The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1877-03-29
HIBERNATING EABIES.
A Strange Custom Among the Owasss
Indians.

|
The San Francisco Call publishes
the following remarkable story, pre-
facing it with the statement that it il
printed just as it came from the writer
who is evidently more accustomed tC
the practical details of life on the
frontier, than to describing them in
print.
Having spent more than two years
among the Chippewa Indians living
Oil the North western shores of Lake
Superior, around Chae- wo -mirgau
Bay, and the mouth of river Muske.
ri bi, often heard of the strange and
hitherto unpublished custom of Sc
cluded tribe of Indians north of Ver-
million lake, who in winter sink their
children under the deep waters of the
lake in their vicinity, and in the spring
raise them up from the bottom of the
lake alive and well, after being six
months dormant aud unconscious.
The Chippewa Indians who related
this circumstance to me were all re
spectacle in their way, and are gener-
ally trustworthy and truthful people.
being mostly Christians, having been
instructed by Bishop Bsrrago of pious
memory. Hence, when they inform
ed one of the custom among the 'rab-
bit" Indians Of consigning about one
| third of their tribe 10 kind of tomb
for six months, in order that the other
two-thirds might be saved from death
by starvation, though regarded what
l had heard as almost incredible,
could but pay some attention to a
statement SO frequently made by SO
many persons otherwise credible.
! The manner in which the thing is
done, as they stated, is in this way
The children from the age of three
years to that of fourteen, at the ap-
prOach of winter, are inclOsed within
I I air-tis},t vessels or bage, made out OF
the bark of the birch-tree, or vetula
alba, aud after the "mokock." as it is
called, is sealed over and made imper-
viOus to watar, it is sunk with it's liv-
ing freight, into the bottom of Lake
"Owas," where il remains until spring
when it is drawn up and the dormant
papoose found sound and well, and
after little shaking it is soon restor-
ed to consciousness. Th9 "Owassoes
live chiefly on rabbits, the skins of
which animals are their only clothing,
and in the winter, when the rabits are
scarce, this low tribe would die of
starvation, if necessity had not taught
them to bavc recourse to this desper-
ate plan of disposing of their children
to save their provisions.
Nor can these poor ssvages be ac-
cuscd of cruelty or lack of affection
for their children by this unheard of
practice of theirs. How often do we
read of people even civilized who
have been compelled by hunger to be-
come cannibals-aye, even to devour
their own offspring in order to pre-
serve life? But these poor sava ges,
with real affection for their chidre II,
have contrived a plan not to destro v
them, but by saving food, to preserve
both their own and their children s
lives in this manner.
But what abont the custom? Does
it really exist, or is it only yarn of
some Chippewa Indian trappers?
The writer of this narratiye rega rd-
ed the statement as fabulous ct first
for. though every Indian he cousult ed
expressed his belief in the fact that
the children of this wild tribe were
all buried in the lake during the VIM
ter, and looked up again, safely, in the
spring, yet none of those who o con-
fidently narrated the story certified
that any one Of them mad been present
when the operation of sealing up the
children in the "mockocks," or their
enlargement therefrom took place.
But after while the writer of this
statement happened to be present at a
wedding of the head chief of the
Chippewas, No-ga-nup's daughter,
Lady Louisa, to one Boyle, a scion of
one of the tribes of Galway, and at
this marriage feast, lasting whole
week, there were present two trappers
from the Rabbit eating Indians afore-
said, who, upon being asked if the
story about their sinking their chill
dren- into the lake to save the food
they would consume was fabulous, an,
swered. gravely, "Hawin" "No.'
They assured US there were three
hundred of their young children now
under water since November and that
they expected they would be all safe
and well about the middle of May,
when they would be able to supply
them with food. They then described
how the "mOkocks" were prepared
how the children were ordered to in
hale a full breath of air-hOw the yes
sci or sack of birch bark was sealed
and rendered waterproof by coat
ing of gums and resin-and how they
were sunk into the lake to repose there
till spring. Not satisfied with the tes-
iimony of those two witnesses, con-
firmed with the solemn clouds of
smoke rising like incense from their
large stone pipes, which contained two
ounces of pure kin-i-kinnic tobacco,
your correspondent came TO the reso-
luton of testing i'm person the truth of
these narrations of so many respecta-
BILE Indians, Christian and pagan. Ac-
cordingly, next day, being the 7th OF
January, 1872, your correspondent,
accompanied by a son of Na-gen tap.
the chief. son of the head medicine
man, Ma-co day be hos, and Antoine
Dave. half breed, took the best six