Читать книгу The History of the Five Indian Nations of Canada - Cadwallader Colden - Страница 7

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BEING A SHORT VIEW OF THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT OF THE FIVE NATIONS, AND OF THEIR LAWS, CUSTOMS, &C.

It is necessary to know something of the Form of Government of the People, whose History one is about to know, and a few Words will be sufficient to give the Reader a Conception of that of the Five Nations, because it still remains under original Simplicity, and free from those complicated Contrivances, which have become necessary to the Nations, where Deceit and Cunning have increased as much as their Knowledge and Wisdom.

The Five Nations (as their Name denotes) consist of so many Tribes or Nations, joined together by a League or Confederacy, like the United Provinces, and without any Superiority of the one over the other. This Union has continued so long, that the Christians know nothing of the Original of it: The People in it are known by the English under the Names of Mohawks, Oneydoes, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Sennekas.

Each of these Nations is again divided into three Tribes or Families, who distinguish themselves by three different Arms or Ensigns, the Tortoise, the Bear, and the Wolf; and the Sachems, or old Men of these Families, put this Ensign, or Mark of their Family, to every publick Paper, when they sign it.

Each of these Nations is an absolute Republick by itself, and every Castle in each Nation makes an independent Republick, and is govern'd in all publick Affairs by its own Sachems or old Men. The Authority of these Rulers is gain'd by, and consists wholly in the Opinion the rest of the Nation have of their Wisdom and Integrity. They never execute their Resolutions by Force upon any of their People. Honour and Esteem are their principal Rewards; as Shame, and being despised, their Punishments. They have certain Customs, which they observe in their publick Transactions with other Nations, and in their private Affairs among themselves; which it is scandalous for any one among them not to observe, and these always draw after them either publick or private Resentment, whenever they are broke.

Their Leaders and Captains, in like Manner, obtain their Authority, by the general Opinion of their Courage and Conduct, and lose it by a failure in those Virtues.

Their great Men, both Sachems and Captains, are generally poorer than the common People; for they affect to give away and distribute all the Presents or Plunder they get in their Treaties or in War, so as to leave nothing to themselves. There is not a Man in the Ministry of the Five Nations, who has gain'd his Office, otherwise than by Merit; there is not the least Salary, or any Sort of Profit, annexed to any Office, to tempt the Covetous or Sordid; but, on the contrary, every unworthy Action is unavoidably attended with the Forfeiture of their Commission; for their Authority is only the Esteem of the People, and ceases the Moment that Esteem is lost. Here we see the natural Origin of all Power and Authority among a free People, and whatever artificial Power or Sovereignty any Man may have acquired, by the Laws and Constitution of a Country, his real Power will be ever much greater or less, in Proportion to the Esteem the People have of him.

The Five Nations think themselves by Nature superior to the rest of Mankind, and call themselves Ongue-honwe; that is, Men surpassing all others. This Opinion, which they take Care to cultivate into their Children, gives them that Courage, which has been so terrible to all the Nations of North America; and they have taken such Care to impress the same Opinion of their People on all their Neighbours, that they, on all Occasions, yield the most submissive Obedience to them. I have been told by old Men in New England, who remembered the Time when the Mohawks made War on their Indians, that as soon as a single Mohawk was discover'd in the Country, their Indians raised a Cry from Hill to Hill, A Mohawk! A Mohawk! upon which they all fled like Sheep before Wolves, without attempting to make the least Resistance, whatever Odds were on their Side. The poor New England Indians immediately ran to the Christian Houses, and the Mohawks often pursued them so closely, that they entered along with them, and knocked their Brains out in the Presence of the People of the House; but if the Family had Time to shut the Door, they never attempted to force it, and on no Occasion did any Injury to the Christians. All the Nations round them have, for many Years, intirely submitted to them, and pay a yearly Tribute to them in Wampum1; they dare neither make War nor Peace, without the Consent of the Mohawks. Two old Men commonly go about every Year or two, to receive this Tribute; and I have often had Opportunity to observe what Anxiety the poor Indians were under, while these two old Men remained in that Part of the Country where I was. An old Mohawk Sachem, in a poor Blanket and a dirty Shirt, may be seen issuing his Orders with as arbitrary an Authority, as a Roman Dictator. It is not for the Sake of Tribute however, that they make War, but from the Notions of Glory, which they have ever most strongly imprinted on their Minds; and the farther they go to seek an Enemy, the greater Glory they think they gain; there cannot, I think, be a greater or stronger Instance than this, how much the Sentiments, impressed upon a People's Mind, conduce to their Grandeur, or one that more verifies a Saying often to be met with, though but too little minded, That it is in the Power of the Rulers of a People to make them either Great or Little; for by inculcating only the Notions of Honour and Virtue, or those of Luxury and Riches, the People, in a little Time, will become such as their Rulers desire. The Five Nations, in their Love of Liberty, and of their Country, in their Bravery in Battle, and their Constancy in enduring Torments, equal the Fortitude of the most renowned Romans. I shall finish their general Character by what an Enemy, a Frenchman, says of them, Monsieur De la Poterie, in his History of North America.

"When we speak (says he) of the Five Nations in France, they are thought, by a common Mistake, to be mere Barbarians, always thirsting after human Blood; but their true Character is very different. They are indeed the fiercest and most formidable People in North America, and, at the same Time, are as politick and judicious, as well can be conceived; and this appears from the Management of all the Affairs which they transact, not only with the French and English, but likewise with almost all the Indian Nations of this vast Continent."

Their Matters of Consequence, which concern all the Nations, are transacted in a general Meeting of the Sachems of each Nation. These Conventions are commonly held at Onnondaga, which is nearly the Center of their Country; but they have fixed on Albany for the Place of treating with the British Colonies.

They strictly follow one Maxim, formerly used by the Romans to increase their Strength, that is, they encourage the People of other Nations to incorporate with them; and when they have subdued any People, after they have satiated their Revenge by some cruel Examples, they adopt the rest of their Captives; who, if they behave well, become equally esteemed with their own People; so that some of their Captives have afterwards become their greatest Sachems and Captains. The Tuskaroras, after the War they had with the People of Carolina, fled to the Five Nations, and are now incorporated with them; so that they now properly indeed consist of six Nations, though they still retain the old Name of the Five Nations among the English. The Cowetas also, or Creek-Indians, are in the same Friendship with them.

The Tuskaroras, since they came under the Province of New York, behave themselves well, and remain peaceable and quiet; and by this may be seen the Advantage of using the Indians well, and I believe, if they were still better used (as there is Room enough to do it) they would be proportionably more useful to us.

The Cruelty the Indians use in their Wars, towards those that do not or cannot resist, such as Women and Children, and to their Prisoners, after they have them in their Power, is deservedly indeed held in Abhorrence: But whoever reads the History of the so famed ancient Heroes, will find them, I'm afraid, not much better in this Respect. Does Achilles's Behaviour to Hector's dead Body, in Homer, appear less savage? This Cruelty is also not peculiar to the Five Nations, but equally practised by all other Indians. It is wonderful, how Custom and Education are able to soften the most horrid Actions, even among a polite and learned People; witness the Carthaginians and Phoenicians burning their own Children alive in Sacrifice; and several Passages in the Jewish History; and witness, in later Times, the Christians burning one another alive, for God's Sake.

When any of the young Men of these Nations have a Mind to signalize themselves, and to gain a Reputation among their Countrymen, by some notable Enterprize against their Enemy, they at first communicate their Design to two or three of their most intimate Friends; and if they come into it, an Invitation is made, in their Names, to all the young Men of the Castle, to feast on Dog's Flesh; but whether this be, because Dog's Flesh is most agreeable to Indian Palates, or whether it be as an Emblem of Fidelity, for which the Dog is distinguished by all Nations, that it is always used on this Occasion, I have not sufficient Information to determine. When the Company is met, the Promoters of the Enterprize set forth the Undertaking in the best Colours they can; they boast of what they intend to do, and incite others to join, from the Glory there is to be obtained; and all who eat of the Dog's Flesh, thereby inlist themselves.

The Night before they set out, they make a grand Feast, to this all the noted Warriors of the Nation are invited; and here they have their War Dance, to the Beat of a Kind of a Kettle-drum. The Warriors are seated in two Rows in the House, and each rises up in his Turn, and sings the great Acts he has himself performed, and the Deeds of his Ancestors; and this is always accompanied with a Kind of a Dance, or rather Action, representing the Manner in which they were performed; and from Time to Time, all present join in a Chorus, applauding every notable Act. They exaggerate the Injuries they have at any Time received from their Enemies, and extol the Glory which any of their Ancestors have gained by their Bravery and Courage; so that they work up their spirits to a high Degree of warlike Enthusiasm. I have sometimes persuaded some of their young Indians to act these Dances, for our Diversion, and to shew us the Manner of them; and even, on these Occasions, they have work'd themselves up to such a Pitch, that they have made all present uneasy. Is it not probable, that such Designs as these have given the first Rise to Tragedy?

They come to these Dances with their Faces painted in a frightful Manner, as they always are when they go to War, to make themselves terrible to their Enemies; and in this Manner the Night is spent. Next Day they march out with much Formality, dressed in their finest Apparel, and, in their March, observe a profound Silence. An Officer of the regular Troops told me, that while he was Commandant of Fort-Hunter, the Mohawks, on one of these Occasions, told him, that they expected the usual military Honours as they passed the Garison. Accordingly he drew out his Garison, the Men presented their Pieces as the Indians passed, and the Drum beat a March; and with less Respect, the Officer said, they would have been dissatisfied. The Indians passed in a single Row, one after another, with great Gravity and profound Silence; and every one of them, as he passed the Officer, took his Gun from his Shoulder, and fired into the Ground near the Officer's Foot: They marched in this Manner three or four Miles from their Castle. The Women, on these Occasions, always follow them with their old Clothes, and they send back by them their Finery in which they marched from the Castle. But before they go from this Place, where they exchange their Clothes, they always peel a large Piece of the Bark from some great Tree; they commonly chuse an Oak, as most lasting; upon the smooth Side of this Wood they, with their red Paint, draw one or more Canoes, going from Home, with the Number of Men in them padling, which go upon the Expedition; and some Animal, as a Deer or Fox, an Emblem of the Nation against which the Expedition is designed, is painted at the Head of the Canoes; for they always travel in Canoes along the Rivers, which lead to the Country against which the Expedition is designed, as far as they can.

After the Expedition is over, they stop at the same Place in their Return, and send to their Castle, to inform their Friends of their Arrival; that they may be prepared to give them a solemn Reception, suited to the Success they have had. In the mean Time, they represent on the same, or some Tree near it, the Event of the Enterprize, and now the Canoes are painted with their Heads turned towards the Castle; the Number of the Enemy killed, is represented by Scalps painted black, and the Number of Prisoners by as many Withs, (in their Painting not unlike Pothooks) with which they usually pinion their Captives. These Trees are the Annals, or rather Trophies of the Five Nations: I have seen many of them; and by them, and their War Songs, they preserve the History of their great Achievements. The solemn Reception of these Warriors, and the Acclamations of Applause, which they receive at their Return, cannot but have in the Hearers the same Effect, in raising an Emulation for Glory, that a Triumph had on the old Romans.

After their Prisoners are secured, they never offer them the least Male-treatment, but, on the contrary, will rather starve themselves, than suffer them to want; and I have been always assured, that there is not one Instance, of their offering the least Violence to the Chastity of any Woman that was their Captive. But notwithstanding this, the poor Prisoners afterwards undergo severe Punishments before they receive the last Doom of Life or Death. The Warriors think it for their Glory, to lead them through all the Villages of the Nations subject to them, which lie near the Road; and these, to shew their Affection to the Five Nations, and their Abhorrence of their Enemies, draw up in two Lines, through which the poor Prisoners, stark naked, must run the Gauntlet; and on this Occasion, it is always observed, the Women are much more cruel than the Men. The Prisoners meet with the same sad Reception when they reach their Journey's End; and after this, they are presented to those that have lost any Relation in that or any former Enterprize. If the Captives be accepted, there is an End to their Sorrow from that Moment; they are dressed as fine as they can make them; they are absolutely free (except to return to their own Country) and enjoy all the Privileges the Person had, in whose Place they are accepted; but if otherwise they die in Torments, to satiate the Revenge of those that refuse them.

If a young Man or Boy be received in Place of a Husband that was killed, all the Children of the Deceased call that Boy Father; so that one may sometimes hear a Man of thirty say, that such a Boy of fifteen or twenty is his Father.

Their Castles are generally a Square surrounded with Palisadoes, without any Bastions or Out-works; for, since the general Peace, their Villages lie all open.

Their only Instruments of War are Musquets, Hatchets, and long sharp pointed Knives; these they always carry about with them: Their Hatchet, in War-time, is stuck in their Girdle behind them; and besides what Use they make of this Weapon in their Hand, they have a dexterous Way of throwing it, which I have seen them often practise in their Exercise, by throwing it into a Tree at a Distance: They have, in this, the Art of directing and regulating the Motion, so that though the Hatchet turns round as it flies, the Edge always sticks in the Tree, and near the Place at which they aim it. The Use of Bows and Arrows are now intirely laid aside, except among the Boys, who are still very dexterous in killing Fowls and other Animals with them.

They use neither Drum nor Trumpet, nor any Kind of musical Instrument in their Wars; their Throats serve them on all Occasions, where such are necessary. Many of them have a surprising Faculty of raising their Voice, not only in inarticulate Sounds, but likewise to make their Words understood at a great Distance; and we find the same was practised by Homer's Heroes,

Thrice to its Pitch his lofty Voice he rears,——

O Friend! Ulysses Shouts invade my Ears.

The Five Nations have such absolute Notions of Liberty, that they allow of no Kind of Superiority of one over another, and banish all Servitude from their Territories. They never make any Prisoner a Slave; but it is customary among them to make a Compliment of Naturalization into the Five Nations; and, considering how highly they value themselves above all others, this must be no small Compliment. This is not done by any general Act of the Nation, but every single Person has a Right to do it, by a Kind of Adoption. The first Time I was among the Mohawks, I had this Compliment from one of their old Sachems, which he did, by giving me his own Name, Cayenderongue. He had been a notable Warrior; and he told me, that now I had a Right to assume to myself all the Acts of Valour he had performed, and that now my Name would echo from Hill to Hill all over the Five Nations. As for my Part, I thought no more of it at that Time, than as an Artifice to draw a Belly full of strong Liquor from me, for himself and his Companions; but when about ten or twelve Years afterwards, my Business led me again among them, I directed the Interpreter to say something from me to the Sachems; he was for some Time at a Loss to understand their Answer, till he had asked me whether I had any Name among them: I then found that I was really known to them by that Name, and that the old Sachem, from the Time he had given me his Name, had assumed another to himself. I was adopted, at that Time, into the Tribe of the Bear, and, for that Reason, I often afterwards had the kind Compliment of Brother Bear.

The Hospitality of these Indians is no less remarkable, than their other Virtues; as soon as any Stranger comes, they are sure to offer him Victuals. If there be several in Company, and come from a-far, one of their best Houses is cleaned and given up for their Entertainment. Their Complaisance, on these Occasions, goes even farther than Christian Civility allows of, as they have no other Rule for it, than the furnishing their Guest with every Thing they think will be agreeable to him; for this Reason, some of their prettiest Girls are always ordered to wash themselves, and dress in their best Apparel, in Order to be presented to the Stranger, for his Choice; and the young Lady, who has the Honour to be preferred on these Occasions, performs all the Duties of a fond Wife, during the Stranger's Stay: But this last Piece of Hospitality is now either laid aside by the Mohawks, or, at least, they never offer it to any Christian. This Nation indeed has laid aside many of its ancient Customs, and so likewise have the other Nations, with whom we are best acquainted; and have adopted many of ours; so that it is not easy now to distinguish their original and genuine Manners, from those which they have lately acquired; and for this Reason it is, that they now seldom offer Victuals to Persons of any Distinction, because they know, that their Food and Cookery is not agreeable to our delicate Palates. Their Men value themselves, in having all Kind of Food in equal Esteem. A Mohawk Sachem told me with a Kind of Pride, That a Man eats every Thing without Distinction, Bears, Cats, Dogs, Snakes, Frogs, &c. intimating, that it is Womanish, to have any Delicacy in the Choice of Food.

I can however give two strong Instances of the Hospitality of the Mohawks, which fell under my own Observation; and which shew, that they have the very same Notion of Hospitality, which we find in the ancient Poets. When I was last in the Mohawks Country, the Sachems told me, that they had an Englishman among their People, a Servant who had run from his Master in New York. I immediately told them, that they must deliver him up. No, they answered, we never serve any Man so, who puts himself under our Protection. On this I insisted on the Injury they did thereby to his Master; and they allowed it might be an Injury, and replied, though we never will deliver him up, we are willing to pay the Value of the Servant to the Master. Another Man made his Escape from the Goal of Albany, where he was in Prison on an Execution for Debt; the Mohawks received him, and, as they protected him against the Sheriff and his Officers, they not only paid the Debt for him, but gave him Land, over and above sufficient for a good Farm, whereon he lived when I was last there. To this it may be added, all their extraordinary Visits are accompanied with giving and receiving Presents of some Value; as we learn likewise from Homer was the Practice in old Times.

Polygamy is not usual among them; and indeed, in any Nation, where all are on a Par, as to Riches and Power, Plurality of Wives cannot well be introduced. As all Kind of Slavery is banished from the Countries of the Five Nations, so they keep themselves free also from the Bondage of Wedlock; and when either of the Parties becomes disgusted, they separate without Formality or Ignominy to either, unless it be occasioned by some scandalous Offence in one of them. And in Case of Divorce, the Children, according to the natural Course of all Animals, follow the Mother. The Women here bring forth their Children with as much Ease as other Animals, and without the Help of a Midwife, and, soon after their Delivery, return to their usual Employment. They alone also perform all the Drudgery about their Houses, they plant their Corn, and labour it, in every Respect, till it is brought to the Table: They likewise cut all their Fire-wood, and bring it Home on their Backs, and in their Marches bear the Burdens. The Men disdain all Kind of Labour, and employ themselves alone in Hunting, as the only proper Business for Soldiers. At Times, when it is not proper to hunt, one finds the old Men in Companies, in Conversation; the young Men at their Exercises, shooting at Marks, throwing the Hatchet, Wrestling, or Running, and the Women all busy at Labour in the Fields.

On these Occasions, the State of Lacedæmon ever occurs to my Mind, which that of the Five Nations, in many Respects, resembles; their Laws, or Customs, being, in both, form'd to render the Minds and Bodies of the People fit for War.

Theft is very scandalous among them; and it is necessary it should be so among all Indians, since they have no Locks, but those of their Minds, to preserve their Goods.

There is one Vice which the Indians have all fallen into, since their Acquaintance with the Christians, and of which they could not be guilty before that Time, that is, Drunkenness: It is strange, how all the Indian Nations, and almost every Person among them, Male and Female, are infatuated with the Love of strong Drink; they know no Bounds to their Desire, while they can swallow it down, and then indeed the greatest Man among them scarcely deserves the Name of a Brute.

They never have been taught to conquer any Passion, but by some contrary Passion; and the Traders, with whom they chiefly converse, are so far from giving them any Abhorrence of this Vice, that they encourage it all they can, not only for the Profit of the Liquor they sell, but that they may have an Opportunity to impose upon them. And this, as they chiefly drink Spirits, has destroyed greater Numbers, than all their Wars and Diseases put together.

The People of the Five Nations are much given to Speech-making, ever the natural Consequence of a perfect Republican Government: Where no single Person has a Power to compel, the Arts of Persuasion alone must prevail. As their best Speakers distinguish themselves in their publick Councils and Treaties with other Nations, and thereby gain the Esteem and Applause of their Countrymen, (the only Superiority which any one of them has over the others) it is probable they apply themselves to this Art, by some Kind of Study and Exercise, in a great Measure. It is impossible for me to judge how far they excel, as I am ignorant of their Language; but the Speakers whom I have heard, had all a great Fluency of Words, and much more Grace in their Manner, than any Man could expect, among a People intirely ignorant of all the liberal Arts and Sciences.

I am inform'd, that they are very nice in the Turn of their Expressions, and that few of themselves are so far Masters of their Language, as never to offend the Ears of their Indian Auditory, by an unpolite Expression. They have, it seems, a certain Urbanitas, or Atticism, in their Language, of which the common Ears are ever sensible, though only their great Speakers attain to it. They are so much given to Speech-making, that their common Complements, to any Person they respect, at meeting and parting, are made in Harangues.

They have some Kind of Elegancy in varying and compounding their Words, to which, not many of themselves attain, and this principally distinguishes their best Speakers. I have endeavoured to get some Account of this, as a Thing that might be acceptable to the Curious; but, as I have not met with any one Person who understands their Language, and also knows any Thing of Grammar, or of the learned Languages, I have not been able to attain the least Satisfaction. Their present Minister tells me, that their Verbs are varied, but in a Manner so different from the Greek or Latin, that he cannot discover by what Rule it was done; and even suspects, that every Verb has a peculiar Mode: They have but few radical Words, but they compound their Words without End; by this their Language becomes sufficiently copious, and leaves Room for a good Deal of Art to please a delicate Ear. Sometimes one Word among them includes an entire Definition of the Thing; for Example, they call Wine Oneharadeseboengtseragberie, as much as to say, a Liquor made of the Juice of the Grape. The Words expressing Things lately come to their Knowledge are all Compounds: They have no Labeals in their Language, nor can they pronounce perfectly any Word wherein there is a Labeal; and when one endeavours to teach them to pronounce these Words, they tell one, they think it ridiculous that they must shut their Lips to speak. Their Language abounds with Gutturals and strong Aspirations, these make it very sonorous and bold; and their Speeches abound with Metaphors, after the Manner of the Eastern Nations, as will best appear by the Speeches that I have copied.

As to what religious Notions they have, it is difficult to judge of them; because the Indians, that speak any English, and live near us, have learned many Things of us; and it is not easy to distinguish the Notions they had originally among themselves, from those they have learned of the Christians. It is certain they have no Kind of publick Worship, and I am told that they have no radical Word to express God, but use a compound Word, signifying the Preserver, Sustainer, or Master of the Universe; neither could I ever learn what Sentiments they have of a future Existence. Their funeral Rites seem to be formed upon a Notion of some Kind of Existence after Death: They make a large round Hole, in which the Body can be placed upright, or upon its Haunches, which after the Body is placed in it, is covered with Timber, to support the Earth which they lay over, and thereby keep the Body free from being pressed; they then raise the Earth in a round Hill over it. They always dress the Corps in all its Finery, and put Wampum and other Things into the Grave with it; and the Relations suffer not Grass or any Weed to grow on the Grave, and frequently visit it with Lamentations: But whether these Things be done only as Marks of Respect to the Deceased, or from a Notion of some Kind of Existence after Death, must be left to the Judgment of the Reader.

They are very superstitious in observing Omens and Dreams; I have observed them shew a superstitious Awe of the Owl, and be highly displeased with some that mimicked the Cry of that Bird in the Night. An Officer of the regular Troops has informed me also, that while he had the Command of the Garrison at Oswego, a Boy of one of the far Westward Nations died there; the Parents made a regular Pile of split Wood, laid the Corps upon it, and burnt it; while the Pile was burning, they stood gravely looking on, without any Lamentation, but when it was burnt down, they gathered up the Bones with many Tears, put them into a Box, and carried them away with them; and this Inclination, which all ignorant People have to Superstition and amusing Ceremonies, gives the Popish Priests a great Advantage in recommending their Religion, beyond what the Regularity of the Protestant Doctrine allows of.

Queen Anne sent over a Missionary to reside among the Mohawks, and allowed him a sufficient Subsistence from the privy Purse; she sent Furniture for a Chappel, and a valuable set of Plate for the Communion Table; and (if I am not mistaken) the like Furniture and Plate for each of the other Nations, though that of the Mohawks was only applied to the Use designed. The common Prayer, or at least a considerable Part of it, was translated also into their Language and printed; some other Pieces were likewise translated for the Minister's Use, viz. An Exposition of the Creed, Decalogue, Lord's Prayer, and Church Catechism, and a Discourse on the Sacraments. But as that Minister was never able to attain any tolerable Knowledge of their Language, and was naturally a heavy Man, he had but small Success; and his Allowance failing, by the Queen's Death, he left them. These Nations had no Teacher, from that Time, till within these few Years, that a young Gentleman, out of pious Zeal, went voluntarily among the Mohawks. He was at first intirely ignorant of their Language, and had no Interpreter, except one of the Indians, who understood a little English, and had, in the late Missionary's Time, learn'd to read and write in his own Language. He learned from him how to pronounce the Words in the Translations, which had been made for the late Missionary's Use. He set up a School, to teach their Children to read and write their own Language; and they made surprizing Proficiency, considering their Master did not understand their Language. I happened to be in the Mohawk Country, and saw several of their Performances; I was present at their Worship, where they went through some Part of the Common Prayer with great Decency. I was likewise present, several Times, at their private Devotions, which some of them performed duly, Morning and Evening. I had also many Opportunities of observing the great Regard they had for this young Man; so far, that the Fear of his leaving them made the greatest Restraint on them, with which he threatened them, after they had been guilty of any Offence. Soon after that Time, this Gentleman went to England, received Orders, and was sent by the Society, Missionary to Albany, with Liberty to spend some Part of his Time among the Mohawks.

I had lately a Letter from him, dated the seventh of December, 1641, in which he writes as follows:

"Drunkenness was so common among them, that I doubt, whether there was one grown Person of either Sex free from it; seldom a Day passed, without some, and very often forty or fifty being drunk at a Time. But I found they were very fond of keeping me among them, and afraid I should leave them, which I made Use of to good Purpose; daily threatning them with my Departure, in Case they did not forsake that Vice, and frequently requiring a particular Promise from them singly; by which Means (through God's Blessing) there was a gradual Reformation; and I know not that I have seen above ten or twelve Persons drunk among them this Summer. The Women are almost all entirely reformed, and the Men very much. They have intirely left off Divorces, and are legally married. They are very constant and devout at church and Family Devotions. They have not been known to exercise Cruelty to Prisoners, and have, in a great Measure, left off going a fighting, which I find the most difficult, of all Things, to dissuade them from. They seem also persuaded of the Truths of Christianity. The greatest Inconveniency I labour under, is the Want of an Interpreter, which could I obtain, for two or three Years, I should hope to be tolerably Master of their Language, and be able to render it easier to my Successor."

This Gentleman's uncommon Zeal deserves, I think, this publick Testimony, that it may be a Means of his receiving such Encouragement, as may enable him to pursue the pious Purposes he has in View.

The Mohawks, were they civilized, may be useful to us many Ways, and, on many Occasions, more than any of our own People can be; and this well deserves to be considered.

There is one Custom their Men constantly observe, which I must not forget to mention; That if they be sent with any Message, though it demand the greatest Dispatch, or though they bring Intelligence of any imminent Danger, they never tell it at their first Approach; but sit down for a Minute or two, at least, in Silence, to recollect themselves, before they speak, that they may not shew any Degree of Fear or Surprize, by an indecent Expression. Every sudden Repartee, in a publick Treaty, leaves with them an Impression of a light inconsiderate Mind; but, in private Conversation, they use, and are delighted with brisk witty Answers, as we can be. By this they shew the great Difference they place between the Conversations of Man and Man, and of Nation and Nation; and in this, and a thousand other Things, might well be an Example to the European Nations.