The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-03-11

ties Nh1ch beIeii the Ancient M
tiOn-Men Watched 1t Day and
Night, Being Held Responsible
with Their Lives.
From the New Orleans Picayune.
lie Page du Pratt, author of Historic
de la Louisiana" lived for many years on
a concession situated in the country of
the Natchez and IN the vicinity of their
villages. He therefore had better oppor-
1unities than any of his contemporaries
of learning from the best-informed of the
Natchez the story of the traditions of
that strange people, who, without being
absolutely sun-worshippers, as modern
writer's end historians have surmised them
10 have been, yet barred all their tradi-
tons laws, customs and pubic observ-
ances in sonewise upon the protecting su-
pervision of that luminary.
The history of the human races teaches
US that in all ages of the world and in
every cline until the diffusion of the
light of Christianity, all races and nat ons
with the exception Of the ancient Jews
alone believed in a special occult and
mysterious protection of their own people,
as separate from ali other peoples by d
the name of "tutelar deity" This off
spring of their mag. nations was born of
a strange and promiscuous jumbling of
heathenism, ignorance, fear and nation
al vanity or arrogance
AS the Natchez did not differ in any
important particular from all the other
Ieoples of the earth, with the exception,
as stated, of the ancient Jews in the mat
ter of the possession of heathenism, ig-
norance of the truth, fears of the invisi-
BILE and the incomprehensible, and ma
tional vanity, it was quite natural they,
too should have been furnished by their
ancient word" or traditions with a
"tutelar deity" which happened in their
case to be less brilliant and exalted an
IDEAL than being of ineffable brightness
as shining in his person as the sun it
self who, according to their Oldest and
most implicitly belieVed-in traditions, had
issued from the sun at a period in the
past inconceiVably remote from our day,
had come, to the earth to conduct them
to the banks of the Mississippi and.
among other important deeds done by, him
in their behalf, had lighted for them the
sacred" or perpetual" fire which, since
hat time they had kept constantly burn
ing in two temples, were left in charge
Of several of the most reliable and intelli-
Gent of the older men of the nation, for
the NatcheZ beleved-a belief which had
descended to them in the same traditions.
that if, through any negligence on their
part this perpetual fire." which had first
been brought to them direct from the
sun, should be allowed to become eXtin-
sushed dire calamities even to the des-
truction and extinction of the nation,
would tefall them.
The result OF their possession of an in
heritance of flame which was at once
Their glory, their object of veneratiOn, and
their terror, was that the history of the
Natchez nation was one long "mauvais
quart dheure," passing from century and
ever bearing upon their consciences and,
as it We're upon their shoulders. the
weight of the sun, which had conferred
upon them so great responsibility as TO
watch from father TO son, from generation
10 generation, flame which a tempest
accompanied with heavy rain might ex-
tinguish at any moment, day or night
and whose extinction would bring with
il the ruin of the nation. 1t was, there
fore, probably, in view of their possession
of this tradl tional fiery ''Shirt of NesSus,
which by no manner or means was ever
10 be got rid of-for it never entered the
mind of a sane NatcheZ and 1t is not
recorded that there ever was a lunatic
among this intelligent people-to Try the
heroic remedy of allowing their trouble
some perpetual fire. to go into perma-
nent darkness. On the contrary, they
watched the aspects of the sun with timid
anxiety, aSSociating every abnormal con-
ditOn thereof with their responsibility of
guarding faithfully and necessarily that
hit of il which in the unrecorded years
of their past history had been put in their
charge 10 cherish, preserve and perpetu-
ate. Did the skies appear red and, as it
were, angry, surely some great evil
threatened the nation. Was the sun sur
rounded with unusual and not-to-be-
accounted for aureole, quick, look to the
perpetual fire. This fire was watched
nd tot, cd tn air,al nla
of the nation by eight specially appointed
guardians, and the only wood used in
feeding it was the wood of the hickory
Tree
AS in their religious observances the
Natchez made use of no sacrifices, votive
offerings or citations, all their attention
was given to the care that was to be
taken of their perpetual fire." and more
Jealous even than the chief of the guard
ians of the temple in watching the fire
was the Great SUM-" or ruler of the ma
tion IN his supervision of 1t and of the
manner in which that official attended to
his important duty.
The Great Sun" who reigned over the
Naicnez in The years when NJ. lie Page
du Pratz lived among the Natchez, went
every day, says that historian, TO his
temple, to see if the fire still burned. His
fears and his solicitude had been aroused
by the terrible havoc of a terrible hurr-
cane, lasting two days which had swept
over the colony. and especially over the
Natchez country.
As the region in which the Natchez
dwelt is usually calm and serene and
free from terrifying events of this kind,
the occurrence of this hurricane impressed
The mind of the sovereign with the idea
that some great evil was impending over
his people, and as it happened that the
Natchez section had been visited the pre-
vious year by similar destructive hurri-
cane, the Great Sun" partaking of the
belief of the people generally at The tins
that if the perpetual fire" should be ex-
tinguished that calamity, as they would
have regarded 1t, would be followed by
the death of many men, really tremb.ed
lest all his people were about 10 perish
and that warning had been given them
In the coming of the second hurricane.
VI. lie Page, by pursuing judicious
course toward the Natchez, had succeeded
in securing the confidence of the people,
ENWga