SOURCE OF ST. PETEr's RIVER. 163 



is offered them. Diseases are generally considered as hav- 

 ing been cast by some person who was ill-disposed towards 

 the patient, either on account of an offence offered, or a 

 civility withheld. When the sorcerer or physician comes, 

 the patient begs that he will transfer the disease to some 

 other person, to whom he may chance to bear a grudge. 

 To effect this, the sorcerer frames to himself a small 

 wooden image of his patient's enemy ; he pierces this 

 image in the heart and introduces into it small powders, 

 red, black, &c. which, being accompanied by the proper in- 

 cantation, are supposed to achieve the desired object. Great 

 reliance is placed in the virtue of these compositions, and 

 there are but few young men or women among the Chip- 

 pewas, who have not compositions of this kind, to promote 

 love in those in whom they feel an interest. These are 

 generally powders of different colours ; sometimes they in- 

 sert them into punctures made in the heart of the little 

 images which they procure for this purpose. They address 

 the images by the names of those whom they suppose them 

 to represent, bidding them to requite their affection. Mar- 

 ried women are likewise provided with powders, which 

 they rub over the heart of their husbands while asleep, in 

 order to secure themselves against any infidelity. 



Soothsayers exist among them, both male and female, 

 but the great medicines or charms are only practised by 

 men. Their jugglers appear to be well skilled in the art of 

 imposition. Bruce witnessed their powers frequently, but 

 never could discover their secrets. Thus he has frequently 

 seen the trick alluded to by Carver, of the Killisteno who 

 threw off all the ropes with which he had been fastened, 

 though he was bound hand and foot. It is well known that 

 Dr. Richardson witnessed the failure of the experiment in 

 ©ne instance ; and probably the result would be the same 



