The Sun.
London, England, 1807-08-19 00:00:00

BRITISH REVIEW'.

Travei'through the
.4.viktaiiiirg a description of
the I'le.6,l:eqlseS,:etter) on some of the Rivers and Lakes ;
with an acon.iiii of qv: Prodrie.bow, Cf4pittert:C, ;MA Ihha.
bit4l s ftho:c Prs,vinces. To which is subjoined a c tn-
patative tit_ &Lamers an Li:stems vi several of
the Nihau Nations of Noah and South America. 13y
(; Log os sioT, list Deputy rustntaster-General of
lithish North ti+rtica.]

Tdere is—nothing more, interesting to the Philo-
iopl,er than accounts of the manners, customs, and
genc:lal drat-44..1er of the inhabitatvs cif distant regions,
particularly when we can rely upon the diligence,
veracity, and powers of observation in the author
from whoM they ate r,!crived. .But such accounts
are also interesting, a high degree, to. the Mortlist

;Ind the Patriot, as the fornier may derive new lights
Mr the 'inculcating principles calculated to keep man-
kind in harmony with each other, 'and, dig' Patriot
will find additional motives- to attach him to the soil
which gave hint birth and 'the institutions which
haVoc I.:ow:de:I him through life. W-e have before
tioticcd the 'Valuab:e &tic to which we now draw
tha attention et' (int.. Readers, and subMit to them
ati Ext rad respeetin4 the People of South America,
which is morn parttcular than what has hitherto
• ta..,At published, And upon which,' from the known
cli,racter of the author, We arc: assured they' may
confidently -rely:

" The inhabitants of South America praCtise to-
wards their captives in 'Way, equal barparity with
those .Of the North, although not accompanit:d by
so many Minute circumstances of 'torture. The cus;-',
turn of devouring the fi!_,r of their prisoners is,
among tile (toner, more frequent titan among the.,
latter, although all are more or less'contaminated
by this propensity, So abhorrent to nature alid,to
humanity.
" The Brasilians treat, for a time, their caotives
with-the greatest marks of kindtms; allowing 'to
each a young woman as a constant attendant and
companion ; bur, at the expiration of:a cettain pe-
riod, t hey are put to death, and thdir flesh is de-
l'ot) 'red • •
" The adoption or shkrs to supply the loss sus-
tained in lant;iies by .deaths is essential 'to maintain
the strength of d savage nation. .The person adoptr
ed becomes, in etery respect 'a member of the tribe,
to which Le is habitnatcd and naturalized by equali-•
ty of treatment. The froquois, who by this system
of pa!icy have alw:ays.,supplied their loses,
tined long to maintain their.conseoence, and to be
rgatidable to the enemies by which their territories
were enviroucd.

" The arms princiimlly in use among the, natives
of America consist ut bows and arru..vs, spears, war
6ubs, and darts. Since their intercourse with Ei.'u-
ropeans, by far, the greftest inupber of the tribes
Ilene adopted the fusil and the iron hatchet, whose
u' they discovered front experience to be tar wore
efficacious and destrudive than that of their own
611110 e. weapons.

The oar-club of the North Americans is formed
of a hard and tough wood, the handle being thin
and flat, somewhat curved,/ with sharp edges, hav-
ing at its extremity a ball of about three inches in
diameter. With this the blow upon the head is-ge-
nerally given, previous to the operation of scalping.
The dubs used by the South Americans in combat
are of hard and heavy wood, sharp on the two sides,
thick in, the center, and terminating in points. 'To
these offensive' arrns,.. some Indians, when they go
to war, add a buckler of bark to defend themselves
from the arrows of the enemy.
" The natives of Northwest America, bordering
an the sea coast, make use of cuirasses and shoulder
pieces, composed of ribs ofwhalebone closely sewed
between 61{413 of animals; and parallel to each other.
This vestalent of war is of a flexible nature; and al-
lows to the person who wears it the unrestrained use
of his arms. A coarse and large gorget, 'which pro.-
te6is the throat and face as far as the eyes, ICA-insane-
therpart-- of their warlike' apparel. The head is de-
fended! by a species of helmet, made of the scull and
hide 'of' some animal of prey. A species of apron;
of the same fabric and materials as the cuirass, is
worn from-the waist downwards, and a fine skin
adapted to tw'of'old purposes. of ornament and
walnut', ,r6tehes from the shoulders to the knees.
Invested with this' armour, they bid defiance to the
arrows of assailants, but are' less capable of moving
with agility. The strings of their bows consist of
thongs of leather, Their lances are twelve feet in
length, and shod with iron.e Their knives of the
same metal, area upwards of two feet in length' ;
their axes are of flint, or of a green stone, so bard,
that they eleaViiihe most cornpail wood without in-
jury to the edge. •
" The arms'of the Caraibs are much the same as
those already described. These people pass ,whole
days in their hammoCks, and their indolence and
apathy 'are Unequalled. The bows which they use
are about six. feet in length, the ends are rounded
to an inch in diameter, with notches to stop the
cord. The thickness gradually augments from each
end towards
.the center, which, is round on the out-
side, and flattened on the inner part, so that the
middle oldie bow is an. inch and a half in diameter.
It is generally fabricated-of a green wood, or of a
brpwn mixed with stripes of a -reddish hue, It is
heavy, compad, stiff, and of neat workmanship;
the cord is of leather. ThearrowS are about three
feet and a half in length ; the extremities are hound
w:11. cotton thread to prevent them .from splitting.
The point is Made of green wood, notched, and
formed' in such a manner that it cannot be extraa-
iro 'from which it enters, but by consider-
ably enlarging the wound 6r-by pushing the arrow
iu a forward dirthion, and causing it to come out
at another part. The arrow's are ornamented with
'feathers of various hues, split, and glued to the lower
end. The pointsare impoisoned with the sap efthe'
!iitnichineal tree, which grows upon the sea coast,
the eioidation Of Whose hark and tbliage is. of a na-
Lure so acrid, that drops of rain::falltrig from thence
Lyon inenan-skin; Ca,lse it Co' swell and lalister
miemer.- :arrows in use for killing
“041004.1e.d 'at the en,15., so as not to enter tzu
tit,h stun or bruise.

(,it ibB ensnare the fish by a kind of
r;ti;i46',fipear,' *ith a col-4 attached to the lower
eit4i*ith a piece of lig-lit wood to tierVe as a buoy.
as the fish is strut 1„ it darts away, and the

of i; and drags it on shore.
" The war club is about three and a half feet in
length, flat, two inches thick,- except at the handlei
where it diminishes, and four inches at the extre-
mity, of a wood ponderous and hard. 1.10 broadest
sides are engraver), and the hollows are filled with
different colours. They use this instrument with nu
_ less strength than address, and every blow aimed
with it fails not to-take &fee, by breaking the bones
of the body, or splitting the head ass'under.
When these barbarians tight against each other,
they make with a knife two notches at the end of
each arrow, that when it enters the body the point
may break off and remain,
and. the arrow may fall;
to the ground. Although they generally carry their
knives naked in their hands, it is rarely ':cat they.
wound one another, except when intoxicated, hi
these Moments they are dangerouS, tor they
,recal to
remembrance an injury they. inay„ have received,
from any person present, and take; linini!diate re-
venge. If the person against whom an indiVidnal
entimained resentnient is thus slain, and if none of
his relations survive to revenge his death, the atfair
is concluded. hut if he have relations, or. if he have
only been wounded, the aggressor must change his
place of abode, •or,expeet retaliatien on the, first op 71
port unity. Strangers to reconciliation 'or forgiveness, .
n 6 perion among them ever onciolakes,the.office
61 Mediator •between hnstile
,to each
other

The Tlasealans, a nation of .New Spain, previous
to engag:ng an,enemy, let fly among them t;.vo ar-
'you's, on the head of each of Which was carved an
insage of the pi of
.‘var. Of these. it became a'n,
;la of religi:-:ft, as well as a point of honour, to en-
deavour to 'regain the ptissession. The firstonset
became, for this reason, powerful and impetuou •
The Peruvians, who were less wariilse than
. _ _

the Mexicans felt ..a peculiar .dread 'in Contending
against cavalry. In order to render lesi formidable
to'thern the. impression of that mode of fighting,
they made use of It thong of considcrable lenBtb,
with a 'stone attached to' each end, which being
thrown with address, entangled both the rider and
his horse. •

The whole of the native tribes' are_ extremely in-.
• cautions with respeft to their encampments at night,
even in an enqnty's territory. They place no sen-
tries to guard thent tiom surprise, and often fall a
sacrifice to their indolence and false ideas of secu-
rity. They alledge as an exemption from this fatigue,
that they who have toiled all day ought to ojoy
repose during the night.
'" The Iroquois appear to be the only people who
• are entitled to an exception in this respea. ' They
place'advanced gulrds; and scouts in their ffont ;
these are always in motion, and convey timely in-
tellience of the approach of an enemy. 'They:are,
thervtore, almost never surprised or interrupted
during the period of their hunting expeditions:
The chief grounds of warfare anion savages
are usually derived :from pursuing the .cl7ace over
territories, whose •boundaries are estaWished, and
which are considered as the property of particular
tribes; each member of a tribe.beingperfectly well
'acquainted with the limits of his country.
If reproached by Europeans on account of their
ferocity, they will coldly reply, that human exist-
ence is as nothing ; that they do not avenge them-
selves of their. enemies 'when they immediately de-
prive them of life,. but by infliaing on them tor,
tents, protraaed, acute, and severe ; and that if in
warfare death were the only objetl of dread, women
might as free!y engage in 'it s men."

* Voyages de I.IA bats.

A Major in the Army is about.to engage in a pu-
gilistic.contest with a Gentleman of equal rank in
fhe vicinity of Bristol. ' A duel; which was first pro.
posed, has been relinquished by the parties, each
having laid claim to superiority in thefistic art. The
Major has been for some time in training at Bristol,
under the immediate tuition of the Game Chicken.

The fbllowing melancholy accident occurred last
week tit 'Newcastle. Twa.colliers having entered
the buCkef to be let down, a third man,'-wain had
forgot his tobacco and come up for It, observed that
the butket had now been lotriered' a few yards
before he was aware : vexed at losing the.:opportn-
nity of descending, be rashly jumped down between
the two men who were. already in the bucket.
The force of his' fall, • together With the weight, oc-
casioned' the iron handle of the bucket to break,
and the three men were 'precipitated to the- bottom
and killed on the spot.
A short time since, a Gentleman haring. changed
horses at Oxford, on his way to Cheltenham, found,
when he had proceeded a short way from that.
city, that his portmanteau had been cut frorn'the
front of his chaise, and; singular as it may 'appear,
by a man's crawling along the perch of the car-
riage, and thrusting.a stick forward, in which the
blade of a knife projefied. r By this means the straps
that bind the trunk or portmanteau are cut, and
they fall into . the :road ; the thief leaves the car-
riage, and picks them up at his lei Sure. This prac-
tice has prevailed for some time, particularly at
night, and the depredatars haveobtained so much
dexterity in it, that: it is now the most successful,
and probably the most profitable depredation of any
upon the road.,

A few days ago, a Gentleman passing through
Holborn lost his watch, And advertised it with a
reward of three guineas to the person who should
bring it to him. IMmediately after the appearance
of the ~advertisement,- a tradesman iii' the neigh-
bourhoOd of. Holborn came to the plate to which
-the finder. had been dire4ed, and gave the follow-
ing account of his getting the watch. He said, -that
one everting going to the butcher's to buy some
me;ir, the
.butcher observed a watch hanging by
the upper button of the skirt of his OM, and asked
him if he used tovarrjr his watch so. At that time
he knew nothing of the -watch being there, hut
remembered passing through a,crowd in the street
that evening, -There is no doubt, that in the No-
-6nre and seuffte'the ribbon of the watch- had got
-ettimgied.:on the button: . -rtiantioned the cir-
Onmstance,.itn•his neighbodrs- the same evening, and
!his •surprito at his good-fortune; . and: as he i 3 in a
re,peelable situation in lite, there is no ,reason to
suspect him -at picking pockets. The Gentleman
who lost the Watch Was sati's'fied that the account.
-was-true.