family, and their well-pleased attendants, who are always as kindly
treated as brethren; and their various buildings, are like towers in
cities, beyond the common size of those of the Indians. Before the
Indians were corrupted by mercenary empirics, their good sense led them
to esteem the traders among them as their second sun, warming their
backs with the British fleeces, and keeping in their candle of life both
by plentiful support, and continual protection and safety, from the
fire-arms and ammunition which they annually brought to them. While the
Indians were simple in manners, and uncorrupt in morals, the traders
could not be reckoned unhappy; for they were kindly treated, and
watchfully guarded, by a society of friendly and sagacious people, and
possessed all the needful things to make a reasonable life easy. Through
all the Indian countries, every person lives at his own choice, not
being forced in the least degree to any thing contrary to his own
inclination. Before that most impolitic step of giving general licences
took place, only a sufficient number of orderly reputable traders were
allowed to traffic, and reside among the Indians: by which means the
last were kept under proper restraint, were easy in their minds, and
peaceable, on account of the plain honest lessons daily inculcated on
them. But at present, most of their countries swarm with white people,
who are generally the dregs and off-scourings of our colonies. The
description is so exceedingly disagreeable, that I shall only observe,
the greater part of them could notably distinguish themselves, among the
most profligate {413} by land or sea, no day of the week excepted,
indeed the sabbath day is the worst. This is the true situation of our
Indian affairs,—the unavoidable result of ignorant and wicked clergymen
settled as Missionaries on the frontiers; and of that pernicious
practice of general licences, by which crowds of disorderly people
infest the Indian countries, corrupt their morals, and put their
civilization out of the power of common means: the worst and meanest may
readily get nominal security to intitle them to a trading licence; and
ill uses are made of them with impunity.[254]
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
necessaries 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 the 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 to
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 among 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 perform
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 covering 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 number 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 method 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.
Every 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 the 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. As the feathers are long and glittering, this
sort of blankets is not only very warm, but pleasing to the eye.