THE INDIAN OF THE NORTHWEST 21
their receptions to him. Jewitt 91 reports that before a whaling expedition the Indians passed a day alone in the mountains to sing and pray to their god. Each fasted for two days; then the whole crew fasted for a week, bathing and rubbing their bodies several times each day. He 92 records that on many other occasions they repaired in secret to the woods to pray; and that bathing was always a ceremony of prayer. He 93 came upon women miles from any village, with eyes shut and face turned towards heaven, praying; this going alone into the woods to pray was frequent. Lewis and Clark 94 say that the wonderful fireworks display among the Chopunish of setting the fir tree on fire was a kind of prayer to bring fair weather to the traveler's journey. Thompson 95 reports of nearly all of his tribes that they danced "that we might be preserved on the strong rapids"; "for our good voyage and preservation to the sea and back again"; "each dance ended with a kind of prayer for our safety." "All their dances," he says, "are a kind of religious prayer for some end." "They never assume a gay, joyous countenance, but always are of serious turn, with often a trace of enthusiasm." "They con- tinually kept blessing us, and wishing us all manner of good visiting them, with clapping their hands and extending them to the skies." Again he says that their worship was in dancing. Ross 96 says of the same tribes that on all solemn occasions they have a short prayer, though there are no places of worship, public or private. When Galiano and Valdez 97 laughed at Maquinna's prayer for good weather for their ship to sail, they were rebuked by the natives. As they 98 were leaving Neah Bay the chief Tetacus, when the ship was becalmed, "turned to the point from which we wanted the wind to come, became serious, stretched out his arms, and began to move his fingers ; he now closed one down, then all down, then put out two,
91 Adventures: p. 180.
92 Adventures: 216.
93 Adventures : p. 217.
94 Original Journals: Vol. V., p. 159.
95 Ore. Hist. Quarterly: Vol. XV., Nos. i and a.
96 Adventures: p. 288.
97 Sutil y Mexicana: p. 22.
98 Sutil y Mexicana: p. 37.
