Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Sketches Of The Manners And Customs Of The North-American Indians.
taer , that in less than half an hour nothing but smiles and cheerful * ness ; are to be seen in every face ; and if they , be not really in want , small presents of provisions ,- ammunition , and other articles often take place ; sometimes merely as a gift , but more frequentl y by way of trying whether they cannot get a greater present . " ' ¦> J LAMENTATIONS FOR THE DEAD .
n " i ^ i - 6 Northei : Indians "ever bury their dead , but always leave the bodies were they die , so that they are supposed to be devoured by beasts and birds of prey ; for which reason theywill not eat foxes wolves ravens , & c . unless it be through mere necessity ' ' I he death of a near relation affects them so sensibly , that they rend ahI their cloths from their backs , and go naked , till some persons ess afflicted relieve them After the
. death of a father , mother , husband wife , son , or brother , they mourn , as it may be called for a whole year , which they measure b y the moons and seasons . Those mournful periods are not distinguished by any particular dress , except that of cutting off the hair ; and the ceremony consists in almost perpetually crying . Even when walking , as well as at all other intervals trom sleepeatingand rsation
, , conve , they make an odd howlingnoise , often repeating the relationshi p of the deceased . But as this is in a great measure mere form and custom , some of them have a method of softening the harshness of the notes , and brimrino- them out ln a more musical tone than that in which they sing their ° sbnes When they reflect seriousl y on the loss of a good friend ; however it has such effect them for the
an on present , that they give an uncommon loose to - their grief . At those times they seem to sympathize , ( through custom ) with each other ' s afflictions so much , " that I have often seen several scores of them crying in concert , when at the same time not above half a dozen of them had any moj-e reason or so doing than I hadunless it to the old
, was preserve custom and Jieep the others in countenance . The Women are remarkably obliging on such occasions ; and as no restriction is laid on them they may with truth be said to cry with' all their mi ght and main ; but in common conversation they are obli ged to be Very moderate . "
IDEAS OF THE ORIGIN OF MANKIND . "They have a tradition" among them , that the first person upon earth was a woman , who after having been some time alone , in her researches ior berries , which Was then her only food , found an animal like a dog , which followed her to the cave where she lived and soon grew fond and domestic . This dog , they sav , had the art of ransrorming itself in toth of handsome
-e shape a young man which it frequentl y did at nijjht , but as the day approached , always resumed s former shape ; so that the woman looked on all that ' had passed on ¦ lose occasions as dreams and delusions . These transformations were " soon productive of the consequences which , at present , generally follow such- intimate connexions between . the two sexes , and themother ot tne world . began to advance in her pregnancy . ' VOL . vr , 3 E
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Sketches Of The Manners And Customs Of The North-American Indians.
taer , that in less than half an hour nothing but smiles and cheerful * ness ; are to be seen in every face ; and if they , be not really in want , small presents of provisions ,- ammunition , and other articles often take place ; sometimes merely as a gift , but more frequentl y by way of trying whether they cannot get a greater present . " ' ¦> J LAMENTATIONS FOR THE DEAD .
n " i ^ i - 6 Northei : Indians "ever bury their dead , but always leave the bodies were they die , so that they are supposed to be devoured by beasts and birds of prey ; for which reason theywill not eat foxes wolves ravens , & c . unless it be through mere necessity ' ' I he death of a near relation affects them so sensibly , that they rend ahI their cloths from their backs , and go naked , till some persons ess afflicted relieve them After the
. death of a father , mother , husband wife , son , or brother , they mourn , as it may be called for a whole year , which they measure b y the moons and seasons . Those mournful periods are not distinguished by any particular dress , except that of cutting off the hair ; and the ceremony consists in almost perpetually crying . Even when walking , as well as at all other intervals trom sleepeatingand rsation
, , conve , they make an odd howlingnoise , often repeating the relationshi p of the deceased . But as this is in a great measure mere form and custom , some of them have a method of softening the harshness of the notes , and brimrino- them out ln a more musical tone than that in which they sing their ° sbnes When they reflect seriousl y on the loss of a good friend ; however it has such effect them for the
an on present , that they give an uncommon loose to - their grief . At those times they seem to sympathize , ( through custom ) with each other ' s afflictions so much , " that I have often seen several scores of them crying in concert , when at the same time not above half a dozen of them had any moj-e reason or so doing than I hadunless it to the old
, was preserve custom and Jieep the others in countenance . The Women are remarkably obliging on such occasions ; and as no restriction is laid on them they may with truth be said to cry with' all their mi ght and main ; but in common conversation they are obli ged to be Very moderate . "
IDEAS OF THE ORIGIN OF MANKIND . "They have a tradition" among them , that the first person upon earth was a woman , who after having been some time alone , in her researches ior berries , which Was then her only food , found an animal like a dog , which followed her to the cave where she lived and soon grew fond and domestic . This dog , they sav , had the art of ransrorming itself in toth of handsome
-e shape a young man which it frequentl y did at nijjht , but as the day approached , always resumed s former shape ; so that the woman looked on all that ' had passed on ¦ lose occasions as dreams and delusions . These transformations were " soon productive of the consequences which , at present , generally follow such- intimate connexions between . the two sexes , and themother ot tne world . began to advance in her pregnancy . ' VOL . vr , 3 E