Tooker] 



ETHNOGRAPHY OF THE HURON 37 



chief took his robe and said that a particular chief would despoil 

 him of the robe which he held. He added, "The Ataronchroiions will 

 cut off his head, which will be given to Ondessone, with one arm and 

 the liver to make a feast." After this, each armed himself with a 

 brand or a piece of burning bark and, as the captive ran around the 

 fires, each attempted to burn him as he passed. He shrieked and the 

 whole crowd imitated his cries, or rather smothered them with 

 shouts. They often stopped him at one end of the house ; some broke 

 the bones of his hands, others pierced his ears with sticks which they 

 left in them, others rouglily bound his wrists with cords and pulled 

 each end with all their might. After he had made each round and 

 could pause to catch his breath, he was made to rest on hot ashes and 

 burning coals. On the seventh romid, his strength failed liim. After 

 he had rested a short time on the embers, they tried to make him rise 

 as usual, but he did not move. One Indian applied a brand to his 

 loins and he fainted. The chiefs ordered them to cease torturing 

 him, saying that it was important that he live until daybreak. He 

 was put on a mat, most of the fires were extinguished, and many 

 people left. After an hour he began to revive a little, and was 

 commanded to sing. At first, he did so in a broken and dying voice, 

 but finally he sang so loudly that he could be heard outside the house. 

 The youth assembled and began torturing hun again. As they took 

 turns, they had leisure m which to devise other methods to make him 

 feel the fire more keenly. He was scarcely burned anywhere except 

 on his legs, but the flesh on them was in shreds. Some applied burn- 

 ing brands to them and did not withdraw them until he cried out. 

 As soon as he stopped shrieking, they burned him again, repeating 

 this seven or eight times, often reviving the fire by blowing on it. 

 Others bound cords around him and then set them on fire, thus slowly 

 burnmg him. Some made him put his feet on red-hot hatchets and 

 then pressed down on them. They struck him with clubs on the 

 head, passed small sticks thi*ough his ears, broke the rest of Ms 

 fingers, and stirred up the fire around his feet. As they burned him, 

 they made various remarks. One said, "Here, uncle, I must burn 

 you," and later another called the prisoner a canoe, "Come, let me 

 calk and pitch my canoe, it is a beautiful new canoe which I lately 

 traded for ; I must stop all the water holes well," meanwhile passing 

 the brand all along his legs. Another asked him, "Come, uncle, where 

 do you prefer that I should burn you?" and the captive had to indi- 

 cate some particular place. Someone else said, "For my part, I do 

 not know anything about burning; it is a trade that I never prac- 

 ticed"; meanwhile, he performed tortures more cruel than those of 

 the others. Some tried to make him believe he was cold. Said one, 

 "Ah, it is not right that my micle shoidd be cold; I must warm you," 

 and another added, "Now as my uncle has kindly deigned to come 



