[50] They (the Chepewyans) have some faint notion of transmigration of the soul; so that if a child be born with teeth, they instantly imagine, from its premature appearance, that it bears a resemblance to some person who had lived to an advanced age, and that he has assumed a renovated life, with these extraordinary symptoms.—Mackenzie, cxix.
[51] See note 4, p. 306 of this vol.
[52] This month (November) is sometimes called by them the "Beaver-Moon," being the month in which they commence their hunt of that animal.
[53] The war-clubs.
[54] Black paint, as I have before observed, the symbol among the Indians of belligerent intentions.
[55] A fat dog is the chief and sometimes the only dish at the feast, preparatory to a war expedition. This animal is sacred to Areskoui, or the God of War.
[56] Salt.
[57] The aurora borealis, or "northern light," as my readers know, is usually attended by a whizzing sound, somewhat resembling laughter.