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ficance of the name; if he had named the child after an animal, for 
example, he described the power of that animal. Sometimes, too, he gave 
the infant some object to wear that would represent its name, although 
the parents themselves often depict the name by patterns on its clothes. 
The ceremony concluded with a feast. If the baby did not cry at the 
laughter and shouting it was a sure sign that it would grow into a brave 
child . 1 
Mothers suckled their children to the age of two or three years, and 
for two or three years longer allowed them to run naked during the sum- 
mer months, but in winter dressed them in clothes patterned after the 
same style as their parents’. A child that lost a milk tooth blackened it 
with charcoal and threw it towards the east, saying, “ I want a cat’s (wolf’s) 
tooth.” It is stated that the child who asked for a wolf’s tooth often grew 
a supernumerary tooth above the others. 
Children underwent definite training at the hands of both parents and 
grandparents from the age of about seven. Girls were taught the pursuits 
of the women, sewing, mat- and basket-making, etc., boys the pursuits of 
the men, fishing and hunting. Neighbours, especially men, were invited 
to share the feast when a boy killed his first game, so that they might invoke 
the blessing of the Great Spirit on the household and encourage the lad to 
further efforts. To harden their bodies boys were encouraged to wrestle 
and run races, and every child, boy or girl, had to bathe in a lake or river 
at the beginning of each month until the freeze-up. In winter they ran 
naked to a mark on the ice, or were driven out into a snow-storm and rubbed 
with snow. When the ice was going out in the spring many children bathed 
each morning for ten days in succession, counting the days on a notched 
stick; others, who dreaded the ice-cold water, blackened their faces and 
fasted until noon or evening. It was usual for a kinsman to test a boy’s 
“ courage,” and determine whether or not he would reach old age, by making 
him swallow a portion of the still-pulsating heart of a mud-turtle. 
“ When I was six or seven years old my uncle killed a mud-turtle, cut its pul- 
sating heart into six pieces and made each of his nephews swallow one morsel. I alone 
succeeded in retaining the meat in my stomach without vomiting; and I alone have 
reached extreme old age” (James W'alker). 
The ethical training was as rigid as the physical. Children were taught 
certain rules of conduct, and frequently punished for their infringement. 
They should never tell lies. They should be respectful to their elders and 
not walk in front of them. They should never stand around like beggars 
when others ate. Boys should avoid looking at girls, lest the girls’ faces 
should appear in their way during their hunting. Children should not play 
too much, or climb too much, lest their souls should leave their bodies and 
some accident befall them. They should dream as much as possible, and 
try to remember their dreams. They should keep quiet in the evenings, 
or their parents would catch no game. 
“Every winter I set twenty-five or thirty rabbit snares. If I find that a rabbit 
has carried away a snare, I warn my children that they have been making too much 
noise in the evenings ” (Pegahmagabow) . 
1 The Parry Islanders had no memory of any fight between the clans at the birth of a child, and they stated 
that the only individual who smoked at the naming ceremony was the old man who bestowed the name ( Cf . Dens- 
more, F.: "Chippewa Customs"; Bur. of Am. Ethn., Bull. 86, pp. 48, 65). 
