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 glittering 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 trophies 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 peace 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 people’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 in 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 bare 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; and 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, when 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 from 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, and 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}