Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/18

 6 On thefiape of the Indians of America.

Their eyes are fmall, (harp, and black ; and their hair, is lank, coarfe, and darkifh. I never faw any with curled hair, but one in the Choktah country, where was alfo another with red hair ; probably, they were a mix ture of the French and Indians. Romancing travellers, and their credulous copyifts, report them to be Marks, and as perfons impuberes> and they ap pear fo to ftrangers. But both fexes pluck all the hair off their bodies, with a kind of tweezers, made formerly of clam-fhells, now of middle- fized wire, in the Ihape of a gun-worm ; which, being twitted round a fmall flick, and the ends fattened therein, after being properly tempered, keeps its form : holding this Indian razor between their fore-finger and thumb, they deplume themfelves, after the manner of the Jewifh novitiate priefts, and profelytes. As the former could not otherwife be purified for the function of his facerdotal office j or the latter, be admitted to the benefit of reli gious communion.

Their chief drefs is very fimple, like that of the patriarchal age ; of choice, many of their old head-men wear a long wide frock, made of the fkins of wild beafts, in honour of that antient cuftom : It muft be neceffity that forces them to the pinching fandals for their feet. They feem quite eafy, and indifferent, in every various fcene of life, as if they were utterly diverted of pafiions, and the fenfe of feeling. Martial virtue, and not riches, is their invariable ftandard for preferment ; for they neither efteem, nor defpife any of their people one jot more or lefs, on account of riches or drefs. They compare both thefe, to paint on a warrior's face ; becaufe it incites others to a fpirit of martial benevolence for their country, and pleafes his own fancy, and the eyes of fpeflators, for a little time, but is fweated off, while he is per forming his war-dances ; or is defaced, by the change of weather.

They formerly wore mirts, made of dreft deer-ikins, for their fummer vifuing drefs : but their winter-hunting clothes were long and fhaggy, made of the fkins of panthers, bucks, bears, beavers, and otters ; the fiefhy fides outward, fometimes doubled, and always foftened like velvet- cloth, though they retained their fur and hair. The needles and thread they ufed formerly, (and now at times) were fifn-bones, or the horns and bones of deer, rubbed (harp, and deer's finews, and a fort of hemp, that grows among them fpontaneoufly, in rich open lands. The women's drefs confifts only in a

broad

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