manner of adjuration. $ \
ufually tell any perfon, in plain language, " You lie," as a friendly negative to his reputed untruth. The cheerful, inoffenfive old rabbet told me, he had urged to them, with a great deal of earneftnefs, that it was certain death by our laws, to give his Majefty the lie to his face ; and cautioned them to guard their mouths very ftrongly from uttering fuch dangerous language : otherwife, their hearts would become very heavy, and even forrowful to death ; as he would be bound as firmly by our holy books, to relate the bare naked truth, as they were by repeating To e u ab> or even O-E-A YAH.
The Chikkafah and Choktah method of adjuring a witnefs to give true evidence, is fomething fimilar to the former atteftation, by -To g u hah : when they aik them, whether they do not lie, they adjure them thus, Chikloo/ka ke-c-u Chua ? The termination implies a queftion of the fecond perfon, fin- gular number, and the whole oath fignifies literally, " Do not you lie ? Do you not, of a certain truth ?" To which he anfwers by two ftrong nega tive afieverations, Akloojka Ke-e-u-que-Ho, " I do not lie ; I do not, of a certain truth." When the Choktah are averring any thing afked of them, they aflert it, by faying YAH. This mews their ignorance of the vowels of the fuppofed divine four-lettered name, in comparifon of the Cheerake ; and that they are become lefs religious, by prophaning the divine name, YAH , which confirms me in the opinion, that the Cheerake Indians were a more civilized people than any of the other neighbouring Indians.
We are told that the northern Indians, in the time of their rejoicings, re peat YO HA HAN , which, if true, evinces that their corruption advances, in proportion as they are diftant from South-America, and wanted a
thod of contracting Indian covenants than they have commonly ufed. Firft, let them confider the general good of the community, who chofe them for that end ; and then make a plain agreement with the Indians, adapted to their fixed notion of liberty, and the good of their country, without any deluding fophifms. If they do not keep thefe effential points of amity in view, we (hall fare again, as hath Georgia ; for, by a childifti treaty with the Mnfkohge Indians, when defeated An. 1715, its moft northern boundaries are confined to the head of the ebbing and flowing of Savannah river. We are faid to have flourifhed off very commodious Indian treaties in the council-books, with the Muflcohge, which the community know nothing of, except a few plain common particulars, as they fome years fince declared.
H 2 friendly
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