201 
speeches, for, unlike the Eskimo, they seldom relished jokes, either 
practical or verbal, and anything savouring of humour would have 
appeared highly undignified in a public orationd Their sentences 
were short and straightforward, frc(|uently adorned with similes and 
metaphors. ^Metaphors, indeed, liad an unusual fascination for the 
eastern Indians, particularly the Iroquoians,“ who frequently cast 
entire orations in this figure, so that wlien translated literally they 
sound florid and artificial to European ears. “ Onontio,” said the 
cliief of an Iroquois embassy to the French governor at Quebec, 
“thou hast dispersed the clouds; the air is serene, the sky shows 
clearly; the sun is bright. 1 see no more trouble; peace has made 
everything calm; my heart is at rest; I go away very happy. Like 
most orations, however, Indian uttei'ances derived their force largely 
from the manner of their flelivery and lost much of their effect when 
reduced to jn’int. The invariable flignity of the orator, the easy flow 
of his words, and the magnificence of his gesttires, preserver! his 
speeches from the taint of bombast and justly earned him a very 
high reputaiion for eloquence. 
Festivals, like council meetings, gave frequent opportunities for 
oratory, but even more for dancing. Some of the mimetic dances 
were primitive dramas — when a war party, for example, mimicked 
its attack on an enemy camp, or an Eskimo hunter his capture of a 
seal. Real drama with impersonation of characters and a slight 
attempt at stage setting occurrerl only on the Pacific coast, and 
among the interior tribes of British Columbia, who adopted part of 
the culture of the coast people. Some dramas were for entertain- 
ment purposes and for enliancing the j:)restige of ]')articular individu- 
als, as when a man impersonated the mythological being or animal 
that birthright made his distinguishing crest. Thus, only a few years 
ago a Carrier Indian, supported by relatives and friends, gave a 
sjiecial feast that would enable him to impersonate a caribou, a privi- 
lege he inherited from his uncle much as a feudal nobleman in 
Europe might have inherited the right to wear a certain robe. As 
the guests gathered near the feast-house two rifle shots resounded in 
1 There was niucli je.sling, often very coarse, in the drainatic festivals of the west coast natives, 
I)ut not in forma] speeclies. 
- " Metaphor lis largely in use ainoiif; lln'se yieoples; unless you .areustom yourseJf to it, you will 
iimlei-stand nothiiiK in their councils, where they speak almost entirely iit metnphoi-s.” “ .Jesuit IJela- 
ttons,” ^■ol. X. p. 219. 
3 “ Jesuit Relations,” vol. xxvii, p. 303. 
86959—141 
