Harper's New Monthly Magazine, No. XXIII.—April, 1852.—Vol. IV.: NoneVarious
General
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, No. XXIII.—April, 1852.—Vol. IV.: None
Various
American literature -- Periodicals; Civilization -- Periodicals; Culture -- Periodicals
residence at Fort Confidence, and similar facts are recorded by Mr.
Simpson of the same tribe. This gentleman expresses his opinion that the
charge made against this nation, of abandoning their infirm aged people
and children, had its origin in the _sauve qui peut_ cry raised during a
forced retreat from some one of these most injudicious excursions; and I
am inclined fully to agree with him; for I witnessed several
unquestionable instances of tenderness and affection shown by children
to their parents, and of compliance with their whims, much to their own
personal inconvenience. The grief they show on the loss of a parent, is
often great and of long continuance, and it is the custom, both for men
and women, to lament the death of relations for years, by nightly
wailings.
Hospitality is not a virtue which is conspicuous among the Dog-ribs, who
differ in this respect from the Eythinyuwuk, in whose encampments a
stranger meets a welcome and a proffer of food. It is not customary,
however, for the Dog-rib to receive the traveler who enters his tent
with the same show of kindness. If he is hungry, and meat hangs up, he
may help himself without eliciting a remark, for the 'Tinnè hold it to
be mean to say much about a piece of meat; or he may exert his patience
until some cookery goes on, and then join in the meal; and should there
be venison at hand, he will not have long to wait, for every now and
then some one is prompted to hang a kettle on the fire, or to place a
joint or steak to roast before it.
Of the peculiarities of their religious belief I could gain no certain
information. The interpreters to whom I applied for assistance disliked
the task, and invariably replied, "As for these savages, they know
nothing; they are ignorant people." The majority of the nation recognize
a "Great Spirit," at least by name, but some doubt his existence,
assigning, as a reason for their atheism, their miserable condition; or
they say, "If there be such a being, he dwells on the lands of the white
people, where so many useful and valuable articles are produced." With
respect to evil spirits, their name in the Dog-rib country is legion.
The 'Tinnè recognize them in the Bear, Wolf, and Wolverene, in the
woods, waters, and desert places; often hear them howling in the winds,
or moaning by the graves of the dead. Their dread of these disembodied
beings, of whom they spoke to us under the general name of "enemies," is
such that few of the hunters will sleep out alone. They never make any
offerings to the Great Spirit, or pay him an act of adoration; but they
deprecate the wrath of an evil being by prayer, and the sacrifice of
some article, generally of little value, perhaps simply by scattering a
handful of deer hair or a few feathers.
MONTHLY RECORD OF CURRENT EVENTS.
THE UNITED STATES.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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