Page:Early western travels, 1748-1846 (1907 Volume 2).djvu/90

84 rows, black on each side, and white in the middle: the white being placed in the centre, was to express peace, and that the path between them was fair and open. In the centre of the belt was the figure of a diamond, made of white wampum, which the Indians call the council fire.

When Sir William Johnson held a treaty with the Savages, he took the belt by one end, while the Indian chief held the other: if the chief had any thing to say, he moved his finger along the white streak; if Sir William had any thing to communicate, he touched the diamond in the middle.

These belts are also the records of former transactions, and being worked in particular forms, are easily deciphered by the Indians, and referred to in every treaty with the white people. When a string or belt of wampum is returned, it is a proof that the proposed treaty is not accepted, and the negotiation is at an end.

But to return from this digression. When the pipe has gone round, a sweating-house is prepared with six long poles fixed in the ground, {48} and pointed at the top; it is then covered with skins and blankets to exclude the air, and the area of the house will contain only three persons. The person to be adopted is then stripped naked, and enters the hut with two chiefs; two large stones made red hot are brought in, and thrown on the ground; water is then brought in a bark dish, and sprinkled on the stones with cedar branches, the steam arising from which puts the person into a most profuse perspiration, and opens the pores to receive the other part of the ceremony.

When the perspiration is at the height, he quits the house, and jumps into the water; immediately on coming out a blanket is thrown over him, and he is led to the chief's hut, where he undergoes the following operation.