Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/112

 joo On the defcent of the American Indians from the Jews.

knew it only by the phafes of the moon. In like manner, the fuppofed red Hebrews of the American defarts, annually obferved their feftivals, and Neetak Ydb-abj " days of afflicting themfelves before the Deity," at a pre fixed time of a certain moon. To th day, a war-leader, wha, by the number of his martial exploits is entitled to a drum, always fanctifies hinv felf, and his out-ftanding company, at the end of the old moon, fo as to go off at the appearance of the new one by day-light ; whereas, he who has not fufEciently diftinguifhed himfelf, muft fet out in the night.

As the firft of the Neetak Hoollo, precedes a long drift faft of twa nights and a day, they gormandize fuch a prodigious quantity of ftrong food, as to enable them to keep inviolate the fucceeding fail, the fab- bath of fabbaths, the Neetak Tab-ab : the feaft lafts only from morning till fun-fet. Being great lovers of the ripened fruits, and only tantalized as yet, with a near view of them ; and having lived at this feafon, but meanly on the wild products of nature fuch a faft as this may be truly faid to afflict their fouls, and to prove a fuffieient trial of their religious principles. During the feftival, fome of their people are clofely em ployed in putting their temple in proper order for the annual expiation ; and others are painting the white cabbin, and the fuppofed holieft, with white clay ; for it is a facred, peaceable place, and white is its emblem. Some, at the fame time are likewife painting the war-cabbin with red clay, or their emblematical red root, as occafion requires ; while others of an in ferior order, are covering all the feats of the beloved fquare with new mat- treffes, made out of the fine fplinters of long canes, tied together with flags. In the mean time, feveral of them are bufy in fweeping the temple, clearing it of every fuppofed polluting thing, and carrying out the afties from the hearth which perhaps had not been cleaned fix times fince the laft year's general offering. Several towns join together to make the annual facrifice -, and, if the whole nation lies in a narrow cornpafe, they make but one annual offering : by which means, either through a fenfual or religious principle, they ftrike off the work with joyful hearts. Every thing being thus prepared, the Arcbi-magus orders fome of his religious attendants ta dig up the old hearth, or altar, and ta fweep out the remains that by chance might either be left, or drop down. Then he puts a few roots of the but ton -fnake- root, with fome green leaves of an uncommon fmall fort of tobacco* and a little of the new fruits, at the bottom of the fire-place, which h*

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