There Was Present At The Same Time,
An Indian That Had Liv'd From His Youth, Chiefly In An English House;
So I call'd to him, and told him, what a Parcel of Lyes the Conjurer told,
not doubting but he
Thought so, as well as I, but I found to the contrary;
for he reply'd, that I was much mistaken, for that old Man
(who, I believe was upwards of an hundred Years old) did never tell Lyes;
and as for what he said, it was very true; for he knew it himself to be so.
{How hard it is to bring the Indians from their Superstition.}
Thereupon, seeing the Fellow's Ignorance, I talk'd no more about it.
{Rattle-Snake kill Indians in Canoes. Eagles kill it.}
Then the Doctor proceeded to tell a long Tale of a great Rattle-Snake,
which, a great while ago, liv'd by a Creek in that River
(which was Neus) and that it kill'd abundance of Indians;
but at last, a bald Eagle kill'd it, and they were rid of a Serpent,
that us'd to devour whole Canoes full of Indians, at a time.
I have been something tedious upon this Subject, on purpose to shew
what strange ridiculous Stories these Wretches are inclinable to believe.
I suppose, these Doctors understand a little better themselves,
than to give Credit to any such Fooleries; for I reckon them
the cunningest Knaves in all the Pack. I will therefore begin with
their Physick and Surgery, which is next: {Indian Physick and Surgery.}
You must know, that the Doctors or Conjurers, to gain a greater Credit
amongst these People, tell them, that all Distempers are
the Effects of evil Spirits, or the bad Spirit, which has struck them
with this or that Malady; therefore, none of these Physicians
undertakes any Distemper, but that he comes to an Exorcism,
to effect the Cure, and acquaints the sick Party's Friends,
that he must converse with the good Spirit, to know whether the Patient
will recover or not; if so, then he will drive out the bad Spirit,
and the Patient will become well. Now, the general way of their Behaviour
in curing the Sick, (a great deal of which I have seen,
and shall give some Account thereof, in as brief a manner as possible) is,
when an Indian is sick, if they think there is much Danger of Life,
and that he is a great Man or hath good Friends, the Doctor is sent for.
As soon as the Doctor comes into the Cabin, the sick Person is sat
on a Mat or Skin, stark-naked, lying on his Back, and all uncover'd,
except some small Trifle that covers their Nakedness when ripe,
otherwise in very young Children, there is nothing about them.
{Conjuring over the Sick.} In this manner, the Patient lies,
when the Conjurer appears; and the King of that Nation comes to attend him
with a Rattle made of a Gourd with Pease in it.
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