which, as it is not exacted with pride and infolence, nor maintained by tyranny, on one hand, fo it is never difputed, on the other, when it is due. The great Council is compofed of thefe Heads of tribes and families, with fuch whofe capacity has elevat ed them to the fame degree of confideration. They meet in a houfe, which they have in each of their towns for the purpose, upon every folemn occafion, to receive Ambaffadors, to deliver them an answer, to fing their traditionary war fongs, or to commemorate their dead. These Councils are public. Here they propofe all fuch matters as concern the ftate, which have already been digefted in the fecret Councils, at which none but the Head men assist. Here it is that their prators are employed, and display thofe talents which diftinguish them for eloquence and knowledge of public bufinefs, in both of which fome of them are admira ble. None else fpeak in their pub lic Councils; these are their Ambaffadors, and thefe are Commiffioners who are appointed to treat of peace or alliance with other nations. The chief skill of thefe orators confifts in giving an artful turn to affairs, and in expreffing their thoughts in a bold figurative manner, much stronger than we could bear in this part of the world, and with geftures equally violent, but often extremely natural and expreffive. When any business of confequence is tranfacted, they appoint a feaft upon the occafion, of which almoft the whole nation partakes. There are leffer feafts upon matters of lefs general concern, to which none are engaged in that particular business At these feafts, it is against all rule to leave any thing; fo that, if they cannot confume all, what remains is thrown into the fire; for they look upon fire as a thing facred, and, in all probability, thefe feafts were ancientJy facrifices. Before the entertainment VOL. XIII. is ready, the principal perfon begins a fong, the fubject of which is the fabulous or real history of their nation, the remarkable events which have happened, and whatever matters may make for their honour or inftruction. The others fing in their turn. They have dances too, with which they accompany their fongs, chiefly of a martial kind; and no folemnity or public bufinefs is carried on without fuch fongs and dances. Every thing is tranfacted amongst them with much ceremony; which in a barbarous people is neceffary; for nothing elfe could hinder all their affairs from going to confufion; bes fides that, the ceremonies contribute to fix all transactions the better in their memory. To help their memory, they have bits of fmall fhells of different colours, which have all a different meaning, according to their colour or ar rangement. At the end of every mat→ ter they difcourfe upon, when they treat with a foreign ftate, they deli ver one of these belts. If they should omit this ceremony, what they fay paffes for nothing. Thefe belts are carefully treasured up in each town, and they ferve for the public records of the nation; and to these they occafionally have recoutfe, when any contefts happen between them and their neighbours. Of late, as the matter of which thefe belts is made is grown fcarce, they often give fome fkins in the place of the wampum (for fo they call these belts in their language) and receive, in return, prefents of a more valuable nature; for neither will they confider what our Commiflioners fay to be of any weight; unless fome prefent accompanies each propofal. The fame Council of their Elders, which regulates whatever regards the external policy of the ftate, has the charge likewife of its internal peace and order. Their fuits are few, and quickly decided, having neither property nor art enough to render Fif them them perplexed or tedious. Criminal matters come before the fame ju rifdiction, when they are fo flagrant as to become a national concern. In ordinary cafes, the crime is either revenged or compromised by the parties concerned. If a murder is committed, the family which has loft a relation, prepares to retaliate on that of the offender. They often kill the murderer; and, when this happens, the kindred of the laft perfon flain look upon themselves to be as much injured, and think themselves as much juftified in taking vengeance, as if the violence had not begun amongft themselves. But, in general things are determined, in a more amicable manner. The offender abfents himfelf; his friends fend a compliment of condolence to thofe of the party murdered; prefents are offered, which are rarely refused; the head of the family appears, who in a formal speech, delivers the prefents, which confift often of above fixty articles, every one of which is given to cancel fome part of the offence, and to afwage the grief of the fuffering party. With the first he fays, By this I remove the hatchet from the wound, and make it fall out of the hands of him who is prepared to revenge the injury. With the fecond, I dry up the blood of that wound; and fo on, in apt figures, taking a way, one by one, all the ill confequences of the murder. As ufual, the whole ends in mutual feafting, fongs, and dances. If the murder is committed by one of the fame family or cabbin, that cabbin has the full right of judgment, without appeal, within itself, either to punith the guilty with death, or to parton him, or to force him to give fome recompence to the wife or children of the flain. All this while, the fupreme Authority of the nation looks on unconcerned, and never roufes its strength, nor exerts the fulness of a power more revered than felt, but The lofs of any one of their people, whether by a natural death or by war, is lamented by the whole town he belongs to. In fuch citcumftances, no business is taken in hand, however important, nor any rejoicing permitted, however interefting the occafion, until all the pious ceremonies due to the dead are performed. These are always performed with the greateft folemnity. The dead body is washed, anointed, and painted, fo as, in fome measure, to abate the horrors of death. Then the women lament the lofs, with the most bitter cries and the moft hideous howlings, intermixed with fong⇒ *The Towns are small, and, except the affairs of war or itate, they have no business to employ them, for the greatest part of the year, after the hunting feafen is over, the which celebrate the great actions of the deceased, and thofe of his anceftors. The men mourn in a lefs extravagant manner. The whole village attends the body to the grave, which is interred, habited in their moft fumptuous ornaments. With the body of the deceased are placed his bow and arrows, with what he valued moft in his life, and provifions for the long journey he is to take; for they hold the immortality of the foul univerfally, but their idea is grofs. Feafting attends this, as it does every folemnity. After the funeral, they who are nearly allied to the deceafed conceal themfelves in their huts for a confiderable time, to indulge their grief. The compliments of condolence are never omitted, nor are prefents wanting, upon this occafion. After fome time, they revifit the grave; they renew their forrow; they new cloath the remains of the body, and act over again the folemnities of the firft funeral Of all their inftances of regard to their deceased friends, none is fo ftriking as what they call the feaft of the dead, or the feaft of fouls. The day for this ceremony is appointed in the Council of their Chiefs, who give orders for every thing, which may enable them to celebrate it with pomp and magnificence. The riches of the nation is exhaufted on this occafion, and all their ingenuity difplayed. The neighbouring people are invited to partake of the feaft, and to be witneffes of the folemnity. At this time all who have died fince the laft folemn feat of that kind, are taken out of their graves. Those who have been interred at the greateft diftance from the villages are diligently fought for, and brought to this great rendezvous of carcaffes. It is not difficult to conceive the horror of this general difinterment. I cannot paint it in a more lively manner than it is done by Lafitau. Without qneftion, fays he, the opening of these tombs difplays one of the moft ftriking fcenes that cabe conceived; this humbing pourn trait of human mifery, in fo many images of death, wherein the feems to take a pleasure to paint herself in a thousand various fhapes of horror, in the feveral carcaffes, according to the degree in which corruption has prevailed over them, or the manner in which it has attacked them. Some appear dry and withered; others have a fort of parchment upon their bones; fome look as if they were baked and fmoaked, without any appearance of rottennefs; fome are just turning towards the point of putrefaction; whilst others are all fwarming with worms, and drowned in corruption. I know not which ought to ftrike us moft, the horror of fo fhocking a fight, or the tender piety and affection of thefe poor people towards their departed friends; for nothing deferves our admiration more, than that eager diligence and attention with which they difcharge this melancholy duty of their tenderness; gathering up carefully even the fmalleft bones; handling the carcaffes, difguftful as they are, with every thing loathsome; cleanfing them from the worms, and carrying them upon their shoulders through tiresome journeys of feveral days, without being difcouraged by their infupportable ftench, and without fuffering any other emotions to arife, than thofe of regret, for having loft perfons who were fo dear to them in their lives, and fo lamented in their death.' This ftrange feftivat is the most magnificent and folemn which they have; not only on account of the great concourfe of natives and ftrangers, and of the pompous reinterment they give to their dead, whom they dress in the fineft fkins they can get, after having expofed them fome time in this pomp; but for the games of all kinds which they celebrate upon the occafion, in the Eff a Spilit fpirit of thofe which the ancient Greeks and Romans celebrated upon fmaller occafions. In this manner do they endeavour to footh the calamities of life, by the honours they pay their dead; honours, which are the more chear fully paid, becaule in his turn each man expects to receive them himfelf. Though amongst thefe favage nations this cuftom is impreffed with ftrong marks of the ferocity of their nature, an honour for the dead, a tender feeling of their abfence, and a revival of their memory, are fome of the moft excellent inftruments for fmoothing our rugged nature into humanity. In civilized nations fuch ceremonies are lefs practifed, becaufe other inftruments for the fame purpofes are lefs wanted; but it is certain a regard for the dead is ancient and univerfal. Almoft the fole occupation of the Americans is war, or fuch an exercife as qvalines him for it. His whole glory confifts in this; and no man is at all confidered until he has increafed the ftrength of his country with a captive, or adorned his houte with the fcalp of one of his enemies. When the ancients refolve upon war, hey do not always declare what nation it is they are determined to attack, that the enemy, upon whom they really intend to fall, may be off his guard. Nay, they even fometimes let years pals over without committing any act of hoftility, that the vigilance of all may be unbent by the long continuance of the watch, and the uncertainty of the danger. In the mean time they are not idle at home. The principal Captain fuminonfes the youth of the town to which he belongs; the war-kettle is fet on fire; the war fongs and dances commence, the hatchet is fent to all the villages of the fame nation, and to all its allies; the fine catches, the war fongs are heard in all parts, and the most hideous howlings continue without intermif fion day and night over that whole tract of country. The women add their cries to thofe of the men, lamenting thofe whom they have either loft in war, or by a natural death, and demanding their places to be fupplied from their enemies, ftimulating the young men by a fenfe of fhame, which women know how to excite in the strongest manner, and can take the best advantage of when excited. All When by these, and every other means, the fury of the nation is raifed to the greateft height, and all long to imbrew their hands in blood, the war Captain prepares the feaft, which confifts of dogs flesh. that partake of this feaft receive little billets, which are so many engagements which they take to be faithful to each other, and obedient to their Commander. None are forced to the war; but, when they have accepted this billet, they are lifted, and it is then death to recide. All the warriors in this af fembly have their faces blackened with charcoal, intermixed with dashes and treaks of vermillion, which give them a moft horrid appearance, Their hair is dreffed up in an odd manner, with feathers of various kinds. In this affembly, which is preparatory to their military expedition, the Chief begins the war fong; which having continued for fome time, he raifes his voice to the higheft pitch, and, turning off fuddenly to a fort, of prayer, he addreffes himself to the god of war, whom they call Arefkoui. I invoke thee, fays he, to be favourable to my enterprife! I invoke thy care upon me and my family! I invoke you likewife, all ye fpirits and demons good and evil! All ye that are in th fkies, or on the earth, or under the earth, to pour deftruction upon our enemies, and to return me and my companions fafely to our country.' All the warriors join him in this prayer with fhouts and acclama tions. The Captain renews his fong, ftrikes his club against the stakes of his cottage, and begins the war dance, accompanied with the fhouts of all his companions, which continue as long as he dances. The day appointed for their departure being arrived, they take leave of their friends; they change their cloaths, or whatever moveables they have, in token of mutual friendship; their wives and female relations go out before them, and attend at fome distance from the town. The warriors march out all dreffed in their finest apparel, and most fhewy ornaments, regularly one after another, for they never march in rank. The Chief walks flowly on before them, finging the death fong, whilst the reft obferve the most profound filence. When they come up to their women, they deliver up to them all their finery, put on their worst cloaths, and then proceed as their Commander thinks fit. Their motives for engaging in a war are rarely those views which excite us to it. They have no other end but the glory of the victory, or the benefit of the flaves which it enables them to add to the nation, or facrifice to their brutal fury; and it is rare that they take any pains to give their wars even a colour of justice. It is no way uncommon among them for the young men to make feats of dogs flesh, and war dances, in fmall parties, in the midft of the most profound peace. They fall fometimes on one nation, fometimes on another, and furprize fome of their hunters, whom they fcalp or bring home as prifoners. Their Senators wink at rhis, or rather encourage it, as it tends to keep up the martial spirit of their people, inures them to watchfulness and hardship, and gives them an early tafte for blood. The qualities in an Indian war are vigilance and attention, to give and to avoid a furprife, and patience and ftrength, to endure the intolerable fatigues and hardships which always attend it. The nations of Ameriba are at an immenfe distance from each other with a vaft defart frontier, and hid in the bofom of hideous, and almoft boundless forefts. These must be traverfed before they meet an enemy, who is often at fuch a distance as might be fuppofed to prevent either quarrel or danger. But, notwithstanding the fecrecy of the deftination of the party that first moves, the enemy has frequently notice of it, is prepared for the attack, and ready to take advantage in the fame manner of the leaft want of vigilance in the aggreffors. Their whole of war confifts in this: They never fight in the open field, but upon fome very extraordinary occafions; not for cowardice, for they are brave; but they defpife this method, as unworthy an able warrior, and as an affair in which fortune governs more than prudence. The principal things which help them to find out their ene mies are the fmoke of their fires, which they smell at a distance almoft incredible; and their tracks, in the difcovery and diftinguishing of which they are poffefféd of a fagacity equally aftonish ing; for they will tell in the footsteps, which to us would feem most confufed, the number of men that have paffed, and the length of time since they have paffed; they even go fo far as to diftinguifh the feveral nations by the different marks of their feet, and to perceive footsteps, where we could diftinguish nothing lefs. A mind diligently intent upon one thing, and exercised by long experience, will go lengths at firft view fcarcely credible. But as they who are attended have the fame knowledge, and know how to draw the fame advantages from it, their great addrefs is to baffle each other in thefe points. On the expedition they lite no fire to warm themselves, or prepare their victuals, but fubfift merely on the miferable pittance of fome of their meal mixed with water; they lie close to |
