Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/121

 Their religious feftivals, fafts, &c. 109

over in- favour of thofe who could not go, or were not admitted to the firft -, and the latter cuftom, to be in obedience to the divine law, which their fuppofed progenitors were to write on the ports of the doors, to wear as frontlets before their eyes, and teach to their children.

Though the Indians do not ufe fait in their firft-fruit-oblation till the fourth day, it is not to be doubted but they formerly did. They reckon they cannot obferve the annual expiation of fins, without bear's oil, both to mix with that yearly offering, and to eat with the new fanctified fruits ; and fome years they have a great deal of trouble in killing a fufficient quan tity of bears for the ufe of this religious folemnity, and their other facred rites for the approaching year; for at fuch feafons they are hard to be found, and quite lean. The traders commonly fupply. themfelves with plenty of this oil from winter to winter; but the Indians are fo prepoflefied with a notion of the white people being all impure and accurfed, that they, deem their oil as polluting on thofe facred occafions, as Jofephus tells us the Jews reckoned that of the Greeks. An Indian warrior will not light his pipe at. a white man's fire if he fufpefts any unfanctified food has been< drefled at it in the new year. And in the time of the new-ripened fruits,- their religious men carry a flint, punk, and fteel, when they vifit us, for fear of polluting themfelves by lighting their pipes at our fuppofed Loak- cokproofe, " accurfed fire, 5 ' and fpoiling the power of their holy things. The polluted would, if known, be, infallibly anathamatized,, and expelled from the temple, with the women, who are fufpefted of gratifying their vici ous tafte. During the eight days feftival, they are forbidden even to touch the fkin of a female child : if they are detected, either in cohabiting with, or laying their hand an any of their own wives, jn that facred interval,, they are dripped naked,, and the offender is univerfally deemed fo atrocious a criminal, that hejives afterwards a miferable.life. Some have fhot them felves dead, rather than ftand the (hame, and the long year's continual re proaches cafl upon. them, for every mifchance that befalls any of their people, or the enfuing harveft, a neceffary effect of the divine anger, they, fay, for fuch a crying fin of pollution. An inftance of this kind I heard; happened fome years ago la Talqfe,. a town of the Mulkohge, feven miles- above the Alebama garrifon..

When we con fide r how fparingly they eat in their ufual way of liv ing,. it is furprizing to fee what a vaft quantity of food they confume 5 on.

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