164 
lies upwards of two thoufand miles up 
the Mifourt river; and with whom the 
other Indians are reprefented to be ma con- 
tinual ftate of hoftility. The Chicafaws, 
in particular, make ita point to attack 
them, whenever they go up the M:fourz, 
upon their beaver-hunting expeditions ; 
and which’are excurfions they often un- 
dertake, and are 2b/ent irom home gene- 
rally for about three years. 
The great town of the White Indians is 
fituated in the fork of the Mifouri and 
Nookafee, or the Fox Riwer. Mr. Cuts- 
HOLM has not been himfelf nearer than 
about 209 miles to the place; but he is 
acquainted with many Indians, who have 
been in fight of it; but they were never 
within, upon account or the jealous pre- 
caution of the inhabitants, who refufe 
admittance to all frangers. ‘This town 
is defcribed to be fo fortified by nature, 
as to be deemed impregnable by the Indi- 
ans; for, befides lying in the angle 
formed by the tworivers, it is furrounded 
by a very remarkable ledge of high recks, 
excepting a narrow pafiage clofe to one of 
the rivers, on one fide, and which is 
always kept firongly barricaded and 
guarded. 
According to Mr. CsIsHoLM’s in- 
formation, the Mazdcens, or’ Big-tellied 
Nation, refide about 270 miles below the 
White Indian Town, upon the banks of 
the Mifouré. In the preceding volume of 
your Magazine, you have inferted an ac- 
count that JOHN Evans, in his fearch 
after the Wel/b Indians, proceeded as far 
as this people, and that he returned from 
thence, having, through defpair, given 
up his enterprize. The fame volume 
contains alfo a fubfequent account, re- 
fpeGting the Welfh Indians, wherein I 
save intimated, from documents in my 
»poffeffion, that Evans had reached to 
within about 300 miles of the objeét of 
his journey; which differs only thirty 
miles from the diftance afligned by Mr. 
CHISHOLM to be from the Mandans to 
the White Indiais, 
From the diftance being fe great, and, 
perhaps, more from the confiant enmity 
of the _furrounding tribes, the #7Zzte_In- 
dicns do but feldom viiit the trading 
pots; but they may be frequently met 
with amongft other Indians, by whom 
they have been taken prifoners and 
adopted. Mr. Cu1sHoLM knows a wo- 
man of that nation adopted by the Cica- 
fauws, who. told him, amongft other 
things, that it was common, in her coun- 
try, to keep goats, and to milk them, 
which is never done by the Indians in 
Captain Chifbolm’s Account of the 
_ “[Sept. 
general. He is alfo intimate with a fa- 
mily of White Indian:, confifting of an 
old mau of the name of ApRram, his 
wife, and three children, living at Hz#- 
towa Town (or Hightower, as it is called 
by the Anglo-Americans) upon the Coofé 
tiver, in the Cherokee country, about 
forty miles diftant from Knoxville, the 
chief town of the Tenafee State. Mr. 
Cuisuotm has often been in the old 
man’s houfe ; and once in particular, he 
was there at the fame time with a Mr. 
Moses SHELBY, now refiding at Da- 
vifon-Town, on Cumberland river, when 
he heard a converfation carried on in the 
Wels language, between SHELBY and 
the Indian. He has feen, in the poffef- 
fion of the fame old man, an ancient vel- 
lum manufcript, about fix ‘ches lon 
and one inch thick, much defaced a 
dirtied, on the cover of which there ap- 
peared the marks of its once having 
clafps. Myr. CHISHOLM endeavoured to 
borrow the book, to fee if he could find 
any perfon able to read it; but ABRAM 
would by no means truft what he held in 
fo high veneration out of his fight; and 
he uted to fay, that he knew it contained 
the words of the Great Spirit, which 
told him te be good*. It is thought that 
the old man might be eafily prevailed upon 
for a trifling prefent, to bring his book to 
any gentleman, as far from his home even 
as Philadeiphia,, who might inform him 
of fuch a wifh, in order to afcertain its 
contentsf: or, probably that object may 
be attained through the means of Mr. 
CHISHOLM, now on his return to Ame- 
rica, and who has promifed to fend a fac- 
fimile of @ page of it, done as accurately 
as it may be in his power. 
The public is already in poffeffion of 
varions accounts of old fortifications, and 
burying-places, which are frequently to 
be met with, in particular tracks of North 
America; ands which are confidered fo 
curious and unaccountable: but Mr.) 
CHISHOLEM, being a perfon of obferva- 

* Mr. BowLEs gave me an account very 
fimilar to the above, refpeéting a family of 
White Indians amongft the Cherokees; and 
that he knew one of the fons well, who ufed 
to fay; that he frequently faw his father 
fpeaking to the white people in his own lan- 
guage; but the fon could only fpeak the 
Cherokee. My. CutsHorm cbferves, that 
there are no other White Indians amongft 
the Cherokees, befides the family above- 
mentioned, ue 
+1 hope fome of your American readexs 
will throw frefh light on this interefting 
fubje&. a eae 
tion, 
_ 
