Indians are fond of medicine and are believers in large doses. The
hotter the dose is with cayenne pepper, or the more bitter with any
powerful drug, the more it is relished, and the greater faith they have
in its power to effect a cure. Various were the expedients of some of
them to induce us to give them a good strong cup of tea, made doubly hot
with red pepper. In their estimation such a dose was good for almost
any disease with which they could be afflicted, and was especially
welcomed in the cold and wintry days, when the mercury was frozen hard,
and the spirit thermometer indicated anything between forty and sixty
degrees below zero.
Practical sympathy never failed to reach some hearts, and so influenced
them, that they were ultimately brought to Christ.
So poverty stricken were the people, that the opportunities of helping
them were many. Looked at from our standpoint of comfort, they had very
little with which to make themselves happy. Few indeed were their
possessions. Owning the land in common, there was in it no wealth to
any one of them; but neither were there any landlords, or rents. All
their other possessions were their wigwams, traps, nets, guns, canoes,
dogs, and clothing. They lived from hand to mouth, as they had no
facilities for keeping any surplus food even if they were ever fortunate
enough to secure more than they needed for their immediate wants. If
some were successful in killing a number of deer or bears, they made but
little attempt at trying to dry or preserve some of the meat for future
use. Very rarely, a little deer-pemmican would be made out of some of
the venison; but this was an exceptional case. The general plan, was to
keep open house after a successful hunt, with the pot boiling
continually, everybody welcomed and told to eat heartily while the
supply lasted. He was considered a mean man indeed, who, being
fortunate in killing a large quantity of game, did not share it with all
who happened to come along. This hospitality was often earned to such
an extent, that there would be but very little left for the hunter
himself, or for his own family.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account