﻿188 ACCOUNT OF THE 



manner, approached their enemy unperceived, they 

 generally make their attack about the dawn, and 

 commence it with a great shout, and striking of 

 their spears against their shields. If they are suc- 

 cessful in their onset, they seldom spare either age 

 or sex ; at times, however, they make captives of the 

 children, and often adopt them into their families, 

 when they have none of their own ; and the only 

 slaves among them are the captives thus taken. 



The heads of the slain they carry in great tri- 

 umph to their Parah^ where the M-arriors are met, on 

 their arrival, by men, women and children, with 

 much rejoicing; and they have the peculiar privilege 

 of killing any animal in the place they may choose, 

 (not excepting the chief's,) to I)e given as a feast in 

 celebration of their victory : but, should the party 

 have been unsuccessful, instead of being thus met 

 with every demonstration of joy, and led into the 

 Parah amidst the exultations of its friends, it enters 

 in the greatest silcncC;, and as privately as possible; 

 and all the warriors composing it remain in disgrace, 

 until such time as they retrieve their characters, ei- 

 ther jointly or individually, by some act of valour. 



The Kookies are often attacked by the Banjoogees, 

 M'ho, though not so numerous a race of people, yet, 

 from being all united under one Rajah, always pre- 

 vail, and exact an annual tribute of salt from the 

 two Kookie Rajah.^, Th'anpon and Mankexe, who, 

 from having a greater intercourse with the Choomecas, 

 receive a larger supply of this article from the plains 

 below, than their more remote neighbours. Salt is 

 in tlie highest estimation among them all; whenever 

 they send any message of consequence to each other, 

 they always put in the hand of the bearer of it a 

 small quantity of salt, to be delivered with the mes- 

 sage, as expressive of its importance. Next to per- 

 sonal valour, the accomplishment most esteemed in a 

 warrior, is aiiperioraddress instealing, and if a thief can 



convey 



