ACCOUNT OF THE INDIANS. 



301 



crime of great magnitude ; and, therefore, it 

 makes no part of their acknowledgments, in 

 their confessions to the priests or magicians. If 

 a murder be committed on a person belonging to 

 a tribe with whom the}' are at enmity, they re- 

 gard it as a brave and noble action. Should one 

 Indian kill another, belonging to the same village 

 with himself, the murderer is considered as a per- 

 son void of sense ; and he must quit his village 

 and remain away, until he can pay the relations 

 of the deceased for the murder ; and even after 

 this has been done, it often occasions quarrels, be- 

 tween the parties. 



The Carriers are so very credulous, and have 

 so exalted an opinion of us, that they firmly believe, 

 though I have often assured them of the contra- 

 ry, that any of the Traders or Chiefs, as they call 

 us, can, at pleasure, ihake it fair or foul weather. 

 And even yet when they are preparing to set out 

 on an excursion, they will come and offer to pay 

 us, provided we will make or allow it to be fair 

 weather, during their absence from their homes. 

 They often inquire of us whether salmon, that 

 year, will be in plenty in their rivers. They also 

 think, that by merely looking into our books, we 

 can cause a sick person to recover, let the distance 

 which he may be from us be ever so great. In 

 short, they look upon those who can read and write, 



