754 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY TBull. 137 



Indian town, and this prisoner was one of their conjurers ; so the Indians came 

 down to the governor's house, and acquainted him with what had happened 

 amongst them, and that a great quantity of peak was stolen away out of one of 

 their cabins, and no one could find out the thief, unless he would let the prisoner 

 conjure for it, who was the only man they had at making such discoveries. The 

 governor was content he should try his skill for them, but not to have the 

 prisoner's irons taken off, which was very well approved of. The Indian was 

 brought out in his fetters where were the governor's family and several others 

 of the neighborhood, now living, to see this experiment; which he performed 

 thus. 



The conjurer ordered three fires to be made in a triangular form, which was 

 accordingly done; then he was hoodwinked very securely, with a dressed deer 

 skin, two or three doubles, over his face. After he had made some motions, as 

 they always do, he went directly out of one of the three gaps, as exactly as if 

 he had not been blindfolded, and kept muttering to himself, having a stick in his 

 hand, with which, after some time, he struck two strokes very hard, upon the 

 ground, and made thereon a cross, after which he told the Indian's name that had 

 stolen the goods, and said, that he would have a cross on his back ; which proved 

 true; for when they took and searched him, there appeared two great wheals, 

 on his back, one cross the other ; for the thief was at governor Southwell's house, 

 and was under no apprehension of being discovered. The Indians proffered to 

 sell him as a slave to the governor, but he refused to buy him; so they took 

 him boimd away. . . . 



There are a great many other stories of this nature, which are seemingly true, 

 being told by persons that afirm they were eye witnesses thereof; as, that they 

 have seen one Roncommock, a Chuwou [Chowan] Indian, and a great conjurer, 

 take a reed about two feet long in his mouth, and stand by a creek side, where 

 he called twice or thrice with the reed in his mouth, and, at last, has opened his 

 arms and fled over the creek, which might be near a quarter of a mile wide or 

 more ; but I shall urge no man's belief, but tell my own ; which is, that I believe 

 the two first accounts which were acted at Mr. Southwell's plantation, as firmly as 

 any man can believe any thing of that which is told him by honest men, and he has 

 not seen; not at all doubting the credit of my authors. (Lawson, 1860, pp. 

 347-353.) 



The rest of Lawson's account concerns the treatment of disease 

 by conjurers and will be given under the heading of medicine. 



Peter Martyr was informed of a province in what is now South 

 Carolina called Tihe where 



the inhabitants wear a distinctive priestly costume, and they are regarded as 

 priests and venerated as such by their neighbors. They cut their hair leaving 

 only two locks growing on their temples, which are bound under the chin. When 

 the natives make war against their neighbors, according to the regrettable 

 custom of mankind, these priests are invited by both sides to be present, not as 

 actors, but as witnesses of the conflict. When the battle is about to open, they 

 circulate among the warriors who are seated or lying on the ground, and sprinkle 

 them with the juice of certain herbs they have chewed with their teeth ; just 

 as our priests at the beginning of the Mass sprinkle the worshipers with a branch 

 dipped in holy water. When this ceremony is finished, the opposing sides fall 

 upon one another. While the battle rages, the priests are left in charge of the 

 camp, and when it is finished they look after the wounded, making no distinc- 

 tion between friends and enemies, and busy themselves in burying the dead. 

 (Anghierra, 1912, 259-262; Swanton, 1922, pp. 42-43.) 



