I communicated this a few years after to a couple of gentlemen. One of them, longer in the country than myself, denied it and enquired of his wife who had lived a long time with the Indians. She corroborated his denial. I perceived the cause, and told him that it was because _they_ do not chuse that we become too well informed of all their ceremonies. It was to no effect, and I had almost a mind to credit the woman too myself, but by _insinuation_ I find I am perfectly right. Thus {56} it happens in almost everything else. A thing that does not meet with our approbation, or be a little beyond the sphere of our limited information, we immediately deny or condemn. Whereas by taking _proper_ measures to enquire or inform ourselves, not only those things themselves, but others far more interesting, and sometimes too of the greatest moment, whether to ourselves or others, are rendered probable, reasonable, certain. Hence it is also that many, upon receiving a piece of information, there rest themselves as upon a rock of certainty. Now either of these I consider equally blameable as they lead to distrust, doubt, and sometimes to a complete refutation or assertion of facts that very oftentimes cast a stain or stigma, sometimes upon the whole people, and without any other foundation than, as might be said, that all powerful _veto_. They have feasts for the dead, most commonly berries, or in countries where it is made, sugar. Generally yearly a bark box of perhaps 2 or 3 gallons is placed _in_ the grave, upon it, or well hid in some private nook, if they are afraid, or do not chuse, it be taken. I ought rather to have said these are sacrifices. But independent of these, they have feasts also, and feasts of baptism--feasts in short for almost every occasion. Besides these they have _smoking_ feasts; these are to deliberate. I shall, should it please God I live, make it a point to enquire particularly into the origin of all these. [Conjuring Ceremony (June 4th, 1823)] June 5th. These last 3 days have been busy and turbulent ones for me. It is now considerably past midnight (and of course the 6th June) but my Indians are drinking and I cannot think of going to bed. Till they do I shall employ my few remaining _leisure_ moments ('till next year, please God I live so long) in giving you an account of a conjuring bout I, with some difficulty, got an Indian to make last night (June 4th). In the evening the hut was prepared at some distance from the houses on account of the stink, as _the spirits_ cannot or will not endure any pollution. The hut consisted of ten poles about seven feet out of ground, well stuck in, and somewhat better than three feet diameter. The Poles were secured with two hoops. They were covered with two parchment skins (of moose) well bound with many rounds of strong leather line. _The top was _covered_ with a dressed skin and secured also, to prevent its being carried off (by the wind).