Nature Hath So Fortify'd This Town,
With Mountains, That Were It A Seat Of War, It Might Easily
Be Made Impregnable; Having Large Corn-Fields Joining To Their Cabins,
And A Savanna Near The Town, At The Foot Of These Mountains,
That Is Capable Of Keeping Some Hundred Heads Of Cattle.
And all this
environ'd round with very high Mountains, so that no hard Wind ever troubles
these Inhabitants.
Those high Clifts have no Grass growing on them,
and very few Trees, which are very short, and stand at a great Distance
one from another. The Earth is of a red Colour, and seems to me
to be wholly design'd by Nature for the Production of Minerals,
being of too hot a Quality, to suffer any Verdure upon its Surface.
These Indians make use of Lead-Ore, to paint their Faces withal,
which they get in the neighbouring Mountains. As for the refining of Metals,
the Indians are wholly ignorant of it, being content with the Realgar.
But if it be my Chance, once more to visit these Hilly Parts,
I shall make a longer Stay amongst them: For were a good Vein of Lead
found out, and work'd by an ingenious Hand, it might be of no small Advantage
to the Undertaker, there being great Convenience for smelting,
either by Bellows or Reverberation; and the Working of these Mines
might discover some that are much richer.
At the Top of one of these Mountains, is a Cave that 100 Men
may fit very conveniently to dine in; whether natural, or artificial,
I could not learn. There is a fine Bole between this Place, and the Saps.
These Valleys thus hemm'd in with Mountains, would (doubtless) prove
a good place for propagating some sort of Fruits, that our Easterly Winds
commonly blast. The Vine could not miss of thriving well here;
but we of the Northern Climate are neither Artists, nor curious,
in propagating that pleasant and profitable Vegetable. Near the Town,
is such another Current, as Heighwaree. We being six in Company,
divided ourselves into Two Parties; and it was my Lot to be
at the House of Keyauwees Jack, who is King of that People.
He is a Congeree-Indian, and ran away when he was a Boy.
He got this Government by Marriage with the Queen; the Female Issue
carrying the Heritage, for fear of Impostors; the Savages
well knowing, how much Frailty possesses the Indian Women,
betwixt the Garters and the Girdle.
{Wednesday.}
The next day, having some occasion to write, the Indian King, who saw me,
believ'd that he could write as well as I. Whereupon, I wrote a Word,
and gave it him to copy, which he did with more Exactness,
than any European could have done, that was illiterate. It was so well,
that he who could read mine, might have done the same by his.
Afterwards, he took great Delight in making Fish-hooks of his own Invention,
which would have been a good Piece for an Antiquary to have puzzled
his Brains withal, in tracing out the Characters of all the Oriental Tongues.
He sent for several Indians to his Cabin, to look at his Handy-work,
and both he and they thought, I could read his Writing
as well as I could my own.
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