86 Harmon's journal. 



his bride where their common lodging place is ; 

 and they continue to cohabit, as long as both par- 

 ties choose, but no longer. One thing is secured 

 by this arrangement, which is by no means always 

 found in the civilized world, and that is, while per- 

 sons live together, in a state of wedlock, they will 

 live in harmony. 



Friday, January 1, 1802. This being the first 

 day. of the year, in the morning, I gave the peo- 

 ple a dram or two, and a pint of rum each, to 

 drink in the course of the day, which enabled 

 them to pass it merrily, although they had very 

 little to eat ; for our hunters say they can kill 

 nothing. One of them will not go out of his tent ; 

 for he imagines, that the Bad Spirit, as they call 

 the devil, is watching an opportunity to find him 

 in the open air, in order to devour him. What 

 will not imagination do I 



Saturday, 9. Several days since, I sent a num- 

 ber of my people to Alexandria for meat, as neith- 

 er of my hunters kill any thing ; though there is 

 no scarcity of animals, in this vicinity. But they 

 have just returned, without any thing. They say 

 that the buffaloes, in consequence of the late mild 

 weather, have gone a considerable distance, into 

 the large prairie. We are therefore under the 

 necessity of subsisting on pounded meat, and dried 

 chokecherries. This latter article, is little better 



