...(27)...—I am altogether out of the regular track that I had proposed to myself at my first settingoff; my time is to short, & my memory to bad, to read over the whole, so as to resume the regular course—the remainder shall be composed offugitivePieces. Indeed the nature of some of them being acompoundwill not admit of their beingtreatedof but insectionsif I may use the term.The first therefore, lest I have not time toenterall, I shall speake of isThe Soul!This seems, to me, at least, a most extraordinary & incomprehensible thing—yet from the different sources which I have received it, & the manner of relation serves butmore & more to perplex. Whether it is really & absolutely the soul, or some otherprincipleon which the very existence depends I cannot say, but something it is lodged appa-rently in the Heart or breast, that on these occasions flies off & leaves them; & at thevery instant of its exit it is perceived, & occasions such a derangement of the wholesystem, & particularly of the faculties as very soon to deprive the object of life; butprimally a total want of sense, such as we suppose the Soulendowsus with.I shall here relate you one of the many stories of the kind verbatim as I received it.It was from an Indian of course. He told me that "one summer being on a visit"rather to a distant part of the country (perhaps 2 or 300 miles) he fell in with one"of his acquaintances, who (as often happens between strangers, particularly to"such as come from the Southward) asked to purchasemedecinesof"him. I had but a small quantity, & only of 4 Sorts or kinds: he being"very anxious for them, I sold themallto him: He was not satisfied—he must have more"tho' I positively assured him I had given him the last. Then he menaced me, & said"I should feel the effects of his resentment arising from my avarice &uncharitablespirit."Knowing his disposition, I returned to my friends, intending to be as far out of his"way as Possible. One night in the winter he conjured—I was fast"asleep (& several hundred miles off) & never thought more of him: but he called upon"his Familiars & demanded my Soul(!)—itwastakento him; but just as it"was on the eve of entering his conjuring hut I perceived it & sprung from my bed"in the most dreadful agonies & convulsions insomuch that two men holding"& pulling of me with all their might, & also had the assistance of the women,"could not keep me quiet: I was constantly springing forward, rushing hither &"thither & absolutely (i.e. totally) deprived of my faculties for I have not yet"the least knowledge of what I was doing, so great was my horor in ob-"serving this conjuring tent. At last a friendly spirit interfered & forbad the"conjuror at his peril to do any thing to my Soul, but allow it to return im-"mediately. He was afraid for his own life & durst not disobey—he letitgo.I cannot tell you how happy I was felt & so easy—The distance was great indeed—but I soon flew back & re-entered my body; when I became entirely composed...(28)..."But I had been so dreadfully agitated that I found myself in a profuse sweat, my whole"frame so shaken, debilitated, & weake, that for several days I could not move but with pain."Heh! said I, what a narrow escape!—The other indians asked what ailed me? I told them"whereIhad been—they would scarcely credit; but in the ensuing summer upon enquiry"they found it true; & were now fully convinced that this Power doth lodge with indi-"ians"! They represent the soul as being small: not very dissimilar in size & shapefrom the yolk of a large Hen, or duck, Egg:—some of them very hard, & much of the na-ture & substance of a stone, but still not of that substance; & others again much more soft& tender: some are easilykept& bruised, but others are with difficulty taken & continually in motion;but all are extremely impatient of restraint & cannot bear it; & confinement is death to thebody from which it has issued! Some conjurors possessing sufficient power, & influence,take a soul, if they want to destroy the body, (in the conjuring box or tent) & wrapping it ina piece of leather, rub & bruise it between both hands 'till they destroy its subtility orsubtilty. As soon as it comes within view of the conjuring tent its agonies are ter-rible as also those of the body, however distant that may be; but as soon as its motion isdestroyed the body dies likewise. Others again, take it & put it in a Jappand Tobacco box, & tiethe lid or cover securely tied with awomansGarter, from whence, if not loosened by someone it cannever escape—any other lashing is not, anything near, so completely effectual as this: reflect,& you will guess immediately the reasons they give. As I do not know latin, & you dontunderstand indian I must suppress this & many other things. Others again take a differentmethod, thus: But by-the-bye, this has but very little relation to the Soul. I shall thereforerefer it 'till afterwards & give you another Story as received from a Canadian an eyewitness. He was passing the winter with the indians & one night the head manof the tent he lodged in gave a feast. He was in the habit of doing it & was himself ap-parently a good & peaceable man, but not to be trifled with by other indians. Everything being prepared the guests were just going to eat when the feast-man's motherdropped suddenly as if dead: every one was struck with consternation: they had re-course to their medicines, songs, rattlers &c. as usual; at last he fell to sucking hismother in one of her temples, suddenly they heard somethingcrack: the indiandrew back, his mother arose perfectly recovered & all became well. However thatwhich occasioned thecrack, the indian took out of his mouth, wrapped carefully up & gaveit to his wife to put in a tobacco box, which she did: it had all the appearances of aBean(un fêve)—the wife wanted to tie the lid but the husband said there was nonecessity—they resumed their meal. But the old woman was not long in possessi-on of her senses. She very soon relapsed, & as instantaneously as at the first "ho! exclaim-"ed the indian, theDogis off"—They looked into the tobacco box but nothing was found—Theycontinued conjuring 3 nights, & the last especially, the man told me he thought the devil was...(29)...was amongst them from a certain kind of undescribable noise in the air, round about their tent,& the sudden flashings of light. This was Powder (Gun Powder): they had carefully thrown outall the fire, thrown a great quantity of snow & water on the hearth, & then put freshEarth upon it—it was perfectly dark in the lodge, there being no other light than what isusually emitted from the heavens: upon this hearth of fresh earth they would throw somePowder & then retiring to the bottom of the tent would say "come! let me see if I be a"manito"—? then singing &c. off the Powder would fly! They continued this way 3nights but all to no purpose: the old woman yet lived 2 years but never spoke &c.He said (the indian) that thisbeanwas "the Soul or Spirit of another indian, then ata vast distance, which he darted at my mother to render her pitiful & miserable;but I shall make the Dog suffer." However , after this, the Canadian enquired whyhe did not revenge himself & kill him "No; said he, that wont do: he has got back"his soul it is true, & I cannot get it again, yet I might easily kill him if I chuse,"but this wont do—he is somewhat justifiable, for I took both his wives from"him." There are many other instances of a like nature but different in theproceedings, that I do not recollect sufficiently to commit to Paper.—Now again for the other way. If an indian has a spite against another, & isinduced to it for the preservation of his own life, or from motives of revenge, he takesthe following plan or method. He takes a piece of leather & cuts it into the shapeof hisenemy; & if he wants him to die speedily he places a littlePowderedmedecineopposite the heart, or upon it. This medecine is I believe a root, & very inflammable,he holds a small spark of firenearit—it immediatelyexplodes& that partof the leather on whichitwas becomes burnt & shrivelled: when he performs this,he generally utters words like these "Let the Heart ofsuchaonebecome like thisLeather, let it shrivel & die within him"! If it is a leg, an arm, the head,or any other particular part, or parts, or even the whole body, it is the same, &the words also; unless he doth not wish for the death; then he will say "Let"suchapart, become lame, useless, ulcerous" &c. &c. according to his disposi-tion; & that part, or parts become thus affected according to his wish, "But"how is it possible that such things can be? Do you really think that an insig-"nificant root, of no apparant power or virtue whatever can effect such things?"Thus I would frequently question, & their answers with little variations uni-"versally the same." Yes, most certainly it is not the root alone, but with the assistance"of that one of his Dreamed that is most powerful & most fond of him: he! you white people"you know not; you are consummately ignorant of the Power of our Great medecine men"many things might I tell you much more surprising—but you do not believe these trifles,"how much less then those you do not know?"—What then is to be done! how do with...(30)...what say to a people so blind, so infatuated! They have some roots that are dreadful in theireffects—Being a female, I think I should prefer immediate death. They have some that havethe same effects asLunarCaustic. They use them thus. During the time of their"Seperation" (i.e menstruation) they endeavour to give them to smoke, which is neverrefused—there is some of this root mixed with the Tobacco. Once smoking is sufficient—a few months after their complexion begins to change—& at last becomes of anastyblack with abundance of hair growing out of the face; & if these womenwere to shave, I verily believe their beards would become as bushy & thick as those ofany man whatever. In performing this, they must also utter words thus: "Let the"one for whom I intend this, & who shall smoke of it become black & hairy; & be-"come as ugly & rejected as she is now fair & searched for"! Sometimes theymingle it with their food or the liquor they drink: there is more than one kind of thisdreadful root; one of which I was shewn, but have forgotten, there being 2 or 3 others resemblingit.—it is like many others a perennial herb, & hath some resemblance to the long or tallThistle. To return. When the subject, or object, discovers that she hath been thus dealtwith, which they sometimes do a few weeks after, they may be restored, for there is anantidoteto it; but I have never known one instance of this, tho' a dozen of the others Ihave. Some handsome, fair complexioned young females refusing the importunate solli-citations of an abandoned, vicious, revengeful wretch, becomes the victim of hercoyness; & 2 or 3 years after, I have positively not known them & could scarcelybeleive my Eyes.— — — — — There is of another kind & which is very common,whose effects is an extraordinaryvacuationof blood, & in a few days would occa-sion death. A half breed I lately had with me, the Son of a man who manyyears ago was a servant of yours, being not of an extraordinary good moralcharacter finding his sollicitations rejected with scorn became jealous & veryanxious to revenge himself. He applied to an old indian, but in so cautiousa manner that the indian gave him of the root without suspecting & told himhow to use it. He pulverised it, & mingled it with a little vermillion & thenwatched his opportunity, which occurred I beleive, the ensuing morning. In ourout-Posts we have no temples dedicated to Cloacinda, & besides, the females here areashamed tosacrificeat them: he therefore could not miss his opportunity—he wat-ched, & after she entered he went & soon found the place by theSmoke: here hesprinkled some of this Powder which he took in a quill, pronouncing "Let me seeblood issue from the same placethishath done—I want to see blood."—Scarcelyfive hours after, the woman who was married & of course so much the less bashful said"what is the matter with me, I have been just now out & want to go again." You maysuppose her astonishment seeing the time of the natural return was scarcely half elapsed...(31)...but how much more so finding it issue far beyond anything she had ever known: This con-tinued 'til very late in the day & the beast was watching to see if it would answer. He wentin to the house on pretence of a freindly visit, & remarked howPaleshe was—The mothertold him "my daughter has beenbewitched& could you not do something to ease her?"He became extremely uneasy in his turn: he went out & passing by the place shewent to he easily discovered notwithstanding her precaution of what dreadful conse-quences it would be if not timely attended to. He was afraid she would diebefore anything could be done. However he went to the old indian & speaking in amost sympathising strain, asked him if he could not administer something to stopthat extraordinary issue. "Why! replied the old fellow—That root I gave you the otherday is its own antidote—give her the length of her middle finger toeat& it willstop quick enough." He did not chuse to tell the indian that it was this thathad occasioned it lest he should be punished by him in his turn; but artfully con-ducting his discourse got more from him, administered it to the woman, mutter-ing in himself "Let this blood cease, I have seen enough of it"—& she was soonhealed! I done all I could to make him confess it, without coming to the point;but he never would: he satisfied himself by assuring me with the most solemnassererations that it was the case; "& if you doubt it, continued he, you may"make the experiment—you need be under no apprehensions whatever, for in"giving her of the same root toeatit will stop." This root, when mastigated,& applied when reduced to pulp, but better when pulverised, stops the bloodimmediately on application to any wound—"howprofuselysoeveritmay"flow." It is very astringent, & somewhat hot.Another herb, I beleive it is the (wild) Carroway, i. e. which we commonly denominateaniseeds—at least the smell & taste much resemble that, & its stalk bears a very great resemblanceto the wild mint, as well as the leaves & flowers. Isupposethis is the one meant, because they tellme the taste & smell are delicious: This root, & all its appurtenances (i.e. stalk, leaves, & flowers)is of wonderful effects in variousthings. I shall give you some of the stories relating to it as Ireceived them. "I was living out withsuchan indian, & we became reduced toshortcommons"—One day he (the indian) took a piece of bark & drew upon it 3 moose—& put some of"thismedecineupon the heart & head of each; then he fastened a piece of sinew to it &"told me to fasten it to a small stick that had been stuckslant-wayin the Ground—""Now said he, let me see if this will do: oh no! I am afraid it wont; but I'll try—if it""answers, the bark will dance"! I laughed at his idea (a half breed told me this) & so"did one of his sons: however the son told me that he had seen his father do so before, &"that he killed every time"—stop! Let us see how he will go on," said the Son. The father"began to sing (& ifIremember right, beat the drum also)—Shortly after the bark began to...(32)..."to move, & as the old fellow raised his voice so did its motion increase, 'till at last it began"whirling round with great violence, sometimes one way & then another 'till it was wound"up close to the stick, when it began changing sides—sometimesupon& sometimesbelow"the stick. He ceased: began to talk with us & saying he was afraid it would notanswer"Thus he did 3 times, & the bark moved every time with the same violence. Now he"desired in the beginning that "if hisfamiliarwould have compassion on him, he would"render these 3 moose foolish: that they might not be possessed of their usual cunning"—"&c. The next day we went out—the old man, his son & myself, a hunting—wewere hungry—We walked 'till late in the day & finding no tracks I proposed ourreturn, but he told me we ought to proceed; 'for in the low ground beyond a"small ridge then near in sight of us, we may perhaps find some tracks—"I am never deceived when my I am answered' (i.e. my bark dances)—We soon"reached this low Ground & shortly after heard a noise: jumping, running & breaking"of Sticks 'ah! here they are,' said the old man: 'see how theirheadis turned!"what a noise they make,—how they play—they are foolish. We killed them all.""If you doubt me; ask any of the indians, & see if they wont all tell you thathedoes sowhen he wants to kill."—Another story: forlovepotions, or philters, are also com-posed of this. "There were several young men (half-breeds) of us together & also some"young women, who came with us to await the arrival of their husbands from Fort"William atthatplace. Two of our party wanted to pay them avisitin the"night & I endeavoured to dissuade them, but to no purpose:—they went, & met"with the reception I foretold: they began bawling out and on purpose to awake"every one near & shame us; for we were lodging by ourselves & then took good"cudgels & pursued them into our place:weenjoyed this confusion of the others"tho partly at our own expenses. One of them then addressed me come Bpt. thisbitch"'has vexed me,—I know you havegoodmedicine,—give me some of it that I may"'laugh at her in my turn. (I must tell you that one of them I have known manyyears back was, & is still, abitchi.e. according the indian acceptation (as well aswell as our own,) of the term; & the man is the same one I mentioned little above,at the conclusion & beginning of p.p. 30 & 31) "I gave him some with thedirections-"—he returned again very soon after (in the same night)—found her asleep—he"then rubbed her forehead, opposite her heart, thepitof the stomach, & the palms"of both hands. Then he awoke her. The next day, as my comrades were desi-"rous of revenging themselves, they broached the conversation publicly & had the laugh in"their turn: the women had thebestat the offset, but as they could not deny the other"charges they became extremely confused & vexed: a quarrel ensued; but my comrades exult-"ingly told them 'we can turn & twist younowabout our fingers as we please.' And they...(33)..."they did too. For the women bothgivingsuckat that time, thought it was their children"that were handling them, as they used butonefinger, & gently." The other story is thus:—A man that I have with me at present in consequence of someslipsof hisRibhad fre-"quent, & some severe quarrels with her—she began to hate him & wanted to go with her"Par-amour: the husband tho' vexed & confuseddidnotwantto lose her: he began by"soothing, coaxing, & caressing her, but she always bawled out as loud as she could that"every body might hear, tho' it were at midnight 'thou white dog, leave me alone"'why art thou fumbling at me?" The more she became averse the more he coaxed"& she bawling out 'dontslabberme' every time he attempted to kiss her,—&"she was watching a fair opportunity to slip off to her lover (an indian). At last he lodged"his complaints to me, & asked if I could notassisthim. I gave him some of thismede-"cine with the usual directions & told him as soon as he had executed all properly"to come away & leave her, & not return to her for a couple of days so that in her"turn she might suffer. He had not long left her 'till she called for him as if want-"ing something & like a Goose he went immediately, tho' I done all I could to make"him pay her in her own coin.—Since that time they live as you see them."Butif you doubt of this also, you can easily make the experiment—chuse any"one you please, & let her be ever so coy, & shy, you will bring her as you want"!!!—Shortly after this I made some general enquiries of the man latterly in question,but he would not avow, tho' from his confusion & precipitancy with which he an-swered, I beleive there issomethingin the business. "It is with this medecine con-"tinued the half breed, that the young men do completely & universally succeed"with all the women that please them." With this also, principally, theysucceed in bewitching any one they are averse to, & prevent them from killing suchanimals as they please. They draw the likeness of the animal or animals, they donot chuse the others to kill, put of this medicine (tho' most commonly mixed withsome others in this latter case) upon the hearts & desire that they may become shy& fly off upon any the least appearance or approach of them. Or, they willconjure& desire some of theirfamiliars, one, or several, tohauntsuchaonein all hismotions & scare & frighten off, &renderwiseanysuch&suchanimals; & letthe distance be hundreds of miles off—their familiars that are spirits residingin the air, & transport themselves in an instant to any place they place, & who see allthat is going onbelow, keepallaway accordingly. To evade this is a task that butfew can succeed in. They must first Conjure to learn who it is that has bewitched them,then they inquire what is to be done: but here lies the difficulty.—Sometimes they aretold theymustleave the appointed time run out: at others, such & such ceremonies, which istantamount to the first answer; but at others again, it is easily dispelled—This depends...(34)...depends entirely upon the precautions thebewitcherhas taken, the Power, influence, or numberof his Dreamed: as also on the other hand of the Dreamed, their, power, influence &c. of thebe-witched. But sometimes on a very slight or trivial cause depends the whole.— —I shall tell you another story. An old Canadian I have now with me has been in thehabit ofliving-freefor many years back. In the beginning of a winter he wastenting with some indians, & one of them an impertinent, bombastic sort of characterwas boasting to him of the great power & effect of some medicines & a drum he hadlately received from a Sauteux &c. &c. "for some time I did not mind him, but"finding he became at last troublesome, & insinuating as plainly as he durst that"hewas now invulnerable, or rather immortal & thatwewere helpless, a quarrel"ensued 'till at last I fxxt. upon your medicines & drum & the one also who gave"them to you said I. We seperated in no good freindship. At night he mad a feast &"invited me amongst the rest with the design of poisoning me; but his freinds remonstrated so ef-"fectually that he put this off & intended shooting me going out of the lodge; but this also"the others would not allow: he was vexed—I kept my eye upon him, determined I should"give the first blow on the least motion he might make. Finding himself prevented"in these he said that I indeed should kill 2 moose, but that the rest of the year I"should starve as a dog. I seperated next day with my wife & children—they were"under great apprehensions, but I mocked all their conjurings—I very shortly"killed 2 moose; but these indeed were the last. I walked & hunted every day—"& seldom one day passed but I fired at the Buffaloe, moose, or some other animal,"but never got anything anything—I & my family were near dying with hunger, I"tried every thing in my power, never giving myself the least trouble about the indians"menaces. At last the spring arrived—Ducks & Geese came; but no better suc-"ess. At last one day prowling in my Canoe I met 2 otherfree-men, who, after mutual"inquiries &c. told me "the same thing had happened him & that an indian told him to file"off a small piece of themuzzleof his Gun & wash it well with water in whichSweet-"flaghad been boiled, & killed after that as before." I laughed at the idea, but re-"flecting that it was an innocent experiment & I could not offend the almighty, I"tried, & the first animals I saw I immediately killed.—This Sir, continued"he, I assure you is a positive fact"!!!—I find that the indians have recourseto this method also. But you must observe: as is the disease::so is the remedy. Another story justnow occurs to me which I shall relate, not so much to multiply these pretendedproofs as to shew that our Iroquois, Algonquins &c. &c. are not such complete convertsto the Christian faith as most people may complacently imagine, but rather havea mongrel religion like those whom the King of Babylon sent to inhabit Samariawhen he carried Reuben & Ephraim captives (In the Bible). This winter an Iroquois...(35)...told me that one winter he was out a Beaver hunting with many of his friends.—Theoldest man of their party proposed one day that a certain number of them should go out ahunting Moose or Buffaloe, & the others Beaver. This one says "I returned at night after"a good success—the old man nothing—he became envious—a quarrel ensued; & after"this many others. One day I fired at a moose as he was running past me, he fell—I"went to him; & just as I was for beginning to skin he rose up, but with my"axe I bro't him down—it was very far from home—I merely opened him &"returned light, trusting to the others of our party; for I had no desire of partaking of the dry"provisions the old fellow had, of his own. Imediately on entering the lodge we had a-"nother severe quarrel, & he told me I should not any more exult in my prowess"as he should take care I should not kill any more animals forsometime. As we"were coming toknifework, I ordered my wife to bundle up all our things & my"lodge, & pitch off—it was then late, & I had not yet eaten. As none of my"friends knew that I had killed, I did not chuse to tell them, but merely said"as I was going off 'Let those who are fond of me, or who chuse, follow me'; but none came,"& I encamped upon my moose. Every day I went a hunting—scarcely a week"passed but I fired 20, 30, & sometimes upward of 50 Shot, upon Buffaloe or Moose,"but could never kill—I wouldmiss, ortheballtwistinginthehairwould"fallbytheanimalwithout doing further injury. I starved for a long time—"& became so weake that I could hardly walk. At last my wife (a woman of"this country) one day that I had been out as usual had prepared some good"strong lye, & on my return washed my Gun with it; filled it, & stopping"both the orifices put it over the smoke where it remained all night. She"also took a number of the balls & boiled them likewise in the lye, telling me she had"seen her uncle do so many years before when he too had been bewitched.—I thought at"all events it could do no harm; & besides I could have done anything, I was so hungry.—"The next day I went out again,—found another flock or herd of near 20 Buffaloe,"I drew nigh & took all my usual precautions—I fired, one dropped; fired again,"another dropped:—I killed 14 out of that herd; & ever after missed not once"!I asked him how the old fellow had done?-- he said "I suppose it was as they"frequently do—i.e. bury a piece of my meat in the Ground & pray the Devil"to prevent my killing: for the Iroquois, when they take it in their head,"are very wicked, & do not want power"!—A few days ago a half-breed, abandonedwith the indians, came in; & amongst his otherwantagesasked me for a small piece of (red)sealing-wax "because my brother cannot draw blood from the animals he fires at: by heating his Gun & ap-"plying this wax the blood will flow profusely from the wounds". He expressed himself afraid thathis brother might have been bewitched & by retarding this operation he might enterdanssamalchance!"...(36)...These fewexampleswill suffice to shew you that they have different methods ofbewitching& also different ways of clearing themselves. And the faith, & dread, they have of this, is scarcelycredible; & the consequences are often too uncommonly distressing.—I shall now give you of theStory of the Hairy Breasts. Near the days ofNoah, nations were few & small.Weesuckajock(noah, I shall call him for abbreviation sake) had a son as I told you beforewhose name was Nay-hân-nee-mis. Being straitned for provisions he went out to anglewith some of the Hairy-Breasts. They came to a Lake, pierced several holes, but theNorth (or North wind, as you chuse) being envious of Nayhanemis, froze the water downto the very ground; so that in the deepest parts they found but Earth & after muchdigging at last reached the bottom; but behold that also was frozen! & who knowsto what depth in the Earth? Finding this to be the case Nays, addressed his freindsthus—"I see this is the doings of the N. Wind (now by rights the N. Wind ought to have been hismaternal Gnd Father—but what cannot envy do?) "he is envious of us, & wants to make"us die of hunger—but he shall not!—I have to propose to you to cut off my head—rip"up my body, beginning at the throat—You must not hurt nor break any single"one of my bones; but carefully take off all the flesh, dry it, & make Pounded meat of it."of this you must sprinkle a little in every one of the holes; you must alsochopup"my Heart into very small pieces & throw a few of these pieces also into each hole: then put in"your lines, & you'll take as many fish as you please. But my bones you must put in a"heap, carefully by themselves. Mind! upon your faithful observance of all these commands"depends our mutual safety. The North thinks himself sole master, & would wish to"crush us because we begin to have a little knowledge: but he shall know me!"They done accordingly, & accordingly also they took abundance of fish. North per-ceived this: he came to see, & finding himself thus frustrated inquired how it cameabout?—they told: He challenged Nays. who by this time had revived; & besidesa beautiful large feather he had sticking in his cap or head, which none durst wearbut such as have given incontestible proofs of their Manhood, bravery &c. he like-wise had a smoking bag, of the Skin of a badger. Nayhanimis accepted thechallenge. "It seems Nahanimis you are a great man, a man of extraordinary power & abilities!—"—let us have a trial, & see which of us has the most; for I also have some Knowledge"—Nahani-mis answered "No! I have but little power, but that little I employ as much as I can"to the General benefit of my fellows: let us see what you can do, which if I cannot,then you will certainly be superior to me." Here they performed one or two wonderful featsbut in which Nayhanimis had the advantage most confessedly.—The North pierced his bodythrough, & done another extraordinary thing I cannot well recollect; but the other done more& recovered not only more suddenly but more perfectly. At last the North put a bet & said "Let"us see for this last act: I will cut off my head & if I cannot replace & recover perfectly...(37)..."perfectly, the same as I am at present, then myhouse& all I have shall be yours; but if I succeed,"& you cannot, then all yourpossessionsshall be mine." Nayhanimis consented; for he wassecretly desirous of humiliating the selfsufficient spirit of North. They tried—North failed,but Nayhanimis completely succeeded: He deliberately severed his head from his body, put itdown on the Ground beside him, very composedly, & then replaced it, when it be-came as tho' nothing had happened. But this was owing to the Power & virtue ofhisPlume; which, however, the others knew nothing off. It appears that the North alsorecovered but by the assistance of his friends, of whom he had a numerous train. Northwas faithful to his promise—Gave him his house which was beautiful & spacious,but mostly underground, or at least in the side of a mountain. All his freindsturned out, put in Nayhanimis & gave him the full possession. But he was no sooner in thanthey secured all the outlets; doors, windows &c. & set it on fire to destroy one whom theyfound so much more powerful than themselves! Nays. finding this to be the case wasnot in the least dismayed, but took his smoking bag & thus addressed it "Nowthou"Badger,—our mutual safety depends upon thy obedience & expedition—Thou"art made to passthro'the Earth asquickasuponit: these fools think to destroy"us, but thou must shew that we are superior to them." During the conflagration they wereenjoying the scene & exulting in the idea of having at last succeeded in destroying so formidablean adversary: but what was their consternation when they saw him come to them withouteven one hair of his head singed!—they wereappalledwith astonishment & had notthe power of utterance. At last recovering a little they endeavoured to pass it off as ajoke & turn it to his own advantage, by silencing at one blow the envy & malice of hisallenemies, pretending to be a staunch friend of his. But he was not thus to be duped; yethe shewed a superiority of sentiment & generosity equal to his Powers & abilities bygiving them (tho'contemptuousif you please) pardon. So much for thisPart.—Thus did matters pass on for yet a few years. "Theindiansbegan tomultiply& inha-bit the world: but the Hairy-breasts, a jealous, envious, and at best foolish people,could not well beholdtheirprosperity: they madewarupon them (theindians) bystealth & destroyed numbers: their affairs bore a most dismal aspect—no less than thetotal extinction of the whole race. At last Nayhanimis pitched off with his wife,herfather, & another one—there were four of them. He found found a Beaver lodge—here some of theHairy-Breastscame up with him. Compliments at first, afterwardsSneers, taunts & revilings; but so ambiguously that no hold could be taken. "How nume-"rous: how many are there of ye" inquired the Hairy B. "We are twenty of us" repliedNayhanimis; "& so are we rejoined the others. Now, they here entered into an arrangement thatwhoever foundBeaverfor the future it should be his own; but to avoid any wrangles, he whofoundthe Beaver should plant a stick or branch upon the lodge, as a mark. On their return...(38)...home each recounted to his family what he had met with in the course of the day. "Now saidNay-"hanimis, addressing his family, we must take 20 Beavers, one for each man of them (meaning the"hairy-breasts) & make a feast. If it turns out that we be able to eat these 20 Beaver, & they"not, then we shall be superior to them & have the upper hand." The Beaver were cookedaccordingly:—he took hisrattlerwhich he shook to the tunes of his Songs,—performed theusual ceremonies, & they eat the whole 20 B. with ease. Then addressing his familythus, said "These Hairy-Breasts are great boasters, but cowards—They are a people ofno account—tomorrow will decide all." The Hairy Breasts on their return didthe same as Nayhanimis & cooked also 20 B. thinking that his band did really con-sist of that number. They eat: but every one was already full & yet more than 3/4of the feast remained—"Give me my rattler (said one of the oldest) that I sing &c. it may"happen that we find grace". He sang & shook his rattler, but it would not sound—After frequent repeated trials to no effect he became vexed & threw it out of doorsamong the Dogs "This dog of a rattler will not sound in spite of all my endeavours: but"hold! hear how it rattles now that it is out—go for it one of ye, perhaps it was"owing to some fault in me." They bro't it to him: but still as before: he threwit out again in a rage; it was no sooner out than it sounded well as before:it was bro't in again: but as before again. Then he threw it out for good, vexed& disappointed to the utmost degree. But his freinds were not pleased; they consideredthis a portentious omen & his behavior foolish; & by no means calculated to reconcile theirDeitiesto them. He comforted them by telling them the numbers of "the adverse party must be few,"otherwise we had surely been able toeatthe whole of this feast: they are few & weshallsub-"due them." The next day they all pitched off. Nayhanimis came first to a Beaverlodge & marked it—came another & marked that one also. But making a circuit, inwhich he hung up his Bow, quiver &c. &c. in a tree, at his own height, came roundto the same lodges & found that the Hairy-B had put marks of their own & thrownhis one away:—exasperated he threw theirs away & replaced his, & made anothercircuit, when he found the H.B. had replaced their own again: He alsoremarked that the HB. had hung up their Bows &c. &c.inthetopsofveryhitrees, trustingto their numbers. At last they met—greeted each other at first, then sneers, quarrels,a challenge & then the battle: they were to fightmantoman—Nayhanimis killed 19right out, but the 20th had near killed him: however this was but an accidentusual in battles—he soon killed him also. The women were coming up when raisinghis voice to a pitch to be distinctly heard by heard by all said "Such of yeindian"women as have been taken from your homes, had your husbands killed &c. such"of ye indian women as are willing to return to your nation, take all axes & others"arms out of the hands of these H. B. women,—seperate yourselves from them; attack...(39)...
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—I am altogether out of the regular track that I had proposed to myself at my first settingoff; my time is to short, & my memory to bad, to read over the whole, so as to resume the regular course—the remainder shall be composed offugitivePieces. Indeed the nature of some of them being acompoundwill not admit of their beingtreatedof but insectionsif I may use the term.The first therefore, lest I have not time toenterall, I shall speake of isThe Soul!This seems, to me, at least, a most extraordinary & incomprehensible thing—yet from the different sources which I have received it, & the manner of relation serves butmore & more to perplex. Whether it is really & absolutely the soul, or some otherprincipleon which the very existence depends I cannot say, but something it is lodged appa-rently in the Heart or breast, that on these occasions flies off & leaves them; & at thevery instant of its exit it is perceived, & occasions such a derangement of the wholesystem, & particularly of the faculties as very soon to deprive the object of life; butprimally a total want of sense, such as we suppose the Soulendowsus with.I shall here relate you one of the many stories of the kind verbatim as I received it.It was from an Indian of course. He told me that "one summer being on a visit"rather to a distant part of the country (perhaps 2 or 300 miles) he fell in with one"of his acquaintances, who (as often happens between strangers, particularly to"such as come from the Southward) asked to purchasemedecinesof"him. I had but a small quantity, & only of 4 Sorts or kinds: he being"very anxious for them, I sold themallto him: He was not satisfied—he must have more"tho' I positively assured him I had given him the last. Then he menaced me, & said"I should feel the effects of his resentment arising from my avarice &uncharitablespirit."Knowing his disposition, I returned to my friends, intending to be as far out of his"way as Possible. One night in the winter he conjured—I was fast"asleep (& several hundred miles off) & never thought more of him: but he called upon"his Familiars & demanded my Soul(!)—itwastakento him; but just as it"was on the eve of entering his conjuring hut I perceived it & sprung from my bed"in the most dreadful agonies & convulsions insomuch that two men holding"& pulling of me with all their might, & also had the assistance of the women,"could not keep me quiet: I was constantly springing forward, rushing hither &"thither & absolutely (i.e. totally) deprived of my faculties for I have not yet"the least knowledge of what I was doing, so great was my horor in ob-"serving this conjuring tent. At last a friendly spirit interfered & forbad the"conjuror at his peril to do any thing to my Soul, but allow it to return im-"mediately. He was afraid for his own life & durst not disobey—he letitgo.I cannot tell you how happy I was felt & so easy—The distance was great indeed—but I soon flew back & re-entered my body; when I became entirely composed
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"But I had been so dreadfully agitated that I found myself in a profuse sweat, my whole"frame so shaken, debilitated, & weake, that for several days I could not move but with pain."Heh! said I, what a narrow escape!—The other indians asked what ailed me? I told them"whereIhad been—they would scarcely credit; but in the ensuing summer upon enquiry"they found it true; & were now fully convinced that this Power doth lodge with indi-"ians"! They represent the soul as being small: not very dissimilar in size & shapefrom the yolk of a large Hen, or duck, Egg:—some of them very hard, & much of the na-ture & substance of a stone, but still not of that substance; & others again much more soft& tender: some are easilykept& bruised, but others are with difficulty taken & continually in motion;but all are extremely impatient of restraint & cannot bear it; & confinement is death to thebody from which it has issued! Some conjurors possessing sufficient power, & influence,take a soul, if they want to destroy the body, (in the conjuring box or tent) & wrapping it ina piece of leather, rub & bruise it between both hands 'till they destroy its subtility orsubtilty. As soon as it comes within view of the conjuring tent its agonies are ter-rible as also those of the body, however distant that may be; but as soon as its motion isdestroyed the body dies likewise. Others again, take it & put it in a Jappand Tobacco box, & tiethe lid or cover securely tied with awomansGarter, from whence, if not loosened by someone it cannever escape—any other lashing is not, anything near, so completely effectual as this: reflect,& you will guess immediately the reasons they give. As I do not know latin, & you dontunderstand indian I must suppress this & many other things. Others again take a differentmethod, thus: But by-the-bye, this has but very little relation to the Soul. I shall thereforerefer it 'till afterwards & give you another Story as received from a Canadian an eyewitness. He was passing the winter with the indians & one night the head manof the tent he lodged in gave a feast. He was in the habit of doing it & was himself ap-parently a good & peaceable man, but not to be trifled with by other indians. Everything being prepared the guests were just going to eat when the feast-man's motherdropped suddenly as if dead: every one was struck with consternation: they had re-course to their medicines, songs, rattlers &c. as usual; at last he fell to sucking hismother in one of her temples, suddenly they heard somethingcrack: the indiandrew back, his mother arose perfectly recovered & all became well. However thatwhich occasioned thecrack, the indian took out of his mouth, wrapped carefully up & gaveit to his wife to put in a tobacco box, which she did: it had all the appearances of aBean(un fêve)—the wife wanted to tie the lid but the husband said there was nonecessity—they resumed their meal. But the old woman was not long in possessi-on of her senses. She very soon relapsed, & as instantaneously as at the first "ho! exclaim-"ed the indian, theDogis off"—They looked into the tobacco box but nothing was found—Theycontinued conjuring 3 nights, & the last especially, the man told me he thought the devil was
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was amongst them from a certain kind of undescribable noise in the air, round about their tent,& the sudden flashings of light. This was Powder (Gun Powder): they had carefully thrown outall the fire, thrown a great quantity of snow & water on the hearth, & then put freshEarth upon it—it was perfectly dark in the lodge, there being no other light than what isusually emitted from the heavens: upon this hearth of fresh earth they would throw somePowder & then retiring to the bottom of the tent would say "come! let me see if I be a"manito"—? then singing &c. off the Powder would fly! They continued this way 3nights but all to no purpose: the old woman yet lived 2 years but never spoke &c.He said (the indian) that thisbeanwas "the Soul or Spirit of another indian, then ata vast distance, which he darted at my mother to render her pitiful & miserable;but I shall make the Dog suffer." However , after this, the Canadian enquired whyhe did not revenge himself & kill him "No; said he, that wont do: he has got back"his soul it is true, & I cannot get it again, yet I might easily kill him if I chuse,"but this wont do—he is somewhat justifiable, for I took both his wives from"him." There are many other instances of a like nature but different in theproceedings, that I do not recollect sufficiently to commit to Paper.—Now again for the other way. If an indian has a spite against another, & isinduced to it for the preservation of his own life, or from motives of revenge, he takesthe following plan or method. He takes a piece of leather & cuts it into the shapeof hisenemy; & if he wants him to die speedily he places a littlePowderedmedecineopposite the heart, or upon it. This medecine is I believe a root, & very inflammable,he holds a small spark of firenearit—it immediatelyexplodes& that partof the leather on whichitwas becomes burnt & shrivelled: when he performs this,he generally utters words like these "Let the Heart ofsuchaonebecome like thisLeather, let it shrivel & die within him"! If it is a leg, an arm, the head,or any other particular part, or parts, or even the whole body, it is the same, &the words also; unless he doth not wish for the death; then he will say "Let"suchapart, become lame, useless, ulcerous" &c. &c. according to his disposi-tion; & that part, or parts become thus affected according to his wish, "But"how is it possible that such things can be? Do you really think that an insig-"nificant root, of no apparant power or virtue whatever can effect such things?"Thus I would frequently question, & their answers with little variations uni-"versally the same." Yes, most certainly it is not the root alone, but with the assistance"of that one of his Dreamed that is most powerful & most fond of him: he! you white people"you know not; you are consummately ignorant of the Power of our Great medecine men"many things might I tell you much more surprising—but you do not believe these trifles,"how much less then those you do not know?"—What then is to be done! how do with
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what say to a people so blind, so infatuated! They have some roots that are dreadful in theireffects—Being a female, I think I should prefer immediate death. They have some that havethe same effects asLunarCaustic. They use them thus. During the time of their"Seperation" (i.e menstruation) they endeavour to give them to smoke, which is neverrefused—there is some of this root mixed with the Tobacco. Once smoking is sufficient—a few months after their complexion begins to change—& at last becomes of anastyblack with abundance of hair growing out of the face; & if these womenwere to shave, I verily believe their beards would become as bushy & thick as those ofany man whatever. In performing this, they must also utter words thus: "Let the"one for whom I intend this, & who shall smoke of it become black & hairy; & be-"come as ugly & rejected as she is now fair & searched for"! Sometimes theymingle it with their food or the liquor they drink: there is more than one kind of thisdreadful root; one of which I was shewn, but have forgotten, there being 2 or 3 others resemblingit.—it is like many others a perennial herb, & hath some resemblance to the long or tallThistle. To return. When the subject, or object, discovers that she hath been thus dealtwith, which they sometimes do a few weeks after, they may be restored, for there is anantidoteto it; but I have never known one instance of this, tho' a dozen of the others Ihave. Some handsome, fair complexioned young females refusing the importunate solli-citations of an abandoned, vicious, revengeful wretch, becomes the victim of hercoyness; & 2 or 3 years after, I have positively not known them & could scarcelybeleive my Eyes.— — — — — There is of another kind & which is very common,whose effects is an extraordinaryvacuationof blood, & in a few days would occa-sion death. A half breed I lately had with me, the Son of a man who manyyears ago was a servant of yours, being not of an extraordinary good moralcharacter finding his sollicitations rejected with scorn became jealous & veryanxious to revenge himself. He applied to an old indian, but in so cautiousa manner that the indian gave him of the root without suspecting & told himhow to use it. He pulverised it, & mingled it with a little vermillion & thenwatched his opportunity, which occurred I beleive, the ensuing morning. In ourout-Posts we have no temples dedicated to Cloacinda, & besides, the females here areashamed tosacrificeat them: he therefore could not miss his opportunity—he wat-ched, & after she entered he went & soon found the place by theSmoke: here hesprinkled some of this Powder which he took in a quill, pronouncing "Let me seeblood issue from the same placethishath done—I want to see blood."—Scarcelyfive hours after, the woman who was married & of course so much the less bashful said"what is the matter with me, I have been just now out & want to go again." You maysuppose her astonishment seeing the time of the natural return was scarcely half elapsed
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but how much more so finding it issue far beyond anything she had ever known: This con-tinued 'til very late in the day & the beast was watching to see if it would answer. He wentin to the house on pretence of a freindly visit, & remarked howPaleshe was—The mothertold him "my daughter has beenbewitched& could you not do something to ease her?"He became extremely uneasy in his turn: he went out & passing by the place shewent to he easily discovered notwithstanding her precaution of what dreadful conse-quences it would be if not timely attended to. He was afraid she would diebefore anything could be done. However he went to the old indian & speaking in amost sympathising strain, asked him if he could not administer something to stopthat extraordinary issue. "Why! replied the old fellow—That root I gave you the otherday is its own antidote—give her the length of her middle finger toeat& it willstop quick enough." He did not chuse to tell the indian that it was this thathad occasioned it lest he should be punished by him in his turn; but artfully con-ducting his discourse got more from him, administered it to the woman, mutter-ing in himself "Let this blood cease, I have seen enough of it"—& she was soonhealed! I done all I could to make him confess it, without coming to the point;but he never would: he satisfied himself by assuring me with the most solemnassererations that it was the case; "& if you doubt it, continued he, you may"make the experiment—you need be under no apprehensions whatever, for in"giving her of the same root toeatit will stop." This root, when mastigated,& applied when reduced to pulp, but better when pulverised, stops the bloodimmediately on application to any wound—"howprofuselysoeveritmay"flow." It is very astringent, & somewhat hot.Another herb, I beleive it is the (wild) Carroway, i. e. which we commonly denominateaniseeds—at least the smell & taste much resemble that, & its stalk bears a very great resemblanceto the wild mint, as well as the leaves & flowers. Isupposethis is the one meant, because they tellme the taste & smell are delicious: This root, & all its appurtenances (i.e. stalk, leaves, & flowers)is of wonderful effects in variousthings. I shall give you some of the stories relating to it as Ireceived them. "I was living out withsuchan indian, & we became reduced toshortcommons"—One day he (the indian) took a piece of bark & drew upon it 3 moose—& put some of"thismedecineupon the heart & head of each; then he fastened a piece of sinew to it &"told me to fasten it to a small stick that had been stuckslant-wayin the Ground—""Now said he, let me see if this will do: oh no! I am afraid it wont; but I'll try—if it""answers, the bark will dance"! I laughed at his idea (a half breed told me this) & so"did one of his sons: however the son told me that he had seen his father do so before, &"that he killed every time"—stop! Let us see how he will go on," said the Son. The father"began to sing (& ifIremember right, beat the drum also)—Shortly after the bark began to
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"to move, & as the old fellow raised his voice so did its motion increase, 'till at last it began"whirling round with great violence, sometimes one way & then another 'till it was wound"up close to the stick, when it began changing sides—sometimesupon& sometimesbelow"the stick. He ceased: began to talk with us & saying he was afraid it would notanswer"Thus he did 3 times, & the bark moved every time with the same violence. Now he"desired in the beginning that "if hisfamiliarwould have compassion on him, he would"render these 3 moose foolish: that they might not be possessed of their usual cunning"—"&c. The next day we went out—the old man, his son & myself, a hunting—wewere hungry—We walked 'till late in the day & finding no tracks I proposed ourreturn, but he told me we ought to proceed; 'for in the low ground beyond a"small ridge then near in sight of us, we may perhaps find some tracks—"I am never deceived when my I am answered' (i.e. my bark dances)—We soon"reached this low Ground & shortly after heard a noise: jumping, running & breaking"of Sticks 'ah! here they are,' said the old man: 'see how theirheadis turned!"what a noise they make,—how they play—they are foolish. We killed them all.""If you doubt me; ask any of the indians, & see if they wont all tell you thathedoes sowhen he wants to kill."—Another story: forlovepotions, or philters, are also com-posed of this. "There were several young men (half-breeds) of us together & also some"young women, who came with us to await the arrival of their husbands from Fort"William atthatplace. Two of our party wanted to pay them avisitin the"night & I endeavoured to dissuade them, but to no purpose:—they went, & met"with the reception I foretold: they began bawling out and on purpose to awake"every one near & shame us; for we were lodging by ourselves & then took good"cudgels & pursued them into our place:weenjoyed this confusion of the others"tho partly at our own expenses. One of them then addressed me come Bpt. thisbitch"'has vexed me,—I know you havegoodmedicine,—give me some of it that I may"'laugh at her in my turn. (I must tell you that one of them I have known manyyears back was, & is still, abitchi.e. according the indian acceptation (as well aswell as our own,) of the term; & the man is the same one I mentioned little above,at the conclusion & beginning of p.p. 30 & 31) "I gave him some with thedirections-"—he returned again very soon after (in the same night)—found her asleep—he"then rubbed her forehead, opposite her heart, thepitof the stomach, & the palms"of both hands. Then he awoke her. The next day, as my comrades were desi-"rous of revenging themselves, they broached the conversation publicly & had the laugh in"their turn: the women had thebestat the offset, but as they could not deny the other"charges they became extremely confused & vexed: a quarrel ensued; but my comrades exult-"ingly told them 'we can turn & twist younowabout our fingers as we please.' And they
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"they did too. For the women bothgivingsuckat that time, thought it was their children"that were handling them, as they used butonefinger, & gently." The other story is thus:—A man that I have with me at present in consequence of someslipsof hisRibhad fre-"quent, & some severe quarrels with her—she began to hate him & wanted to go with her"Par-amour: the husband tho' vexed & confuseddidnotwantto lose her: he began by"soothing, coaxing, & caressing her, but she always bawled out as loud as she could that"every body might hear, tho' it were at midnight 'thou white dog, leave me alone"'why art thou fumbling at me?" The more she became averse the more he coaxed"& she bawling out 'dontslabberme' every time he attempted to kiss her,—&"she was watching a fair opportunity to slip off to her lover (an indian). At last he lodged"his complaints to me, & asked if I could notassisthim. I gave him some of thismede-"cine with the usual directions & told him as soon as he had executed all properly"to come away & leave her, & not return to her for a couple of days so that in her"turn she might suffer. He had not long left her 'till she called for him as if want-"ing something & like a Goose he went immediately, tho' I done all I could to make"him pay her in her own coin.—Since that time they live as you see them."Butif you doubt of this also, you can easily make the experiment—chuse any"one you please, & let her be ever so coy, & shy, you will bring her as you want"!!!—Shortly after this I made some general enquiries of the man latterly in question,but he would not avow, tho' from his confusion & precipitancy with which he an-swered, I beleive there issomethingin the business. "It is with this medecine con-"tinued the half breed, that the young men do completely & universally succeed"with all the women that please them." With this also, principally, theysucceed in bewitching any one they are averse to, & prevent them from killing suchanimals as they please. They draw the likeness of the animal or animals, they donot chuse the others to kill, put of this medicine (tho' most commonly mixed withsome others in this latter case) upon the hearts & desire that they may become shy& fly off upon any the least appearance or approach of them. Or, they willconjure& desire some of theirfamiliars, one, or several, tohauntsuchaonein all hismotions & scare & frighten off, &renderwiseanysuch&suchanimals; & letthe distance be hundreds of miles off—their familiars that are spirits residingin the air, & transport themselves in an instant to any place they place, & who see allthat is going onbelow, keepallaway accordingly. To evade this is a task that butfew can succeed in. They must first Conjure to learn who it is that has bewitched them,then they inquire what is to be done: but here lies the difficulty.—Sometimes they aretold theymustleave the appointed time run out: at others, such & such ceremonies, which istantamount to the first answer; but at others again, it is easily dispelled—This depends
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depends entirely upon the precautions thebewitcherhas taken, the Power, influence, or numberof his Dreamed: as also on the other hand of the Dreamed, their, power, influence &c. of thebe-witched. But sometimes on a very slight or trivial cause depends the whole.— —I shall tell you another story. An old Canadian I have now with me has been in thehabit ofliving-freefor many years back. In the beginning of a winter he wastenting with some indians, & one of them an impertinent, bombastic sort of characterwas boasting to him of the great power & effect of some medicines & a drum he hadlately received from a Sauteux &c. &c. "for some time I did not mind him, but"finding he became at last troublesome, & insinuating as plainly as he durst that"hewas now invulnerable, or rather immortal & thatwewere helpless, a quarrel"ensued 'till at last I fxxt. upon your medicines & drum & the one also who gave"them to you said I. We seperated in no good freindship. At night he mad a feast &"invited me amongst the rest with the design of poisoning me; but his freinds remonstrated so ef-"fectually that he put this off & intended shooting me going out of the lodge; but this also"the others would not allow: he was vexed—I kept my eye upon him, determined I should"give the first blow on the least motion he might make. Finding himself prevented"in these he said that I indeed should kill 2 moose, but that the rest of the year I"should starve as a dog. I seperated next day with my wife & children—they were"under great apprehensions, but I mocked all their conjurings—I very shortly"killed 2 moose; but these indeed were the last. I walked & hunted every day—"& seldom one day passed but I fired at the Buffaloe, moose, or some other animal,"but never got anything anything—I & my family were near dying with hunger, I"tried every thing in my power, never giving myself the least trouble about the indians"menaces. At last the spring arrived—Ducks & Geese came; but no better suc-"ess. At last one day prowling in my Canoe I met 2 otherfree-men, who, after mutual"inquiries &c. told me "the same thing had happened him & that an indian told him to file"off a small piece of themuzzleof his Gun & wash it well with water in whichSweet-"flaghad been boiled, & killed after that as before." I laughed at the idea, but re-"flecting that it was an innocent experiment & I could not offend the almighty, I"tried, & the first animals I saw I immediately killed.—This Sir, continued"he, I assure you is a positive fact"!!!—I find that the indians have recourseto this method also. But you must observe: as is the disease::so is the remedy. Another story justnow occurs to me which I shall relate, not so much to multiply these pretendedproofs as to shew that our Iroquois, Algonquins &c. &c. are not such complete convertsto the Christian faith as most people may complacently imagine, but rather havea mongrel religion like those whom the King of Babylon sent to inhabit Samariawhen he carried Reuben & Ephraim captives (In the Bible). This winter an Iroquois
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told me that one winter he was out a Beaver hunting with many of his friends.—Theoldest man of their party proposed one day that a certain number of them should go out ahunting Moose or Buffaloe, & the others Beaver. This one says "I returned at night after"a good success—the old man nothing—he became envious—a quarrel ensued; & after"this many others. One day I fired at a moose as he was running past me, he fell—I"went to him; & just as I was for beginning to skin he rose up, but with my"axe I bro't him down—it was very far from home—I merely opened him &"returned light, trusting to the others of our party; for I had no desire of partaking of the dry"provisions the old fellow had, of his own. Imediately on entering the lodge we had a-"nother severe quarrel, & he told me I should not any more exult in my prowess"as he should take care I should not kill any more animals forsometime. As we"were coming toknifework, I ordered my wife to bundle up all our things & my"lodge, & pitch off—it was then late, & I had not yet eaten. As none of my"friends knew that I had killed, I did not chuse to tell them, but merely said"as I was going off 'Let those who are fond of me, or who chuse, follow me'; but none came,"& I encamped upon my moose. Every day I went a hunting—scarcely a week"passed but I fired 20, 30, & sometimes upward of 50 Shot, upon Buffaloe or Moose,"but could never kill—I wouldmiss, ortheballtwistinginthehairwould"fallbytheanimalwithout doing further injury. I starved for a long time—"& became so weake that I could hardly walk. At last my wife (a woman of"this country) one day that I had been out as usual had prepared some good"strong lye, & on my return washed my Gun with it; filled it, & stopping"both the orifices put it over the smoke where it remained all night. She"also took a number of the balls & boiled them likewise in the lye, telling me she had"seen her uncle do so many years before when he too had been bewitched.—I thought at"all events it could do no harm; & besides I could have done anything, I was so hungry.—"The next day I went out again,—found another flock or herd of near 20 Buffaloe,"I drew nigh & took all my usual precautions—I fired, one dropped; fired again,"another dropped:—I killed 14 out of that herd; & ever after missed not once"!I asked him how the old fellow had done?-- he said "I suppose it was as they"frequently do—i.e. bury a piece of my meat in the Ground & pray the Devil"to prevent my killing: for the Iroquois, when they take it in their head,"are very wicked, & do not want power"!—A few days ago a half-breed, abandonedwith the indians, came in; & amongst his otherwantagesasked me for a small piece of (red)sealing-wax "because my brother cannot draw blood from the animals he fires at: by heating his Gun & ap-"plying this wax the blood will flow profusely from the wounds". He expressed himself afraid thathis brother might have been bewitched & by retarding this operation he might enterdanssamalchance!"
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These fewexampleswill suffice to shew you that they have different methods ofbewitching& also different ways of clearing themselves. And the faith, & dread, they have of this, is scarcelycredible; & the consequences are often too uncommonly distressing.—I shall now give you of theStory of the Hairy Breasts. Near the days ofNoah, nations were few & small.Weesuckajock(noah, I shall call him for abbreviation sake) had a son as I told you beforewhose name was Nay-hân-nee-mis. Being straitned for provisions he went out to anglewith some of the Hairy-Breasts. They came to a Lake, pierced several holes, but theNorth (or North wind, as you chuse) being envious of Nayhanemis, froze the water downto the very ground; so that in the deepest parts they found but Earth & after muchdigging at last reached the bottom; but behold that also was frozen! & who knowsto what depth in the Earth? Finding this to be the case Nays, addressed his freindsthus—"I see this is the doings of the N. Wind (now by rights the N. Wind ought to have been hismaternal Gnd Father—but what cannot envy do?) "he is envious of us, & wants to make"us die of hunger—but he shall not!—I have to propose to you to cut off my head—rip"up my body, beginning at the throat—You must not hurt nor break any single"one of my bones; but carefully take off all the flesh, dry it, & make Pounded meat of it."of this you must sprinkle a little in every one of the holes; you must alsochopup"my Heart into very small pieces & throw a few of these pieces also into each hole: then put in"your lines, & you'll take as many fish as you please. But my bones you must put in a"heap, carefully by themselves. Mind! upon your faithful observance of all these commands"depends our mutual safety. The North thinks himself sole master, & would wish to"crush us because we begin to have a little knowledge: but he shall know me!"They done accordingly, & accordingly also they took abundance of fish. North per-ceived this: he came to see, & finding himself thus frustrated inquired how it cameabout?—they told: He challenged Nays. who by this time had revived; & besidesa beautiful large feather he had sticking in his cap or head, which none durst wearbut such as have given incontestible proofs of their Manhood, bravery &c. he like-wise had a smoking bag, of the Skin of a badger. Nayhanimis accepted thechallenge. "It seems Nahanimis you are a great man, a man of extraordinary power & abilities!—"—let us have a trial, & see which of us has the most; for I also have some Knowledge"—Nahani-mis answered "No! I have but little power, but that little I employ as much as I can"to the General benefit of my fellows: let us see what you can do, which if I cannot,then you will certainly be superior to me." Here they performed one or two wonderful featsbut in which Nayhanimis had the advantage most confessedly.—The North pierced his bodythrough, & done another extraordinary thing I cannot well recollect; but the other done more& recovered not only more suddenly but more perfectly. At last the North put a bet & said "Let"us see for this last act: I will cut off my head & if I cannot replace & recover perfectly
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"perfectly, the same as I am at present, then myhouse& all I have shall be yours; but if I succeed,"& you cannot, then all yourpossessionsshall be mine." Nayhanimis consented; for he wassecretly desirous of humiliating the selfsufficient spirit of North. They tried—North failed,but Nayhanimis completely succeeded: He deliberately severed his head from his body, put itdown on the Ground beside him, very composedly, & then replaced it, when it be-came as tho' nothing had happened. But this was owing to the Power & virtue ofhisPlume; which, however, the others knew nothing off. It appears that the North alsorecovered but by the assistance of his friends, of whom he had a numerous train. Northwas faithful to his promise—Gave him his house which was beautiful & spacious,but mostly underground, or at least in the side of a mountain. All his freindsturned out, put in Nayhanimis & gave him the full possession. But he was no sooner in thanthey secured all the outlets; doors, windows &c. & set it on fire to destroy one whom theyfound so much more powerful than themselves! Nays. finding this to be the case wasnot in the least dismayed, but took his smoking bag & thus addressed it "Nowthou"Badger,—our mutual safety depends upon thy obedience & expedition—Thou"art made to passthro'the Earth asquickasuponit: these fools think to destroy"us, but thou must shew that we are superior to them." During the conflagration they wereenjoying the scene & exulting in the idea of having at last succeeded in destroying so formidablean adversary: but what was their consternation when they saw him come to them withouteven one hair of his head singed!—they wereappalledwith astonishment & had notthe power of utterance. At last recovering a little they endeavoured to pass it off as ajoke & turn it to his own advantage, by silencing at one blow the envy & malice of hisallenemies, pretending to be a staunch friend of his. But he was not thus to be duped; yethe shewed a superiority of sentiment & generosity equal to his Powers & abilities bygiving them (tho'contemptuousif you please) pardon. So much for thisPart.—Thus did matters pass on for yet a few years. "Theindiansbegan tomultiply& inha-bit the world: but the Hairy-breasts, a jealous, envious, and at best foolish people,could not well beholdtheirprosperity: they madewarupon them (theindians) bystealth & destroyed numbers: their affairs bore a most dismal aspect—no less than thetotal extinction of the whole race. At last Nayhanimis pitched off with his wife,herfather, & another one—there were four of them. He found found a Beaver lodge—here some of theHairy-Breastscame up with him. Compliments at first, afterwardsSneers, taunts & revilings; but so ambiguously that no hold could be taken. "How nume-"rous: how many are there of ye" inquired the Hairy B. "We are twenty of us" repliedNayhanimis; "& so are we rejoined the others. Now, they here entered into an arrangement thatwhoever foundBeaverfor the future it should be his own; but to avoid any wrangles, he whofoundthe Beaver should plant a stick or branch upon the lodge, as a mark. On their return
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home each recounted to his family what he had met with in the course of the day. "Now saidNay-"hanimis, addressing his family, we must take 20 Beavers, one for each man of them (meaning the"hairy-breasts) & make a feast. If it turns out that we be able to eat these 20 Beaver, & they"not, then we shall be superior to them & have the upper hand." The Beaver were cookedaccordingly:—he took hisrattlerwhich he shook to the tunes of his Songs,—performed theusual ceremonies, & they eat the whole 20 B. with ease. Then addressing his familythus, said "These Hairy-Breasts are great boasters, but cowards—They are a people ofno account—tomorrow will decide all." The Hairy Breasts on their return didthe same as Nayhanimis & cooked also 20 B. thinking that his band did really con-sist of that number. They eat: but every one was already full & yet more than 3/4of the feast remained—"Give me my rattler (said one of the oldest) that I sing &c. it may"happen that we find grace". He sang & shook his rattler, but it would not sound—After frequent repeated trials to no effect he became vexed & threw it out of doorsamong the Dogs "This dog of a rattler will not sound in spite of all my endeavours: but"hold! hear how it rattles now that it is out—go for it one of ye, perhaps it was"owing to some fault in me." They bro't it to him: but still as before: he threwit out again in a rage; it was no sooner out than it sounded well as before:it was bro't in again: but as before again. Then he threw it out for good, vexed& disappointed to the utmost degree. But his freinds were not pleased; they consideredthis a portentious omen & his behavior foolish; & by no means calculated to reconcile theirDeitiesto them. He comforted them by telling them the numbers of "the adverse party must be few,"otherwise we had surely been able toeatthe whole of this feast: they are few & weshallsub-"due them." The next day they all pitched off. Nayhanimis came first to a Beaverlodge & marked it—came another & marked that one also. But making a circuit, inwhich he hung up his Bow, quiver &c. &c. in a tree, at his own height, came roundto the same lodges & found that the Hairy-B had put marks of their own & thrownhis one away:—exasperated he threw theirs away & replaced his, & made anothercircuit, when he found the H.B. had replaced their own again: He alsoremarked that the HB. had hung up their Bows &c. &c.inthetopsofveryhitrees, trustingto their numbers. At last they met—greeted each other at first, then sneers, quarrels,a challenge & then the battle: they were to fightmantoman—Nayhanimis killed 19right out, but the 20th had near killed him: however this was but an accidentusual in battles—he soon killed him also. The women were coming up when raisinghis voice to a pitch to be distinctly heard by heard by all said "Such of yeindian"women as have been taken from your homes, had your husbands killed &c. such"of ye indian women as are willing to return to your nation, take all axes & others"arms out of the hands of these H. B. women,—seperate yourselves from them; attack
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