Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/164

 :i2 O the defcent of the American Indians from the Jews.

long the characteriftic of the Hebrew nation, and has been conveyed down to thefe their fuppofed red defcendants.

.However, notwithftariding their bloody temper and conduct towards ene mies, when their law of blood does not interfere, they obferve that Mofaic precept, " He mall be dealt/with according as he intended to do to his neighbour, but the innocent and righteous man thou fhalt not flay." I muft obferve alfo that as the Jewim priefts were by no means to Ihed hu man blood, and as king David was forbidden by the prophet to build a
 * temple becaufe he was a man -of war and had fhed blood fo, the Indian

JJhtohoollo " holy men" are by their function abfolutely forbidden to flay; notwithftanding their propenfity thereto, even for fmall injuries. They will not allow the greateft warrior to officiate, when the yearly grand facri- fice of expiation is offered up, or on any other religious occafion, except the leader. All muft be performed by their beloved men, who are clean of every (lain of blood, and have their foreheads circled with ftrcaks of white clay.

As this branch of the general fubject cannot be illustrated, but by well-known facts, I mail exemplify it with the late and long-continued conduct of the nothern Indians, and thofe of Cape Florida, whom our navi gators have reported to be cannibals. The Muskohge, who have been bit ter enemies to the Cape Florida Indians, time immemorial, affirm their manners, tempers and appetites, to be the very fame as thofe of the , neighbouring Indian nations. And the Florida captives who were .fold in Carolina, have told me, that the Spaniards of St. Auguftine and St. Mark's garrifons, not only hired and paid them for murdering our feamen, who were fo unfortunate as to be fhipwrecked on their dangerous coaft ; but that they delivered up to the favages thofe of our people they did not like, to be put to the fiery torture. From their bigotted perfecuting ipirit, we may conclude the victims to have been thofe who would not worfhip their images and crucifixes. The Spaniards no doubt could eafily in fluence this decayed fmall tribe to fuch a practice, as they depended upon them for the neceflaries of life : and though they could never fettle out of their garrifons in Weft-Florida, on account of the jealous temper of the neighbouring unconquered Indians, yet the Cape-Floridans were only Spaiiifh mercenaries, fhedding blood for their maintenance. A fedticed Ir>

7 diaa

�� �