OF THE POLAR SEA. 125 
abstinence to be a certain means of acquiring 
some supernatural powers, or at least of entailing 
upon themselves a succession of good fortune. 
One of the wives of the Carlton hunter, of 
whom we have already spoken as the worship- 
per of Kepoochikawn, made a determination not 
to eat of the flesh of the Wawaskeesh; or Ameri- 
can stag; but during our abode at that place, 
she was induced to feed heartily upon it, through 
the intentional deceit of her husband, who told 
her that it was buffalo meat. When she had - 
finished her meal, her husband told her of the 
trick, and seemed to enjoy the terror with which 
she contemplated the consequences of the invo- 
luntary breach of her vow. Vows of this nature 
are often made by a Cree before he joins a war 
party, and they sometimes, like the eastern 
bonzes, walk for a certain number of days on all 
fours, or impose upon themselves some other 
penance, equally ridiculous. By such means the 
Cree warrior becomes godlike; but unless he kills 
an enemy before his return, his newly-acquired 
powers are estimated to be productive in future 
of some direful consequence to himself. 
As we did not witness any of the Cree dances 
ourselves, we shall merely mention, that like the 
other North American nations, they are accus- 
tomed to practise that amusement on meeting with 
