were performed by a few or sometimes only one or two individuals. These were savage in their character, and not admitted now in the practice of war among civilized nations; and yet such actions may be rendered highly interesting in poetry. What was the nocturnal excursion of Diomed and Ulysses in the 10th book of the Iiiad, in which they slew Rhesus, king of the Thracians, with many of his officers in their sleep, and brought away his beautiful horses? what was the enterprise of Nisus and Euryalus in the 9th book of the Eneid, in which they murdered so many in their sleep, and in which Euryalus, by taking from one of them his splendid helmet and belt was afterwards discovered by the moon gleaming on its polished surface, and the death of both occasioned by this spoil? These episodes are two of the finest in those immortal Epicks, yet it is only to the genius of Homer and Virgil, that they are indebted for more than may be found in several Indian adventures.

Many of their friendships were as strong as that of the two followers of Æneas; their affection generally for those of their own nation was of the most powerful kind; a proof of this may be found in the speech of a Sachem of the Mohawks to an officer who was hurrying them to undertake an expedition, just after they had returned from holding a Council at Albany, where they had lost, by sickness, some of their finest young men: 'You seem,' said he to think 'that we are brutes, that we have no sense of the loss of our dearest relations, and some of them the bravest men we had in our nation; you must allow us time to bewail 'our misfortunes'-They were guilty of ferocious cruelty towards their enemies. Alas! cruelty is not peculiar to savages. They condemned to torture the foes who would have tortured them.-How many Christian nations are free from the reproach at every period of their history, of having tortured their own subjects, for mere matters of opinion? In war they laid waste the dwellings and cornfields of their enemies, and murdered the defenceless.-Is there nothing in the conduct of nations pretending to the highest civilization, that will, under this head, interfere with their exclusive claim to barbarism?

That they were not merely hunters and warriours, but sagacious in the management of affairs, and capable of deep laid schemes of policy, there are many historical anecdotes

1815.]

the Phi Beta Kappa Society.

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to prove; one must suffice on this occasion. The most accomplished statesman of the Italian school, could hardly surpass the following perfidious and subtle policy of an Indian Chieftain. In the year 1687, Adario, a very distinguished Sachem of the Hurons, finding that his nation had become suspected by the French, on account of the intercourse they had held with the English, determined to recover their good graces by some signal action against the Five Nations, their common foe. For this purpose he left Michilimackinack with an hundred men, and called on his way at the fort of Cadaraqui for intelligence. The French, after many attempts, had just succeeded in obtaining from a part of the Five Nations, that they would send Ambassadours to Montreal to form a treaty of peace. The French commander informed the Huron Chief of this state of affairs, that the deputies were then on their way, and begged him to return home, and attempt no enterprise, that might interrupt these favourable prospects.

Surprised at this intelligence, the wily savage was under the greatest concern for his nation, least they should be sacrificed to the French interests, if the latter could make peace with the Confederacy. Dissembling his feelings, he left the fort, not to return home as the Commander supposed, but to proceed to a spot, where he knew the Ambassadours must pass, to await them. After a short time they made their appearance, guarded by forty young warriours. They were surprised, and all their guards either killed or made prisoners. When these latter were all secured, Adario told them that he had been informed by the Governour of Canada, that fifty of their warriours were to pass that way about this period, and that he had formed this ambush to intercept them. The deputies, astonished at this perfidy of the French, related the purpose of their journey to Adario; on hearing which, he affected the utmost fury and rage at the atrocity, which the French government had caused him to commit, and swore he would be revenged. Then looking steadfastly on the prisoners, one of whom was Decanesora, a famous Chief of the Oneidas, he said, go, my brethren, I loose your bonds, and send you home again, though our nations be at war; I shall never rest easy till the Five Nations have taken their revenge of the French for this treachery.

The Deputies were persuaded by his conduct, and told him, that he and his nation might make peace with them when they pleased. Adario, who had lost but one man in the affair, took one of theirs as usual to supply his place; then giving them a supply of arms and ammunition, dismissed them. These Chiefs were from the Oneida and Onondagua tribes, which had received the Jesuit Missionaries, were the best disposed towards the French, and now returned home most deeply incensed.

One circumstance remained to complete the effect; Adario, on his return, gave up his prisoner to the French officer commanding, who being ignorant of these circumstances, to nourish the hatred between the Five Nations and the Hurons, ordered him to be shot. The Huron Chief called an Indian of the former people to witness this execution of his countryman, and the cruelty of the French, from which even he was not able to save his own prisoner, and then bid him make his escape, and relate what he had seen. The fugitive arrived at the very time, when the French had sent to disown Adario in the action he had committed; but this additional circumstance exasperated them so highly, that they would listen to no representations. Their thoughts were all bent on revenge; a short time after they made a descent on the island of Montreal, took all the Forts in their way, destroyed, with indiscriminate havock, men, women and children, and reduced the French power in Canada to the very verge of ruin.

As the government of these people was a republick, the practice of eloquence was of the highest importance, since the art of persuasion was a principal source of influence and power. None of the Indian Nations carried the science of speaking to greater perfection, of which there are many proofs on record. The general characteristicks of their style are well known. We have received their speeches under every disadvantage, since they come to us through the medium of ignorant interpreters, who were incapable of transfusing the spirit and ornament of one language into the idiom of another, when they thoroughly understood neither. The solemnity of their councils, the dignity and animation of their manner, their style of address, Sachems and Warriours,' were all suited to command attention and respect. Colden thus describes one of their orators: De

canesora had for many years the greatest reputation among 'the Five Nations for speaking, and was generally employ'ed as their speaker, in their negotiations with both French * and English: he was grown old when I saw him and heard 'him speak, he had great fluency and a graceful elocution, 'that would have pleased in any part of the world. His

person was tall and well made, and his features to my 'thinking, resembled much the busto's of Cicero."*

*There were many metaphors which were transmitted down among the Indians, by the women whose business it was to retain and repeat them from one generation to another. The following remarks on the language and oratory of the Five Nations are taken from Colden's his tory.

The people of the Five Nations are much given to speech-making, ever the natural consequence of a perfect Republican government; where no single person has a power to compel, the arts of persuasion ' alone must prevail. As their best speakers distinguish themselves in their public councils, and treaties with other nations, and thereby 'gain the esteem and applause of their countrymen, (the only superiority which any one of them has over the others) it is probably they ' apply themselves to this art, by some kind of study and exercise in a great measure. It is impossible for me to judge how far they excel, as I am ignorant of their language; but the speakers whom I have heard, had all a great fluency of words, and much more grace in their manner, than any man could expect, among a people intirely ignorant ' of all the liberal arts and sciences.

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I am informed that they are very nice in the turn of their expressions, and that few of themselves are so far masters of their language, ⚫as never to offend the ears of their Indian auditory, by an unpolite expression. They have, it seems, a certain urbanitas or atticism, in 'their language, of which the common ears are ever sensible, though only their great speakers attain to it. They are so much given to speech-making, that their common compliments, to any person they ' respect, at meeting and parting, are made in harangues.

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They have some kind of elegance in varying and compounding 'their words, to which not many of themselves attain, and this principally distinguishes their best speakers. I have endeavoured to get some account of this, as a thing that might be acceptable to the curious; but, as I have not met with any one person who understands 'their language, and also knows any thing of grammar, or of the learned languages, I have not been able to attain the least satisfaction. Their present minister tells me, that their verbs are varied, but in a inanner so different from the Greek or Latin, that he cannot discover by 'what rule it was done; and even suspects that every verb has a peculiar mode: They have but few radical words, but they compound ⚫ their words without end; by this their language becomes sufficiently. copious, and leaves room for a good deal of art to please a delicate ear. Sometimes one word among them includes an entire definition ' of the thing; for examples they call wine, Oncharadesehoengtseragherie, Vol. II. No. 4. 4

The speeches given by Homer to the characters in the Iliad and Odyssey, form some of the finest passages in those poems. The speeches of these Indians only want similar embellishment, to excite admiration. A few fragments of one, may serve as a specimen. It was delivered under the following circumstances. James the second, at the solicitation of the French Court, having given orders to the Colonies not to interfere, the French were determined to bring the Five Nations to their own terms. For this pur

pose the governor of Canada proceeded with a strong force in 1684 to Lake Ontario. The Indian Chiefs had meanwhile been persuaded by the Jesuits, to send a deputation to meet him; having been promised, that they should be cordially received and kindly treated. The French army however became so much weakened by sickness, so many of the soldiers had died, that all the formidable preparations were rendered useless, and their Commander was unable to prosecute his designs by force. This situation of the French was well understood by the Indians. When they met, after many ceremonies the conference was opened with due form, the parties being drawn up in a circle, of which the French officers formed one half, and the Savages the other. The Governor delivered a most arrogant, menacing speech, to impress them with fear of the tremendous power of France. Garangula, the Indian speaker on this occasion, was much surprised at the difference of its tone, from what he had been led to expect by the Jesuits; and immediately returned an answer of which the following are extracts. The Indians called the Governor of Canada, Onondio; it was their custom to give a surname, as a mark of honour to the Governor of each of the Provinces, which was never changed.

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as much as to say, a liquor made of the juice of the grape. The words expressing things lately come to their knowledge are all compounds : they have no labeals in their language, nor can they perfectly pronounce a word wherein there is a labeal; and when one endeavours 'to teach them to pronounce words, they tell one, they think it ridiculous that they must shut their lips to speak. Their language abounds with gutturals and strong aspirations; these make it very sonorous and bold; and their speeches abound with metaphors, after the manner of the Eastern nations, as will best appear by the speeches that I have copied.'