§ 21. They have a remarkable way of entertaining all strangers of condition, which is performed after the following manner: First, the king or queen, with a guard and a great retinue, march out of the town, a quarter or half a mile, and carry mats for their accommodation. When they meet the strangers, they invite them to sit down upon those mats. Then they pass the ceremony of the pipe, and afterwards, having spent about half an hour in grave discourse, they get up, all together, and march into the town. Here the first compliment is to wash the courteous traveler's feet; then he is treated at a plentiful entertainment, served up by a great number of attendants; after which he is diverted with antique Indian dances, performed both by men and women, and accompanied with great variety of wild music. At this rate he is regaled till bedtime, when a brace of young, beautiful virgins are chosen to wait upon him that night for his particular refreshment. These damsels are to undress this happy gentleman, and as soon as he is in bed, they gently lay themselves down by him, one on one side of him, and the other on the other. They steem it a breach of hospitality, not to submit to everything he desires of them. This kind ceremony is used only to men of great distinction—and the young women are so far from suffering in their reputation for this civility, that they are envied for it by all the other girls, as having had the greatest honor done them in the world.
After this manner, perhaps, many of the heroes were begotten in old time, who boasted themselves to be the sons of some wayfaring god.
CHAPTER VI.
OF THE LEARNING AND LANGUAGES OF THE INDIANS.
§ 22. These Indians have no sort of letters to express their words by; but when they would communicate anything that cannot be delivered by message, they do it by a sort of hieroglyphic, or representation of birds, beasts, or other things, shewing their different meaning by the various forms described, and by the different position of the figures.
Baron Lahontan, in his second volume of New Voyages, has two extraordinary chapters concerning the heraldry and hieroglyphics of the Indians; but I, having had no opportunity of conversing with our Indians since that book came to my hands, nor having ever suspected them to be acquainted with heraldry, I am not able to say anything upon that subject.
The Indians, when they travel ever so small a way, being much embroiled in war one with another, use several marks painted upon their shoulders to distinguish themselves by, and show what nation they are of. The usual mark is one, two, or three arrows. One nation paints these arrows upwards, another downwards, a third sideways—and others again use other distinctions, as in tab. 2, from whence it comes to pass, that the Virginia assembly took up the humor of making badges of silver, copper or brass, of which they gave a sufficient number to each nation in amity with the English, and then made a law, that the Indians should not travel among the English plantations without one of these badges in their company, to show that they are friends. And this is all the heraldry that I know is practiced among the Indians.