The History of Virginia Part 12

Out of the ground they dig trubs, earth nuts, wild onions, and a tuberous root they call tuckahoe, which while crude is of a very hot and virulent quality: but they can manage it so, as in case of necessity, to make bread of it, just as the East Indians and those of Egypt are said to do of coloca.s.sia, or the West Indians of ca.s.sava. It grows like a flag in the miry marshes, having roots of the magnitude and taste of Irish potatoes, which are easy to be dug up.

-- 16. They accustom themselves to no set meals, but eat night and day, when they have plenty of provisions, or if they have got any thing that is a rarity. They are very patient of hunger, when by any accident they happen to have nothing to eat; which they make more easy to themselves by girding up their bellies, just as the wild Arabs are said to do in their long marches; by which means they are less sensible of the impressions of hunger.

-- 17. Among all this variety of food, nature hath not taught them the use of any other drink than water; which though they have in cool and pleasant springs every where, yet they will not drink that if they can get pond water, or such as has been warmed by the sun and weather.

Baron Lahontan tells of a sweet juice of maple, which the Indians to the northward gave him, mingled with water; but our Indians use no such drink. For their strong drink they are altogether beholden to us, and are so greedy of it, that most of them will be drunk as often as they find an opportunity; notwithstanding which it is a prevailing humor among them, not to taste any strong drink at all, unless they can get enough to make them quite drunk, and then they go as solemnly about it as if it were part of their religion.

-- 18. Their fashion of sitting at meals is on a mat spread on the ground, with their legs lying out at length before them, and the dish between their legs; for which reason they seldom or never sit more than two together at a dish, who may with convenience mix their legs together and have the dish stand commodiously to them both, as appears by the figure.

The spoons which they eat with do generally hold half a pint; and they laugh at the English for using small ones, which they must be forced to carry so often to their mouths that their arms are in danger of being tired before their belly.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Lith. of Ritchies & Dunnavant Richmond._ Tab. 10. Book 3 Pag. 141]

TAB. X. Is a man and his wife at dinner.

No. 1. Is their pot boiling with h.o.m.ony and fish in it.

2. Is a bowl of corn, which they gather up in their fingers, to feed themselves.

3. The tomahawk, which he lays by at dinner.

4. His pocket, which is likewise stripped off, that he may be at full liberty.

5. A fish. } } Both ready for dressing.

6. A heap of roasting ears.}

7. The gourd of water.

8. A c.o.c.kle sh.e.l.l, which they sometimes use instead of a spoon.

9. The mat they sit on.

All other matters in this figure are understood by the foregoing and following descriptions.

CHAPTER V.

OF THE TRAVELING, RECEPTION AND ENTERTAINMENT OF THE INDIANS.

-- 19. Their travels they perform altogether on foot, the fatigue of which they endure to admiration. They make no other provision for their journey but their gun or bow, to supply them with food for many hundred miles together. If they carry any flesh in their marches, they barbecue it, or rather dry it by degrees, at some distance over the clear coals of a wood fire; just as the Charibees are said to preserve the bodies of their kings and great men from corruption. Their sauce to this dry meat, (if they have any besides a good stomach,) is only a little bear's oil, or oil of acorns; which last they force out by boiling the acorns in a strong lye. Sometimes also in their travels each man takes with him a pint or quart of rockah.o.m.onie, that is, the finest Indian corn parched and beaten to powder. When they find their stomach empty, (and cannot stay for the tedious cookery of other things,) they put about a spoonful of this into their mouths and drink a draught of water upon it, which stays their stomachs, and enables them to pursue their journey without delay. But their main dependence is upon the game they kill by the way, and the natural fruits of the earth. They take no care about lodging in these journeys, but content themselves with the shade of a tree or a little high gra.s.s.

When they fear being discovered or followed by an enemy in their marches, they every morning, having first agreed where they shall rendezvous at night, disperse themselves into the woods, and each takes a several way, that so the gra.s.s or leaves being but singly pressed, may rise again and not betray them. For the Indians are very artful in following a track, even where the impressions are not visible to other people, especially if they have any advantage from the looseness of the earth, from the stiffness of the gra.s.s, or the stirring of the leaves, which in the winter season lie very thick upon the ground; and likewise afterwards, if they do not happen to be burned.

When in their travels they meet with any waters which are not fordable, they make canoes of birch bark, by slipping it whole off the tree in this manner: First, they gash the bark quite round the tree, at the length they would have the canoe off, then slit down the length from end to end; when that is done, they with their tomahawks easily open the bark and strip it whole off. Then they force it open with sticks in the middle, slope the under side of the ends and sow them up, which helps to keep the belly open; or if the birch trees happen to be small they sow the bark of two together. The seams they daub with clay or mud, and then pa.s.s over in these canoes, by two, three, or more at a time, according as they are in bigness. By reason of the lightness of these boats, they can easily carry them over land, if they foresee that they are like to meet with any more waters that may impede their march; or else they leave them at the water side, making no farther account of them, except it be to repa.s.s the same waters in their return. See the resemblance, Tab. 6.

-- 20. They have a peculiar way of receiving strangers, and distinguishing whether they come as friends or enemies, though they do not understand each other's language: and that is by a singular method of smoking tobacco, in which these things are always observed:

1. They take a pipe much larger and bigger than the common tobacco pipe, expressly made for that purpose, with which all towns are plentifully provided; they call them the pipes of peace.

2. This pipe they always fill with tobacco, before the face of the strangers, and light it.

3. The chief man of the Indians, to whom the strangers come, takes two or three whiffs, and then hands it to the chief of the strangers.

4. If the stranger refuses to smoke in it, 'tis a sign of war.

5. If it be peace, the chief of the strangers takes a whiff or two in the pipe, and presents it to the next great man of the town they come to visit; he, after taking two or three whiffs, gives it back to the next of the strangers, and so on alternately, until they have past all the persons of note on each side, and then the ceremony is ended.

After a little discourse, they march together in a friendly manner into the town, and then proceed to explain the business upon which they came.

This method is as general a rule among all the Indians of those parts of America as the flag of truce is among the Europeans. And though the fashion of the pipe differ, as well as the ornaments of it, according to the humor of the several nations, yet 'tis a general rule to make these pipes remarkably bigger than those for common use, and to adorn them with beautiful wings and feathers of birds, as likewise with peak, beads, or other such foppery. Father Lewis Henepin gives a particular description of one that he took notice of among the Indians upon the lakes wherein he traveled. He describes it by the name of the calumet of peace, and his words are these, Book I., chap. 24:

"This calumet is the most mysterious thing in the world among the savages of the continent of the Northern America; for it is used in all their important transactions: however, it is nothing else but a large tobacco pipe, made of red, black or white marble; the head is finely polished, and the quill, which is commonly two feet and a half long, is made of a pretty strong reed or cane, adorned with feathers of all colors, interlaced with locks of women's hair. They tie it to two wings of the most curious birds they can find, which makes their calumet not much unlike Mercury's wand, or that staff amba.s.sadors did formerly carry when they went to treat of peace. They sheath that reed into the neck of birds they call huars, which are as big as our geese, and spotted with black and white; or else of a sort of ducks, which make their nests upon trees, though the water be their ordinary element, and whose feathers be of many different colors. However, every nation adorns their calumet as they think fit, according to their own genius, and the birds they have in their country.

"Such a pipe is a pa.s.s and safe conduct among all the allies of the nation who has given it. And in all emba.s.sies, the amba.s.sador carries that calumet, as the symbol of peace, which is always respected: for the savages are generally persuaded, that a great misfortune would befall them, if they violated the public faith of the calumet.

"All their enterprises, declarations of war, or conclusions of peace, as well as all the rest of their ceremonies, are sealed, (if I may be permitted to say so,) with this calumet: They fill that pipe with the best tobacco they have, and then present it to those with whom they have concluded any great affair, and smoke out of the same after them."

In tab. 6, is seen the calumet of peace, drawn by Lahontan, and one of the sort which I have seen.

-- 21. They have a remarkable way of entertaining all strangers of condition, which is performed after the following manner: First, the king or queen, with a guard and a great retinue, march out of the town, a quarter or half a mile, and carry mats for their accommodation. When they meet the strangers, they invite them to sit down upon those mats.

Then they pa.s.s the ceremony of the pipe, and afterwards, having spent about half an hour in grave discourse, they get up, all together, and march into the town. Here the first compliment is to wash the courteous traveler's feet; then he is treated at a plentiful entertainment, served up by a great number of attendants; after which he is diverted with antique Indian dances, performed both by men and women, and accompanied with great variety of wild music. At this rate he is regaled till bedtime, when a brace of young, beautiful virgins are chosen to wait upon him that night for his particular refreshment. These damsels are to undress this happy gentleman, and as soon as he is in bed, they gently lay themselves down by him, one on one side of him, and the other on the other. They esteem it a breach of hospitality, not to submit to everything he desires of them. This kind ceremony is used only to men of great distinction--and the young women are so far from suffering in their reputation for this civility, that they are envied for it by all the other girls, as having had the greatest honor done them in the world.

After this manner, perhaps, many of the heroes were begotten in old time, who boasted themselves to be the sons of some wayfaring G.o.d.

CHAPTER VI.

OF THE LEARNING AND LANGUAGES OF THE INDIANS.

-- 22. These Indians have no sort of letters to express their words by; but when they would communicate anything that cannot be delivered by message, they do it by a sort of hieroglyphic, or representation of birds, beasts, or other things, shewing their different meaning by the various forms described, and by the different position of the figures.

Baron Lahontan, in his second volume of New Voyages, has two extraordinary chapters concerning the heraldry and hieroglyphics of the Indians; but I, having had no opportunity of conversing with our Indians since that book came to my hands, nor having ever suspected them to be acquainted with heraldry, I am not able to say anything upon that subject.

The Indians, when they travel ever so small a way, being much embroiled in war one with another, use several marks painted upon their shoulders to distinguish themselves by, and show what nation they are of. The usual mark is one, two, or three arrows. One nation paints these arrows upwards, another downwards, a third sideways--and others again use other distinctions, as in tab. 2, from whence it comes to pa.s.s, that the Virginia a.s.sembly took up the humor of making badges of silver, copper or bra.s.s, of which they gave a sufficient number to each nation in amity with the English, and then made a law, that the Indians should not travel among the English plantations without one of these badges in their company, to show that they are friends. And this is all the heraldry that I know is practiced among the Indians.

-- 23. Their languages differ very much, as anciently in the several parts of Britain; so that nations at a moderate distance do not understand one another. However, they have a sort of general language, like what Lahontan calls the Algonkine, which is understood by the chief men of many nations, as Latin is in most parts of Europe, and Lingua Franca quite through the Levant.

The general language here used is said to be that of the Occaneeches, though they have been but a small nation ever since those parts were known to the English; but in what this language may differ from that of the Algonkines, I am not able to determine.

CHAPTER VII.