took them into the plains and turned them all loose; and committing them to the Great Spirit, he abandoned them for ever. They burn animal flesh of all descriptions, in sacrifice to the Great Spirit; and also tobacco, the first fruits of their fields, and whatever is most dear to them. To show that they are willing to part from their dearest attachments to please and appease him, and to secure his protection, Col. James Smith, with whom I was well acquainted, states, in his captivity with the Indians, that his oldest adopted brother, Te-caugh-re-tan-ego, and himself, while hunting on Ol-len-tan-gy, (which is that branch of the Scioto called Whetstone, down which the Indians would descend to the mouth, near to Columbus; thence

up the Big Scioto to the mouth of the Little Scioto; up this to a branch of the Sandusky river, that here interlocks, and in high water in the spring, can be passed with bark canoes,) made preparations to remove; but finding the river too low, and that they were in danger of splitting their canoe, this old Indian chief concluded he would camp on shore, and pray for rain. When they encamped, Te-caugh-re-tan-ego made himself a sweathouse, which he did by sticking a number of hoops or poles in the ground, the back pole forming a semi-circle. This he covered all round with blankets and skins. then prepared hot stones, which he rolled into his hut, and then went into it himself, with a little kettle of water in his hand, mixed with a variety of herbs, which he had formerly procured, and had now with him in his pack, (this was his medicine-bag.) They afforded an odoriferous perfume. When he was in, he told Smith to pull down the blankets behind him, and to cover all up close, which he did; and then the Indian began to pour water upon the hot stones, and sing aloud. He continued in

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this vehemently hot place for about fifteen minutes. All this he did in order to purify himself, before he would address the Great Supreme Being. When he came out of his sweat-house, he began to burn tobacco and pray. He began each petition with, "O! O! O!" which is a kind of aspiration, and expresses an ardent desire. He began his address by thanksgiving, in the following manner: "O! Great Spirit, I thank thee that I have obtained the use of my legs, (he had been afflicted with the rheumatism,) that I am now able to walk about and kill turkies, &c., without feeling great pain and misery. I know that thou art a hearer and helper, and therefore I call upon thee. 0, 0, 0! grant that my knees and ankles may be right well, and that I may be able not only to walk, but to run, and jump logs, as I did last fall. O, O, O! grant that on this voyage we may frequently kill bears, as they may be crossing the Scioto and Sandusky. 0, 0, O! grant that we may kill turkies along the banks, to stew with our fat bear-meat. 0, 0, 0! grant that rain may come to raise the Ol-len-tan-gy (or Whetstone) about two or three feet, that we may get in safety down to Scioto, without danger of our canoe being wrecked on the rocks. And now, O! Great Spirit, thou knowest how matters stand; thou knowest that I am a great lover of tobacco, and though I know not when I hall get any more, I now make a present of the last I have unto thee, as a free burnt offering; therefore I expect thou wilt hear and grant my requests, and I, thy servant, will return thee thanks, and love thee for thy gifts." I have given this act of worship at length, to show that the Indians not only worship God by sacrifice, but that they do it with great solemnity. Many of the western tribes sacrifice the white dog. This practice prevails with the

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Six Nations; but I do not think that it was ever introduced amongst the Wyandotts, the Mohegans, Delawares, or, the more northeastern or southern tribes. ner of offering this sacrifice is once a year, and before the time the sacrifice is to be made, they make the dog as fat as possible. When the day arrives, the priests of the tribe have a great fire kindled, over which they intend to suspend the animal; and then he is taken and tied, his fore feet together, and his hind feet together. His mouth is also tied. Then he is suspended over the fire by the hind legs, and one appointed for the purpose, with a knife cuts both the arteries in his neck, and the blood streams down into the fire. After he is fully dead, and the blood ceases to flow, then the whole body is cut down, and he burns up wholly. In the meantime, the congregation are silent; but as soon as he is consumed by the fire, they begin their feast, and dance and sing to the Great Spirit for the most part of three days and nights. The prophets then prophesy, and it terminates in a great ball play. Between-the-logs, Mo-non-cue and Hicks, with myself, and Jonathan Pointer for interpreter, once visited the remnants of these tribes, on the Sandusky river, and it happened to be on the last day of one of these feasts, which was the Sabbath, and we found a large part of the nation playing ball. Let the modes of offering, and the different kinds of animals offered, be what they may, one fact is beyond all successful contradiction: that the North American Indians do approach the Great Spirit by sacrifice, and appease his wrath, and seek his protection, and the guidance of his merciful providence, by this kind of worship, and by offering prayers to him as their great Creator and Benefactor. Another thing of general belief among them is, the existence of good and bad angels.

The good are supposed to be under the immediate direction of the Great Spirit, and are always employed in doing good, and controlling the bad influence of evil angels, who, they say, "are under the command of a great one, that is always doing evil. (See Rev. Ethan Smith's. "View of the Hebrews.")

Among the Wyandotts, they hold their great yearly feast of first fruits. This is always held in the summer, when the corn is in roasting-ears, and their squashes. and other fruit begin to be fit to eat. But before any are allowed to partake of these fruits of the field, they must bring some of them to be offered to the Great Spirit. On the day appointed, each person brings with him to the place fixed on, some of these fruits. They are all thrown into a pile, and then the women go to boiling, a part of which is poured out on the fire to the Great Spirit, and thanksgiving is offered to him for sending them those blessings; after which they all partake of what remains, and then a song of thanksgiving, and then the dance. After which feast, they all return home and partake of the fruit of their labor with joyfulness. They have their feasts for the sick and for the dead, the feast for war, their feast for hunting, the buffalo feast, the solemn or great feast; and there may be more, of which I do not recollect; but a full account of these shall be given hereafter. Tanner, in his Narrative, gives an account of their holding different feasts, all about to the same amount as stated before. All prisoners and travelers have detailed the universality of this custom amongst the aboriginals. Penn, Adair, Col. Smith, Schoolcroft, and a train of oth'ers, might be here quoted, and perhaps may be, in future, to prove this fact.

The Wyandotts-Former extent of their territory-Strong and warlike-Division of the nation-Their bravery Hospitality-Divide their lands with other nations-Diminution of their numbers-Gloomy reflections of the Indian in contemplating the extinction of his raceIll treatment of them by the whites-The persons of the Indians described-Mental characteristics-Peculiar traits of character-Worship the Great Spirit-Their festivals-Medicine feast-Feast of dreams Feast of giving names-War feast-The great feastWobbeno feast-Feast with the dead-Boys' feast-Garangula-Autumnal feasts-Solemn feasts-Buffalo feasts-Wyandotts in two tribes-Change in the dynasty-Form of government-Manslaughter and the avenger of blood—A singular example-Towns of refuge— An example-Law about property sold-A case where the author was concerned-Law about theft-Theft formerly almost unknown-Sanguinary law against murder-Its beneficial effect-Witchcraft-Case of a young man bewitched by wolves Stewart and a witch-Horrible, death inflicted on her-Games-Their religion-Believe in two GodsIn future rewards and punishments-In inspiration-Seneca prophetShawnee prophet-Inferior prophets Polygamy-Hospitality-Reception and entertainment of strangers-Author eats a dish of locusts-Mode of eating-A case of two white men transgressing itTheir friendship and hatred.

HAVING, in the preceding chapter, presented some thoughts on the origin of the Indian race, I shall in this, give a brief outline of the history of the Wyandott nation, with a sketch of some of the peculiarities in the Indian character, as exhibited in that and the adjoining nations.

The WYANDOTTs were formerly called HURONS; and, so far as history and their traditions inform us, they were the original proprietors of all the country from Mackinaw, down the lakes to Quebec, west to the Great Miami river, and northwest to Lake Michigan. When the French first settled in Canada, the nation was in possession of this whole country. They were then a numerous, bold and