Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/163

 *The law of retaliation. 151

fwamps, full of grape-vines and briars ; over broad lakes, rapid rivers, and deep creeks ; and all the way endangered by poifonous fnakes, if not with the rambling and lurking enemy, while at the fame time they were expofed to the extremities of heat and eold, the viciffitude of the feafons, to hunger and thirfl, both by chance, and their religious fcanty method of liv ing when at war, to fatigues, and other difficulties. Such is their over boiling revengeful temper, that they utterly contemn all thofe things as imaginary trifles, if they are fo happy as to get the fcalp of the murderer, or enemy, to fatisfy the fuppofed craving ghofts of their deceafed rela tions. Though they imagine the report of guns will fend off the ghofts of their kindred that died at home, to their quiet place, yet they firmly believe, that the fpirits of thofe who are killed by the enemy, without equal revenge of blood, find no reft, and at night haunt the houfes of the tribe to which they belonged*: but, when that kindred duty of retaliation is juftly executed, they immediately get eafe and power to fly away : This opinion, and their method of burying and mourning for the dead, of which we (hall fpeak prefently, occafion them to retaliate in fo earneft and fierce a manner. It is natural for friends to ftudy each others mutual happinefs, and we fhould pity the weaknefs of thofe who are deftitnte of our ad vantages ; whofe intellectual powers are unimproved, and who are utterly unacquainted with the fciences, as well as every kind of mechanical bufmefs, to engage their attention at home. Such perfons cannot well live with out war, and being deftitute of public faith to fecure the lives of em- bafladors in time of war, they have no fure method to reconcile their dif ferences : confequently, when any cafual thing draws them into a war, it grows every year more fpiteful till it advances to a bitter enmity, fo as to excite them to an implacable hatred to one another's very national names. Then they muft go abroad to fpill the enemy's blood, and to revenge crying blood. We muft alfo confider, it is by fcalps they get all their war- titles, which diftinguifh them among the brave : and thefe they hold in as high efteem, as the moft ambitious Roman general ever did a great triumph. By how much the deeper any fociety of people are funk in ignorance, fa- much the more they value themfelves on their bloody merit. This was

fo they believed that their bodies buried out of it, would be carried through caverns, or fub- terraneous paflages of the earth to the holy land, where they, lhall rife again and dart up to their holy attracting centre,.
 * As the Hebrews fuppofed there was a holinefs in Canaan/more than in any other land,

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