Their Running Into The Water,
In The Extremity Of This Disease, Strikes It In, And Kills All That Use It.
Now They Are Become A Little Wiser; But Formerly It Destroy'd Whole Towns,
Without Leaving One Indian Alive In The Village.
The Plague was never known
amongst them, that I could learn by what Enquiry I have made:
These Savages use Scarrification almost in all Distempers.
Their chief Instruments for that Operation is the Teeth of Rattle-Snakes,
which they poison withal.
They take them out of the Snake's Head,
and suck out the Poison with their Mouths, (and so keep them for use)
and spit out the Venom, which is green, and are never damag'd thereby.
The Small-Pox and Rum have made such a Destruction amongst them,
that, on good grounds, I do believe, there is not the sixth Savage living
within two hundred Miles of all our Settlements, as there were
fifty Years ago. These poor Creatures have so many Enemies to destroy them,
that it's a wonder one of them is left alive near us. The Small-pox
I have acquainted you withal above, and so I have of Rum, and shall only add,
that they have got a way to carry it back to the Westward Indians,
who never knew what it was, till within very few Years. Now they have it
brought them by the Tuskeruro's, and other Neighbour-Indians,
but the Tuskeruro's chiefly, who carry it in Rundlets several hundred Miles,
amongst other Indians. Sometimes they cannot forbear breaking their Cargo,
but sit down in the Woods, and drink it all up, and then hollow and shout
like so many Bedlamites. I accidentally once met with one of these
drunken Crews, and was amaz'd to see a Parcel of drunken Savages
so far from any Englishman's House; but the Indians I had in Company
inform'd me, that they were Merchants, and had drunk all their Stock,
as is very common for them to do. But when they happen to carry it safe,
(which is seldom, without drinking some part of it, and filling it up
with Water) and come to an Indian Town, those that buy Rum of them
have so many Mouthfuls for a Buck-Skin, they never using any other Measure;
and for this purpose, the Buyer always makes Choice of his Man,
which is one that has the greatest Mouth, whom he brings to the Market
with a Bowl to put it in. The Seller looks narrowly to the Man's Mouth
that measures it, and if he happens to swallow any down,
either through Wilfulness or otherwise, the Merchant or some of his Party,
does not scruple to knock the Fellow down, exclaiming against him
for false Measure. Thereupon, the Buyer finds another Mouthpiece
to measure the Rum by; so that this Trading is very agreeable
to the Spectators, to see such a deal of Quarrelling and Controversy,
as often happens, about it, and is very diverting.
{Poisoning of Taylor.}
Another Destroyer of them, is, the Art they have, and often practise,
of poisoning one another; which is done by a large, white, spungy Root,
that grows in the Fresh-Marshes, which is one of their Poisons;
not but that they have many other Drugs, which they poison one another withal.
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