Captives among the Indians : $b first-hand narratives of Indian wars, customs, tortures, and habits of life in colonial times — John Shaqi
Captives among the Indians : $b first-hand narratives of Indian wars, customs, tortures, and habits of life in colonial timesRowlandson, Mary White
History
Captives among the Indians : $b first-hand narratives of Indian wars, customs, tortures, and habits of life in colonial times
Rowlandson, Mary White
Indian captivities -- Northeastern States
As the Indians, on their return from their winter hunt, bring in with
them large quantities of bear's oil, sugar, dried venison, etc., at
this time they have plenty, and do not spare eating or giving; thus
they make way with their provision as quick as possible. They have no
such thing as regular meals, breakfast, dinner, or supper; but if any
one, even the town-folks, would go to the same house several times in
one day, he would be invited to eat of the best; and with them it is
bad manners to refuse to eat when it is offered. If they will not eat
it is interpreted as a symptom of displeasure, or that the persons
refusing to eat were angry with those who had invited them.
At this time hominy, plentifully mixed with bear's oil and sugar, or
dried venison, bear's oil, and sugar, is what they offer to every one
who comes in any time of the day; and so they go on until their sugar,
bear's oil, and venison are all gone, and then they have to eat hominy
by itself, without bread, salt, or anything else; yet still they invite
every one that comes in to eat while they have anything to give. It is
thought a shame not to invite people to eat while they have anything;
but if they can in truth only say we have got nothing to eat, this is
accepted as an honorable apology. All the hunters and warriors
continued in town about six weeks after we came in; they spent this
time in painting, going from house to house, eating, smoking, and
playing at a game resembling dice, or hustle-cap. They put a number of
plum-stones in a small bowl; one side of each stone is black, and the
other white; they then shake or hustle the bowl, calling, "_Hits,
hits, hits, honesey, honesey, rago, rago_;" which signifies calling
for white or black, or what they wish to turn up; they then turn the
bowl, and count the whites and blacks. Some were beating their kind of
drum and singing; others were employed in playing on a sort of flute
made of hollow cane; and others playing on the jew's-harp. Some part of
this time was also taken up in attending the council-house, where the
chiefs, and as many others as chose, attended; and at night they were
frequently employed in singing and dancing. Towards the last of this
time, which was in June, 1756, they were all engaged in preparing to go
to war against the frontiers of Virginia. When they were equipped they
went through their ceremonies, sung their war-songs, etc. They all
marched off, from fifteen to sixty years of age; and some boys, only
twelve years of age, were equipped with their bows and arrows, and went
to war; so that none were left in town but squaws and children, except
myself, one very old man, and another, about fifty years of age, who
was lame.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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