256 TRAVEL, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT. 



!N"orth American Indian, and it must be admitted that 

 none of us were very favourably impressed by these 

 specimens of that people, When near our camp, the 

 speaker of the party, called "Blackstone," having 

 lagged behind the others, was overtaken by an officer 

 who was driving towards the bay, and who volun- 

 teered by signs to give him a lift ; the offer was good- 

 huniouredly accepted. This Indian chief had never 

 been in a wheeled conveyance before ; and having, 

 like all these wood savages, an instinctive horror of 

 horses, the drive was gone through with more solem- 

 nity than pleasure. When he came in sight of the 

 tents he requested permission to dismount where 

 there was a little stream of water. Pulling from his 

 pocket a small piece of soap, he wet it, and plastered 

 down his long, straight, black hair with it, and tied 

 round his head a mink-skin, from which at the back 

 stood up a row of eagle's feathers, with here and there 

 an ermine-tail hanging from them. Having thus com- 

 pleted his toilet, he came into camp. 



An English missionary who had recently arrived 

 from Canada, and who lived close to the beach, in- 

 vited the whole party to his tent, where he gave 

 them a good dinner no easy matter, as an Indian 

 will eat as much as four white men if allowed to have 

 as much as he likes. The feast over, the zealous 

 clergyman thought he might improve the occasion by 

 administering to their spiritual wants ; but they no 

 sooner understood his object than they hastily bolted 



