should not injure me: but that I may not accuse you unjustly, I will try you by my own thoughts. Beaver, look at my wife, and look at the water, and tell me where you put your finger; if you cannot tell, you have certainly robbed me." I then put in my finger again, and pointed out the place. "No;" said he, looking earnestly at me and his wife, "as you cannot be certain that it is the exact place where you first put in your finger, neither can I be certain that you have robbed me; though I as much believe it, as you do that the place you pointed out was the exact spot." I {93} confessed myself surprised at his disbelief; but not willing to incense him, I told him I was sorry he should imagine me capable of such wickedness as to be guilty of injuring him, for my mind was as calm as the water in an undisturbed state; and after giving him a few presents, sent them away, injoining him to use his wife well, as she was perfectly innocent. As they departed, he said to me smiling, "Beaver, you must get somebody else to look after your marten traps."
Adultery among the northern Savages is generally punished in a summary way by the husband, who either beats his wife very severely, or bites off her nose. It is extremely dangerous for a trader to be suspected, for when the husband is intoxicated, his jealousy rises into madness; and revenge, whether the party suspected be innocent or guilty, is continually to be expected. When the mind of an Indian is once affected, his passion increases in proportion to the quantity of rum which he drinks, though he has the art to conceal it when he is sober. It is the baneful effects of rum which puts every jealous thought in motion, and then it knows no bounds, till intoxication completely overpowers him, or returning sobriety restores his lost reason.
