32 SIOUAN TRIBES OF THE EAST. [ethnulooy 



an Iiidiai), even to making iiini drunk prei)aratory to a trade, and lays 

 down the cardinal principle, as good now as then, that "in dealing 

 with the Indians you must be positive and at a word." On approacli- 

 ing an Indian village the traveler was advised to first learn through his 

 soouts whether the tribe held any communication with the Susque- 

 hanna, in which case he should give notice of his approach by tiring a 

 gnu. With other tribes this was to be avoided, as these were ignorant 

 of the use of firearms, and would thus be frightened and disposed to 

 some treacherous act. From this it would seem that the Susquehanna, 

 living at the head of Chesapeake bay, were the medium through 

 which the Virginia and Carolina Indians obtained firearms. Lederer's 

 guide on this journey was himself a Susquehanna. On entering the set- 

 tlement the traveler was not to go into any house until invited, when he 

 would be led in bound like a prisoner, a curious custom, which they 

 applied to friends and foes alike. An invitation from the old men 

 should be accepted in preference to one from the younger warriors, and 

 the guest was advised to be careful to refuse nothing that was set before 

 him, or in any other way to slight their courtesy in the least, as they 

 were jealous of their dignity and revengeful when angered. Traders 

 were enjoined not to fail to go the rounds of their camp at the close of 

 the evening, for it was then, and early in the morning, that danger was 

 to be anticipated; in the night time the Indians never made an attack. 

 This applies also to our modern prairie tribes, arising from a belief 

 common among them that an Indian killed at night will be forever in 

 darkness in the spirit world. It is plain from Lederer's account that 

 traders generally were as unscrui)ulous, and Indians as uncertain, two 

 centuries ago as today. 



For counting, they used pebbles, or bundles of short reeds or straws. 

 Heaps of stones indicated the number of persons killed on a battle- 

 ground, or of emigrants to some distant region. Time was measured, 

 and a rude chronology Avas arranged by means of strings of leather 

 with knots of various colors, very much as in Peru. This system 

 I)roved so convenient in dealing with Indians that it was adopted for 

 that purpose by a governor of South Carolina, as shown by an inci- 

 dental reference in Law son. At certain ceremonies reeds or straws 

 were arranged in a particular order, and left thus in place after the 

 ceremony as a record of the character of the performance there 

 enacted. They were never disturbed, as it was deemed a sacrilege to 

 interfere with them. If the explorer's a'jcount can be believed they 

 had a highly develojied pictogiaph system, by means of which they 

 symbolized not only physical things but also mental qualities. Thus, 

 swiftness was indicated by the figure of a deer, wrath by that of a 

 serpent, courage by the picture of a lion (panther), and fidelity by that 

 of a dog. The English were symbolized under the figure of a swan, 

 on account of their white complexion and their power of flight across 

 the sea. 



