USA > Louisiana > Sketches, historical and descriptive, of Louisiana > Part 32
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We must therefore, admire the stability of Indian friendships, and at the same time condemn the duration of their resentments. They will brood over them; no distance of time or place will obliterate them ; they care- fully conceal them; and when an opportunity offers they will exercise their vengeance. During all this time, even when filled with rage, they preserve their features unchanged; and no one can possibly suspect from their conduct, that they meditate any thing extraordinary. In fine, it is a characteristic trait among the Indians, never to be moved by accidents, or to manifest surprise at any
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sudden and unexpected event ; except, perhaps, in time of war.
Let no one infer, from what has been said, that the Indians are really more passionate than the whites. The fact is, they are much less given to passion, and may be said to be almost destitute of it. The boisterous and vengeful spirit exhibited by them in time of war, cannot properly be called by this name. They perform, many actions from principle, and in a dispassionate manner, at which the whites revolt with horror, and never attempt to achieve, except to gratify the most vindictive resent- ment.
'Their lives are apparently wretched, yet, perhaps, they are the most happy people on earth. They exhibit in their manners a strong mixture of the fiercest and most . gentle features ; the imperfections of brutes, and the best qualities of human nature.
They appear to have no form of government, nor to acknowledge any law ; yet they actually live under the first, and voluntarily submit to the latter. They have es- tablished principles and customs among them, from which they seldom depart. These are derived from their an- cestors, and many of them appear to be founded in wis- · dom. The glorious prerogatives of independence and freedom, in a particular manner, belong to them, and they view with horror the exercise of despotic power They are extremely impatient under any kind of restraint. Reason produces more subordination among them, than among civilized nations; and their almost total exemption from quarrels, factions, and discords, is a manifest proof of it.
They always respect a man whom they esteem; but this esteem is not easily imbibed. They rely much on physiognomy, and their conduct proves, that they are not wholly ignorant of the science.
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No' considerable number of people can be supposed to exist without some kind of government, and at the same · time destitute of municipal regulations: Otherwise every man would be his own judge and avenger ; the exercise of these dangerous prerogatives would soon disperse the members of the society. . Hence it is, that all rude nati- ons are governed by, at least, unwritten laws, preserved by tradition; and these are more or less certain in their operation, according to the personal authority of those appointed to carry them into effect, or according to the `light in which crimes are viewed by the multitude. The ancient Irish had their Brehons, or heriditary judges, on whom devolved the preservation, interpretation, and exe- cution of their traditionary laws, which remained in full vigor till the time of the conquest. Other nations in Europe had their Druids, and the Indians of America have their Priests and civil chiefs.
The rights of property among the Indians are not of a very complex nature, and few disputes occur concerning them. Contests of this description are generally adjust- ed and determined in a satisfactory manner, by the old men and chiefs, who are the customary judges on such. . occasions.
But the crimes and punishments among them are more complicated, and are so different among different nations, that the several grades of them are hardly susceptible of definition. With some the lex talionis prevails; while, with others, punishments for most offences are averted by composition.
'They are also extremely ununiform with respect to their conception and definition of crimes. Among some · a murder committed by a drunken man is not deemed criminal, but only a misfortune ; they transfer the guilt from the man to the cause of his ebriety. . Others admit of no excuse, except self defence and unavoidable neces- sity, and the destruction of the murderer ensues. Cri-
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minals of this, description, in some nations, undergo a kind of trial and condemnation. In others they no soon- er commit capital offences, than the laws are supposed to condemn them without trial, and it belongs to those the most concerned to carry the sentence into execution. If these neglect it, the chiefs will sometimes interpose their authority, and become the avengers of justice. Among some nations the murderer is delivered over to the near- - est relation of the deceased, who has a right to kill him, or to compound with him, as was the case among the an- cient Saxons. The same practice prevails in Turkey. In some other parts of the east, particularly in Abyssinia, the injured party has no power over the culprit till he is doomed to death by the judges, and then the right of pe- cuniary composition attaches.
It is wonderful with what fortitude; and even indiffer- ence, the Indians will face death ; not only in presence, of their enemies, but when doomed to, it by, their, cus- toms and laws. Most of them conceive it a disgrace to become the fugitives of justice, and therefore seldom at- tempt to escape. They will even present themselves to ' those they have injured, and impatiently solicit the fatal stroke. If these neglect or refuse to become their exe- cutioners, the misery they feel drives them almost to madness ; and to release themselves from it they often provoke the hand of justice by the commission of new and aggravated crimes. The faithful monitor within tells them, that they have forfeited their lives, and hence they indignantly spurn the idea of existence. These senti- ments are seemingly delicate and elevated, and it is dif- ficult to account for them. Perhaps they may be traced in part to their religion, and in part to the veneration they entertain for their civil institutions.
In their last moments, when summoned to depart by sickness, or the infirmities of age, they call their family and friends'about them, and impart their dying advice 1
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, with as much serenity of mind as if uttered in health, * and in a council of chiefs. Their patience never forsakes them ; and perhaps this, as well as their intrepidity in the hour of danger, is derived from the expectation of a happy existence in another world.
The sick, when pronounced incurable by their physi- cians, are. often put to death by their friends and relati- ons; and even the old and infirm, when no longer able to support themselves, are doomed to share the same fate. , The first preliminary to this tragedy is a feast. They usually kill a number of dogs, whom they instruct to proclaim to the spirits in the other world, that an ad- dition will soon be made to their number. The carcases of the dogs are greedily devoured; after which they despatch their victims, generally by strangling them.
Perhaps even this practice, so repugnant to our feel- . ings, as also that of massacreing prisoners taken in war, may find some excuse or alleviation in the peculiar cir- cumstances of the Indians. 1 Almost their only sustenance is derived from the chase. · None but the men are able to pursue it, and it often hap- pens that six or eight women and children depend on the exertions of one man. This burden is still increased, if there be any sick or old to support. These, especially the latter, become tired of their lives when no longer a- ble to share the fatigues of war, or to procure game for themselves. They therefore voluntarily submit to a pre- mature death ; and those who are bound by nature to nourish them while they live, are also doomed to become their executioners when unable to supply them with the means of living. Besides, as the Indians are almost al- ways 'at war, they are obliged to move from place to place, and frequently . with great precipitation ; and in such an extremity, their sick and infirm old people must either prove an incumbrance, or fall into the hands of
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their enemies. Necessity therefore seems to dictate their destruction.
They are much more excusable in killing their prison- ers. If they preserved their lives, who would support them? Were this difficulty removed, how. could they spare their warriors to guard them? Situated as they are, vulnerable on every point, prisoners would be liable to make their escape, or snatched from captivity by the bold and successful exertions of their friends. They cannot with safety release their prisoners ; such a step would increase the number and strength of their enemies; - therefore to kill them is as much a dictate of self preser- vation as of ferocity. The tortures inflicted on them, are intended to familiarize the young to scenes of blood, and to make warriors of them.
It must be remarked, that an Indian cannot disgrace himself more than by suffering himself to be taken priso- ner. If he ever returns to his nation, it is to experience, at least, a temporary degradation, to be habited like a slave, to be exposed to public ridicule and contempt ; and the women and children are permitted to insult him as much as they please ; he is even denied the rights of hos- pitality ; his former acquaintance and friends avoid him, and he is obliged to herd and associate with domestic an- imals. His military conduct, however, is ultimately in- vestigated in a council of chiefs; and if it be found that he manifested a suitable degree of courage and prudence at the time he was made prisoner, he is restored to his "former station in life ; though not without many solemn ceremonies, which in part appear to be derived from their religion. In some parts of Europe, a disgraced soldier is restored to his former respectability by passing under the flag of his regiment.
Perhaps this disgrace is somewhat aggravated by the notion, that eternal happiness awaits those who fall in a
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contest with their enemies. Such a sentiment unquesti- onably tends to make men brave. The Saracens never feared death on such occasions; because they believed, that all those who perished in battle were admitted to the - joys of paradise. The Romans and Lacedemonians en- tertained nearly the same notions. All those denominat- ed priests among the Indians, inculcate this doctrine. This religious order is probably coeval with the first set- tlement of America; for Clavigero says, that at the time of the conquest of Mexico, about a million of this des- cription of men existed in that empire.
Their religion, as may be supposed, is such as simple nature points out; though in some it appears much more rational than in others. A confused notion of a Supreme being, and of a future state of retribution, prevails a- mong all of them; except those, perhaps, within the arc- tic circle. They all believe in the' immortality of souls ; but they have different ideas relative to their station and employment in the other world. Some conceive, that the good are whelmed in such pleasures as suited them in this life ; while all admit, that the wicked are miserable. Others again seem to believe the existence of a purgato- ry, or middle state, for a longer or shorter time, and then are admitted to the fruitions prevalent in the abode of the great spirit. It is common with them to bury such things with the dead as they were pleased with be- fore their departure. They also deposit with them their .tommahawks, their bows and arrows, or muskets, and . some venison ; for they apprehend, that ;the journey is: long and difficult, and that, without these articles, they will suffer by the way. Some nations, indeed; bury all the property of the dead with them, without regard to their debts, or the wants of their families. The ancient Canarians deposited jars of milk and wine with their dead, as necessary provisions for their journey. And Ce- sar says, that the Celts, or Celta, who burned their dead,
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placed such things, and even animals, on the funeral , pile, as the deceased were most delighted with.
The general receptacles of the dead are not always in . the vicinity of their villages and towns. Some bury their dead immediately after death, and leave them in their, graves till the flesh falls from the bones, and then are ta- .. ken from the ground. Others place their dead on scaf- folds, erected for the purpose, till their bones are in a like condition. At stated periods all their bones are col- . lected, and scraped and cleaned with great care. The · whole nation assembles to bear them to the general ma- gazine of corruption, and this ceremony is called the feast of souls. At these periods they open the tombs of their fathers and friends, and for a while indulge their. tender pity and affection. The new collection of bones is carefully deposited, and the tombs closed ; after which they return totheir homes.
The Indians believe in the existence of good and evil spirits, which roam, unperceived, the regions of the air; and this belief is general from Greenland to Pata- gonia. Hence on occasions of importance, they endeavor to deprecate the wrath of the one, and to invoke the pro- pitious smiles of the other. This ceremony is perform- · ed by their physicians, who are also their priests or jug- glers ; it consists of a variety of grimaces and contorti- ons; and in their profound reveries, they are supposed to converse with the spirits. Almost the same methods are pursued by some in the cure of those diseases, which have baffled their medical skill. The more northern In- dians practice incantations and charms; while those in more temperate climates much oftener trust to the effica- cy of medicinal plants. In all these occult attempts, the jugglers are expert in their tricks, and usually perform them in a naked and exposed posture. Hearne saw one pretend to swallow a bayonet, the hilt of which only ap- peared out of the mouth. Another made an attempt to
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swallow a broad piece of wood, as large as a barrel stave, and shaped like it, one end of which was exposed in the same manner. Both of them walked about among the spectators with the articles apparently in their throats ; nor was it in the power of Hearne to detect the decepti- on. The author of these sketches has seen an Osage juggler swallow an arrow, eighteen inches long, and there was no deception in this instance.
. The Indians have likewise much faith in dreams, by which they pretend to the knowledge of future events ;" nor are they less sanguine in their prognostications, groun- ded on certain occurrences in their wakeful moments. An Ioway chief who accompanied the author of these sketches to the seat of government in November 1805, was. possessed of a very curious kind of shell, in which he carried his tobacco. In Kentucky a citizen took a fancy to it, and requested it of him. He readily parted . with it; after which he turned round, and addressed his . companions thus: " I have given away my tobacco shell, " and this circumstance puts me in mind that I shall die " in a few days." Four days afterwards he expired without any apparent previous indisposition, except a hard struggle for about an hour, while in the agonies of death.
These traits sufficiently discover, that the Indians are : extremely superstitious. They behold eclipses with ter- ror, and are apt to draw the most fatal prognostics from them. Columbus foretold an eclipse to the inhabitants of one of the islands who had refused him provisions, and threatened them with destruction unless they grati- fied him. The eclipse happened as predicted; which so terrified the Indians, that they furnished him with the provisions he wanted. Mango Capac founded the Peru- vian empire, by means of superstition; and many hundred years afterwards, when Pizarro invaded that country, the Peruvians recollected an ancient prophesy relative to their
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fate, and submitted without opposition. Montezuma lost his throne and kingdom in the same manner.
'The Indians in general have very imperfect ideas of the rights of property. This is the reason why some particular tribes are so much given to theft. They can- not conceive, that any one has an exclusive right to the goods of providence ; and therefore believe it just to supply their wants from the stores of those, who are fa- vored with a profusion.
The southern or Mexican Indians differ in their fea- tures and complexions from those of the northern tribes ; in the first place they are more feminine, and in the se- cond much fairer. They are also more moderate in their food, and more feeble in their frames, more timid and irresolute in their dispositions ; with them the fatigues of the chase are generally exchanged for the cultivation of a few plants, and the avails of their manufactures, to which they have long been attached. They are likewise more refined in their manners; not, however, from any intercourse they have had with the whites. Perhaps rigor- . ous climates are, in some degree incompatible with re- finement, and the growth of the more amiable qualities. The Indians within the arctic and antarctic circles, re- semble each other in their habits and manners; and this has led some to conclude, that the difference observable among the natives in different quarters, mostly arises from the effect of climate. .
A perceptible difference exists, even among our wes- tern Indians. Those who inhabit the low grounds are ·known to be rather under size, and of swarthy complex- ions; while those who inhabit and range the elevated country, are of much larger forms, and their skins are not tinged with so dark a hue. Perhaps the effect of , climate is here still more manifest.
In some instances the customs of the Indians on oppo- site sides of the Mississippi, differ from each other
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"Those to the eastward of it hunt, travel, and go to war, mostly on foot; while those to the westward of that river usually kill their game, and fight their battles on horse- back. These own a prodigious number of horses; some , they raise, and others are obtained wild from the woods. "They are rather small, but fleet and hardy, and wholly subsist on the spontaneous productions of nature. Those who fight mounted, generally resort to the open grounds; while their brethren of the east prefer impenetrable woods and recesses, and take more advantage of circumstances to surprise their enemies. Perhaps this difference of warfare may be ascribed more to the nature of the coun- try, than, to any primitive custom among them. The country in the interior of Louisiana abounds in extensive prairies, which spread over at least two thirds of it: while on the east side of the Mississippi the grounds are more undulated, more rocky, and almost wholly covered with forests, except in the neighborhood of that river, and therefore not so well calculated for the use of horses.
Hence historians and other writers are mistaken when they contend, that there is a striking similitude in the form of their bodies, and in the qualities of their minds ; that their color and features are the same; that they are small eaters ; and that nature has denied them beards, as likewise hair on other parts of their bodies. From these supposed general traits they infer that all the Indians on our continent may be traced to one common origin. These errors were propagated by the early Spanish writers, whose. information of the Indians was not only very limited, but whose object was to degrade them below the order of hu- man beings.
Notwithstanding some of the traits before mentioned were produced by adventitious causes ; yet it requires no great knowledge of the Indians to perceive, that they are radically as dissimilar in their features, complexions, size, and language, as the various nations on the other 3 I
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continents. Some are remarkably large in their frames, while others cannot boast the usual stature of men; some of them possess strong intellects, while those manifested by others are much less vigorous ; some are prone to war, others are more peaceable; and they as little understand . the different languages among themselves, as they do those of Europe. These are national traits : Perhaps part of them may be attributed to the influence of cli- mate; for the powers of both body and mind are much less conspicuous in warm countries than in colder ones, in low marshy districts than in mountainous regions ; but some of them are unquestionably primitive. If the Spa- niards found a people of weak intellect in the islands, and in the Mexican dominions, they witnessed another in Chili of very extraordinary capacities.
The Auraucanians, though not numerous, proved a match for them in bravery, and in the fertility of inven- tion; and they remain unsubdued to this day. It has been remarked in other parts of this work, that the com- plexions of the Indians are by no means the same ; that some tribes or nations are much fairer than others, and that even some of them have red or sandy hair. We are assured by a native of Chili in a late valuable history of that country, " that the Boroanes, who live in the " midst of the Auraucanian provinces, in the thirty ninth " degree of south latitude, are fair and ruddy, have blue " eyes, and red hair, and are as well formed as the nor- " thern Europeans." The Auraucanians have long black hair, and their complexion is of a reddish or coppery brown. " Nothing (continues the same author) appears " to me more ridiculous than the assertion of several " writers, that all the Americans resemble each other, " and that from seeing one, you are able to judge of the " whole. A Chilian is as easily distinguished from a " Peruvian, as an Italian from a German. I have seen " natives of Cujo, of Paraguay, and of the straits of
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." Magellan ; and I can confidently affirm, that their " countenances present a very striking difference." If those in the same quarter of the country be thus distin- guishable from each other, how much greater the differ- ence between those inhabiting the various regions and climates on the continent! A wide difference exists be- tween a Sac and an Osage, and a still greater difference between either and an Esquimaux.
Nothing is more unfounded than the assertion, that the Indians in general are small eaters. This is proba- bly the case with those who live in warm climates, where vegitables, and the spontaneous productions of the earth, are usually preferred to animal food. The Indians in all parts of Louisiana, as also those on the east side of the Mississippi, are known to be voracious eaters ; and. this truth can be illustrated by a thousand examples, one of which follows : When the author of these sketches conducted about thirty Missouri chiefs to the seat of go- vernment in 1805, as before stated, the first three hun- dred miles of the way was too thinly inhabited to furnish them with regular meals ; so that it became necessary to purchase fresh beef for them, of which they devoured on an average, three hundred and fifty pounds per day, . or nearly twelve pounds per man !
Beards are as natural to the Indians as to any other people ; and nature also furnishes their bodies with the usual proportion of hair; but, like the Tartars, they pluck them out as fast as they grow, because they deem it more" cleanly ; and by pursuing this method for a number of years, they appear as if nature had denied them these badges of puberty. They always carry about them a small looking glass and tweezers, which are very often employed, espe- cially when they are about to receive, or to appear among strangers. The Tunisian women follow the practice of the squaws of America.
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"Among the differences manifested by the various In .. dian nations, that of intellect is not the least. Equally. without education, blessed with the light of nature only, and exposed to the same physical evils, to what shall we ascribe this inequality ? That there is a very great ine- quality, is evident to the most superficial observer. It is well known to travellers, that those Indians, who live in genial chmates, particularly in mountainous countries, are much more vigorous in body and intellect, than the inha- bitants of warm climates, who inhabit a less salubrious air. This distinction is manifested in their eloquence, in ' their hostile preparations and in their bloody rencontres ; and it is evident, from a variety of considerations, that: they are much less under the influence of moral than physical impulses.
If it be supposed, as some able men actually do sup- pose, that they have one common origin, on what prin- ciple shall we account for the great variety of languages among them ? Had the European nations, like them, re- mained in their barbarous state, they would have preser- ved their ancient dialects. This sentence, written so late as the third Henry, " He nees othes worthe that es enes gyl- ty of oth broken," may be considered as a good specimen of the English language at that day. The gradual inno- vations it has experienced, is ascribable to the introducti- on ,of the arts and sciences. The Indians are probably now, what they were ten centuries ago; it is even diffi- "cult to assign plausible reasons for mutations in their dia- : lects, except we admit occasional admixtures ; and these most likely are not numerous, as in general they are scru- pulously cautious to preserve their own, and to oppose the introduction of foreign idioms. It will, therefore, be difficult to trace the varieties in their languages, to this source : Those the best acquainted with them, perceive a radical difference between them. An Osage and a -
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