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Calumet m ent exclusively, that the French have given the 

 1 name of Calumet, and to Which that name is at pre- 

 sent very generally applied. 



The calumet, or pipe of peace, is usually about 

 four feet in length. The bowl of it is made of red 

 marble, hollowed out with considerable art, and the 

 stack is composed of a reed, or of some light wood, 

 which is easily perforated. The Indians adorn this 

 instrument in various ways. Sometimes it is marked 

 with the figures of animals and hieroglyphical deli- 

 neations ; and almost universally, it has beautiful 

 feathers attached to it, disposed in fanciful ar- 

 rangements, according to the taste of the individual, 

 or of the nation to which he belongs. And each 

 tribe is said to decorate the calumet after a manner 

 peculiar to itself. The instrument in question is fre- 

 quently used by the savages when warriors of differ- 

 ent nations accidentally meet ; sometimes, even in the 

 rage and tumult of a battle, it is offered and accepted, 

 and hostilities instantly cease ; and it serves with 

 many accompanying solemnities, as an introduction to 

 ambassadors, and as a medium of reconciliation and 

 alliance among contiguous tribes. But in these last 

 circumstances, namely, when ambassadors have ar- 

 rived, and a treaty is about to be formed, the use of 

 the calumet is deserving of particular notice. The 

 strangers having appeared, and the chiefs of the na- 

 tion which receives the embassy being placed, accord- 

 ing to the degree of eminence which they have at- 

 tained, an officer, belonging also to the nation which 

 receives the embassy, and who in Europe would be 

 styled an aid-de-camp, prepares the calumet, in order 

 to present it to both parties, with the requisite ob- 

 servances. After filling the pipe with tobacco and 

 fragrant herbs known to the Indians, the officer al- 

 luded to snatches a piece of burning wood,' either 

 from a neighbouring cabin, or from a fire which has 

 been lighted on purpose, and places it upon the bowl 

 of the .instrument. The smoke gradually ascends, 

 and when the odoriferous composition included in 

 the pipe is sufficiently kindled, the piece of burning 

 wood is removed. Here the first part of the cere- 

 mony appears to terminate. The officer, or aid-de- 

 camp, next points the stem of the calumet towards 

 the heavens, and by this action he is understood to 

 supplicate the favour of the great spirit ; he then 

 turns it downwards towards the earth, and now he 

 is supposed to avert the malignity of the evil genii, 

 or charm them into quiescence ; and finally, stretch- 

 ing forth the instrument in a horizontal direction, he 

 moves himself round till he completes a circle; and by 

 this last observance, he is conceived to invoke the spi- 

 rits which inhabit the air, the woods, and the waters, 

 and whose concern and delight it is, as the Indians be- 

 lieve, to provide for the happiness of mortals. The in- 

 vocation of the benignant genii seems to conclude the 

 second part of the ceremony. For immediately, yet 

 not without some degree of politeness, according to 

 the fashion of the savages, the officer presents the 

 calumet to the chief of his own tribe ; putting the 

 extremity of the reed into his mouth. The chief, 

 having received the smoke, blows a portion of it vi- 

 gorously towards the heavens, and the rest all around 

 him upon the earth. The pipe is next introduced 

 successively into the mouths of the ambassadors, who 



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blow forth in the same manner ; but neither they Calumet, 

 nor the chief ever touch the instrument, except with Calvados. 

 their lips. The honour of presenting the calumet is ' 

 always reserved for some person of distinction. And 

 the whole ceremony is performed in a gravj and dig* 

 nified way, corresponding, in this particular, to the 

 usual manners of the Indians, which are solemn and 

 lofty, and bearing a resemblance, in most of its as- 

 pects, to a religious institution. The treaty is now 

 concluded ; the hatchet painted red, the awful em- 

 blem of war, is buried deep in the earth ; a belt of 

 wampum, by which the articles of agreement are re- 

 corded, is delivered ; and the union, thus singularly, 

 and, as we should say, fantastically formed and esta- 

 blished, often continues throughout many genera- 

 tions. 



From the calumet, and the use to which it is ap- 

 plied, the most elegant of the Indian dances has its 

 origin and name. It is called the calumet dance ; 

 but when it is stated that this is the most elegant of 

 the Indian dances, nothing more is meant, than that 

 in the exercise or amusement alluded to, the contor- 

 tions and gestures of the performers are less fright- 

 ful than in any of the other dances. Like all the 

 other dances, however, that of the calumet may be 

 regarded as descriptive or emblematical ; and its 

 peaceful character might even be inferred from the 

 known uses of the instrument. It appears to repre- 

 sent, by a series of movements, the power and utili- 

 ty of the calumet. These ideas are very obviously 

 expressed in what may be called the chief action of 

 the piece. In this principal part, the performers are 

 commonly two ; the one armed with a club or hatchet, 

 and the other bearing in his hand the mediatory pipe, 

 with which he defends himself against the attacks of 

 his opponent, and with which he ultimately succeeds 

 in reducing him to obedience. Both the performers 

 dance all the while; and the rest of the Indians, 

 usually seated around them, join with them in utter- 

 ing and repeating that disagreeable sound which con- 

 stitutes the musk of the savages. The sound refer- 

 red to, Mr Caryer attempts to convey to European 

 ears, by the words " heh, heh, heh," and it is pres- 

 sed forth from the chest, apparently with much ef- 

 fort. The calumet dance, however, is now in use 

 only upon rare occasions, as when ambassadors are 

 received by the Indians, or when strangers of distinc- 

 tion pass through their country. See Carver's Travels, 

 pp. 253, 194, 201 ; and Long's Travels, p. 35. (h) 



CALVADOS, a department of France, which de- 

 rives its name from a chain of rocks about 12 miles 

 long, at the embouchure of the Orne, upon which 

 a Spanish vessel of this name was dashed to pieces. 

 This department is formed of that part of Normandy 

 which comprehended the dioceses of Lisieux and 

 Bayeux. It is bounded on the north by the sea, on 

 the west by the department of La Manche, on the 

 south by the department of the Orne, and on the 

 east by the department of the Eure. The principal 

 productions of this department are all kinds of grain, 

 excellent pasturage, hemp, lint, wool, white and red 

 honey, wax, cider of the first quality from Auge and 

 Bayeux, fish of all kinds, shell fish from the rocks of 

 Calvados, white coral, woad, coal, and iron. The 

 river Orne is navigable from Caen to the sea ; the 

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