James Adair, History of the American Indians, 1775
Ch 1
Observations on the color, shape, temper, and dress of the Indians of America.
1. Indians are of a copper or red-clay colour—and they de light in every thing, which they imagine may promote and increaſe it : accordingly, they paint their faces with vermilion, as the beſt and moſt beautiful ingredient.
2. All the Indians are ſo ſtrongly attached to, and prejudiced in favour of, their own colour, that they think as meanly of the whites, as we poſſibly can do of them. The Engliſh traders among them, experience much of it, and are often very glad to be allowed to paſs muſter with the Indian chieftains, as fellow-brethren of the human ſpecies.
3. As the American Indians are of a reddiſh or copper colour, ſo in general they are ſtrong, well proportioned in body and limbs, ſurpriſingly ačtive and nimble, and hardy in their own way of living.
4. They are ingenious, witty, cunning, and deceitful; very faithful indeed to their own tribes, but privately diſhoneſt, and miſchievous to the Europeans and chriſtians. Their being honeſt and harmleſs to each other, may be through fear of reſentment and repriſal—which is unavoidable in caſe of any injury. They are very cloſe, and retentive of their ſecrets ; never forget injuries; revengeful of blood, to a degree of diſtraćtion. They are timorous, and, conſequently, cautious ; very jealous of encroachments from their chriſtian neighbours; and, likewiſe, content with freedom, in every turn of fortune. They are poſſeſſed of a ſtrong comprehenſive judgment, —can form ſurpriſ. ingly crafty ſchemes, and condućt them with equal caution, ſilence, and addreſs; they admit none but diſtinguiſhed warriors, and old beloved men, into their councils. They are ſlow, but very perſevering in their under takings—commonly temperate in eating, but exceſſively immoderate in drinking.—They often transform themſelves by liquor into the likeneſs of mad foaming bears. The women, in general, are of a mild, amiable, ſoft diſpoſition : exceedingly modeſt in their behaviour, and very ſeldom noiſy, either in the ſingle, or married ſtate.
The men are expert in the uſe of fire-arms, -in ſhooting the bow, and throwing the feathered dart, and tomohawk, into the flying enemy. They reſemble the lynx, with their ſharp penetrating black eyes, and are exceed ingly ſwift of foot; eſpecially in a long chaſe: they will ſtretch away, through the rough woods, by the bare track, for two or three hundred miles, in purſuit of a flying enemy, with the continued ſpeed, and eagerneſs, of a ſtanch. pack of blood hounds, till they ſhed blood. When they have allayed this. their burning thirſt, they return home, at their leiſure, unleſs they chance to be purſued, as is ſometimes the caſe ; whence the traders ſay, “ that an Indian is never in a hurry, but when the devil is at his heels.”
5. Both ſexes pluck all the hair off their bodies, with a kind of tweezers, made formerly of clam-ſhells, now of middle-ſized wire, in the ſhape of a gun-worm; which, being twiſted round a ſmall ſtick, and the ends faſtened therein, after being properly tempered, keeps its form : holding this Indian razor between their fore-finger and thumb, they deplume themſelves,
6. Their chief dreſs is very ſimple, like that of the patriarchal age ; of choice, many of their old head-men wear a long wide frock, made of the ſkins of wild beaſts, in honour of that antient cuſtom : It muſt be neceſſity that forces them to the pinching ſandals for their feet. They ſeem quite eaſy, and indifferent, in every various ſcene of life, as if they were utterly diveſted of paſſions, and the ſenſe of feeling. Martial virtue, and not riches, is their invariable ſtandard for preferment; for they neither eſteem, nor deſpiſe any of their people one jot more or leſs, on account of riches or dreſs. They compare both theſe, to paint on a warrior's face ; becauſe it incites others to a ſpirit of martial benevolence for their country, and pleaſes his own fancy, and the eyes of ſpe&tators, for a little time, but is ſweated off, while he is per forming his war-dances; or is defaced, by the change of weather.
7. They formerly wore ſhirts, made of dreſt deer-ſkins, for their ſummer viſiting dreſs: but their winter-hunting clothes were long and ſhaggy, made of the ſkins of panthers, bucks, bears, beavers, and otters; the fleſhy ſides outward, ſometimes doubled, and always ſoftened like velvet cloth, though they retained their fur and hair.
7b. Sewing: The needles and thread they uſed formerly, (and now at times) were fiſh-bones, or the horns and bones of deer, rubbed ſharp, and deer's finews, and a ſort of hemp, that grows among them ſpontaneouſly, in rich open lands.
7c. Women's Dress: The women's dreſs conſiſts only in a broad ſoftened ſkin, or ſeveral ſmall ſkins ſewed together, which they wrap and tye round their waiſt, reaching a little below their knees: in cold weather, they wrap themſelves in the ſoftened ſkins of buffalo calves, with the wintery ſhagged wool inward, never forgetting to anoint, and tie up their hair, except in their time of mourning.
7d. Men's Dress and Ornaments" The men wear, for orna ment, and the conveniencies of hunting, thin deer-ſkin boots, well ſmoked, that reach ſo high up their thighs, as with their jackets to ſecure them from the brambles and braky thickets. They ſew them about five inches from the edges, which are formed into toſſels, to which they faſten fawns trotters, and ſmall pieces of tinkling metal, or wild turkey cock-ſpurs. The beaus uſed to faſten the like to their war-pipes, with the addition of a piece of an enemy's ſcalp with a tuft of long hair hang ing down from the middle of the ſtem, each of them painted red: and they ſtill obſerve that old cuſtom, only they chooſe bell-buttons, to give a greater ſound.
8. They have a great averſion to the wearing of breeches ; for to that cuſ tom, they affix the idea of helpleſſneſs, and effeminacy.
9. Loin Cloths: The men wear a ſlip of cloth, about a quarter of an ell wide, and an ell and an half long, in the lieu of breeches ; which they put between their legs, and tye round their kaunches, with a convenient broad bandage. The women, ſince the time we firſt traded with them, wrap a fathom of the half breadth of Stroud. cloth round their waiſt, and tie it with a leathern belt, which is commonly covered with braſs runners or buckles : but this fort of looſe petticoat, reaches only to their hams, in order to ſhew their exquiſitely fine propor tioned limbs.
10. Moccasins: They make their ſhoes for common uſe, out of the ſkins of the bear and elk, well dreſſed and ſmoked, to prevent hardening; and thoſe for orna ment, out of deer-ſkins, done in the like manner: but they chiefly go bare-foºted, and always bare-headed. The men faſten ſeveral different ſorts of beautiful feathers, frequently in tufts ; or the wing of a red bird, or the ſkin of a ſmall havk, to a lock of hair on the crown of their heads. And every different Indian nation when at war, trim their hair, after a different manner, through contempt of each other; thus we can diſtin guiſh an enemy in the woods, ſo far off as we can ſee him.
Ch. 2
Observations on the Origins and Descent of Indians
11. No writing or alphabet: In tracing the origin of a people, where there are no records of any kind, either written, or engraved, who rely ſolely on oral tradition for the ſupport of their antient uſages, and have loſt great part of them—though
12. All the various nations of Indians, ſeem to be of one deſcent ; they call a buffalo, in their various dialeóts, by one and the ſame name, “ Yamaſa.” And there is a ſtrong ſimilarity of religious rites, and of civil and martial cuſtoms, among all the various American nations of Indians we have any knowledge of, on the extenſive continent; as will ſoon be ſhewn.
13. Both the Chikkaſah and Choktah Indians, call a deceitful perſon, Scente, a ſnake : and they frequently ſay, they have not Scente Sooliſh, the ſnake's. tongue; the meaning of which, is very analogous to ET, a name the He brews gave to a deceitful perſon ; which probably proceeded from a tra ditional knowledge of Eve's being beguiled by the tempter, in that ſhape; for the Indians never affix any bad idea to the preſent reptile fraternity, except that of poiſonous teeth; and they never uſe any ſuch metaphor, as that of a ſnake's teeth.
14. There are not greater bigots in Europe, nor perſons more ſuperſtitious, than the Indians, (eſpecially the women) concerning the power of witches, wizards, and evil ſpirits. It is the chief ſubjećt of their idle winter night's chat: and both they, and ſeveral of our traders, report very incredible and ſhocking ſtories. They will affirm that they have ſeen, and diſtinétly, moſt ſurprizing apparitions, and heard horrid ſhrieking noiſes. They pretend, it was impoſſible for all their ſenſes to be deluded at the ſame time; eſpecially at Okmulge, the old waſte town, belonging to the Muſkohge, 150 miles S. W. of Auguſta in Georgia, which the South-Carolinians deſtroyed about the year 1715. They ſtrenuouſly aver, that when neceſſity forces them to en camp there, they always hear, at the dawn of the morning, the uſual noiſe of Indians ſinging their joyful religious notes, and dancing, as if going down to the river to purify themſelves, and then returning to the old town houſe : with a great deal more to the ſame effect. Whenever I have been. there, there, however, all hath been filent. Our noiſy bacchanalian company might indeed have drowned the noiſe with a greater of their own. But as I have gone the tedious Chikkaſah war path, through one continued deſart, day and night, much oftener than any of the reſt of the traders, and alone, to the Chikkaſah country, ſo none of thoſe frightful ſpirits ever appeared to, nor any tremendous noiſe alarmed me. But they ſay this was “becauſe I am an obdurate infidel that way.”
15. Speech Patterns:
Thunder and Lightening
Language
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