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THE

MONTHLY REVIEW,

For JANUARY, 1766.

The Memoirs of Lieut. Henry Timberlake, (who accompanied the Three Cherokee Indians to England in the Year 1762) containing whatever he obferved remarkable, or worthy of public Notice, du:ing his Travels to and from that Nation; wherein the Country, Government, Genius, and Customs of the Inhabitants, are authentically defcribed. Also the principal Occurrences during their Refi dence in London. Illuftrated with an accurate Map of their Overhill Settlement, and a curious Secret Journal, taken by the Indians out of the Pocket of a Frenchman they had killed. 8vo. 3 s. fewed. Ridley, &c.

W relating to the lituation, connections and dependencies

7HATEVER may ferve to give us authentic information

of our settlements in thofe remote parts of the globe where our arms or our induftry have extended our dominions, cannot, in the eye of the public, be deemed unimportant, or unworthy of their attention. In this light, even the memoirs of a fubaltern officer in an American regiment, will be received, as no incon 'fiderable addition to the national ftock of political intelligence. We all know, both from remote and late experience, how much the prosperity of our colonies depends upon the due cultivation of a good understanding with their neighbours; and, particularly, with regard to our North-American provinces, how intimately their peace and welfare is connected with a right knowlege of, and proper behaviour towards, the Indian nations who border on their back-fettlements.

Among the various tribes of thofe dusky natives of America, with whom our provincial brethren are ever engaged in a deftructive war, or a most advantageous trade, the Cherokees are not the leaft confiderable. With this nation Mr. Timberlake had an opportunity of becoming perfonally acquainted, not only from his having refided fome time among them, but from VOL. XXXIV.

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his intimacy with their chief, Oftenaco, whom our Author accompanied in his late voyage to England, and with whom he continued during the ftay which that venerable fachem and his two attendants made in this metropolis.

Mr. Timberlake was difpatched, in the winter of the year 1761, (by Col. Stephen, who commanded the English forces then marching to invade the country of the Cherokees) to pay a friendly vifit to thofe Indians, in the heart of their own country; agreeable to the defire of the natives themselves, who by a timely fubmiffion, had prevented the Colonel from continuing his march.

After a very troublesome voyage up the Cherokee rivers, Mr. Timberlake arrived at one of their towns; where he and his fmall retinue, confifting only of an interpreter and two other perfons, met with a kind reception from the Savages, as fome of our European writers, particularly the French, affect to call them. His ftay among them was but about three months; but, in that time, he feems to have vifited all the principal towns, and moft part of the country, belonging to this nation: his account of which amounts to what follows:

The country which lies on the back of Carolina, is fituated between 32 and 34 deg. N. Lat. and 87 deg. 30 min. W. Lon. from London. It is temperate, he fays, inclining to heat in the fummer; and fo remarkably fertile, that the women do all that is requifite in their agriculture; the foil requiring only a little ftirring with an hoe, to produce plenty of peafe, beans, potatoes, cabbages, Indian-corn, pumpions, melons, and tobacco; befides moft vegetables brought from Europe, which flourish as much as in their native climate, or more.-The meadows produce excellent grafs; being watered by many fine rivers and brooks, well ftored with fifh, otters, and beavers. The woods, which are immenfe in North America, abound with all kinds of timber; befides choice fruits and flowers. They likewife fwarm with buffaloes, bears, deer, panthers, wolves, foxes, racoons, and opoffums. There is also great plenty of rabbits, fquirrels, and other animals; with turkies, ducks, partridges, pheasants, and an infinity of other birds, which are ufually caught by the children. The rattle fnake, our Author fays, is frequently eaten; and he commends it as a very good difh. Here are alfo ftore of horfes and hogs; with other of our animals; and the mountains are faid to contain rich mines of gold, filver, lead and copper; and precious ftones, of the greateft value. The latter are mentioned by Mr. T. with fome circumstances which he himself treats as bordering too near the wonderful.

The Cherokees themfelves, are thus defcribed: They are fays Mr. T. of a middle ftature, of an olive colour, though generally painted, and their kins flained with gun-powder, pricked

into it in very pretty figures. The hair of their head is shaved, though many of the old people have it plucked out by the roots, except a patch on the hinder part of the head, about twice the bigness of a crown-piece, which is ornamented with beads, feathers, wampum, ftained deers hair, and fuch like baubles. The ears are flit and ftretched to an enormous size, putting the person who undergoes the operation to incredible pain, being unable to lie on either fide for near forty days. To remedy this, they generally flit but one at a time; fo foon as the patient can bear it, they are wound round with wire to expand them, and are adorned with filver pendants and rings, which they likewife wear at the nose.'

They that can afford it, we are told, wear a collar of wampum, i. e. black and white beads cut out of fea-fhells*; a filver breaft-plate, and bracelets on their arms and wrifts of the fame metal, a bit of cloth over their private parts, a shirt of the English make, a fort of cloth-boots, and mockafons, which are fhoes of a make peculiar to the Americans, ornamented with porcupine-quills; a large mantle or match-coat thrown over all compleats their drefs at home; but when they go to war they leave their trinkets behind, and the mere neceffaries ferve them.

• The women wear the hair of their head, which is so long that it generally reaches to the middle of their legs, and fometimes to the ground, club'd, and ornamented with ribbons of various colours; but, except their eyebrows, pluck it from all the other parts of the body, especially the loofer part of the sex. The rest of their drefs is now become very much like the European; and, indeed, that of the men is greatly altered. The old people ftill remember and praise the ancient days, before they were acquainted with the whites, when they had but little dress, except a bit of skin about their middles, mockafons, a mantle of buffalo fkin for the winter, and a lighter one of feathers for the fummer. The women, particularly the half-breed, are remarkably well featured; and both men and women are ftreight and well-built, with finall bands and feet.

The warlike arms ufed by the Cherokees are guns, bows and arrows, darts, fcalping-knives, and tommahawkes, which are hatchets; the hammer-part of which being made hollow, and a fmall hole running from thence along the fhank, terminated by a small brafs tube for the mouth, makes a compleat pipe. There are various ways of making thefe, according to the country or fancy of the purchafer, being all made by the Europeans.; fome have a long fpear at top, and fome different conveniencies on each fide. This is one of their most useful

Thefe are, with the Indians, equal in value to gold and filver with us. See a more particular account of them, p. 17 of this month's Review.

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pieces of field-furniture, ferving all the offices of hatchet; pipe, and fword; neither are the Indians lefs expert at throwing it than ufing it near, but will kill at a confiderable diftance.

They are of a very gentle and amicable difpofition to those they think their friends, but as implacable in their enmity, their revenge being only compleated in the entire deftruction of their enemies. They were pretty hofpitable to all white ftrangers, till the Europeans encouraged them to scalp; but the great reward offered has led them often fince to commit as great barbarities on us, as they formerly only treated their most inveterate enemies with. They are very hardy, bearing heat, cold, hunger and thirft, in a furprising manner; and yet no people are given to more excefs in eating and drinking, when it is conveniently in their power: the follies, nay mischief, they commit when inebriated, are entirely laid to the liquor; and no one will revenge any injury (murder excepted) received from one who is no more himself: they are not lefs addicted to gaming than drinking, and will even lose the shirt off their back, rather than give over play, when luck runs against them.'

Of the genius of thefe Indians, our Author conceived no mean opinion. They are fond of speaking well, as that paves the way to power in their councils. Their language, he fays, is not unpleasant, but vaftly afpirated, and the accents fo many and various, you would often imagine them finging in their common difcourfe.' He has given us fome fpecimens of their harangues, and a poetical translation of one of their war-fongs; but what dependance can we place on these, without a knowlege of their originals with refpect to their tunes, he fays, they often compofe both them and the fong off-hand, according to the occafion; fome of the tunes he thought extremely pretty, being very like the Scotch.'

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The Indians being all foldiers, mechanifm can make but little progrefs; befides this, they labour under the disadvantage of having neither proper tools, or perfons to teach the use of those they have: thus, for want of faws, they are obliged to cut a large tree on each fide, with great labour, to make a very clumly board; whereas a pair of fawyers would divide the fame tree into eight or ten in much lefs time: confidering this difade vantage, their modern houses are tolerably well built. A nume ber of thick pofts are fixed in the ground, according to the plan and dimenfions of the house, which rarely exceeds fixteen feet in breadth, on account of the roofing, but often extend to fixty or feventy in length, befide the little hot-house. Between each of thefe pofts is placed a fmaller one, and the whole wattled with twigs like a basket, which is then covered with clay very finooth, and fometimes white-wafhed. Inftead of tiles, they cover them with narrow boards. Some of these houses are

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two ftory high, tolerably pretty and capacious; but most of them very inconvenient for want of chimneys, a fmall hole being all the vent affigned in many for the smoke to get out at.

Their canoes are the next work of any confequence; they are generally made of a large pine or poplar, from thirty to forty feet long, and about two broad, with flat bottoms and fides, and both ends alike; the Indians hollow them now with the tools they get from the Europeans, but formerly did it by fire: they are capable of carrying about fifteen or twenty men, are very light, and can by the Indians, fo great is their skill in managing them, be forced up a very strong current, particularly the bark canoes; but these are seldom used but by the northern Indians.'.

They have two forts of clay, red and white, with both which they make excellent veffels, fome of which will ftand the greatest heat. They have now learnt to few, and the men as well as women, excepting fhirts, make all their own cloaths; the women, likewife, make very pretty belts, and collars of beads and wampum, alfo belts and garters of worfted. In arts, however, as in war, they are greatly excelled by their northern neighbours.

Their chief trade is with those Europeans with whom they are in alliance, in hides, furs, &c. which they barter by the pound, for all other goods; by that means supplying the deficiency of money. But no proportion is kept to their value; what caft two fhillings in England, and what coft two pence, are often fold for the fame price; befides that, no attention is paid to the goodness, and a knife of the best temper and workmanfhip will only fell for the fame price as an ordinary one. The reafon of this is, that, in the beginning of the commerce, the Indians finding themselves greatly impofed upon, fixed a price on each article, according to their own judgment.'

Though fuperftition reigns triumphantly among them, yet, happily for these poor people, it is unaccompanied by its ufual concomitant, perfecution: the bane and difgrace of more enlightened nations! As to religion, fays Mr. T. every one is at liberty to think for himself; whence flows a diverfity of opinions amongst those that do think, but the major part do not give themselves that trouble. They generally concur, however, in the belief of one fuperior Being, who made them, and governs all things, and are therefore never difcontent at any miffortune, because they fay, the Man above would have it fo. They believe in a reward and punishment, as may be evinced by their answer to Mr. Martin, who, having preached fcripture till both his audience and he were heartily tired, was told at laft, that they knew very well, that, if they were good, they fhould go up; if bad, down; that he could tell no more; that

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