200 TRANSACTIONS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. [VOL. V. 



because he considered them actually deranged, and consequently his life 

 in danger on account of being a stranger and a foreigner. Santini 

 found himself in the same predicament among some tribes of the 

 Tongusi, and would most likely have been grossly insulted, had not his 

 converts, the Tongusian princes, interfered in his behalf" 



Gambling is not a ceremony, but it may be considered here, being 

 unworthy of a special treatment. Mr. Mcintosh says : " The game of 

 the Patooni, which LaRoche briefly describes, was, from every appear- 

 ance, originally' the same as that of the little bones among the American 

 Indians, although in Kamschatka sticks were substituted for bones." "It 

 is surprising," says LaRoche " to witness the simplicity and superstition 

 of some of these people while they play some games. Before they set 

 out to hunt they frequently form a party to play the Patooni, which 

 consists in throwing up in the air small sticks about the size of an 

 orange, with four sides, and resembling the dice of the Europeans^ 

 because each side has a certain number. He who has the greatest 

 number upwards when they fall to the ground, is conqueror, and expects 

 to be the most successful in the chase. It is considered, therefore, to be 

 a great favour to belong to the winner's party when they separate 

 themselves into different companies, because they imagine that they 

 cannot be utterly disappointed while they are the associates of him who 

 is to kill the most." Abernethy observed this and other frivolous 

 games, which he did not deem worthy of any notice. Santini, in 

 speaking of a certain game, which he does not describe, says that the 

 Tongusi, when they played, resembled madmen more than rational 

 beings, from the way in which their feelings were excited. 



In regard to the rites of the Dene-Dindjies, Father Petitot says : "It 

 is not easy for any European to discover the customs and ceremonies of 

 this people, because they surround them with mystery and distrust 

 strangers. A long stay among the Indians, and the confidence of the 

 old men, from whom I derive knowledge of the Dene traditions and of 

 a considerable part of their customs, have alone enabled me to make the 

 discovery." This discovery amounts to the fact that the D^nes have a 

 mythology with its gods and devils, that they believe in the immor- 

 tality of the soul, and that, in lieu of priests, they have jugglers or 

 medicine men, who practice confession, fasts and songs which are called 

 incantations, and to whom they attribute the power of recalling spirits 

 to earth. He also states that the Dene-Dindjies abhor the dog and 

 never eat its flesh. In his other particulars there is such an evident 

 straining after Hebrew analogies as to make them doubtful guides. 



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