They [the Indians] make beautiful stone pipes, and the Cherokees the best of any of the Indians, for their mountainous country contains many different sorts and colors of soils proper for such uses. They easily form them with their tomahawks, and afterwards finish them in any desired form with their knives, the pipes being of a very soft quality till they are smoked with and used with the fire, when they become quite hard. They are often a full span long, and the bowls are about half as long again as those of our English pipes. The fore part of each commonly runs out, with a sharp peak two or three fingers broad and a quarter of an inch thick.
They [the Indians] make beautiful stone pipes, and the Cherokees the best of any of the Indians, for their mountainous country contains many different sorts and colors of soils proper for such uses. They easily form them with their tomahawks, and afterwards finish them in any desired form with their knives, the pipes being of a very soft quality till they are smoked with and used with the fire, when they become quite hard. They are often a full span long, and the bowls are about half as long again as those of our English pipes. The fore part of each commonly runs out, with a sharp peak two or three fingers broad and a quarter of an inch thick.
Not only were pipes made of soapstone found in these mounds, but two or three were obtained precisely of the form mentioned by Adair, with the fore part running out in front of the bowl; and another of the same form has been found in a mound on the Kanawha, which is at least suggestive. Jones says:[66]
It has been more than hinted by at least one person whose statement is entitled to every belief, that among the Cherokees dwelling in the mountains there existed certain artists whose professed occupation was the manufacture of stone pipes, which were by them transported to the coast and there bartered away for articles of use and ornament foreign to and highly esteemed among the members of their own tribe.
It has been more than hinted by at least one person whose statement is entitled to every belief, that among the Cherokees dwelling in the mountains there existed certain artists whose professed occupation was the manufacture of stone pipes, which were by them transported to the coast and there bartered away for articles of use and ornament foreign to and highly esteemed among the members of their own tribe.
This not only strengthens our conclusion, drawn from the presence of such pipes in the mounds alluded to, but may also assist in explaining the presence of the copper ornaments in them. The writer last quoted says:[67]
Copper implements are rarely found in Georgia. The present [a copper ax] is the finest specimen which, after no mean search, has rewarded our investigations. Native copper exists in portions of Cherokee Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Alabama, but it is generally found in combination with sulphur and not in malleable form. We are not aware of any locality among those enumerated whence the Indians could have secured that metal either in quantity or purity sufficient to have enabled them to manufacture this implement.
Copper implements are rarely found in Georgia. The present [a copper ax] is the finest specimen which, after no mean search, has rewarded our investigations. Native copper exists in portions of Cherokee Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Alabama, but it is generally found in combination with sulphur and not in malleable form. We are not aware of any locality among those enumerated whence the Indians could have secured that metal either in quantity or purity sufficient to have enabled them to manufacture this implement.
Adair says:[68]
From the time we supplied them with our European ornaments they have used brass and silver ear-rings and finger-rings; the young warriors now frequently fasten bell-buttons or pieces of tinkling brass to their moccasins.
From the time we supplied them with our European ornaments they have used brass and silver ear-rings and finger-rings; the young warriors now frequently fasten bell-buttons or pieces of tinkling brass to their moccasins.
From these facts I am inclined to believe that most of the copper used by them was obtained directly or indirectly from the whites, and hence subsequent to the discovery of America. But should this supposition be erroneous, the fact still remains that the Cherokees were in the habit of using just such ornaments as we find in these mounds.
As showing that the Europeans began to trade copper to the Indians at a very early day, I call attention to a statement made by Beverly in his "History of Virginia."[69]Speaking of a settlement made at Powhatan, six miles below the falls of James River, in 1609, he says it was "bought of Powhatan for a certain quantity of copper."
By reference to Smith's History and the narratives of the early explorers we find that the amount of sheet copper traded to the Indians and taken by them from wrecks was quite large.
But we are not yet through with the items under this class of testimony.
Haywood, in his "Natural and Aboriginal History of Tennessee,"[70]says:
Mr. Brown, a Scotchman, came into the Cherokee Nation, in the year 1761 and settled on the Hiawassee River or near it. He saw on the Hiawassee and Tennessee the remains of old forts, about which were axes, guns, hoes, and other metallic utensils. The Indians at that time told him that the French had formerly been there and built these forts.
Mr. Brown, a Scotchman, came into the Cherokee Nation, in the year 1761 and settled on the Hiawassee River or near it. He saw on the Hiawassee and Tennessee the remains of old forts, about which were axes, guns, hoes, and other metallic utensils. The Indians at that time told him that the French had formerly been there and built these forts.
I am fully aware that this author indulges in some extravagant speculations; still, so far as I have tested his original statements I have generally found them correct. During the year 1883 one of the assistants of the Bureau was sent to this particular region, which is too limited to allow the question of locality to be raised. An overflow and a change in the channel of the river brought to light the remains of old habitations and numerous relics of the people who formerly dwelt there. Moreover, this was in the precise locality where tradition located a Cherokee town. Digging was resorted to in order to complete what the water had begun.
Now let me mention some of the things obtained here:
Ten discoidal stones, precisely like those from the mounds of Caldwell County, North Carolina.
Nine strings of glass beads.
A large number of shell beads exactly like those from the mounds.
A number of flint arrow-points.
One soapstone pipe.
Some pieces of smooth sheet-copper.
Three conical copper ear-pendants.
Three buttons of modern type.
One small brass gouge.
Fragments of iron articles belonging to a bridle.
One bronze sleigh-bell.
One stone awl or drill.
Fragment of a soapstone pot.
One soapstone gorget.
Several polished stone celts of the same pattern as those found in the North Carolina mounds.
Grooved stone axes.
A piece of sheet lead.
This admixture of articles of civilized and savage life confirms the statement made by Haywood, at least so far as regards the early presence of white people in this section. It follows from what has been presented that the Indians must have been Cherokees, and the fact that the implements and ornaments of aboriginal manufacture found here are throughout precisely like those found in the mounds before mentioned affords a very strong proof that they were built by the Cherokees.
It is worthy of notice that close by the side of this washout stands a mound. Permission to open it has not yet been obtained.
Returning to our mounds, we note that a large number of stones, evidently used for cracking nuts, were found in and about them; some charred acorns, or nuts of some kind, were also found in them. We have only to refer to Adair and other early writers to see how well the indications agree with the customs of the Cherokees.
According to the Cherokee tradition, they found a settlement of Creeks on the Lower Hiawassee, when they reached that region, and drove them away. Ramsay expresses the opinion in his Annals of Tennessee, on what authority is not known, that this was a Uchee settlement. Hence the southern boundary of their possessions, at this early date, which must have been before the time of De Soto's expedition, was about the present northern boundary of Georgia. That their borders, at the time of De Soto's march, extended into northeastern Georgia is proved by the chroniclers of his expedition, but that they did not reach as far south as Bartow County can be shown from one somewhat singular circumstance, which, at the same time, will furnish strong reasons for believing that the authors of the works immediately south of this boundary could not have built the mounds we have been considering.
It will be admitted, I presume, by every one, that the people over whom the famous cacique of Cutifachiqui reigned could not have been Cherokees; yet her territory included Xuala, probably in Nacoochee valley, and extended westward well toward Guaxule on the headwaters of the Coosa, but that the latter was not within the territory of her tribe is expressly stated by Garcilasso de la Vega. I think it may be safely assumed that her people were Creeks; and, if so, that the people ofGuaxule, who, as we judge from the chroniclers of De Soto's expedition, were mound-builders, belonged to another distinct tribe.
Garcilasso, who is our authority in reference to the first point now to be considered, says:
La casa estava en un cerro alto, como de otras semejantes hemos dicho. Tenia toda ella al derredor un paseadero que podian pasearse por el seis hombres juntos.[71]The house was on a high hill (mound) similar to others we have already mentioned. It had all round about it a roadway on which six men could walk abreast.
La casa estava en un cerro alto, como de otras semejantes hemos dicho. Tenia toda ella al derredor un paseadero que podian pasearse por el seis hombres juntos.[71]The house was on a high hill (mound) similar to others we have already mentioned. It had all round about it a roadway on which six men could walk abreast.
This language is peculiar, and, so far as I am aware, can apply to no other mound in Georgia than the large one near Cartersville. The words "similar to others we have mentioned," are evidently intended to signify that it was artificial, and this is conceded by all who have noted the passage. The word "alto" (high), in the mouth of the explorers, indicates something more elevated than the ordinary mounds. The roadway or passageway (paseadero) "round about it" is peculiar, and is the only mention of the kind by either of the three chroniclers. How is it to be explained?
As Garcilasso wrote from information and not from personal observation he often failed to catch from his informants a correct notion of the things described to him; this is frequently apparent in his work where there is no reason to attribute it to his vivid imagination. In this case it is clear he understood there was a terrace running entirely around the mound, or possibly a roadway around the top outside of a rampart or stockade.
But as neither conclusion could have been correct, as no such terrace has been found in any part of this region, and a walk around the summit would have thwarted the very design they had in view in building the mound, what was it Garcilasso's informants saw? C. C. Jones says "a terrace," but it is scarcely possible that any terrace at the end or side of a southern mound, forming an apron-like extension (which is the only form found there), could have been so described as to convey the idea of a roadway, as the mode of estimating the width shows clearly was intended.
Fig. 39.—Large mound of Etowah group, Bartow County, Georgia.Fig. 39.—Large mound of Etowah group, Bartow County, Georgia.
The broad way winding around and up the side of the Etowah mound (Fig. 39) appears to answer the description better than any other in Georgia. It is a large mound, high, and one that would doubtless attract the attention of the Spanish soldiers; its dimensions indicate thatthe tribe by which it was built was strong in numbers and might easily send forth five hundred warriors to greet the Spaniards. The locality is also within the limits of De Soto's route as given by the best authorities; and lastly, there is no other mound within the possible limits of his route which will in any respect answer the description. As Garcillasso must have learned of this mound from his informants, and has described it according to the impression conveyed to his mind, we are justified in accepting it as a statement of fact. I am, therefore, satisfied that the work alluded to is none other than the Etowah mound near Cartersville, Georgia, and that here we can point to the spot where the unfortunate Adelantado rested his weary limbs and where the embassadors of the noted cacique of Cutifachiqui delivered their final message.
Fig. 40.—Vertical section, small mound, same group.Fig. 40.—Vertical section, small mound, same group.
Recently the smallest of the three large mounds of this group was opened and carefully explored by Mr. Rogan, one of the Bureau assistants. As the result will be of much interest to archæologists aside from the question now under discussion, although belonging to the southern type of burial mounds not discussed in this paper, I will venture to give a description of its construction and contents as a means of comparison and as also bearing somewhat on the immediate question under discussion. This mound is the one markedcin Jones's plate;[72]alsocin Colonel Whittlesey's figure 2.[73]A vertical section of it is given inFig. 40. The measurements, as ascertained by Mr. Rogan, are as follows: Average diameter at the base, 120 feet; diameter of the level top, 60 feet; height above the original surface of the ground, 16 feet. The form is more nearly that of a truncated cone than represented in the figures alluded to.
The construction was found, by very thorough excavation, to be as follows: the entire surrounding slope (No. 4,Fig. 40) was of hard, tough red clay, which could not have been obtained nearer than half a mile; the cylindrical core, 60 feet in diameter and extending down to the original surface of the ground, was composed of three horizontal layers; the bottom layer (No. 1) 10 feet thick, of rich, dark, and rather loose loam; the next (No. 2) 4 feet thick, of hard, beaten (or tramped) clay,so tough and hard that it was difficult to penetrate it even with a pick; and the uppermost (No. 3) of sand and surface soil between 1 and 2 feet thick. A trench was dug from opposite sides to the central core; and when the arrangement was ascertained, this central portion was carefully explored to the original surface of the ground.
Nothing was found in the layer of clay (No. 2) except a rude clay pipe, some small shell beads, a piece of mica, and a chunkee stone. The burials were all in the lower layer (No. 1), of dark rich loam, and chiefly in stone cists or coffins of the usual box-shape, formed of stone slabs, and distributed horizontally, as shown inFig. 41, which is a plan of this lower bed.
Fig. 41.—Plan of burials in small mound.Fig. 41.—Plan of burials in small mound.
According to Mr. Rogan's field-notes, the form and contents of these graves and the mode of burial in them were as follows:
Gravea,Fig. 41.—A stone sepulcher, 2½ feet wide, 8 feet long, and 2 feet deep, formed by placing steatite slabs on edge at the sides and ends, and others across the top. The bottom consisted simply of earth hardened by fire. It contained the remains of a single skeleton, lying on its back, with the head east. The frame was heavy and about 7 feet long. The head was resting on a thin copper plate, ornamented with stamped figures; but the skull was crushed and the plate injured by fallen slabs. Under the copper were the remains of a skin of some kind; and under this, coarse matting, probably of split cane. The skin and matting were both so rotten that they could be secured only in fragments.At the left of the feet were two clay vessels, one a water-bottle, and the other a very small vase. On the right of the feet were some mussel and sea shells; and immediately under the feet two conch-shells (Busycon perversum), partially filled with small shell beads. Around each ankle was a strand of similar beads. The bones and most of the shells were so far decomposed that they could not be saved.
Graveb.—A stone sepulcher, 4¼ feet long, 2 feet wide, and 1½ feet deep, differing fromaonly in size and the fact that the bottom was covered with stone slabs. The skeleton was extended on the back, head east. On the forehead was a thin plate of copper, the only article found.
Gravec.—A stone sepulcher, 3½ feet long, 1½ feet wide, and 1½ deep; the bottom being formed of burnt earth. Although extending east and west, as shown in the figure, the bones had probably been interred without regard to order and disconnected, the head being found in the northeast corner with face to the wall and the remaining portion of the skeleton in a promiscuous heap. Yet there was no indication of disturbance after burial as the coffin was intact. Between some of the bones was found a thin plate of copper that had been formed by uniting and riveting together smaller sections. Some of the bones found in this grave were saved.
Graved.—A small sepulcher, 1½ feet square by 1 foot deep, contained the remains of an infant, also a few small shell beads. The slabs forming the sides and bottom of this grave bore very distinct marks of fire.
Gravee.—Simply a headstone and footstone, with the skeleton of a very small child between them; head east. On the wrists were some very small shell beads. The earth on the north and south sides had been hardened in order to form the walls.
Gravef.—Stone sepulcher, 6 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 1½ feet deep, with stone in the bottom; skeleton with the head north. There was a lot of copper about the head, which, together with the skeleton, was wrapped in a skin. The head rested on a large conch-shell (Busycon perversum), and this on the remains of a coarse mat. Shell beads were found around the neck, each wrist, and ankle. On the right was a small cup, and on the breast an engraved shell. The copper had preserved a portion of the hair, which was saved; portions of the skin and matting were also secured.
Immediately underbwas another stone grave or coffin, 3 feet long, 1½ feet wide, and as deep, extending north and south. The head of the skeleton was toward the north, but the feet were doubled back under the frame in order to get it in the allotted space. The only things found with this skeleton were some beads around the neck.
Atgthe remains of a child were found without any stones about them. Some shell beads were around the neck and wrists and an engraved shell on the breast.
Graveh.—A stone sepulcher, 1½ feet square and 1 foot deep, stone slabs on the four sides and top; the bottom consisted simply of earth hardened by fire. This contained only a trace of bones and presented indications of at least partial cremation, as all around the slabs, outside and inside, was a solid mass of charcoal and the earth was burned to the depth of a foot.
Fig. 42.—Copper plate from Etowah mound, Georgia.Fig. 42.—Copper plate from Etowah mound, Georgia.
Gravei.—A stone sepulcher, 4½ feet long, 1½ feet wide, and as deep, the bottom earth; contained the remains of a skeleton resting on the back, head north, and feet doubled back so as to come within the coffin. On the breast was a thin plate of copper, five inches square, with a hole through the center. Around the wrists were beads, and about the neck rather more than a quart of the same.
Atjwere the remains of a small child, without stone surroundings;under the head was a piece of copper, and about the neck and wrists were shell beads.
These graves were not all on the same level; the top of some being but two feet below the clay bed (No. 2), while others were from two to three feet lower.
Fig. 43.—Copper plate from Etowah mound, Georgia.Fig. 43.—Copper plate from Etowah mound, Georgia.
All the articles obtained in this mound were forwarded at once to the Bureau of Ethnology and are now in the National Museum. Examining them somewhat carefully since their reception, I find there are really more copper plates among them than Mr. Rogan supposed, the number and description being as follows:
1. A human figure with wings, represented inFig. 42. This is 13 inches long and 9 inches wide. A portion of the lower part, as shown by the figure, is wanting, probably some 3 or 4 inches. There is a break across the middle, but not sufficient to interfere with tracing out the design. A crown piece to the head ornament is also wanting.
2. Also a human figure, shown inFig. 43. Length, 16 inches; width, 7½ inches.
3. Figure of a bird; this is imperfect, as part of the head and the outer margin of the wings are wanting. Length, 13½ inches; width 7½ inches. This plate shows indubitable evidence of having been formed of smaller pieces welded together, as the overlapping portions can be easily traced. It has also undergone repairs: a fracture commencing on the left margin and running irregularly half-way across the body has been mended by placing a strip of copper along it on the under side and riveting it to the main plate; a small piece has also been riveted to the head and the head to the body; several other pieces are attached in the same way. The rivets are small and the work is neatly done.
Fig. 44.—Copper badge, from Etowah mound, Georgia.Fig. 44.—Copper badge, from Etowah mound, Georgia.
4. An ornament or badge of some kind, shown inFig. 44. The two crescent-shaped pieces are entirely plain, except some slightly impressed lines on the portion connecting them with the central stem. This central stem, throughout its entire length and to the width of six-tenths of an inch, is raised, and cross strips are placed at various points along the under side for the purpose of inserting a slip of bone, a part of which yet remains in it, and is seen in the figure at the break immediately below the point where the oblique strips meet. This specimen presents, as I believe, indubitable evidence that the workmen who formed it made use of metallic tools, as the cutting in this case could not possibly have been done with anything except a metallic implement. A single glance at it is sufficient to satisfy any one of the truth of this assertion. Length of the stem, 9 inches; width across the crescents, 7½ inches.
5. Part of an ornament similar to No. 4. These plates, especially No. 4, appear to be enlarged patterns of that seen behind the head ofFig. 43.
Fig. 45.—Copper badge, from Etowah mound, Georgia.Fig. 45.—Copper badge, from Etowah mound, Georgia.
6. An ornament or badge, shown inFig. 45, which Mr. Rogan, when he found it under the head of the skeleton in gravea, was inclined to consider a crown. It is imperfect, a narrow strip across the middle and a portion of the tip being missing. As shown in the figure, it measures around the outer border 19 inches and across the broad end 3½ inches. The six holes at the larger end, in which the remains of strings can be detected, indicate that when in use it was attached to some portion of the dress or fastened on a staff.
Fig. 46.—Engraved shell from Etowah mound, Georgia.Fig. 46.—Engraved shell from Etowah mound, Georgia.
7. A fragment from the larger end of a piece similar to the preceding. Attached to this is a piece of cloth.
In addition to the foregoing, there are a number of small fragments probably broken from these plates, but, so far, I have been unable to fit them to their proper places.
These plates and the ones mentioned below are very thin, and as even and smooth (except as interrupted by the figures) as tin plate. The figures are all stamped, the lines and indentations being very sharp and regular.
An examination of what Mr. Rogan calls a skin shows beyond question that it is animal matter. The matting he speaks of appears to be made of split canes.
The shell represented inFig. 46is the one obtained in graveg. The one shown inFig. 47is that found in gravef.
Fig. 47.—Engraved shell from Etowah mound, Georgia.Fig. 47.—Engraved shell from Etowah mound, Georgia.
I shall at present simply call attention to one or two facts which appear to bear upon the age and distribution of these singular specimens of art.
First. We notice the fact alluded to by Mr. Holmes,[74]which is apparent to every one who inspects his accurately drawn figures, that in all their leading features the designs themselves are suggestive of Mexican or Central American work. Yet a close inspection bringsto light one or two features which are anomalies in Mexican or Central American designs; as, for example, in Figs.42and43, where the wings are represented asrising from the back of the shoulders, a fact alluded to by Mr. Holmes.[75]Although we can find numerous figures of winged individuals in Mexican designs (they are unknown in Central American), they always carry with them the idea that the individual is partly or completely clothed in the skin of the bird. This is partially carried out in our copper plate, as we see by the bird-bill over the head, the eye being that of the bird and not of the man. But when we come to the wings we at once see that the artist had in mind theangel figure, with wings arising from theback of the shoulders, an idea wholly foreign to Mexican art. It is further worthy of note in regard to these two plates that there is a combination of Central American and Mexican designs: the graceful limbs, and the ornaments of the arms, legs, waist, and top of the head are Central American, and the rest, with the exception possibly of what is carried in the right hand, are Mexican.
That these plates are not the work of the Indians found inhabiting the southern sections of the United States, or of their direct ancestors, I freely concede. That they were not made by an aboriginal artisan of Central America or Mexico of ante-Columbian times, I think is evident, if not from the designs themselves, certainly from the indisputable evidence that the work was done with hard metallic tools.
Fig. 48.—Copper plate from Illinois mound.Fig. 48.—Copper plate from Illinois mound.
Second. Plates like those of this collection have only been found, so far as I can ascertain, in northern Georgia and northern and southern Illinois. The bird figure represented inFig. 48was obtained by Major Powell, the director of the United States Geological Survey, from a mound near Peoria, Illinois. Another was obtained in Jackson County, Illinois, by Mr. Thing, from an ordinary stone grave. From another similargrave, at the same place, he also obtained the plate represented inFig. 49. Fragments of a similar plate were obtained by Mr. Earle from a stone grave in a mound in Alexander County, Illinois. All these specimens were received by the Bureau of Ethnology and deposited in the National Museum.
Fig. 49.—Copper plate from Indian grave, Illinois.Fig. 49.—Copper plate from Indian grave, Illinois.
The box-form stone cists and the figures on the copper plates and engraved shells differ so widely from the stone vaults and vestiges of art found in the North Carolina and East Tennessee mounds as to forbid the belief that the works of the two regions were constructed by one and the same people. The stone cists and to some extent the construction of the mound appear to connect the authors with the mound-builders and authors of the stone graves of the Cumberland Valley and Southern Illinois, and several other facts, which we cannot now stop to present, seem to strengthen this suggestion.
The presence of these stone cists in this mound of northern Georgia, when coupled with the fact that similar stone graves are found in Habersham County, indicate a Shawnee or closely allied element where we should expect to find only Creeks or some branch of the Chahta-Muscogee family. This is a puzzle by no means easy of solution, but one which the scope of our paper does not require us to discuss. Still, we may add, that if our conclusions in regard to this group be correct, we must believe that the large mound was built before De Soto reached that region while the one explored was built afterwards. Some facts brought to light by the recent discovery of a cemetery within the area inclosed by the ditch, which I have for some years believed would be found, and for which I caused search to be made, appear to sustain these conclusions, and to indicate that two different peoples have occupied this site and have had a hand in constructing or adding to these works.
Whatever may be our conclusion in reference to these questions, I think it will be conceded that the builders of these Etowah mounds belongedto different tribes from those who erected the East Tennessee and North Carolina works, and hence, if we are right in regard to the latter, the Etowah mounds were not built by the Cherokees. The important bearing which this conclusion has upon the question under discussion, as the reader will see, is that the mounds immediately outside of the territory occupied by the Cherokees were built by a different people from those who erected the works in that territory. Thus we see that, judging by the mounds alone, immediately upon passing outside the Cherokee country we encounter a different type of works. This fact, therefore, when taken in connection with the other evidence adduced, becomes strongly corroborative of the view that the Cherokees were the authors of the works in their territory.
The results of our examination of the burial mounds of the northern districts may be briefly summed up as follows:
First. That different sections were occupied by different mound-building tribes, which, though belonging to much the same stage in the scale of civilization, differed in most instances in habits and customs to a sufficient extent to mark, by their modes of burial, construction of their mounds, and their works of art, the boundaries of the respective areas occupied.
Second. That each tribe adopted several different modes of burial depending, in all probability, to some extent upon the social condition, position, and occupation of the deceased.
Third. That the custom of removing the flesh before the final burial prevailed very extensively among the mound-builders of the northern sections. The bones of the common people being often gathered together and cast in promiscuous heaps, over which mounds were built.
Fourth. That usually some kind of religious or superstitious ceremony was performed at the burial, in which fire played a prominent part. That, notwithstanding the very common belief to the contrary, there is no evidence whatever that human sacrifice was practiced.
Fifth. That there is nothing found in the mode of constructing these mounds, nor in the vestiges of art they contain, to indicate that their builders had reached a higher culture-status than that attained by some of the Indian tribes found occupying the country at the time of the first arrival of Europeans.
Sixth. That the custom of erecting mounds over the dead continued to be practiced in several localities in post-Columbian times.
Seventh. That the character and condition of the ancient monuments, and the relative uniformity in the culture status of the different tribes shown by the works and the remains of art found in them, indicate that the mound-building age could not have continued in this part of the continent longer than a thousand years, and hence that its commencement probably does not antedate the fifth or sixth century.
Nothing has been found connected with them to sustain or justify the opinion, so frequently advanced, of their great antiquity. The calculations based upon the supposed age of trees found growing on some of them is fast giving way before recent investigations made in regard to the growth of forests, as it has been ascertained that the rings of trees are not a sure indication of age.
Quatrefages may not be correct in fixing the date of the appearance of the "Red skins" in the "basin of the Missouri" in the eighth or ninth century,[76]but nothing has been found in connection with the ancient works of this country, supposing the Indians to have been their authors, to prove that he has greatly erred in his calculation. Other races or peoples may have preceded the mound-builders in this region, but better proof of this is required than that based on the differences between the supposed palæolithic and neolithic implements of New Jersey and other sections, as every type discovered can be duplicated a hundred times in the surface finds from different parts of the country.
Eighth. That all the mounds which have been examined and carefully studied are to be attributed to the indigenous tribes found inhabiting this region and their ancestors.
BURIAL CEREMONIES OF THE HURONS.[78]
Our savages are not savages as regards the duties which nature herself requires us to render to the dead. They do not yield in this respect to several nations much more civilized. You would say that all their labor and efforts were for scarcely anything but to amass means of honoring the dead. They have nothing too valuable for this purpose; they devote to this use the robes, the hatchets, and the shell beads in such quantities, that you would think to see them, on these occasions, that they were considered of no great value, and yet they are all the riches of the country; you may often see them in midwinter almost entirely naked, while they have good and fine robes in their chests, which they are keeping in reserve for the dead; this is, indeed, their point of honor. It is on this occasion especially that they wish to appear magnificent. But I speak here only of their peculiar funerals.
These good people are not like many Christians, who cannot suffer death to be spoken of, and who, in a mortal sickness, hesitate to break the news to the sick one for fear of hastening his death. Here, when the recovery of any one is despaired of, not only do they not hesitate to tell him that his end is near, but they even prepare in his presence all that is necessary for the burial; they often show him the shroud, the hose, the shoes, and the girdle which he is to wear; frequently they are enshrouded, after their custom, before they have expired, and they hold a feast of farewell to their friends, during which they sing, sometimes without showing any apprehension of death, which they regard very indifferently, considering it only as a change to a life very little different from this. As soon as the dying man has drawn his last breath, they arrange the body in the same position that is to be preserved in the tomb; they do not lay it out horizontally, as is our custom, but crouched, like a ball (en peloton), "quasi en la mesme posture que les enfants sont an ventre de la mere." Until this time they restrain their mourning. After having performed these duties, all in the cabin begin to utter sighs, groans, and lamentations; the children cryAistan, if it is their father, and the motherAien, Aien, "My son, my son." No one seeing them thus weeping and mourning would think that they were only ceremonial lamentations; they blend their voices all in one accord and in a lugubrious tone, until some one in authority calls for peace; at once they cease and the captain hastens to announce through all the cabins that such a one is dead. Upon the arrival of the friends they resume their mourning. Frequently some one of more importance will begin to speak and will console the mother and the children, now extolling the deceased, praising his patience, his kindness, his liberality, his magnificence, and, if he was a warrior, his great courage; now saying, "What do you wish? there is no longer any remedy; it was necessary for him to die; we are all subject to death;" and then, "He lingered a very long time," &c. It is true that on this occasion they do not lack for conversation; I am sometimes surprised to see them discourse a long time on this subject, and bring up, with much discretion, all considerations that may afford any consolation to the friends of the deceased.
Notice is also given of this death to the friends who live in other villages, and as each family employs another who has the care of their dead, they come as soon as possible to give orders about everything and to fix the day of the funeral. They usually inter the dead on the third day; in the morning the captain gives an order that kettles shall be boiled for the deceased throughout the village. No one spares his best efforts. They do this, in my opinion, for three reasons: First, to console each other, for they exchange dishes among themselves, and scarcely any one eats out of the kettle that he has prepared; secondly, on account of the arrival of those of other villages, who often come in large numbers, lastly and principally, to gratify the soul of the deceased, who, they think, takes pleasure in eating his share. All the kettles being emptied, or at least distributed, the captain informs all the village that the body is to be carried to the cemetery. All the people assemble in the cabin; the mourning is renewed, and those who have charge of the funeral prepare a litter upon which the body is placed, laid upon a mat and wrapped in a robe of beaver skin; they then raise it and carry it by the four corners. All the people follow in silence to the cemetery.
There is in the cemetery a tomb made of bark and raised on four stakes of from 8 to 10 feet in height. While the body is placed in this, and the bark is trimmed, the captain makes known the presents that have been given by the friends. In this country, as well as in others, the most agreeable consolations for the loss of relations are always accompanied by presents, which consist of kettles, hatchets, beaver skins, and necklaces of shell beads. If the deceased was of some importance in the country, not only the friends and neighbors but even the captains of other villages will come in person to bring their presents. Now, all these presents do not follow the body into the tomb; a necklace of beads is sometimes placed on its neck and near it a comb, a gourd-full of oil, and two or three small loaves of bread; that is all. A large part of them goes to the relatives to dry their tears; the rest is given to those who have had charge of the funeral, to pay them for their trouble. They also keep in reserve some robes or hatchets to make presents (largesse) to the young men. The captain places in the hand of one of them a stick about a foot long, offering a prize to any one who will take it from him. They throw themselves headlong upon him and remain engaged in the contest sometimes for an hour. After this each one returns peaceably to his cabin.
I forgot to say that generally throughout the ceremony the mother or wife stands at the foot of the sepulcher, calling the deceased, singing, or rather lamenting, in mournful tones.
These ceremonies are not always all observed; those who die in war they place in the ground, and the relatives make presents to their patrons, if they have any, which is generally the case in this country, to encourage them to raise soldiers and avenge the death of the warrior. Those who are drowned are also buried, after the most fleshy parts of the body have been taken away in pieces, as I have explained more particularly in speaking of their superstitions. The presents are doubled on this occasion, and all the people of the country are often there, contributing from their store; all this, they say, is to appease the Heaven or the Lake.
There are even special ceremonies for small children deceased under one or two months; they are not placed as others, in sepulchers of bark raised on stakes, but buried in the road, in order, they say, "que quelque femme passant par là, ils entrent secrètement en son ventre, et que derechef elle leur donne la vie et les enfante." I doubt that the good Nicodemus would have found much difficulty there, although he doubted only for old men, "Quomodo potest homo nasci cum sit senex."
This beautiful ceremony took place this winter in the person of one of our little Christians, who had been named Joseph in baptism. I learned it on this occasion from the lips of the father of the child himself.
When the funeral is over the mourning does not cease: the wife continues it all the year for her husband, the husband for the wife; but the grand mourning itselflasts only ten days. During this time they remain lying on their mats wrapped in their robes, with their faces against the earth, without speaking or replying to anything, saveCȣay, to those who come to visit them. They do not warm themselves in winter or eat warm things; they do not go to the feasts nor go out, save at night, for what they need; they cut a lock of hair from the back of the head and declare that it is not without deep sorrow, especially when the husband performs this ceremony on the death of his wife, or the wife on the death of her husband. Such is the great mourning.
The lesser mourning lasts all the year. When they wish to visit any one, they do not salute them nor sayCȣay, neither do they grease their hair. The women do this, however, when commanded to do so by their mothers, who have at their disposal their hair, and even their persons. It is also their privilege to send their daughters to the feasts, without which several will not go. What I think strange is that during the whole year neither the wife nor the husband marries again, else they would cause themselves to be talked about in the country.
The sepulchers are not perpetual, as their villages are only permanent for some years, as long as the wood lasts. The bodies remain in the cemeteries only until the feast of the dead, which usually takes place every twelve years. During this time they do not neglect to honor the dead often. From time to time kettles are boiled for their souls throughout the village, as on the day of the funeral, and their names are revived as often as possible. For this purpose presents are given to the captains to be given to him who will consent to take the name of the deceased; and if the latter was of consideration and had been esteemed in the country during his life, he who represents him, after giving a grand feast to all the people of the country, to introduce himself under this name, raises a body of free young men and goes to war to accomplish some brave feat which will show to the nation that he has not only inherited the name but also the bravery and courage of the deceased.
THE SOLEMN FEAST OF THE DEAD.
The feast of the dead is the most celebrated ceremony that takes place among the Hurons. They give it the name of festival for the reason, as I should say now, that when the bodies are taken from the cemeteries each captain makes a "feast to the souls" in his village. The most important and magnificent is that of the master of the feast, who is for this reason called, par excellence, the "Maistre du Festin."
This feast is full of ceremonies, but the chief one is evidently that of "boiling the kettle." This outdoes all the others, and the festival of the dead is spoken of, even in the most serious councils, only under the name Chaudiere (the kettle). They appropriate to it all the terms of cookery, so that when they speak of hastening or retarding the feast they say "rake out" or "stir up the fire under the kettle;" and when any one says "the kettle is overturned," that means there will be no feast.
There is generally only one festival in each nation. All the bodies are placed in the same grave. I say generally, for this year when the fête des Morts took place the kettle-boiling was divided and five villages at this point where we are stationed made a separate band and placed their dead in a separate grave. He who had been captain of the preceding feast, and who is like the chief at this point, made the excuse that his kettle and his feast had been spoiled and that he was obliged to make another. But, in fact, this was only a pretext. The real reason of this separation is that the great heads of the village have complained for a long time that the others took everything to themselves, that they did not share as they wished the knowledge of the affairs of the country, and that they were not called to the most secret and important councils and to the division of the presents.
This separation has been followed by distrust on both sides. God grant that it cause no hindrance to the spreading of the sacred Gospel. But I must touch briefly upon the order and the events of the feast.
The twelve years or more having expired, the old people and great men of the nationassemble to decide upon the time when the feast shall be held, so as to satisfy all the people of the country and the outside nations who are to be invited.
When the decision is made, as all the bodies are to be transported to the village where the common grave is made, each family takes charge of its dead with a care and affection that cannot be described. If they have relatives buried in any part of the country whatever they spare no trouble to go and bring them. They take them from the cemeteries, carry them on their own shoulders, and cover them with the finest robes they have in their possession. In each village a good day is chosen, and they repair to the cemetery, where those calledAiheonde, who have had the care of the sepulcher, take the bodies from the tomb in the presence of the relatives, who renew their tears and repeat the mourning of the day of the funeral.
I was present at this ceremony, and willingly invited all our servants, for I do not think that there can be seen in this world a livelier image or more perfect representation of the condition of man.
It is true that in France our cemeteries speak forcibly, and that all these bones heaped upon one another without distinction, the poor with the rich or the small with the great, are so many voices continually reminding us of death, the vanity of worldly things, and the insignificance of this present life. But it seems to me that the custom of our savages on this occasion shows us still more sensibly our wretchedness, for after the graves are opened all the bodies are laid out on the ground and left thus uncovered for some time, giving the spectators an opportunity for once to see what will be their condition some day. Some of the bodies are entirely devoid of flesh and have only a dry skin on the bones; others appear as if they had been smoked and dried and show scarcely any signs of decay. Others still are covered with worms.
The friends, being satisfied with this sight, cover them with handsome robes of beaver-skin, entirely new. Finally, after a while, they strip off the flesh and the skin, which they throw into the fire, together with the robes and mats in which the bodies have been buried. The complete bodies of those newly buried are left in the same condition and the friends content themselves with simply covering them with new robes. They touched only one old man, of whom I have spoken heretofore, who died this autumn on the return from fishing. This large body had only begun to decay a month ago, at the time of the first heat of spring; the worms were swarming all over it, and the pus which came from it caused an odor almost intolerable; nevertheless they had the courage to take the body from the robe in which it was enveloped, cleansed it as much as possible, took it up carefully and placed it in a new mat and robe, and all this was accomplished without exposing any of this corruption. Is here not a good example to animate the hearts of Christians, who should have more noble ideas to deeds of charity and works of pity towards their brethren? After this who will look with horror upon the misery of a hospital? And who will not feel a peculiar pleasure in serving a sick man covered with wounds, in whose person he serves the Son of God?
As they were stripping the bodies they found in two of them a species of charm. The one that I saw with my own eyes was a turtle's egg with a leather strap (courroye); the other, which was examined by our fathers, was a small turtle the size of a nut. This leads to the belief that there were sorcerers in our village, on account of which some resolved to leave it as soon as possible. Indeed, two or three days after one of the richest men, fearing that some misfortune would befall him, transported his cabin two miles from us to the village of Arontaen.
Now, when these bones are well cleaned, part of them are placed in sacks, part in blankets, and they carry them on their shoulders, covering these bundles with other beautiful hanging robes. Entire bodies are put on a sort of litter and carried with all the others, each one taking his bundle into his cabin, where every family makes a feast to its dead.
Returning from this festival with a captain, who has considerable intelligence and who will be some day of high standing in the affairs of the country, I asked him whythey called the bones of the deadAtisken. He explained as clearly as he could, and I learned from what he said that many believe that we have two souls, both divisible and material and yet both rational; one leaves the body at death, but remains, however, in the cemetery until the feast of the dead, after which it either is changed into a turtle-dove, or according to the more general belief, it goes immediately to the village of souls.
The other soul is attached to the body; it marks the corpse, as it were, and remains in the grave after the feast, never to leave it, "si ce n'est quequelqu'unl'enfante de rechef." He mentioned to me, as a proof of this metempsychosis, the perfect resemblance which some persons bear to others who are deceased. Here is a grand philosophy. This is why they call the bones of the deadAtisken, "the souls."
A day or two before departing for the feast they carried all these bodies into one of the largest cabins of the village, where some of them were attached to the poles of the cabin, and others laid around it, and the captain entertained and made a grand feast in the name of the deceased captain, whose name he bore. I was present at this "feast of spirits," and observed four things in particular: First, that the offerings which were given for the feast by the friends, and which consisted of robes, necklaces of shell beads, and kettles, were hung on poles extending the whole length of the cabin from one side to the other. Second, the captain sang the song of the dead captain, according to the desire he had expressed before his death, that it should be sung on this occasion. Third, all the guests had the privilege of dividing among themselves all the good things they had brought, and even of carrying them home, contrary to the custom at ordinary feasts. Lastly, at the close of the feast, as a compliment to him who had entertained them, they imitated as they sang the cry of the spirits, and left the cabin cryinghaéé haé.
The master of the feast, and evenAnenkhiondic, captain-general of all the country, sent to invite us several times with much solicitation. You would have thought that the feast could not be a success without us. I sent two of our fathers several days beforehand to see the preparations and to learn exactly the day of the feast.Anenkhiondicreceived them very kindly, and on their departure conducted them himself a quarter of a league from there to where the grave was dug, and showed them with much display of emotion all the arrangements, &c., of the feast.
This feast was to have taken place on the Saturday of Pentecost, but some affairs which came up unexpectedly, and the uncertainty of the weather, caused it to be put off until Monday.
The seven or eight days before the feast were passed in collecting the bodies (les âmes) as well as assembling the strangers who were invited; meanwhile from morning till night gifts were distributed by the living to the young men in honor of the dead. On one side women were drawing the bow to see who should have the prize, which was sometimes a girdle of porcupine quills or a necklace of beads; on the other hand, in several parts of the village the young men were drawing clubs upon any who would try to capture them. The prize of this victory was a hatchet, some knives, or even a beaver robe. Every day the remains were arriving. There is some pleasure in seeing these funeral processions which number sometimes from two to three hundred persons. Each one carries the remains of his friends, that is the bones, packed upon his back after the manner that I have described, under a beautiful robe. Some arranged their packets in the shape of a man, decorated with strings of beads, with a fine crown of red hair. On leaving their village the whole company criedhaéé haéand repeated this "cry of the spirits" all along the way. This cry, they say, comforts them greatly, otherwise their burdens, although souls, would weigh very heavily and cause a weakness of the side (costé) for the rest of their lives. They travel by short stages; the people of our village were three days in going four leagues and in reachingOssossané, which we call Rochelle, where all the ceremonies were to be held. As soon as they arrive near any village they shout again the haéé haé. The whole village comes out to meet them; many presents are again distributed on thisoccasion. Each one repairs to some one of the cabins; all find a place to put their bundles; this is done without confusion. At the same time the captains hold a council to decide upon the time that the company shall spend in this village. All the bodies of the dead of eight or nine villages were taken to Rochelle on Saturday of Pentecost; but the fear of bad weather obliged them, as I have said, to postpone the ceremony till Monday. We were lodged a quarter of a league from there, at the old village, in a cabin where there were at least a hundred skeletons hung up to the poles, some of which smelled stronger than musk.
Monday at midday, word was sent that they were ready and that the ceremony would begin. The bundles of skeletons were at once taken down and the friends unfolded the wrappings to say their last farewells. Their tears flowed anew. I admired the tenderness of one woman towards the remains of her father and children. She is the daughter of a captain who died at a great age and who formerly occupied a high position in the country. She combed his hair; she touched the bones one after another with as much affection as if she would have given them life; she placed near him hisAtsatonesai, that is, his packet of rods (bûchettes) of the council, which are all the books and papers of the country. As for her children, she put upon their arms bracelets of shells and glass beads and bathed their bones with her tears. She could hardly be separated from them, but they were in haste, and it was necessary to start at once. The one who carried the body of this old captain walked at the head, the men following and then the women. They marched in this order until they arrived at the grave.
The following is the arrangement of this place: There was a space about as large as the Place Royale at Paris. In the center was a large grave about 10 feet (pieds) deep and 5 fathoms (brasses) in diameter, round it a scaffolding and a sort of stage nicely made, from 9 to 10 fathoms (brasses) in diameter and 9 or 10 feet high; above the stage there were several poles raised and well arranged, and others laid across them on which to hang all the bundles of skeletons. The entire bodies, as these were to be placed at the bottom of the grave, were laid under the scaffolding the day before, resting on bark, or mats raised on stones to the height of a man around the grave. The whole company arrived with the bodies about an hour after midday, and divided into parties according to the families and villages, and laid their bundles upon the ground, almost as the pots of earth were made at the village fairs; they also unfolded their robes and all the offerings they had brought and hung them upon the poles which extended for from 500 to 600 fathoms (toises); there were nearly twelve hundred gifts which remained thus on exhibition for two whole hours, to give strangers an opportunity to see the riches and magnificence of the country. I did not find the company as great as I had expected; there were not more than two thousand persons. About 3 o'clock each one fastened up his bundles and folded his robes. Meanwhile each captain, in order, gave a signal, and all immediately took up their bundles of bones, ran as if at the assault of a city, mounted upon this stage by means of ladders which were placed all around, and hung them (the bundles) to the poles; each village had its department. This done, all the ladders were taken away. Some of the captains remained upon the platform and spent the rest of the afternoon, until 7 o'clock, in announcing the lists of presents which were given in the name of the deceased to some particular persons. For instance, they would say, here is what such a one, deceased, gives to a certain relative.
About 5 or 6 o'clock they lined (pauerent) the bottom of the grave and bordered it with large new robes, the skins of ten beavers, in such a way that these extend more than a foot out of it. As they were preparing the robes which were to be used for this purpose, some of them descended into the grave, and came from it with their hands full of sand. I inquired what this ceremony meant, and learned that they believed that this sand will render them happy at their games (au ieu).
Of the twelve hundred offerings that had been exhibited on the platform, forty-eightrobes were to line and trim the grave, and each complete body had, besides the robe in which it was wrapped, another one, and some even two others, to cover it. This is all: so that I do not think [? but] that each body had one to itself, taking one with another, which is the least that it could have for its burial; for these robes of beaver skin are what the clothes and shrouds are in France. But what becomes then of the rest? We will see presently.
At 7 o'clock the bodies were lowered into the grave. We had great difficulty in approaching it. Nothing ever pictured better to me the confusion among the damned. You could see unloaded on all sides bodies half decayed, and everywhere was heard a terrible uproar of confused voices of persons who were speaking without hearing one another; ten or twelve men were in the grave and were arranging the bodies all around it, one after the other. They placed, exactly in the center, three large kettles, which were of no use save for the spirits; one was pierced with holes, another had no handle, and the third was worth little more. I saw a few necklaces of shell beads there; it is true, many of them were put on the body. This was all that was done on this day.
The whole company passed the night on the spot, having lit a great many fires and boiled kettles. We retired to the old village with the intention of returning the next day at daylight when they were to cast the bones into the grave; but we barely arrived in time, notwithstanding all the diligence we employed, on account of an accident which happened. One of the skeletons, which was not well fastened, or perhaps was too heavy for the cord which held it, fell of itself into the grave. The noise it made awoke the whole troupe, who ran and immediately mounted, in a crowd, to the platform and emptied, without order, all the bundles into the grave, reserving, however, the robes in which they had been wrapped. We were just leaving the village at that time, but the noise was so great that it seemed almost as though we were there. Approaching we saw suddenly an image of the infernal regions. This great space was filled with fire and smoke and the air resounded on all sides with the mingled voices of the savages. This noise, nevertheless, ceased for a while, and was changed to singing, but in a tone so doleful and weird that it represented to us the terrible sadness and the depth of despair in which condemned souls are forever plunged.
Nearly all the bones had been cast in when we arrived, for it was done almost in a moment, each one being in haste for fear that there was not room for all these skeletons; nevertheless we saw enough of it to judge of the rest. There were five or six men in the grave, with poles, to arrange the bones. It was filled up within 2 feet of the top with bones, after which they turned over upon them the robes that bordered the grave all around, and covered the whole with mats and bark. The pit was then filled up with sand, rods, and stakes of wood which were thrown in promiscuously. Some of the women brought dishes of corn, and on the same day and the following days several cabins of the village furnished basketfuls of it, which were cast into the pit.
We have fifteen or twenty Christians buried with these infidels. We say aDe profundisfor their souls, with the firm hope that if the Divine goodness does not cease His blessings on His people this feast will be made no more, or will be only for Christians, and will be celebrated with rites as holy as these are foolish and useless. They also begin to be a burden upon the people for the excess and superfluous expenses that are caused by them.
All the morning was spent in distributing gifts (largesses), and most of the robes that had been wrapped around the bodies were cut in pieces and thrown from the top of the platform into the midst of the crowd for whoever could seize them first. There was great sport when two or three contested the possession of one beaver skin. In order to settle it peaceably it was necessary to cut it into so many pieces, and thus they came out nearly empty-handed, for these tatters were hardly worth the picking up. I admired here the industry of one savage. He did not hurry himself to runafter these flying pieces; but, as there is nothing so valuable this year in the country as tobacco (petun), he held some pieces of it in his hand, which he presented at once to those who were disputing over the skin, and thus acquired it for himself.
Before leaving the place we learned that, on the evening when presents had been given to the foreign nations, on the part of the master of the feast, we also had been named; and, in fact, as we were going,Anenkhiondiccame and presented a new robe composed of ten beaver skins, in return for the necklace which I had given them in the midst of the council to show them the heavenly way. They were so much obliged for this present that they wished to show some acknowledgment of it in so good an assembly. I would not accept it, however, saying to him that, as we had made them this present only to persuade them to embrace our faith, they could not oblige us more than in listening to us willingly and believing in Him who rules over all. He asked what I desired that he should do with the robe. I replied that he could dispose of it in whatever way he deemed best, with which he remained perfectly satisfied. Of the rest of the twelve hundred presents forty-eight robes were used to adorn the grave. Each body wore its robe and some of them two or three. Twenty were given to the master of the feast, to reward the nations who had assisted at it. A number were distributed on the part of the dead, through the captains, to their living friends. A part of them were only used for show, and were returned to those who had exhibited them. The old people (anciens), and great leaders of the country, who had the administration and management of it, privately took a great deal, and the rest were cut in pieces, as I have said, and scattered through the assembly. However, it was only the rich who lost nothing, or very little, at this feast. The mendicants and poor people brought and left there all they possessed of any value, and suffered much by striving to appear as well as others in this celebration. Every one stood upon this point of honor.
Indeed, it was only by a chance that we were not also participants of the feast. During this winter the Captain Aenons, of whom I have spoken before, came to make us a proposal on the part of all the anciens of the country. At that time the boiling of the kettle (chaudiere) was not yet divided. They proposed to us then that we should consent to exhume the remains of the two Frenchmen who had died in this country, to wit, Guillaume Chaudron and Estienne Bruslé, who was killed four years ago, and that their bones might be placed in the common grave of their dead. We replied at first that this could not be done; that it was forbidden; that as they had been baptized, and were, as we hoped, in heaven, we respected their bones too highly to allow them to be mixed with the bones of those who had not been baptized. Besides, it was not our custom to exhume the bodies of those who had been buried.
We decided, however, after all, that as they were interred in the wood and since the people desired it so much, we would consent to take up their bones on the condition that they allowed us to put them in a particular grave, with the bones of all that we had baptized in the country.
Four reasons especially persuaded us to give them this final answer. First, as it is the greatest expression of friendship and good-will that can be shown in this country, we yielded to them readily in this point that which they wished, and thus showed that we desired to love them as brothers and to live and die with them. Second, we hoped that God would be glorified in it, especially, in that separating by consent of all the nation the bodies of the Christians from those of the unbelievers, it would not be difficult afterwards to obtain special permission that their Christians should be interred in a separate cemetery, which we would bless for that purpose. Third, we claimed to bury them with all the rites of the Church. Fourth, the old men, of their own accord, desired us to raise there a beautiful and magnificent cross, as they showed us afterwards more particularly. Thus the cross would have been established by the authority of the whole country and honored in the midst of this heathenism, and they would have been careful not to impute to it afterwards, as they have done in the past, all the misfortunes that befell them.
This captain thought our proposition very reasonable and the old men (anciens) of the country remained very well contented with it. Some time after, the chaudiere was divided, and, as I have said, five villages of our part of the country resolved to hold their feast apart.
In the spring a general assembly of all the principal men was held, to consult about the feast and to endeavor to prevent this schism and reunite the cooking of the kettle. These dissatisfied ones were there and I also was invited. They made me the same proposition as before. I replied that we were very well satisfied, provided that this was done under the conditions that we had demanded. I was reminded of the division, and they asked me, since there were two feasts (chaudieres), that is, two graves, on which side I desired to have our special grave. To this I answered, in order to offend no one, that I would leave it to their judgment; that they were just and wise and they could decide between themselves. The master of the feast of Rochelle said, thereupon, with condescension, that he did not claim anything and that he was willing that the other, who is the chief at this place, should have on his side the remains of our two Frenchmen. The latter replied that he laid no claim to the one that had been buried at Rochelle, but that as for the body of Estienne Bruslé it belonged to him, as it was he that had engaged with him and led him into this country. So here the bodies were separated, one on one side, the other on the other side. At this some one said privately that indeed he (the chief) had the right to demand the body of Estienne Bruslé, and that it was reasonable that he should render some honor to his bones, since they had killed him. This could not be said so discreetly but that the captain had a hint of it; he concealed his feelings, however, at the time. After the council, as we had already gone, he raised this reproach and began to talk with the captain of Rochelle, and finally gave over entirely the body of Bruslé, in order not to embitter and make bloody this sore, of which the people of this point have not yet cleared themselves. This caused us to resolve, that we might keep in favor with those of Rochelle, not to meddle with either the one or the other.