When all this is prepared, a great number of people assemble together, and forming a half circle around the forest, advance slowly, driving before them all the animals which it contains. These, finding themselves hard-pressed, run on, until they come to the fences, which they follow along, and thus enter the small enclosure to which they lead. Here there is no returning, as the hunters block up the narrow passage; the affrighted herd are compelled to enter the covered way of stakes, where they are easily killed with a spear.
The morning is the best time for hunting. This the Indian knows well, and he is always up and off in the woods before daylight, in hopes to be able to return at breakfast time with a deer, turkey, goose, or some other game, then in season. Meantime, his wife has pounded his corn, now boiling on the fire, baked her bread, and spread their mat in the open air, under the bright beams of the morning sun. And when the hunter returns with his load of game, they sit down to their simple meal, sweeter to them than the dainty repast of a Roman emperor—for it has been purchased by the labor of their own hands.
The houses of the Indians are built of a frame-work of small trees or poles, with a covering of bark or branches of trees; a hole in the top lets out the smoke, and a small opening in the side, with a mat hung before it, serves for a door. These huts or wigwams are generally small and dirty, and cannot be very agreeable residences; but this is of little consequence, as the natives spend most of their time in the open air. The tribes of Virginia lived in villages, which were generally surrounded by rows of palisadoes, or strong sharpened stakes, to secure them from the attacks of an enemy.
Formerly, the Indian dress consisted entirely of the skins of different animals, which they could dress until they became quite soft and pliant. Now, they generally make use of cloth, which they obtain from their civilized neighbors. They wear a blanket or coat of skins wrapt around the body, leggings, or close stockings, for the leg, and moccasins, or shoes made of skin, for the feet. Of course, the fashions vary in different countries; the Virginians were by no means so well clad as the natives of Canada.
Like all other half-civilized nations, the natives of America delight in ornamenting their persons. A young Indian warrior is, perhaps, as thorough-going a beau as any in the world. Heckewelder tells us of a young acquaintance of his, who had spent a whole day in preparing himself for a dance. His face was painted in such a singular style that it appeared different in every different view. When seen from the front, his nose appeared very long and narrow, with a round knob at the end, much like the upper part of a pair of tongs. When viewed in profile, on one side his nose represented the beak of an eagle; on the other side it resembled the snout of a pike, with the mouth open, so that the teeth could be seen. On one cheek there was a round spot of red, and on the other one of black; while the eyelids were so colored that they appeared to be upside down. This was the Indian ball dress; and the young dandy warrior was evidently very proud of his work.
They paint themselves on various other occasions; they do it in war, to strike terror into their enemies. The warriors of one tribe are known to paint their bodies with white streaks on a black ground so as to give them the hideous appearance of skeletons. In peace, the paint is generally blue, or some other light color.
Most Indians are in the habit of changing their place of residence several times a year, for the purpose of finding better hunting-grounds, or of retreating from their enemies. In their journeys, as in everything else, the women do all the drudgery of the household, such as packing up, and carrying the movables, and raising again their little cabin in their new situation. Such being the case, their furniture must be scanty and light. The dry leaves of the forest, with a blanket or a few skins, serve for a bed; a small iron kettle to boil their food, a mortar to grind their corn, with a few gourds, and, mats, make up the furnishing of an Indian wigwam.
To these, perhaps, should be added the cradle, which is as unlike the cradle in which, when little children, we have been gently rocked to sleep, as can be conceived. The cradle of the Indian babe is nothing but a hard board, to which the helpless infant is bound with strong bands or strips of wood, bent over like pieces of hoop. The cradle with the child is then hung on the branch of a tree, where it rocks to and fro in the wind, or is fastened to the back of its mother in her travels; the little pappoose enduring, without a sign of pain or ill-temper, all the hard knocks which it is obliged to receive in this situation.
The Indians never punish their children; they say it breaks the spirit of the young warriors, and that their sons will never be brave in fight, unless they are bold and forward in their youth. The parents, however, take another way to infuse into the minds of their children good principles, and a respect for the aged. This they do by exciting their pride and emulation; they tell them that if they follow the advice of the most admired and extolled hunter, trapper, or warrior, they will, at a future day, obtain a reputation equal to that which he possesses; that, if they respect the aged and infirm, they will be treated in like manner when their turn comes to feel the infirmities of old age.
These precepts seldom fail of effect; the ambition of the child is aroused; and he listens to the directions of those older and wiser than himself, in hopes of being, one day, admired and respected for his own bravery and wisdom. But although this may stimulate the faculties of youth, and may give them vigor, it is little likely to cultivate self-restraint, and the habit of acting according to a rule of duty.