Chapter 23

Another Instance, of the like Nature, happen'd at the same House. One of the Tuskeruro Kings had brought in a Slave to the same Governor, to whom he had sold him; and before he return'd, fell sick at the Governor's House; upon which, the Doctor that belong'd to this King's Nation, was sent for, being a Man that was held to be the greatest Conjurer amongst them. It was three Days, before he could arrive, and he appear'd (when he came) to be a very little Man, and so old, that his Hair was as white as ever was seen. When he approach'd the sick King, he order'd a Bowl of Water to be brought him, and three Chunks of Wood, which was immediately done. Then he took the Water, and set it by him, and spurted a little on him, and with the three Pieces of Wood, he made a Place to stand on, whereby he was rais'd higher; (he being a very low statur'd Man) then he took a String of Ronoak, which is the same as a String of small Beads; this he held by one End, between his Fingers; the other End touch'd the King's Stomach, as he stood on the Logs. Then he began to talk, and at length, the By-standers thought really, that they heard somebody talk to him, but saw no more than what first came in. At last, this String of Beads, which hung thus perpendicular, turn'd up as an Eel would do, and without any Motion of his, they came all up (in a lump) under his Hand, and hung so for a considerable time, he never closing his Hand, and at length return'd to their pristine Length and Shape, at which the Spectators were much frightned. Then he told the Company, that he would recover, and that his Distemper would remove into his Leg, all which happen'd to be exactly as the Indian Doctor had told. These are Matters of Fact, and I can, at this day, prove the Truth thereof by several substantial Evidences, that are Men of Reputation, there being more than a dozen People present, when this was perform'd; most of whom are now alive.

{Salmon-Creek.} There are a great many other Stories, of this Nature, which are seemingly true, being told by Persons that affirm they were Eye-Witnesses thereof; as, that they have seen one Roncommock (a Chuwou Indian, and a great Conjurer) take a Reed about two Foot long in his Mouth, and stand by a Creek-side, where he call'd twice or thrice with the Reed in his Mouth; and, at last, has open'd his Arms, and fled over the Creek, which might be near a quarter of a Mile wide or more; but I shall urge no Man's Belief, but tell my own; which is, that I believe the two first Accounts, which were acted at Mr. Southwell's Plantation, as firmly as any Man can believe any thing of that which is told him by honest Men, and he has not seen; not at all doubting the Credit of my Authors.

The Cures I have seen perform'd by the Indians, are too many to repeat here; so I shall only mention some few, and their Method. {Scald Head cured.} They cure Scald-heads infallibly, and never miss. Their chief Remedy as I have seen them make use of, is, the Oil of Acorns, but from which sort of Oak I am not certain. They cure Burns beyond Credit. I have seen a Man burnt in such a manner, (when drunk) by falling into a Fire, that I did not think he could recover; yet they cur'd him in ten Days, so that he went about. I knew another blown up with Powder, that was cured to Admiration. {No ulcerated Wounds.} I never saw an Indian have an Ulcer, or foul Wound in my Life; neither is there any such thing to be found amongst them. {Pox to cure.} They cure the Pox, by a Berry that salivates, as Mercury does; yet they use Sweating and Decoctions very much with it; as they do, almost on every Occasion; and when they are thoroughly heated, they leap into the River. The Pox is frequent in some of these Nations; amongst which I knew one Woman die of it; and they could not, or would not, cure her. Before she died, she was worn away to a Skeleton, yet walk'd up and down to the last. We had a Planter in Carolina, who had got an Ulcer in his Leg, which had troubled him a great many Years; at last, he apply'd himself to one of these Indian Conjurers, who was a Pampticough Indian, and was not to give the Value of fifteen Shillings for the Cure. {Indian cure an Ulcer.} Now, I am not positive, whether he wash'd the Ulcer with any thing, before he used what I am now going to speak of, which was nothing but the rotten doated Grains of Indian Corn, beaten to Powder, and the soft Down growing on a Turkey's Rump. This dry'd the Ulcer up immediately, and no other Fontanel was made to discharge the Matter, he remaining a healthful Man, till the time he had the Misfortune to be drown'd, which was many Years after. {Cure in Maryland.} Another Instance (not of my own Knowledge, but I had it confirm'd by several Dwellers in Maryland, where it was done) was, of an honest Planter that had been possess'd with a strange Lingring Distemper, not usual amongst them, under which he emaciated, and grew every Month worse than another, it having held him several Years, in which time he had made Tryal of several Doctors, as they call them, which, I suppose, were Ship-Surgeons. In the beginning of this Distemper, the Patient was very well to pass, and was possess'd of several Slaves, which the Doctors purged all away, and the poor Man was so far from mending, that he grew worse and worse every day. But it happen'd, that, one day, as his Wife and he were commiserating his miserable Condition, and that he could not expect to recover, but look'd for Death very speedily, and condoling the Misery he should leave his Wife and Family in, since all his Negro's were gone. At that time, I say, it happen'd, that an Indian was in the same Room, who had frequented the House for many Years, and so was become as one of the Family, and would sometimes be at this Planter's House, and at other times amongst the Indians.

This Savage, hearing what they talk'd of, and having a great Love for the Sick Man, made this Reply to what he had heard. `Brother, you have been a long time Sick; and, I know, you have given away your Slaves to your English Doctors: What made you do so, and now become poor? They do not know how to cure you; for it is an Indian Distemper, which your People know not the Nature of. If it had been an English Disease, probably they could have cured you; and had you come to me at first, I would have cured you for a small matter, without taking away your Servants that made Corn for you and your Family to eat; and yet, if you will give me a Blanket to keep me warm, and some Powder and Shot to kill Deer withal, I will do my best to make you well still.' The Man was low in Courage and Pocket too, and made the Indian this Reply. `Jack, my Distemper is past Cure, and if our English Doctors cannot cure it, I am sure, the Indians cannot.' But his Wife accosted her Husband in very mild terms, and told him, he did not know, but God might be pleased to give a Blessing to that Indian's Undertaking more than he had done to the English; and farther added; `if you die, I cannot be much more miserable, by giving this small matter to the Indian; so I pray you, my Dear, take my Advice, and try him;' to which, by her Persuasions, he consented. After the Bargain was concluded, the Indian went into the Woods, and brought in both Herbs and Roots, of which he made a Decoction, and gave it the Man to drink, and bad him go to bed, saying, it should not be long, before he came again, which the Patient perform'd as he had ordered; and the Potion he had administred made him sweat after the most violent manner that could be, whereby he smell'd very offensively both to himself, and they that were about him; but in the Evening, towards Night, Jack came, with a great Rattle-Snake in his Hand alive, which frightned the People almost out of their Senses; {Cure by a Snake.} and he told his Patient, that he must take that to Bed to him; at which the Man was in a great Consternation, and told the Indian, he was resolv'd, to let no Snake come into his Bed, for he might as well die of the Distemper he had, as be kill'd with the Bite of that Serpent. To which the Indian reply'd, he could not bite him now, nor do him any Harm; for he had taken out his Poison-teeth, and shew'd him, that they were gone. At last, with much Persuasion, he admitted the Snake's Company, which the Indian put about his Middle, and order'd nobody to take him away upon any account, which was strictly observ'd, although the Snake girded him as hard for a great while, as if he had been drawn in by a Belt, which one pull'd at, with all his strength. At last, the Snake's Twitches grew weaker and weaker, till, by degrees, he felt him not; and opening the Bed, he was found dead, and the Man thought himself better. The Indian came in the Morning, and seeing the Snake dead, told the Man, that his Distemper was dead along with that Snake, which prov'd so as he said; for the Man speedily recover'd his Health, and became perfectly well.

{Spleen how cure.} They cure the Spleen (which they are much addicted to) by burning with a Reed. They lay the Patient on his Back, so put a hollow Cane into the Fire, where they burn the End thereof, till it is very hot, and on Fire at the end. Then they lay a Piece of thin Leather on the Patient's Belly, between the Pit of the Stomach and the Navel, so press the hot Reed on the Leather, which burns the Patient so that you may ever after see the Impression of the Reed where it was laid on, which Mark never goes off so long as he lives. This is used for the Belly-Ach sometimes. {Colouring of the Hair.} They can colour their Hair black, though sometimes it is reddish, which they do with the Seed of a Flower that grows commonly in their Plantations. I believe this would change the reddest Hair into perfect black. {Not many Tears, Rozins.} They make use of no Minerals in their Physick, and not much of Animals; but chiefly rely on Vegetables. They have several Remedies for the Tooth-ach, which often drive away the Pain; but if they fail, they have Recourse to punching out the Tooth, with a small Cane set against the same, on a Bit of Leather. Then they strike the Reed, and so drive out the Tooth; and howsoever it may seem to the Europeans, I prefer it before the common way of drawing Teeth by those Instruments than endanger the Jaw, and a Flux of Blood often follows, which this Method of a Punch never is attended withal; neither is it half the Pain. The Spontaneous Plants of America the Savages are well acquainted withal; and a Flux of Blood never follows any of their Operations. They are wholly Strangers to Amputation, and for what natural Issues of Blood happen immoderately, they are not to seek for a certain and speedy Cure. Tears, Rozins, and Gums, I have not discover'd that they make much use of; And as for Purging and Emeticks, so much in fashion with us, they never apply themselves to, {Yaupon.} unless in drinking vast Quantities of their Yaupon or Tea, and vomiting it up again, as clear as they drink it. This is a Custom amongst all those that can procure that Plant, in which manner they take it every other Morning, or oftner; by which Method they keep their Stomachs clean, without pricking the Coats, and straining Nature, as every Purge is an Enemy to. Besides, the great Diuretick Quality of their Tea carries off a great deal, that perhaps might prejudice their Health, by Agues, and Fevers, which all watry Countries are addicted to; for which reason, I believe, it is, that the Indians are not so much addicted to that Distemper, as we are, they preventing its seizing upon them, by this Plant alone. Moreover, I have remark'd, that it is only those Places bordering on the Ocean and great Rivers, that this Distemper is frequent in, and only on and near the same Places this Evergreen is to be found; and none up towards the Mountains, where these Agues seldom or never appear; Nature having provided suitable Remedies, in all Countries, proper for the Maladies that are common thereto. The Savages of Carolina have this Tea in Veneration, above all the Plants they are acquainted withal, and tell you, the Discovery thereof was by an infirm Indian, that labour'd under the Burden of many rugged Distempers, and could not be cured by all their Doctors; so, one day, he fell asleep, and dreamt, that if he took a Decoction of the Tree that grew at his Head, he would certainly be cured; upon which he awoke, and saw the Yaupon or Cassena-Tree, which was not there when he fell asleep. He follow'd the Direction of his Dream, and became perfectly well in a short time. Now, I suppose, no Man has so little Sense as to believe this Fable; yet it lets us see what they intend thereby, and that it has, doubtless, work'd Feats enough, to gain it such an Esteem amongst these Savages, who are too well versed in Vegetables, to be brought to a continual use of any one of them, upon a meer Conceit or Fancy, without some apparent Benefit they found thereby; especially, when we are sensible, they drink the Juices of Plants, to free Nature of her Burdens, and not out of Foppery and Fashion, as other Nations are oftentimes found to do. Amongst all the Discoveries of America, by the Missionaries of the French and Spaniards, I wonder none of them was so kind to the World, as to have kept a Catalogue of the Distempers they found the Savages capable of curing, and their Method of Cure; which might have been of some Advantage to our Materia Medica at home, when deliver'd by Men of Learning, and other Qualifications, as most of them are. Authors generally tell us, that the Savages are well enough acquainted with those Plants which their Climate affords, and that some of them effect great Cures, but by what Means, and in what Form, we are left in the dark. {Sassafras.} The Bark of the Root of the Sassafras-Tree, I have observ'd, is much used by them. They generally torrefy it in the Embers, so strip off the Bark from the Root, beating it to a Consistence fit to spread, so lay it on the griev'd Part; which both cleanses a fowl Ulcer; and after Scarrification, being apply'd to a Contusion, or Swelling, draws forth the Pain, and reduces the Part to its pristine State of Health, as I have often seen effected. Fats and Unguents never appear in their Chirurgery, when the Skin is once broke. The Fats of Animals are used by them, to render their Limbs pliable, and when wearied, to relieve the Joints, and this not often, because they approve of the Sweating-House (in such cases) above all things. {Make Bread, how. Alkali Salts.} The Salts they mix with their Bread and Soupe, to give them a Relish, are Alkalis, (viz.) Ashes, and calcined Bones of Deer, and other Animals. {No Sallads, Pepper, or Mustard.} Sallads, they never eat any; as for Pepper and Mustard, they reckon us little better than Madmen, to make use of it amongst our Victuals. They are never troubled with the Scurvy, Dropsy, nor Stone. The Phthisick, Asthma, and Diabetes, they are wholly Strangers to; neither do I remember I ever saw one Paralytick amongst them. The Gout, I cannot be certain whether they know what it is, or not. Indeed, I never saw any Nodes or Swellings, which attend the Gout in Europe; {Rhumatick Pains.} yet they have a sort of Rhumatism or Burning of the Limbs, which tortures them grievously, at which time their Legs are so hot, that they employ the young People continually to pour Water down them. I never saw but one or two thus afflicted. The Struma is not uncommon amongst these Savages, and another Distemper, which is, in some respects, like the Pox, but is attended with no Gonorrhoea. This not seldom bereaves them of their Nose. I have seen three or four of them render'd most miserable Spectacles by this Distemper. Yet, when they have been so negligent, as to let it run on so far without curbing of it; at last, they make shift to patch themselves up, and live for many years after; and such Men commonly turn Doctors. I have known two or three of these no-nose Doctors in great Esteem amongst these Savages. The Juice of the Tulip-Tree is used as a proper Remedy for this Distemper. What Knowledge they have in Anatomy, I cannot tell, neither did I ever see them employ themselves therein, unless, as I told you before, when they make the Skeletons of their Kings and great Mens Bones.

The Indians are very careless and negligent of their Health; as, by Drunkenness, Wading in the Water, irregular Diet and Lodging, and a thousand other Disorders, (that would kill an European) which they daily use. They boil and roast their Meat extraordinary much, and eat abundance of Broth, {Naked Indians.} except the Savages whom we call the naked Indians, who never eat any Soupe. They travel from the Banks of the Messiasippi, to war against the Sinnagars or Iroquois, and are (if equal Numbers) commonly too hard for them. They will lie and sleep in the Woods without Fire, being inur'd thereto. They are the hardiest of all Indians, and run so fast, that they are never taken, neither do any Indians outrun them, if they are pursu'd. Their Savage Enemies say, their Nimbleness and Wind proceeds from their never eating any Broth. {Small-Pox.} The Small-Pox has been fatal to them; they do not often escape, when they are seiz'd with that Distemper, which is a contrary Fever to what they ever knew. Most certain, it had never visited America, before the Discovery thereof by the Christians. Their running into the Water, in the Extremity of this Disease, strikes it in, and kills all that use it. Now they are become a little wiser; but formerly it destroy'd whole Towns, without leaving one Indian alive in the Village. The Plague was never known amongst them, that I could learn by what Enquiry I have made: These Savages use Scarrification almost in all Distempers. Their chief Instruments for that Operation is the Teeth of Rattle-Snakes, which they poison withal. They take them out of the Snake's Head, and suck out the Poison with their Mouths, (and so keep them for use) and spit out the Venom, which is green, and are never damag'd thereby. The Small-Pox and Rum have made such a Destruction amongst them, that, on good grounds, I do believe, there is not the sixth Savage living within two hundred Miles of all our Settlements, as there were fifty Years ago. These poor Creatures have so many Enemies to destroy them, that it's a wonder one of them is left alive near us. The Small-pox I have acquainted you withal above, and so I have of Rum, and shall only add, that they have got a way to carry it back to the Westward Indians, who never knew what it was, till within very few Years. Now they have it brought them by the Tuskeruro's, and other Neighbour-Indians, but the Tuskeruro's chiefly, who carry it in Rundlets several hundred Miles, amongst other Indians. Sometimes they cannot forbear breaking their Cargo, but sit down in the Woods, and drink it all up, and then hollow and shout like so many Bedlamites. I accidentally once met with one of these drunken Crews, and was amaz'd to see a Parcel of drunken Savages so far from any Englishman's House; but the Indians I had in Company inform'd me, that they were Merchants, and had drunk all their Stock, as is very common for them to do. But when they happen to carry it safe, (which is seldom, without drinking some part of it, and filling it up with Water) and come to an Indian Town, those that buy Rum of them have so many Mouthfuls for a Buck-Skin, they never using any other Measure; and for this purpose, the Buyer always makes Choice of his Man, which is one that has the greatest Mouth, whom he brings to the Market with a Bowl to put it in. The Seller looks narrowly to the Man's Mouth that measures it, and if he happens to swallow any down, either through Wilfulness or otherwise, the Merchant or some of his Party, does not scruple to knock the Fellow down, exclaiming against him for false Measure. Thereupon, the Buyer finds another Mouthpiece to measure the Rum by; so that this Trading is very agreeable to the Spectators, to see such a deal of Quarrelling and Controversy, as often happens, about it, and is very diverting.

{Poisoning of Taylor.} Another Destroyer of them, is, the Art they have, and often practise, of poisoning one another; which is done by a large, white, spungy Root, that grows in the Fresh-Marshes, which is one of their Poisons; not but that they have many other Drugs, which they poison one another withal.

{How the Indians war.} Lastly, the continual Wars these Savages maintain, one Nation against another, which sometimes hold for some Ages, killing and making Captives, till they become so weak thereby, that they are forced to make Peace for want of Recruits, to supply their Wars; and the Difference of Languages, that is found amongst these Heathens, seems altogether strange. For it often appears, that every dozen Miles, you meet with an Indian Town, that is quite different from the others you last parted withal; and what a little supplies this Defect is, that the most powerful Nation of these Savages scorns to treat or trade with any others (of fewer Numbers and less Power) in any other Tongue but their own, which serves for the Lingua of the Country, with which we travel and deal; as for Example, we see that the Tuskeruro's are most numerous in North-Carolina, therefore their Tongue is understood by some in every Town of all the Indians near us. And here I shall insert a small Dictionary of every Tongue, though not Alphabetically digested.

English. Tuskeruro. Pampticough. Woccon. One Unche Weembot Tonne Two Necte Neshinnauh Num-perra (rra?) Three Ohs-sah Nish-wonner Nam-mee Four Untoc Yau-Ooner Punnum-punne (e?) Five Ouch-who Umperren Webtau Six Houeyoc Who-yeoc Is-sto (st?) Seven Chauh-noc Top-po-osh Nommis-sau Eight Nec-kara Nau-haush-shoo Nupsau Nine Wearah Pach-ic-conk Weihere Ten Wartsauh Cosh Soone noponne Eleven Unche scauwhau Tonne hauk pea Twelve Nectec scaukhau Soone nomme Twenty Wartsau scauhau Winnop Thirty Ossa te wartsau Hundred Youch se Thousand Ki you se