OF THE LEARNING AND LANGUAGES OF THE INDIANS.

§ 22. These Indians have no sort of letters to express their words by; but when they would communicate anything that cannot be delivered by message, they do it by a sort of hieroglyphic, or representation of birds, beasts, or other things, shewing their different meaning by the various forms described, and by the different position of the figures.

Baron Lahontan, in his second volume of New Voyages, has two extraordinary chapters concerning the heraldry and hieroglyphics of the Indians; but I, having had no opportunity of conversing with our Indians since that book came to my hands, nor having ever suspected them to be acquainted with heraldry, I am not able to say anything upon that subject.

The Indians, when they travel ever so small a way, being much embroiled in war one with another, use several marks painted upon their shoulders to distinguish themselves by, and show what nation they are of. The usual mark is one, two, or three arrows. One nation paints these arrows upwards, another downwards, a third sideways—and others again use other distinctions, as in tab. 2, from whence it comes to pass, that the Virginia assembly took up the humor of making badges of silver, copper or brass, of which they gave a sufficient number to each nation in amity with the English, and then made a law, that the Indians should not travel among the English plantations without one of these badges in their company, to show that they are friends. And this is all the heraldry that I know is practiced among the Indians.§ 23. Their languages differ very much, as anciently in the several parts of Britain; so that nations at a moderate distance do not understand one another. However, they have a sort of general language, like what Lahontan calls the Algonkine, which is understood by the chief men of many nations, as Latin is in most parts of Europe, and Lingua Franca quite through the Levant.

The general language here used is said to be that of the Occaneeches, though they have been but a small nation ever since those parts were known to the English; but in what this language may differ from that of the Algonkines, I am not able to determine.