NORTHERN OCEAN. 217 
Notlong after the above performance had taken yy, 
sia fome of the Indians began to afk me what Seoonvente 
_ Ithought of it. As I could not have any plea 
| for faying that I was far off, and at the fame time 
— _ 
} 
‘not caring to affront them by hinting my fufpici- 
ons of the deceit, I was fome time at a lofs for an 
anfwer : I urged, however, the impoflibility of a 
man’s {wallowing a piece of wood, that was not 
only much longer than his whole back, but near- 
ly twice as broad as he could extend his mouth. 
— On which fome of them laughed at my ignorance, 
as they were pleafed to call it ; and faid, that the 
fpirits in waiting fwallowed, or otherwife conceal- 
ed, the flick, and only left the forked end appa- 
rently flicking out of the conjurer’s mouth. My 
guide, Matonabbee, with all his other good fenfe, 
was fo bigotted to the reality of thofe performan- 
ces, that he aflured me in the ftrongeft terms, 
he had feen a man, who was them in company, 
{wallow a child’s cradle, with as much eafe as he 
could fold up a piece of paper, and put it into his 
mouth; and that when he hauled it up again, 
not the mark of a tooth, or of any violence, was 
to be difcovered about it. 
This ftory fo far exceeded the feats which I had 
- feen with the bayonet and board, that, for the . 
fake of keeping up the farce, I began to be very 
inquifitive about the {pirits which appear to them 
>on thofe occafions, and their form; when I[ was 
told that they appeared in various fhapes, for al- 
‘moft every conjurer had his peculiar attendant ; 
but 
