Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/138

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

dig a grave, prepare the tomb, anoint 'his hair, and paint his face ; and when his breath ceafes, they haften the remaining funeral preparations, and foon bury the corpfe. One of a different family will never, or very rarely pollute himfelf for a ftranger ; though when living, he would cheerfully hazard his life for his fafety : the relations, who become unclean by performing the funeral duties, mull live apart from the clean for feveral days, and be deanfed by fome of their religious order, who chiefly apply the button- fnake-root for their purification, as formerly defcribed : then they purify themfelves by ablution. After three days, the funeral, affiftants may con vene at the town-houfe, and follow their ufual diverfions. But the rela tions live reclufe a long time, mourning the dead. *

The Cheerake, notwithftanding they have corrupted mod of their primi tive cuftoms, obferve this law of purity in fo flricl: a manner, as not to touch the corpfe of their neareft relation though in the woods. The fear of pollu tion (not the want of natural affection, as the unfkilful obferve) keeps them alfo from burying their dead, in our reputed unfanctified ground, if any die as they are going to Charles-town, and returning home ; becaufe they are diftant from their own holy places and holy things, where only they could peform the religious obfequies of their dead, and purify themfelves according to law. An incident of this kind happened feveral years fince, a little below Ninety-fix, as well as at the Conggarees, in South-Carolina: at the former place, the corpfe by our humanity was interred ; but at the latter, even the twin-born brother of an Indian chriftian lady well known by the name of the Dark-lanthorn, left her dead and unburied.

The converfion of this rara avis was in the following extraordinary man ner. There was a gentleman who married her according to the manner of the Cheerake ; but obferving that marriages were commonly of a fhort

a little before the commencement of the late war with the Cheerake, when theuc&, a native of Nuquofe-town, died, none of the warriors would help to bury him, becaufe of the dan gerous pollution, they imagined they mould necefiarily contract from fuch a white corpfe j as he was begotten by a white man and a half-breed Cheerake woman and as the women are only allowed to mourn for the death of a warrior, they could not affift in this friendly duty. By much folicitacion, the gentleman (my author) obtained the help of an old friendly half- bred-warrior. They interred the corpfe ; but the favage became unclean, and was feparate .from every kind of communion with the reft, for the fpace of three days.
 * One of the Cheerake traders, who now re/ides in the Choktah country, aflures me, that

I duration,

�� �