38 T Pv A V E L S through 



children, and taught them to keep in a disvout 

 attitude. 



About -their harveft-time, -which happened in 

 July, the Natches celebrated a great feaft. They 

 began with blacking their faces ; and did not 

 eat till three hours after noon, having previouf- 

 ly purified themfelves in the baths ; the oldeft 

 man in the nation then offered to their deity the 

 firft fruits of their crops. 



They had a temple in which they kept up an 

 eternal fire ; the priefts took great care to pre- 

 librve it, and for this purpofe they were only al- 

 lowed to make ufe of the wood of one kind of 

 tree •, if unhappily the fire was extinguiihed, all 

 the people were in the greateft conflernation, 

 and the negledful priefts were puniihed with 

 death : but fuch an event happened very fel-? 

 dom ; for the keepers of this celeftial fire could 

 eafily rejaew it, by fetching common fire under 

 pretext of lighting their calumets ; for they 

 were not allowed to employ the holy fire for that 

 ufe. 



When their fovereign died, he was accompa- 

 nied in the grave by his wives, and by feveral 

 of his fubjeds. The lefTer Suns took care to 

 follow the fame cuftom^ the law likewife con- 

 demned 



