[ 7* 3 
fhouting, finging, and dancing at an extrava- 
gant rate, till the operations of the liquor 
ceafe •, or being wearied they fall aflcep. 
The fix nations enjoy the charadler of 
being the raoft warlike people in N. America, 
this they have acquired by the uninterrupted 
Hate of war, they have continued in probably 
near aoo years, and which has been attended 
with filch fuccefs, that has made them the dread 
of people above 1000 miles diftant. It can- 
not however be l'uppofed, but they have fre- 
quently met with fevcral checks, efpecially 
fince the French affifted all their enemies open- 
ly near thefe ioo years pall. 
Their wars were formerly carried on with 
much more cruelty then of late, their prilon- 
ers who had the misfortune to fall into their 
hands, being generally tortured to death, now 
their numbers being very much diminilhed by 
conflant wars, with both diftant and neigh- 
bouring nations, and perhaps a good deal part- 
ly by the Ipirituous liquors, and dileales the 
Europeans have brought among them. They 
very politically ftrive to ftrengthen themfelves 
not only by alliances with their neighbours, 
but the prifoners they take • they are almoft 
always accepted by the relations of a warrior 
llain in his place, and thus a boy of 15, is 
fometimes called father by men of 30. This 
naturalizes them of courfe, and unites them 
into the tribe the decealcd belonged to. This 
cuftom 
