When the victuals were cooked, all the murderers took a kind of red earth, or oker, and painted all the space between the nose and chin, as well as the greater part of their cheeks, almost to the ears, before they would taste a bit, and would not drink out of any other dish, or smoke out of any other pipe, but their own; and none of the others seemed willing to drink or smoke out of theirs.
We had no sooner joined the women, at our return from the expedition, than there seemed to be an universal spirit of emulation among them, vying who should first make a suit of ornaments for their husbands, which consisted of bracelets for the wrists, and a band for the forehead, composed of porcupine quills and moose-hair, curiously wrought on leather.
The custom of painting the mouth and part of the cheeks before each meal, and drinking and smoking out {206} of their own utensils, was strictly and invariably observed, till the Winter began to set in; and during the whole of that time they would never kiss any of their wives or children. They refrained also from eating many parts of the deer and other animals, particularly the head, entrails, and blood; and during their uncleanness, their victuals were never sodden in water, but dried in the sun, eaten quite raw, or broiled, when a fire fit for the purpose could be procured.
When the time arrived that was to put an end to these ceremonies, the men, without a female being present, made a fire at some distance from the tents, into which they threw all their ornaments, pipe-stems, and dishes, which were soon consumed to ashes; after which a feast was prepared, consisting of such articles as they had long been prohibited from eating; and when all was over, each man was at liberty to eat, drink, and smoke as he pleased; and also to kiss his wives and children at discretion, which they seemed to do with more raptures than I had ever known them do it either before or since.
October. 6th.
1771. October.
October came in very roughly, attended with heavy falls of snow, and much drift. On the sixth at night, a heavy gale of wind from the North West put us in great disorder; for though the few woods we passed had furnished us with tent-poles and fewel, yet they did not afford us the least shelter whatever. The wind blew with such {207} violence, that in spite of all our endeavours, it overset several of the tents, and mine, among the rest, shared the disaster, which I cannot sufficiently lament, as the but-ends of the weather tent-poles fell on the quadrant,[89] and though it was in a strong wainscot case, two of the bubbles, the index, and several other parts were broken, which rendered it entirely useless. This being the case, I did not think it worth carriage, but broke it to pieces, and gave the brass-work to the Indians, who cut it into small lumps, and made use of it instead of ball.
23d.
On the twenty-third of October, several Copper and a few Dog-ribbed Indians came to our tents laden with furrs, which they sold to some of my crew for such iron-work as they had to give in exchange. This visit, I afterwards found, was by appointment of the Copper Indians whom we had seen at Congecathawhachaga, and who, in their way to us, had met the Dog-ribbed Indians, who were also glad of so favourable an opportunity of purchasing some of those valuable articles, though at a very extravagant price: for one of the Indians in my company, though not properly of my party, got no less than forty beaver skins, and sixty martins, for one piece of iron which he had stole when he was last at the Fort.[AV]