T H Ei
North Carolina Chronicle ; orj (ayettville QazeM,
FN0- i S, of Vol. II. j
M O N D A Y, J A N U A R Y
IO,
Tdtal No-
history:
uiLH-T-' - r- T1WT Mnnnn ., M ! f ! j
CARVER's TRAVE
( Cor.tinucl.)
;s.
J N OAober, 76?,I arrived at Bof
Jw ton, luring been abfcnt from" it oh
this expedition two yearsand fiyeraonths,
and during that time tiavelled near, fe
v.vi thomand miles. From :hence, as
f .n as I had prnpeily digeiletl my jour- ''
nal and charts, I let out for England, to
communicate the difcoveries I ljad mader
ana to render them beneficial t the kingdom.-
JJut-tnc-proiecmion cfj my plans
for 1 eaptngthcf; advantages hive hither
to been'obftrinflcd by -the unhappy divi--fions
that hare bten fomented between
Great-Britain and the coloniei by. their
rnu.ual enemies. !
I cannot conclude the account of my
extcnGve travels, without expreftlng my
grxtitude to that- beneficent leir.g who
irwifibly protected me- through thofe pe
3 ils which, unavoidably aKendJfo long a
tour among fierce untutored lavages.
At the fame time let me rjot be ac
cufed of vanity or prefum prion, if I de
clare that the motives alleded in the
introduion of this work, were not the
only ones that induced me to! engage in
this arduous, undertaking.' My views
were not folcly j confined to jhe advan
tages that might accrue, either to myfelf
or the community to which ijbelonged ;
but nobler purpofes contributed princi
pally to urge me cn- ; j
The corfinVd Gate, botS wfih regard
to civil an & Religious improvements, in
which fo many of rriy fellow creatures
remained, aravi-"ed within my! bofom an
irrei.ftable inclination to expJce the al
moll unknown regions which they inha
bited ; and as a preparatory ftep towards
lbs iniroduUori f more polilhed man
ners and more humane ftn: indents, to
gain a knowledge of their language, cuf
toms and principles. . j
I confefs, lfeat the little benefit too ma
ny 01 the Indian nations have hitherto re
ceived frcm their intercourfei wiih thofe
wno denominate ihemfelves chrilliahs,
did not tend to encourage myfch'ax katle
purpefes ; yet,' a many, though; not tjhe
generality, might- receive fomc benefit
from the introduction of religion among
them. '
It is true that the Indians are not
without fome fer.fe of-religion, andfuch
as proves that they wot fhip the 6-rcat
Creator witha degree of puiily1 Unknown
to nations who have greater opportunities'
of improvement ; butltheir religious prin--ciples
are far from being fo faultlefsjas
delcribed fcy a learned writer, 01 unmix
ed with oiniqns and ceremonies that
greatly, leiien ; their' excellency in tjhis
point : fo that could the doctrines of ge
nuine and vital chiiftianity be introduced? E
among them, -pure! and untainted a it'
flowed from the lips of its divine Inifli
tutor, it would certainly tend to clar
away that fuperflitious and idolatrous
drofs by vhich.the ratidnality cf their x
ligious tenets are obfeured. ""
Ccvcfajton of the Journal,
Of tke ORIGIN, MANNERS, CUSTOMS'
RELIGION mnd LANGUAGE bf the
INDIANS.
C H A P T E R I.
Of their Origin.
r i 1 HE means by which America re-
JL ceived its fir ft inhabitants, have,
fir.ee the time of its difepvery by the .
Europeans, been the fu eject cf numberlefs
f difquifitiens. Was I to endeavour to
1 collect the different opinions and -eafon-irgs
cf the vaiixus writers that haVe
t&krn up the pen in defence of . their c(jn
jeclures, the enumeration would rsuch
exceed the bouuds I have prefcribed rty
felf, and oblige me to be lefs explicit cn
prints cf greater moment.
From the ebfeurity in which this de
bate is enveloped, through the total dif
ufe of letters among every naticn of In
dians on this eitenfive continent, and the
uncertainty cf oral tradition 2t the 4f
tance cf Co many ages,! I fear that even
after die moft Kiinute jihveftigationi vie
lhall not be able to fettle it with .any de
gree ot certainty Aijd this 'appfihei
fion will receive -additional force, when
it isconfidered that the diverfity ofllan
guage which is apparently diftincitj be
tween mpft bf the Indians, tends to af cer
tain lVat this population wasnot cileded
from one particular country, but from
fever al neihbouriiag ones, and completed
at different periods ; c !
Moft of the hiitorianv or travellers
'that have treated on thje American (abo
rigines difagree in their; fentiments rela
tive to them. Many of the ancients ate
ftippofecf to have known -that this quarter
of the globe-not icnly';exifted, but! alio
that it was inhabited. 'Plato in his
Timasus-has afferted, ! that beyond the
iland which he calls'; - Atalantis, firid
which according to his; deicription was
fituatedn the weftern ocean, there were
a great number of othr iflands, and be
yond thofe avail con tirient. 1 !
Oviedo, a celcbratedSpanifh author 0f
a much later date, has made no fcrup!e
to affirm that the AntilieiLlje the famous
Hcfperides fo often mentioned by) the
poets, which are at length rtRored to
tne kings of Spain, deicend'ents of ,kirig
Hefperus, who lived upwards of three
thoufad years ago, aadfrom whom thefe
iflarids received their ia!me. ; j
Two other Spaniard.!, the bae Father
Gregprio Giltja, a Dorninicain, the jbthr.
Father Ioffpfl)e, Acofla, a jjefuirJhaYe
wfittenon the 01 igm of jhe Americans J ;
The former, who had beck employed
in the miffions of Mexico anii Peru, en
deavoured to prove from the tjraiitions i;f
the Mexicans, Peruvians, and ntlie;,
which he received on the fpor, and frorn
the variety of characters, cuOoray, hr:
guages, and religion ol fervable in te
different conn tries; ot the new word,
that different nations had contributed to
the peopling of it.
The latter, Father Pe A toft a, in his
examination of the means by which th
firft Indians of America might! have
found a paflag'e to ihat .continent, dii-
-0- I;