According to the oriental custom, they wear ear-rings and finger-rings in abundance. Tradition says, they followed the like custom before they became acquainted with the English.
The men and women in old times used such coarse diamonds, as their own hilly country produced, when each had a bit of stone fastened with a {170} deer’s sinew to the tying of their hair, their nose, ears, and maccaseenes: but from the time we supplied them with our European ornaments, they have used brass and silver ear-rings, and finger-rings;[[73]] the young warriors now frequently fasten bell-buttons, or pieces of tinkling brass to their maccaseenes, and to the outside of their boots, instead of the old turky-cock-spurs which they formerly used. Both sexes esteem the above things, as very great ornaments of dress, and commonly load the parts with each sort, in proportion to their ability of purchasing them: it is a common trading rule with us, to judge of the value of an Indian’s effects, by the weight of his fingers, wrists, ears, crown of his head, boots, and maccaseenes—by the quantity of red paint daubed on his face, and by the shirt about the collar, shoulders, and back, should he have one.
Although the same things are commonly alike used or disused, by males and females; yet they distinguish their sexes in as exact a manner as any civilized nation. The women bore small holes in the lobe of their ears for their rings, but the young heroes cut a hole round almost the extremity of both their ears, which till healed, they stretch out with a large tuft of buffalo’s wool mixt with bear’s oil: then they twist as much small wire round as will keep them extended in that hideous form. This custom however is wearing off apace. They formerly wore nose-rings, or jewels, both in the northern and southern regions of America, according to a similar custom of the Jews and easterns; and in some places they still observe it. At present, they hang a piece of battered silver or pewter, or a large bead to the nostril, like the European method of treating swine, to prevent them from rooting the earth; this, as well as the rest of their customs, is a true picture and good copy of their supposed early progenitors.
I have been among the Indians at a drinking match, when several of their beaus have been humbled as low as death, for the great loss of their big ears. Being so widely extended, it is as easy for a person to take hold of, and pull them off, as to remove a couple of small hoops were they hung within reach; but if the ear after the pull, stick to their head by one end, when they get sober, they pare and sew it together with a needle and deer’s sinews, after sweating him in a stove. Thus the disconsolate warrior recovers his former cheerfulness, and hath a lasting caution of not putting his ears a second time in danger with bad company: {171} however, it is not deemed a scandal to lose their ears by any accident, because they became slender and brittle, by their virtuous compliance with that favourite custom of their ancestors.
Argument XVIII.
The Indian manner of Curing their Sick, is very similar to that of the Jews. They always invoke YO He Wah, a considerable space of time before they apply any medicines, let the case require ever so speedy an application. The more desperately ill their patients are, the more earnestly they invoke the deity on the sad occasion. Like the Hebrews, they firmly believe that diseases and wounds are occasioned by the holy fire, or divine anger, in proportion to some violation of the old beloved speech. The Jews had but small skill in physic.—They called a physician “a binder of wounds,” for he chiefly poured oil into the wounds and bound them up. They were no great friends to this kind of learning and science; and their Talmud has this proverb, “the best physicians go to hell.” King Asa was reproved for having applied to physicians, for his disease in his feet. The little use they made of the art of medicine, especially for internal maladies; and their persuasion that distempers were either the immediate effects of God’s anger, or caused by evil spirits, led them to apply themselves to the prophets, or to diviners, magicians and enchanters. Hezekiah’s boil was cured by Isaiah—Benhadad king of Syria, and Naaman the Syrian applied to the prophet Elisha, and Ahaziah king of Israel sent to consult Baal-zebub. The Indians deem the curing their sick or wounded a very religious duty; and it is chiefly performed by their supposed prophets, and magi, because they believe they are inspired with a great portion of the divine fire. On these occasion they sing YO YO, on a low bass key for two or three minutes very rapidly; in like manner, He He, and Wa Wa. Then they transpose and accent those sacred notes with great vehemence, and supplicating fervor, rattling all the while a calabash with small pebble-stones, in imitation of the old Jewish rattles, to make a greater sound, and {172} as it were move the deity to co-operate with their simple means and finish the cure[[XLII]].
[XLII]. Formerly, an old Nachee warrior who was blind of one eye, and very dim-sighted in the other, having heard of the surprising skill of the European oculists, fancied I could cure him. He frequently importuned me to perform that friendly office, which I as often declined. But he imagining all my excuses were the effect of modesty and caution, was the more importunate, and would take no denial. I was at last obliged to commence Indian oculist. I had just drank a glass of rum when he came to undergo the operation at the time appointed; he observing my glass, said, it was best to defer it till the next day.—I told him, I drank so on purpose, for as the white people’s physic and beloved songs were quite different from what the red people applied and sung, it was usual with our best physicians to drink a little, to heighten their spirits, and enable them to sing with a strong voice, and likewise to give their patients a little, to make their hearts weigh even within them; he consented, and lay down as if he was dead, according to their usual custom. After a good many wild ceremonies, I sung up Sheela na Guira, “will you drink wine?” Then I drank to my patient, which on my raising him up, he accepted: I gave him several drinks of grogg, both to divert myself, and purify the obtruding supposed sinner. At last, I applied my materia medica, blowing a quill full of fine burnt allum and roman vitriol into his eye. Just as I was ready to repeat it, he bounded up out of his seemingly dead state, jumped about, and said, my songs and physic were not good. When I could be heard, I told him the English beloved songs and physic were much stronger than those of the red people, and that when they did not immediately produce such an effect as he found, it was a sure sign they were good for nothing, but as they were taking place, he would soon be well. He acquiesced because of the soporific dose I gave him. But ever after, he reckoned he had a very narrow chance of having his eye burnt out by Loak Ishtohoolo, for drinking Ooka Hoome, “the bitter waters,” and presuming to get cured by an impure accursed nothing, who lied, drank, ate hog’s flesh, and sung Tarooa Ookproo’sto, “the devil’s tune,” or the song of the evil ones.
When the Indian physicians visit their supposed irreligious patients, they approach them in a bending posture, with their rattling calabash,[[74]] preferring that sort to the North-American gourds: and in that bent posture of body, they run two or three times round the sick person, contrary to the course of the sun, invoking God as already exprest. Then they invoke the raven, and mimic his croaking voice: Now this bird was an ill omen to the ancient heathens, as we may see by the prophet Isaiah; so that common wisdom, or self-love, would not have directed them to such a choice, if their traditions had represented it as a bad symbol. But they chose it as an emblem of recovery, probably from its indefatigableness in flying to and fro when sent out of the ark, till he {173} found dry ground to rest on[[XLIII]]. They also place a bason of cold water with some pebbles in it on the ground, near the patient, then they invoke the fish, because of its cold element, to cool the heat of the fever. Again, they invoke the eagle[[75]] (Ooóle) they solicit him as he soars in the heavens, to bring down refreshing things for their sick, and not to delay them, as he can dart down upon the wing, quick as a flash of lightning. They are so tedious on this subject, that it would be a task to repeat it: however, it may be needful to observe, that they chuse the eagle because of its supposed communicative virtues; and that it is according to its Indian name, a cherubimical emblem, and the king of birds, of prodigious strength, swiftness of wing, majestic stature, and loving its young ones so tenderly, as to carry them on its back, and teach them to fly.
[XLIII]. The ancients drew bad presages from the situation, and croaking of ravens and crows. They looked on that place as unhappy, where either of them had croaked in the morning. Hesiod forbids to leave a house unfinished, lest a crow should chance to come and croak when sitting on it. And most of the illiterate peasants in Europe are tinctured with the like superstition, pretending to draw ill omens from its voice.
Josephus tells us, that Solomon had a divine power conferred upon him, of driving evil spirits out of possessed persons—that he invented several incantations by which diseases were cured—and left behind him such a sure method of exorcising, as the dæmons never returned again: and he assures us, the Jews followed the like custom as late as his own time; and that he saw such a cure performed by one Eleazar. They likewise imagined, that the liver of a fish would keep away evil spirits, as one of the apocryphal writers acquaints us[[XLIV]]. {174}