Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/145

 alftaming from things deemed unclean.

rfiem, though the flefh is very wholefome, on account of the bark of trees they live upon. It muft be acknowledged, they are all degenerating a- pace, infomuch, that the Choktah Indians, on account of their fcantinefs of ammunition while they traded with the French, took to eat horfe-flem,, and even fnakes of every kind ; though each of thefe fpecies, and every fort of reptiles, are accounted by the other neighbouring nations, impure food in the higheft degree. And they ridicule the Choktah for their cannibal apoftacy, and term them in common fpeech, " the evil, ugly, Choktah.!'

They abhor moles fo exceedingly, that they will not allow their children, even to touch them, for fear of hurting their eye-fight, reckoning it con tagious. They believe that nature is pofleft of fuch a property, as to tranf-r fufe into men and animals the qualities, either of the food they ufe, or of- thofe objects that are prefented to their fenfes ; he who feeds on veniforv is according to their phyfical fyftem, fvvifter and more fagacious than the man- who lives on the flelh of the clumfy bear, or helplefs dunghill fowls, the, flow-footed tame cattle, or the heavy wallowing fwine. This is the reafon.. that feveral of their old men recommend, and fay, that formerly their greatefl chieftains obferved a conftant rule in "their diet, and feldom ate of any animal of a grofs quality, or heavy motion of body, fancying 5t> conveyed a.dullnefs through the whole fyftem, and difabled them from ex- exerting themielves with proper vigour in their martial, civil, and reli-. gious duties.

I have already fhewn their averfion to eating of unfanctified fruits ; and ia this argument, that they abftain from feveral other things, contrary to the, ufage of all the old heathen world. It may be objected, that now they, feldom refufe to eat hogs flefh, when the traders invite them to it ; but this proceeds entirely from vicious imitation, and which is common, with the moft civilized nations. When fwine were firft brought among them, they deemed it fuch a horrid abomination in any of their people to eat that fil thy and impure food, that they excluded the criminal from all religious communion in their circular town-houfe, or in their quadrangular hoty ground at the annual expiation of fins, equally as if he had eaten unfancti-. fled fruics. After the yearly atonement was made at the temple, he was indeed re-admitted to his ufual privileges. Formerly, none of their be-

loved;

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