Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/150

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

have obferved one without it ; from which I conjecture, that as every ancient cuftom was defigned to convey, either a typical, or literal in- ftructive lefibn of fome ufeful thing ; and as no ufage of the old heathen world refembled this cuttom ; it feems ftrongly to point at Jacob's wreftling with an angel, and obtaining for himfelf and his pofterity, the name, ^N"i% (perhaps, Tojher-ale] " divine guide," or " one who prevails with the omni potent," and to the children of Ifrael not eating the finew of the thigh of any animal, to perpetuate the memory of their anceftor's finew being fhrunk, which was to obtain the bleffing.

The Indians always few their maccafenes with deer's finews, though of a (harp cutting quality, for they reckon them more fortunate than the wild hemp : but to eat fuch, they imagine would breed worms, and other ailments, in proportion to the number they eat. And I have been allured by a gentleman of character, who is now an inhabitant of South- Carolina, and well acquainted with the cuftoms of the northern Indians, that they alfo cut a piece out of the thigh of every deer they kill, and throw it away, and reckon it fuch a dangerous pollution to eat it, as to occafion ficknefs and other misfortunes of fundry kinds, efpecially by fpoil- ing their guns from fhooting with proper force and direction. Now as none of the old heathens had fuch a cuftom, muft it not be confidered as of Jfraelitim extraction ?



ARGUMENT XIII.

��The Indian MARRIAGES, DIVORCES, and PUNISHMENTS of adultery, ftill retain a ftrong likenefs to the Jewim laws and cuftoms in thefe points.

The Hebrews had fponfalia de prefenti, and fponfalia de future: a con- fiderable time generally intervened between their contract and marriage : and their nuptial ceremonies were celebrated in the night. The Indians obferve the fame cuftoms to this day, infomuch, that it is ufual for an elderly man to take a girl, or fometimes a <:hild to be his wife, becaufe {he is capable of receiving good imprefiions in that tender ftate : frequently, a moon elapfes after the contract is made, and the value received, before

the

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