SUPERSTITIONS. 211 



met. There were no impious upbraidings of 

 Providence, nor any of those revolting acts, too 

 frequent within late years, which have cast a darker 

 shade over the character of the savage Indian. 

 While the party thus scantily relieved were ex- 

 pressing their gratitude, one of their companions 

 arrived, and after a short pause announced that 

 a child was dying for want of food, close at hand. 

 The father instantly jumped up ; and having been 

 supplied with some pemmican, for we had no 

 other meat, hurried away, and happily arrived 

 in time to save its life. 



Like all other barbarous nations, these people 

 are naturally prone to superstition ; and many of 

 their legends, whatever may be thought of them 

 in these enlightened days, are quite as reasonable 

 as the traditionary tales which in other states 

 of society dimly reveal the past, and serve to 

 amuse the present age. They have their good 

 and evil spirits, haunting the waters, the woods, 

 and the mountains; their giants, and confabulat- 

 ing animals, " animali parlanti ;" their " Pucks," 

 and a host of other mischief-loving gentry. I 

 allude to these superstitions here, by way of 

 preface to a story related by one of our unhappy 

 guests, respecting the conduct of a Chipewyan, 

 whom he and many others held responsible for 

 the absence of the deer. 



" We might have known, " said a young but 



p 2 



