travels in North America. 313 



The Door is in the midll of the Length of the Building, 

 which has no other Opening : On each Side there are Benches of 

 Stones. The Infide anfwers pcrfedly this ruflick Outfide. 

 Three Pieces of Wood, which touch at the Ends, and which 

 are placed in a Triangle, or rather equally diilant from each 

 other,, take up almoft all the Midft of the Temple. Thefe 

 Pieces are on Fire, and burn flowly. A Savage, whom they 

 call the Keeper of the Temple, is obliged to tend the Fire> 

 and prevent its going out. If it is cold, he may have his Fire 

 apart, but he is not allowed to warm himfelf at that which burns 

 in Honour of the Sun. This Keeper was alfo at the Feaft, 

 at leaft I faw him not ; and his Brands made fuch a Smoke that it 

 blinded as. 



As to Ornaments, I faw none, nor abfolutely any Thing that 

 could make me know that I was in a Temple. faw only three 

 or four Chefts placed irregularly, in which there was fome 

 dry Bones, and upon the Ground fome wooden Heads, a little 

 better wrought than the two Eagles on the Roof. In Ihort, if I 

 had not found a Fire here, I fnould have thought that this Tem- 

 ple had been a long Time abandoned, or that it had been plun- 

 dered. Thofe Cones wrapped up in Skins, which fome Rela- 

 tions fpeak of ; thofe Bodies of the Chiefs ranged in a Circle 

 in a round Temple, terminating in a Kind of Dome ; that Al- 

 tar, l^C: I faw nothing of all this. If Things were thus in 

 Times paft, they are very much changed fince. 



Perhaps alfo, for we ought to condemn no Body, but when 

 there is no Way to excufe them ; perhaps, I fay, that the Neigh- 

 bourhood of the French made the Natchez fear that the Bodies of 

 their Chiefs, and every Thing that was moft precious in their 

 Temple, were in fome Danger, if they did not convey them tO 

 another Place ; and that the little Attention they have at pre- 

 fent to guard this Temple, proceeds from its being deprived of 

 v/hat it contained moft facred in the Opinion of thefe People. 

 It is true, notwithilanding, that againft the Wall, over-againft: 

 the Door, there was a Ta|)le, the Dimeniions of which I did not 

 take the Pains to meafure, becaufe I did not fufped it to be an 

 Altar. I have been aiTured fmce, that it is three Feet high, five 

 long, and four wide. 



I have been further informed that they make a little Fire on it 

 with the Bark of Oak, and that it never goes out ; which is 

 falfe, for there was then no Fire on it, nor any Appearance of 

 there ever having been any made. They fay alfo, that four old 

 Men lay by Turns in the Temple, to keep in this Fire ; that he 

 who is on Duty, muft not go out for the eight Days of his 

 Watch ; that they carefully take the burning Afhe s of the Pieces 

 that burn in the midft of the Temple, to put upon the Altar ; 



S f that 



