5th. Gitche-we-koon-de-win—The great feast. This is a feast of high pretensions, which few men, in any band, and only those of principal authority, can venture to make. The animal is cooked entire, as far as they are able to do it. This kind is sometimes called mez-ziz-z-kwa-win.
6th. Waw-bun-no We-koon-de-win—Wawbeno feast. This, and the other mummeries of the Wawbeno, which is looked upon as a false and mischievous heresy, are now laid aside by most respectable Indians. These feasts were celebrated with much noise and disturbance; they were distinguished from all other feasts, by being held commonly in the night time, and the showing off of many tricks with fire.
7th. Je-bi Naw-ka-win—Feast with the dead. This feast is eaten at the graves of their deceased friends. They kindle a fire, and each person, before he begins to eat, cuts off a small piece of meat, which he casts into the fire. The smoke and smell of this, they say, attracts the Je-bi to come and eat with them.
8th. Che-bah-koo-che-ga-win—Feast for his medicine. During one whole day in spring, and another in autumn, every good hunter spreads out the contents of his medicine bag in the back part of his lodge, and feasts his neighbours, in honour of his medicine. This is considered a solemn and important feast, like that of the Metai.
9th. O-skin-ne-ge-tah-ga-win—Boy’s feast. This might be called the feast of the first fruits, as it is made on occasion of a boy, or a young hunter, killing his first animal, of any particular kind. From the smallest bird, or a fish, to a moose, or buffalo, they are careful to observe it. Numerous instances of it occur in the foregoing narrative, therefore it need not be dwelt upon.
OF FASTS AND DREAMING
Rigorous and long continued fasting is enjoined upon young and unmarried persons of both sexes, and they begin at a very early age. The parent, in the morning, offers the child the usual breakfast in one hand, and charcoals in the other; if the latter is accepted, the parent is gratified, and some commendations, or marks of favour, are bestowed on the child. To be able to continue long fasting, confers an enviable distinction. They, therefore, inculcate upon their children the necessity of remaining long without food. Sometimes the children fast three, five, seven, and some, as is said, even ten days; in all of which time they take only a little water, and that at very distant intervals. During these fasts, they pay very particular attention to their dreams, and from the character of these, their parents, to whom they relate them, form an opinion of the future life of the child. Dreaming of things above, as birds, clouds, the sky, etc. is considered favourable; and when the child begins to relate any thing of this kind, the parent interrupts him, saying, “it is well, my child, say no more of it.” In these dreams, also, the children receive impressions, which continue to influence their character through life. A man, an old and very distinguished warrior, who was some years ago at Red River, dreamed, when fasting in his childhood, that a bat came to him, and this little animal he chose for his medicine. To all the costly medicines for war or hunting, used by other Indians, he paid no attention. Throughout his life he wore the skin of a bat tied to the crown of his head, and in his numerous war excursions, he went into battle exulting in the confidence that the Sioux, who could not hit a bat on the wing, would never be able to hit him. He distinguished himself in many battles, and killed many of his enemies; but throughout his long life, no bullet ever touched him, all of which he attributed to the protecting influence of his medicine, revealed to him, in answer to his fasting in boyhood. Of Net-no-kwa, his foster mother, the author of the foregoing narrative relates, that at about twelve years of age, she fasted ten successive days. In her dream, a man came down and stood before her, and after speaking of many things, he gave her two sticks, saying, “I give you these to walk upon, and your hair I give it to be like snow.” In all her subsequent life, this excellent woman retained the confident assurance, that she should live to extreme old age, and often, in times of the greatest distress from hunger, and of apparent danger from other causes, she cheered her family by the assurance, that it was given to her to crawl on two sticks, and to have her head like the snow, and roused them to exertion by infusing some part of her own confident reliance upon the protection of a superior and invisible Power.
The belief, that communications take place in dreams from superior beings to men, is not peculiar to this people, or this age of the world. Men, particularly, when their minds are little cultivated, are ever ready to believe themselves objects of particular attention, and the subjects of especial solicitude to their divinities. Among the Indians of the Algonkin stock, many, and perhaps all, believe that not only their prayers, in times of distress, are heard and answered, but they think, that to some among them, are communicated in dreams intimations of things which are to happen in remote times, and even after death. It is probable their traditional belief of a future state, and of the circumstances attending it, have made so strong an impression on the minds of children, that they may often dream of it, and continue to do so, at intervals during life. Accordingly, several may be found among them, who, having in extreme sickness had their thoughts particularly directed to this subject, and having, perhaps, been reduced so low as to be considered in a desperate condition—(of a person in which situation they speak as of one dead)—may have dreamed, or imagined the impressions of their early childhood to have been realized. Hence, we hear them relating, with confidence, that such and such persons have been dead, and have travelled along the path of the dead, till they have come to the great strawberry, which lies by the road, this side the river; they have seen the river itself, some have even passed over it, and arrived in the villages of the dead. Dreams of this kind seem to have been frequent among them. But they have, most commonly, to tell of vexation, annoyance, and disappointment. They have come to the great strawberry, at which the Je-bi-ug refresh themselves, on their journey; but on taking up the spoon, and attempting to separate a part of it, the berry has become a rock, (which, with the people about Lake Superior, is a soft, red sand rock, because the type exists in their country.) They have then gone on, have been much alarmed at the Me-tig-ush-e-po-kit, (the swinging log,) on which they have to cross, or at the great dog, who stands beyond it. They have received taunts, and gibes, and insults, among their friends; have been sneered at, and called Je-bi! have had ashes and water given them, in place of Mun-dah-min aw-bo, or corn broth, bark for dried meat, and O-zhush-kwa-to-wuk, or the large puckwi, called puff balls, for squashes. Some men have commonly seen, in that country, only squaws, numbers of whom have competed for them, as a husband, and the dreams of all have been tinged with some shade of colour, drawn from their own peculiar situation. How these people came first in possession of their opinions respecting the country of the dead, cannot, perhaps, be known; but having it, we should not be surprised that it influences their dreams.