[...] [(17)] [...]

-April 4th 1823} There is a sick indian with me whom I have been obliged to feed with his whole
family all winter, not being able to endure the cold on his lungs, & in a manner deserted by
his friends. To get as near the truth as I can possibly do in all things relating to their
mythology, I frequently converse with him on these subjects; & when "not forbid-
den by his Dreamed or familiars" is explicit enough. A few nights back he
thus informed me upon the several questions I proposed. The one that I saw in my
dream as above related is not the Sun, as my half-breeds told me. The
Sun is dressed like a Gentleman, i.e a short coat, waistcoat, short breeches, stock-
ings, boots, a hat & a beautiful feather stuck in it. He speakes English &c. and
the rest as mentioned above. But the one I mentioned above, is Sickness, or
the Plague. There are four of them: two walking in the air as I mentioned, & two inthe earth, i.e. in the bowels of the earth at a certain moderate distance from
the surface, perhaps in the same proportion as those who are above. The indian
thus relates of him: "When I was a young man, he appeared to me, & told me his
"name was Sickness; & that every time a general sickness was to take place
"amongst us he would come & forwarn me. See: Four winters ago (in 1819) after
"we had taken debt in the fall & were proceding each of us to our hunting Grounds
"he appeared to me one night & said, 'I am come to tell you to get out of the way
"'of all Large waters (i.e. Lakes & rivers) & pitch off immediately into the woods:
"'Be cautious also & select proper ground for an encamping; never pitch your
"'tents in Large high Woods, particularly of the Pine kind, chuse low woods"'to encamp in & never look up to Gaze lest I see you see & you be
"'smitten. Keep off, always from Large waters, for I am on a circuit round
"'the earth: I shall follow the travelling waters (i.e. The routes or roads
"'usually frequented or navigated) & smite all those I there find with
"'sickness: in the interior, or to one side I shall not go. Tell this to the
"'indians that they keep out of the way.'" It was that year that the Measlesmade such havock in some places. He thus continued, "This last fall (in December)
"I saw him again—he told me he was on another circuit & intended making a
"large selection, passing thro' the plains & coming down again this way. He said
"he would pass when the leaves would be rather large (about the 20th June,
"in these parts) & told me as before to admonish every body to keep out of the
"way of large waters, trees &c. &c.—'It is not my doings, nor is it my choice
"'that I thus prowl thro' the earth, said he, but I am sent, & cannot resist'—
"Now we will be again this spring visited with some sickness, but I cannot
"tell which—it is a breaking out in the flesh &c. and his appearing to you

[...] [(18)] [...]

"to you (i.e. me) is a sign that he will certainly pass." I then asked him if he intend-
ed telling the other indians of it. "I shall tell my Elder (brother), but not the others, for they
"wont beleive me." He was very diffident: he wanted to communicate to me all he
was told, but said he durst not lest he should injure himself, by exasperating the other
(i.e Sickness) & being enigmatically forbidden!—"He told me, continued the indian,
"as a sign that two of our number should die this winter, one a small one (& he is dead
"naming to me a child that died about that time, tho' very distant then from him)
"and the other a full grown person—whom he is I know not, but one must die!
These Chaps seldom appear (in dreams) less than 4 times, but commonly 6 times,
& each time in a different form 'till the last, when he makes himself known,
& ever after appears (or rather appear) in the same uniform manner. It
is then, after they have made themselves completely known to their votaries,
that they communicate their power &c. &c. &c. and teach their their songswhich tho' in their dreams, are so indelibly imprinted in their memories that they are
never forgotten. For every one of these Spirits, Genii, demons, phantasies, or whatever
you may please to term them, have each their Song, which they communicate
to their votaries, as well as explain also their power. Hence it is, that when any
any one amongst them has dreamed of a certain number, commonly a good
many, 20, 30, or perhaps a thousand, that they can conjure when they please; for
these like the guardian Genii in the fables, keeps always near them, & pro-
tect them from too much injury from the evil machinations of some
of the mischievous ones. Indeed, from what I can learn, there are but few of
these familiars but do do evil to their votaries if they (the votary, i.e. the in-
dian) neglect performing the regular annual, or perhaps more distant
periodical sacrifice; and this sacrifice, their familiar tells them what it is he expects.
A few days ago, in the night between the 31st March & 1st April, this indian was
sleeping in an old house I sent him to, when at a late hour in the night he was pulled most
violently out of his bed; so that his wife that was lying beside him, awoke & with
difficulty kept him down, tho' he also struggled himself to make his Fami-
liar leave his hold: & the house shook violently. The next day he sent me his
wife to ask a like a little grease to make a sacrifice (i.e. burnt offering X)—I gave
her a little, & the husband came the same evening to sleep with us. Upon en-
quiring he told me thus. "It was a Skeleton: he was displeased with me because
"I did not make him my usual offering & yet he knows that I am pitiful,
"that I cannot move to hunt myself, but am beholding to others for every
"mouthful I & my family eat; but they are wicked when they think themselves
X God forgive me the comparison, which by the bye is not meant to ridicule, but is really the case.

[...] [(19)] [...]

neglected or abandoned, & think nothing of carrying off an indian & throwing him in some
distant place, dangerous precipice, or other place where he must perish if not succored
by some other more kind one. "Some years back continued he, I went out one night
"in the fall to hunt moose. I had tied my Canoe very securely in the rushes &
"there was waiting alone to hear the moose either come to the Lake, or cry after the
"Dam, for it was in the rutting Season (& the indians commonly go out in this
manner at that season, for the Buck has a certain cry which he makes at that
time either to call the female, or as with the domestic cattle to exult as one
might think from their capers) "I all at once heard far a-head of me cries of heh, heh!
"heh (or hayh, or haih) sudden, quick, coming in the air, & directly towards me 'oh!
"'now said I, I am gone'!—Indeed he came—I crinjed & laid myself as low in my
"Canoe as possible; but he came straight to me, took me up & threw me in the
"water, all the time crying he'! he'!—I then endeavoured to take out my fire-
"bag; but this he would not let me do. Having then no alternative, I was obliged
"to make for the shore as well as I could, he all the time crying in the same man-
"ner just above my head, as if he intended absolutely my death. However I reached
"the shore, tho' with the greatest difficulty. Then I took some dry grass which
"I rubbed & bruised 'till it became soft & put it under my arm pits & crumpled
"myself into a small heap & remained 'till the sun began to warm when I
"swam back to my Canoe. He kept hovering over me all night & until the Sun was
"pretty high, always making the same cry; tho' when he found me so benumbed with
"cold on my debarkation he laughed, ha! ha! ha!" &c. &c.—Today (Apr. 4th)
he asked me for a needle & thread to sew the sleeve of his Capot, which this Ghost!
had torn in his endeavours to carry him off the other night. Whilst he was sewing
"how he has vexed me, said he, by tearing my old Coat, but I am afraid of him."—
—He related me another story of them as follows. "I went out one
"time a hunting beaver with a friend of mine: It was a long distance from our
"lodges—we killed 6 Beavers, & slept out. I awoke in the night & was
"much astonished to observe a man seated on the opposite side of the fire, resting his head on both
"hands, with his elbows on his knees apparently in a very pensive, sullen manner. He had but skin & bone—not the least particle of
"flesh; & this one had hair on his bony head. I gently pushed my friend & told him to
"look at that stranger. We were both extremely agitated in consequence of our fear,
"& were at a loss what to do. Having no alternative, I arose, conceiving he came to
"ask for something to eat I took a Beaver, cut it in two & presented him the half of
"it: he did not deign to look at it—I was much afraid. I then bethought
"of cutting it into mouthfuls, which after presenting him I threw into the fire—
"thus I did with the whole; & when done, he arose & walked off peaceably in the air."