﻿ANECDOTES. 395 



slowly, until they came up to the others ; when 

 the whole, joining in one circle, capered for half an 

 hour, uttering the most horrible cries, the two 

 chiefs meanwhile keeping in the centre. 



The formal dance is always in a circle, but the 

 gestures and the songs which accompany them 

 vary. After a ball kept up vigorously by man, 

 woman, and child, for hours, the parties retire to 

 their tents, and raise the song at intervals till the 

 morning. At the festivals held on the meeting of 

 friendly tribes, leaping and wrestling are prac- 

 tised. 



Several other illustrations of the superstitions 

 and manners of this people might be quoted from 

 Mr. Murray's letters, but, as they relate only to 

 peculiarities already mentioned, I shall restrict my 

 extracts to two other anecdotes. A young chief 

 was at Mr. Murray's encampment when a party of 

 another tribe, named the Vanta-kootchiy arrived, 

 one of whom had married the chief's sister, and 

 was reported to have killed her. The young chief 

 demanded an expiatory offering in beads for his 

 sister's death, which was refused; and an alter- 

 cation ensuing, something was said which insulted 

 him. He immediately drew his knife and walked 

 boldly up to the others, who would have cut him 

 in pieces but for the immediate intervention of the 

 white men. A few words of explanation from a 



