Part 4

In the political institutions of the Natchez, however despotic and imperfect they may be considered, we discover a bond of union which did not exist among other tribes who trusted for subsistence to hunting and fishing without any species of cultivation. Their wants were few and simple; they therefore formed into separate tribes, and acted together from instinct or habit rather than from any formal concert or contract. Hence their political institutions were as simple as their wants; and hardly any appearance of regular government could be discerned among them.

From the foregoing statements it may be inferred that the political institutions of the American Indians arise from the peculiarity of their condition. Their military tactics, their form of government, their peculiar religious opinions, and their unconquerable spirit of revenge, all spring out of their peculiar state of semi-civilization. That the circumstances around them determine the character of their political and other institutions will be fully proved by us when we come to speak of the efforts of the Quakers in civilizing the Oneidas and Senecas of the Five Nations. The Socialist will readily perceive how the foregoing statements, respecting the political institutions of the American Aborigines confirm and illustrate the truth of his principles.

_Of the Military Tactics of the North American Indians._

There are two motives which stimulate savage nations to war; these are _interest_ and _revenge_. The latter operates with a fierceness among rude nations, unknown among civilized people. The desire of vengeance is the first and almost only principle which the savage instils into the mind of his children. This grows with his growth and strengthens with his strength, and acquires a force and a preponderance over all other passions, which causes it to resemble the instinctive rage of a tiger or hyæna. “When under the dominion of this passion,” says Robertson, “man becomes the most cruel of all animals. He neither pities, nor forgives, nor spares. The force of this passion is so well understood by the Americans themselves, that they always apply to it in order to excite the people to take up arms. If the elders of any tribe attempt to rouse their youth from sloth, if a chief wishes to allure a band of warriors to follow him in invading an enemy’s country, the most persuasive topics of their martial eloquence are drawn from revenge. ‘The bones of our countrymen,’ say they, ‘lie uncovered; their bloody bed has not been washed clean. Their spirits cry against us; they must be appeased. Let us go and devour the people by whom they were slain. Sit no longer inactive upon your mats; lift the hatchet, console the spirits of the dead, and tell them that they shall be avenged.’”

Animated with such exhortations, the youth snatch their arms in a transport of fury, raise the song of war, and burn with impatience to embrue their hands in the blood of their enemies. Private chiefs assemble small parties, and invade a hostile tribe, without consulting the rulers of the community. A single warrior, prompted by caprice or revenge, will take the field alone, and march several hundred miles to surprise and cut off a straggling enemy. The exploits of a noted warrior, in such solitary excursions, often form the chief part in the history of an American campaign; and their elders connive at such irregular sallies, as they tend to cherish a martial spirit, and accustom their people to enterprise and danger.[28] But when a war is national, and undertaken by public authority, the deliberations are formal and slow. The elders assemble; they deliver their opinions in solemn speeches; they weigh with maturity the nature of the enterprise, and balance its beneficial or disadvantageous consequences with no inconsiderable portion of political discernment or sagacity. Their priests and soothsayers are consulted, and sometimes they ask even the advice of their women.[29] If the determination be for war, they prepare for it with much ceremony. A leader offers to conduct the expedition, and is accepted. But no man is constrained to follow him; the resolution of the community to commence hostilities, imposes no obligation upon any member to take part in the war. Each individual is still master of his own conduct, and his engagement in the service is perfectly voluntary.[30]

The maxims, by which they regulate their military operations, though extremely different from those which take place in more civilized and populous nations, are well suited to their own political state, and the nature of the country in which they act. They never take the field in numerous bodies, as it would require a greater effort of foresight and industry, than is usual among savages, to provide for their subsistence during a march of some hundred miles through dreary forests, or during a long voyage upon their lakes and rivers. Their armies are not encumbered with baggage or military stores. Each warrior, besides his arms, carries his mat and a small bag of pounded maize, and with these, is completely equipped for any service. While at a distance from the enemy’s frontier, they disperse through the woods, and support themselves with the game which they kill, or the fish which they catch. As they approach nearer the territories of the nation which they intend to attack, they collect their troops, and advance with great caution. Even in their hottest and most active wars, they proceed wholly by stratagem and ambuscade. They place not their glory in attacking their enemies with open force. To surprize and destroy is the greatest merit of a commander, and the highest pride of his followers. War and hunting are his only occupations, and they conduct both with the same spirit and the same arts. They follow the track of their enemies through the forest. They endeavour to discover their haunts; they lurk in some thicket near to these, and, with the patience of sportsmen lying in wait for game, will continue in their station day after day, until they can rush upon their prey when most secure, and least able to resist them. If they meet no straggling party of the enemy, they advance towards their villages, but with such solicitude to conceal their own approach, that they often creep on their hands and feet through the woods, and paint their skins of the same colour as the withered leaves, in order to avoid detection.[31] If so fortunate as to remain unobserved, they set on fire the enemy’s huts in the dead of night, and massacre the inhabitants, as they fly naked and defenceless from the flames. If they hope to effect a retreat without being pursued, they carry off some prisoners whom they reserve for a more dreadful fate. But if, notwithstanding all their address and precautions, they find that their motions are discovered, that the enemy has taken the alarm, and is prepared to oppose them, they usually deem it most prudent to retire. They regard it as extreme folly to meet an enemy who is on his guard, upon equal terms, or to give battle in an open field. The most distinguished success is a disgrace to a leader if it has been purchased with any considerable loss of his followers; and they never boast of a victory, if stained with the blood of their own countrymen.[32] To fall in battle, instead of being reckoned an honourable death, is a misfortune which subjects the memory of a warrior to the imputation of rashness or imprudence.[33]

Buchanan in his Sketches of the North American Indians, speaking of the military tactics of the Five Nations observes, “Previous to setting out on any warlike expedition they have a feast, to which all the noted warriors of the nation are invited; when they have their war-dance to the beat of kettle drums. The warriors are seated on two rows; each rises in turn, and sings the deeds he has performed; so that they work up their spirits to a high degree of enthusiasm. They come to these dances with faces painted in a frightful manner, to make themselves look terrible to their enemies. By these war-songs they preserve the history of their great achievements. The solemn reception of these warriors, and the acclamation of applause which they receive at their return, cannot but have on the hearer the same effect in raising an emulation for glory, that a triumph had on the old Romans. After their prisoners are secured they never offer them the least bad treatment, but on the contrary, will rather starve themselves than suffer them to want; and I have been always assured that there is not one instance of their offering the least violence to the chastity of any woman that was their captive. The captives are generally distributed among those who have lost a member of their family in battle: if they are accepted, they enjoy all the privileges which the person had; but if otherwise, they die in torment to satiate the revenge of those who refuse them.

“They use neither drum nor trumpet, nor any kind of musical instruments in their wars; their throats serve them on all occasions. We find the same was practised by Homer’s heroes:—

‘Thrice to its pitch, his lofty voice he rears, O friend! Ulysses’ shouts invades my ears’”!

The mode of torturing prisoners taken in battle, alluded to in the preceding extract, prevails among all the Indian tribes in North America. _Heckewelder_, a Moravian Missionary, who had acquired a great deal of information respecting Indian customs, during a residence of the greater part of his life among the Indians of Pennsylvania and the adjoining states, thus speaks of this custom:—

“Much has been said on the subject of the preliminary cruelties inflicted on prisoners, when they enter an Indian village with the conquering warriors. It is certain that this treatment is very severe when a particular revenge is to be exercised; but otherwise I can say with truth, that in many instances, it is rather a scene of amusement than of punishment. Much depends on the courage and presence of mind of the prisoner. On entering the village, he is shown a painted post at the distance of from twenty to forty yards, and told to run to it and catch hold of it as quickly as he can. On each side of him stand men, women and children, with axes, sticks, and other offensive weapons, ready to strike him as he runs, in the same manner as is done in the European armies, when soldiers, as it is called run the gauntlet. If he should be so unlucky as to fall in the way, he will probably be immediately despatched by some person, longing to avenge the death of some relation or friend slain in battle; but the moment he reaches his goal, he is safe and protected from farther insult, until his fate is determined.

“If a prisoner in such a situation shows a determined courage, and when bid to run for the painted post, starts at once with all his might, and exerts all his strength and agility until he reaches it, he will most commonly escape without much harm, and sometimes without any injury whatever, and on reaching the desired point, he will have the satisfaction to hear his courage and his bravery applauded. But woe to the coward who hesitates, or shows any symptoms of fear! He is treated without much mercy, and may consider himself happy, at last, if he escape with his life.

“In the month of April, 1782, when I was myself a prisoner at Lower Sandusky, waiting for an opportunity to proceed with a trader to Detroit, I witnessed a scene of this description, which fully exemplified what I have above stated. Three American prisoners were one day brought in by fourteen warriors, from the garrison of Fort M’Intosh. As soon as they had crossed the Sandusky river to which the village lay adjacent, they were told by the Captain of the party, to run as hard as they could to a painted post which was shown to them. The youngest of the three, without a moment’s hesitation, immediately started for it, and reached it, fortunately, without receiving a single blow; the second hesitated for a moment, but recollecting himself, he also ran as fast as he could, and likewise reached the post unhurt; but the third, frightened at seeing so many men, women, and children, with weapons in their hands, ready to strike him, kept begging the Captain to spare his life, saying he was a mason, and he would build him a fine large stone house, or do any thing for him that he should please. ‘Run for your life,’ cried the chief to him, ‘and don’t talk now of building houses’! But the poor fellow still insisted, begging and praying to the Captain, who at last finding his exhortations vain, and fearing the consequences, turned his back upon him, and would not hear him any longer. Our mason now began to run, but received many a hard blow, one of which nearly brought him to the ground, which, if he had fallen, would at once have decided his fate. He, however, reached the goal, not without being sadly bruised, and he was besides, bitterly reproached and scoffed at all round as a vile coward, while the others were hailed as brave men, and received tokens of universal approbation.”

_Of the Religion of the North American Indians._

S. F. Jarvis, D. D., A. A. S., of New York, in his discourse on the religion of the North American Indians, details many facts illustrating the notions which they entertain respecting Deity and a future state. His statements on this head exhibit both research and accuracy; though in the first part of his discourse he has digressed from the subject for the purpose of discharging a clerical arrow at the memory of Volney and Voltaire. This however, is pardonable in an individual holding the title of Doctor of Divinity. After indulging in many speculations respecting the true religion, and the modes in which it became corrupted, he observes:—

“Having thus seen that all false religions are, in a greater or less degree, departures from the true; that there is a tendency in the human mind to form low and limited views of the Supreme Being; and that, in fact, all nations have fallen into the corruptions of polytheism and idolatry, we should conclude, even in reasoning _à priori_, that the religion of the Indians would be found to partake of the general character. Accordingly, the fact is amply attested, that while they acknowledge one Supreme Being, whom they denominate the _Great Spirit_, or the _Master of Life_, they also believe in subordinate divinities, who have the chief regulation of the affairs of men.

“Charlevoix, who had all the opportunities of obtaining information which personal observation, and the united testimony of the French missionaries could give, is an unexceptionable witness with regard to the Hurons, the Iroquois, and the Algonquins. Nothing, says he, is more certain, though at the same time obscure, than the conception which the American savages have of a Supreme Being. All agree that he is the Great Spirit, and that he is the master, creator, and governor of the world.[34] The Hurons call him Areskoui; the Iroquois, by slight variation, Agreskooue. He is with them the god of war. His name they invoke as they march. It is the signal to engage, and it is the war-cry in the hottest of the battle.[35]

“But, beside the Supreme Being, they believe in an infinite number of subaltern spirits, who are the objects of worship. These they divide into good and bad. The good spirits are called by the Hurons, _Okkis_, by the Algonquins, _Mannitous_. They suppose them to be the guardians of men, and that each has his own tutelary deity. In fact, every thing in nature has its spirit, though all have not the same rank nor the same influence. The animals they hunt have their spirits. If they do not understand any thing, they immediately say it is _a spirit_. If any man performs a remarkable exploit, or exhibits extraordinary talents, he is said to be _a spirit_, or in other words, his tutelary deity is supposed to be of more than ordinary power.[36]

“It is remarkable, however, that these tutelary deities are not supposed to take men under their protection till something has been done to merit the favour. A parent who wishes to obtain a guardian spirit for his child, first blackens his face, and then causes him to fast for several days. During this time it is expected that the spirit will reveal himself in a dream; and on this account, the child is anxiously examined every morning with regard to the visions of the preceding night. Whatever the child happens to dream of the most frequently, even if it happen to be the head of a bird, the foot of an animal, or any thing of the most worthless nature, becomes the symbol or figure under which the _Okki_ reveals himself. With this figure, in the conceptions of his votary, the spirit becomes identified; the image is preserved with the greatest care—is the constant companion on all great and important occasions, and the constant object of consultation and worship.[37]

“As soon as a child is informed what is the nature or form of his protecting deity, he is carefully instructed in the obligations he is under to do him homage, to follow his advice communicated in dreams, to deserve his favours, to confide implicitly in his care, and to dread the consequences of his displeasure. For this reason, when the Huron or the Iroquois goes to battle or to the chase, the image of his _Okki_ is as carefully carried with him as his arms. At night, each one places his guardian idol on the palisades surrounding the camp, with the face turned from the quarter to which the warriors, or hunters, are about to march. He then prays to it for an hour, as he does also in the morning before he continues his course. This homage performed, he lies down to rest, and sleeps in tranquility, fully persuaded that his spirit will assume the whole duty of keeping guard, and that he has nothing to fear.

“With this account of Charlevoix, the relations which the Moravian missionaries give, not only of the Iroquois, but also of the Lenapés, or Delawares, and numerous tribes derived from them, perfectly accord. ‘The prevailing opinion of all these nations is,’ says Loskiel, ‘that there is one God, or as they call him, one great and good spirit, who has created the heavens and the earth, and made man and every other creature. But beside the Supreme Being, they believe in good and evil spirits, considering them as subordinate deities. Our missionaries have not found rank polytheism, or gross idolatry, to exist among the Indians. They have, however, something which may be called an idol. This is the _manitto_, representing in wood, the head of a man in miniature, which they always carry about them, either on a string round their neck, or in a bag. They hang it also about their children, to preserve them from illness, and ensure to them success. When they perform a solemn sacrifice, a _manitto_, or a head as large as life, is put upon a pole in the middle of the house. But they understand by the word _manitto_, every being to which an offering is made, especially all good spirits. They also look upon the elements, almost all animals, and even some plants, as spirits; one exceeding the other in dignity and power. The manittoes are also considered as tutelar spirits. Every Indian has one or more, which he conceives to be peculiarly given to him to assist him and make him prosper. One has, in a dream, received the sun as his tutelar spirit, another the moon; a third, an owl; a fourth, a buffalo. An Indian is dispirited, and considers himself as forsaken by God, till he has received a tutelar spirit in a dream; but those who have been thus favoured, are full of courage and proud of their powerful ally.”[38]

This account is corroborated by Heckewelder, in his late interesting history of the Indian nations.

“It is a part of their religious belief” says he, “that there are inferior _manittoes_ to whom the great and good being has given the rule and command over the elements; that being so great, he, like their chiefs, must have his attendants to execute his supreme behests: these subordinate spirits, (something in their nature between God and man) see and report to him what is doing upon earth; they look down particularly upon the Indians, to see whether they are in need of assistance, and are ready at their call to assist and protect them against danger. Thus I have frequently witnessed Indians, on the approach of a storm or thunder-gust, address the _manitto_ of the air to avert all danger from them; I have also seen the Chippeways, on the lakes of Canada, pray to the _manitto_ of the waters, that he might prevent the swells from rising too high, while they were passing over them. In both these instances they expressed their willingness to be grateful, by throwing tobacco in the air or strewing it on the waters. ‘But amidst all these superstitious notions, the supreme _manitto_, the creator and preserver of heaven and earth, is the great object of their adoration. On him they rest their hopes; to him they address their prayers, and make their solemn sacrifices.’[39]

“The Knistineaux Indians who inhabit the country extending from Labrador, across the continent, to the Highlands which divide the waters on Lake Superior, from those of Hudson’s Bay, appear, from Mackenzie’s account, to have the same system, of one great Supreme, and innumerable subordinate deities. ‘The great master of life,’ to use their own expression, is the sacred object of their devotion. But each man carries in his medicine bag a kind of household god, which is a small carved image, about eight inches long. Its first covering is of down, over which a piece of beech bark is closely tied, and the whole is enveloped in several folds of blue and red cloth. This little figure is an object of the most pious regard.

“It is remarkable, that the description given by Peter Martyr, who was the companion of Columbus, of the worship of the inhabitants of Cuba, perfectly agrees with this account of the Northern Indians, by Mackenzie. They believed in the existence of one supreme, invisible, immortal and omnipotent Creator, whom they named _Jocahuna_, but at the same time acknowledged a plurality of subordinate deities. They had little images called Zemes, whom they looked upon as only a kind of messengers between them and the eternal omnipotent and invisible God. These images they consider as bodies inhabited by spirits, and oracular responses were therefore received from them as uttered by the divine command.”[40]

“The religion of Porto Rico, Jamaica, and Hispaniola, was the same as that of Cuba; for the inhabitants were of the same race, and spoke the same language. The Caribbean Islands, on the other hand, were inhabited by a very fierce and savage people who were continually at war with the milder natives of Cuba and Hispaniola, and were regarded by them with the utmost terror and abhorence. Yet ‘the Charaibeans,’ to use the language of the elegant historian of the West Indies, ‘while they entertained an awful sense of the one great Universal Cause, of a superior, wise, and invisible Being of absolute and irresistible power, admitted also the agency of subordinate divinities. They supposed that each individual person had his peculiar protector, or tutelar deity; and they had their laws and penalties, gods of their own creating.’ Hughes, in his history of Barbadoes, mentions many fragments of Indian idols, dug up in that island, which were composed of the same materials as their earthen vessels. ‘I saw the head of one,’ says he, ‘which alone weighed above sixty pounds. This, before it was broken off, stood upon an oval pedestal, about three feet in height. The heads of all the others were very small. These lesser idols were, in all probability, made small for the ease and conveniency of being carried with them in their several journeys, as the larger sort were perhaps designed for the stated places of worship.’”[41]