Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/405

 the North American Indians. 393

this a head-warrior leaped up, and faid, they had feen plain enough, that he was a warrior, and not afraid of dying, nor mould he have died, only that he was both fpoiled by the fire, and devoted to it by their laws : how ever, though he was a very dangerous enemy* and his nation a treache rous people, it fhould appear they paid a regard to bravery, even iri one, who was marked over the body with war ftreaks, at the coft of many lives of their beloved kindred. And then by way of favour, he, with his friendly tomohawk, inftantly put an end to all his pains : though the merciful but bloody inftrument was ready fome minutes before it gave the blow, yet I was allured, the fpectators could not perceive the fufferer to change, either his pofture, or his fteady erect countenance, in the leaft.

A party of the Senekah Indians came to war againft the Katahba, bitter enemies to each other. In the woods, the former difcovered a fprightly warrior belonging to the latter, hunting in their ufual light drefs ; on his perceiving them, he fprung off for a hollow rock, four of five miles diftant, as they intercepted him from running homeward. He was fo extremely fwift, and ikilful with the gun, as to kill feven of them in the running fight, before they were able to furround and take him. They carried him to their country in fad triumph : but, though he had filled them with uncommon grief and Ihame, for the lofs of fo many of their kindred, yet the love of martial virtue induced them to treat him, during their long journey, with a great deal more civility, than if he had acted the part of a coward. The women and children, when they met him at their feveral towns, beat and whipped him in as fevere a manner as the occafion required, according to their law of juftice, and at laft he was formally con demned to die by the fiery tortures. It might reafonably be imagined that what he had for fome time gone through, by being fed with a foamy hand, a tedious march, lying at night on the bare ground, expofed to the changes of the weather, with his arms and legs extended in a pair of rough (locks, and fuffering fuch punimments on his entering into their hoftile towns, as a prelude to thofe (harp torments for which he was deftined, would have fo impaired his health, and^arTected his imagina tion, as to have fent him to his long fleep out of the way of any mqre fuf- ferings. Probably, this would have been the cafe with the major part of -white people, under fimilar circumftances ; but I never knew this with any

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