OF THE POLAR SEA. 



67 



by the desire of gaining a name, they lavish away the articles 

 they purchase at the trading posts, and are well satisfied if repaid in 

 praise. 



Gaming is not uncommon amongst the Crees of all the different 

 districts, but it is pursued to greater lengths by those bands who fre- 

 quent the plains, and who, from the ease with which they obtain food, 

 have abundant leisure. The game most in use amongst them, termed 

 puckesann, is played with the stones of a species of prunus which, 

 from this circumstance, they term puckesann-meena. The difficulty 

 lies in guessing the number of stones which are tossed out of a 

 small wooden dish, and the hunters will spend whole nights at the 

 destructive sport, staking their most valuable articles, powder and shot. 



It has been remarked by some writers that the aboriginal inhabi- 



tants of America are deficient in passion for the fair sex. This is 

 by no means the case with the Crees ; on the contrary, their practice 

 of seducing each other's wives, proves the most fertile source of their 

 quarrels. When the guilty pair are detected, the woman generally 

 receives a severe beating, but the husband is, for the most part, 

 afraid to reproach the male culprit until they get drunk together at 

 the fort ; then the remembrance of the offence is revived, a struggle 

 ensues, and the affair is terminated by the loss of a few handfuls of 

 hair. Some husbands, however, feel more deeply the injury done to 

 their honour, and seek revenge even in their sober moments. In 

 such cases it is not uncommon for the offended party to walk with 

 great gravity up to the other, and deliberately seizing his gun, or 

 some other article of value, to break it before his face. The adul- 

 terer looks on in silence, afraid to make any attempt to save his pro- 

 perty. In this respect, indeed, the Indian character seems to differ 

 from the European, that an Indian, instead of letting his anger in- 

 crease with that of his antagonist, assumes the utmost coolness, lest 

 he should push him to extremities. ** 



Although adultery is sometimes punished amongst the Crees in the 





K 2 



