172 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 
the stem to the south, then to the west, north, 
and east, and afterwards to the heavens, the 
earth, and the fire, as an offering to the presiding 
spirits ;—he took three whiffs only, and then 
passed the pipe to his next companion, who took 
the same number of whiffs, and so did each per- 
son as it went round. After the calumet had 
been replenished, the person who then com- 
menced repeated only the latter part of the cere- 
mony, pointing the stem to the heaven, the earth, 
and the fire. Some Spirits, mixed with water, 
were presented to the old man, who, before he 
drank, demanded a feather, which he dipped into 
the cup several times, and sprinkled the moisture 
on the ground, pronouncing each time a prayet- 
His first address to the Keetchee Manitou, of 
Great Spirit, was, that buffalo might be abundant 
“every where, and that plenty might come into 
their pound. He next prayed, that the other 
animals might be numerous, and_ particularly 
those which were valuable for their furs, and 
then desired that the party present might escape 
the sickness which was then prevalent, and be 
blessed with constant health. Some other sup- 
plications followed, which we could not get inter- 
preted without interrupting the whole proceeding- 
To.each of these supplications the whole Indian 
Party assented by exclaiming Aha; when he had 
