They Say, It Is Our Duty
Thus To Do; For There Are Several Works That One Man Cannot Effect,
Therefore
We must give him our Help, otherwise our Society will fall,
and we shall be depriv'd of those urgent Necessities
Which Life requires.
{Indians no Fences.} They have no Fence to part one anothers Lots
in their Corn-Fields; but every Man knows his own, and it scarce ever happens,
that they rob one another of so much as an Ear of Corn,
which if any is found to do, he is sentenced by the Elders
to work and plant for him that was robb'd, till he is recompensed
for all the Damage he has suffer'd in his Corn-Field;
and this is punctually perform'd, and the Thief held in Disgrace,
that steals from any of his Country-Folks. {Indians Charity to Widows.}
It often happens, that a Woman is destitute of her Husband,
and has a great many Children to maintain; such a Person they always help,
and make their young men plant, reap, and do every thing
that she is not capable of doing herself; yet they do not allow any one
to be idle, but to employ themselves in some Work or other.
{Indian Women no Scolds.}
They never fight with one another, unless drunk, nor do you ever hear
any Scolding amongst them. They say, the Europeans are always
rangling and uneasy, and wonder they do not go out of this World, since they
are so uneasy and discontented in it. All their Misfortunes and Losses
end in Laughter; for if their Cabins take Fire, and all their Goods
are burnt therein, (indeed, all will strive to prevent farther Damage,
whilst there is any Possibility) yet such a Misfortune ends
in a hearty Fitt of Laughter, unless some of their Kinsfolks and Friends
have lost their Lives; but then the Case is alter'd, and they become
very pensive, and go into deep Mourning, which is continued
for a considerable Time; sometimes longer, or shorter, according to
the Dignity of the Person, and the Number of Relations he had near him.
The Burial of their Dead is perform'd with a great deal of Ceremony,
in which one Nation differs, in some few Circumstances, from another,
yet not so much but we may, by a general Relation, pretty nearly account
for them all.
{Indian Burial of their Dead.}
When an Indian is dead, the greater Person he was, the more expensive
is his Funeral. The first thing which is done, is, to place
the nearest Relations near the Corps, who mourn and weep very much,
having their Hair hanging down their Shoulders, in a very forlorn manner.
After the dead Person has lain a Day and a Night, in one of their
Hurdles of Canes, commonly in some Out-House made for that purpose,
those that officiate about the Funeral, go into the Town, and the first
young Men they meet withal, that have Blankets or Match Coats on,
whom they think fit for their Turn, they strip them from their Backs,
who suffer them so to do, without any Resistance. In these
they wrap the dead Bodies, and cover them with two or three Mats,
which the Indians make of Rushes or Cane; and last of all,
they have a long Web of woven Reeds, or hollow Canes, which is
the Coffin of the Indians, and is brought round several times,
and tied fast at both ends, which indeed, looks very decent and well.
Then the Corps is brought out of the House, into the Orchard of Peach-Trees,
where another Hurdle is made to receive it, about which comes
all the Relations and Nation that the dead Person belong'd to,
besides several from other Nations in Alliance with them;
all which sit down on the Ground, upon Mats spread there, for that purpose;
where the Doctor or Conjurer appears; and, after some time,
makes a Sort of `O-yes', at which all are very silent; then he begins
to give an Account, who the dead Person was, and how stout a Man
he approv'd himself; how many Enemies and Captives he had kill'd and taken;
how strong, tall, and nimble he was; that he was a great Hunter,
a Lover of his Country, and possess'd of a great many beautiful
Wives and Children, esteem'd the greatest of Blessings among these Savages,
in which they have a true Notion. {Indian Funeral Sermon.}
Thus this Orator runs on, highly extolling the dead Man,
for his Valour, Conduct, Strength, Riches, and Good-Humour;
and enumerating his Guns, Slaves and almost every thing
he was possess'd of, when living. After which, he addresses himself
to the People of that Town or Nation, and bids them supply
the dead Man's Place, by following his steps, who, he assures them,
is gone into the Country of Souls, (which they think lies a great way off,
in this World, which the Sun visits, in his ordinary Course)
and that he will have the Enjoyment of handsome young Women,
great Store of Deer to hunt, never meet with Hunger, Cold or Fatigue,
but every thing to answer his Expectation and Desire.
This is the Heaven they propose to themselves; but, on the contrary,
for those Indians that are lazy, thievish amongst themselves,
bad Hunters, and no Warriours, nor of much Use to the Nation,
to such they allot, in the next World, Hunger, Cold, Troubles, old ugly Women
for their Companions, with Snakes, and all sorts of nasty Victuals to feed on.
Thus is mark'd out their Heaven and Hell. {Indian Traditions.}
After all this Harangue, he diverts the People with some of their Traditions,
as when there was a violent hot Summer, or very hard Winter;
when any notable Distempers rag'd amongst them; when they were at War
with such and such Nations; how victorious they were; and what were
the Names of their War-Captains. To prove the times more exactly,
he produces the Records of the Country, which are a Parcel of Reeds,
of different Lengths, with several distinct Marks, known to none
but themselves; by which they seem to guess, very exactly,
at Accidents that happen'd many Years ago; nay two or three Ages or more.
The Reason I have to believe what they tell me, on this Account,
is, because I have been at the Meetings of several Indian Nations;
and they agreed, in relating the same Circumstances, as to Time,
very exactly; {A hard Winter.} as, for Example, they say,
there was so hard a Winter in Carolina, 105 years ago,
that the great Sound was frozen over, and the Wild Geese came into the Woods
to eat Acorns, and that they were so tame, (I suppose, through Want)
that they kill'd abundance in the Woods, by knocking them on the Head
with Sticks.
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