104 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 
played with the stones ofa species of prunus which, 
from this cireumstance,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 remakred by some writers that the 
aboriginal inhabitants 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 
adulterer looks on in silence, afraid to make any 
attempt to save his property. In this respect, 
