fifty: most of them were of the Chippeway tribes; the rest were of the nation of the Wasses. They gave me fish, dried meat, and skins, which I returned with trifling presents. The chief, whose name was Matchee Quewish,[1] held a council, and finding I understood their language, proposed to adopt me as a brother warrior. Though I had not undergone this ceremony, I was not entirely ignorant of the nature of it, having been informed by other traders of the pain they endured in their adoption, though they declared they were favoured exceedingly; I determined however to submit to it, lest my refusal of the honour intended me should be attributed to fear, and so render me unworthy of the esteem of those from whom I expected to derive great advantages, and with whom I had engaged to continue for a considerable time.
The ceremony of adoption is as follows.A feast is prepared of dog's flesh boiled in bear's grease, with huckle berries, of which it is [46] expected every one should heartily partake. When the repast is over, the war song is sung in the following words.
"Master of Life, view us well; we receive a brother warrior who appears to have sense, shews strength in his arm, and does not refuse his body to the enemy."
After the war song, if the person does not discover any
signs of fear, he is regarded with reverence and esteem;
courage, in the opinion of the Savages, being considered
not only as indispensible, but as the greatest recommendation.
He is then seated on a beaver robe, and presented
————
- ↑ For a history of the Chippewa Indians, see Minnesota Historical Collections, v.
This noted chief, Matchekewis, was the captor of Mackinac during Pontiac's War. For a sketch of him, see Wisconsin Historical Collections, vii, pp. 188-194.— Ed.
