ow supposed that a feast was in preparation. I supposed so only,
for it would have been indecorous to enquire into the meaning of what
I saw. No person, among the Indians themselves, would use this
freedom. Good breeding requires that the spectator should patiently
wait the result.

"As soon as the darkness of night had arrived, the family, including
myself, were invited into the lodge. I was now requested not to speak,
as a feast was about to be given to the dead, whose spirits delight in
uninterrupted silence.

"As we entered, each was presented with his wooden dish and spoon,
after receiving which we seated ourselves. The door was next shut, and
we remained in perfect darkness.

"The master of the family was the master of the feast. Still in the
dark, he asked everyone, by turn, for his dish, and put into each two
boiled ears of maize. The whole being served, he began to speak. In
his discourse, which lasted half an hour, he called upon the manes of
his deceased relations and friends, beseeching them to be present, to
assist him in the chase, and to partake of the food which he had
prepared for them. When he had ended, we proceeded to eat our maize,
which we did without other noise than what was occasioned by our
teeth. The maize was not half boiled, and it took me an hour to
consume my share. I was requested not to break the spikes,[7] as this
would be displeasing to the departed spirits of their friends.

"When all was eaten, Wawatam made another speech, with which the
ceremony ended. A new fire was kindled, with fresh sparks, from flint
and steel; and the pipes being smoked, the spikes were carefully
buried, in a hole made in the ground for that purpose, within the
lodge. This done, the whole family began a dance, Wawatam singing, and
beating a drum. The dance continued the greater part of the night, to
the great pleasure of the lodge. The night of the feast was that of
the first day of November."

[Footnote 6: _Populus nigra_, called by the French Canadians _liard_.]

[Footnote 7: The grains of maize (Indian corn) grow in compact cells,
round a pithy core.]

In the month of January, Henry happened to observe that the trunk of a
very large pine tree was much torn by the claws of a bear, made both
in going up and down. On further examination he saw there was a large
opening, in the upper part, near which the smaller branches were
broken. From these marks, and from the additional circumstances that
there we