The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1852-10-02

'ur hearts .aui the ssSlncss ui I'D iullN man
il.,tr,l io~ari, u, Cast ,h, bread ulon the
s.s.r- aul ''HH .halt 6Rl . ,:ss- uanl A."
.h,,-. Damn. b",..r i,a'c. - bal treated
iu,., ir,-r si,alc. with klniR.. ami hh-rai y
~ au.I 'h"" Ir,.,-- ',,r.,,l- s-lk,,l collN b
s'-,i nrrtl hayc been indebted To them hen :
| had nothing tn give IN return, when the :
pantry wa empty, and the hearth stone cold I
a the! term the want oi provisions To co"k Al
1t. And their dclIcacy in conirrrins thcsc ia /
vor> was not the least admirable part of their I
conduct. John No.an, who wa, much attach t
ed TO us, would brin. fine brace of ducks. {
and drop them at my feet for the papou>c
or leave large mu>kinonsc ON the sill of the
door, or place a quarter Of venison iu>t with
IN 1t. and slip away without saving a word.
thinking that rcccirin. a present from poor
Indian might hurt our feelings. and he would
spare Us the modification OF returnin. thanks.
When an Indian loses one of his children
he must keep strict fast Tor two or three
days, abStalnlng from food of anv kind 4
hunter, of the name of Youn. told me a Gu
rious story OF their rigid observance of this
strange rite:
They had chief he said, "a few wears
ago, whom the. called Handsome jack
whether in ,icrision cannot tell, for he was
one OF the u.licst Indians ever saw. The
scarlet fever got INTO the camp-a terrible
disease in this country, and doublv terribly
to those poor creatures. who don't know how
to treat 1t. His eldest daughter died The
chief had tasted two days when met him in
the bush. did not know what had happen
ed but | opened my wallet. for va, on a
| huntin. expedition. and offered him some
bread and dried vcni>on. He looked at me
, rcproachtully.
| DO white men eat bread the first nigh,
y their papousc is laid in the earth ::
:, then knew the cause of his depression.
(. and left him.
: On the night of the second ,lav of hi, fast
q another child died OF the tc,cr He had now
to accomplish three DAYS more without ta<t
;, in- food 1t WAS too much. even for an In
~ dian. On the evening of the fourth ,lav h,
WAS ;" pressed 10y ravcnou> hunger. that h,
Il devourcd it alive. He imagined himself
ID alone. hnt one of his people, su>pccting hi
intrn'ion. had followed him, unpcrrcivcd. t,
/ thr bush. Tn, act h had lust comm,t.,
to was hdrou> crime in their ewes. and in ;
- lew minutes the camp was in an uproar.-
al The chief fled for protection to Younu'
e. house. When the hunter demanded til,
| cause Of his alarm, he gave for answer :
rn There are plenty of flies at my house I,
m avoid their sting> came to YOU
1t required all the cloIucnce of Mr. Young
Ii who cnjo.yed much popularity among them
ed to reconcile the rcbciou> tribe to their chic
They are very >kil,tul in their trcatmcr
nd of wounds, and many diseases. Their know
ID edge OF the medical qualities of plants an
Nv herbs is very great. They make eNccllcr
pou!;icr> from the bark OF the bass and sliI
lat perry elm. They Use several native plants
- the dyeing of baskets and porrupine quill
Of The inner bark OF the swamp alder, simpl
he boiled i'll water. makes beautiful red. Fro
nat the root of the black brionv, they obtain
see fine Salvc for sores, and extract rich vcllo
ter dye. The inner bark of the root of the ;
t mach, roasted. and reduced to IA powder. i
nm good remedy for the agur; tca->;,oout
lc> "lvcn between the hot and cold fit Th,
wa srrapc tine fine white powder from the lar
iir- fungus that grows upon the bark of the pin
$. into whskev, and take it for violent pans
nld the stomach. The taste of the powder stron
md ly reminds me of quinine.
the | have read much of the excellence of |
ing dian cookery, but never could bring mvsc
an to take anything prepared in their dirty wi
as vans. remember being highly amused
cir. watching the preparation of mess. viii
rat might have been called the Indian hotc
the potch. 1t consisted of strange mixture
'ver fish, flesh and fowl, all boiled together in t
: IN same vessel Ducks. partridgcs, muskinon.
vcnison. and muskrat, formed part of Il
'ior, dclcctable compound. These were litera
NH smothcred in onions. potatoes, and turni
for which they had procured from me. TIL
sha- very Hospitality offered me dishfu of
nta- odious mixture, which the odor of the mu
llled rats rendered anything but savory; but
Ter clined simply stating that was not hung
they Ny little boy tasted it, but quickly left
ood' camp to conceal the effect it produced W
ably him.
the Their method of broiling fish, however
man excellent. They take fish, just fresh
disa- of the water. cut ont tbc entrails and with
IN 10y moving the scales, wash it clean. dry it i
ntle- cloth, or in grease. and cover it all over "
, big clear hot ashes. When the flesh will ,
as a from the bone, they draw it out of the asl
great strip off the skin, and it is fit for the table
While the most faStidious cpicurc.
hern -------.-
E Mr. Norton Peters of Missouri, rec,
wo " aaas a handsome speculation by driv
j. sheep overland to California. He star
, w.. with $500 sheep, and at Salt Lake he sh,
face; e' '"."' anu '''e '"o "oo' '1A
/ Lor reaching California with seoO of them
,r; good coudition, he was offered Sls p.r h