Their land is generally hilly, but not mountainous; which allows an army an easy passage into their country, to retaliate their insults and cruelties—that period seems to advance apace; for the fine flourishing accounts of those who gain by the art, will not always quiet a suffering people. As the Muskohge judge only from what they see around them, they firmly believe they are now more powerful than any nation that might be tempted to invade them. Our passive conduct toward them, causes them to entertain a very mean opinion of our martial abilities: but, before we tamely allowed them to commit acts of hostility, at pleasure, (which will soon be mentioned) the traders taught them sometimes by strong felt lessons, to conclude the English to be men and warriors. They are certainly the most powerful Indian nation we are acquainted with on this continent, and within thirty years past, they are grown very warlike. Toward the conclusion of their last war with the Cheerake, they defeated them so easily, that in contempt, they sent several of their women and small boys against them, though, at that time, the Cheerake were, the most numerous. The Choktah were also much inferior to them, in several engagements they had with them; though, perhaps, they are the most artful ambuscaders, and wolfish savages, in America.—But, having no rivers in their own country, very few of them can swim, which often proves inconvenient and dangerous, when they are in pursuit of the enemy, or pursued by them. We should be politically sorry for their differences with each other to be reconciled, as long experience convinces us they cannot live without shedding human blood somewhere or other, on account of their jealous and fierce tempers, in resentment of any kind of injury, and the martial preferment each obtains for every scalp of an enemy. They are so extremely anxious to be distinguished by high war-titles, that sometimes a small party of warriors, on failing of success in their campaign, have been detected in murdering {258} some of their own people, for the sake of their scalps. We cannot expect that they will observe better faith towards us—therefore common sense and self-love ought to direct us to chuse the least of two unavoidable evils; ever to keep the wolf from our own doors, by engaging him with his wolfish neighbours: at least, the officious hand of folly should not part them, when they are earnestly engaged in their favourite element against each other.[147]