The bird could not rise so as to fly, but swam ashore,
and, by the time we reached land, was completely missing. A white man
would have been nonplused. Not so the Indian. He saw a fallen tree, and
carefully looked for an orifice in the under side, and, when he found
one, thrust in his hand and drew out of it the poor wounded bird.
Frightened and in pain, it appeared to roll its eyeballs
completely round.
By their conversation and familiar remarks, I observed that they were
habitually under the influence of their peculiar mythology and religion.
They referred to classes of _monetos_, which are spirits, in a manner
which disclosed the belief that the woods and waters were replete with
their agency. On the second day, we reached and entered the Tacquimenon
River. It carried a deep and strong current to the foot of the first
falls, which they call Fairy Rocks. This Indian word denotes a species
of little men or fairies, which, they say, love to dwell on rocks. The
falls are broken into innumerable cascades, which give them a peculiarly
sylvan air.
Pages:
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453