Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/258

 246 An Account of the Cheerake Nation.

in cafe of a rupture with us, difluaded the furious young warriors from commencing hoftilities againft us, till they had demanded fatisfaction, agreeable to the treaty of friendmip between them and our colonies ; which if denied, they -would fully take of their own accord, as became a free, warlike, and injured people. In this date, the affair lay, for the belt part of a year, without our ufing any proper conciliating meafures, to prevent the threatening impending ftorm from dcftroying us : during that interval, they earneftiy applied to Virginia for fatisfaction, without receiving any ; in like manner to North-Carolina, and afterwards to South-Carolina, with the fame bad fuccefs. And there was another incident at Fort Prince- George, which fet fire to the fuel, and kindled it into a raging flame : three light-headed, diforderly young 'officers of that garrifon, forcibly violated fome of their wives, and in the mod (hamelefs manner, at their own houfes, while the hufbands were making their winter hunt in the woods and which infamous conduct they madly repeated, but a few months before the commencement of the war : in other refpects, through a haughty over bearing fpirit, they took pleafure in infulting and abufing the natives, when they paid a friendly vifit to trie garrifon. No wonder that fuch a behaviour, caufed their revengeful tempers to burft forth into action. When the In dians find no redrefs of grievances, they never fail to redrefs themfelves, cither fooner or later. But when they begin, they do not know where to end. Their third for the blood of their reputed enemies, is not to be quenched with a few drops. The more they drink, the more it inflames their third. When they dip their finger in human blood, they are reftlefs till they plunge themfelves in it.

Contrary to the wife conduct of the French garrifons in fecuring the af fection of the natives where they are fettled our fons of Mars imbittered the hearts of thofe Cheerake, that lie next to South-Carolina and Georgia colonies, againft us, with the mid fettlements and the weftern towns on the dreams of the Mifiifippi : who were fo incenfed as continually to upbraid the traders with our unkind treatment of their people in the camp at Mo- nongahela, and for our having committed fuch hodilities againd our good friends, who were peaceably returning home through our fettlements, and often under pinching wants. The lying over their dead, and the wailing of the women in their various towns, and tribes, for their deceafed rela tions, at the dawn of day, and in the dufk of the evening, proved another ftrong provocative to them to retaliate blood for blood. The Mufkohge

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