Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/242

 230 An Account of the Cheerake Nation.

On the level parts of the water-fide, between the hills, there are plenty of reeds : and, formerly, fuch places abounded with great brakes of win ter-canes. The foliage of which is always green, and hearty food for horfes and cattle. The traders ufed to raife there ftocks of an hundred, and a hundred and fifty excellent horfes -, which are commonly of a good fize, well-made, hard-hoofed, handfome, ftrong and fit for the faddle or draught : but a perfon runs too great a rifk to buy any to take them out of the country, becaufe, every fpring-feafon moft of them make for their na tive range. Before the Indian trade was ruined by our left-handed policy, and the natives were corrupted by the liberality of our dim-fighted poli ticians, the Cheerake were frank, fincere, and induftrious. Their towns then, abounded with hogs, poultry, and every thing fufficient for the fup- port of a reafonable life, which the traders purchafed at an eafy rate, to their mutual fatisfacYion : and as they kept them bufily employed, and did not make themfelves too cheap, the Indians bore them good-will and re- fptct and fuch is the temper of all the red natives.

I will not take upon me to afcertain the real difference between the va lue of the goods they annually purchafed of us, in former and later times ^ but, allowing the confumption to be in favour of the laft, what is the gain of fuch an uncertain trifle, in comparifon of our charges and lofles by a mercilefs favage war ? The orderly and honeft fyftem, if refumed, and wifely purfued, would reform- the Indians, and regain their loft af fections, but that of general licences to mean reprobate pedlars, by which they are inebriated, and cheated, is pregnant with complicated evils to the peace and welfare of our valuable fouthern colonies*

As the Cheerake began to have goods at an under price, it tempted them to be both proud, and lazy. Their women and children are now far above taking the.trouble to raife hogs for the ugly white people, as the beautiful red heroes proudly term them. If any do they are forced to feed them in fmall penns, or inclofures, through all the crop-feafon, and chiefly on long purfly, and other wholfome weeds, that their rich fields abound with. But at the fall of the leaf, the woods are full of hiccory- nuts, acorns, chefnuts, and the like; which occafions the Indian bacon to be more ftreaked, firm, and better tafted, than any we meet with m 5 the

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