202 NATURAL AND CIVIL 



his speech was short and laconic ; and the mean- 

 ing was conveyed in bold and strong nietaphors. 

 Allien thc}^ return an answer, they repeat the 

 whole that has been said to them, and reduce it 

 into a strict and rej^^ular order. Their words 

 are but few ; the language strong, and figura- 

 tive ; the figures expressive, vigorous, and bold ; 

 their manner, grave and animating ; the tone, 

 determined and decisive ; and the sentiment thev 

 mean to convey, so clearly expressed, that they 

 are never misunderstood. An historian who 

 ■was present at sevcial of their conferences with 

 the English, gives this account of the appear- 

 ance and manners of their orators, " Their 

 speakers deliver themselves with surprisingforce, 

 and great propriet3' of gesture. The fierceness 

 of their countenances, the flowing blanket, ele- 

 vated tone, naked arm, and erect stature, Vvith a 

 half circle of auditors seated on the ground, and 

 in the open air, cannot but impress upon the 

 mind, a lively idea of the ancient orators of 

 Greece and Rome."* Some of their speeches 

 in manliness of sentiment, in the force of ex- 

 pression, and in the elegance of the arrangement, 

 have been fully equal to the productions of the 

 Grecian, Roman, or British eloquence. And in 

 no case does language acquire such force and 

 vigour, as when it is the dictate of the passions 

 and feelings of nature, in her rude and unculti- 

 vated state. 



It was by the combination of these virtues 

 and abilities, that the savage rose to public hon- 

 ours, employment, and distinction. The brav- 



» Smith's Iljst, of Ncwyork.p. 53. 



