332 EXPEDITION TO THE 



Having ascended this bank, a beautiful prairie, apparently 

 very extensive, displayed itself to our view. The steep 

 bank, which exposes the disposition of the rock, shows it 

 to be a sandstone formation, in a horizontal stratification, 

 and of a fine crystalline grain ; the colour varying from 

 white to yellow ; this sandstone is, in every respect, simi- 

 lar to that found at Fort St. Anthony. Six miles above the 

 rapids, there is a small Indian settlement, called W6aka6t^. 

 It was deserted, but consisted of two lodges and the ruins 

 of a third, near which there were two scaffolds. On these 

 scaffolds, which are from eight to ten feet high, corpses 

 were deposited in a box made from part of a broken ca- 

 noe. Some hair was suspended, which we at first mistook 

 for a scalp ; but our guide informed us that these were locks 

 of hair torn from their heads by the relations, to testify their 

 grief. In the centre, between the four posts which support- 

 ed the scaffold, a stake was planted in the ground ; it was 

 about six feet high, and bore an imitation of human figures ; 

 five of which had a design of a petticoat, indicating them 

 to be females, the rest, amounting to seven, were naked^ 

 and were intended for male figures. Of the latter, four 

 were headless, showing that they had been slain ; the three 

 other male figures were unmutilated, but held a staff in 

 their hand, which, as our guide informed us, designated 

 that they were slaves. The post, which is an usual accom- 

 paniment to the scaffold that supports a warrior's remains, 

 does not represent the achievements of the deceased, but 

 those of the warriors that assembled near his remains, 

 danced the dance of the post, and related their martial ex- 

 ploits. A number of small bones of animals were observed 

 in the vicinity, which were probably left there after a feast 

 celebrated in honour of the dead. The boxes in which the 

 corpses were placed are so short that a man could not lie 



