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History of Louisisana

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"He moreover told us, that in order to live in peace among ourselves,
and to please the supreme Spirit, we must indispensably observe the
following points; we must never kill any one but in defence of our own
lives; we must never know any other woman besides our own; we must
never take any thing that belongs to another; we must never lye nor
get drunk; we must not be avaricious, but must give liberally, and
with joy, part of what we have to others who are in want, and
generously share our subsistence with those who are in need of it."

"The words of this man deeply affected us, for he spoke them with
authority, and he procured the respect even of the old men themselves,
tho' he reprehended them as freely as the rest. Next day we offered to
acknowledge him as our sovereign. He at first refused, saying that he
should not be obeyed, and that the disobedient would infallibly die;
but at length he accepted the offer that was made him on the following
condition:

"That we would go and inhabit another country, better than that in
which we were, which he would shew us; that we would afterwards live
conformable to the instructions he had given us; that we would promise
never to acknowledge any {315} other sovereigns but him and his
descendants; that the nobility should be perpetuated by the women
after this manner; if I, said he, have male and female children, they
being brothers and sisters cannot marry together; the eldest boy may
chuse a wife from among the people, but his sons shall be only nobles;
the children of the eldest girl, on the other hand, shall be princes
and princesses, and her eldest son be sovereign; but her eldest
daughter be the mother of the next sovereign, even tho' she should
marry one of the common people; and, in defect of the eldest daughter,
the next female relation to the person reigning shall be the mother of
the future sovereign; the sons of the sovereign and princes shall lose
their rank, but the daughters shall preserve theirs."

"He then told us, that in order to preserve the excellent precepts he
had given us, it was necessary to build a temple, into which it should
be lawful for none but the princes and princesses to enter, to speak
to the Spirit. That in the temple they should eternally preserve a
fire, which he would bring down from the sun, from whence he himself
had descended, that the wood with which the fire was supplied should
be pure wood without bark; that eight wise men of the nation should be
chosen for guarding the fire night and day; that those eight men
should have a chief, who should see them do their duty, and that if
any of them failed in it he should be put to death. He likewise
ordered another temple to be built in a distant part of our nation,
which was then very populous, and the eternal fire to be kept there
also, that in case it should be extinguished in the one it might be
brought from the other; in which case, till it was again lighted, the
nation would be afflicted with a great mortality."

"Our nation having consented to these conditions, he agreed to be our
sovereign; and in presence of all the people he brought down the fire
from the sun, upon some wood of the walnut-tree which he had prepared,
which fire was deposited in both the temples. He lived a long time,
and saw his children's children. To conclude, he instituted our feasts
such as you see them."

The Natchez have neither sacrifices, libations, nor offerings: their
whole worship consists in preserving the eternal {316} fire, and this
the Great Sun watches over with a peculiar attention. The Sun, who
reigned when I was in the country, was extremely solicitous about it,
and visited the temple every day. His vigilance had been awakened by a
terrible hurricane which some years before had happened in the
country, and was looked upon as an extraordinary event, the air being
generally clear and serene in that climate. If to that calamity should
be joined the extinction of the eternal fire, he was apprehensive
their whole nation would be destroyed.

One day, when the Great Sun called upon me, he gave me an account of a
dreadful calamity that had formerly befallen the nation of the
Natchez, in consequence, as he believed, of the extinction of the
eternal fire. He introduced his account in the following manner: "Our
nation was formerly very numerous and very powerful; it extended more
than twelve days journey from east to west, and more than fifteen from
south to north. We reckoned then 500 Suns, and you may judge by that
what was the number of the nobles, of the people of rank, and the
common people. Now in times past it happened, that one of the two
guardians, who were upon duty in the temple, left it on some business,
and the other fell asleep, and suffered the fire to go out. When he
awaked and saw that he had incurred the penalty of death, he went and
got some profane fire, as tho' he had been going to light his pipe,
and with that he renewed the eternal fire. His transgression was by
that means concealed; but a dreadful mortality immediately ensued, and
raged for four years, during which many Suns and an infinite number of
the people died.

"The guardian at length sickened, and found himself dying, upon which
he sent for the Great Sun, and confessed the heinous crime he had been
guilty of. The old men were immediately assembled, and, by their
advice, fire being snatched from the other temple, and brought into
this, the mortality quickly ceased." Upon my asking him what he meant
by "snatching the fire," he replied, "that it must always be brought
away by violence, and that some blood must be shed, unless some tree
on the road was set on fire by lightning, and {317} then the fire
might be brought from thence; but that the fire of the sun was always
preferable."

It is impossible to express his astonishment when I told him, that it
was a trifling matter to bring down fire from the sun, and that I had it
in my power to do it whenever I pleased. As he was extremely desirous to
see me perform that seeming miracle, I took the smallest of two burning
glasses which I had brought from France, and placing some dry punk (or
agaric) upon a chip of wood, I drew the focus of the glass upon it, and
with a tone of authority pronounced the word _Caheuch_, that is, _come_,
as tho' I had been commanding the fire to come down. The punk
immediately smoking, I blew a little and made it flame to the utter
astonishment of the Great Sun and his whole retinue, some of whom stood
trembling with amazement and religious awe. The prince himself could not
help exclaiming, "Ah, what an extraordinary thing is here!" I confirmed
him in his idea, by telling him, that I greatly loved and esteemed that
useful instrument, as it was most valuable, and was given to me by my
grandfather, who was a very learned man.

Upon his asking me, if another man could do the same thing with that
instrument that he had seen me do, I told him that every man might do
it, and I encouraged him to make the experiment himself. I accordingly
put the glass in his hand, and leading it with mine over another piece
of agaric, I desired him to pronounce the word _Caheuch_, which he did,
but with a very faint and diffident tone; nevertheless, to his great
amazement, he saw the agaric begin to smoke, which so confounded him
that he dropt both the chip on which it was laid and the glass out of
his hands, crying out, "Ah, what a miracle!"

Their curiosity being now fully raised, they held a consultation in my
yard, and resolved to purchase at any rate my wonderful glass, which
would prevent any future mortality in their nation, in consequence of
the extinction of the eternal fire. I, in the mean time, had gone out
to my field, as if about some business; but in reality to have a
hearty laugh at the comical scene which I had just occasioned. Upon my
return the Great Sun entered my apartment with me, and laying his hand
upon mine, told me, that tho' he loved all the French, he {318} was
more my friend than of any of the rest, because most of the French
carried all their understanding upon their tongue, but that I carried
mine in my whole head and my whole body. After this preamble he
offered to bargain for my glass, and desired me to set what value I
pleased upon it, adding that he would not only cause the price to be
paid by all the families of the nation, but would declare to them that
they lay under an obligation to me for giving up to them a thing which
saved them from a general mortality. I replied, that tho' I bore his
whole nation in my heart, yet nothing made me part with my glass, but
my affection for him and his brother; that, besides, I asked nothing
in return but things necessary for my subsistence, such as corn,
fowls, game, and fish, when they brought him any of these. He offered
me twenty barrels of maiz, of 150 pounds each, twenty fowls, twenty
turkies, and told me that he would send me game and fish every time
his warriors brought him any, and his promise was punctually
fulfilled. He engaged likewise not to speak any thing about it to the
Frenchmen, lest they should be angry with me for parting with an
instrument of so great a value. Next day the glass was tried before a
general assembly of all the Suns, both men and women, the nobles, and
the men of rank, who all met together at the temple; and the same
effect being produced as the day before, the bargain was ratified; but
it was resolved not to mention the affair to the common people, who,
from their curiosity to know the secrets of their court, were
assembled in great numbers not far from the temple, but only to tell
them, that the whole nation of the Natchez were under great
obligations to me.

The Natchez are brought up in a most perfect submission to their
sovereign; the authority which their princes exercise over them is
absolutely despotic, and can be compared to nothing but that of the
first Ottoman emperors. Like these, the Great Sun is absolute master
of the lives and estates of his subjects, which he disposes of at his
pleasure, his will being the only law; but he has this singular
advantage over the Ottoman princes, that he has no occasion to fear
any seditious tumults, or any conspiracy against his person. If he
orders a man guilty of a capital crime to be put to death, the
criminal {319} neither supplicates, nor procures intercession to be
made for his life, nor attempts to run away. The order of the
sovereign is executed on the spot, and nobody murmurs. But however
absolute the authority of the Great Sun may be, and although a number
of warriors and others attach themselves to him, to serve him, to
follow him wherever he goes, and to hunt for him, yet he raises no
stated impositions; and what he receives from those people appears
given, not so much as a right due, as a voluntary homage, and a
testimony of their love and gratitude.

The Natchez begin their year in the month of March, as was the
practice a long time in Europe, and divide it into thirteen moons. At
every new moon they celebrate a feast, which takes its name from the
principal fruits reaped in the preceding moon, or from animals that
are then usually hunted. I shall give an account of one or two of
these feasts as concisely as I can.

The first moon is called that of the Deer, and begins their new year,
which is celebrated by them with universal joy, and is at the same
time an anniversary memorial of one of the most interesting events in
their history. In former times a Great Sun, upon hearing a sudden
tumult in his village, had left his hut in a great hurry, in order to
appease it, and fell into the hands of his enemies; but was quickly
after rescued by his warriors, who repulsed the invaders, and put them
to flight.

In order to preserve the remembrance of this honourable exploit, the
warriors divide themselves into two bodies, distinguished from each
other by the colour of their feathers. One of these bodies represents
the invaders, and after raising loud shouts and cries, seize the Great
Sun, who comes out of his hut undressed, and rubbing his eyes, as
though he were just awake. The Great Sun defends himself intrepidly
with a wooden tomahawk, and lays a great many of his enemies upon the
ground, without however giving them a single blow, for he only seems
to touch them with his weapon. In the mean time the other party come
out of their ambuscade, attack the invaders, and, after fighting with
them for some time, rescue their prince, and drive them into a wood,
which is represented by an arbour {320} made of canes. During the
whole time of the skirmish, the parties keep up the war-cry, or the
cry of terror, as each of them seem to be victors or vanquished. The
Great Sun is brought back to his hut in a triumphant manner; and the
old men, women, and children, who were spectators of the engagement,
rend the sky with their joyful acclamations. The Great Sun continues
in his hut about half an hour, to repose himself after his great
fatigues, which are such that an actor of thirty years of age would
with difficulty have supported them, and he however, when I saw this
feast, was above ninety. He then makes his appearance again to the
people, who salute him with loud acclamations, which cease upon his
proceeding towards the temple. When he is arrived in the middle of the
court before the temple, he makes several gesticulations, then
stretches out his arms horizontally, and remains in that posture
motionless as a statute for half an hour. He is then relieved by the
master of the ceremonies, who places himself in the same attitude, and
half an hour after is relieved by the great chief of war, who remains
as long in the same posture. When this ceremony is over, the Great
Sun, who, when he was relieved, had returned to his hut, appears again
before the people in the ornaments of his dignity, is placed upon his
throne, which is a large stool with four feet cut out of one piece of
wood, has a fine buffalo's skin thrown over his shoulders, and several
furs laid upon his feet, and receives various presents from the women,
who all the while continue to express their joy by their shouts and
acclamations. Strangers are then invited to dine with the Great Sun,
and in the evening there is a dance in his hut, which is about thirty
feet square, and twenty feet high, and like the temple is built upon a
mount of earth, about eight feet high, and sixty feet over on the
surface.

The second moon, which answers to our April, is called the Strawberry
moon, as that fruit abounds then in great quantities.

The third moon is that of the Small Corn. This moon is often
impatiently looked for, their crop of large corn never sufficing to
nourish them from one harvest to another.

{321} The fourth is that of Water-melons, and answers to our June.

The fifth moon is that of the Fishes: in this month also they gather
grapes, if the birds have suffered them to ripen.

The sixth, which answers to our August, is that of the Mulberries. At
this feast they likewise carry fowls to the Great Sun.

The seventh, which is that of Maiz, or Great Corn. This feast is
beyond dispute the most solemn of all. It principally consists in
eating in common, and in a religious manner, of new corn, which had
been sown expressly with that design, with suitable ceremonies. This
corn is sown upon a spot of ground never before cultivated; which
ground is dressed and prepared by the warriors alone, who also are the
only persons that sow the corn, weed it, reap it, and gather it. When
this corn is near ripe, the warriors fix on a place proper for the
general feast, and close adjoining to that they form a round granary,
the bottom and sides of which are of cane; this they fill, with the
corn, and when they have finished the harvest, and covered the
granary, they acquaint the Great Sun, who appoints the day for the
general feast. Some days before the feast, they build huts for the
Great Sun, and for all the other families, round the granary, that of
the Great Sun being raised upon a mount of earth about two feet high.
On the feast-day the whole nation set out from their village at
sun-rising, leaving behind only the aged and infirm that are not able
to travel, and a few warriors, who are to carry the Great Sun on a
litter upon their shoulders. The seat of this litter is covered with
several deer skins, and to its four sides are fastened four bars which
cross each other, and are supported by eight men, who at every hundred
paces transfer their burden to eight other men, and thus successively
transport it to the place where the feast is celebrated, which may be
near two miles from the village. About nine o'clock the Great Sun
comes out of his hut dressed in the ornaments of his dignity, and
being placed in his litter, which has a canopy at the head formed of
flowers, he is carried in a few minutes to the sacred granary, shouts
of {322} joy re-echoing on all sides. Before he alights he makes the
tour of the whole place deliberately, and when he comes before the
corn, he salutes it thrice with the words, _hoo, hoo, hoo_, lengthened
and pronounced respectfully. The salutation is repeated by the whole
nation, who pronounce the word _hoo_ nine times distinctly, and at the
ninth time he alights and places himself on his throne.

Immediately after they light a fire by rubbing two pieces of wood
violently against each other, and when every thing is prepared for
dressing the corn, the chief of war, accompanied by the warriors
belonging to each family, presents himself before the throne, and
addresses the Sun in these words, "speak, for I hear thee." The
sovereign then rises up, bows towards the four quarters of the world,
and advancing to the granary, lifts his eyes and hands to heaven, and
says, "Give us corn:" upon which the great chief of war, the princes
and princesses, and all the men, thank him separately, by pronouncing
the word _hoo_. The corn is then distributed, first to the female Suns,
and then to all the women, who run with it to their huts, and dress it
with the utmost dispatch. When the corn is dressed in all the huts, a
plate of it is put into the hands of the Great Sun, who presents it to
the four quarters of the world, and then says to the chief of war,
_eat_; upon this signal the warriors begin to eat in all the huts; after
them the boys of whatever age, excepting those who are on the breast;
and last of all the women. When the warriors have finished their
repast, they form themselves into two choirs before the huts, and sing
war songs for half an hour; after which the chief of war, and all the
warriors in succession, recount their brave exploits, and mention, in
a boasting manner, the number of enemies they have slain. The youths
are next allowed to harangue, and each tells in the best manner he
can, not what he has done, but what he intends to do; and if his
discourse merits approbation, he is answered by a general _hoo_; if not,
the warriors hang down their heads and are silent.

This great solemnity is concluded with a general dance by torch-light.
Upwards of two hundred torches of dried canes, each of the thickness
of a child, are lighted round the place, {323} where the men and women
often continue dancing till day-light; and the following is the
disposition of their dance. A man places himself on the ground with a
pot covered with a deer-skin, in the manner of a drum, to beat time to
the dances; round him the women form themselves into a circle, not
joining hands, but at some distance from each other; and they are
inclosed by the men in another circle, who have in each hand a
chichicois, or calabash, with a stick thrust through it to serve for a
handle. When the dance begins, the women move round {324} the men in
the centre, from left to right, and the men contrariwise from right to
left, and they sometimes narrow and sometimes widen their circles. In
this manner the dance continues without intermission the whole night,
new performers successively taking the place of those who are wearied
and fatigued.

[Illustration: _Dance of the Natchez indians_ (on p. 323)]

Next morning no person is seen abroad before the Great Sun comes out
of his hut, which is generally about nine o'clock, and then upon
signal made by the drum, the warriors make their appearance
distinguished into two troops, by the feathers which they wear on
their heads. One of these troops is headed by the Great Sun, and the
other by the chief of war, who begin a new diversion by tossing a ball
of deer-skin stuffed with Spanish beard from the one to the other. The
warriors quickly take part in the sport, and a violent contest ensues
which of the two parties shall drive the ball to the hut of the
opposite chief. The diversion generally lasts two hours, and the
victors are allowed to wear the feathers of superiority till the
following year, or till the next time they play at the ball. After
this the warriors perform the war dance; and last of all they go and
bathe; an exercise which they are very fond of when they are heated or
fatigued.

The rest of that day is employed as the preceding; for the feasts
holds as long as any of the corn remains. When it is all eat up, the
Great Sun is carried back in his litter, and they all return to the
village, after which he sends the warriors to hunt both for themselves
and him.

The eighth moon is that of Turkies, and answers to our October.

The ninth moon is that of the Buffalo; and it is then they go to hunt
that animal. Having discovered whereabouts the herd feeds, they go out
in a body to hunt them. Young and old, girls and married women, except
those who are with child, are all of the party, for there is generally
work for them all. Some nations are a little later in going out to
this hunting, that they may find the cows fatter, and the herds more
numerous.

The tenth moon is that of Bears; at this time of hunting the feasts
are not so grand and solemn, because great part of the nations are
accompanying the hunters in their expeditions.

{325} The eleventh answers to our January, and is named as Cold-meal
Moon. The twelfth is that of Chesnuts. That fruit has been gathered
long before, nevertheless it gives its name to this moon.

Lastly, the thirteenth is that of Walnuts, and it is added to compleat
the year. It is then they break the nuts to make bread of them by
mixing with them the flour of Maiz.

The feasts which I saw celebrated in the chief village of the Natchez,
which is the residence of the Great Sun, are celebrated in the same
manner in all the villages of the nation, which are each governed by a
Sun, who is subordinate to the Great Sun, and acknowledge his absolute
authority.

It is not to be conceived how exact these people are in assigning the
pre-eminence to the men. In every assembly, whether of the whole
nation in general, or of several families together, or of one family,
the youngest boys have the preference to the women of the most
advanced age; and at their meals, when their food is distributed, none
is presented to the women, till all the males have received their
share, so that a boy of two years old is served before his mother.

The women being always employed, without ever being diverted from
their duty, or seduced by the gallantries of lovers, never think of
objecting to the propriety of a custom, in which they have been
constantly brought up. Never having seen any example that contradicted
it, they have not the least idea of varying from it. Thus being
submissive from the habit, as well as from reason, they, by their
docility, maintain that peace in their families, which they find
established upon entering them.

{326}




SECTION III.

_Of their Marriages, and Distinction of Ranks._


Paternal authority, as I have elsewhere observed, is not less sacred
and inviolable than the pre-eminence of the men. It still subsists
among the Natchez, such as it was in the first ages of the world. The
children belong to the father, and while he lives they are under his
power. They live with him, they, their wives, and their children; the
same hut contains the whole family. The old man alone commands there,
and nothing but death puts an end to his empire. As these people have
seldom or rather never any differences among them, the paternal
authority appears in nothing more conspicuous than in the marriages.

When the boys and girls arrive at the perfect age of puberty, they
visit each other familiarly, and are suffered so to do. The girls,
sensible that they will be no longer mistresses of their heart, when
once they are married, know how to dispose of it to advantage, and
form their wardrobe by the sale of their favours; for there, as well
as in other countries, nothing for nothing. The lover, far from having
any thing to object to this, on the contrary, rates the merit of his
future spouse, in proportion to the fruits she has produced. But when
they are married they have no longer any intrigues, neither the
husband nor the wife, because their heart is no longer their own. They
may divorce their wives; it is, however, so rare to see the man and
wife part, that during the eight years I lived in their neighbourhood,
I knew but one example of it, and then each took with them the
children of their own sex.

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