DOG SACRIFICES. — RIDICULOUS INCIDENT. 135 



Indian, in June 1858, set his net and caught a large fish 

 of a kind different to any with which he was familiar ; he 

 immediately pronounced it to be a Manitou, and carefully 

 restoring it to the water again, at once sacrificed five 

 valuable dogs to appease the anger of the supposed fairy. 

 On approaching Long Lake, an arm of the Qu'appelle 

 Eiver Valley, the Crees warned us not to visit the lake 

 by night, as it was full of devils. They told me very 

 extraordinary tales, which are too absurd to be worth 

 relating, of the dimensions and power of these devils, and 

 they appeared to live in awe and terror of them. 



Like most heathen and barbarous races, Indians suffer 

 much from their superstitious fears. When the weather 

 is fine, and their tents are well supplied with provisions, 

 they are an independent and joyous people. Full of 

 frolic and fond of relating anecdotes, they laugh immode- 

 rately at any trifling joke or absurdity, and seem tho- 

 roughly to enjoy existence. 



A ridiculous incident occurred in the tent belonging to 

 the Cree chief, Mis-tick-oos, in which I played a more 

 prominent part than I should have selected had any 

 choice been offered me. I heard of this incident again 

 hundreds of miles from the spot where it occurred, as we 

 journeyed homewards from the Grand Forks. 



It happened during a visit I paid to Mis-tick-oos (Vol. I. 

 p. 362), after a long and tedious talk, which lasted nearly 

 seven hours, relating to the object we had in view in visit- 

 ing the country. Three of Mis-tick-oos' wives were visible, 

 and with their children formed altogether a party of 

 eighteen or twenty. I rose from a buffalo robe where I 

 was seated by the side of Mis-tick-oos to examine some 

 arrows which one of his sons was making, and when my 

 curiosity was satisfied, I sat down on what I thought to 

 be a bundle of buffalo robes, close to the young Indian. 



K 4 



