d of traders who came into the country, and declared
himself the friend of peace.

At the conclusion of this interview, I gave him a small sea-shell from
my cabinet, as a mark of my respect, and a token which would remind him
of my advice. I remembered that the Indians of the continent have always
set a high value on wampum, which is made solely from sea-shells, and
have attributed a kind of sacredness for this class of productions.

_31st. Indian Mythology_.--Nothing has surprised me more in the
conversations which I have had with persons acquainted with the Indian
customs and character, than to find that the Chippewas amuse themselves
with oral tales of a mythological or allegorical character. Some of
these tales, which I have heard, are quite fanciful, and the wildest of
them are very characteristic of their notions and customs. They often
take the form of allegory, and in this shape appear designed to teach
some truth or illustrate some maxim. The fact, indeed, of such a fund of
fictitious legendary matter is quite a discovery, and speaks more for
the intellect of the race than any trait I have heard. Who would have
imagined that these wandering foresters should have possessed such a
resource? What have all the voyagers and remarkers from the days of
Cabot and Raleigh been about, not to have discovered this curious trait,
which lifts up indeed a curtain, as it were, upon the Indian mind, and
exhibits it in an entirely new character?

_August 1st_. Every day increases the interest which the question of the
investigation of the Indian languages and customs assumes in my mind. My
facilities for pursuing these inquiries and for the general transaction
of the official business has been increased this day by my removing into
a new and more convenient office, situated some ninety or a hundred
yards west of my former position, but on a line with it, and fronting,
like the former room, on an ancient green on the river's banks. The St.
Mary's River is here about three-fourths of a mile wide, and the green
in front of my office is covered with Indian lodges, and presents a
noble expanse. I have now a building some thirty-six feet square, built
of squared timber, jointed with mortar and whitewashed, so as to give it
a neat appearance. The interior is divided into a room some twenty feet
by thirty-six, with two small ante-rooms. A large cast iron Montreal
stove, which will take in three feet wood, occupies the centre. The
wall