swanton] EARLY HISTORY OF THE CREEK INDIANS 375 
one after another, in the same bowl, which holdeth well a quart-measure of Paris. 
They make so great account of this drink, that no man may taste thereof, in this assem- 
bly, unless he hath made proof of his valor in the war. Moreover, this drink hath such 
a virtue, that, as soon as they have drunk it, they become all of a sweat, which sweats 
being past, it taketh away hunger and thirst for twenty-four hours after. 1 
Le Moyne's account, as usual inserted to accompany a sketch, is 
as follows: 
The chief and his nobles are accustomed during certain days of the year to meet 
early every morning for this express purpose in a public place, in which a long bench 
is constructed, having at the middle of it a projecting part laid with nine round trunks 
of trees for the chief's seat On this he sits by himself, for distinction's sake, and 
here the rest come to salute him, one at a time, the oldest first, by Lifting both hands 
twice to the height of the head and saying, "Ha, he, ya, ha, ha." To this the rest 
answer, "Ha, ha." Each, as he completes his salutation, takes his seat on the bench. 
If any question of importance is to be discussed, the chief calls upon his laiias (that 
is, his priests) and upon the elders, one at a time, to deliver their opinions. They 
decide upon nothing until they have held a number of councils over it, and they 
deliberate very sagely before deciding. Meanwhile the chief orders the women to 
boil some ctmna, which is a drink prepared from the leaves of a certain root [plant], 
and which they afterwards pass through a strainer. The chief and his councillors 
being now seated in their places, one stands before him, and spreading forth his 
hands wide open asks a blessing upon the chief and the others who are to drink. 
Then the cup bearer brings the hot drink in a capacious shell, first to the chief and 
then, as the chief directs, to the rest in their order, in the same shell. They esteem 
this drink so highly that no one is allowed to drink it in council unless he has proved 
himself a brave warrior. Moreover, this drink has the quality of at once throwing 
into a sweat whoever drinks it. On this account those who can not keep it down, 
but whose stomachs reject it, are not intrusted with any difficult commission or any 
military responsibility, being considered unfit, for they often have to go three or four 
days without food; but one who can drink this liquor can go for twenty-four hours 
afterwards without eating or drinking. In military expeditions, also, the only sup- 
plies which the hermaphrodites carry consist of gourd bottles or wooden vessels 
full of this drink. It strengthens and nourishes the body, and yet does not fly to 
the head, as we have observed on occasion of these feasts of theirs. 2 
To these accounts of the regular gatherings I will add one of the 
ceremony attending a meeting between one of the Florida chiefs, 
Saturiwa, and the French. The usual form of friendly greeting 
consisted in rubbing the body of the visitor, seemingly a continent- 
wide method of salutation. 3 
The king [Saturiwa] was accompanied by seven or eight hundred men, handsome, 
strong, well made, and active fellows, the best trained and swiftest of his force, all 
under arms as if on a military expedition. Before him marched fifty youths with 
javelins or spears, and behind these and next to himself were twenty pipers, who 
produced a wild noise without musical harmony or regularity, but only blowing 
away with all their might, each trying to be the loudest. Their instruments were 
nothing but a thick sort of reed or cane, with two openings, one at the top to blow 
into and the other end for the wind to come out of, like organ pipes or whistles. On 
i Laudonniere, La Floride, pp. 9-10; French, Hist. Colls. La., 1869, pp. 172-173. Strangers of note were 
treated to this drink and given corn to eat.— Gatlarel, Hist. Floride francaise, p. 407. 
» Le Moyne, Narrative, pp. 11-12 (ill.). 
» Anonymous writer in Gatlarel, Hist. Floride francaise, p. 404. 
