Part 13 (1/2)

They are also guided to a great extent by their dreams, for they imagine that in the night they are in direct communication with the spirits which watch over their daily occupations. Certain persons obtain much renown in divining the dreams and these are consulted with the greatest confidence. The drum is brought into use, and during its tumult the person pa.s.ses into a state of stupor or trance and in a few moments arouses himself to reveal the meaning of the other's dream.

Superst.i.tion holds these people in its terrible sway and everything not understood is attributed to the working of one of the numerous spirits.

Every object, however simple, appears to have its patron spirit, which, in order that it may perform its services for the welfare of the people, must be propitiated with offerings most pleasing and acceptable to it.

The rule seems to be that all spirits are by nature bad, and must be propitiated to secure their favor. Each person has a patron spirit, and these must always be placated lest misfortune come. These spirits a.s.sume an infinite variety of forms, and to know just what form it a.s.sumed when it inflicted its baneful effects, the shamans or medicine men must be consulted. These are supposed to be in direct contact with such spirits.

The spirit will appear only in the darkness of the conjuring house, and then permit itself to be appeased by some atonement made by the afflicted, which can be made known only through the shaman. He alone indicates the coa.r.s.e to be pursued, and his directions, to be explicitly followed, are often so confusing and impossible that the person fails to perform them. All these minor spirits are under the control of a single great spirit having its dwelling in the sky, a term as illimitable with those people as with ourselves.

Each animal has its protective spirit, which is inferior to those of man. The soul, if such expression may be used, of all animals is indestructible, and is capable of reappearing again and again as often as the material form is destroyed. There are spirits of beasts, birds, fishes, insects, and plants. Each of these has a home to which it returns after death, which is simply a cessation of that period of its material form, and each may be recalled at the will of the shaman. If an animal be killed it does not decrease the number of that species, for it still exists, although in a different form.

The Canada jay is supposed to inform the various animals of the approach of Indians, and these rarely fail to kill the jay wherever found.

A species of mouse is supposed to have such dread of man that it dies the instant it wanders near the track of a person. They often find these tiny creatures near the path, and believe them to be unable to cross it.

As the dusk of eve draws near, the silent flitting of the common short-eared owl (_Asio accipitrinus_), and the hawk owl (_Surnia funeria_), attracted by the sounds of the camp, creates direst confusion. The announcement of its presence causes the entire a.s.semblage of people to be alert and hastily suspend some unworn garment, that the bird may perceive it and thus know that the people are not so poor in their worldly possessions as the spirit Wiq'-ti-qu may think; as it only annoys people who are too poor to have extra garments. As this short-eared owl frequents only the lower lands, the Indians a.s.sert that they are compelled to select the higher points of land as their camping sites in order to escape from him.

The shaman, as I have already said, is believed to be able to control all these different spirits by his magic art, and to foretell the future, but he must be concealed from view while carrying on his mysterious performances. Hence a special structure must be erected in which the shaman goes through various contortions of body until in a state of exhaustion and while in that weakened condition he fancies these things which have such wonderful hold on the minds of the people.

The tent (Fig. 85) is high and of small diameter. Every crack and crevice in the tent is carefully closed to exclude even the least ray of light.

When within it, the shaman begins his operations by groaning and gradually increasing the pitch of voice until his screeching can be heard a great distance. The din of the drum adds confusion to the ceremony. This goes on until the shaman announces the appearance of the spirit with whom he desires to commune. He implores the spirit to grant the request, and in the course of time informs the people outside that he has succeeded in securing the services of the spirit. All within becomes quiet and only whisperings are heard.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 85.--Indian medicine lodge.]

The spirit promises to fulfill the obligation he has undertaken, and the conjuror throws over the tent and states the result of the interview.

This result is always favorable, as his reputation depends upon its happening. Any untoward circ.u.mstance, such as a person turning over a stone or breaking a twig from a bush while traveling, is sufficient cause to break the spell, and the blame can be laid on the shoulders of such an offender. If the request be not granted within the stipulated time as announced by the shaman at the end of the ceremony, some one is certain to have been the cause of displeasing the spirit, who now withholds the favor until reparation for the offense is made. The conjurer is not slow to make some one do penance while he himself is gaining time, as he takes good care not to attempt anything out of season.

When an Indian kills one of the larger and fiercer wild beasts it is customary to reserve a portion of the skin or other part of the body as a memento of the deed.

These mementos are sacredly kept to show the prowess of the hunter and at the same time they serve as a token of the wealth procured by bartering the pelt of the animal to the trader. The wolf, bear, and wolverine are considered worthy of remembrance, and of the first and last mentioned animals a claw or a tip of an ear may serve as a souvenir.

The under lip of the bear (Fig. 86) is the portion preserved. The skin is cut off and spread flat to dry. The flesh side of the skin is painted with powdered hemat.i.te mixed with water or oil.

The outer edges or lips are ornamented with a single row of many-colored beads. At the apex or middle of the lip is attached a pendant in the form of a fish. The fish is 3 or 4 inches long, made of cloth and has a row of beads extending around the entire circ.u.mference of the length of the body.

These mementos are procured with great difficulty from the hunter who has risked his life in the struggles attending the capture of the beasts, for the barren-ground bear of that region is not a timid creature like the black bear; and unless the hunter is well prepared for the animal he would do well to let it alone.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 86.--Indian amulet of bearskin.]

The occupations of the s.e.xes are so numerous that a detailed account alone would suffice, as the various seasons have their regular routine labors besides those unexpectedly appearing. In the spring the Indians of both s.e.xes come to the post of Fort Chimo to trade their winter's hunt of fur-bearing animals. About the middle of March word is brought that the camp of old men and women with a number of children, left from the parties scattered in all directions during the previous fall, are slowly approaching the post. They come by easy stages, camping here and there for a day or two, but striving to be near about the time that the earlier parties come in to trade. These latter straggle along from the middle of April to the last of May, those who had ascended the streams to the headwaters often not arriving until after the breaking of the ice in the river, which may be as late as the 15th of June. When they collect at the post they have an opportunity to meet after a separation of months and enjoy a period of rest. The trading of their furs and other articles continues slowly until the parties have made their selections of guns, ammunition, tobacco, and cloths, a quant.i.ty of flour, biscuit, peas, beans, rice, and sugar. Mola.s.ses is purchased in enormous quant.i.ties, a hogshead of 90 gallons sufficing for only three or four days' trade. Other articles of varied character, from needles and beads to calico and cloth, are bought by the women.

The parties receive the allowance given in advance for the prosecution of the ensuing winter's hunt, after which they are relied on to raft down the supply of wood cut by the white men for the next winter's supply of fuel. This consumes the season until the middle of July.

Stragglers are out even later. The men, meantime, select the locality where they will remain for the summer and fall. The winter is to be occupied in getting furs. Each head of a party announces his intended location and the parties gradually leave the post for their destination.

Some of the Indians in former years were employed to a.s.sist the salmon fis.h.i.+ng, but they proved to be unreliable, either through fear of the turbulent waters of the Koksoak or inattention to their task. They were easily allured from the nets by the appearance of any game, and as the tides in that river do not wait even for an Indian, serious losses resulted from carelessness. Hence their places in later years are filled by Eskimo, who are better adapted to the work.

The various parties disperse in different directions in order that the entire district may afford its products for their benefit. The Indians know the habits of the animals in those regions so well that they are sure, if they go to a particular locality, to find the game they are in quest of.

The reindeer provides them with the greater part of their food and the skins of these animals afford them clothing.

Although their food consists of reindeer, ptarmigan, fish, and other game, the deer is their main reliance, and when without it, however great the abundance of other food, they consider themselves starving.

The deer are procured in several ways, the princ.i.p.al of which is by the use of the lance or spear. In the months of September and October they collect from various directions. During the spring the females had repaired to the treeless hills and mountains of the Cape Chidley region to bring forth their young on those elevations in early June or late May. After the young have become of good size the mothers lead them to certain localities whither the males, having gone in an opposite direction, also return. They meet somewhere along the banks of the Koksoak river, usually near the confluence of that river with the North or Larch. While thousands of these animals are congregated on each bank small herds are continually swimming back and forth, impelled by the s.e.xual instinct. The hair of the young animals is now in excellent condition for making skin garments. The females are thin, not yet having recovered from the exhaustion of furnis.h.i.+ng food for their young and material for the new set of antlers, which appear immediately after the birth of the fawns. The skin is, however, in tolerable condition, especially in late October. The back of the male is now covered with a large ma.s.s of fat known as ”back fat.” This deposit is about 1 to 1 inches thick by 2 feet broad and 20 inches long. The males are full of vigor and in the best possible condition at this season, as the antlers have become dry and cease to draw upon the animal for material to supply their immense growth.