Their chief trade is with those Europeans with whom they are in alliance, in hides, furs, &c. which they barter by the pound, for all other goods; by that means supplying the deficiency of money. But no proportion is kept to their value; what cost two shillings in England, and what cost two pence, are often sold for the same price; besides that, no attention is paid to the goodness, and a knife of the best temper and workmanship will only sell for the same price as an ordinary one. The reason of this is, that, in the beginning of the commerce, the Indians finding themselves greatly imposed upon, fixed a price on each article, according to their own judgment; powder, balls, and several other goods, are by this means set so low, that few people would bring them, but that the Indians refuse to trade with any person who has not brought a proportionable quantity, and the traders are cautious of losing a trade in which 5 or 600 per cent. in many articles fully recompences their loss in these.
As to religion, every one is at liberty to think for himself; whence flows a diversity of opinions amongst those that do think, but the major part do not give themselves that trouble. They generally concur, however, in the belief of one superior Being, who made them, and governs all things, and are therefore never discontent at any misfortune, because they say, the Man above would have it so. They believe in a reward and punishment, as may be evinced by their answer to Mr. Martin, who, having preached scripture till both his audience and he were heartily tired, was told at last, that they knew very well, that, if they were good, they should go up, if bad, down; that he could tell no more; that he had long plagued them with what they no ways understood, and that they desired him to depart the country. This, probably, was at the instigation of their conjurers, to whom these people pay a profound regard; as christianity was entirely opposite, and would soon dispossess the people of their implicit belief in their juggling art, which the professors have brought to so great perfection as to deceive Europeans, much more an ignorant race, whose ideas will naturally augment the extraordinary of any thing the least above their comprehension, or out of the common tract. After this I need not say that in every particular they are extremely superstitious, that and ignorance going always hand in hand.
They have few religious ceremonies, or stated times of general worship: the green corn dance seems to be the principal, which is, as I have been told, performed in a very solemn manner, in a large square before the town-house door: the motion here is very slow, and the song in which they offer thanks to God for the corn he has sent them, far from unpleasing. There is no kind of rites or ceremonies at marriage, courtship and all being, as I have already observed, concluded in half an hour, without any other celebration, and it is as little binding as ceremonious; for though many last till death, especially when there are children, it is common for a person to change three or four times a-year. Notwithstanding this, the Indian women gave lately a proof of fidelity, not to be equalled by politer ladies, bound by all the sacred ties of marriage.
Many of the soldiers in the garrison of Fort Loudoun, having Indian wives, these brought them a daily supply of provisions, though blocked up, in order to be starved to a surrender, by their own countrymen; and they persisted in this, notwithstanding the express orders of Willinawaw, who, sensible of the retardment this occasioned, threatened death to those who would assist their enemy; but they laughing at his threats, boldly told him, they would succour their husbands every day, and were sure, that, if he killed them, their relations would make his death atone for theirs. Willinawaw was too sensible of this to put his threats into execution, so that the garrison subsisted a long time on the provisions brought to them in this manner.
When they part, the children go with, and are provided for, by the mother. As soon as a child is born, which is generally without help, it is dipped into cold water and washed, which is repeated every morning for two years afterward, by which the children acquire such strength, that no ricketty or deformed are found amongst them. When the woman recovers, which is at latest in three days, she carries it herself to the river to wash it; but though three days is the longest time of their illness, a great number of them are not so many hours; nay, I have known a woman delivered at the side of a river, wash her child, and come home with it in one hand, and a goard full of water in the other.
They seldom bury their dead, but throw them into the river; yet if any white man will bury them, he is generally rewarded with a blanket, besides what he takes from the corpse, the dead having commonly their guns, tommahawkes, powder, lead, silver ware, wampum, and a little tobacco, buried with them; and as the persons who brings the corpse to the place of burial, immediately leave it, he is at liberty to dispose of all as he pleases, but must take care never to be found out, as nothing belonging to the dead is to be kept, but every thing at his decease destroyed, except these articles, which are destined to accompany him to the other world. It is reckoned, therefore, the worst of thefts; yet there is no punishment for this, or any other crime, murder excepted, which is more properly revenged than punished.
This custom was probably introduced to prevent avarice, and, by preventing hereditary acquisitions, make merit the sole means of acquiring power, honour, and riches. The inventor, however, had too great a knowledge of the human mind, and our propensity to possess, not to see that a superior passion must intercede; he therefore wisely made it a religious ceremony, that superstition, the strongest passion of the ignorant, might check avarice, and keep it in the bounds he had prescribed. It is not known from whence it came, but it is of great antiquity, and not only general over all North America, but in many parts of Asia. On this account the wives generally have separate property, that no inconveniency may arise from death or separation.
The Indians have a particular method of relieving the poor, which I shall rank among the most laudable of their religious ceremonies, most of the rest consisting purely in the vain ceremonies, and superstitious romances of their conjurers. When any of their people are hungry, as they term it, or in distress, orders are issued out by the headmen for a war-dance, at which all the fighting men and warriors assemble; but here, contrary to all their other dances, one only dances at a time, who, after hopping and capering for near a minute, with a tommahawke in his hand, gives a small hoop, at which signal the music stops till he relates the manner of taking his first scalp, and concludes his narration, by throwing on a large skin spread for that purpose, a string of wampum, piece of plate, wire, paint, lead, or any thing he can most conveniently spare; after which the music strikes up, and he proceeds in the same manner through all his warlike actions: then another takes his place, and the ceremony lasts till all the warriors and fighting men have related their exploits. The stock thus raised, after paying the musicians, is divided among the poor. The same ceremony is made use of to recompence any extraordinary merit. This is touching vanity in a tender part, and is an admirable method of making even imperfections conduce to the good of society.
Their government, if I may call it government, which has neither laws or power to support it, is a mixed aristocracy and democracy, the chiefs being chose according to their merit in war, or policy at home; these lead the warriors that chuse to go, for there is no laws or compulsion on those that refuse to follow, or punishment to those that forsake their chief: he strives, therefore, to inspire them with a sort of enthusiasm, by the war-song, as the ancient bards did once in Britain. These chiefs, or headmen, likewise compose the assemblies of the nation, into which the war-women are admitted. The reader will not be a little surprised to find the story of Amazons not so great a fable as we imagined, many of the Indian women being as famous in war, as powerful in the council.
The rest of the people are divided into two military classes, warriors and fighting men, which last are the plebeians, who have not distinguished themselves enough to be admitted into the rank of warriors. There are some other honorary titles among them, conferred in reward of great actions; the first of which is Outacity, or Man-killer; and the second Colona, or the Raven. Old warriors likewise, or war-women, who can no longer go to war, but have distinguished themselves in their younger days, have the title of Beloved. This is the only title females can enjoy; but it abundantly recompences them, by the power they acquire by it, which is so great, that they can, by the wave of a swan’s wing, deliver a wretch condemned by the council, and already tied to the stake.