As the Cheerake began to have goods at an under price, it tempted them to be both proud, and lazy. Their women and children are now far above taking the trouble to raise hogs for the ugly white people, as the beautiful red heroes proudly term them. If any do—they are forced to feed them in small penns, or inclosures, through all the crop-season, and chiefly on long pursly, and other wholsome weeds, that their rich fields abound with. But at the fall of the leaf, the woods are full of hiccory-nuts, acorns, chesnuts, and the like; which occasions the Indian bacon to be more streaked, firm, and better tasted, than any we meet with in {230} the English settlements. Some of the natives are grown fond of horned cattle, both in the Cheerake and Muskohge countries, but most decline them, because the fields are not regularly fenced. But almost every one hath horses, from two to a dozen; which makes a considerable number, through their various nations. The Cheerake had a prodigious number of excellent horses, at the beginning of their late war with us; but pinching hunger forced them to eat the greatest part of them, in the time of that unfortunate event. But as all are now become very active and sociable, they will soon supply themselves with plenty of the best sort, from our settlements—they are skilful jockies, and nice in their choice.
From the head of the southern branch of Savanah-river, it does not exceed half a mile to a head spring of the Missisippi-water, that runs through the middle and upper parts of the Cheerake nation, about a north-west course,—and joining other rivers, they empty themselves into the great Missisippi. The above fountain, is called “Herbert’s spring[[LIV]]:” and it was natural for strangers to drink thereof, to quench thirst, gratify their curiosity, and have it to say they had drank of the French waters.[[117]] Some of our people, who went only with the view of staying a short time, but by some allurement or other, exceeded the time appointed, at their return, reported either through merriment or superstition, that the spring had such a natural bewitching quality, that whosoever drank of it, could not possibly quit the nation, during the tedious space of seven years. All the debauchees readily fell in with this superstitious notion, as an excuse for their bad method of living, when they had no proper call to stay in that country; and in process of time, it became as received a truth, as any ever believed to have been spoken by the delphic oracle. One cursed, because its enchantment had marred his good fortune; another condemned his weakness for drinking down witchcraft, against his own secret suspicions; one swore he would never taste again such known dangerous poison, even though he should be forced to do down to the Missisippi for water; and another comforted himself, that so many years out of the seven, were already passed, and wished that if ever he tasted it again, though under the greatest necessity, he might be confined to the stygian waters. Those who had their minds more inlarged, diverted themselves much at their cost, {231} for it was a noted favourite place, on account of the name it went by; and being a well-situated and good spring, there all travellers commonly drank a bottle of choice: But now, most of the packhorse-men, though they be dry, and also matchless sons of Bacchus, on the most pressing invitations to drink there, would swear to forfeit sacred liquor the better part of their lives, rather than basely renew, or confirm the loss of their liberty, which that execrable fountain occasions.
[LIV]. So named from an early commissioner of Indian affairs. (A). Maj. John Herbert who made a map of the Cherokee Country in 1715. In January of that year he accompanied Col. George Chicken on a journey towards the Tennessee Country, which Chicken journalized. Describing the spot, he wrote: “We come to ye top of ye mountain and there we see the hade of a River that Rones in to Chattahoushey River; about a mile on ye other side of ye mountain ther begon ye hade of another River that Rones into masashipey (Mississippi). Ouer march this day was 40 miles. Wee come to Quoneashee ⅐ hower after 5 a clocke where ye River that we see ye hade of was verry brode.” Charleston Year Book for 1894, p. 315. (W)
About the year 1738, the Cheerake[[118]] received a most depopulating shock, by the small pox, which reduced them almost one half, in about a year’s time: it was conveyed into Charlestown by the Guinea-men,[[119]] and soon after among them, by the infected goods. At first it made slow advances, and as it was a foreign, and to them a strange disease, they were so deficient in proper skill, that they alternately applied a regimen of hot and cold things, to those who were infected. The old magi and religious physicians who were consulted on so alarming a crisis, reported the sickness had been sent among them, on account of the adulterous intercourses of their young married people, who the past year, had in a most notorious manner, violated their ancient laws of marriage in every thicket, and broke down and polluted many of the honest neighbours bean-plots, by their heinous crimes, which would cost a great deal of trouble to purify again. To those flagitious crimes they ascribed the present disease, as a necessary effect of the divine anger; and indeed the religious men chanced to suffer the most in their small fields, as being contiguous to the town-house, where they usually met at night to dance, when their corn was out of the stalks; upon this pique, they shewed their priest-craft. However, it was thought needful on this occasion, to endeavour to put a stop to the progress of such a dangerous disease: and as it was believed to be brought on them by their unlawful copulation in the night dews, it was thought most practicable to try to effect the cure, under the same cool element. Immediately, they ordered the reputed sinners to lie out of doors, day and night, with their breast frequently open to the night dews, to cool the fever: they were likewise afraid, that the diseased would otherwise pollute the house, and by that means, procure all their deaths. Instead of applying warm remedies, they at last in every visit poured cold water on their naked breasts, sung their religious mystical song, Yo Yo, &c. with a doleful tune, {232} and shaked a calla-bash with the pebble-stones, over the sick, using a great many frantic gestures, by way of incantantion. From the reputed cause of the disease, we may rationally conclude their physical treatment of it, to be of a true old Jewish descent; for as the Israelites invoked the deity, or asked a blessing on every thing they undertook, so all the Indian Americans seek for it, according on the remaining faint glimpse of their tradition.
When they found their theological regimen had not the desired effect, but that the infection gained upon them, they held a second consultation, and deemed it the best method to sweat their patients, and plunge them into the river,—which was accordingly done. Their rivers being very cold in summer, by reason of the numberless springs, which pour from the hills and mountains—and the pores of their bodies being open to receive the cold, it rushing in through the whole frame, they immediately expired: upon which all the magi and prophetic tribe broke their old consecrated physic-pots, and threw away all the other pretended holy things they had for physical use, imagining they had lost their divine power by being polluted; and shared the common fate of their country. A great many killed themselves; for being naturally proud, they are always peeping into their looking glasses, and are never genteelly drest, according to their mode, without carrying one hung over their shoulders: by which means, seeing themselves disfigured, without hope of regaining their former beauty, some shot themselves, others cut their throats, some stabbed themselves with knives, and others with sharp-pointed canes; many threw themselves with sullen madness into the fire, and there slowly expired, as if they had been utterly divested of the native power of feeling pain.
I remember, in Tymáse, one of their towns, about ten miles above the present Fort Prince-George, a great head-warrior, who murdered a white man thirty miles below Cheeòwhee, as was proved by the branded deer-skins he produced afterward—when he saw himself disfigured by the small pox, he chose to die, that he might end as he imagined his shame. When his relations knew his desperate design, they narrowly watched him, and took away every sharp instrument from him. When he found he was balked of his intention, he fretted and said the worst things their language {233} could express, and shewed all the symptoms of a desperate person enraged at his disappointment, and forced to live and see his ignominy; he then darted himself against the wall, with all his remaining vigour,—his strength being expended by the force of his friends opposition, he fell sullenly on the bed, as if by those violent struggles he was overcome, and wanted to repose himself. His relations through tenderness, left him to his rest—but as soon as they went away, he raised himself, and after a tedious search, finding nothing but a thick and round hoe-helve, he took the fatal instrument, and having fixed one end of it in the ground, he repeatedly threw himself on it, till he forced it down his throat, when he immediately expired.—He was buried in silence, without the least mourning.
Although the Cheerake shewed such little skill in curing the small pox, yet they, as well as all other Indian nations, have a great knowledge of specific virtues in simples; applying herbs and plants, on the most dangerous occasions, and seldom if ever, fail to effect a thorough cure, from the natural bush. In the order of nature, every country and climate is blest with specific remedies for the maladies that are connatural to it—Naturalists tell us they have observed, that when the wild goat’s sight begins to decay, he rubs his head against a thorn, and by some effluvia, or virtue in the vegetable, the sight is renewed. Thus the snake recovers after biting any creature, by his knowledge of the proper antidote; and many of our arts and forms of living, are imitated by lower ranks of the animal creation: the Indians, instigated by nature, and quickened by experience, have discovered the peculiar properties of vegetables, as far as needful in their situation of life. For my own part, I would prefer an old Indian before any chirurgeon whatsoever, in curing green wounds by bullets, arrows, &c. both for the certainty, ease, and speediness of cure; for if those parts of the body are not hurt, which are essential to the preservation of life, they cure the wounded in a trice. They bring the patient into a good temperament of body, by a decoction of proper herbs and roots, and always enjoin a most abstemious life: they forbid them women, salt, and every kind of flesh-meat, applying mountain allum,[[120]] as the chief ingredient. {234}
In the year 1749, I came down, by the invitation of the governor of South-Carolina, to Charles-Town, with a body of our friendly Chikkasah Indians: one of his majesty’s surgeons, that very day we arrived, cut off the wounded arm of a poor man. On my relating it to the Indians, they were shocked at the information, and said, “The man’s poverty should have induced him to exert the common skill of mankind, in so trifling an hurt; especially, as such a butchery would not only disfigure, but disable the poor man the rest of his life; that there would have been more humanity in cutting off the head, than in such a barbarous amputation, because it is much better for men to die once, than to be always dying, for when the hand is lost, how can the poor man feed himself by his daily labour—By the same rule of physic, had he been wounded in his head, our surgeons should have cut that off, for being unfortunate.” I told the benevolent old warriors, that the wisdom of our laws had exempted the head from such severe treatment, by not settling a reward for severing it, but only so much for every joint of the branches of the body, which might be well enough spared, without the life; and that this medical treatment was a strong certificate to recommend the poor man to genteel lodgings, where numbers belonging to our great canoes, were provided for during life.[[121]] They were of opinion however, that such brave hardy fellows would rather be deemed men, and work for their bread, than be laid aside, not only as useless animals, but as burdens to the rest of society.
I do not remember to have seen or heard of an Indian dying by the bite of a snake, when out at war, or a hunting; although they are then often bitten by the most dangerous snakes—every one carries in his shot-pouch, a piece of the best snake-root, such as the Seneeka, or fern-snake-root,—or the wild hore-hound, wild plantain, St. Andrew’s cross, and a variety of other herbs and roots, which are plenty, and well known to those who range the American woods, and are exposed to such dangers, and will effect a thorough and speedy cure if timely applied. When an Indian perceives he is struck by a snake, he immediately chews some of the root, and having swallowed a sufficient quantity of it, he applies some to the wound; which he repeats as occasion requires, and in proportion to the poison the snake has infused into the wound. For a short space of time, there is a terrible conflict through all the body, by the jarring qualities of {235} the burning poison, and the strong antidote; but the poison is soon repelled through the same channels it entered, and the patient is cured.
The Cheerake mountains look very formidable to a stranger, when he is among their valleys, incircled with their prodigious, proud, contending tops; they appear as a great mass of black and blue clouds, interspersed with some rays of light. But they produce, or contain every thing for health, and wealth, and if cultivated by the rules of art, would furnish perhaps, as valuable medicines as the eastern countries; and as great quantities of gold and silver, as Peru and Mexico, in proportion to their situation with the æquator. On the tops of several of those mountains, I have observed tufts of grass deeply tinctured by the mineral exhalations from the earth; and on the sides, they glistered from the same cause. If skilful alchymists made experiments on these mountains, they could soon satisfy themselves, as to the value of their contents, and probably would find their account in it.