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mufick which is always compofed of the drum and 

 the chichikoue, is in the middle of the place. 

 They take care never to feparate thofe of the fame 

 family j they do not hold one another by the hand, 

 and each carries his arms and buckler. The 

 circles turn round different ways, and though there 

 is much capering in which they fpring to a great 

 height, they are never out of time. 



Some chief of a family prefents his buckler at 

 certain intervals : all of them ftrike upon it, and at 

 each ftroke he calls to remembrance fome of his fa- 

 mous exploits : he afterwards cuts a bit of tobacco 

 from a poft to which they take care to tie a certain 

 quantity, which he gives to one of his friends. If 

 any one can prove he has performed more famous 

 exploits than he, or that he has had any fhare in 

 thofe of which he has been boafting, he has a right 

 to take away the tobacco of which he has juft made 

 a prefent, and to give it to another. This dance is 

 followed by a teafl j but I do not well know 

 whence it had the name it bears, if it does not 

 come from the bucklers on which they ftrike, 

 which are covered with buffaloes hides. There 

 are fome dances which are prefcribed by their 

 quacks for the cure of lick perfons ; but they are 

 generally very lafcivious. There are fome of them 

 calculated purely for amufement, and which have 

 no relation to any thing. Thefe are always in the 

 form of a circle to the found' of the drum and 

 chickikoue, and the women always apart from the 

 men. Thefe latter dance bearing their arms in 

 their hands, and though they have no hold of one 

 another, they never break the circle. As to what 

 I mentioned of their never lofing time, this ought 

 £o create no difficulty, the mufick of the Indians 



confiding 



