Sketches, historical and descriptive, of Louisiana, Part 31

Author: Stoddard, Amos, 1762-1813
Publication date: 1812
Publisher: Philadelphia : Published by Mathew Carey
Number of Pages: 978


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A little to the southward of these mines, and on a branch of the Arkansas, nature furnishes a singular phe- nomenon. On the side of a small hill five holes or basons may be seen sunk in a horizontal rock, which are always full of salt water, but never overflow. When water is taken from them, they instantly fill again. About ten feet below them a large spring of pure fresh water flows from the same hill.


There is another extraordinary appearance of salt, de- nominated by some the salt mountain, though its position and extent have been variously related : It is supposed to be situated at the head of one of the western branches of the Arkansas. This mountain, if it may be so called, has been visited by Indians only, and on them we are unfor- tunately obliged to rely for a description of it.


The Osages are well' acquainted with this place. While the Spanish government existed they made frequent ex- , cursions to the borders of New Mexico, partly to obtain wild horses, and partly to depredate on the Indians in that quarter. From this mountain they obtained their supplies of salt, though it is situated about twenty five miles out of their common route. They uniformly describe a high 3 F


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bluff or mountain composed of a solid mass of fossil salt, and covered with a thin stratum of earth ; at the base of which issues a large salt spring, sufficient in size to be na- vigable soon after it reaches the plains ; and this, from the concurrent testimony of those Indians, appears to form one of the principal western branches of the Arkansas. They first remove the earth, and then break the salt into such fragments as are convenient to be carried on their horses. Of the extent of this saline mass they are totally ignorant ; nor are they able to state any other particulars concerning it. Salt rock, and salt springs are common in this country. In the winter season, the salt oozes from those rocks facing the sun, and forms an incrustation on' them. Salt springs so hot as to boil fresh meat are some- times found ; and for this purpose they are visited by the Indians and other hunters.


The existence of such a salt bluff or mountain as is mentioned is partly confirmed by the following facts. Du- ring the winters of 1771 and 1772 a gentleman now living at Vincennes pursued the peltry trade on the Arkansas. IIe ascended that river about eight hundred miles, and then entered what is called the western branch of it; the water of which was as red as vermillion, and as salt as the ocean. The freshes in the spring inundated the bottoms along the branch, and when the waters subsided the sur- face of the earth thus deluged, was found to be covered with a sheet of salt, from three to five inches in thickness! This relation, so far as it respects the color and saline qua- lities of the water, is fully attested by an officer, who, in the spring of 1806, explored the lower half of the Arkan- sas under the orders of the government. The fact is, that in the season of freshes, the water of that river is of a red . color, and so salt as not to be potable at the settlements near its mouth. . This saline quality is occasioned by se- veral branches, which have their sources either in ground strongly impregnated with salt, or flow through a country


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where this article presents itself in more solid masses. Mineral salt, taken from the country about the Arkansas, has been seen among the Indians about nine hundred miles up the Missouri .*


Another extraordinary instance of salt remains to be mentioned. The adventurer, Philip Nolan, who visited the borders of New Mexico about the year 1796, where he eventually lost his life, constructed a map of one of his `tours, on which he delineated a salt mountain, and beneath the delineation wrote " here your friend encamped three "'weeks." The gentleman, to whom he presented the map, questioned him relative to what appeared a phenom- enon, and he declared with the strongest asseveration, that a mountain of fossil salt actually existed a little to the southward of the sources of Red river. This map has been inspected by the author of these sketches. :


To those unacquainted with the existence of salt in a great variety of forms in other parts of the globe, the ac- counts of that article in Louisiana may appear incredible ; perhaps some may be inclined to consider them as fabulous and without foundation. If, however, they will consult those authors, both ancient and modern, who have des- , cribed the appearances of salt in general, their incredulity will vanish ; they will even admit the probability, that Louisiana contains great quantities of that article. Pliny, the naturalist, has left us an account of the several exam- . ples and kinds of salt known in his time. Dr. Shaw speaks of several salt mountains in Barbary. Three scientific travellers, Watson, Townsend, and Kirman, have describ- ed a salt mountain in Spain, which is about five miles in circumference, and above five hundred feet in height : The depth of the salt below the surface of the adjacent country is not known; this article is transparent, and of


* A less copious account of the salt found in Louisiana was pub- lished by the author, in 1806, in the Medical Repository.


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the rock kind, and extremely pure. " Other mountains of salt are said by the same travellers to exist in Calabria, in the province of Astracan, and in the states of Tunis, and Algiers. In the isle of Ormus " are mountains of salt. - " frightful to look at."


Sicard and Volney have described some remarkable in- stances of salt in Egypt to the west of the Delta. Ac- cording to the last author, the whole continent of Africa is either composed of salt, or calculated to produce it. ..


Salt rock is found in England and France, from which vast quantities of salt are manufactured. Perhaps the Bos- nia and Wiliska salt mines in Poland are the most remark- able of any on the globe *. Mines of a similar nature, and


* The mine of Bosnia was opened in 1251, and has been constantly worked since that period. The salt is taken from a vein or seam of : . ten thousand feet in length : The depth of this mass is unknown, `though more than half a century ago it had been penetrated twelve hundred feet below the surface of the ground; the breadth of it at that time was seven hundred and fifty feet. The salt obtained here is dry, easily broken in picces, and put into casks .- The mine at Wi- . liska is situated directly under the town, and the immense weight o- ver it is supported by vast pillars of salt. This vein has been opened more than two thousand feet in length, upwards of six hundred feet in breadth, and eight hundred feet in depth; at least such was the progress made sixty years ago. This vast pit or mine contains a kind of subterranean commonwealth, and the members of it " are govern- " ed by their own policy and laws ; many of those born in these dreary " abodes never see the light of the sun, and many of those who enter " them as laborers seldom return to the reat world again." Spacious galleries and chapels are excavated from the solid rock salt, as also store-houses and other buildings. They are constantly lighted, and the rays of light reflected from the luminous and various colored-salt, afford to the eye a multitude of singular and pleasing images. The salt is procured here in large shapeless masses, from which blocks are cut, measuring in some instances more than one hundred square feet ; it is of various kinds and colors, green and coarse, white and fine, and frequently crystallized ; and when this last kind is taken from the rock it breaks into cubes and rectangular prisms. The an- qual produce of this mine is about six hundred thousand pounds, free from impurities. What is re arkable a spring of fresh water breaks out in this mine, and runs through it.


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· of equal magnitude, are said to exist in Moldavia and Wollachia.


Instances occur where salt is found on the surface of the ground, like that on the salt prairie already noticed. " Large tracts of country in California are occasionally " covered with fine salt, formed by the heat of the sun." Another singular instance of the kind occurs " on the con- " fines of Dancala and Tigra in Abyssinia, where there is " a large plain four days journey in extent ; one side of " which is incrusted all over with a pure white salt in " such quantities, that some hundreds of camels, mules, " and asses, are constantly employed in fetching it from " thence." In Persia " whole plains, about ten leagues " long, and six or seven broad, are covered with a white " shining salt of good flavor."


South America, likewise, furnishes many extraordinary instances of salt. ".That part of the Andes," says the Abbe Molina, " corresponding with the provinces of Ca- " piapo and Coquimbo (in Chili) contains several moun- " tains of fossil salt, dispersed in strata or layers, crystal- " lized in transparent cubes, frequently colored with yel- " low, blue, and red." This able writer was a native of Chili; and to men enjoying this advantage, we have the more right to look for faithful descriptions.


Those who give credit to these historical relations, need not wonder at the existence of similar instances of salt in Louisiana. Of their existence, indeed, we have sufficient evidence ; but the nature and extent of them, as also the benefits to be expected from them, are much less accu- rately ascertained, and therefore to future discoveries we :


must look for a more competent knowledge of them.


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CHAPTER XVI.


OF THE ABORIGINES.


THE number of Indian nations in Louisiana, and the aggregate number of their inhabitants, cannot be ascer- tained with any degree of accuracy. Many of them have never been visited by the whites, and most of the accounts of those already known, are extremely defective. They are dispersed over an immense tract; they inhabit the rocky or shining mountains, the borders of North Mexico, the shores of the gulf, and the islands near the coast. Per- haps our western travellers may detail the number and si- tuation of those on the Missouri and Columbia with suf -. ficient certainty ; but these, however numerous, form on-


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ly a small proportion of the whole. Years must roll away, unless a greater spirit of enterprise is manifested, before any accurate account of the aborigines can be obtained. It cannot be expected, that the government will aid the exploration of all the parts of a wild and extensive coun- try. The learned and curious in other countries project, and carry into execution, land and sea voyages of discove- ry, and derive no benefit from them, except what apper- tains to science in general. No doubt the interior regions of Louisiana contain objects of sufficient value to reward the labor of investigation. They would excite the ingenu- ity of the botanist, and chymist, particularly of the metallur- gist and mineralogist; and the discoveries in the power of such men to make, would prove useful to mankind. The citizens of the United States are not deficient in en- terprise ; but this is excited among them more from the hopes of wealth, than from a disposition to extend the field of information. They voluntarily traverse the most ; distant seas and oceans, and mind not the hardships they suffer, nor the dangers to which they are exposed ; but they appear solicitous to avoid land peregrinations, not because they want hardihood, courage, or perseverance, but be- cause they expose themselves to certain expenses without . any tempting prospects of remuneration. Under these circumstances, all that can be expected at present is, some brief relation of the most prominent traits in the character and manners of the Indians. .


The Indians are now what they were when America was first discovered by the Spaniards, except those who have had any considerable intercourse with the whites, which has invariably tended to debase and corrupt them. In their manners and characters, the several nations differ from each other in some essential particulars. Perhaps this . diversity is in a great measure occasioned by their differ- ent origins, and in some measure by the varieties of cli- mate.


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The peculiar circumstances of the Indians, in some de- gree, denote their character. Hunting and war consti- tute almost their only exercise. These require great cau- tion and dexterity, particularly the latter. Hence they become grave and sedate, and seldom speak more than a few words on any occasion, except when awakened to it by considerations of magnitude. . When the hunting sea- son is over, and they have a stock of provisions on hand, and not engaged in war, they are weighed down by inac- tivity and lassitude. They indulge themselves in hardly any amusement, except that of dancing; and this exercise is usually pursued in the evening. An Indian conceives it be- neath his dignity to labor in the field. This is almost in- variably imposed on the women, who, on long marches, are also loaded like pack-horses, though they do not think themselves degraded ; while the-men walk at their ease with only their guns, or bows and arrows in their hands ; " and the greatest recommendation a wife can possess is, that she is healthy, strong and capable of bearing fatigue. Perhaps this is a dictate of nature ; but the tyranny exercised by husbands over their wives, cannot be reconciled to any just or necessary principles. The women are the mere slaves of the men, not their companions ; they must ei- ther submit to their whims and caprices, or be punished at the discretion of their vindictive and cruel masters. In some nations, the husband has an absolute power over his wife, and he either kills, or punishes her as he plea- ses. The exercise of this power, especially among the Ietans, has so reduced the number of females, that it bears no proportion to that of the other sex. Many of the wo- men are disfigured; some appear without noses and ears ; and others . again without hands. The . Scythians and Goths imposed heavy burdens on their women; but in other respects they treated them as equals. They ex- acted a fine from him who injured a man; and for the same injury; done to a woman, a double fine was imposed.


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Equality reigns among the Indians, and no one has any exclusive pre-eminence, except what arises from age, or : from personal or mental endowments. Education and wealth never fail to create distinctions in civilized society; and even those possessed of the latter only, are frequently elevated to important offices in the state, without one vir- tue, or useful qualification to recommend them. Among the Indians the custom is different. " They are destitute of what we call education; their lands are in common; what they separately acquire in the chase excites no envy or jealousy ; the plunder obtained in war devolves on him who first seizes it, and he who acquires the most of it, is usually most applauded for his prowess and dexterity. In some instances, they have a kind of hereditary nobility: But in time of war and danger they take the advice of their old men, put themselves under the authority of their best military chiefs, elevated to office in consequence of their bravery and skill; and these in difficult times are implicitly obeyed, though during the existence of peace their authority is merely nominal, except in some rare in- stances. .


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The different nations of Indians are uniform at least in two particulars; innocence and simplicity prevail among them. To strangers they are humane and docile ; every family is solicitous to welcome them, and to afford them protection. When a stranger enters one of their habita- tions, the best things it affords are set before him. If he visits all the habitations in the town, the same hospitality is successively repeated ; and he must taste of the food set before him, or he is sure to give offence, as the Indi- ans are led to believe that he despises them, and studious- ly slights their friendly offices. When a white man of rank visits them, they study to receive him with the greatest marks of respect. They usually meet him at some distance from the town, spread a buffaloe robe or other skin before him, in which he places himself; and in


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this manner is carried to their habitations. These are . traits similar to those observed among many of the nor- thern and eastern nations at this day.


Such indeed are the simple manners of the natives, and so unsuspicious in the common concerns of life, that they indulge many habits, which, to the more civilized and refined, appear to border on vice. Each dwelling or cabin, has seldom more than one room, and the size of it is in proportion to the number of individuals in the family. When an Indian marries his daughter, he usu- ally takes her husband to his house; so that a family or lodge sometimes contains thirty or forty persons. The floor or ground is covered with mats or skins, and the . members of the family repose themselves on them. If a stranger visits them, he sleeps among the rest; and in- stances have occurred where white visitors have reposed by the side of the unmarried daughters of their host, without the least suspicion, that they would indulge themselves to the dishonor of the family.


The ceremonies of courtship and marriage are by no means uniform ; they are somewhat singular among the Indians on the east side of the Mississippi. When a young man is desirous of obtaining any particular female for his wife, he explains his intentions either to her real or adopted uncle. The bargain once completed, and the preliminaries settled, the groom builds himself a fire or: hut separate from the rest ; and in the evening commen- ces playing on an instrument, something in the form of a whistle. The bride advances slowly behind him, and tickles his nose with a leaf or blade of grass. He starts. as from a profound reverie, and manifests great surprise, while she leaps into the dark, and indulges a kind of tit- tering laugh. This farce is frequently repeated, till at length the groom wraps himself in his blanket, lays down, and pretends to be in a sound sleep. The bride si- lently approaches his feet, and tickles them, and he is


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again awaked to a seeming surprise. She makes her escape as before. 'This is also frequently repeated, till the fire becomes extinguished, and the Indians have re- tired to rest, when she silently lays herself down by the side of her husband.


If the Indians are humane and hospitable in peace, and practice some of the milder virtues, in time of war all their implacable passions appear to be awakened, and they excite terror and dismay among those unaccustomed to -their modes of warfare. Considerable preparations are necessary before a war be undertaken. The old men are consulted on the propriety of it, and their advice ta-' ken in what manner to proceed ; they at the same time endeavour to persuade other nations either to participate , with them, or to maintain a perfect neutrality during the contest. They practise many superstitious and religious ceremonies ; consult the eclipses and their jugglers or priests ; and endeavour to discover some omens in their dreams, on which they place great hopes of victory, or despair of success.


These preparations are kept a profound secret ; as their object is to surprise their enemy. When they are pro- perly prepared, they march to the attack, not in the man- ner of the whites, but in the manner the best calculated to draw their enemy into ambuscades, and to destroy or cripple him before he is able to defend himself. Hence their warfare is rather predatory than systematic. They seldom keep in large bodies, cxcept when opposed by an army of whites, but divide themselves into small bands ; perhaps in some measure for the purpose of obtaining provision. In this way they depredate on each other. The weaker party usually makes a precipitate retreat. This draws after it no disgrace, as it enables them the better to practise the stratagems of war. If they happen to kill any of their enemies, they risk almost every dan- ger to obtain their scalps, while the friends of the slain


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endeavour to prevent it ; they conceive it a disgrace to let them fall into the hands of the victors ; and on such oc- casions a furious and bloody combat frequently happens. All their onsets are accompanied with yells of defiance, sufficient to intimidate those not familiarised to such scenes.


During the continuance of the war, various modes of attack are concerted. Among others, for instance, is that contrived by some war chief; and to obtain warriors to carry it into execution, he proceeds thus : He erects a large post in some conspicuous place ; proclamation is made for the warriors to attend, and he developes to them his plan. He then walks up to the post, and sticks his tommahawk into it; all those in favour of the measure, and. disposed to share in the enterprise, follow his ex- ample. If there be a sufficient number of volunteers to promise success, they immediately move to the scene of action. The chief who proposed the expedition assumes the command. The one who stuck his tommahawk into the post next after him, is considered as the second offi- cer, and so of the rest.


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After the acquisition of a victory, however insignifi- cant, the conquerors usually set out for their homes, with their prisoners, scalps, and articles of plunder. When arrived in sight of them, they commence a loud and mournful lamentation, which serves as a signal to the distant spectators, that some of their friends and relati- ons have been killed. They are soon met by all the wo- men, who set up loud cries, pluck out their hair, and even their flesh, in token of their undissembled sorrow. When arrived in the midst of the village or camp, an · universal silence is proclaimed, when one of the warriors relates all the circumstances of the expedition. The wo- men, who have lost any relations or kindred, again com, . mence their melancholy wailing; and they sometimes " work themselves into such a rage, that they fall on the


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prisoners, and massacre them on the spot. No one dares to interfere, or to plead in favor of the victims; for they consider this female, sorrow as sacred, and the least in- terruption of it a crime of the deepest dye.


If however, the prisoners are not thus disposed of, an- other fate awaits them. The women have a right to take them, to supply, in part, the places of their lost friends, - and in this case they are reduced to slavery. If this right be waved, the prisoners are doomed to a terrible. death. They are usually conducted to an open plain, or some other suitable place, when they commence their death songs. They are either fastened to stakes, or placed on stages or scaffolds ; and the most refined tortures are in- vented on the one hand, while on the other the most he- roic fortitude is collected to sustain the terrors of the last scene. The nation assembles as on a festival, and both " old and young, both male and female, feast with pleasure. on the work of death before them. The nails of the un- happy victims are plucked out; their flesh is gradually torn from their bodies ; hot irons are forced into them ; matches of lighted wood are stuck about them; and. sometimes the flesh taken from them is greedily devoured by the spectators. In this way they suffer five or six hours, and frequently for two or three days; and in these dreadful sacrifices the women act a more conspicu- ; ous part than the men. During all this time, not a groan escapes the victims, nor are their features distorted. They upbraid the conquerors for their ignorance ; explain to them more exquisite modes of torture ; repeat their exploits, and boast of the number they have killed, par- ticularly of the victor nation. In this particular they re- semble the ancient Cantabrians, who chanted their songs even at the moment they were dying by the hands of the Romans. Education and religion teach better things ; and. perhaps the time may come when the great family of man- kind will be equally under their benign influence.


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The Indians are not more implacable in their resent- ments than tender in their friendships; they carry both to an extraordinary excess. While they are friends they will omit no opportunity to serve you, and even risk their lives to protect you. The remembrance of a favor expires not with him who received it; it is frequently . handed down from one generation to another, and if an opportunity occurs they will return it. A remarkable in- stance of this appears in the early history of one of the eastern states. The Indians attacked a village of whites, . and were repulsed with considerable loss. Two or more of the wounded were secreted and protected by a poor. widow, who eventually cured them of their wounds, and gave them instructions in what manner to return in safety to their nation. Nearly half a century afterwards, the 'same village was again attacked by the same nation of Indians, when they massacred all the whites they were able to secure; except the relations and descendants of the poor widow, who were treated with kindness, and none of them plundered of their property. Such instan- ces of gratitude are not rare among them; and if the whites are more destitute of this noble quality, perhaps it is because their virtues are less founded on nature than on the dictates of a false education.




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