Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/75

 *fbelr nervous and emphatic aljlyle. 63

and a vowel was commonly fubjoined to each word, for the fake of a foft cadence ; as Abele^ and Ale> inftead of bltf, Abel^ and *?N, ^/, &c.

��The Englifh characters cannot be brought any nearer to the true pro nunciation of the Indian words, than as above fet down : fo that former writers have notorioufly ftrayed, by writing conjecturally, or taking things on the wing of fame. What Indian words we had, being exceedingly mangled, either by the fault of the prefs, or of torturing pens, heretofore induced fkilful perfons to conjecture them to be hieroglyphical characters, in imitation of the ancient Egyptian manner of writing their chronicles. _

The Indians exprefs themfelves with a great deal of vehemence, and with fhort paufes, in all their fet fpeeches j but, in common difcourfe, they ex prefs themfelves according to our ufual method of fpeech, only when they icold each other : which I never obferved, unlefs they were intoxicated with, fpiritous liquors, or cafually overheard a hufband when fober in his own fa mily. They always act the part of a ftoic philofopher in outward appear ance, and never Ipeak above their natural key. And in their philofophic way of reafoning, their language is the more fharp and biting, like keen irony and fatyr, that kills whom it praifes. They know, that thus they correct and fubdue the firft boilings of anger ; which, if unchecked, proves one of the moft dangerous pafllons to which human nature is fubject. So that remote favages, who have heard only the jarring fcreeches of night- owls, and the roaring voices of ravenous beads of prey, in this refpect give leflbns, and fet a worthy example to our moil civilized nations..

I have heard feveral eloquent Indian leaders, juft as they were ready to fet off for war, to ufe as bold metaphors and allegories in their fpeeches and images almoft as full and animating, as the eloquent penman of the old divine book of Job, even where he is paintinay with his ftrong colours, the gladnefs and contempt of the beautiful war-horfe, at the near approach of the enemy. I heard one of their captains, at the end of his oration for war, tell the warriors that flood outermoll, he feelingly knew their guns were burning in their hands ; their tomohawks thirfty to drink the blood of their enemy j and their trutly

arrows

�� �