The History of Louisiana Part 28

From these facts we may judge how populous this nation formerly has been; but the pride of their Great Suns, or sovereigns, and likewise of their inferior Suns, joined to the prejudices of the people, has made greater havock among them, and contributed more to their destruction, than long and b.l.o.o.d.y wars would have done.

As their sovereigns were despotic, they had for a long time past established the following inhuman and impolitic custom, that when any of them died, a great number of their subjects, both men and women, should likewise be put to death. A proportionable number of subjects were likewise killed upon the death of any of the inferior Suns; and the people on the other hand had imbibed a belief that all those who followed their princes into the other world, to serve them there, would be eternally happy. It is easy to conceive how ruinous such an {300} inhuman custom would be among a nation who had so many princes as the Natchez.

It would seem that some of the Suns, more humane than the rest, had disapproved of this barbarous custom, and had therefore retired to places at a remote distance from the centre of their nation. For we have two branches of this great nation settled in other parts of the colony, who have preserved the greatest part of the customs of the Natchez. One of these branches is the nation of the Taensas on the banks of the Mobile, who preserve the eternal fire, and several other usages of the nation from whom they are descended. The other branch is the nation of the Chitimachas, whom the Natchez have always looked upon as their brethren.

Forty leagues north from the Natchez is the river Yasous, which runs into the Missisippi, and is so called from a nation of the same name who had about a hundred huts on its banks.

Near the Yazous, on the same river, lived the Coroas, a nation consisting of about forty huts. These two nations p.r.o.nounce the letter R.

Upon the same river likewise lived the Chacchi-Oumas, a name which signifies _red Cray-fish_. These people had not above fifty huts.

Near the same river dwelt the Ouse-Ogoulas, or the Nation of the Dog, which might have about sixty huts.

The Tapoussas likewise inhabited upon the banks of this river, and had not above twenty-five huts. These three last nations do not p.r.o.nounce the letter R, and seem to be branches of the Chicasaws, especially as they speak their language. Since the ma.s.sacre of the French settlers at the Natchez, these five small nations, who had joined in the conspiracy against us, have all retired among the Chicasaws, and make now but one nation with them.

To the north of the Ohio, not far from the banks of the Missisippi, inhabit the Illinois, who have given their name to the river on the banks of which they have settled. They are divided into several villages, such as the Tamaroas, the Caskaquias, {301} the Caouquias, the Pimiteouis, and some others. Near the village of the Tamaroas is a French post, where several French Canadians have settled.

This is one of the most considerable posts in all Louisiana, which will appear not at all surprising, when we consider that the Illinois were one of the first nations whom we discovered in the colony, and that they have always remained most faithful allies of the French; an advantage which is in a great measure owing to the proper manner of living with the natives of America, which the Canadians have always observed. It is not their want of courage that renders them so peaceable, for their valour is well known. The letter R is p.r.o.nounced by the Illinois.

Proceeding further northwards we meet with a pretty large nation, known by the name of the Foxes, with whom we have been at war near these forty years past, yet I have not heard that we have had any blows with them for a long time.

From the Foxes to the fall of St. Anthony, we meet with no nation, nor any above the Fall for near an hundred leagues. About that distance north of the Fall, the Sioux are settled, and are said to inhabit several scattered villages both on the east and west of the Missisippi.

SECTION II.

_Of the Nations inhabiting on the West of the_ Missisippi.

Having described as exactly as possible all the nations on the east of the Missisippi, as well those who are included within the bounds of the colony, as those who are adjoining to it, and have some connection with the others; I shall now proceed to give an account of those who inhabit on the west of the river, from the sea northwards.

Between the river Missisippi, and those lakes which are filled by its waters upon their overflowing, is a small nation named Chaouchas, or Ouachas, who inhabit some little villages, but are of so little consequences that they are no otherwise known to our colonists but by their name.

{302} In the neighbourhood of the lakes abovementioned live the Chitimachas. These are the remains of a nation which was formerly pretty considerable; but we have destroyed part of them by exciting our allies to attack them. I have already observed that they were a branch of the Natchez, and upon my first settling among these, I found several Chitimachas, who had taken refuge among them to avoid the calamities of the war which had been made upon them near the lakes.

Since the peace that was concluded with them in 1719, they have not only remained quiet, but kept themselves so prudently retired, that, rather than have any intercourse with the French, or traffic with them for what they look upon as superfluities, they choose to live in the manner they did an hundred years ago.

Along the west coast, not far from the sea, inhabit the nation named Atacapas, that is, Man-eaters, being so called by the other nations on account of their detestable custom of eating their enemies, or such as they believe to be their enemies. In this vast country there are no other cannibals to be met with besides the Atacapas; and since the French have gone among them, they have raised in them so great an horror of that abominable practice of devouring creatures of their own species, that they have promised to leave it off; and accordingly for a long time past we have heard of no such barbarity among them.

The Bayouc-Ogoulas were formerly situated in the country that still bears their name. This nation is now confounded with the others to whom it is joined.

The Oque-Loussas are a small nation situated north-west from the Cut Point. They live on the banks of two small lakes, the waters of which appear black by reason of the great number of leaves which cover the bottom of them, and have given name to the nation, Oque-Loussas in their language signifying Black Water.

From the Oque-Loussas to the Red River, we meet with no other nation; but upon the banks of this river, a little above the Rapid, is seated the small nation of the Avoyels. These are the people who bring to our settlers horses, oxen, and cows. {303} I know not in what fair they buy them, nor with what money they pay for them; but the truth is, they sell them to us for about seventeen s.h.i.+llings a-piece. The Spaniards of New-Spain have such numbers of them that they do not know what to do with them, and are obliged to those who will take them off their hands. At present the French have a greater number of them than they want, especially of horses.

About fifty leagues higher up the Red River, live the Nachitoches, near a French post of the same name. They are a pretty considerable nation, having about two hundred huts. They have always been greatly attached to the French; but never were friends to the Spaniards. There are some branches of this nation situated further westward; but the huts are not numerous.

Three hundred miles west from the Missisippi, upon the Red River, we find the great nation of the Cadodaquioux. It is divided into several branches which extend very widely. This people, as well as the Nachitoches, have a peculiar language; however, there is not a village in either of the nations, nor indeed in any nation of Louisiana, where there are not some who can speak the Chicasaw language, which is called the vulgar tongue, and is the same here as the Lingua Franca is in the Levant.

Between the Red River and the Arkansas there is at present no nation.

Formerly the Ouachites lived upon the Black River, and gave their name to it; but at this time there are no remains of that nation; the Chicasaws having destroyed great part of them, and the rest took refuge among the Cadodaquioux, where their enemies durst not molest them. The Taensas lived formerly in this neighbourhood upon a river of their name; but they took refuge on the banks of the Mobile near the allies of the Chicasaws, who leave them undisturbed.

The nation of the Arkansas have given their name to the river on which they are situated, about four leagues from its confluence with the Missisippi. This nation is pretty considerable, and its men are no less distinguished for being good hunters than stout warriors. The Chicasaws, who are of a {304} restless disposition, have more than once wanted to make trial of the bravery of the Arkansas; but they were opposed with such firmness, that they have now laid aside all thoughts of attacking them, especially since they have been joined by the Kappas, the Michigamias, and a part of the Illinois, who have settled among them. Accordingly there is no longer any mention either of the Kappas or Michigamias, who are now all adopted by the Arkansas.

The reader may have already observed in this account of the natives of Louisiana, that several nations of those people had joined themselves to others, either because they could no longer resist their enemies, or because they hoped to improve their condition by intermixing with another nation. I am glad to have this occasion of observing that those people respect the rights of hospitality, and that those rights always prevail, notwithstanding any superiority that one nation may have over another with whom they are at war, or even over those people among whom their enemies take refuge. For example, a nation of two thousand warriors makes war upon, and violently pursues another nation of five hundred warriors, who retire among a nation in alliance with their enemies. If this last nation adopt the five hundred, the first nation, though two thousand in number, immediately lay down their arms, and instead of continuing hostilities, reckon the adopted nation among the number of their allies.

Besides the Arkansas, some authors place other nations upon their river. I cannot take upon me to say that there never were any; but I can positively affirm, from my own observation upon the spot, that no other nation is to be met with at present on this river, or even as far as the Missouri.

Not far from the river Missouri is situated the nation of the Osages, upon a small river of the same name. This nation is said to have been pretty considerable formerly, but at present they can neither be said to be great nor small.

The nation of the Missouris is very considerable, and has given its name to the large river that empties itself into the Missisippi. It is the first nation we meet with from the confluence {305} of the two rivers, and yet it is situated above forty leagues up the Missouri.

The French had a settlement pretty near this nation, at the time when M. de Bourgmont was commandant in those parts; but soon after he left them, the inhabitants ma.s.sacred the French garrison.

The Spaniards, as well as our other neighbours, being continually jealous of our superiority over them, formed a design of establis.h.i.+ng themselves among the Missouris, about forty leagues from the Illinois, in order to limit our boundaries westward. They judged it necessary, for the security of their colony, entirely to cut off the Missouris, and for that purpose they courted the friends.h.i.+p of the Osages, whose a.s.sistance they thought would be of service to them in their enterprize, and who were generally at enmity with the Missouris. A company of Spaniards, men, women, and soldiers, accordingly set out from Santa Fe, having a Dominican for their chaplain, and an engineer for their guide and commander. The caravan was furnished with horses, and all other kinds of beasts necessary; for it is one of their prudent maxims, to send off all those things together. By a fatal mistake the Spaniards arrived first among the Missouris, whom they mistook for the Osages, and imprudently discovering their hostile intentions, they were themselves surprised and cut off by those whom they intended for destruction. The Missouris some time afterwards dressed themselves with the ornaments of the chapel; and carried them in a kind of triumphant procession to the French commandant among the Illinois. Along with the ornaments they brought a Spanish map, which seemed to me to be a better draught of the west part of our colony, towards them, than of the countries we are most concerned with. From this map it appears, that we ought to bend the Red River, and that of the Arkansas, somewhat more, and place the source of the Missisippi more westerly than our geographers do.

The princ.i.p.al nations who inhabit upon the banks, or in the neighbourhood of the Missouri, are, besides those already mentioned, the Canzas, the Othoues, the White Panis, the Black Panis, the Panimachas, the Aiouez, and the Padoucas. The most numerous of all those nations are the Padoucas, the smallest {306} are the Aiouez, the Othoues, and the Osages; the others are pretty considerable.

To the north of all those nations, and near the river Missisippi, it is pretended that a part of the nation of the Sioux have their residence. Some affirm that they inhabit now on one side of the river, now on another. From what I could learn from travellers, I am inclined to think, that they occupy at the same time both sides of the Missisippi, and their settlements, as I have elsewhere observed, are more than an hundred leagues above the Fall of St. Anthony. But we need not yet disquiet ourselves about the advantages which might result to us from those very remote countries. Many ages must pa.s.s before we can penetrate into the northern parts of Louisiana.

CHAPTER III.

_A Description of the natives of_ Louisiana; _of their manners and customs, particularly those of the_ Natchez: _of their language, their religion, ceremonies_, Rulers _or_ Suns, _feasts, marriages, &c._

SECTION I.

_A description of the natives; the different employments of the two s.e.xes; and their manner of bringing up their children._

In the concise history which I have given of the people of Louisiana, and in several other places where I have happened to mention them, the reader may have observed that these nations have not all the same character, altho' they live adjoining to each other. He therefore ought not to expect a perfect uniformity in their manners, or that I should describe all the different usages that prevail in different parts, which would create a disagreeable medley, and tend only to confound his ideas which cannot be too clear. My design is only to shew in general, from the character of those people, what course we ought to observe, in order to draw advantage from our intercourse with them. I shall however be more full in speaking of the Natchez, a populous nation, among whom I lived the s.p.a.ce of eight years, and whose sovereign, the chief of war, and the chief of the keepers of the temple, were among my most intimate {307} friends. Besides, their manners were more civilized, their manner of thinking more just and fuller of sentiment, their customs more reasonable, and their ceremonies more natural and serious; on all which accounts they were eminently distinguished above the other nations.

All the natives of America in general are extremely well made; very few of them are to be seen under five feet and a half, and very many of them above that; their leg seems as if it was fas.h.i.+oned in a mould; it is nervous, and the calf is firm; they are long waisted; their head is upright and somewhat flat in the upper part, and their features are regular; they have black eyes, and thick black hair without curls. If we see none that are extremely fat and pursy, neither do we meet with any that are so lean as if they were in a consumption. The men in general are better made than the women; they are more nervous, and the women more plump and fleshy; the men are almost all large, and the women of a middle size. I have always been inclined to think, that the care they take of their children in their infancy contributes greatly to their fine shapes, tho' the climate has also its share in that, for the French born in Louisiana are all large, well shaped, and of good flesh and blood.

When any of the women of the natives is delivered, she goes immediately to the water and washes herself and the infant; she then comes home and lies down, after having disposed her infant in the cradle, which is about two feet and a half long, nine inches broad, and half a foot deep, being formed of straight pieces of cane bent up at one end, to serve for a foot or stay. Betwixt the canes and the infant is a kind of matra.s.s of the tufted herb called Spanish Beard, and under its head is a little skin cus.h.i.+on, stuffed with the same herb. The infant is laid on its back in the cradle, and fastened to it by the shoulders, the arms, the legs, the thighs, and the hips; and over its forehead are laid two bands of deer-skin which keeps its head to the cus.h.i.+on, and renders that part flat. As the cradle does not weigh much above two pounds, it generally lies on the mother's bed, who suckles the infant occasionally. The infant is rocked not side-ways but end-ways, and when it is a {308} month old they put under its knees garters made of buffalo's wool which is very soft, and above the ankle bones they bind the legs with threads of the same wool for the breadth of three or four inches. And these ligatures the child wears till it be four or five years old.

The infants of the natives are white when they are born, but they soon turn brown, as they are rubbed with bear's oil and exposed to the sun.

They rub them with oil, both to render their nerves more flexible, and also to prevent the flies from stinging them, as they suffer them to roll about naked upon all fours, before they are able to walk upright.

They never put them upon their legs till they are a year old, and they suffer them to suck as long as they please, unless the mother prove with child, in which case she ceases to suckle.

When the boys are about twelve years of age, they give them a bow and arrows proportioned to their strength, and in order to exercise them they tie some hay, about twice as large as the fist, to the end of a pole about ten feet high. He who brings down the hay receives the prize from an old man who is always present: the best shooter is called the young warrior, the next best is called the apprentice warrior, and so on of the others, who are prompted to excel more by sentiments of honour than by blows.

As they are threatened from their most tender infancy with the resentment of the old man, if they are any ways refractory or do any mischievous tricks, which is very rare, they fear and respect him above every one else. This old man is frequently the great-grandfather, or the great-great-grand-father of the family, for those natives live to a very great age. I have seen some of them not able to walk, without having any other distemper or infirmity than old age, so that when the necessities of nature required it, or they wanted to take the air, they were obliged to be carried out of their hut, an a.s.sistance which is always readily offered to the old men. The respect paid to them by their family is so great, that they are looked upon as the judges of all differences, and their counsels are decrees. An old man who is the head of a family is called father, even by his grand-children, and great-grand-children, {309} who to distinguish their immediate father call him their true father.