injunction never to employ them at his Peril "unless you wish to die: I teach you all these
"these things because I love you, & know your heart to be compassionate: but mind my"words, if ever you employ them with an ill or evil view, thou shalt die. Other indians"as well as thyself, love life—it is sweet to every body; render it therefore not a bur-
"then or a disgrace; & I hate those who thus abuse my confident affection" &c. &c.
They are also forbidden sometimes as strictly, & for the same reasons, instructing
others in their use. Notwithstanding this great love & cautious diffidence of Escu-
lapius, there are other malignant Powers who teach them & encourage their use.
—Hence those distressing objects I cannot here for the want of Paper, speake of—
What I have mentioned of minerals &c. which from their description are indeed really
such, i.e. minerals &c. yet I cannot take upon myself from my slender knowledge of their
language & technical terms, to assure you that they are prepared after our manner,
i.e. by Chemical processes. Mercury, sulphur, saltpetre or nitre &c. I do not know that they
have; but there being french, English, German, & from the description Greek & Hebrew
Doctors, among the number, I should not suppose it preposterous in concluding that they
have them all in the same way as ourselves. But from what I can learn it is Stones,
that is, some particular kinds of them that are most used, such as talk, pumice stones,
& various other kinds. These they are shewn how to reduce to Powder, & with what water, i.e.
out of which river (or colord water if you please) the water is taken to mix up these Powders.
"With the roots & herbs &c. it is different—they are boiled" &c.—These stones (for they are most
commonly thus denominated by them) are held in very great repute by them; tho' many of those that
have been shewn me as possessing wonderful virtues I considered as very common & fool-
ish, or at least harmless things. Here! I am again digressing, which is everlastingly the case with
me when not in the humor of scribbling. I should have mentioned first (because as you
may see, I have begin this story in the middle instead at either of the two ends) that when they
want to dream of these things, as well as of any other particular thing, they must fast, & lay
down to sleep, keeping their minds as free as possible from any other thoughts whatever,
& wholly bent & employed on that particular one alone. I also should have observed in
the proper place that the door the votary is introduced is exactly in the middle of
these rivers, there being 20 on each side of the door. The use, intent, &c. &c. of
the other 5 doors, I never thought to enquire, & must leave you to guess as well as
myself 'till such times as I can get this matter explained. Their songs are
delivered in Notes, impressed or drawn on bark, in the form of hierlographics,
& thus taught, & being hierlographics (& not very dissimilar to those anciently used by the
Egyptians; nay indeed, I have reason to think from what I have seen of both, that any
Learned man being perfectly acquainted with the one could trace a great deal in the other;
but this opinion I hazard from my own ignorance) no two are alike, it therefore requires

[...] [(24)] [...]

him to learn them; that is any one of them: for those notes are not like ours, marked with regular
bars &c. so that one Gamut serves for all; but with them, each one may be said to be itself a Gamut.
However, I have reason to think that they are regular & uniform; for many years ago, when
I was still scarcely more than a boy, I remember throwing away the contents of one these mede-
cine bags in which there were several strips of Bark covered with these Notes—
—an indian happened to be by—he took one up & with the Point of his knife placing it on
one of these began to sing, moving the knife regularly as children do when they begin to learn
their a, b, c.—This surprised me a little at the time, for the indian was a stranger
& had but lately arrived from his own lands that were several hundred miles off.—
After laughing at, & ridiculing, him, as is the custom with us, I asked how he could
make them out? "The same said he, as you do to reckon (i.e. read) your papers"See this one is (meant for) the Thunder; that, the Earth, &c. &c.; but I only
"know a few of these songs:—the possesser of this bag knew a great deal—he
"was a great Medecine man, i.e. Doctor" &c. As far as I can learn, every different
root, herb, plant, mineral, Spirit (or whatever you may please to term this latter) have
each their respective songs; & which they must sing, were his voice like that of a choked
Pig, when he employs them for one of themselves, or learns them to another. When
they sing, those of their familiars who instructed this Song, whether to the one
who sings, as having learnt it from himself (i.e Familiar) or having been
handed to him; he is said to attend, invisibly of course, & perform that which he
promised this (medecine, supposing it is one) should effect. [This is a long &
complex job, & I doubt much if I can get thro' with it without more of my blundering;
but I shall risk blunders, omissions, & repetitions] Hence it is they always sing when
they attend on a desperately sick person, amongst themselves, tho very rarely when
they administer to the white. When any one is very sick, & that they be called upon,
or perhaps, tho' rarely, ordered, in their dreams, by their Familiars, they sing, blow,
& suck, alternately, & with such violence that one would think they wanted to
to blow them to the d___l, or swallow them down their throats; but no, it is to
force in the medecine, of which they have generally a mouthful, masticated into
a pulp. or something near salve, sometimes: the suction business is to draw out
the Devil; i.e the medicine, bone, stone, iron, brass, stick, or whatever they imagine
it is that occasions the disease. If the complaint lies in any particular part, to that
part it is they apply themselves most, & sometimes only: supposing the hip, knee &c.
for there they imagine it is a worm or maggot gnawing them. But if the complaint
is universal, that is the whole system be sick & debilitated, it is then the pit of the Stomach
& the Temples; rubbing sometimes the wrist, the palms of the hands. & opposite the heart.
This is very frequently done, & in the intervals the songs & rattler together, & often a

[...] [(25)] [...]

& often a short speech or prayer to that one of their Familiars whom they think will be
most propitious on the occasion, or he from whom they hold such, or such instruction &c.
These songs are a dull monotony; for tho' they have a few variations & are hi & low, & the
transition sometimes so very sudden that it requires a particular command of the
throat to sing them; & to me, so difficult that I should I believe require a 7 years
apprenticeship even with Esculapius (but I believe it is Pluto, or Pan who teaches
the songs) himself, for me to learn them, there is certainly no musick in
them; tho' some few that I've heard many years ago, passing a winter with them,
I found pleasing enough; but perhaps more from the solemnity with which all
was going on was I struck, than any thing else: indeed we had had great reason to
be solemn, for we were dreadfully pinched by hunger. When oppressed thro' star-
vation, they have a variety of ceremonies which they perform; & tho' the songs be different,
as also the ceremonies themselves, still are they intended to answer the same purpose.—
I shall endeavour to describe a couple to you from which you may form a pritty
just idea of the rest.—It was the latter end of Jany. or beginning of Feby. 1804, four of
us only white people, mind were pitching off, or rather flying off from our houses we had built in the fall on ac-
count of the enemies. We had a small stock of dry Provisions & speared a few fish once or
twice, but there were so many of us that we were soon bro't to short commons as the
strip of country we were then going thru contained no other animals but a few strag-
ling Bears, but these animals at this season could not be found notwithstanding all the
exertions of our hunters. One evening on my return to our lodges one of the women told me that
the oldest man of our band, a great Doctor, or conjuror, as we frequently denominate them,
said that if I were to pay him half a carrot (1 1/2 lbs) tobacco, he would conjure & be assured
of success, for it required payment. Tho' I suspected there was a trick in this, I did
not hesitate, but gave him his demand. The first night their songs & ceremonies were
as usual. —"Tomorrow, my familiar tells me we shall get a Bear". All the hunters
returned at evening, mais tous a blanc. The second night, the rattler, songs, speeches,
smoking, & medicine bags opened: "Tomorrow, we will assuredly get something." But the
same as the day before. The third night, the same, but every thing conducted with
a sort of awful silence & solemnity that surprised me a good deal. I was harassed
with constant walking, weake thro' hunger, & tired with their Bêtises as the
french say; but the manner of their conduct kept me that time from growling.
"Oh! Now tomorrow indeed, we shall not fail—we shall certainly eat flesh; for
the old man is a great conjuror, & well liked: he prayed to the master or giver of Life, & his
Dreamed have promised him success. But we get no more than before. In these conjuring
boutes—they made no use of drums, but instead of that had cut a small hollow tree of
maple, about 5 feet long & scooped it out, after splitting so that it resembled a semicircle—

[...] [(26)] [...]

or stove pipe split down—this hollow board had been well dressed i.e. reduced to about half an inch in thick-
ness & well polished: there were to the best of my memory four men seated taylor fashion & held a
small stick about 3/4 ins. diameter & about 15(ins.) long, in each hand: with these they beat time
to the tune & another moved or shaked the rattler in the same manner. All this however was
to no purpose. There was another indian in company with us, but tenting by himself (& his
family).—This indian who was very fond of me would frequently call me in & give me a
share of what he had to eat: "Well! said he, what success have your great men?"—I an-
swered I did not expect much: "No replied he, they did not go the right way to work,
"—had I not polluted (spoiled, as he said) my person last fall, alluding to an indian
"he had then killed, I should try; & I beleive that my familiars would be charitable"to me: however I shall let them go on 'till they are done, after which I shall make
"a trial: perhaps on your accounts they may shew me their wonted attention."
—I took this as wind, but as he spoke in so very earnest (si naivement) a manner, I con-
cealed my sentiments. The second night after the others had finished—he began a
little after dusk. But what a difference between them!—He had an immense large
drum, as large those among the military, & stretched hard: upon this he beat time,
but very hard, to accord with his Songs which were as loud as he could bawl: at cer-
tain intervals also he used only his rattler, but with as much violence as he could.
Thus he continued alternately singing, praying (or making speeches) & smoking,
'till broad day light. When he began, we thought this fellow was mad or only jesting;
but the indians of our lodge reproved us. At Sun rise he came out of his lodge,
& made a long speech; in which he told one to go one way, a second another, &
himself by another route. "Thou, addressing the first one, a young lad—thou wilt
"soon find thy (bear): but thou, addressing the father, on thy way on thou wilt
"pass very near, but will not see him: Thou'lt search a long & return giving up
"all hopes: but when come to this thou must return again & between this thy last
"track & the first one thou shalt make this morning, thou'lt see him in his
"nest. as for me, I shall have much trouble to get mine." I heard him
speake, but not understanding sufficiently the language, the women explained to me.
I need not tell you how we laughed at the poor Devil; & so went off hunting Ivywhich had been our support for a long time; but in the evening we found all that
he predicted, perfectly verified. This I assure you is a fact, & will maintain it
notwithstanding every thing skeptics, (excuse the term) or those unacquainted, or
but superficially so, with these people may say: & I am also certain that he had no
previous knowledge of their being there; for there was plenty of snow, & there were no other
tracks but those of these 2 hunters, & we had pitched up (the river) that day. But, here
I am digressing: to return therefore.