Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/436

 424 General Obfervations on

forts of fine feathers, and feveral fmall battered pieces of copper kettles hammered, round deer-fkin thongs, and a red painted fcalp ; this is a boafting, valuable, and fuperlative ornament. According to their flandard, fuch a pipe conflitutes the jpoffefTor, a grand beau. They fo accurately carve, or paint hieroglyphic characters on the ftem, that all the war-actions, and the tribe of the owner, with a great many circumftances of things, are fully delineated. This may feem ftrange to thofe who are unacquainted with the ancient fkill of the Egyptians this way, and the prefent knowledge of the Turkifh mutes. But fo it is, and there is not perhaps the like num ber of mimic mutes on the face of the earth, nor ever were among the old Greek or Roman Pantomimi, as with the Indian Americans, for reprefent- ing the great and minute things of life, by different geftures, movements of the body, and expreffive countenances ; and at the fame time they are perfectly underftood by each other.

They make the handfomeft clothes bafkets, I ever faw, confidering their materials. They divide large fwamp canes, into long, thin, narrow fplin- ters, which they dye of feveral colours, and manage the workmanfhip fo well, that both the infide and outfide are covered with a beautiful variety of pleafing figures ; and, though for the fpace of two inches below the upper edge of each bafket, it is worked into one, through the other parts they are worked afunder, as if they were two joined a-top by fome ftrong cement. A large neft confifts of eight or ten bafkets, contained within each other. Their dimenfions are different, but they ufually make the outfide bafket about a foot deep, a foot and an half broad, and almoft a yard long.

The Indians, by reafon of our fupplying them fo cheap with every fort of goods, have forgotten the chief part of their ancient mechani cal fkill, fo as not to be well able now, at leaft for fome years, to live independent of us. Formerly, thofe bafkets which the Cheerake made, were fo highly efteemed even in South Carolina, the politeft of our colo nies, for domeftic ufefulnefs, beauty, and fkilful variety, that a large neft of them coil upwards of a moidore.

They make earthen pots of very different fizes, fo as to contain from two to ten gallons j large pitchers to carry water j bowls, dimes, platters,

bafons, 3

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