Page:A Topographical Description of the State of Ohio, Indiana Territory, and Louisiana.djvu/187

177 lighted the pipe, and blowed the smoke to the east, south, west, and north; after which he handed the pipe to the chief next to him, on the right, who smoked two or three whiffs and passed it to the next, and so on, until it had gone round the company.

The provisions were now brought forward, composed entirely of dog's flesh, and placed before the great chief, and each one sent his dish to him, in turn; for before they came, every one took care to provide a dish for himself. Some of the youth attended as waiters to the company. The greatest order and regularity was observed during the feast. Each one considered himself obliged to eat all that was sent him; but at such feasts it is seldom more than they can devour in a few minutes. As soon as the feast was ended, fire was brought, and the whole commenced smoking, which was continued for about an hour. The smoking then ceased and the dance commenced. Their music consisted of beating on buffaloe skins, shaking dried prarow and marten skins, tied up, in a form to contain small stones, and beating on a kind of drum, made by stretching a skin, dressed like parchment, over the end of a hollow log about four feet long, which is joined with the singing of the company. Their songs are a rehearsal of the exploits of themselves and their ancestors, and is accompanied with a variety of antic gestures. In all their movements they keep exact time; dance in a circle around a