MAY 
duction of iron by Europeans^ their hatchets were made of 
flinty and they used shells or sharp stones for knives. They 
stole upon their enemies with great caution ; but when dis- 
covery was unavoidable, or concealment no longer necessary, 
they uttered frightful yells^ and the terrific war-whoop^ to 
strike terror into their foes. 
C. — Have you any idea of what the celebrated war- 
w^hoop was like ? 
F. — It is said to resemble the words woach, woach! 
hach^ hach, woach ! " and I have been told by those who 
have heard it^ that when two or three hundred Indians are 
shouting these discordant sounds^ each one thirsting for bloody 
it is enough to appal the stoutest heart. Probably there is 
not so much in the sound itself, as in the ideas with which 
it is associated; the suddenness and unexpectedness of the 
attack, the stern and merciless character of the warfare, and 
often the horrors of night, and the uncertainty respecting the 
force of the enemy, have contributed to give to this war-cry 
that fearful character with which it has been invested by the 
whites. Prisoners were often taken, and put to death with 
horrible tortures, the sustaining of which, without any mani- 
festation of pain, was indispensable in him who wished to 
bear the character of a warrior. They lived chiefly by hunt- 
ing, and were well acquainted with the habits and retreats of 
the wild animals of the woods : they clothed themselves with 
the skins. They also cultivated the maize plant, or Indian 
corn, and from them the Europeans learned the mode. In- 
stead of hoes, they used large oyster-shells, and the labour of 
cultivation was performed by the women ; personal labour 
being considered beneath the dignity of a warrior and hunter. 
They had little knowledge of medicine ; their jugglers were 
both physicians and priests : they used a few simples, and 
had some knowledge of rough surgery. A steam bath has 
often wrought surprising cures, and was a favourite remedy in 
H 5 
