Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/278

 266 An Account of the Mufkohge Nation.

fo hazardous a lay. Their queftions, cant language, and difcompofed coun tenances, informed him of their bloody intentions, and cautioned him from falling into any of their wily ftratagems, which all cowards are dextrous in forming. When they came to a boggy cane-branch, they ftrove to per- fuade him to alight, and reft a little, but finding their labour in vain, they got dov/n : one prepared a club to kill him, and the other a fmall frame of jplit canes tied together with bark, to bear his fealp feeing this, he fet off with the bravado whoop, through the high lands, and as he rode a fwifc horfe, he left them out of fight in an inftant. He took a great fweep round, to avoid an after-chafe. At night, he went to the town, got fire-arms, and provifions, and foon arrived fafe in Georgia.

Other inftances may be related, but thefe will fuffice to mew how fer- viceable fuch hardy and expert men would be to their country, as here tofore, if our Indian trade was properly regulated ; and how exceedingly preferable the tenth part of their number would prove againft boafted regular troops, in the woods. Though the britim legions are as warlike and formi dable in the field of battle, as any troops whatever, as their martial bravery has often testified, yet in fome fituations they would be infignificant and help- lefs. Regular bred foldiers, in the American woods, would be of little fer- vice. The natives and old inhabitants, by being trained to arms from their infancy, in their wood-land fphere of life, could always furround them, and fweep them off entirely, with little damage to themfelves. In fuch a cafe, field-pieces are a mere farce. The abettors of arbitrary power, who are making great advances through the whole Britim empire, to force the people to decide this point, and retrieve their conftitutional rights and liber ties, would do well to confider this. Is it poffible for tyranny to be fo weak and blind, as to flatter its corrupt greatnefs with the wild notion of placing a defpotic military power of a few thoufand regular troops, over millions of the Americans, who are trained to arms of defence, from the time they are able to carry them generally inured to dangers, and all of them poffeffing, in a high degree, the focial virtues of their manly free- minded fore-fathers, who often bled in the noble caufe of liberty, when hateful tyranny perfifted in ftretching her rod of opprefiion over their repin ing country ? Tyrants are obftinately deaf, and blind j they will fee and hear only through the falfe medium of felf-interefted court-flatterers, and ? inftead of redrefling the grievances of the people, have fometimes openly 7 defpiied

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