DREAMS. Ixxxiii 



tality. This singular idea is found also in some Algon- 

 quin traditions, according to which, however, the brain is 

 afterwards restored to its owner .^ 



Dreams were to the Indian a universal oracle. They 

 revealed to him his guardian spirit, taught him the cure 

 of his diseases, warned him of the devices of sorcerers, 

 guided him to the lurking-places of his enemy or the 

 haunts of game, and unfolded the secrets of good and 

 evil destiny. The dream was a mysterious and inexora- 

 ble power, whose least behests must be obeyed to the 

 letter, — a source, in every Indian town, of endless mis- 

 chief and abomination. There were professed dreamers, 

 and professed interpreters of dreams. One of the most 

 noted festivals among the Hurons and Iroquois was the 

 Dream Feast, a scene of frenzy, where the actors counter- 



1 On Indian ideas of another life, compare Sagard, the Jesuit Rela- 

 tions, Perrot, Charlevoix, and Lafitau, with Tanner, James, Schoolcraft, 

 and the Appendix to Morse's Indian Report. 



Le Clerc recounts a singular story, current in his time among the 

 Algonquins of Gaspe and Northern New Brunswick. The favorite son 

 of an old Indian died ; whereupon the father, with a party of friends, set 

 out for the land of souls to recover him. It was only necessary to wade 

 through a shallow lake, several days' journey in extent. This they did, 

 sleeping at night on platforms of poles which supported them above the 

 water. At length they arrived, and were met by Papkootparout, the In- 

 dian Pluto, who rushed on them in a rage, with his war-club upraised ; 

 but, presently relenting, changed his mind, and challenged them to a 

 game of ball. They proved the victors, and won the stakes, consisting 

 of corn, tobacco, and certain fruits, which thus became known to man- 

 kind. The bereaved father now begged hard for his son's soul, and Pap- 

 kootparout at last gave it to him, in the form and size of a nut, which, 

 by pressing it hard between his hands, he forced into a small leather bag. 

 The delighted parent carried it back to earth, with instructions to insert 

 it in the body of his son, who would thereupon return to life. When the 

 adventurers reached home, and reported the happy issue of their journey, 

 there was a dance of rejoicing ; and the father, wishing to take part in it, 

 gave his son's soul to the keeping of a squaw who stood by. Being 

 curious to see it, she opened the bag ; on which it escaped at once, and 

 took flight for the realms of Papkootparout, preferring them to the abodes 

 of the living. — Le Clerc, Nouvelle Relation de la Gasp€sie, 310-328. 



