Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/160

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

man (hall his blood be fhed :" like the Ifraelites, their hearts burn vio> lently day and night without intermiffion, till they fhed blood for bloodi They tranfmit from father to Ton, the memory of the lofs of their relation* or one of their own tribe or family, though it were an old woman if fhe was either killed by the enemy, or by any of their own people. If indeed the murder be committed by a kinfman, the eldefl can redeem : however*, if the circumftances attending the fact be peculiar and mocking to nature, the murderer is condemned to die the death of a fmner, " without any one to mourn for him," as in the cafe of filicide-, contrary to their ufage toward the reft of their dead, and which may properly be called the death or burial of a Jewiih afs,

When they have hadifuccefs in killing the enemy, they tie fire-brands in the moft frequented places, with grape vines which hang pretty low, in order that they may be readily feen by the enemy. As they reckon the aggreflbrs have loudly declared war, it would be madnefs or treachery in their opinion to ufe fuch public formalities before they have revenged cry ing blood ; it would inform the enemy of their defign of retaliating, and deftroy the honeft intention of war. They likewife drip the bark offieveral large trees in confpicuous places, and paint them with red and black hiero glyphics, thereby threatening the enemy with more blood and death. The laft were ftrong and fimilar emblems with the Hebrews, and the firft is ana logous to one of their martial' cuftoms -, for when they arrived at the enemies territories, they threw a fire-brand within their land, as an emblem ef the anger of AJh, " the holy fire" for their ill deeds to his peculiarly be loved people. To which cuftom Obadiah alludes, when he fays, (vcr.. i8v) " they mail kindle in them and devour them, there mall not be any r&- maining of the houfe of Efau, &c." which the Septuagint tranflates, " one who carries a fire-brand." The conduct of the Ifraelitifh champion^ Samp- fon, againft the Philiftines, proceeded from the fame war cuftom, when he took three-hundred Sbugnatim, (which is a bold ftrong metaphor) fignifyr ing Vulpes^ foxes or (heaves of corn -, and tying them tail to tail, or one end to the other in a continued train, he fet fire to them, and by that means* burned down their Handing corn.

In the late Cheerake war, at the earneft perfuafions of the trading people, fe- vcral of the Muikohge warriors came down to the barrier-fettlements of Geor gia*

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