to gratify their curiofity on fo material a point, ferved only to raife it the higher; efpecially as I had given them a very favourable opinion of the gentlemen of the other two claffes ■, and he hoped, the religious men were at leaft as virtuous as thofe, their facred office requiring them to give an honeft copy to all others, as the young people imbibed from their teachers example, either good or bad principles, which muft benefit or injure themfelves, and the community. He fo earneftly importuned me to comply with his requeft, that, as an Indian divine, I thus addreffed the attentive red congregation. In paft ages, moft part of all nations of people funk into ignorance not only of the old beloved fpeech, (or divine law) but of the very being of the great, fupreme, holy Spirit; upon which account, the glimmering image impreft on their hearts, directed them to worfhip the fun, moon, and ftars, becaufe of their beneficial and powerful influence, —■ and the fire, light, and air, the three divine names and emblems. By degrees, degrees, they chofe an idol-god of fuch reputed qualities, as beft fuited with their own tempers, and the fituation of their various countries, in order to receive temporal good things, and avert the oppofite evils. In the length of forgetting time, they became fo exceedingly ftupid, as to worfhip vegetables, frightful and fihameful images, filthy beafts, and dangerous fnakes. Self-love feemed to have induced them to adore the two laft through fear, and the bird alfo that preyed on them, became the object of their adoration. In this miferable ftate of darknefs the world was involved, when the fupreme fatherly chieftain, through tender pity to human weaknefs, appeared to your reputed anceftors, in the form of a blazing fire, renewed his old divine laws with one of their beloved men, and confirmed the whole, with dreadful thunders, lightnings, and other ftriking prodigies, to imprefs them with a deep awe and reverence of his majefty. In time, they built a moft magnificent beloved houfe, wonderful in its form, and for the great variety of beloved uten-fils, and emblems it contained. The ark was one of the three moft divine fymbols in it. Ifhtohoollo Eloha became their chieftain, both at home, and at war. A wonderful emanation of the holy fire refided in the great divine houfe, while they liftened to the voice of Loache, " the prophets," which the holy chieftain fent to them in fucceflion, to teach them his will as the fixt rule of all his actions. While their hearts continued honeft, he enabled them to conquer their enemies, and to gain victories over formidable armies, which like the fwarms of buzzing infects in your low lands, could not be numbered, and at length fettled them in as happy a ftate as they could reafonably wifh for. A little before that time, he called himfelf A-Do-Ne-To, Minggo Iftjtohocllo, " the divine chief;" but then, to your enlightened (and reputed) anceftors, To-He-Wah, which fignifies, M he lived always, and will never die." It is he, whom you invoke in your facred fongs when you are drinking your cuffeena, and you derived that awful invocation, and your ark of war, from them. He is the author of life and death, and con-fequently, the " mailer of our breath," as the red people juftly term him. He gave them Loache and Oobache, " Prophets and afkers of rain," and prefcribed to them laws that were fuitable for their own government. They chiefly confilled of facred emblems of an early divine promife to mankind, which he faithfully performed ; and when the end was anfwered, 5 thofe thofe fymbols ceafed. The people were enjoined a very {trier, purity, both in civil and religious life, efpecially all the priefts or beloved men *, and in a particular manner, the great beloved man, or high prieft. He was to be equally perfect in body, and pure in heart—and was not allowed to touch the dead, as their bodies were in a corrupting ftate. The old beloved fpeech alfures us, he was appointed as a reprefentative of the people to Ifhtohoollo Aba, and as a lively emblem of an extraordinary divine perfon, who was to be fent to inftruct the whole earth, and purify them from all their pollutions ■, which the fupreme fatherly chieftain will enable us fully to inform you of, in due time. He came according to divine appointment, taught the people, as never man did before, cured them of their various ailments, even the lame and the blind, by the power of his word, and a bare touch. He had fo great a command over nature, that through pity to the tender tears of the people, he awaked fome who had flept a conflderable time in the grave, in a warm country. They, who (trove to lelfen the merit of the furprifing miracles he wrought, were not fo weak as to deny the well known truth of them, as they had been performed at different places, and on different occafions, before a great many people, under the light of the fun, and were lafting. At laft, he, as an uncommon kindly friend, gave up his innocent life to fave his enemies from the burning wrath of the holy fire: and, while the anger of Loache lfotohoollo lay very fharp on him, as the atoning victim, and his enemies were tormenting him with the moft exquifite tortures, he earneftly fpoke the beloved fpeech, and entreated in their favour, that he would not let his heart be crofs with, nor revenge his blood upon them, as they imagined they were acting according to the divine law. As foon as that great beloved meiTenger died, all nature felt a prodigious fhock. The graves opened, and the dead arofe to fee the caufe of that alarming prodigy. The earth fhook, the rocks burft afunder, the fun, contrary to the ftated courfe of nature, was immediately darkened, the great beloved houfe rent afunder, and its guardian angels flew off to other countries: his death alfo exceedingly deftroyed the power of Nana Ookproo, the evil fpirits. On the third day, the matter of breath awaked that great chieftain, prophet, and high prieft, according to his former true fpeech; and when he arofe, he was feen by multitudes of people, and fulfilled the old divine law, and confirmed every thing he formerly taught his humble, and kind hearted fcholars. LI 1 Till General Obfervations on Till then, there were only twelve of them but afterwards more were appointed in that religious ftation. They urged, that their facred office, and the faithful difcharge of all the duties attending it, engaged their clofe attention, and deferved an honeft maintainance; but to check a covetous fpirit among all beloved men of every rank, they freely fpoke the beloved fpeech through every known country of the world, and maintained themfelves by their own induftry. As they travelled, eat, drank, and converfed daily with the great divine meffenger, he perfectly taught them the divine law, which your fuppofed anceftors had received under very ftrong emblems. After his death, they fpoke it with great boldnefs, and a moft amazing power. They truly marked down on paper, moft of the fpeeches and actions of their beloved matter and themfelves, without concealing their own foibles, for our inftruction: and a great many true copies of them are tranfmitted over every quarter of the world, in different languages, which agree together, and with thofe early beloved books ; though it is more than feventeen hundred years, fince they were firft drawn out by thofe beloved fcholars. As their hearts were warmed in a very high degree, by the holy fpirit of fire, the moral part of their lives were free from blemifh, after the death of their mafter. In imitation of him, they fuffered all kinds of hardfhips, difficulties, and dangers of life, that human beings could undergo, merely through a principle of divine love working in them, for the general good of mankind ; they cured the fick and difeafed, and taught every one the true beloved fpeech, to purify them. As they were not proud, they were not drawn with beautiful prancing horfes, in coftly mo^ ving houfes, but walked after the manner of 'their divine mafter, and in-ftructed the attentive people, by their humble example, and honeft leffons, in the moft aifured hope of receiving from Ifhtohoollo Aba, a reward equal to their virtues, after they died, knowing they were to live anew in a happy ftate, free from the power of death. In this manner, they, by the earneft beloved fpeech of the great divine meffenger, were cheerfully content, and firmly trufted in the goodnefs of the fatherly chieftain. - Indeed, foon after they entered into their facred office, they were jealous of their matter's giving preference to one, before the other of them ; but he gave a ftrong leffon of humility and kindnefs for them? and all fucceeding beloved men to purfue, by warning and wiping their feet with his own hands: and he affured them Ifhtohoollo would always efteem them moft, who acted beft. Alt H 443 All thofe beloved men, who do not join in religious communion with Oobache Jjhtohoollo, tell us, that ancient records affirm, all of the prieftly order (after the death of the divine meifenger) were equal in their religious office, that deference excepted, which is always due to a virtuous feniority— and that as wifdom and virtue equally accompany either youth, middle, or old age, they continued in that brotherly ftate of religious fimplicity, according to the true copy of the humble, all-loving, and beloved meffenger, for the fpace of three hundred years after that period—and that, as the fpeech of the great divine meffenger was marked in a copious language, which abounded with various words to exprefs the fame thing, the names of old men, overfeers and bifhops, fignify one- and the fame rank of beloved men of the beloved houfe, according to the former humble con-duel of their divine mafter-, but that the words are now tortured through mercenary views, contrary to the plain fimplicity of the primitive teachers. As holy things, and white emblems, are eafily polluted and tarnifhed by people of impure hearts, and unclean hands, the divine law began then to lofe its quickening influence over the beloved men of thofe large countries, where the fun rifes out of the broad water. Their difputes ran high, and the longer they lafted, the fharper they grew. They, at laft, referred them to the decifion of the beloved men, toward the place where the daily fun is drowned in the great fait water, which is called Rome. As in affairs of ftate, fo in religion, a remarkable precedent begets a cuftom, and this becomes a law with focieties. In confequence thereof, an order of fuperior beloved men laid hold of this, and ftretched the divine fpeech, fo as to anfwer their own mercenary views. In procefs of time, there fprung up a pretended great bringer of rain, who, like the hurtful fpirits of corrupt darknefs, by rejecting the divine fpeech, and defpifing the example of the holy meffenger and his fcholars, fet up arrogantly for himfelf, againft the fupreme chieftain of the rain and thunder, claimed the tenth bafket-full of the new harveft according to the obfo-lete law of your fuppofed anceftors, and even forgave adulterers, thieves, liars, inceftuous perfons, and thofe who accompanied with women in their lunar retreats, without any fort of purification, if they only paid him fuch a quantity of yellow ftone, as he proportioned to the various degrees of each crime they committed. To enrich himfelf by their weaknefs, his whole tribe of black-dreffed miflionaries, by ftric~t order, frightened the ignorant L 1 1 2 and and credulous, with the wild notion of wandering after death in the accurfed place of darknefs, without any poffibility of avoiding that dreadful fate, unlefs they revealed all their crimes to them, and paid them a fixed price. Becaufe pride and envy had fpoiled fome of the fpirits above, and made them accurfed beings ; therefore, the meffenger of Ifhtohoollo, as I told you, ftrongly checked the like difpofition in its firft appearance among his fcholars. But the pride of the Romilh chieftain, and defire of abfolute religious and civil power, became fo unbounded, as to claim an unlimited authority over all the great chieftains on earth ; and he boafted of being fo highly actuated by the unerring divine wifdom, as to know and do every thing perfectly. He, at the fame time, ordered all his fcholars to involve the people in thick clouds of darknefs, and irnprefs them with a firm belief, that ignorance produces virtue. He invented a third ftate for the fake of his temporal intereft, fixing it half way between people's favourite place of living anew, and that of the horrible darknefs, which was to be a vomiting dr purging ftate of the dead, and called it purgatory where the dead muft unavoidably call, and be detained, till furviving relations fatisfied them for their enlargement. He became fo highly intoxicated by pride and power, that he erected images of fuch dead people as moft re-fembled himfelf, with various other objects for the living to invoke, inftead of the great eternal To He Wah, whom you fupplicate in your religious invocations: and he marked for his black fcholars, a great many very evil fpeeches, and fpoke them with a ftrong mouth and ill heart, and enforced them by fwords and fiery faggots, contrary to the old beloved fpeech which was confirmed by the anointed meffenger. At length, the holy fpirit of fire influenced two great beloved men in particular, according to a former prediction, to fpeak to the people with a ftrong mouth, as witneffes of the divine truth. Their ears were honeft in hearing the old beloved fpeech, and it funk deep into their hearts. But a great many fuperftitious cuftoms ftill remained, for had they aimed at a perfect eftablifhment of the divine law in their religious worfhip, probably the high placed religious men through a covetous fpirit would have op-pofed the reformation with all their might; as very few of them endeavoured to teach the young people, by honeft examples, to live a virtuous life, or enabled them to get refrefhing fhowers from Ifhtohoollo Aba to make plentiful harvefts—and yet they claimed a great part of it, and even of of the feed corn, without the leaft exemption of the poor, contrary to the tender feelings even of our indigent warriors and great canoe men, who ftretch out a kindly hand to their poor brethren. That part of the old beloved fpeech, the tenth bafket-full, was calculated only for your fuppofed predeceffors, who confifted of twelve families one of which was devoted to the divine fcrvice. Therefore, they were allowed fome part of the religious offerings, and of the yearly produce of the land, to make their own and their families hearts rejoice, and at the fame time to keep them humble, and make them hofpitable to the widow, the fatherlefs, and the ftranger. They, like the humble fcholars of the great beloved meffenger, were always poor; they honeftly minded their religious duty, and were not allowed to purchafe any land, nor to expofe their virtue to the temptations of heaping up yellow ftone, or employing their minds on any thing, except the divine law. The lives and manners of the early teachers of the fpeech of the divine meffenger, as I before told you, were alfo ftrict ly juft and blamelefs. They equally taught by precept and example; and their leffons, like thofe of their great mafter, were plain, fimple, and holy. They were humble in their behaviour, and moderate in their apparel, food, and drink, and faithful in the difcharge of their religious office: inftead of affuming the arrogant title of divine chieftains, they honeftly gave themfelves the lowly name of Intoohfare Ifhtohoollo, " Servants of God," in imitation of the life, precept, and example of the holy meffenger, which ftrongly actuated their honeft hearts. When they were weary after the toils of the day, by inftructing the people, and working at their trade, as your beloved men do, they joyfully rcfted themfelves in cheir humble cottages, and refrefhed themfelves with their homely fare and there they inftrudfed the young people to invoke Yo-He-Wah, and fpeak the divine fpeech. In this religious manner, they fpent their time through various countries, by the direction of divine wifdom, as a ftrong pointed leffon to all fucceeding beloved men to purfue, and they fealed the truth with their blood—fuch were the primitive teachers of the divine word. They lived and died in a ftate of equality; and were there any different degrees to be obferved in the holy office of religion, learning and piety fhould recommend poor beloved men to the high feats of profit— but^only toilfome places are now allotted them, with an allowance infuf-ficient to fupport themfelves, fo that they cannot ftretch out their kindly hand to the poor, 5 The General Obfervations on The mouths and hearts of the fuperior beloved men in our day, flume-fully contradict one another, to the difcredit of the lively copy of the holy meffenger and his beloved fcholars, and the great danger of infecting thofe of inferior rank, by fo pernicious and corrupt an example; for it is natural for the feet to follow the direction of the head. They were formerly a very infolent, covetous, and troublefome fet and being advanced by rich friends to the high founding .office of Mingo IJhtohoolio, " Divine chieftains," or in their own itile, " Right Reverend Fathers in God," princes and fupporters of the church, great was their arrogance and power— taking advantage of the corruption of the times, they grafted themfelves into the civil conftitution, and to preferve their high and profitable places they became the fixed and ftrenuous fupporters of courts, in all their meafures. But they will very foon be purified. The beloved fpeech of IJJjotoollo of old, has announced it, and that is always true. It has pointed to the prefent and approaching time, which is near to the end of meafured time. To fhew you how well prepared thofe priefily princes are for that trying period, I fhall give you the general opinion of the wife and honeft people, on this and the other fide of the broad water; by which you will fee how far they agree with, or differ from, the original copy of the plain honeft fcholars of the anointed holy meffenger. They boaft themfelves to be the embaffadors of the holy chieftain of the high church. They dwell in coftly great houfes, after the fuperb manner of our great civil chieftain-, and they give them the fame lofty name, Palaces, to diftinguifh them from the dwelling-houfes of other mortals. Their drefs is equally rich and lingular, to ftrike the eye, and imprefs the hearts of the vulgar with a profound reverence of the divine prieftly wearers. They have the revenue of princes to fupport their grandeur •, and they are moft exact in having it collected by litigious mercenaries, even to the tenth of the hive of bees, and of the unlawful and filthy young fwine ; and yet they act the part of Phohe IJhto, " Great drones, or drones of God," as foon as they obtain their rich high feat, not fpeak-ing the divine fpeech to the people hardly three times a year. Their food confifts of a great variety of the choiceft, and moft delicious forts of fifh, flefh, and fowl; their drink is of the richeft white, yellow, and red grape water, with other coftly liquors which your language cannot exprefs. 5 They They refortto the moft gay affemblies in the world, for the fake of pleafure, leaving the multitude to the divine care, or the fpeakings of poor religious men who are 1 ired at low wages to do their duty, as they themfelves have enough to mind and fecure properly temporal concerns. In this manner, do thefe lamps fhine, and fpend their days and nights, like the great chieftains of the earth •, and when they die, their bodies are laid apart from the reft of mankind, in polifhed and coftly tombs, adorned with nice ftrokes of art, to perpetuate their names—the long train of virtues they fo highly poffeffed—their great learning and eloquence—the fimplicity of their lives and manners—their faithful difcharge of the various duties of their religious high office—their contempt of the grandeur and vanities of this tranfient world—their tendernefs of heart to the cries of the poor; and their lingular modefty and humility, a fhining copy of imitation for common priefts, and other fpiritual chieftains, to purfue. Thefe fine monuments are very pleafant to the eye, but honeft men fay that mercenary writers and artifts do not act right to belie the dead. My red beloved friends, fuch is the reputed life and death of thofe high-feated divine chieftains of the high church; your fharp natural reafon will difcern the clofe agreement there is between the humility and fimplicity of their principles and lives, with thofe of the early overfeers of the lowly divine houfe. It is laid that fome great beloved men have an earneft de-lire of fending a few of their own high office, to this fide of the broad water, in order to appoint young beloved men ; but we ftrongly fufpect a dangerous fnake in the grafs; and efteeming them dead to the true interefts of religion and liberty, we think they ought to keep them at home, and even recall their prefent troublefome mifiionaries from our fettlements, and allow us to enjoy our former peace and quiet—We wifh them to go to fome poor dark countries, and inftruct the people in the honeft leffons of peace, love, and charity which they would, if they only aimed at the good of mankind, and the honour of the fupreme chieftain, according to the plain copy of the great beloved meffenger and his kind-hearted faithful fcholars. We wi(h the civil powers would not tempt the religious men's virtue by fuch alluring delicious baits, as they propofe to them, and that all ranks would become frugal and virtuous. Thus 44-3 General Obfervations on the North American Indians. Thus ended my Lecture. The reverend old red pontiff immediately afked, whether they had the accurfed beings on the other fide of the water? I told him, I hoped not — but the religious men often fpoke a ftrong fpeech of evil to thofe they reckoned very bad, and turned them out of the beloved houfe, to the evil fpirits of darknefs. Upon which he requefted me to mention any one of the crimes that might occafion fuch treatment. I told him, " I had heard of a gentleman, whole heart did not allow him to love his lady fufHciently, and fhe having by Iharp watching difcovered him to give love to another, complained of it to a great beloved man accordingly, either for the neglect, or wrong application of his love duty, he was ordered to pay her a conflderable fum of money—he valuing it more than her, his heart did not allow him to give fo much : whereupon a fharp fpeech of evil was fpoken againft him, and by that means he was faid to become accurfed." My Indian friend faid, as marriage fliould beget joy and happinefs, inftead of pain and mifery, if a couple married blindfold, and could not love each other afterwards, it was a crime to continue together, and a virtue to part, and make a happier choice •, and as the white people did not buy their wives after the manner of the Indians, but received value along with them, in proportion to their own poffeflions, whatfoever the woman brought with her, fhe ought to be allowed to take back when they feparated, that her heart might weigh even, and nothing be fpoiled.—That, in his opinion, fuch determinations belonged to the law, and not to the great beloved men ; and, if he underftood me aright, the beloved man threw away the gentleman to the accurfed beings of darknefs, not for having acted any thing againft the divine law, but for daring to oppofe the words of his mouth, in imitation of the firft prefumptuous great beloved man, who fpoiled the fpeech of the divine meffenger. Many natural, pertinent, and humorous obfervations, were made by him on what he had heard. APPENDIX. APPENDIX ADVICE to STATESMEN; shewing The advantages of mutual affection between Great Britain, and the North American colonies—A defcription of the Floridas, and the MilTifippi lands, with their productions—The benefits of colonizing Georgiana, and civilizing the Indians—and the way to make all the colonies more valuable to the mother country, M m m APPENDIX. ADVICE to STATESMEN. THOUGH Great Britain hatfi been many years inverted with the Mifti-fipi-poffeffions, and which hhe purchafed at a very high price; little hath been done to improve them. 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