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had no cause to rejoice in the death of this one treacherous savage, for in less than five minutes almost twenty Indians were discovered jumping and running hither and thither through the woods. The order was given to retreat with all possible speed, and you may guess as quickly obeyed. They followed the course of the river, closely pursued by the Indians, till darkness came to their relief; finding the pursuit was given up, and expecting it would be followed up by the break of day, Brady, taking the lead, turned quickly to the left, and followed a course which he thought would take him home. In this country there are many marshes which were then partially dried up, but not so much so but they would receive the impression of a man's foot. Brady told his men they must immediately separate, each take a separate route, to meet at the mouth of a creek which emptied into the Ohio, about twenty miles from thence, and ordered each man to take loose the strings of his moccasins and tie them round his ancles alone, in order if they should come upon the trail of each other in one of the before mentioned marshes, they would be able to know by the impression then made, whether they were upon the trail of each other, or that of the Indians, as the Indians universally wear the string round and under the instep of the foot, and would leave a mark in the half dried mud sufficiently plain to be known.

They separated, and after enduring fatigues known only to the Indian hunters, they all arrived at the place of rendezvous, about 12 o'clock the next day. They had heard much of the savage yells through the night, but owing to the trail being rendered less intelligible by their separation, perhaps is to be attributed their escape. Upon arriving at the river, preparations were made, and they were soon on the other side. They had not been long over till their ears were saluted by the well known cry of the savages, and on looking across the river, they discovered two who were hallooing to the extent of their voices upon their comrades, who were not slow in answering them. Brady and his men ascended the hill and waited till an opportunity was offered to see what number might cross the river. Presently, they observed twelve to make the attempt. It was immediately concluded that they would return quictly to the bank and give them a general fire. The Indians dived until within about twenty yards of the shore, when each man, taking a deadly aim, fired upon them. The consternation was dreadful, as those who had been struck by a ball immediately sunk, or were seen to struggle with the current; and those who received no injury made the best of their way to the other side. An irregular fire was kept up by Brady and his men, till the Indians were out of their reach; several were killed and wounded; others, in all probability, were drowned before they reached the opposite shore.

The Indians who had remained on the Ohio shore made immediate preparations to cross the river. Brady, knowing that they were not likely to be taken in again, started for home with his men. They kept up the river during that day without being in any wise molested by the savages, and encamped upon the river bottom that night. The

next morning was spent in procuring game, which was remarkably plenty in that country. In the after part of the day they pursued their course up the river. About an hour before sunset, one of the men having lagged behind, coming after the others, who had by this time got considerably ahead, heard a rustling in a hemlock tree; he cast his eye up, and beheld a large Indian descending from out of the tree; he immediately adjusted his rifle, and the Indian soon fell to the ground. Brady and his men hearing the report of the rifle, immediately ran back to the place where this tragic scene had been acted, and upon learning all the circumstances, he gave orders to his men all to be on the alert, and he changed his course, and went immediately back from the river, for several miles; and marching by circuitous routes, they arrived safe at home the third day after the last mentioned action, and the eighth day from their departure, without the loss of a man.

Brady had concluded, and no doubt correctly, that the Indians thought that he and his men were yet down the river, and would soon move towards home. They had, by forced marches at night, got ahead of him, and took this way of ascertaining the course he might take. They would fall upon him, when unguarded at night, and sacrifice him and his men to satisfy their vengeance. And but for the happy circumstance of the man lagging behind, no doubt they would have succeeded.

The substance of this paper was written by one of the spies who was in company with Brady in the adventure narrated.

KISKIMINETAS.

Polygamy-Treatment to Wives-Marriage Ceremonies-Mode of Divorcing-Another Ceremony-Children called by the Mother's name, &c.-The Indians allow of polygamy, and persons of every rank indulge themselves in this point. The chiefs in particular have a seraglio, which consists of an uncertain number, usually from six to twelve or fourteen. The lower rank are permitted to take as many as there is a probability of their being able, with the children they may bear, to maintain. It is not uncommon for an Indian to marry two sisters; sometimes, if there happen to be more, the whole number; and notwithstanding this (as it appears to civilised nations) unnatural union, they all live in the greatest harmony.

The younger wives are submissive to the elder; and those who have no children do such menial offices for those who are fertile, as cause their situation to differ but little from a state of servitude. However, they perform every injunction with the greatest cheerfulness, in hopes of gaining thereby the affections of their husbands, that they in their turn may have the happiness of becoming mothers, and be entitled to the respect attendant on that state.

It is not uncommon for an Indian, although he takes to himself so many wives, to live in a state of continence with many of them for several years. Such as are not so fortunate as to gain the favor of their husband, by their submissive and prudent behaviour, and by that

means to share in his embraces, continue in their virgin state during the whole of their lives, except they happen to be presented by him to some stranger chief, whose abode among them will not admit of his entering into a more lasting connection. In this case they submit to the injunction of their husband without murmuring, and are not displeased at the temporary union. But if at any time it is known that they take this liberty without first receiving his consent, they are punished in the same manner as if they had been guilty of adultery.

This custom is more prevalent among the nations, which lie in the interior parts, than among those that are nearer the settlements, as the manners of the latter are rendered more conformable in some points to those of the Americans, by the intercourse they hold with them.

The Indian nations differ but little from each other in their marriage ceremonies, and less in the manner of their divorces. The tribes that inhabit the borders of Canada make use of the following custom.

When a young Indian has fixed his inclinations on one of the other sex, he endeavors to gain her consent; and if he succeeds, it is never known that her parents ever obstruct their union. When every preliminary is agreed on, and the day appointed, the friends and acquaintances of both parties assemble at the house or tent of the oldest relation of the bridegroom, where a feast is prepared on the occasion.

The company who meet to assist at the festival are sometimes very numerous: they dance, they sing, and enter into every other diversion usually made use of on many of their public rejoicings.

When these are finished, all those who attended merely out of ceremony, depart, and the bridegroom and bride are left alone with three or four of the nearest and oldest relations of either side; those of the bridegroom being men, and those of the bride, women.

Presently the bride, attended by these few friends, having withdrawn herself for the purpose, appears at one of the doors of the house, and is led to the bridegroom, who stands ready to receive her. Having now taken their station, on a mat placed in the centre of the room, they lay hold of the extremities of a wand, about four feet long, by which they continue separated, whilst the old men pronounce some short harangues suitable to the occasion.

The married couple then make a public declaration of the love and regard they entertain for each other, and holding the rod between them, dance and sing. When they have finished this part of the ceremony, they break the rod into as many pieces as there are witnesses present, who each take a piece and preserve it with care.

The bride is then reconducted out of the door at which she entered, where her young companions wait to attend her to her father's house; there the bridegroom is obliged to seek her, and the marriage is consummated. Very often the wife remains at her father's house till she has a child, when she packs up her apparel, which is all the fortune she is generally possessed of, and accompanies her husband to his habitation.

When from any dislike a separation takes place, for they are seldom

known to quarrel, they generally give their friends a few days' notice of their intentions, and offer reasons to justify their conduct. The witnesses, who were present at the marriage, meet on the day requested, at the house of the couple that are about to separate, and bringing with them the pieces of rod which they had received at their nuptials, throw them into the fire in the presence of all the parties.

This is the whole of the ceremony required, and the separation is carried on without any murmurings or ill will between the couple or the relations; and after a few months they are at liberty to marry again.

When a marriage is thus dissolved, the children which have been produced from it are equally divided between them; and as children are esteemed a treasure by the Indians, if the number happens to be odd, the woman is allowed to take the better half.

Though this custom seems to encourage fickleness and frequent separations, yet there are many of the Indians who have but one wife, and enjoy with her a state of connubial happiness, not to be exceeded in more refined societies. There are also not a few instances of women preserving an inviolable attachment to their husbands, except in the cases before mentioned, which are considered as either a violation of their chastity or fidelity.

Although I have said that the Indian nations differ very little from each other in their marriage ceremonies, there are some exceptions. The Naudowessies have a singular method of celebrating their marriages, which seems to bear no resemblance to those made use of by any other nation I passed through. When one of their young men has fixed on a young woman he approves of, he discovers his passion to her parents, who give him an invitation to come and live with them in their tent.

He accordingly accepts the offer, and by so doing engages to reside in it for a whole year, in the character of a menial servant. During this time he hunts, and brings all the game he kills to the family; by which means the father has an opportunity of seeing whether he is able to provide for the support of his daughter and the children that might be the consequence of their union. This however is only done whilst they are young men and for their first wife, and not repeated like Jacob's servitude.

When this period is expired, the marriage is solemnised after the custom of the country, in the following manner: three or four of the oldest male relations of the bridegroom, and as many of the bride's, accompany the young couple from their respective tents, to an open part in the centre of the camp.

The chiefs and warriors, being here assembled to receive them, a party of the latter are drawn up in two ranks on each side of the bride and bridegroom immediately on their arrival. Their principal chief then acquaints the whole assembly with the design of their meeting, and tells them that the couple before them, mentioning at the same time their names, are come to avow publicly their intentions of living together as man and wife. He then asks the two young people,

alternately, whether they desire that the union might take place. Having declared with an audible voice that they do so, the warriors fix their arrows, and discharge them over the heads of the married pair; this done, the chief pronounces them man and wife.

The bridegroom then turns round, and bending his body, takes his wife on his back, in which manner he carries her amidst the acclamations of the spectators to his tent. The ceremony is succeeded by the most plentiful feast the new married man can afford: and songs and dances, according to the usual custom, conclude the festival.

Among the Indians, as well as European nations, there are many that devote themselves to pleasure, and, notwithstanding the accounts given by some modern writers of the frigidity of an Indian's constitution, become the zealous votaries of Venus. The young warriors that are thus disposed seldom want opportunities for gratifying their pas sion: and as the mode usually followed on these occasions is rather singular, I shall describe it.

"When one of these young debauchees imagines, from the behaviour of the person he has chosen for his mistress, that he shall not meet with any great obstruction to his suit from her, he pursues the following plan.

"It has been already observed that the Indians acknowledge no superiority; nor have they any ideas of subordination, except in the necessary regulations of their war or hunting-parties; they consequently live nearly in a state of equality, pursuant to the first principles of nature. The lover therefore is not apprehensive of any check or control in the accomplishments of his purposes, if he can find a convenient opportunity for completing them.

"As the Indians are also under no apprehension of robbers, or secret enemies, they leave the doors of their tents or huts unfastened during the night, as well as in the day. Two or three hours after sunset, the old people cover over the fire, that is generally burning in the midst of their apartment, with ashes, and retire to their repose.

"Whilst darkness thus prevails, and all is quiet, one of these sons of pleasure, wrapped up closely in his blanket, to prevent his being known, will sometimes enter the apartment of his intended mistress. Having first lighted at the smothered fire a small splinter of wood, which answers the purpose of a match, he approaches the place where she reposes, and gently pulling away the covering from the head, jogs her till she awakes. If she then rises up, and blows out the light, he needs no further confirmation that his company is not disagreeable; but if after he has discovered himself she hides her head, and takes no notice of him, he might rest assured that any further solicitations will prove vain, and that it is necessary immediately for him to retire. During his stay he conceals the light as much as possible in the hollow of his hands; and as the tents or rooms of the Indians are usually large and capacious, he escapes without detection. It is said that the young women who admit their lovers on these occasions take great care, by an immediate application to herbs, with the potent efficacy of which they are well acquainted, to prevent the effects

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