Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/190

 178 On the defient of the American Indians from the Jews*

��with him, which the avaricious Spaniards perceiving, they robbed. thefe ftore-houfes of the dead of an immenfe quantity of treafures. The motkrn Indians bury all their moveable riches, according to the cuftom o the ancient Peruvians and Mexicans, infomuch, that the grave is heir of all.

Except the Cheerake, only one inftance of deviation, from this ancient and general Indian cuftom occurs to me: which was that of Malahche^ the late fomous chieftain of the Kowwetah head war-town of the lower part of the Mufkohge country, who bequeathed all he pofleffed to his real, and adopted relations, being fenfible they would be much more ufeful to his living friends, than to hitnfdf during his long fleep : he difplayed a genius far fuperior to the crowd.

The Cheerake of late years, by the reiterated perfuafion of the traders,, have entirely left off the cuftom of burying effects with the dead body -^ the neareft of blood inherits them. They, and feveral other of our Indian nations, ufed formerly to moot all the live flock that belonged to the de- ceafed, foon after the interment of the corpfe -, not according to the Pa gan cuftom of the funeral piles, on which they burned feveral of the living, that they might accompany and wait on the dead, but from a narrow-hearted avaricious principle, derived from their Hebrew proge nitors.



Notwithftanding the North- American Indians, like the South-Ameri cans, inter the whole riches of the decealed with him, and fo make his corpfe and the grave heirs of all, they never give them the lead difturbance ;. even a blood-thirfty enemy will not defpoil nor difturb the dead. The grave proves an afylum, and a fure place of reft to the fleeping perfon, till at fp.me certain time, according to their opinion, he rifcs- again to inherit his favourite place, unlefs the covetous, or curious hand of fome foreigner, fhould break through his facred bounds. This cuftom of burying the dead pcrfon's treafures with him, has entirely fwallowed up their medals, and other monuments of antiquity, without any. probability o recovering them*.

As

fon, axe two brazen tables, and five of copper. They efteem them fo facred as to keep
 * In the Tuccabatches on the Tallapoofe river, thirty miles above the Allabahamah garri-

them,

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