The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1875-08-27

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humored, though with occasional fits o
apparently causeless sulkiness ; he fre
quently coughs violently, and his habiti
of crouching about here and there ar,
those of savage. He can count il
French up to 100, having, however, a
the first attempt, stuck at 80, passing
from 10 to 100 ("soixante dix neuf-
cent?. The blacks, he says, have NJ
names for the different numbers, anC
can only count by signs up to 10, signi
fed by touching different parts of the
body.
He is very bitter against the Captain
of the Saint Paul for deserving him, but
at the same time appears to be afraid OF
him. He speaks with kindness of his
family, which he distinctly remembers
but always maintains that they must all
even including his younger brothers, be
now dead, and it would appear as if,
having no measure of the time he has
passed with the savages, the past ap-
pears to him at so vast distance rs to
have given him the impression that he is
extremely old, although, in fact, barely
80. He says he wished to remain with
the blacks, and, although he acquiesced
in his removal, he is evidently by no
means as yet either happy or satisfied.
The name of the tribe with which he
lived is Macadama. They have no
kings, chiefs, nor leading men among
them, all the males being equal. The
men, he says, are strong, but observes
with pride that he himself is very strong,
much stronger than the blacks. On the
other hand, though he says he is a good
swimmer and diver, he acknowledges
that in the water the blacks far surpass
him. The tribe subsists chiefly on fish,
turtles, turtles eggs, alligators' eggs, and
roots and fruits. Sometimes they hunt
animals, but apparently not often. The
occupation of the men is fishing, that of
the women to gather roots, and some
times also they get honey. They have
no knowledge of nets, lines, or hooks.
The larger fish are harpooned from
canoes, the smaller speared with three
pronged spear. The canoes are cut out
of trees with knives formed of hoop
iron, obtained from barrels washed up
from wrecks. OF this hoop-iron, also,
the heads of their spears and harpoons
are made. Narcisse says he himself con-
two canoes, which he has left
behind him.
The women appear to be more numer
GUS than the men, every man having
from two TO five women in his suite.
Their position is low one, as appears
from the fact that although there are
names for "man," "brother,"
and "son," there is only one word
"beycheynumma'-for woman, isis
ter" and "daughter. The terms "hus-
known, as are the ideas which they
imply. The relation of the sexes are
strictly animal, and "might makes
right" The men, he says, not unfre-
luently fight with spears for the posses
sion of a woman, while the women fight
among themselves about man, their
being heavy slaves, with which
hey beat one another about the head till |
.he blood flows. These quarrels prob
IDLY arise when n decided preference is
shown to one woman over another by |
heir lord. The men have no clothing |
whatever, not even opossnm rugs or
)ther covering at night; the women wear
| fringe of cords extending from the
nave no houses or huts, but when it |
aims they put up some temporary shelter
If branches of trees or bark. He main
aims, however, that they never feel cold,
because they always have fires. On
BOARD he feels the cold bitterly, and dis
likes the wind. Like all savages he can
make fire by rubbing together two pieces
If wood. He describes the tribe he has
,een attached to as very peaceable, and
ays that he has never seen one of its
lumber killed by another member of
he tribe. Battles, however, sometimes
occur between two tribes. He describes
me in which he took q part. A tribe
lamed the Echaus killed some of the
upon which the latter re-
aliated by surprising the Echaus when
lumber. Two were speared by Narcisse
himself.
The blacks have no knowledge of any
superior Being, and no form of religion
# any kind whatever. The dead are tied
lp with cords after the fashion of a mum
ny, and exposed to the action of the sun
ither in the forks of trees or on n scat
old. He describes the treatment he has
eceived from the tribe as having been
kind, and he thinks they
would treat any white man well. They
re not afraid, he says, of white
nen, but of white mems guns. They
re not cannibals, nor does he think
hat any of the tribes in that region are
o. He states that he has heard that in
lis tribe there was an old white man who
lad lived among them for many years,
nd was at last drowned while out fish
ng He does not recollect having seen
his man himself, and is not sure when
lis death occurred.