g it would cause me to spit in
earnest, as I used it only when I ate, and then very moderately; but
though I loved it, if his heart was very poor for it, I should be
silent, and not the least grudge him for pleasing his mouth. He said,
'your heart is honest, indeed; I thank you, for it is good to my heart,
and makes it greatly to rejoice.' Without any further ceremony he seized
the bottle, uncorked it, and swallowed a large quantity of the burning
liquid, till he was nearly strangled. He gasped for a considerable time,
and as soon as he recovered his breath, he said _Hah_, and soon after
kept stroking his throat with his right hand. When the violence of this
burning draught was pretty well over, he began to flourish away in
praise of the strength of the liquor and bounty of the giver. He then
went to his companion and held the liquor to his mouth according to
custom, till he took several hearty swallows. This Indian seemed rather
more sensible of its fiery quality than the other, for it suffocated him
for a considerable time; but as soon as he recovered his breath, he
tumbled about the floor like a drunken person. In this manner they
finished the whole bottle, into which two others had been decanted. The
burning liquor so highly inflamed their bodies, that one of the
Choctaws, to cool his inward parts, drank water till he almost burst;
the other, rather than bear the ridicule of the people, and the inward
fire that distracted him, drowned himself the second night after in a
broad and shallow clay hole....

There was an incident similar, which happened among the Cherokees. When
all the liquor was expended the Indians went home, leading with them, at
my request, those that were drunk. One, however, soon came back, and
earnestly importuned me for more Nawahti, which signifies both physic
and spirituous liquor. They, as they are now become great liars, suspect
all others of being infected with their own disposition and principles.
The more I excused myself, the more anxious he grew, so as to become
offensive. I then told him I had only one quarter of a bottle of strong
physic, which sick people might drink in small quantities, for the cure
of inward pains: and, laying it down before him, I declared I did not on
any account choose to part with it, but as his speech had become very
long and troublesome, he might do just as his heart directed him
concerning it. He took it up, saying, his heart was very poor for
physic, but he