Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/166

 1 54 On the defcent of the American Indians from the Jews.

When I have reafoned with fome of the old headmen, againft their bar barous cuftom of killing defencelefs innocent perfons, who neither could nor would oppofe them in battle, but begged that they might only live to be their flaves, they told me that formerly they never waged war, but. in revenge of blood ; and that in fuch cafes, they always devoted the guilty to be burnt alive when they were purifying themfelves at home, to obtain, victory over their enemies. But otherwife they treated the vanquifhed with, the greateft clemency, and adopted them in the room of their relations, who had either died a natural death, or had before been fufficiently revenged,, though killed by the enemy.

The Ifraelites thus often devoted their captives- to death, without-any di- flinftion of age or fex, as when they took Jericho, they faved only merciful; Rahab and her family, after they had plundered the Midianites of their, riches, they put men women and children to death, dividing among them felves a few virgins and the plunder y with other inftances that: might be quoted. The Indian Americans, beyond all the prefent race of Adam, ., are actuated by this bloody war-cuftom of the Ifraelites j they put their captives to various lingering torments, with the fame, unconcern as the Levite, when he cut up his beloved concubine into eleven portions,, and fent them to the eleven tribes, to excite them to revenge the affront,, the Benjamites had given him. When equal blood has not been fhed to quench the crying blood of their relations, and give reft to their ghofts, according to their credenda, while they are fanclifying themfelves for war, they, always allot their captives either to be killed or put to the fiery torture : and they who are thus devoted,, cannot by any means be faved, though-, they refembled an angel in beauty and virtue.

Formerly, the Indians defeated a great body of the French, who at two different times came to invade their country. They put to the fiery torture a confiderable number of them, and two in particular, whom they imagined to have carried the French ark againft them. The Engliflv traders folicited with the moft earned entreaties, in favour of the unfor tunate captives, but they averred, that as it was not our bufmefs to intercede in behalf of a deceitful enemy who came to fhed blood, unlefs we were refolved to mare their deferved fate, fo was it entirely out of the reach of goods, though piled as high as the fkies, to redeem them, 7 becaufe

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