death of their parents or friends they repair mirers of themselves in this fantastical
to the mouth of the cavern, to ascertain dress.”—HENNEPIN, Louis, New Discovery,
whether their souls have met with any im- , 8c. p. 76.
pediment. If they think they have not dis-
tinguished the voice of the deceased, they
withdraw overjoyed, and celebrate the event
by inebriety and dances characteristic of

[Indian Way of Striking a Fire.]
their felicity ; but if they imagine they have “THEIR way of making a fire, which is
heard the voice of the defunct, they hasten | new and unknown to us, is this ; they take
to drown their grief in intoxicating liquors, a triangular piece of cedar-wood, of a foot
in the midst of dances, adapted from their and a half long, wherein they bore some
nature to paint their despair. So whatever holes half through; then they take a switch,
may be the lot of the departed soul, his re- | or another small piece of hard wood, and

homoelves un to l with both their hands rub the strongest lations and friends give themselves up to the same excesses; there is no difference, upon the weakest in the hole which is but in the character of the dance."-DE- |

in the cedar, and while they are thus rubPONS, F. Travels, 8c.

bing they let fall a sort of dust or powder
which turns into fire. This white dust they
roll up in a pellet of herbs, dried in autumn,

and rubbing them all together, and then
[Painted Barbarians.]

blowing upon the dust that is in the pellet, “When these barbarians go either to the the fire kindles in a moment.”— Ibid. p. wars or feasts, they besmear all their faces | 103. over, either with red or black, to the end they might not discover it, if they should grow pale with fear. They also colour their

[Smell of Fire by the Indians.] hair with red, and cut it in different shapes;

" As soon as we had roasted or boiled our but this is practised more especially among the savages of the North. Those of the

Indian corn, we were very careful to put

out our fire; for in these countries they South cut their hair quite off, or rather, burn it with stones heated red-hot in the

smell fire at two or three leagues distance, fire; oftentimes the people of the North let according to the wind. The savages take a their hair hang on one side, wreathed into

particular notice of it. To discover where a kind of bracelet, and cut it quite off on

their enemies are, and endeavour to surprise

them.”—Ibid. p. 151. the other; but this is still according to every one's fancy.

“ There are some of these savages that rub their hair all over with oil, and afterwards stick down or small feathers on their

[Great Feast of the Savages.] heads, also some of them will have great “The savages invited us to a great ones of several colours : but there are after their own fashion. There were others that rather choose to wear crowns of an hundred and twenty men at it I flowers, which crowns another sort make of Quasicoude, the first captain of the I birchen-rind, or dressed-skins, all which, and kinsman of the deceased whos nevertheless, are most commonly very pret- | body I covered, when they cough tily contrived. Thus set forth, they appear, | back to the village in a canon brous dish take them all together, just like several of some dried flesh and wild dots in 8 Cæsar's soldiers, who were likewise painted of bark, which he set before with different colours. They are great ad- | bull's hide, whitened and o vnishe

a great feast ere were above

at it naked. of the nation, a, whose dead

brought him Pe, brought me Oats in a dish fe me upon a Sarnished with

574 MONARDES - NORTH AMERICAN REVIEW - JOHN WOOLMAN.

porcupine-skins on the one side, and curled | a sort of grampus, whose descendants still wool on the other.

delight to sport about the ancient dwelling « After I had eat, this chief put the same of their great progenitor. robe on his head, and covered my face with “ The giant then hurled his wife Saconet it, saying with a loud voice before all that into the air, and plunging himself beneath were present, “He whose dead body thou the waves, disappeared for ever. Saconet didst cover, covers thine while alive. He fell on the promontory of Rhode Island, has carried the tidings of it to the country which now bears her name, and long lived of souls (for these people believe the trans- | there, exacting tribut

there, exacting tribute from all passengers. migration of souls): what thou didst in At length she was converted into stone, still respect of the dead is highly to be esteemed: however retaining her former shape, till the all the nation applauds and thanks thee for white men, mistaking her probably for an it.'”—Ibid. p. 247.

idol, lopped off both her arms; but her mutilated form remains to this day on the spot where she fell, and affords lasting and

unimpeachable evidence of the truth of the [Black Earth of Peru, to make Ink with.]

tradition.”—North American Review, vol. 5, There is a black earth in Peru of which I p. 318. “I can say," says MONARDES, “that they sent me a little that therewith I might make ink; which being cast into water or wine there is made thereof very good ink, where

[Indian Histories painted on Trees.] with one may write well, but it is somewhat “NEAR our hut on the sides of large trees blue, which maketh of it a better show.”— peeled for that purpose, were various reff. 102.

presentations of men going to, and returning from the wars, and of some killed in

battle, this being a path heretofore used by [Indian Tradition.]

warriors. Those Indian histories were “ ACCORDING to the tradition of the In- painted mostly in red, but some in black.” dians, when their ancestors first came from -Joun WOOLMAN's Journal, p. 134. the West to this island, they found it occupied by Manshop, a benevolent but capricious being, of gigantic frame and supernatural power. His daily food was broiled [Notions of the American Indians relative to whales, and he threw many of them on the

the Food they eat.] coast, for the support of his Indian neigh- “They abhor moles so exceedingly, that bours. At last, weary of the world, he | they will not allow their children even to sent his sons and daughter to play at ball, touch them, for fear of hurting their eyeand while they were engaged in their sport, sight; reckoning it contagious. They bedrew his toe across the beach on which they lieve that nature is possessed of such a prowere, and separated from the island. The perty as to transfuse into men and animals returning tide rising over it, the brothers the qualities, either of the food they use, or crowded round their sister, careless of their of those objects that are presented to their own danger, and while sinking themselves, senses; he who feeds on venison is, accordwere only anxious to keep her head above / ing to their physical system, swifter and the waves. Manshop commended their fra- | more sagacious than the man who lives on ternal affection, bade them always love and the flesh of the bear, or helpless dunghill protect their sister, and preserved their fowls, the slow-footed tame cattle, or the lives by converting them into whale killers, | heavy wallowing swine. This is the reason

J. ADAIR – VASCONCELLOS – D. BERNARDO.

575

rat several of their old men recommend,
and say, that formerly their greatest chief. [Iron sold by the Spaniards to the Indians,
tains observed a constant rule in their diet,

and used against them.]
and seldom ate of any animal of a gross / BERNARDO DE VARGAS Machuca, who
quality, or heavy motion of body, fancying was settled at Santa Fe de Bogota com-
it conveyed a dulness through the whole plains that the Spaniards sold iron to the
system, and disabled them from exerting Indians, which thus got round to the war-
themselves with proper vigour in their mar- | like tribes, and was used to their own de-
tial, civil, and religious duties.

struction, many lives having been lost in “I once asked the Archimagus, to sit consequence. The traffic he says, is Cosa down and partake of my dinner ; but he bien digna de castigo exemplar, que casi es excused himself, saying, he had in a few | traycion, o especie della.— Ibid. ff. 3. days some holy duty to perform, and if he eat evil or accursed food, it would spoil him, -alluding to swines' flesh. Though most of

[Santiago del Estero, or Mahomet's Paratheir virtue hath lately been corrupted, in

dise.] this particular they still affix vicious and

SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO, by a play upon contemptible ideas to the eating of swines'

words which holds good only in Spanish, flesh, insomuch, that Shukapa," swine

was called Mahomet's Paradise,—the Maeater,' is the most opprobrious epithet they

homa women being favourites with the first can use to brand us with : they commonly

ruffians who settled in that country. Losubjoin Akanggapa, 'eater of dunghill fowls.'”—J. ADAIR, History of the American

ZANO says, “ El partido de Venus estaba en

especial tan valido y poderoso, que llamaban Indians, p. 134.

a esta ciudad el Paraiso de Mahoma ; nom

bre infame, que manifiesta bien la dissolucion [Indian Motion of the Joyful Fields.]

que reynaba.”—Vol. 1, p. 3, § 17. VASCONCELLOS states it as the belief of the Brazilian tribes that the souls of women and warriors went to what they called the

[Indian Stealth.] joyful fields,—those of cowards to the An

“ THEY sometimes scatter leaves, sand, hargus, to be by them tormented. Cowar

or dust over the prints of their feet; some; dice being the only vice, it seems then that

times tread in each other's footsteps; and women by reason of their sex, could have

sometimes lift their feet so high, and tre no sin imputed to them.- Vida de Alneida,

so lightly, as not to make any impress vol. 1, p. 5, $ 7.

on the ground.”—CARVER, p. 330.

conquered

[Sword of the Suyzaros— What?] D. Bernardo DE Vargas Machuca,

[Indian Form of Submission.] 1599, says that the sword then in use was “ The Indians consider every cong! that which the Suyzaros invented. Does people as in a state of vassalo se to he mean the Swiss, and did they introduce conquerors. a shorter sword which caused the estoque “ After one nation has finally sul to be disused ? A natural consequence another, and a conditional iniss when the chivalrous mode of war was grow-agreed on, it is customary for the ch ing obsolete, and battles were decided by the conquered when they sit in couDC infantry.--Milicia Indiana, ff. 2.

their subduers, to wear petticoats as

ce

ally subdued Submission is the chiefs of council with ats as an ac

576

GUMILLA – TORQUEMADA — P. FRANCIS CHARLEVOIX.

knowledgment that they are in a state of with sighs, groans, tears, and loud lamen- | subjection, and ought to be ranked among | tations.".- Ibid. 1, c. 11. the women.”—Ibid. p. 350.

[Indian Kings-War-makers on their [Care of the Achaquas for their Graves.]

Accession.] “ The Achaquas of the Oronoco take

“It was the custom of these Indian especial care to beat down the earth upon

kings, always to undertake some hostile exa grave, and when the heat makes fissures

pedition, immediately after their accession, in it, instantly to fill them up, lest the ants

| against rebels, or enemies, or if they had should get at the dead. Their worst im

neither to make new nations tributary." — precation is, May the ants soon fall upon | TORQUI

TORQUEMADA, vol. 1, p. 195. thee."-GUMILLA, C. 14.

[Iroquois Festival.] [Lamentation of the Othomacos over their

" AMONG the Iroquois there was a partiDead.]

commonly succeed to a violent gale of wind, [Jay Feathers.] MAJLE blue feathers of the jay's wing will run to the water, endeavouring to escape

they cannot fly; if pursued by land they Well were at one time fashionable in

by swimming ; but it is then easy to follow WEX 0 France, and four thousand jays

them with the boidarkas, when they may be are said to have been stript to

taken with the hand, or killed by a spear or furnish trimming for a single dress.

the stroke of an oar.

" It seems easily to be comprehended, that such a bird, whose gigantic wings spread

out to a breadth of ten or twelve feet, should [Albatrosses.]

not be able to fly in a dead calm.”—Ibid.
" An immense number of albatrosses were

vol. 2, p. 105-6.
swimming like geese about the ship; as soon
as a shot was fired they flew away. They
seemed to raise themselves with difficulty
from the water, and made a vast circle in it

[Power of the Conger Eel.]
before they had wind enough to fill their

The power of these snakes may, in some long wings and begin their ascent."-Langs

degree, be estimated from a circumstance DORFF, vol. 1, p. 83.

related of a conger eel, in the Star, Tol March 30, 1808. This eel, measuring :

feet in length, and twenty-two inches 10 [The Albatross.]

girth, and weighing three stone and a han
“ THEY have very great strength in their was taken in Yarmouth Wash. Finding ng
large bills, and make a noise not unlike the way for escape, it rose erect, and knock
bleating of a goat or sheep. It is probably the fisherman down before he could tako
from hence that they are called by the
French Moutons du Cap. In February one
of them was brought to me upon which I
could not discover the slightest wound. On

[Bread Fruit.]
enquiry how it was caught, I was answered, “The ripe bread fruit will not keep
by the hand. Upon a farther investigation many days; in times of great bunda
into the matter, I was assured by the Aleu- therefore, it is cut into small
tians unanimously, that in the calms, which'a hole is made in the ground !

keep good

abundance, und Pieces, when

about eight

PP