GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS; DISPLAYING (continued 2)

Till of late years, the honest traders^[255] lived among the Indians in the greatest plenty. They abounded with hogs, which made very firm streaked bacon, and much preferable to that in the English settlements chiefly owing to the acorns and hiccory-nuts they feed on: but the Indians are now grown so proud and lazy, by having goods too cheap and plenty, that very few raise any. There are at least five times the number of trading houses in all the western Indian nations, since general licences, through the wisdom of our civil rulers, were first granted, than was formerly, while experience directed South-Carolina to pursue and enforce proper measures. Such a number of lewd, idle white savages are very hurtful to the honest part of the traders, by heightening the value of vegetables, especially in the time of light crops, to an exorbitant price; for by inebriating the Indians with their nominally prohibited, and poisoning spirits, they purchase the 445necessaries 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 strictly observe the laws of trade. Besides, those men decoy the intoxicated savages to defraud the old fair dealer every winter, of many thousand pounds of dried deer-skins, by the enchanting force of liquors, which, on account of their indolence and improvident disposition, interest absolutely required him to credit them for: but when at the end of their mad career, they open their distracted eyes, and bitterly inveigh against the tempting authors of their nakedness, then there is the same necessity of trusting them a-new for the next season’s hunt, and likewise the same improbability, either of better success, or any sort of redress; for family jobs must not be interrupted or retarded on any account. {414}

The industrious old traders have still a plenty of hogs, which they raise in folds, mostly on the weeds of the fields during the whole time the crops are in the ground; likewise some hundreds of fowls at once,—plenty of venison,—the dried flesh of bears and buffalos,—wild turkeys, ducks, geese, and pigeons, during the proper season of their being fat and plenty; for the former sort of fowls are lean in the summer, and the others are in these moderate climates only during the winter, for they return northward with the sun. The buffalos are now become scarce,^[256] as 446the thoughtless and wasteful Indians used to kill great numbers of them, only for the tongues and marrow-bones, leaving the rest of the carcases to the wild beasts. The traders commonly make bacon of the bears in winter; but the Indians mostly flay off a thick tier of fat which lies over the flesh,^[257] and the latter they cut up into small pieces, and thrust them on reeds, or suckers of sweet-tasted hiccory or sassafras, which they barbecue over a slow fire. The fat they fry into clear well-tasted oil, mixing plenty of sassafras and wild cinnamon with it over the fire, which keeps sweet from one winter to another, in large earthen jars, covered in the ground. It is of a light digestion, and nutritive to hair. All who are acquainted with its qualities, prefer it to any oil, for any use whatsoever: smooth Florence is not to be compared in this respect with rough America.

I have known gentlemen of the nicest taste, who on the beginning of their first trip into the Indian country, were so greatly prejudiced against eating bears-flesh, that they vehemently protested, they would as soon eat part of a barbecued rib of a wolf, or any other beast of prey, as a spare-rib of a young bear; but, by the help of a good appetite, which their exercise and change of air procured, they ventured to taste a little: and presently they fed on it more plentifully than others, to make up the loss they had sustained by their former squeamishness and neglect. In the spring of the year, bear-bacon is a favorite dish with the traders, along with herbs that the woods afford in plenty; especially with the young tops of poke, the root of which is a very strong poison. And this method they pursue year by year, as a physical regimen, in order to purge their blood.

Buffalo flesh is nothing but beef of a coarser grain,^[258] though of a sweeter taste than the tame sort: elk-flesh has the like affinity 447to venison. The deer {415} are very fat in winter, by reason of the great quantities of chestnuts, and various sorts of acorns, that cover the boundless woods. Though most of the traders who go to the remote Indian countries, have tame stock, as already described, and are very expert at fire-arms and ranging the woods a hunting; yet every servant that each of them fits out for the winter’s hunt, brings home to his master a large heap of fat barbecued briskets, rumps, and tongues of buffalo and deer, as well as plenty of bear-ribs, which are piled on large racks: these are laid up and used not for necessity, but for the sake of variety. The traders carry up also plenty of chocolate, coffee, and sugar, which enables them with their numberless quantity of fowls-eggs, fruit, &c. to have puddings, pyes, pastries, fritters, and many other articles of the like kind, in as great plenty, as in the English settlements. Several of the Indians produce sugar out of the sweet maple-tree, by making an incision, draining the juice, and boiling it to a proper consistence.

Though in most of the Indian nations, the water is good, because of their high situation, yet the traders very seldom drink any of it at home; for the women beat in mortars their flinty corn, till all husks are taken off, which having well sifted and fanned, they boil in large earthen pots; then straining off the thinnest part into a pot, they mix it with cold water, till it is sufficiently liquid for drinking: and when cold, it is both pleasant and very nourishing; and is much liked even by the genteel strangers. The Indians always used mortars,^[259] instead of mills, and they had them, with almost every other convenience, when we first opened a trade with them—they cautiously burned a large log, to a proper level and length, placed fire a-top, and wet mortar round it, in order to give the utensil a proper form: and when the fire was extinguished, or occasion required, they chopped the inside with their stone-instruments, patiently continuing the slow process, till they finished the machine to the intended purpose. I have the pleasure of writing this by the side of a Chikkasah female, as great a princess^[260] as ever lived 448among the ancient Peruvians, or Mexicans, and she bids me be sure not to mark the paper wrong, after the manner of most of the traders; otherwise, it will spoil the making good bread, or hommony, and of course beget the ill-will of our white women. {416}

I shall now describe their method of building houses to secure themselves and their food from injury—They are a very dilatory people, and noted for procrastinating every thing that admits of the least delay: but they are the readiest, and quickest of all people in going to shed blood, and returning home; whence the traders say, “that an Indian is never in haste, only when the devil is at his arse.” This proverb is fully verified by their method of building; for while the memory of the bleak pinching winds lasts, and they are covered with their winter-blackened skins, they turn out early in the spring, to strip clap-boards and cypress-bark, for the covering of their houses: but in proportion as the sun advances, they usually desist from their undertaking during that favourable season; saying, “that in the time of warm weather, they generally plant in the fields, or go to war; and that building houses in the troublesome hot summer, is a needless and foolish affair, as it occasions much sweating,”—which is the most offensive thing in life to every red warrior of manly principles. On this account, if we except the women chopping firewood for daily use, it is as rare to hear the sound of an ax in their countries, as if they lived under the unhospitable 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 necessity forces them then to 449perform what a timely precaution might have executed with much more ease. When they build, the whole town, and frequently the nearest of their tribe in neighbouring towns, assist one another, well knowing that many hands make speedy work of that, which would have discouraged any of them from ever attempting by himself. In one day, they build, daub with their tough mortar mixed with dry grass, and thoroughly finish, a good commodious house.

They first trace the dimensions of the intended fabric, and every one has his task prescribed him after the exactest manner. In a few hours they get the timber ready from the stump: every piece being marked, it is readily applied to the proper place, in a great hurry, and so very secure, as if it were to screen them from an approaching hurricane. Notwithstanding they build in this hasty manner, their houses are commonly genteel and convenient. For their summer houses, they generally fix strong posts of pitch-pine deep in the ground, which will last for several ages—The trees of dried locust, and sassafras, are likewise very durable. {417} The posts are of an equal height; and the wall-plates are placed on top of these, in notches. Then they sink a large post in the center of each gable end, and another in the middle of the house where the partition is to be, in order to support the roof-tree; to these they tie the rafters with broad splinters of white oak, or hiccory, unless they make choice of such long sapplings, as will reach from side to side over the ridge hole, which, with a proper notch in the middle of each of them, and bound as the other sort, lie very secure. Above those, they fix either split sapplings, or three large winter canes together, at proper distances, well tied. Again, they place above the wall-plates of both sides the house, a sufficient number of strong crooks to bear up the eave-boards: and they fasten each of them, both to one of the rafters and the wall-plate, with the bandages before described. As the poplar tree is very soft, they make their eave-boards of it, with their small hatchets: having placed one on each side, upon the crooks, exceeding the length of the house, and jutting a foot beyond the wall, they cover the fabric with pine, or cypress clap-boards, which they can split readily; and crown the work with the bark of the same trees, all of a proper length and breadth, which they had before provided. In order to secure this covering from the force of the high winds, they put a sufficient number of long split sapplings above the 450covering of each side, from end to end, and tie them fast to the end of the laths. Then they place heavy logs above, resting on the eave-boards, opposite to each crook, which overlap each other on the opposite sides, 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 savage philosopher’s castle, the side and gables of which are bullet proof. The barrier towns cut port holes in those summer houses, daubing them over with clay, so as an enemy cannot discover them on the outside;—they draw a circle round each of them in the inside of the house, and when they are attacked, they open their port holes in a trice, and fall to work. But those, that live more at ease, indulge themselves accordingly. Herein, they teach us to secure our barrier settlements with proper places of defence, before we flatter ourselves with the uncertain hope of reaping what we plant, or grow fond of the showy parts of life. When the British empire hath a sufficient plenty of strong frontier garrisons to protect such as the weak, and valuable colony of West Florida, fine and well furnished houses will soon rise of course. The Indians always make their doors of poplar, because the timber is large, {418} and very light when seasoned, as well as easy to be hewed; they cut the tree to a proper length, and split it with a maul and hard wooden wedges, when they have indented it a little, in convenient places with their small hatchets. They often make a door of one plank in breadth, but, when it requires two planks, they fix two or three cross bars to the inner side, at a proper distance, and bore each of them with a piece of an old gun barrel, heated and battered for the purpose, and sew them together with straps of a shaved and wet buffalo hide, which tightens as it dries, and it is almost as strong as if it were done with long nails, riveted in the usual manner. Thus, they finish their summer house of pleasure, without any kind of iron, or working tools whatsoever, except a small hatchet of iron (that formerly was a long sharpened stone) and a knife; which plainly shews them to be ingenious, and capable of attaining all the liberal arts and sciences, under a proper cultivation.

The clothing of the Indians being very light, they provide themselves for the winter with hot-houses, whose properties are to retain, and reflect the heat, after the manner of the Dutch stoves. To raise these, they fix deep in the ground, a sufficient 451number of strong forked posts, at a proportional distance, in a circular form, all of an equal height, about five or six feet above the surface of the ground: above these, they tie very securely 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 same, or the like timber. Then, in the middle of the fabric they fix very deep in the ground, four large pine posts, 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 strong hold of the under posts and wall-plate. Then they weave them thick with their split sapplings, and daub them all over about six or seven inches thick with tough clay, well mixt with withered grass: when this cement is half dried, they thatch the house with the longest sort of dry grass, that their land produces. They first lay on one round tier, placing a split sappling 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 spire, where commonly a pole is fixed, that displays on the top the figure of a large carved eagle. At a small distance {419} below which, four heavy logs are strongly tied together across, in a quadrangular form, in order to secure the roof from the power of envious blasts. The door of this winter palace, is commonly about four feet high, and so narrow as not to admit two to enter it abreast, with a winding passage for the space of six or seven feet, to secure themselves both from the power of the bleak winds, and of an invading enemy. As they usually build on rising ground, the floor is often a yard lower than the earth, which serves them as a breast work against an enemy: and a small peeping window is level with the surface of the outside ground, to enable them to rake any lurking invaders in case of an attack. As they have no metal to reflect the heat; in the fall of the year, as soon as the sun begins to lose his warming power, some of the women make a large fire of dry wood, with which they chiefly provide themselves, but only from day to day, through their thoughtlessness of to-morrow. When the fire is a little more than half burnt down, they cover it over with ashes, and, as the heat declines, they strike off some of the top embers, with a long cane, wherewith each of the couches, or broad seats, is constantly provided; and this 452method they pursue 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 house, for want of windows and air, is full of hot smoky darkness; and all this time, a number of them lie on their broad bed places, with their heads wrapped up.

The inside of their houses is furnished with genteel couches to sit, and lie upon, raised on four forks of timber of a proper height, to give the swarming fleas some trouble in their attack, as they are not able to reach them at one spring: they tie with fine white oak splinters, a sufficient quantity of middle-sized canes of proper dimensions, to three or four bars of the same sort, which they fasten above the frame; and they put their mattresses a-top, which are made of long cane splinters. Their bedding consists of the skins of wild beasts, such as of buffalos, panthers, bears, elks, and deer, which they dress with the hair on, as soft as velvet. Their male children they chuse to raise on the skins of panthers, on account of the communicative principle, which they reckon all nature is possest of, 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 smelling, strength, cunning, {420} and a prodigious spring, they reckon such a bed is the first rudiments of war. But it is worthy of notice, they change the regimen in nurturing their young females; these they lay on the skins of fawns, or buffalo calves, because they are shy and timorous: and, if the mother be indisposed by sickness, her nearest female relation suckles the child, but only till she recovers. This practice gives a friendly lesson to such mothers, who, ostrich like, as soon as the tender infant sucks in the first breath of air, commit it to the swarthy breasts of a fœtid African to graft it on her gross stock.

Their stools they cut out of poplar wood, all of one piece, and of a convenient height and shape. Their chests are made of clapboards sewed to cross bars with scraped wet buffalo strings. Their domestic utensils consist of earthen pots, pans, jugs, mugs, jars, &c. of various antiquated sorts, which would have puzzled Adam, to have given them significant names. Their wooden dishes, and spoons made of wood and buffalo horn, shew something of a newer invention and date, being of nicer workmanship, for the sculpture of the last is plain, and represents things that are within the reach of their own ideas.

453Every town has a large edifice,^[261] which with propriety may be called the mountain house, in comparison of those already described. But the only difference between it, and the winter house or stove, is in its dimensions, and application. It is usually built on the top of a hill; and, in that separate and imperial state house, the old beloved men and head warriors meet on material business, or to divert themselves, and feast and dance with the rest of the people. They furnish the inside with genteel couches, either to sit or lie on, about seven feet wide, and a little more in length, with a descent towards the wall, to secure them from falling off when asleep. Every one takes his seat, according to his reputed merit; a worthless coxcomb dare not be guilty of the least intrusion—should he attempt it, he is ordered to his proper place, before the multitude, with the vilest disgrace, and bears their stinging laughter. This may not be an unprofitable lesson to some of our young red coated men, who never traversed the rough bloody fields of Flanders; they would be more respected if they were more modest, and displayed superior virtues to those whom they affect to despise. Thou, who boastest of the noble blood of the Scipios running in thy veins, {421} dost thou equal the brave actions of the Scipios? If not, thou art a disgrace to them; their virtue would renounce thee, and should make thee ashamed to own them.

Formerly, the Indians made very handsome carpets. They have a wild hemp that grows about six feet high, in open, rich, level lands, and which usually ripens in July: it is plenty on our frontier settlements. When it is fit for use, they pull, steep, peel, and beat it; and the old women spin it off the distaffs, with wooden machines, having some clay on the middle of them, to hasten the motion. When the coarse thread is prepared, they put it into a frame about six feet square, and instead of a shuttle, they thrust through the thread with a long cane, having a large string through the web, which they shift at every second course of the thread. When they have thus finished their arduous labour, they paint each side of the carpet with such figures, of various colours, as their fruitful imaginations devise; particularly 454the images of those birds and beasts they are acquainted with; and likewise of themselves, acting in their social, and martial stations. There is that due proportion, and so much wild variety in the design, that would really strike a curious eye with pleasure and admiration. J. W—t, Esq;^[262] a most skilful linguist in the Muskohge dialect, assures me, that time out of mind they passed the woof with a shuttle;^[263] and they have a couple of threddles, which they move with the hand so as to enable them to make good dispatch, something after our manner of weaving. This is sufficiently confirmed by their method of working broad garters, sashes, shot-pouches, broad belts, and the like, which are decorated all over with beautiful stripes and chequers. Probably, their method of weaving is similar to the practice of the eastern nations, when they came from thence, during the infant state of arts and sciences. People who were forced to get their daily bread in the extensive desarts with their bows and arrows, and by gathering herbs, roots, and nuts, would not be fond of making new experiments, but for the necessities of common life; and certainly they would not have chosen a more troublesome method of clothing themselves, if they knew an easier and quicker manner of effecting it—whoever knows anything of an Indian, will not accuse him of that sin. {422}

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 case with the German Americans. In the winter season, the women gather buffalo’s hair, a sort of coarse brown curled wool; and having spun it as fine as they can, and properly doubled it, they put small beads of different colours upon the yarn, as they work it: the figures they work in those small webs, are generally uniform, but sometimes they diversify them on both sides. The Choktah weave shot-pouches, which have raised work inside and outside. They likewise make turkey feather blankets with the long feathers of the neck and breast of that large fowl—they twist the inner end of the feathers very fast into a strong double thread of hemp, or the inner bark of the mulberry tree, of the size and strength of coarse twine, as the fibres are sufficiently fine, and they work it in the manner of fine netting. 455As the feathers are long and glittering, this sort of blankets is not only very warm, but pleasing to the eye.

They make beautiful stone pipes;^[264] and the Cheerake the best of any of the Indians: for their mountainous country contains many different sorts and colours of soils proper for such uses. They easily form them with their tomohawks, and afterward finish them in any desired form with their knives; the pipes being of a very soft quality till they are smoked with, and used to the fire, when they become quite hard. They are often a full span long, and the bowls are about half as large again as those of our English pipes. The fore part of each commonly runs out with a sharp peak, two or three fingers broad, and a quarter of an inch thick—on both sides of the bowl, lengthwise, they cut several pictures with a great deal of skill and labour; such as a buffalo and a panther on the opposite sides of the bowl; a rabbit and a fox; and, very often, a man and a woman puris naturalibus. Their sculpture cannot much be commended for its modesty. The savages work so slow, that one of their artists is two months at a pipe with his knife, before he finishes it: indeed, as before observed, they are great enemies to profuse sweating, and are never in a hurry about a good thing. The stems are commonly made of soft wood about two feet long, and an inch thick, cut into four squares, each scooped till they join very near the hollow of the stem; the beaus always hollow the squares, except a little at each corner to hold them together, to which they fasten a parcel of bell-buttons, different {423} sorts of fine feathers, and several small battered pieces of copper kettles hammered, round deer-skin thongs, and a red painted scalp; this is a boasting, valuable, and superlative ornament. According to their standard, such a pipe constitutes the possessor, a grand beau. They so accurately carve, or paint hieroglyphic characters on the stem, that the war-actions, and the tribe of the owner, with a great many circumstances of things, are fully delineated. This may seem strange to those who are unacquainted with the ancient skill of the Egyptians this way, and the present knowledge of the Turkish mutes. But so it is, and there is not perhaps the like number of mimic mutes on 456the face of the earth, nor ever were among the old Greek or Roman Pantomimi, as with the Indian Americans, for representing the great and minute things of life, by different gestures, movements of the body, and expressive countenances; and at the same time they are perfectly understood by each other.

They make the handsomest clothes baskets,^[265] I ever saw, considering their materials. They divide large swamp canes, into long, thin, narrow splinters, which they dye of several colours, and manage the workmanship so well, that both the inside and outside are covered with a beautiful variety of pleasing figures; and, though for the space of two inches below the upper edge of each basket, it is worked into one, through the other parts they are worked asunder, as if they were two joined a-top by some strong cement. A large nest consists of eight or ten baskets, contained within each other. Their dimensions are different, but they usually make the outside basket about a foot deep, a foot and a half broad, and almost a yard long.

The Indians, by reason of our supplying them so cheap with every sort of goods, have forgotten the chief part of their ancient mechanical skill, so as not to be well able now, at least for some years, to live independent of us. Formerly, those baskets which the Cheerake made, were so highly esteemed even in South Carolina, the politest of our colonies, for domestic usefulness, beauty, and skilful variety, that a large nest of them cost upwards of a moidore.

They make earthen pots^[266] of very different sizes, so as to contain from two to ten gallons; large pitchers to carry water; bowls, dishes, platters, {424} basons, and a prodigious number of other vessels of such antiquated forms, as would be tedious to describe, and impossible to name. Their method of glazing them, is, they place them over a large fire of smoky pitch pine, which makes them smooth, black, and firm. Their lands abound with proper clay, for that use; and even with porcelain, as has been proved by experiment.

They make perhaps the finest bows, and the smoothest barbed 457arrows, of all mankind. On the point of them is fixed either a scooped point of buck-horn, or turkey-cock spurs, pieces of brass, or flint stone. The latter sort our fore-fathers used, which our witty grandmothers call elfstones, and now rub the cows with, that are so unlucky as to be shot by night fairies. One of those flint arrow-points is reckoned a very extraordinary blessing in a whole neighbourhood of old women, both for the former cure, as well as a preservative against every kind of bewitching charm.

No people are more expert than the Indians in the use of fire-arms, and the bow and quiver: they can fresh stock their guns, only with a small hatchet and a knife, and streighten the barrels, so as to shoot with proper direction. They likewise alter, and fix all the springs of the lock, with others of the sort they may have out of use; but such a job costs the red artist about two months work.

They are good sadlers, for they can finish a saddle with their usual instruments, without any kind of iron to bind the work: but the shape of it is so antiquated and mean, and so much like those of the Dutch West-Indians, that a person would be led to imagine they had formerly met, and been taught the art in the same school. The Indians provide themselves with a quantity of white oak boards, and notch them, so as to fit the saddle-trees; which consist of two pieces before, and two behind, crossing 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 shaped it to the frame, they sew it with large thongs of the same skin, as tight and secure as need be; when it is thoroughly dried, it appears to have all the properties of a cuirass saddle. A trimmed bearskin serves for a pad; and formerly, their bridle was only a rope around the {425} horse’s neck, with which they guided him at pleasure. Most of the Choktah use that method to this day.

It is strange that all the Indians mount a horse on the off side as we term it, especially as their horses were originally brought from Europe. In the Choktah country, when I was going to a great ball play, at a considerable distance off, in company with several of the head-warriors, we alighted at a cool stream of water, to smoke, and drink parched corn-flour and water, according to our usual custom in the woods—when we again set off, we jested each other for mounting on the wrong side. They urged it was most natural, and commodious, to put the right 458foot into the stirrup, and at the same time lay hold of the mane with the strongest hand, instead of using either of the farthermost or opposite ones, as they term the left. They carried it against me by a majority of voices, whooping and laughing: but, as they were boasting highly of the swiftness of their horses, and their skill in riding and guiding them, much better with a rope than with a bridle, I resolved to convince them of their mistake; for as the horse I rode was justly named Eagle, and reckoned the swiftest of any in the Chikkasah country, I invited them to a trial by way of diversion, in so merry a season, and they gladly accepted the offer. We ranged ourselves in a broad row, on each side of the wood path, which was rather narrow and crooked, as is the case in their countries—they allowed me to take the center, and at the whoop signal of the by-standers we started. My horse being used to such diversion soon left them behind, a considerable distance; presently I luckily discovered a swampy thicket, a-head on my right hand, which ran almost our direct course along-side of a creek. As the wild coursers chiefly followed one another, according to their general custom, I there flew across, and led two of them off the path, into the thicket covered with high brambles. I had little trouble in disposing of the rest; my whooping, and cracking the whip, sent each of them along with his neighbour, at full speed, and I continued them so a great way: for, as their horses were frightened, the riders had no command over them, with their boasted neck bridles. The horses, at last, brought them out into the open woods, to their great joy, when they whooped and hallooed, as despising what they had undergone; they were however in a dismal pickle. For it being their custom to carry their ornaments, and looking glasses over their shoulder, {426} on such public occasions, my companions were fully trimmed out, and did not strip themselves, as they expected no such disaster. By stooping to save themselves from being dismounted, their favourite looking glasses were shattered to pieces, the paint mostly rubbed off their faces, their skins of small hawks, and tufts of fine plumes, torn from their heads, and their other ornaments, as well as their clothing and skin, shared also in the misfortune. As soon as they could stop their horses, they alighted: and, when I had done laughing at them, they according to custom, said only, La phene, “O strange!” The Indians are very happy in not shewing the least emotion of anger, for any mischance that befalls them, 459in their sportful exercises. I jested them in commending the swiftness of their horses, even through a bramble thicket, and applauded their skill in sitting, and guiding them so well, by the help of their neck bridles. By this time, the hindmost of our company came up, who laughed heartily at the sight of our tattered horsemen, and told them, that they expected I would jockey them in some such manner. But the young ambitious heroes ascribed the whole disaster only to the viciousness of my horse, saying “he was mad.”

From what hath been already said, it must be evident, that with proper cultivation, they would shine in higher spheres of life; and it is not an easy matter to seduce them from their supposed interests, to the incoherent projects, that our home-bred politicians confidently devise over their sparkling bowls and decanters. The friendly and warlike Indians have an intense affection to their country and people, and so have the British Americans: and whatever some may think of the colonists martial abilities, our wise statesmen may be soon convinced, that they will be able to maintain all the invaluable blessings of free men for themselves, and convey them to their posterity in their purity and lustre, according to the old English constitution, which is built on plain wholesome laws, and not on the sophisms of tyranny.^[267]

This leads me to speak of the Indian method of government.—In general, it consists in a fœderal union of the whole society for mutual safety. 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 pleasure, the {427} life or property of any who obey the good laws of their country, they consider that the transgressor ought to have his evil deeds retaliated upon himself in an equal manner. The Indians, therefore, have no such titles or persons, as emperors, or kings; nor an appellative for such, in any of their dialects. Their highest title, either in military or civil life, signifies only a Chieftain:^[268] they have no words to express despotic power, arbitrary kings, oppressed, or obedient subjects; neither can they form any other ideas of the former, than of “bad war chieftains of a numerous family, who inslaved 460the rest.” The power of their chiefs, is an empty sound. They can only persuade or dissuade the people, either by the force of good-nature and clear reasoning, or colouring things, so as to suit their prevailing passions. It is reputed merit alone, that gives them any titles of distinction above the meanest of the people. If we connect with this their opinion of a theocracy, it does not promise well to the reputed establishment of extensive and puissant Indian American empires. When any national affair is in debate, you may hear every father of a family speaking in his house on the subject, with rapid, bold language, and the utmost freedom that a people can use. 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 obstinate war leader will sometimes commit acts of hostility, or make peace for his own town, contrary to the good liking of the rest of the nation. But a few individuals are very cautious of commencing war on small occasions, without the general consent of the head men: for should it prove unsuccessful, the greater part would be apt to punish them as enemies, because they abused their power, which they had only to do good to the society. They are very deliberate in their councils, and never give an immediate answer to any message sent them by strangers, but suffer some nights first to elapse. They reason in a very orderly manner, with much coolness and good-natured language, though they may differ widely in their opinions. Through respect to the silent audience, the speaker always addresses them in a standing posture. In this manner they proceed, till each of the head men hath given his opinion on the point in debate. Then they sit down together, and determine upon the affair. Not the least passionate expression is to be heard among them, and {428} they behave with the greatest civility to each other. In all their stated orations they have a beautiful modest way of expressing their dislike of ill things. They only say, “it is not good, goodly, or commendable.” And their whole behaviour, on public occasions, is highly worthy of imitation by some of our British senators and lawyers.

Most of their regulations are derived from the plain law of nature. Nature’s school contemns all quibbles of art, and teaches them the plain easy rule, “do to others, as you would be done by;” when they are able, without greater damage to themselves 461than benefit to their creditor, they discharge their honest debts. But, though no disputes pass between them on such occasions, yet if there be some heart-burnings on particular affairs, as soon 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 easy. They have no compulsive power to force the debtor to pay; yet the creditor can distrain his goods or chattels, and justly satisfy himself without the least interruption—and, by one of his relations, he sends back in a very civil manner, the overplus to the owner. These instances indeed seldom happen, for as they know each other’s temper, they are very cautious of irritating, as the consequences might one day prove fatal—they never scold each other when sober—they conceal their enmity be it ever so violent, and will converse together with smooth kind language, and an obliging easy behaviour, while envy is preying on their heart. In general, they are very punctual in paying what they owe among themselves, but they are grown quite careless in discharging what they owe to the traders, since the commencement of our destructive plan of general licences. “An old debt,” is a proverbial expression with them, of “nothing.”

There are many petty crimes which their young people are guilty of,—to which our laws annex severe punishment, but their’s only an ironical way of jesting. They commend the criminal before a large audience, for practising the virtue, opposite to the crime, that he is known to be guilty of. If it is for theft, they praise his honest principles; and they commend a warrior for having behaved valiantly against the enemy, when he acted cowardly; they introduce the minutest circumstances of the affair, with severe sarcasms which wound deeply. I have known them {429} to strike their delinquents with those sweetened darts, so good naturedly and skilfully, that they would sooner die by torture, than renew their shame by repeating the actions. In this they exceed many christians. They are capable of being shamed 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 distemper; when inflicted publicly for petty crimes, the culprit loses what is most valuable to human nature, the sense of shame. He that watches for persons crimes, to benefit and enrich himself at their damage, and the ruin of their families, is an enemy to society. If it is beneath our dignity 462to learn from the untaught Indian, let us turn to the records of Athens, Sparta, and Rome. When their slaves were guilty of intemperance, they exposed them before their children, and thus shewed them its deformity. And, by that, they infused into them an early shame and abhorrence of vice, and a great love of virtue.

Formerly, the Indian law obliged every town to work together in one body, in sowing or planting their crops; though their fields are divided by proper marks, and their harvest is gathered separately. The Cheerake and Muskohge still observe that old custom, which is very necessary for such idle people, in their element. The delinquent is assessed more or less, according to his neglect, by proper officers appointed to collect those assessments, which they strictly fulfil, without the least interruption, or exemption of any able person. They are likewise bound to assist in raising public edifices. They have not the least trace of any other old compulsive law among them; and they did not stand in need of any other in their state. As they were neither able nor desirous to obtain any thing more than a bare support of life, they could not credit their neighbours beyond a morsel of food, and that they liberally gave, whenever they called. Most of them observe that hospitable custom to this day. Their throwing away all their old provisions, as impure food, whenever the new harvest was sanctified, helped greatly to promote a spirit of hospitality. Their wants, and daily exercise in search of needful things, kept them honest. Their ignorance of the gay part of life, helped in a great measure to preserve their virtue. In their former state of simplicity, the plain law of nature was enough; but, as they are degenerating very fast from their ancient simplicity, they, without doubt, must have new laws to terrify them from committing {430} new crimes, according to the usage of other nations, who multiply their laws, in proportion to the exigencies of time.

I shall now give their opinion of our social and military virtues; which joined with the foregoing, will set the Indians in a yet clearer light. We can trace people by their opinion of things, as well as if we saw them practise them. Most of them blame us for using a provident care in domestic life, calling it a slavish temper: they say we are covetous, because we do not give our poor relations such a share of our possessions, as would keep 463them from want.^[269] There are but few of themselves we can blame, on account of these crimes, for they are very kind and liberal to every one of their own tribe, even to the last morsel of food they enjoy. When we recriminate on the penurious temper of any of their people, they say, if our accusation 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 possessed of a great deal of yellow and white stone, of black people, horses, cows, hogs, and every thing else our hearts delight in—yet they create us as much toil and pain, as if we had none, instead of that ease and pleasure, which flow from enjoyment; therefore we are truly poor, and deserve pity instead of envy: they wish some of their honest warriors to have these things, as they would know how to use them aright, without placing their happiness, or merit, in keeping them, which would be of great service to the poor, by diffusing them with a liberal hand. They say, they have often seen a panther in the woods, with a brace of large fat bucks at once, near a cool stream; but that they had more sense than to value the beast, on account of his large possessions: on the contrary, they hated his bad principles, because he would needlessly destroy, and covetously engross, the good things he could not use himself, nor would allow any other creature to share of, though ever so much pinched with hunger. They reckon, if we made a true estimate of things, we should consider the man without any false props, and esteem him only by the law of virtue, which ennobles men by inspiring them with good sentiments and a generous disposition; they say they are sure, from sundry observations, we sell to the highest bidder, our high titles of war, which were only due to brave men who had often fought the enemy with success in defence of their country: that they had seen, even {431} in Charles-town, several young, lazy, deformed white men, with big bellies, who seemed to require as much help to move them along, as over-grown old women; yet they understood these were paid a great deal of our beloved yellow stone for bearing the great name of warriors, which should be kept sacred from the effeminate tribe, even if they offered to purchase it with their whole possessions.—That these titles should only be conferred on those 464who excel in martial virtue; otherwise, it gives a false copy of imitation to the young warriors, and thereby exposes the whole body of the people to contempt and danger, by perverting the means which ought to secure their lives and properties; for, when a country has none but helpless people to guard it from hostile attempts, it is liable to become a prey to any ambitious persons, who may think proper to invade it. They allow that corpulency is compatible with marking paper black with the goose quill; and with strong-mouthed labour, or pleading at law; because old women can sit best to mark, and their mouths are always the most sharp and biting. But they reckon if our warriors had gained high titles by personal bravery, they would be at least in the shape of men, if not of active brisk warriors; for constant manly exercise keeps a due temperament of body, and a just proportion of shape. They said, some were not fit even for the service of an old woman, much less for the difficult and lively exercises which manly warriors pursue in their rough element—that they could never have gone to war, but bought their beloved, broad paper with yellow stone, or it must have passed from father to son, like the rest of their possessions; and that by their intemperate method of eating and drinking without proper exercise, they had transformed themselves into those over-grown shapes, which our weavers, taylors, and plaiters of false hair, rendered more contemptible.

The old men tell us, they remember our colonies in their infant state,—that when the inhabitants were poor and few in number, they maintained prosperous wars against the numerous combined nations of red people, who surrounded them on all sides; because in those early days, the law of reason was their only guide. In that time of simplicity, they lived after the temperate manner of the red people. They copied after honest nature, in their food, dress, and every pursuit, both in domestic and social life. That unerring guide directed them aright, as the event of things publicly declared. {432} But time is now grown perverse and childish, and has brought with it a flood of corrupting ills. Instead of observing the old beloved rule of temperance, which their honest forefathers strictly pursued, they too often besot themselves with base luxury, and thereby enervate all their manly powers, so as to reduce themselves to the state of old women, and esteem martial virtue to consist in the unmanly bulk of their bodies, and the fineness and colour of their 465glittering coats and jackets: whereas such forms and habits only enable the red people to sort 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 coarse or fine, or what colour they are of. They say, their titles of war invariably bespeak the man, as they always make them the true attendants of merit, never conferring the least degree of honour on the worthless.—That corpulency, or a very genteel outward appearance would be so far from recommending any as war-leaders, that those qualities would render them suspected, till they gave sufficient proof of their capacity of serving their country—that when any distinguished themselves 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 shining virtues of the gallant men who wear them.

They often ridicule us, in our gay hours, that they have observed our nominal warriors to value themselves exceedingly on those unpleasant shapes and undue covering—that like contemptible shining lizards, they swelled their breasts almost as big as their bellies, spoke very sharp to the poor people who were labouring in distress, frowned with ugly faces at them (whereas they ought to have smiled, in order to make their hearts cheerful,) and kept them off at a great distance, with their hats in hand, as if they were black people. But such conduct, always a sure token of cowardice, testified with convincing clearness, they were unable to act the part of even an honest black man. The Indians imagine the corruption is become too general to be cured, without a thorough change of our laws of war, because when the head is sick, the feet cannot be well: and as our capital towns and regular troops are much infected with that depressing and shameful malady, they reckon our country places suffer much more by our fat fine men. They fail not to flourish away as much in their own favour, as against us, {433} saying, that though they are unskilful in making the marks of our ugly lying books, which spoil people’s honesty, yet they are duly taught in the honest volumes of nature, which always whisper in their ears, a strong lesson of love to all of their own family, and an utter contempt of danger in defence of their beloved country, at their own private cost; that they confer titles of honour only on those who deserve them,—that the speaking 466trophies of war declare the true merit of their contented warriors, without having the least recourse to any borrowed help. They say, that the virtue even of their young women does not allow them to bear the least 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 should unhappily produce so contemptible an animal. Imitation is natural, and the red people follow virtue in the old track of their honest fore-fathers, while we are bewildered by evil custom.

As their own affairs lie in a very narrow circle, it is difficult to impress them with a favourable opinion of the wisdom and justice of our voluminous laws—They say, if our laws were honest, or wisely framed, they would be plain and few, that the poor people might understand and remember them, as well as the rich—That right and wrong, an honest man and a rogue, with as many other names as our large crabbed books could contain, are only two contraries; that simple nature enables every person to be a proper judge of promoting good, and preventing evil, either by determinations, rewards, or punishments; and that people cannot in justice be accused of violating any laws, when it is out of their power to have a proper knowledge of them. They reckon, that if our legislators were not moved by some oblique views, instead of acting the part of mudfish, they would imitate the skilful bee, and extract the useful part of their unwieldy, confused, old books, and insert it in an honest small one, that the poor people might be able to buy, and read it, to enable them to teach their rising families to avoid snares, and keep them from falling into the power of our cunning speakers—who are not ashamed to scold and lie publickly when they are well paid for it, but if interest no longer tempted them to inforce hurtful lies for truth, would probably throw away all their dangerous quibbling books.—That the poor people might have easy redress and justice, this should become a public concern, and the Governor-Minggo, {434} all the head warriors, and old beloved men, should either entirely destroy those books, or in an artful manner send them to their enemy the French, in order to destroy their constitution: but they were of opinion, common sense would not allow even those to receive them, under any pretence whatsoever—therefore they ought to be burnt in the old year’s accursed fire. By that means, the honest poor could live in 467peace and quiet; for now they were unable by poverty, or backward by their honesty, to buy justice, in paying those people of cunning heads and strong mouths to speak the truth: and the hearts of rich knaves must then become honest, as they would not needlessly give those large bribes, for painting their black actions with a white colour.

They urge, that while litigious, expensive, and tedious suits are either encouraged by our artful speakers, or allowed by our legislators, the honest poor man will always be a great loser; which is a crying evil. Because he is humble, modest, and poor, his feeble voice cannot be heard. The combined body of the noisy rich must drown his complaints. His only satisfaction is, that his heart is honest, though that must prove very small comfort to a wife crying over helpless children, in a small waste house. They say, that as no people are born rogues, truth appears plain enough; for its native dress is always simple, and it never resides in troubled waters, but under the striking beams of the sun. It is not therefore just, either to compel, or tempt people to buy justice; it should be free to all, as the poor are not able to purchase it.

They affirm, that as all laws should be enacted by the joint voice of the honest part of the society for mutual good, if our great chieftain and his assistants refuse altering those that are hurtful to the people, we ought to set them aside on account of their ill principles, and for striving to support their own bad actions, by bad laws—that as wise free-men, we should with all speed chuse honest men in their room, to act the part of fathers of their country, and continue them just as long as they behaved such: for leading men are chosen only to do good to the people; and whenever they make a breach of their trust, injuring the public good, their places of course become vacant, and justly devolve to the people, who conferred them. Our law, they say, condemns little rogues, but why should it spare great ones? That we hang the former with strong ropes of hemp, {435} but we should first do so to, or shorten the heads of, the latter, with a poisoned tomohawk, as a just emblem of their mischievous poisoning conduct.

I told them, that the essential part of our laws was fixed and unalterable, and also the succession of each of our great chieftains, while they observe them faithfully, and order them to be honestly executed, but no longer. That formerly when the 468people’s hearts became sorely aggrieved, and bitterly vexed, as pride for unlimited power, had made some of the rulers heads giddy, the enraged community had shortened some of them, and drove away others from corrupting the beloved land, without any possibility of returning in safety. May none of our present or future statesmen, by wilful misconduct, and bad principles, be ever forced to appear at the dreadful bar of an abused and enraged community! for as they mete, so it will surely be meted to them again. The Indian system seems to coincide with the grand fundamental law—“A natura lex, a virtute rex;” which the great conqueror of the east feelingly declared in his last moments to be just, by willing his crown to him who most excelled in virtue.

The ill opinion they entertain of our courts of judicature, may have risen in some degree from the wrong information of our interpreters, who have occasionally accompanied them to the courts: but they generally retain a long time the first impressions they imbibe from any one they esteem. One law cause which the Chikkasah attended, proved tedious, and was carried contrary to their opinion of justice and equity: on their return to their own country, they said, that two or three of their old women would have brought in a quicker, and honester verdict. They compared our counsellors to the mercenary Choktah, who often kill people, and even one another, for the sake of a French reward, as they earnestly strove to draw suffering truth to their own side 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 dispassionately examine things, and always speak the naked truth; for its honest face hates a mask, having nothing to hide from a searching eye, and its dress plain and simple; that people can as easily distinguish it from falshood, as light from darkness, or clear and wholesome water from that which is turbid and hurtful, without giving up their reason to hired speakers, {436} who use their squint eyes and forked tongues like the chieftains of the snakes, (meaning rattle-snakes) which destroy harmless creatures for the sake of food. They say, that the quotation of dark quibbles out of their old books, should 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 honest cause is always plain, judgment is not given freely 469in its favour, and without the least delay; and insist, that every bad cause should meet with a suitable and severe award, in order to check vice, and promote virtue in social life.

One of the red Magi asked me, whether in our scolding houses,^[270] we did not always proportion the charges of the suit in debate, to the value of the debt, or damages. Suggesting that it was wrong to make a perplexed science of granting equity with any charges attending it, to honest poor people; that we should pity them on account of the distresses they labour under, and not in effect enslave or fine them because they are poor.

I told him and the rest of his brethren by way of excuse, that the different nature, and multiplicity of contracts in our great trading empire, with the immense difference that often happened between the eloquence and abilities of the contending parties, required a series of decisions of right and wrong to be recorded in books, as an invariable precedent to direct future public determinations, in disputes of the like nature; that most of our people were more unequal to each other in fine language than the bred lawyers; and that none were so fit to search, or could possibly understand those registers as well as they, because they spent the chief part of their time on such subjects. He granted that they might be useful members of the community, but doubted their honesty was too much exposed to the alluring temptations of our rich people’s yellow stone; and that though our forefathers were no doubt as wise and virtuous as we, yet they were but men, and sometimes had passions to gratify, especially in favour of a worthy and unfortunate friend, or relation, who was beloved. He said, the length of stealing time must have naturally occasioned such an event; and that our wise men ought to be so far from quoting a wrong copy, as a fixed precedent, that they should erase it out of their old court books, and profit by the foibles of the old, the wise and the good. {437}

At his request, I spoke also of our skilful physicians and quack-doctors—I told him that the former commonly cured the sick, or diseased, unless 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 seldom failed of poisoning their weak patients by slow degrees; and that we had old women likewise who frequently did much good with 470bare simples. He said, if our physicians used simples in due time, to assist nature, instead of burning corrosive mixtures, they would have no occasion to dismember poor people, cutting off their limbs in so horrid a manner, as several were reported to do; and that, if our law was so weak as not to condemn those to death, who took away the lives of low innocent people, yet the strong feelings of nature ought to incite the surviving relations of the murdered persons, to revenge their blood on the murderers, by beating them with long knobbed poles, while they were sensible of pain, and as soon as they recovered a little, to cut off their ears and nose with a dull knife, as in the case of adultery, in order to quench innocent blood, and teach unwary people to avoid and detest the execrated criminals. Here, the red audience highly applauded the wisdom and justice of his medical observations, because they exactly corresponded with their own standard in similar cases.

Well, said he, you have given us plainly to understand the high esteem the English bear to their people of cunning heads and strong mouths, and to the curers of ailments—If the former continue honest when they have gained deep knowledge in their old books; and the latter are successful in the killing, or healing quality of their strong medicines: We should rejoice, if you would likewise inform us, according to your written traditions, of the first rise of Oobache, “bringers of rain,” and of Ishtohoollo Echeto, “high-priests, popes, or arch-bishops;” whether the supreme 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 lessons to youth, to induce them to a strict observance of the divine law, as modesty and humility should always appear in the speech and behaviour of public teachers, on account of their charming influence—Inform us of their usefulness in religious and civil life, and the general opinion of the disinterested and wise part of the community concerning them; {438} as all nations of red people have lately heard a great deal of their unpeaceable, if not cruel disposition towards the British Americans, which their covetousness of heart, it is said, prompted them to, because they could not prevail upon them by their invented speeches, to give them the tenth part of the yearly produce of their honest labour—Let us know their true conduct over the broad water, whether they are covetous in demanding any part of the new harvest; 471and if the young people do not violate the marriage-law when the crops fail by the want of refreshing rains?

As the talk was disagreeable, I told him, had he been so particular in his enquiries concerning the two former classes, I could have much better informed him, as I had the pleasure of being long acquainted with many of them, who were learned, wise and benevolent, in a very great degree; and was convinced from my own knowledge, that several of them, not only spoke earnestly for honest poor people, and others cured them of their lingering ailments, without pay; but supplied them with needful utensils for planting provisions for their small families, till they could conveniently repay the value, in their own produce: but that as I neither had nor desired the least acquaintance with any of our high-placed beloved men, I was very unfit to handle such a long string of queries. He said, my denying to gratify their curiosity on so material a point, served only to raise it higher; especially as I had given them a very favourable opinion of the gentlemen of the other two classes; and he hoped, the religious men were at least as virtuous as those, that sacred office requiring them to give an honest copy to all others, as the young people imbibed from their teachers example either good or bad principles, which must benefit or injure themselves, and the community. He so earnestly importuned me to comply with his request, that, as an Indian divine, I thus addressed the attentive red congregation.

In past ages, most part of all nations of people sunk into ignorance not only of the old beloved speech, (or divine law) but of the very being of the great, supreme, holy Spirit; upon which account, the glimmering image imprest on their hearts, directed them to worship the sun, moon, and stars, because of their beneficial and powerful influence,—and the fire, light, and air, the three divine names and emblems. By {439} degrees, they chose an idol-god of such reputed qualities, as best suited with their own tempers, and the situation of their various countries, in order to receive temporal good things, and avert the opposite evils. In the length of forgetting time, they became so exceedingly stupid, as to worship vegetables, frightful and shameful images, filthy beasts, and dangerous snakes. Self-love seemed to have induced them to adore the two last through fear, and the bird also that preyed on them, became the object of their adoration. In this miserable state of darkness the world was involved, 472when the supreme fatherly chieftain, through tender pity to human weakness, appeared to your reputed ancestors, 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 striking prodigies, to impress them with a deep awe and reverence of his majesty. In time, they built a most magnificent beloved house, wonderful in its form, and for the great variety of beloved utensils, and emblems it contained. The ark was one of the three most divine symbols in it. Ishtohoollo Eloha became their chieftain, both at home, and at war. A wonderful emanation of the holy fire resided in the great divine house, while they listened to the voice of Loache, “the prophets,” which the holy chieftain sent to them in succession, to teach them his will as the fixt rule of all his actions. While their hearts continued honest, he enabled them to conquer their enemies, and to gain victories over formidable armies, which like the swarms of buzzing insects in your low lands, could not be numbered, and at length settled them in as happy a state as they could reasonably wish for.

A little before that time, he called himself A-Do-Ne-Yo, Minggo Ishtohoollo, “the divine chief;” but then, to your enlightened (and reputed) ancestors, Yo-He-Wah which signifies, “he lived always, and will never die.” It is he, whom you invoke in your sacred songs when you are drinking your cusseena, and you derived that awful invocation, and your ark of war, from them. He is the author of life and death, and consequently, the “master of our breath,” as the red people justly term him. He gave them Loache and Oobache, “Prophets and askers of rain,” and prescribed to them laws that were suitable for their own government. They chiefly consisted of sacred emblems of an early divine promise to mankind, which he faithfully performed; and when the end was answered, {440} those symbols ceased. The people were enjoined a very strict purity, both in civil and religious life, especially all the priests or beloved men; and in a particular manner, the great beloved man, or high priest. 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 state. The old beloved speech assures us, he was appointed as a representative of the people to Ishtohoollo Aba and, as a lively emblem of an extraordinary divine person, who was to be sent to instruct the whole earth, and purify them 473from all their pollutions; which the supreme 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 so great a command over nature, that through pity to the tender tears of the people, he awaked some who had slept a considerable time in the grave, in a warm country. They, who strove to lessen the merit of the surprising miracles he wrought, were not so weak as to deny the well known truth of them, as they had been performed at different places, and on different occasions, before a great many people, under the light of the sun, and were lasting. At last, he, as an uncommon kindly friend, gave up his innocent life to save his enemies from the burning wrath of the holy fire: and, while the anger of Loache Ishtohoollo lay very sharp on him, as the atoning victim, and his enemies were tormenting him with the most exquisite tortures, he earnestly spoke the beloved speech, and entreated in their favour, that he would not let his heart be cross with, nor revenge his blood upon them, as they imagined they were acting according to the divine law. As soon as that great beloved messenger died, all nature felt a prodigious shock. The graves opened, and the dead arose to see the cause of that alarming prodigy. The earth shook, the rocks burst asunder, the sun, contrary to the stated course of nature, was immediately darkened, the great beloved house rent asunder, and its guardian angels flew off to other countries: his death also exceedingly destroyed the power of Nana Ookproo, the evil spirits. On the third day, the master of breath awaked that great chieftain, prophet, and high priest, according to his former true speech; and when he arose, he was seen by multitudes of people, and fulfilled the old divine law, and confirmed every thing he formerly taught his humble, and kind hearted scholars. {441}

Till then, there were only twelve of them; but afterwards more were appointed in that religious station. They urged, that their sacred office, and the faithful discharge of all the duties attending it, engaged their close attention, and deserved an honest maintenance; but to check a covetous spirit among all beloved men of every rank, they freely spoke the beloved speech through every known country of the world, and maintained themselves by their own industry. As they travelled, eat, drank, 474and conversed daily with the great divine messenger, he perfectly taught them the divine law, which your supposed ancestors had received under very strong emblems. After his death, they spoke it with great boldness, and a most amazing power. They truly marked down on paper, most of the speeches and actions of their beloved master and themselves, without concealing their own foibles, for our instruction: and a great many true copies of them are transmitted over every quarter of the world, in different languages, which agree together, and with those early beloved books; though it is more than seventeen hundred years, since they were first drawn out by those beloved scholars. As their hearts were warmed in a very high degree, by the holy spirit of fire, the moral part of their lives were free from blemish, after the death of their master. In imitation of him, they suffered all kinds of hardships, 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 sick and diseased, and taught every one the true beloved speech, to purify them. As they were not proud, they were not drawn with beautiful prancing horses, in costly moving houses, but walked after the manner of their divine master, and instructed the attentive people, by their humble example, and honest lessons, in the most assured hope of receiving from Ishtohoollo Aba, a reward equal to their virtues, after they died, knowing they were to live anew in a happy state, free from the power of death. In this manner, they, by the earnest beloved speech of the great divine messenger, were cheerfully content, and firmly trusted in the goodness of the fatherly chieftain. Indeed, soon after they entered into their sacred office, they were jealous of their master’s giving preference to one, before the other of them; but he gave a strong lesson of humility and kindness for them, and all succeeding beloved men to pursue, by washing and wiping their feet with his own hands: and he assured them Ishtohoollo would always esteem them most, who acted best. {442}

All those beloved men, who do not join in religious communion with Oobache Ishtohoollo, tell us, that ancient records affirm, all of the priestly order (after the death of the divine messenger) were equal in their religious office, that deference excepted, which is always due to a virtuous seniority—and that as wisdom and virtue equally accompany either youth, middle, 475or old age, they continued in that brotherly state of religious simplicity, according to the true copy of the humble, all-loving, and beloved messenger, for the space of three hundred years after that period—and that, as the speech of the great divine messenger was marked in a copious language, which abounded with various words to express the same thing, the names of old men, overseers and bishops, signify one and the same rank of beloved men of the beloved house, according to the former humble conduct of their divine master; but that the words are now tortured through mercenary views, contrary to the plain simplicity of the primitive teachers. As holy things, and white emblems, are easily polluted and tarnished by people of impure hearts, and unclean hands, the divine law began then to lose its quickening influence over the beloved men of those large countries, where the sun rises out of the broad water. Their disputes ran high, and the longer they lasted, the sharper they grew. They, at last, referred them to the decision of the beloved men, toward the place where the daily sun is drowned in the great salt water, which is called Rome. As in affairs of state, so in religion, a remarkable precedent begets a custom, and this becomes a law with societies. In consequence thereof, an order of superior beloved men laid hold of this, and stretched the divine speech, so as to answer their own mercenary views.

In process of time, there sprung up a pretended great bringer of rain, who, like the hurtful spirits of corrupt darkness, by rejecting the divine speech, and despising the example of the holy messenger and his scholars, set up arrogantly for himself, against the supreme chieftain of the rain and thunder, claimed the tenth basket-full of the new harvest according to the obsolete law of your supposed ancestors, and even forgave adulterers, thieves, liars, incestuous persons, and those who accompanied with women in their lunar retreats, without any sort of purification, if they only paid him such a quantity of yellow stone, as he proportioned to the various degrees of each crime they committed. To enrich himself by their weakness, his whole tribe of black-dressed missionaries, by strict order, frightened the ignorant {443} and credulous, with the wild notion of wandering after death in the accursed place of darkness, without any possibility of avoiding that dreadful fate, unless they revealed all their crimes to them, and paid them a fixed price. Because pride and envy had spoiled some of the spirits above, and made 476them accursed beings; therefore, the messenger of Ishtohoollo, as I told you, strongly checked the like disposition in its first appearance among his scholars. But the pride of the Romish chieftain, and desire of absolute religious and civil power, became so unbounded, as to claim an unlimited authority over all the great chieftains on earth; and he boasted of being so highly actuated by the unerring divine wisdom, as to know and do every thing perfectly. He, at the same time, ordered all his scholars to involve the people in thick clouds of darkness, and impress them with a firm belief, that ignorance produces virtue. He invented a third state for the sake of his temporal interest, fixing it half way between people’s favourite place of living anew, and that of the horrible darkness, which was to be a vomiting or purging state of the dead, and called it purgatory; where the dead must unavoidably call, and be detained, till surviving relations satisfied them for their enlargement. He became so highly intoxicated by pride and power, that he erected images of such dead people as most resembled himself, with various other objects for the living to invoke, instead of the great eternal Yo He Wah, whom you supplicate in your religious invocations: and he marked for his black scholars, a great many very evil speeches, and spoke them with a strong mouth and ill heart, and enforced them by swords and fiery faggots, contrary to the old beloved speech which was confirmed by the anointed messenger.

At length, the holy spirit of fire influenced two great beloved men in particular, according to a former prediction, to speak to the people with a strong mouth, as witnesses of the divine truth. Their ears were honest in hearing the old beloved speech, and it sunk deep into their hearts. But a great many superstitious customs still remained, for had they aimed at a perfect establishment of the divine law in their religious worship, probably the high placed religious men through a covetous spirit would have opposed the reformation with all their might; as very few of them endeavoured to teach the young people, by honest examples, to live a virtuous life, or enabled them to get refreshing showers from Ishtohoollo Aba to make plentiful harvests—and yet they claimed a great part of it, and even {444} of the seed corn, without the least exemption of the poor, contrary to the tender feelings even of our indigent warriors and great canoe men, who stretch out a kindly hand to their poor brethren. That part of the old beloved speech, the tenth basket-full, was calculated 477only for your supposed predecessors, who consisted of twelve families; one of which was devoted to the divine service. Therefore, they were allowed some 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 same time to keep them humble, and make them hospitable to the widow, the fatherless, and the stranger. They, like the humble scholars of the great beloved messenger, were always poor; they honestly minded their religious duty, and were not allowed to purchase any land, nor to expose their virtue to the temptations of heaping up yellow stone, or employing their minds on any thing, except the divine law.

The lives and manners of the early teachers of the speech of the divine messenger, as I before told you, were also strictly just and blameless. They equally taught by precept and example; and their lessons, like those of their great master, were plain, simple, and holy. They were humble in their behaviour, and moderate in their apparel, food, and drink, and faithful in the discharge of their religious office: instead of assuming the arrogant title of divine chieftains, they honestly gave themselves the lowly name of Intooksare Ishtohoollo, “Servants of God,” in imitation of the life, precept, and example of the holy messenger, which strongly actuated their honest hearts. When they were weary after the toils of the day, by instructing the people, and working at their trade, as your beloved men do, they joyfully rested themselves in their humble cottages, and refreshed themselves with their homely fare; and there they instructed the young people to invoke Yo-He-Wah, and speak the divine speech. In this religious manner, they spent their time through various countries, by the direction of divine wisdom, as a strong pointed lesson to all succeeding beloved men to pursue, and they sealed the truth with their blood—such were the primitive teachers of the divine word. They lived and died in a state of equality; and were there any different degrees to be observed in the holy office of religion, learning and piety should recommend poor beloved men to the high seats of profit—but only toilsome places are now allotted them, with an allowance insufficient to support themselves, so that they cannot stretch out their kindly hand to the poor. {445}

The mouths and hearts of the superior beloved men in our day, shamefully contradict one another, to the discredit of the 478lively copy of the holy messenger and his beloved scholars, and the great danger of infecting those of inferior rank, by so pernicious and corrupt an example; for it is natural for the feet to follow the direction of the head. They were formerly a very insolent, covetous, and troublesome set; and being advanced by rich friends to the high sounding office of Mingo Ishtohoollo, “Divine chieftains,” or in their own stile, “Right Reverend Fathers in God,” princes and supporters of the church, great was their arrogance and power—taking advantage of the corruption of the times, they grafted themselves into the civil constitution, and to preserve their high and profitable places they became the fixed and strenuous supporters of courts, in all their measures. But they will very soon be purified. The beloved speech of Ishotoollo of old, has announced it, and that is always true. It has pointed to the present and approaching time, which is near to the end of measured time.

To shew you how well prepared those priestly princes are for that trying period, I shall give you the general opinion of the wise and honest people, on this and the other side of the broad water; by which you will see how far they agree with, or differ from, the original copy of the plain honest scholars of the anointed holy messenger.

They boast themselves to be the embassadors of the holy chieftain of the high church. They dwell in costly great houses, after the superb manner of our great civil chieftain; and they give them the same lofty name, Palaces, to distinguish them from the dwelling-houses of other mortals. Their dress is equally rich and singular, to strike the eye, and impress the hearts of the vulgar with a profound reverence of the divine priestly wearers. They have the revenue of princes to support their grandeur; and they are most exact in having it collected by litigious mercenaries, even to the tenth of the hive of bees, and of the unlawful and filthy young swine; and yet they act the part of Phohe Ishto, “Great drones, or drones of God,” as soon as they obtain their rich high seat, not speaking the divine speech to the people hardly three times a year. Their food consists of a great variety of the choicest, and most delicious sorts of fish, flesh, and fowl; their drink is of the richest white, yellow, and red grape water, with other costly liquors which your language cannot express. {446} They resort to the most gay assemblies in the world, for the sake of pleasure, leaving the multitude to the divine care, 479or the speakings of poor religious men who are hired at low wages to do their duty, as they themselves have enough to mind and secure properly temporal concerns. In this manner, do these lamps shine, and spend their days and nights, like the great chieftains of the earth; and when they die, their bodies are laid apart from the rest of mankind, in polished and costly tombs, adorned with nice strokes of art, to perpetuate their names—the long train of virtues they so highly possessed—their great learning and eloquence—the simplicity of their lives and manners—their faithful discharge of the various duties of their religious high office—their contempt of the grandeur and vanities of this transient world—their tenderness of heart to the cries of the poor; and their singular modesty and humility, a shining copy of imitation for common priests, and other spiritual chieftains, to pursue. These fine monuments are very pleasant to the eye, but honest men say that mercenary writers and artists do not act right to belie the dead.

My red beloved friends, such is the reputed life and death of those high-seated divine chieftains of the high church; your sharp natural reason will discern the close agreement there is between the humility and simplicity of their principles and lives, with those of the early overseers of the lowly divine house. It is said that some great beloved men have an earnest desire of sending a few of their own high office, to this side of the broad water, in order to appoint young beloved men; but we strongly suspect a dangerous snake in the grass; and esteeming them dead to the true interests of religion and liberty, we think they ought to keep them at home, and even recall their present troublesome missionaries from our settlements, and allow us to enjoy our former peace and quiet—We wish them to go to some poor dark countries, and instruct the people in the honest lessons of peace, love, and charity; which they would, if they only aimed at the good of mankind, and the honour of the supreme chieftain, according to the plain copy of the great beloved messenger and his kind-hearted faithful scholars. We wish the civil powers would not tempt the religious men’s virtue by such alluring delicious baits, as they propose to them, and that all ranks would become frugal and virtuous. {447}

Thus ended my Lecture. The reverend old red pontiff immediately asked, whether they had the accursed beings on the other side of the water? I told him, I hoped not—but the religious 480men often spoke a strong speech of evil to those they reckoned very bad, and turned them out of the beloved house, to the evil spirits of darkness. Upon which he requested me to mention any one of the crimes that might occasion such treatment. I told him, “I had heard of a gentleman, whose heart did not allow him to love his lady sufficiently, and she having by sharp watching discovered 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 considerable sum of money—he valuing it more than her, his heart did not allow him to give so much: whereupon a sharp speech of evil was spoken against him, and by that means he was said to become accursed.” My Indian friend said, as marriage should beget joy and happiness, instead of pain and misery, 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 possessions, whatsoever the woman brought with her, she ought to be allowed to take back when they separated, that her heart might weigh even, and nothing be spoiled.—That, in his opinion, such determinations belonged to the law, and not to the great beloved men; and, if he understood me aright, the beloved man threw away the gentleman to the accursed beings of darkness, not for having acted any thing against the divine law, but for daring to oppose the words of his mouth, in imitation of the first presumptuous great beloved man, who spoiled the speech of the divine messenger. Many natural, pertinent, and humorous observations, were made by him on what he had heard. {448}

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