He then addresses the people, advising them how they ought to con-
duct, and
pointing out some of the prominent evils which they ought to
avoid; one of
the greatest of these is stealing, and another is, for the
husband to
desert and separate himself from his wife during pregnancy;
but taking the
life of another is not considered a crime so capital, as
they are left at
liberty to revenge it, by taking the life of the murder-
er. This may be
done with impunity by the nearest relative of the
deceased, and they then
consider the cries of blood to be done away.
Preparatory to these
sacrifices they are careful to procure a sufficien-
cy of provisions.
This is done by deputing a certain number of their warriors to hunt,
who
encircle a large space of hunting ground, and all the game taken
thereon is
devoted to this feast. Previously to that which was held in
the summer of
1799, thirty men were sent out, who returned the day
following with
seventeen deer. Great attention is paid to the cooking,
and certain places
are appointed where the entertainment shall be
given. Spirituous liquors
are not allowed on these occasions, although
near the conclusion there are
instances, at times, of some of them get-
ting intoxicated.
Their stated time, according to ancient custom, for holding these
sa-
crifices, is four days at a time, twice in the year; but they
frequently
continue their feasting and dancing at intervals and by
companies, for
eight or ten days; and, after the last day being spent in
playing at
games of chance, they generally conclude by the firing of
guns.
Their reason for performing these ceremonious rites, at these two
seasons of
the year, they say, is to return thanks to the Great Spirit,
for sending
them plenty of bread and meat - that it was the way their
forefathers had
taught them, and they knew of no better; and although
the feast is
conducted with considerable noise, and apparent confusion,
it is also
attended at intervals with much solemnity, and on the part of
many of them,
purely on a religious ground, and from sincere and good
motives. But, at
the same time, they are willing to acknowledge that
their worship was not
performed with so much solemnity as their fore-
fathers practised.
Besides their public devotional feasts and sacrifices, the Indians ex-
ercise
a kind of family worship, at times, when they are sitting together,
particularly in the evening. If one of the heads of the family feels an
impulse to address the Great Spirit, he, or she, yields to it with an
au-
dible voice, and this, among the more serious class, is frequently
per-
formed, though not on any stated days or times. They are sometimes
exercised in this way when their friends are with them, and the subject
of
aspiration is a thanksgiving for the preservation of their particular
family or tribe, and for supplying the varied necessaries and comforts