Argument VI.
They count Time after the manner of the Hebrews.
They divide the year into spring—summer—autumn, or the fall of the leaf—and winter: which the Cheerake Indians call Kogeh, Akooèa, Oolekóhstè, Kòra; and the Chikkasah and Choktah nation, Otoolpha, Tóme palle, Ashtòra-móona, Ashtòra. Kógeh is drawn from Anantòge, the general appellation for the sun and moon; because, when the sun returns from the southern hemisphere, he covers the vegetable world with a green livery. Akooèa alludes strongly to the essential divine name, as we have seen in the former argument. With regard to Oolekohste, “the fall of the leaf,” as they call a buzzard, Soore, or Soole; and as Soolekohste signifies troublesome, offensive, disagreeable, the word signifies, that “the fall of the year is as disagreeable a sight, as that of a buzzard.” Kora, as with the Hebrews, signifies the winter; and is likewise the name of a bone: and by joining Hah, an Hebrew note of admiration, to the end of it, as Kora-Hah, it becomes the proper name of a man, signifying, “all bones,” or very bony. Otool-phà, “the spring season,” is derived from Oolpha, the name of a bud, or to shoot out; because then the solar heat causes vegetables to bud and spring. Tomeh signifies “the solar light,” and Palle, “warm or hot;” Ashtora, “winter,” and Moona, “presently,” &c.
They number their years by any of those four periods, for they have no name for a year; and they subdivide these, and count the year by lunar months, like the Israelites, who counted by moons, as their name sufficiently testifies; for they called them ירחים, the plural of ירח, the moon. The Indians have no distinct proper name for the sun and moon; one word, with a note of distinction, expresses both—for example; the Cheerake {74} call the sun Eus-se A-nan-tó-ge, “the day-moon, or sun;” and the latter, Neus-se A-nan-tó-ge, or “the night-sun, or moon.” In like manner, the Chikkasah and Choktah term the one, Neetak-Hasséh, and the other, Neennak-Hasséh; for Neetak signifies “a day,” and Neennak, “a night.”
Here I cannot[cannot] forbear remarking, that the Indians call the penis of any animal, by the very same name, Hasse; with this difference only, that the termination is in this instance pronounced short, whereas the other is long, on purpose to distinguish the words. This bears a strong analogy to what the rabbins tell us of the purity of the Hebrew language, that “it is so chaste a tongue, as to have no proper names for the parts of generation.” The Cheerake can boast of the same decency of style, for they call a corn-house, Watóhre and the penis of any creature, by the very same name; intimating, that as the sun and moon influence and ripen the fruits that are stored in it, so by the help of Ceres and Bacchus, Venus lies warm, whereas on the contrary, sine Cerere & Bacchus, friget Venus.
They count certain very remarkable things, by knots of various colours and make, after the manner of the South-American Aborigines; or by notched square sticks, which are likewise distributed among the head warriors, and other chieftains of different towns, in order to number the winters, &c.—the moons also—their sleeps—and the days when they travel; and especially certain secret intended acts of hostility. Under such a circumstance, if one day elapses, each of them loosens a knot, or cuts off a notch, or else makes one, according to previous agreement; which those who are in the trading way among them, call broken days. Thus they proceed day by day, till the whole time is expired, which was marked out, or agreed upon; and they know with certainty, the exact time of any of the aforesaid periods, when they are to execute their secret purposes, be they ever so various. The authors of the romantic Spanish histories of Peru and Mexico, have wonderfully stretched on these knotted, or marked strings, and notched square sticks, to shew their own fruitful inventions, and draw the attention and surprise of the learned world to their magnified bundle of trifles.
The method of counting time by weeks, or sevenths, was a very ancient custom, practised by the Syrians, Egyptians, and most of the oriental nations; {75} and it evidently is a remain of the tradition of the creation. The Creator, indeed, renewed to the Hebrews the old precept of sanctifying the seventh day, on a particular occasion. And Christianity promoted that religious observance in the western world, in remembrance of the work of redemption. The Greeks counted time by decads, or tens; and the Romans by nones, or ninths. The number, and regular periods of the Indians public religious feasts, of which presently, is a good historical proof, that they counted time by, and observed a weekly sabbath, long after their arrival on the American continent.
They count the day also by the three sensible differences of the sun, like the Hebrews—sun-rise, they term, Hassé kootcha meente, “the sun’s coming out;”—noon, or mid-day, Tabookòre;—and sun-set, Hassé Oobèa, literally, “the sun is dead;” likewise, Hasse Ookka’tòra, that is, “the sun is fallen into the water;” the last word is compounded of Ookka, water, and Etòra, to fall: it signifies also “to swim,” as instinct would direct those to do, who fell into the water. And they call dark, Ookklille—derived from Ookka, water, and Illeh, dead; which shews their opinion of the sun’s disappearance, according to the ancients, who said the sun slept every night in the western ocean. They subdivide the day, by any of the aforesaid three standards—as half way between the sun’s coming out of the water; and in like manner, by midnight, or cock-crowing, &c.
They begin the year,[[29]] at the first appearance of the first new moon of the vernal æquinox, according to the ecclesiastical year of Moses: and those synodical months, each consist of twenty-nine days, twelve hours, and forty odd minutes; which make the moons, alternately, to consist of twenty-nine and of thirty days. They pay a great regard to the first appearance of every new moon, and, on the occasion, always repeat some joyful sounds, and stretch out their hands towards her—but at such times they offer no public sacrifice.
Till the 70 years captivity commenced, (according to Dr. Prideaux, 606 years before the Christian æra) the Israelites had only numeral names for the solar and lunar months, except אביב and האתנים; the former signifies a green ear of corn; and the latter, robust, or valiant. And by the first {76} name, the Indians, as an explicative, term their passover, which the trading people call the green-corn dance. As the Israelites were a sensual people, and generally understood nothing but the shadow, or literal part of the law; so the Indians closely imitate them, minding only that traditional part, which promised them a delicious land, flowing with milk and honey. The two Jewish months just mentioned, were æquinoctial. Abib, or their present Nisan, was the seventh of the civil, and the first of the ecclesiastical year, answering to our March and April: and Ethanim, which began the civil year, was the seventh of that of the ecclesiastical, the same as our September and October. And the Indians name the various seasons of the year, from the planting, or ripening of the fruits. The green-eared moon is the most beloved, or sacred,—when the first fruits become sanctified, by being annually offered up. And from this period they count their beloved, or holy things.
When they lack a full moon, or when they travel, they count by sleeps; which is a very ancient custom—probably, from the Mosaic method of counting time, “that the evening and the morning were the first day.” Quantity they count by tens, the number of their fingers; which is a natural method to all people. In the mercantile way, they mark on the ground their numbers, by units; or by X for ten; which, I presume they learned from the white people, who traded with them. They readily add together their tens, and find out the number sought. They call it Yakâ-ne Tlápha, or “scoring on the ground.” But old time they can no way trace, only by remarkable circumstances, and æras. As they trade with each other, only by the hand, they have no proper name for a pound weight.
The Cheerake count as high as an hundred,[[30]] by various numeral names; whereas the other nations of East and West-Florida, rise no higher than the decimal number, adding units after it, by a conjunction copulative; which intimates, that nation was either more mixed, or more skilful, than the rest: the latter seems most probable. They call a thousand, Skoeh Chooke Kaiére, “the old,” or “the old one’s hundred:” and so do the rest, in their various dialects, by interpretation; which argues their former skill in numbers. {77}
I shall here give a specimen of the Hebrew method of counting, and that of the Cheerake, Chikkasah, and Muskohge or Creeks, by which some farther analogy will appear between the savage Indians, and their supposed Israelitish brethren. The Hebrew characters were numeral figures: they counted by them STOPP alphabetically, א (1), ב (2), and so on to the letter י, the tenth letter of the alphabet, and which stands for ten; then, by prefixing י to those letters, they proceeded with their rising numbers, as יא (11), יב (12), יג (13), יד (14), &c. They had words also of a numeral power, as אח͏ד (1), שני (2), שלשי (3), אדבע (4), &c. We shall now see how the Indian method of numbering agrees with this old standard, as well as with the idiom of the Hebrew language in similar cases.
The Cheerake number thus: Soquo 1, Tahre 2, Choeh 3, Nankke 4, Ishke 5, Sootáre 6, Karekóge 7, Suhnâyra 8, Sohnáyra 9, Skoeh 10, Soàtoo 11, Taràtoo 12, &c. And here we may see a parity of words between two of the Indian nations; for the Muskohge term a stone, Tahre; which glances at the Hebrew, as they not only built with such material, but used it as a word of number, expressive of two. In like manner, Ishke “five,” signifies a mother, which seems to shew that their numeral words were formerly significant; and that they are one stock of people.
The Chikkasah and Choktah count in this manner—Chephpha 1, Toogàlo 2, Tootchēna 3, Oosta 4, Tathlābe 5, Hannāhle 6, Untoogàlo 7, Untootchēna 8, Chakkále 9, Pokoole 10, Pokoole Aawa Chephpha, “ten and one,” and so on. The Cheerake have an old waste town, on the Georgia south-west branch of Savannah river, called Toogàlo; which word may come under the former observation, upon the numerical word two: and they call a pompion, Oosto, which resembles Oosta, four.
The Cheerake call twenty, Tahre Skoeh, “two tens;” and the Chikkasah term it, Pokoole Toogalo, “ten twos:” as if the former had learned to number from the left hand to the right, according to the Syriac custom; and the latter, from the right to the left hand, after the Hebrew manner. The former call an hundred, Skoeh Chooke; and, as before observed, a thousand, Skoeh Chooke Kaiére, or “the old one’s hundred;” for with them, Kaiére signifies “ancient,” or aged; whereas Eti, or Eti-u, expresses former old time. {78} May not this have some explanation, by the “Ancient of days,” as expressed by the prophet Daniel—magnifying the number, by joining one of the names of God to it—according to a frequent custom of the Hebrews? This seems to be illustrated with sufficient clearness, by the numerical method of the Chikkasah—for they call an hundred, Pokoole Tathleepa; and a thousand, Pokoole Tathleepa Tathleepa Ishto; the last of which is a strong double superlative, according to the usage of the Hebrews, by a repetition of the principal word; or by affixing the name of God to the end of it, to heighten the number. Ishto is one of their names of God, expressive of majesty, or greatness; and Soottathleepa[[XVIII]], the name of a drum, derived from Sootte, an earthen pot, and Tathleepa, perhaps the name or number of some of their ancient legions.
[XVIII]. The double vowels, oo and ee, are always to be joined in one syllable, and pronounced long.
The Muskohge method of counting is, Hommai 1, Hokkóle 2, Tootchēna 3, Ohsta 4, Chakàpe 5, Eepáhge 6, Hoolopháge 7, Cheenèpa 8, Ohstàpe 9, Pokóle 10, &c. I am sorry that I have not sufficient skill in the Muskohge dialect, to make any useful observations on this head; however, the reader can easily discern the parity of language, between their numerical words, and those of the Chikkasah and Choktah nations; and may from thence conclude, that they were formerly one nation and people.
I have seen their symbols, or signatures, in a heraldry way, to count or distinguish their tribes, done with what may be called wild exactness. The Choktah use the like in the dormitories of their dead; which seems to argue, that the ancienter and thicker-settled countries of Peru and Mexico had formerly, at least, the use of hieroglyphic characters; and that they painted the real, or figurative images of things, to convey their ideas. The present American Aborigines seem to be as skilful Pantomimi, as ever were those of ancient Greece or Rome, or the modern Turkish mutes, who describe the meanest things spoken, by gesture, action, and the passions of the face. Two far-distant Indian nations, who understand not a word of each other’s language, will intelligibly converse together, and contract engagements, without any interpreter, in such a surprizing manner, as is scarcely credible. As their dialects are guttural, the indications they use, with the hand or {79} fingers, in common discourse, to accompany their speech, is the reason that strangers imagine they make only a gaggling noise, like what we are told of the Hottentots, without any articulate sound; whereas it is an ancient custom of the eastern countries, which probably the first emigrants brought with them to America, and still retain over the far-extended continent[[XIX]].
[XIX]. The first numbering was by their fingers; to which custom Solomon alludes, Prov. iii. 16. “length of days is in her right hand.” The Greeks called this, Αποπεμπομαζειv, because they numbered on their five fingers: and Ovid says, Seu, quia tot digitis, per quos numeráre solemus; likewise Juvenal, Sua dextrâ computat annos. Others numbered on their ten fingers, as we may see in Bede de ratione temporum. And the ancients not only counted, but are said to speak with their fingers, Prov. vi. 13, “The wicked man he teacheth with his fingers.” And Nævius, in Tarentilla, says, dat digito literas. (A). Lord Kingsborough says the statement in the text is confirmed by Francisco Vazquez de Coronado. (W).