BELIEF IN WITCHCRAFT. 243 



though little known, and their tales endless cf 

 the ' olden time,' when the animals and fishes 

 were human and gifted with speech. They 

 believe in the return of the dead, in second sight, 

 and very strongly in necromancy or witchcraft; 

 hence their intense dread of powerful medicine 

 men. It was formerly the custom for young men 

 to seek supernatural gifts by seclusion in the 

 wilderness and fasting. Some thus became suc- 

 cessful hunters, gamblers, traders or hunters, as 

 the gift might be, whilst to the more crafty and 

 ill-disposed was vouchsafed the frequently fatal 

 gift of imposing on their fellows the belief that 

 they were 'medicine men ' or conjurers. 



Q. Have they any distinction of stars or con- 

 stellations ? 



A. (Anderson.}- -The hunting tribes, like the 

 Chaldean of old, are keen observers, and the 

 order of the principal constellations is well ob- 

 served by them in a rude way. 



A. (Tolmie.) They have names for several 

 of the constellations. 



Q. How do they divide time with reference to 

 the year? 



A. (Anderson.) Chiefly by the natural order 

 of the seasons. That is, when the crane appears 

 in its northward flight, the goose, the ripening of 



R 2 



