YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

FROM THE COLLECTION MADE BY
CHARLES SHELDON B.A. 1890
OF BOOKS ON NATURAL HISTORY
EXPLORATION- HUNTING & FISHING

GIFT OF FRANCIS P. GARVAN
B.A. 1897

THE INDIANS

OF

SOUTH CAROLINA

BY

EDWIN L. GREEN
South Carolina College

(Eolumbia, S. £.
THE STATE COMPANY
Publishers.

Copyright 1904
BY
Edwin L. Green

TO
THE BOYS
OF
SOUTH CAROLINA

PREFACE.
Though not a few books have been written
in recent years upon South Carolina and
her history, there is very little that can be
used in the schools. And so it is hoped that
there is a place for a little book — the first
of a number — which tells for the boys many
things they would like to know about the
Indians of their own State.

CONTENTS.

Chapter I.
Indian Tribes in South Carolina — Gen
eral Characteristics  9
Chapter II.
Babyhood — Name — Sports — Initiation —
Marriage — Women — Slaves  14
Chapter III.
Indian Town — Houses — Furniture  20
Chapter IV.
Dress of the Men — Of the Women  23
Chapter V.
Agriculture — Hunting — Fishing — Cook

ing.

.26

Chapter VI.

Trade — Money — Mr. Galphin and the In
dian Chief  35

8 Contents.
Chapter VII.
Music — Dancing — Games — Knowledge of
Writing — Beckoning of Time — Ca
noes — Pipes  40
Chapter VIII.
Weapons — War Titles — War — War-wo
men — Torture of Prisoners — Peace. . .47
Chapter IX.
The King — Great War Chief — Beloved
Men — Punishment for Crime.  56
Chapter X.
Medicine Man — Medicine — Tooth Pull
ing  60
Chapter XL
Burial Ceremonies — Good and Evil Spir
its — Heaven — Idols — Charms — Busk. . 63

The Indians of South Carolina.

CHAPTER I.
Indian- Tribes in South Carolina — Gen
eral Characteristics.
When the English settlers first came to
South Carolina, the country was in the pos
session of the Indians, of whom there were
about twenty-eight tribes. The most power
ful tribes in the neighborhood of the first
settlements were the Savannahs and the
Westoes. On the lower Savannah River lived
the Yemassees. The whole of upper South
Carolina was occupied by the Oherokees,
east of whom, on the North Carolina line,
were the Catawbas. The Creeks were neigh
bors to the Cherokees on the west, in the
present limits of Georgia and Alabama, and
still farther west dwelled the warlike Chick-
esaws. Both of these nations were closely
connected by trade with South Carolina.

10 The Indians of
Among the less important tribes were Con-
garees, Santees, Stonos, W^aterees, Wax-
haws, Edistos, Pedees, Saraws (Cheraws),
Seewees, Wandos, Winyaws, and Saludas.
*^ The Indians of South Carolina were of a
reddish brown, or copper, color. The men
were tall and straight, with well shaped
limbs and an almost perfect figure: "the
Gberofcees were the tallest of all. They were
never deformed or humpbacked, and were
very dexterous in the use of their limbs, -^u
old traveler, who has left an account of his
journey through South Carolina not many
years after it was first settled, says he never
saw a left-handed Indian. They were hardy
and possessed wonderful powers of endur
ance, but they could not perform the labor of
the white man.^ The features of the Chero
kees are described as regular: the cheek
bone was high ; the nose was inclined to be
aquiline, or hooked; the eyes were small,
black, and full of fire. No hair grew upon
the face; if any did appear it was plucked
out by the roots. The head, which was cov
ered with long, coarse hair, black as a raven,
never became bald.

South Carolina. 11
The women were tall, slender and
straight, but smaller than the men. They
were comely, and some of the young women
of the Cherokees were almost as fair and
blooming as the young women of Europe;
but any beauty they may have possessed in
youth was lost as they grew old. They were
of cheerful and kindly dispositions. Many
of them became wives of white men who had
gone among the Indians to trade, and, find
ing the women so pleasing, had married, pre
ferring to dwell in the Indian country to
going back to the settlements. So much
fascination was there in the life of the
woods that a story arose, according to which
the fondness for that country was due to
the waters of a certain spring known as
Herbert's Spring. Any man who drank of
its waters could not possibly quit the nation,
as the Indian country was called, for the
space of seven years.
It is said of the natives that they were
grave and slow in conversation, shrewd in
a bargain and tenacious of what they con
sidered their rights. Their curiosity was
great. When Dr. Henry Woodward came

12 The Indians of
to the town of the Westoes, he says that
the house of the chief, into which he was
conducted, was too small to hold the crowd
that came to see him, so that "ye smaller
fry got up and uncovered the top of ye house
to satisfy their curiosity." At Port Royal
the Indians cried "Bony Conraro Angles,"
when the English came to land, and stroked
them upon the shoulders with the palms of
their hands, at the same time sucking in
their breath. The kindness of the natives
to the colonists often prevented suffering.
An Indian who was in want of food went
to the door of the first house he came to
in the village, saying, "I am come." The
owner replied, "You are; it is well." At
once the hungry man was supplied with
food and drink. After he was satisfied
and had smoked and talked with his
host, he rose and departed with the
words, "I go," to which the other replied,
"You do."
When an Indian lost his house by fire, he
made a feast for the men of his tribe, to
which the invited guests brought presents,
so that it was no uncommon thing for him
to receive three times as much as he had

South Carolina. 13
lost. The men likewise came to the assist
ance of any one who wished to build a cabin,
or make a canoe.
Old age was held in great veneration.
Sometimes old people who had become help
less and decrepit through age were put to
death, but only at their earnest entreaty.
Indians frequently lived more than one
hundred years.
The early settlers often complained that
the Indians killed and stole their hogs,
cattle and horses. They considered it no
crime to steal from the English, though
they rarely stole from each other.
The Cherokees are said to have spoken
with very loud voice, "somewhat rough and
very sonorous." When an Indian orator
made a speech, he used his hands, his head,
in fact, every member of his body, to aid his
words. The young men did not always
understand what the old men said, because
in debate they spoke with the fewest words
possible.

14 The Indians op

CHAPTER II.

Babyhood — Name — Sports — Initiation —
Marriage — Women — Slaves.
When a child was born, the Cherokee
Indian who wished to know whether the
baby was a boy or a girl asked, "Is it a bow,
or a sifter?" or perhaps, "Is it ball-sticks"
(referring to the sticks used in the favorite
game of ball) "or bread?" The little Indian
had a cradle made for it by its father, a
piece of flat board about two feet long and
one foot broad, to which it was closely
strapped. The strap around its forehead
caused the head to be flattened and the eyes
to be a great distance apart, which was
thought to be an advantage to the hunter in
sighting game. A string ran from one cor
ner of the board to the other, so that the
mother could sling -the child on her back.
When it rained she threw her cloak over
her head, protecting both herself and the
baby. The following is a song that was sung
to a Cherokee baby :

South Carolina. 15
"H^ wiy^-hyew6, Ha wiy^-hyew6,
Yti we-yuweh^. Hi wiyehyu-uw6 —
The bear is very bad, so they say ;
Long time ago he was very bad, so they say ;
The bear did so and so, they say."
The name given a child by its parents re
mained his name only till he had arrived at
about the age of sixteen, when he took a
name for himself. This name was often that
of some animal, as Eagle, Hawk, Panther,
Alligator. A famous chief of the Cherokees
was Oconostota, or "Groundhog Sausage,"
commonly called "Old Hop"; another was
Charitie Hayge, "the Great Conjurer of
Tugaloo"; a third was AttakuUa-kulla, or
"Leaning Wood," known to the whites as
"Little Carpenter." Haegler was king of the
Catawbas. There were Indians called by the
English, "All Bones," "Long Hair," "Corn
Tassel," "Acorn Whistler," "Shoe-boots."
A young man could win a war title by taking
a certain number of scalps from the enemy.
Before the boy was taught how to walk
he learned how to swim. Winter and sum
mer his mother took him to the river early

16 The Indians op
every morning. His chief sports were swim
ming, playing ball like the "grown up"
Indians, and hunting with his little bow
and arrows, or with a cane reed several feet
long from which the joints had been care
fully cleared, so that he could use it as a
blow-gun to kill birds and squirrels. When
an Indian boy was born, the birds, it was
believed, sang in mournful chorus: "Alas!
the whistle of the arrow! my shins will
burn." The birds knew that the boy would
shoot them with his arrows and roast them
on a stick. One duty of boys was to keep off
crows and other mischievous birds from the
cornfields. For punishment boys were "dry-
scratched," that is, scratched with a comb
made of a reed to which had been fastened
teeth of gar-fish, or bits of glass, without
being allowed to wash the wounds.
When the young Indian had reached the
age of manhood, about sixteen, he was com
pelled to undergo a severe initiation, in
order to harden him against the fatigues of
every hardship of hunting or war. The
young man with others was shut up in a
strong cabin and given medicine, which

South Carolina. 17
made them gjl howl and cry in a most dismal
manner. This lasted five or six weeks, when
the half -starved wretches were brought out,
at least those who were alive, for some of
the youths died, being fed on very little
meat and that the most loathsome. Girls
were treated in a similar manner. Some
times a boy would run away to avoid this
experience. When the young man was ready to marry,
he chose a young woman who was not as
closely related to him as first cousin, and if
she agreed and her relatives consented, he
paid for her a sum which varied according
to the beauty of the lady. If he could not
pay all down at once, but was a good hunter,
he was allowed to pay part down and the
balance during the following hunting sea
son. The marriage was to last as long as
the man and woman agreed. Among some
tribes there was a simple marriage cere
mony: the young man went to the home
of his beloved, and in the presence of the
wedding guests stuck a reed of cane in the
ground. Soon the bride came out and set
up another reed beside his, after which the

18 The Indians of
reeds were exchanged as certificates of mar
riage. Then followed feasting and dancing,
and the relatives of the bride and groom
made presents, and the men of the town
came together and built a new home for the
young people.
The young girls were very bashful, so that
when they came into a strange cabin where
they were not acquainted, they never asked
for anything, however hungry they might
be; but they sat quiet, saying nothing until
some one asked a question. An Indian
mother was usually tender and kind to her
children. A traveler who went through
South Carolina at the beginning of the
eighteenth century and knew the Indians
well relates that he never saw but one
woman scold her children. Women did not
have to plant corn and make the crops, as
among the northern Indians. Their work
was to cook the food for the entire family,
to bring the daily supply of water from a
neighboring spring, at which lovers often
met, to make pottery of all kinds, fashion
baskets and mats, and spin and weave, and
make lace and fringe for their dresses.

South Carolina. 19
Women went along with hunting parties to
carry provisions and get firewood, the men
being occupied with hunting.
A woman did not have to pay any of her
husband's debts in case of his death ; but if
she married, the new husband had to pay all
of them. The husband could trade his wife
off and have as many wives as he desired.
If he parted from his wife, the children re
mained with her, though he had to support
them. The young men of the village were
made to aid widows in caring for their chil
dren by planting and doing other work the
women were unable to do.
Slaves were the prisoners taken in war,
who were kept for the purpose of working
in the fields and attending to the wants of
their masters. Sometimes a slave's feet
were permanently injured in order to pre
vent his escaping; but a slave's life was on
the whole not a life of cruelty. The Westo
Indians were great slave catchers and were
said to be man-eaters, and the very sound
of a Westo's footsteps caused the other
Indians to tremble.

20 The Indians of
CHAPTER III.
Indian Town — Houses — Furniture.
An Indian town was generally so situated
as to be convenient for hunting, and easily
protected from sudden surprise by an
enemy, with a large tract of fertile field
close at hand, if possible, in a bend of a river.
A town near the coast is described as on the
edge of a forest, the houses of the inhabi
tants straggling among fields of maize. On
the south side was a spacious meadow;
before the door of the Council House was
a large and broad walk with a row of trees
on each side. On the north a palisade of
posts prevented the enemy from surprising
the town in that direction.
' Houses, or wigwams, were made of poles
of pine, cedar or hickory, the larger ends
stuck into the ground, the others bent in
and fastened together at the top. The whole
was covered with bark of cypress or cedar,
or even with moss. For summer use sheds
open on all sides were sometimes used. The
Cherokees built houses of posts, to which

South Carolina. 21
long canes were fastened inside and outside
and plastered with white clay. These cabins
were generally constructed with a width of
twelve feet and a length of twenty, with one
door, sometimes two, opposite each other,
and no windows. At one end of the cabin
was a fireplace with two bedsteads on each
side, made of canes and covered with bear
skins. Two or three families would unite to
build a "hot house" about thirty feet in
diameter and fifteen feet high, in the form of
a cone, to which there was no opening ex
cept one small door large enough to crawl
through. A fire was kept burning in the
center of the building. Here the owners
slept during the cold winter nights on
couches round the walls.
The Town House, or Council House, was a
large house circular in form, having oppo
site the entrance a high seat capable of hold
ing about six persons. On this sat the chief,
with his wife at his right hand. Benches
ran round the walls on either side from
the throne to the entrance. In the center
of the building was a fire which was kept

22 The Indians op
constantly burning under' the direction of
the high -priest.
The benches on which the people sat
during the day were at night covered with
bear skins and used for beds. Rugs, or mats,
also served as couches to sleep on. The
cabins were said to be as hot as ovens and
filled with dirt and vermin. The kitchen
utensils consisted of pots, bowls, or basins,
made of clay, which the Indian women were
very expert in making. Spoons were shells,
and gourds made excellent cups. A sharp
piece of flint stone served as a knife. Axes
were wedge-shaped stones weighing two or
three pounds, to which a handle was fast
ened made of two pieces of hickory twisted
around the notched head of the ax. A
mortar for beating corn was made by burn
ing a hollow on the top side of a log. Beat
ing corn was the work of the girls, four of
whom usually worked together, keeping
time as they beat.
After the coming of the white men the
Indians became dependent on them for iron
utensils and implements of work.

South Carolina. 23
CHAPTER IV.
Dress op the Men — Of the Women.
In warm weather very little clothing was
worn. In severe weather men wore a coat
of hair, fur, or feathers, which was known
as a match-coat. When made of feathers, it
was very pretty, having figures worked in it,
and shining like silk. Sometimes these
coats were made of the green parts of the
skins of mallards' heads sewn together with
the sinews of deer divided very small, or
with silk grass. After the natives became
acquainted with the white men, some of
them adopted a costume resembling the kilts
worn by the Highlanders of Scotland. On
their legs were cloth leggings, ornamented
with beads, lace or tinsel; their feet were
encased in shoes of dressed deer skin, known
as bucks, or moccasins, soft, and fitting the
foot as a glove fits the hand. Around the
neck, suspended by a ribbon on the breast,
were worn large silver crescents. Their
temples were bound with a very curious
diadem about four inches broad, decorated

24 The Indians of
with stones, beads, porcupine quills, or
feathers of a crane or heron. The young
men as well as the young women were fond
of decoration.
The men shaved their heads, leaving a
narrow crest or comb about two inches
broad and the same height on the top of the
head, widening towards the back, where it
was ornamented with silver quills and
plates. The middle plait of hair was
wrapped in a silver quill, or run through
a reed, and ended in a tail. To the ears were
fastened huge rings, and eagle, heron or oth
er birds' feathers were placed in the holes.
They rubbed themselves daily with bear's
oil, to keep their limbs supple. For ornament
they painted their heads, necks and breasts
with Vermillion paint, which they always
requested in asking for presents from the
white men. They often tattooed their bodies
with figures of animals, stars, fiowers, and
pictures that formed a record of their deeds
in war, which would strike terror in their
enemies. Warriors who had performed
some gallant exploit in war often had a
tomahawk tattooed on the left shoulder. The

South Carolina. 25
figure to be tattooed was first pricked on
the skin, and then powdered charcoal was
rubbed in.
When the English first saw the Indians,
the women of the coast wore garments made
of moss, with beads of many colors about
their necks. They bound their hair in a
long roll like a horse's tail, wound with
strings of beads made from shells, or even
with a leather string. Their shoes were
similar to those worn by the men, and like
them in severe weather protected themselves
by a match-coat. Skins of the bear and deer
carefully tanned, sometimes colored and
checkered with red and black, also served to
keep off the cold. When they were able to
obtain the goods manufactured by the
English, the women began to dress in
skirts and waistcoats of calico, printed
linen or fine cloth decorated with beads and
lace, and to plait their hair and fasten it
on top of the head in a knot, to which were
tied many streamers of colored ribbon,
reaching almost to the ground. All this
finery was reserved for particular occasions.
They never used paint on their faces.

26 The Indians op
CHAPTER V.
Agriculture — Hunting — Fishing —
Cooking.
The whole town planted in one vast field,
in which the share of each family was
marked off by a strip of grass, or some other
natural boundary. It very rarely happened
that anything was stolen from a family's
portion. To clear a field, the grass and
underbrush were burned, and the smaller
trees cut down; large trees were deadened
by cutting the bark in a ring around the
base, and as they rotted down they were
removed from the field. The soil was dug
by means of sharpened sticks or shells at the
ends of sticks, until the hoe was introduced
by the English. Although the natives culti
vated only the poorest ground, because they
could not clear the best on account of the
timber, they raised good crops of corn — two
crops in a year — beans, onions, pumpkins,
watermelons and muskmelons. They also
cultivated a species of peach. In the woods
grew acorns, grapes, figs, strawberries, mul-

South Carolina. 27
berries, many kinds of nuts, persimmons,,
and wild potatoes.
The maize, or corn, crop was the most im
portant. It was planted by the men, and
the Cherokees put seven grains in each hill,
and after the crop had been harvested, set
aside seven ears for the purpose of attract
ing the corn to next year's crop. When the
new corn had been worked for the last time,
the priest and his assistant went by night to
the middle of the field and there built an
inclosure, in which the priest sang songs for
four successive nights, calling on the spirit
of the corn. A loud rustling was soon heard,
caused, as they believed, by the "Old-
Woman" bringing the corn into the field.
For seven days no one entered the field,
when the priest went again among the corn
and found the young ears. Care was always
taken to keep a clean trail from the field ta
the house, in order that the corn might be
encouraged to stay at home and not wander.
When the crops were ready for harvest
ing, the families of the village assembled,
and each carried away to its own storehouse,
or crib, the fruits of the portion of ground

28 The Indians of
allotted to it. The women perhaps did most
of the harvesting. A certain amount was
taken from each man's store and deposited
in the chief's crib as a sort of public treas
ury, to which each family could go when its
own stock was used up; and from this crib
provisions were taken for the aid of neigh
boring towns, for war, and for the entertain
ment of travelers.
The forests of Carolina abounded in bear,
deer, hares, squirrels, opossums, raccoons,
turkeys, quails, and geese and ducks in the
w^inter season. Buffalos were once very
numerous, but disappeared before the white
man. Panthers, wolves, and other beasts of
prey made night hideous with their cries.
Hunting was the occupation of the men.
At the beginning of winter they went out in
^reat numbers, often to great distances,
telling the direction by the growth of a cer
tain moss upon the trees. Women went
along to do the cooking and carry the pro
visions. Cooking went on all day and for a
great part of the night, and during these
trips the Indians lived with all the mirth
And jollity of which they were capable.

South Carolina. 29
Deer were hunted by means of a disguise
which enabled the hunter to come close ta
his game. He put on a coat of deer skin with
the hair on, and set on his head a buck's
head, to which enough skin had been left to
cover the hunter's neck and fall over his
shoulders. The eyes were, in some way
unknown, preserved as if living. In this
garb the hunter, on his hands and knees,
was able to creep as close to a deer as he
pleased. Sometimes it happened that two
hunters, each taking the other for a deer,
stalked one another, and one was killed;
for which reason this method of hunting was
not practiced in the more populous districts.
By firing the woods for many miles the
hunters drove the deer and other game into
a small neck of land, where they killed what
they pleased.
Bows and arrows were the weapons first
used by the hunter until he obtained the
gun from the English colonists. But even
then turkeys, ducks, and other small game
were killed by means of the bow and arrow.
A young hunter never ate of the first deer,
bear, or any kind of game he might kill,^

30 The Indians of
for fear that he would never afterwards
be fortunate. When a deer was slain, a
Cherokee hunter cut out the hamstring
from the hindquarter and threw it away,
because he imagined that if he ate of it
lie would tire easily in traveling. This same
Indian would tell you that all animals were
divided into tribes like human beings, and
that the chief of the deer tribe was "Little
Deer," who kept constant watch over his
subjects and saw that no one was slain for
mere sport. As soon as a deer was killed,
he came and inquired of the blood spilled
on the ground if the hunter had asked par
don for the life he had taken. If he had
not said the proper prayer over the dead
deer, Little Deer tracked the man to his
home and put into his body the spirit of
rheumatism. Once in a lifetime, Little
Deer, who was a spirit, appeared as a small
white deer, and the hunter who was so for
tunate as to kill this deer and secure the
antlers had in them a charm that made him
successful in every chase.
The hunter avoided the wolf, because he
believed that if he should kill a wolf he

South Carolina. 31
would spoil his gun. This animal could be
killed only by a professional wolf-killer,
who knew the proper charms and ceremo
nies. Likewise the eagle, which was the
sacred bird of the Cherokees, could be slain
only by the eagle-killer. Once a hunter who
did not know the ceremonies to be used over
the dead bird killed an eagle and was, in
consequence, haunted by dreams of fierce
eagles swooping down upon him, so that
he had to go to a priest and undergo
a long treatment before the dreams left
him. The rivers and ponds abounded in fish.
Oysters were plentiful in the waters of the
coast. The natives displayed great skill in
taking fish, which they did in most of the
ways known to us. A favorite method was
to shoot them with arrows, or to spear them
with cane reeds sharpened and the point
hardened by fire. Fish were usually speared
at night by the light of a torch, which was
carried by a man or boy accompanying the
fisherman. Hooks of bone and lines of the
sinews of deer were also used; but traps,
weirs and nets were the usual means

32 The Indians of
employed to catch fish. By means of horse-
chestnuts pounded fine the fish in ponds
were stupefied, so that they floated appa
rently lifeless on the top of the water and
were thus captured. The Indians living on
the coast dried great quantities of fish for
winter use.
But the natives were not good at pro
viding against the necessities of the
future, and it not unfrequently happened
that their small stores failed. In this
event they were compelled to live on roots,
the tender shoots of plants, and whatever
other edible things they could find in the
woods. Before the Indians learned the use of the
flint and steel from the white man, they
obtained fire by rubbing two sticks together.
Over the fire thus made, the woman pre
pared the food for her family. In a large
earthen pot she boiled beans and venison
together as a soup, of which all were very
fond, though it was said by some tribes that
soup caused shortness of wind, so that they
avoided it. Corn was pounded in a mortar
and, with the husks removed, was boiled as

South Carolina. 33
hominy, or it was mixed with bear's oil, or
hickorynut milk, which was the oil obtained
by boiling hickory nuts and walnuts, and
fried into cakes, or baked as bread. Corn
was also parched and pounded into meal,
which was used especially by parties going
on long journeys. To bake large loaves, the
coals were removed from a part of the
hearth, which was swept clean, and the
dough placed upon it was covered with an
earthen dish, and over this hot coals were
heaped. In this way a very fair tasting loaf
was baked. Meat was also roasted as well
as boiled. Whatever was boiled was cooked
until it was well done.
There were no tables, nor regular hours
for eating; but each took his portion from
the pot with a spoon, generally made of a
shell, and with his bread or cake ate it. The
first bit taken at the meal was cast into
the fire as an offering of thanks, as we ask
a blessing before eating.
It was the common belief that a man was
like the food he ate. Whoever fed on veni
son was sure to be more swift than he who
lived on the flesh of the clumsy bear, the

34 The Indians of
slow-footed ox, or the heavy, wallowing
swine. Some of the most renowned chiefs
entirely avoided the flesh of animals that
were slow in their movements.

South Carolina. 35

CHAPTER VI.
Trade — Money — Mr. Galphin and the
Indian Chief.
The natives very early came into close re
lations with the English through their desire
to possess many of the things they saw used
by the latter, and also the English found
that they could make a great proflt from
the deer skins belonging to the Indians.
Some of the earliest settlers exchanged
beads and old clothes with the natives for
provisions, deer skins, hens, and earthen
pots. In a very short time traders had vis
ited the tribes several hundred miles from
the coast. Goods were carried up the rivers
in canoes known as periaugoes, or through
the country on pack-horses. These horses
were driven by men called pack-horsemen,
each of whom carried a tough cowhide whip.
When the sun was already high in the heav
ens, the horses in Indian file, an old one in
the lead, began the day's journey, and a
trot was kept up till the poor creatures could
go no longer. Each horse wore a bell, so

36 The Indians of
that the constant clatter of the bells, crack
ing of whips and shouting of drivers, who
used words from the Indian language,
caused a terrific din and confusion. A
trader owned a house in some Indian town
and was often married to a woman of that
place, especially that he might have her in
fluence in inducing the Indians to bring
their deer skins to him. Deer skins took the
place of money. The following is part of a
list of goods sent to the Indian country in
1716, with the prices in buckskins :
Guns : value of each, 30 buckskins.
Pistols : value of each, 20 buckskins.
Bullets: value of 50, 1 buckskin.
Blankets : value of each, 14 buckskins.
Calico dresses: value of each, 12 buck
skins. Shirts : value of each, 4 buckskins.
Laced hats : value of each, 8 buckskins.
Hatchets : value of each, 2 buckskins.
Broad hoes : value of each, 4 buckskins.
Butcher knives: value of each, 1 buck
skin. Cizars (scissors) : value of each, 1 buck
skin.

South Carolina. 37
Salt, kettles, looking-glasses, gunpowder,
"as you can."
The trader to whom these goods were
sent was instructed to give no credit. For
a long time it was against the law to sell
firearms or ammunition to the Indians, and
whiskey was also forbidden, of which they
were extremely fond. According to an early
history of the Indians of Carolina, whiskey
was at one time measured by the mouthful,
and the buyer made choice of his man, who
was one with the greatest mouth he could
find. If he swallowed any of the liquor, the
man for whom he was measuring was likely
to give him a severe beating, so that the
bystanders were greatly amused at the
trading. The current money among all the Caro
lina Indians was peak, roanok, or wampum,
made from conch-shells, which were broken
into pieces, and then each of these was
ground to a small cylinder. These cylin
ders were pierced and strung in strings,
about eleven feet of which would purchase
one buckskin. Peak was white, or purple,
the latter being the more valuable. It was

38 The Indians of
said that with this the Indians "buy off mur
ders; and whatsoever a man can do that
is ill, this wampum will quit him off, and
make him, in their opinion, good and virtu
ous, though never so black before."
When a present was made to an Indian,
he was desirous of another larger than the
first. A story told of the famous trader
George Galphin illustrates this craving for
presents, and also the superiority of the
white man in outwitting the Indian. A
great chief from beyond the Savannah River
came to Mr. Galphin's trading store and
the next morning after his arrival said to
the trader, "Me dreamed last night." "Ah,"
said he, "what did my red brother dream?"
"Me dream you give me that rifle," replied
the chief, pointing to a fine rifle belonging
to Mr. Galphin. "If you dreamed it," an
swered Mr. Galphin, "you must have it,"
and he handed the rifle to the Indian. Next
morning the white man said, "I dreamed
last night," and the chief wishing to know
what he had dreamed, he told him that he
dreamed he had received as a present the
Chickesaw stallion, a fine horse which the

South Carolina. 39
chief was riding. "If you dream um, you
must have um," said the Indian, and the
horse was given to Mr. Galphin. Now was
the red man's turn to dream, and his dream
was for the red coat Mr. Galphin wore and
for much calico. These he received, for he
had dreamed them, and he must have them.
Then the trader dreamed, and on the fol
lowing morning said, "I dreamed last
night." "What you dream?" asked the chief.
"I dreamed," was the reply, "you gave me
ten miles around the Ogeechee Old Town."
"Wugh," exclaimed the chief, "if you dream
um, you must have um; but I dream with
you no more."

40 The Indians op

CHAPTER VII.
Music — Dancing — Games — Knowledge of
Writing — Reckoning of Time —
Canoes — Pipes.
The chief musical instruments of the
Carolina Indians were a drum made of an
earthen pot covered with a piece of dressed
deer skin, on which the performer beat with
a single stick, and a rattle, or gourd with a
few beans or pebbles in it. As one man
drummed, the other beat his rattle on his
hand, or against a post. A song accom
panied the music, which was admirable for
the exact time of the singers, but was de
scribed as an "unsavory jargon." Another
instrument, on which a hideous noise was
made, was a flute of a reed, or of the bone
of a deer's leg. This music was the especial
pleasure of young men.
Every evening during the summer months
the families of a village met to dance and
amuse themselves. The most common step
used by the dancers was a sort of slow
shuffling, both feet being moved forward one

South Carolina. 41
after the other, the right foot first. The
young men moved in a circle from left to
right, and the young women within this
circle shuffled in the opposite direction. At
the end of each stanza of the song that ac
companied the dance the young women
clapped their hands and raised their voices
in answer to a shout of the men, who also
struck their arms with their open palms.
The Indians were said to have been able to
dance many nights in succession without
wearying. They danced, in fact, so violent
ly for the purpose of accustoming them
selves to great fatigue. It is related of a
French dancing master who had settled near
the coast that he taught the Indians "coun
try dances," and got a good estate.
All occasions were celebrated by dances,
so that there were dances of a purely social
character, dances at the time of sowing seed
and of harvest, dances at the making of
peace, dances in going to war and on the
return, dances at religious festivals.
Every morning, summer and winter alike,
the men swam as one of the first exercises
of the day, in the river near the town.

42 The Indians op
Swimming was supposed to help make them
straight. They engaged also in wrestling,
jumping, running, throwing, and games of
ball. Football was a favorite sport ; but the
game most loved and esteemed the noblest
and manliest was that now played in
Canada as lacrosse. One town having chal
lenged another, the players met on the ap
pointed day, and having been exhorted to
play fair and to bring the glory of the vic
tory to their town, they gathered at the
center of the field. Here the ball, which was
made of deer skin and stuffed with deer's
hair, was thrown high into the air. As it
fell, the contestants on either side tried to
catch it in the net at the end of the ball-stick
and hurl it towards the opponents' goal. To
score, the ball had to be thrown between
two poles. Young women played this game
as well as the men.
Ball players did not eat the flesh of the
hare, because it, so the Indians said, became
easily confused in running.
Another game often played, and a favor
ite among all the Southern Indians, was
Chungke, or Chunkey. This was played on

South Carolina. 43
the "yard" or alley near the Council House
prepared for the game, being about two
hundred feet long, usually with a hard clay
surface. It was a game of the warriors, two-
of whom played at a time. The two started
at a run ; after a few yards one of them cast
with all his might a round stone, rolling it
towards the center of the opposite end. As
it rolled, both hurled the poles well greased
with bear's oil, which they held in their
hands, in the direction it was going, with
the view to making them stop as near as
possible to it when it came to rest. If a
player's pole touched the stone he was given
two points on the game, otherwise the player
whose pole was nearest scored one point.
Chunkey was so fascinating to the Indians
that the players would stake even the clothes
they were then wearing on the result.
They were great gamblers, and often, after
losing everything else, risked their very per
sons. And the loser became the servant of
the winner until he could be redeemed.
They are said not to have quarreled over
their games. Dice were persimmon seeds,.
and the winning or losing depended oit

44 The Indians Of
which side fell uppermost, and how they
liappened to fall together.
The natives of Carolina had no system of
writing. They painted signs and figures on
«kins, and scratched rudely on wood, bone,
or stone, and could indicate in this way
the direction and strength of a war party.
When a treaty of peace was made, belts of
wampum were exchanged and kept as
records of the event, a narrative of the trans
action being in the figures worked on them.
Distances were reckoned by sleeps, one of
which was twenty-four hours. A man was
as old as the number of winters he had lived.
The year was divided into thirteen moons,
which had names from the principal fruits
gathered, or animals hunted, or they would
say, "we will return when the dogwood
blooms," or "when the turkey cocks gobble."
Thus the first moon was the "Deer" moon;
the eighth the "Turkey" moon, followed by
the "Buffalo" and "Bear" moons; the year
«nded with the "Walnut" moon. There
were three divisions of the day, "the sun's
<2oming out," "midday," and "the sun fallen
into the water." The time of day was de-

South Carolina. 45
termined by the number of handbreadths the
sun was above the horizon. The Cherokees
could count as high as a hundred. A north
west wind was called "cold wind," while the
south wind was known as the "warm wind."
To build a boat, a tree, if possible a
cypress, was felled, and a part of it was
burned off the length of the boat. This was
hollowed out by means of fire and was
scraped smooth inside and outside with the
sharp edges of shells. Both ends were fre
quently sharpened and curved upward.
Short paddles were used to propel these
canoes, which were sometimes large enough
to carry forty men.
The red man was never without his pipe,
originally a gift, it was said, from the Great
Spirit, and a sign of peace and friendship.
Women also smoked. Pipes were made of
stone and of clay. The common clay pipe,^
which looked very much like the pipe of
today, disappeared when the white man be
gan to sell his pipes to the Indians. The
choicest pipes were cut from stone, requir
ing months of labor in polishing and hol
lowing the bowl, as there were no iron tools.

46 The Indians of
only pieces of flint stone and perhaps a
«ane reed, with sand and water, for a drill.
But Indians were never in a hurry over their
work. The bowls were of various shapes —
hirds, animals, human heads. Stems were
ordinarily cane reeds.

South Carolina. 47

CHAPTER VIII.
Weapons — War Titles — War — ^War-
women — Torture of Prisoners —
Peace.
The chief weapon of the warrior was the
bow and arrow. Even after the white man's
gun was placed in the hands of the Indian
he continued to carry his bow to war with
him. His arrows he could discharge in rapid
succession and with deadly aim, with such
force that they could pierce through an inch
or more of pine board. A frightened Span
iard at whom the Indians of Florida had
shot declares that their arrows would go
through a tree several inches in diameter.
The arrows were of reed cane about three or
four feet long and tipped with a fish bone
or stone chipped to a point. The flight of
the arrow was often made more accurate by
means of a feather near the notch in the end
of the shaft. Bows were usually of hickory,
or locust, of which the choicest bows were
made, the length being about four feet. A
quiver of deer or panther skin, hung over the

48 The Indians op
left shoulder, held the arrows in easy reach
of the warrior's hand. A deer's sinew
formed the string for the bow. Other
weapons of war were clubs and axes of
stone, and after the white man came, knives
and hatchets, or tomahawks. The Chero
kees were so skilful in throwing the toma
hawk as to kill with it at a considerable
distance. The young Cherokee warriors were known
as gun-men and could be summoned by the
chief to act as his servants on the march.
After they had scalped a number of the
enemy, they received the title of "slave-
catcher," from which they could rise to that
of "raven," and from that to the distinction
of "man-killer." The highest title was
"warrior." At every promotion their necks,
cheeks and breasts were tattooed with
flgures indicating their rank. The "war
riors," or "warrior chiefs," led the war
parties. When it had been determined to go on the
warpath, the men rid themselves of all su
perfluous flesh under the direction of a
medicine man, whose influence was almost

South Carolina. 49
supreme even in directing the movements of
the party. The men had their hair combed
out by the women and greased with bear's oil
and colored with a red powder. Eagle
feathers decorated the head and were also
placed in the ears, to which strings of beads
and rings of copper were fastened. The face
was painted with Vermillion, often all over,
with a circle of black about one eye and of
white about the other, or it was daubed with
clay of different colors, or with soot, or
black lead. More hideous objects could
scarcely be imagined.
Before the party left the toMm the war
riors drank in the public square a drink
known as the black drink, and danced the
war dance, in which they indicated by ges
tures what they were going to do to the
enemy. The old men, the women and the children
were left at home. With a war party of the
Cherokees went one woman for the purpose
of cooking and looking after the camp.
After a few campaigns she was given the
title of "war-woman," or "pretty woman,"
and all prisoners whom she demanded

50 The Indians of
became hers to do with what she pleased.
Her power was such that she could declare
war. There were only a few "war-women"
in the whole Cherokee nation. Traders, in
order to rescue a prisoner, would bribe one
of these women to claim him as her slave,
and afterwards secure his release from her.
In order to claim him, she must get near
enough to lay her hand on him and say,
"This is my man," so that she often had to
resort to a disguise to prevent his being
killed by his captor, who might otherwise
slay him, if she was seen trying to approach
him. A declaration of war was sometimes made
by setting up arrows along the path to the
principal town of the enemy, or a defiance
was sent to them in the form of a verbal
message, or of a weapon painted red. At
other times war was begun without previous
warning. When the leader was ready to start he
uttered the war-whoop, or fired his gun, as
a signal to his followers, who came immedi
ately after him, all whooping or firing their
guns in token of defiance. The troop

South Carolina. 51
marched after the leader in single, or Indian
file, each man stepping in the tracks of the
warrior in front, the last often removing all
traces of the march by covering the tracks
with grass or leaves. Very little food was
eaten during the march. Each man carried
a small bag of parched corn ground to a
powder. A handful of this meal he mixed
with a pint of water and swallowed, and in
this way he was able to subsist for many
days. To drink, he dipped the water up in
the hollow of his hand and tossed it into his
mouth. It is said that when the party came
to a fallen tree, instead of crossing it, they
went around it. At night they lay in a
circle around the camp-fire feet inside, their
weapons ready beside them. No one moved
after a signal from the leader. As a rule,
no watch was kept, inasmuch as a very slight
noise was sufficient to arouse them and put
them at once on the alert.
War parties were always small, and a
pitched battle was rare. The Indians
always tried to take the enemy off guard,
attacking suddenly with frightful yells,
which were meant to strike terror into the

52 The Indians of
hearts of the foe. If repulsed, they came on
again ; but a steady fight was unusual nor did
the fighting last long. Every one was slain,
without regard to age or sex. Few prisoners
were taken. The dead and wounded were
scalped, which the victors accomplished by
running a knife point around the edge of
the hair and then jerking the skin off the
head. This was carefully dried and pre
served as a trophy, in some towns fastened
on poles above the Council House. On the
return of the party there was a dance known
as the scalp dance, in which the wives and
sweethearts of the warriors carried the
scalps at the ends of poles. The men gave
an account of what had been done on the
expedition. Prisoners who were kept as slaves were
treated with a great degree of kindness, so
that even white prisoners sometimes pre
ferred to remain among the Indians to going
back to their own people. A captive Indian
was adopted into the tribe of his captors;
by his own people he was usually regarded
as dead. When a prisoner of distinguished
military reputation was taken, in a spirit of

South Carolina. 53
revenge and exultation, horrible tortures
were inflicted upon him, and his life was
prolonged as long as possible before death
released him from suffering. The chief tor-
menters of the tortured prisoner were the
women, who did all they could to break his
spirit and make him show signs of weak
ness. It was no uncommon torture to stick
pine splinters into his body and set them
on fire, and make him in this condition
dance around a fire until he expired. Every
one then tried to get a bone or some other
relic from his body.
To test the courage and endurance of a
prisoner, his captors forced him to "run the
gauntlet," that is, to run around the public
square, or between two rows of Indians, and
receive from his tormentors blows from
sticks and clubs. If he succeeded in reach
ing a goal that was pointed out to him he
was safe for the time.
In almost every tribe or nation there
were several "peaceable" towns known as
"old beloved, ancient, holy, or white towns,"
because they took a chief part in all things
relating to peace. Echota, near the mouth

54 The Indians of
of the Little Tennessee River, was the great
"white town" of the Cherokees. If a man
had killed another and could reach one of
these towns he was safe so long as he re
mained there.
Two things were necessary in making a
treaty of peace, the peace-pipe and belts of
wampum, which were both white in color.
The peace-pipe was decorated with an eagle's
wings and served as a flag of truce to the
messengers carrying the peace proposals.
If the pipe was received, and both parties
took alternate whiffs from it, each knew
that the peace would be acceptable. The
terms of the treaty were then agreed upon.
No treaty was considered binding without
the delivery of a belt of wampum as a guar
anty and memorial. Various designs were
worked upon the belt to commemorate the
event. In the language of the red man, the
treaty was to remain in force so long as the
sun shone and the rivers ran into the sea.
Old Hop, the "great beloved man" of the
Cherokees, sent to the governor of Carolina
a pipe which he was to bring with him to
Keowee (on the border of the Indian coun-

South Carolina. 55
try) that they both might there smoke it,
and the people of Charleston and the Chero
kees in the mountains might see the smoke
ascend and know that there was peace.

56 The Indians of
CHAPTER IX.
The King — Great War Chief — Beloved
Men — Punishment for Crime.
In every town or tribe there was a head
man, chief, king, or cassique, as he was
known among the tribes near the coast.
This ruler was for the most part elected by
the people, but sometimes the office was
hereditary, in which instance the son of the
chief's sister was the heir. He presided over
the council of beloved men, composed of
subordinate chiefs, warriors and others re
spectable for wisdom and valor, which was
the supreme governing body. He was hon
ored with every mark of love and respect,
and in his absence no other could sit in his
seat. Yet he associated with the common
people as one of them, often not differing
in dress from the average man, and his house
not being superior to the others. In the
council his voice was no more than that of
any other member, and his advice was taken
as coming from the wisest and best man of
the tribe. The king of the Santee Indians

South Carolina. 57
had the power of life and death over his
subjects. A chief's office was for life, or
during good behavior. Occasionally a tribe
was governed by a woman.
Next to the king in power and dignity was
the Great War Chief, or Warrior Chief, who
led the forces of the tribe in time of M^ar.
His voice was most important in military
matters; but when the king went out
with a war party, he was in command.
His seat in the council was on the left of
the king.
The council of beloved men met in the
council house in matters that required
secrecy. Every day the king, the beloved
men and the warriors met in the public
square to smoke their pipes and discuss the
news of the day. The mo^t slow and de
liberate debate was employed in all matters.
When an aged man was speaking he was
listened to with the greatest attention and
with perfect silence. In fact, no orator was
interrupted in the midst of his speech.
After every man had given his opinion, of
all the opinions the one prevailed which
had most voices, or was found to be most

58 The Indians of
reasonable. There was no wrangling among
the members of the council.
When a man was murdered, the nearest
relative was required to slay the murderer ;
but he could be bought off, and the murderer
go free. If an Indian killed a white man
his tribe refused to give him up until forced
to do so for the general safety. In place of
the murderer some relative could suffer the
penalty. A Chickesaw Indian was demand
ed by the English that they might put him
to death for the murder of a white man. His
uncle offered himself in the place of his
nephew, and he did actually cut his own
throat with a butcher knife. At the same
time he sent his nephew a message to behave
himself for the future, since he had no more
uncles to die for him.
The natives rarely stole from one of their
race. If an Indian was convicted of stealing
from another's cornfield, he was compelled
to work for the man whom he had robbed,
until he had repaid all.
A person guilty of poisoning was con
demned to death with horrible tortures. He
was seated on the ground in the midst of the

South Carolina. 59
assembled tribe, and the executioner, cutting
the skin of his wrists, pulled off the skin of
his hands like a glove. Then his bones were
broken, and he was beaten with violent
blows. After death had put an end to his
tortures his body was burned, and the ashes
were cast into the river.

60 The Indians of
CHAPTER X.
Medicine Man — Medicine — Tooth Pull
ing.
A very important man in the village was
the conjurer, or medicine man, who was also
a priest. His knowledge of the healing prop
erties of plants gave him a decided advan
tage over the others, besides his ability, as
the natives believed, to communicate with
spirits. With him were several junior
priests or students, who always wore a white
mantle and often carried on their arm a
stuffed owl. As they strolled about town
with solemn countenance and dignified step,
they sang softly to themselves. These
"jugglers," or conjurers, professed to be able
to procure rain and seasons favorable for the
fruits of the earth, bring drouths, expel evil
spirits, direct thunder and lightning, and
predict the result of an expedition.
Diseases were supposed to be caused by
evil spirits, and the doctor's efforts were di
rected for the most part to driving these
away. A Cherokee tradition said that the

South Carolina. 61
animals and fishes and birds had once de
cided to send sickness and disease upon men,
in order to be revenged for the way in which
they were being slain. So men began to be
sick. But all the trees, plants, and moss and
grass took the side of man, and when a man
was attacked by a disease, the spirit of the
plant that could cure it made the plant
known, and so medicine came. The Indian
doctor had a wonderful knowledge of the
healing power of plants. Every other day
there was drunk by every one a draft of
a tea made from the leaves of the yaupon,
commonly called "black drink." This
"drink" was also taken before any business
of a public nature was begun.
When the doctor came into the cabin the
patient was laid on his back upon a mat.
After bleeding the sick man, he began to
mutter and "cut capers," till you would have
thought he was going crazy, stopping now
and then to draw more blood. At last he
made an end and told the patient's friends
whether he was going to live or die.
There were no surgeons to cut off injured
limbs, and the man who was wounded either

62 The Indians of
recovered or died. Owing to the hardiness
of the red man, he often recovered from
wounds that would have caused the death of
a white man ; and also the Indian medicine
man had great skill in healing wounds. For
rheumatism and stiffness of joints the pa
tient was put in a tight cabin with a fire
and sweated. Rubbing with bear's oil kept
the limbs supple.
A tooth that had to come out was not
pulled, but it was knocked out by means of
a small reed with a bit of leather on the
end. This method of getting rid of an
aching tooth was said to be easier than pull
ing as practiced by the white dentists of
fehat time.

South Carolina. 63
CHAPTER XL
Burial Ceremonies — Good and Evil Spir
its — Heaven — Idols — Charms — Busk.
The funeral ceremonies varied according
to the rank of the dead man. Women were
buried without any of the ceremonies^
granted to men. When a great man died
his body lay for a day and a night in a house
built for the purpose, mourned over by the
nearest relatives. The persons in charge of
the burial then went into the village and
from the first young men they met took such
blankets and match-coats as they needed.
In these the body was wrapped, and two or
three mats rolled around them. Over all
was a large mat, which was tied at both ends,
for a coffin. The dead man was jiow taken
to the peach orchard, where a medicine man
delivered a long oration to the assembled rel
atives, in which he recounted the brave deeds
of their deceased relation, how great he was,.
and what happiness would be his in the next
world. From here the whole nation accom
panied the corpse to the grave, which wa®

€4 The Indians of
about eight feet long and six feet deep. Into
this it was lowered upon a layer of bark, and
covered tightly with a sort of roof, upon
which was heaped the earth that had come
from the grave. After the flesh had fallen
from the bones, they were taken up, cleaned
and jointed and, dressed in white deer skin,
laid away in the cabin where the bones of
the great men rested. If the tribe moved,
the bones were carried to the new home.
Every night while the body lay in the
grave, the relatives of the dead man, coming
to it, wept and "howled" in a most dismal
manner, their faces blacked with soot and
bear's oil. Tears were shed by hired mourn
ers, who were said to have been very expert.
As life in the next world was supposed to
be like this, many tribes buried with the
dead man his gun, his best bow, a quiver full
of arrows, and every other thing that would
be of use to him.
All Indians believed in the existence of a
good and a bad spirit. The good spirit,
whom the Cherokees called "Great Man,"
and the Catawbas "Overseer," was regarded
as the creator of all things, who taught men

South Carolina. 65
how to overcome the wild beasts of the forest
and make animals to be servants to man.
The bad spirit, they said, tormented people
with sickness, disappointment, hunger, and
all ill fortune that came to them.
Heaven was supposed to be in this world
at a great distance, to which went those men
who had been good hunters, brave warriors,
just and upright, and had done all the good
they could. These lived in a warm and
pleasant country, where were green, flowery
meadows and great forests filled with deer
and all kinds of game. They had everything
they could desire. On the other hand,
Indians who had been lazy, had stolen from
other Indians, or had been bad hunters and
warriors and of no use to the nation, these
went to a country where they were always
hungry and cold, and snakes and ugly old
women were their companions.
The old traveler whom we have mentioned
before says that in the cabin where the bones
of the great men were deposited were also
kept idols, but in reality the natives of Caro
lina were not worshipers of idols : the great
objects of their adoration were the sun and

66 The Indians of
the moon. Every morning when the king
rose he went to the door of his cabin and,
as the sun came up, he blew a puff of smoke
from his pipe toward it in token of greeting.
At the time of planting corn and beans there
was set up in the field a sort of idol dressed
Tip like an Indian, which the old men told
the young men was the spirit of a famous
warrior come back to see how well they did
their work, and if they had done well, he
would go back and tell the good spirit, who
would send them plenty of corn and make
them all skilful hunters and mighty war
riors. The Cherokees believed in a spirit people
who could make themselves visible and could
not be told from real men and women.
There were spirits that dwelled in the wig
wams, though no one ever saw them.
Tsawasi was the name of a tiny fellow who
lived in the grass on the hillside, and to him
hunters prayed for skill to creep up on the
deer through the long grass without being
seen. A mischievous little spirit was Det-
sata, who was fond of hiding the arrows of
the hunter and frightening up flocks of
birds.

South Carolina. 67
Every one wore a charm of some kind to
keep off evil spirits. The hunter who was
fortunate enough to possess some of the
powder from the madstone which was found
in the stomach of a deer could, it was be
lieved, put a little of it in his eye and see
much more clearly. The warrior had his
"war medicine" to prevent himself from
being slain. Some noted warriors were sup
posed to be able to change their shape as
they pleased; others, that they could dive
under the ground and come up among the
enemy, slay one of them, and, diving under
ground, appear again among their friends.
It was said that a few chiefs were able to
put their lives up in a tree while the battle
was raging, so that even if their bodies were
struck, they would not be killed.
Almost every month had its festival ; but
the great religious festival was the celebra
tion of the ripening of the corn, known as
the Busk, or the "green-corn dance." Each
town held its own celebration at the ripen
ing of its corn. The old clothes, pots,
pans, and household furniture were de
stroyed and replaced by new ; the old grain

68 The Indians of South Carolina.
remaining from the preceding year was
burned; the town was cleansed of all its
filth. Criminals were pardoned, and their
crimes were forgotten. Every fire was put
out, and for three days the inhabitants
drank black drink and fasted. On the morn
ing of the fourth day the chief priest made
new fire in the public square by rubbing two
sticks together, and every cabin was sup
plied with a new, clean fire. Then the
women went out into the fields and gathered
fruits and corn, with which they prepared
dishes for the men, that they might eat
thereof in the town square. What was left
the women and children ate in their homes.
The entire night following was devoted to
dancing and singing. And four days were
then spent in rejoicing with their friends
and in receiving and paying visits.

YALE UNIVERSITY

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