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them, without putting any thing in their place 

 The weftern Indians always ufe bucklers of buffa- 

 loes hide, which are very light, and proof againft 

 mufket-fhot. It is pretty furprifing, the other Indian 

 nations never ufe them. 



"When they ufe our fwords, which is very rare, 

 they handle them like our h If pike : but when they 

 can have fire arms, powder and fhot, they abandon 

 their bows, and are excellent markfmen. We 

 have no caufe to repent having given them thefe 

 arms, tho' we were not the firft to do it. The Iro- 

 quois had got them of the Dutch, who were then in 

 poffeflion of New-York ; which laid us under the 

 neceffity of giving them to our allies. They have a 

 kind of flandards or colours to know one another 

 by, and to enable them to rally ; thefe are fmall 

 pieces of bark cut into a round form, which they 

 fix to the head of a pole, and on which is drawn 

 the mark of their nation or village. If the party is 

 numerous, each family or tribe has its peculiar en- 

 fign with its diftinguifhing mark. Their arms are 

 alfo adorned with different figures, and fometimes 

 with the mark of the chief. 



But that which they are as careful not to forget, 

 as even their arms, and which they guard with ftill 

 more care, is their manitous. I fhall treat more 

 particularly of them elfewhere-, it fuffices here to 

 fay, that they are fo many fymbols, under which 

 every one reprefents his tutelar genius. They in- 

 clofe them all in a bag made of rufhes, and painted 

 with different colours ; and often to do honour to 

 the chief, they place this bag in the prow of his ca- 

 noe, if there are too many manitous to be con- 

 tained in one bag, they diftribute them amongft fe- 

 vera! bags, which are entrufted to the care of the 



lieutenant 



