luck in hunting, the bath is resorted to. In short, great virtues are supposed to arise from the regular observance of this general custom of purification. In the wide field of gymnastic exercise, few Indians—I might say none— have been found to cope with civilized man. In all trials of walking, of running, of fatigue, feats of agility, and famine, even in the Indian’s own country, he has to yield the palm of victory to the white man. In the trials of the hot bath alone the savage excels. The ceremony of the bath is not peculiar to the Oakinackens: it is practised by all the aboriginal tribes on the American continent. {313} CHAPTER XX Social habits—Winter habitations—Economy of the winter—Summer employments—Collecting of food—Fish barriers—Salmon—Division of labour—Roots and berries—Scenes at the fish camp—Mode of catching the deer—Preparation of food—Furnaces or ovens—Implements of warfare—Spampt, how made—Pine moss—Bread, how prepared—Great war-dance—Manner of fighting—Treaties of peace—Scalps—Slaves—Funeral ceremonies—Mode of interment—Graves—Superstitions—Emblems—Customs— Mourning—Punishments—Sedate habits and docile dispositions. Their winter habitations are constructed chiefly of mats and poles, covered over with grass and earth; and are made very commodious, comfortable, and roomy. The inside being dug about a foot or two below the surface of the ground, a precaution which adds much to their warmth. They are invariably open at the ridge pole all along, and the reason is obvious; for without any chimney, the smoke by this means has a free vent upwards. These lodgings resemble in appearance the roof of a common dwelling-house removed from the walls and placed on the ground; the fires are made in the centre, directly under the ridge pole, and about six or eight feet apart, and are in proportion to the number of {314} families who live under the same roof; each family having generally one fire. The doors are but few, and situate to suit convenience; in the front, in the back, or the gable ends, and are merely oblong holes, over which mats are suspended by means of a wooden hinge, which mat or door must be lifted up and down every time a person goes in or out. Although these dwellings have neither partition nor division in any of them, yet the property of each individual, the privacy of each family, and the place each occupies, are so well secured and ascertained as to afford to a rude people all the advantages, and even conveniences of a more complicated building. These dwellings are generally long and narrow, and contain each from one to five or six families, whose winter supplies of provisions are considered as one common stock, and as such are served out in winter by each family in turn, until the whole is consumed.