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Show ]Jcwis allll ( 'Lm·ke's E.l.jJeditwu Sunday Qo. The morning was cool. the wind ft·om the southwest. Om· appearance had c.'xrit~d the cul'ioRit .' •' ' 1he neighbom·bood so mul·.h. that be fore we set out about two lwndt·(•(l Indians had colic •ted to Rcc us, and as we were desil'ous of conciliatiug the it· l'ricn<h;hip, we remained to smoke and confer with them till breakfast. 'Vc then took Otti' t·e. past, whieh consisted wholly of dog-flesh. and }lt'occcdcd. \Vc 1_1asscd thrm~ ,a,cant houses ncar om· camtl, and at six miles reached the ht•ad ol' a rapid, on dcscrndiug which we soon came to anothl·t·, ' cry ditn <· ult and dangt•t·ous. It is fm·mcd by a chain of large black rocks, stretching ft'om the l'i~ht s\de of the riYer, and with several small islancls on the lct't. nc:u·ly choaking the channel of the l'ivet•. 'l'o this })laco we gave the name of the Pelican t•apid, ft·om seeing a numhc1· of veli~a.ns and black cormot·ants about it. Just bclow'it is a smaH lslautl ncar the l'ight shot·c, whc•·c at'C four houses of Indians, a11 lmsy in dJ•yiug Jisb. At sixteen miles ft·om oul' camp we reached a lu.·n«l to tht~ left opposite to a large island, and at om~ o'clock haltt·cl fot· din11Ct' on the lower point of an island on the ri~ht ide of' the <·hannel. Close to thb 'vtt.s a largel' island on the same "iidc, and on the left bank of the l'ivcr a small onl', a. lit Uc below. 'V c landed near some Indian huts. and ~:,onntcd on this clusl er ol' tbl'cc islands, sc~ vcntcen of thch· houses filled with inhabitants. resembling in every respect those higlu..· r· up the river; like the inhabitants, they wc•·c husy in p•·cparing fi sh. 'V c purchased of them some dt·icd fish, which WCI'C not good, and a few hcrries, on which we dined, and then walkrd to tiJc head of the island for the purpose oJ' cxamiuin~ a vault. whid1 we had markctl iu coming along. 'fhis pla<·c, in whiuh the clcad are deposited. is a buihling about sixty feet luug and twclYc feet wide, and is formetl by placing in the gr·otmd poles o1· foJ•l-..s six feet high, act·oss which a ]ong pole is cxtcndetl the whole ltmgth of the structm·c. Against this ridge-pole are 11laced h1·oad boards. and 11ieccs of cance!-i. in a !:!hml iur tlit•ee lion , so as to fol'm a shed. It stands cal)t aml we~t. and neither of' thr ' Up the JUissour·i. 2b extremities arc closed. On cntet·ing the western end we observed a number of bodies Wt'apped carefully in I eat her robes, and ar·•·anged in row~ on boat·ds, which wct•e then cover ed with a mat. This was the part destined for those who had l'eccntly died: a little f'at·thcr on, the hones half decayed were seattct·cd about, and in tho centre of' the buildiug was a large pile of tiH~m heaped promiscuously on eaeh other: At the easter·n extremity was a mat, on which twenty-one sculls were placed in a cit·cular f01·m, the mode of interment being fit·st to wnlp the body in robes. and as it decays t he hones arc thrown into the heap, and the sculls lllaccd together. From tl1c different boards and pieces of canoes which fonn the vault, wcr·e sus}lcndcd on the inside fishingnets, baskets, wooden· bowls, r•obcs, skins, trcnehcrs, and trinkets of various kinds, obviously intended as offerings of affection to dcccas<~d •·clatives. On the outside of the ' 'ault were the skeletons or several horses, and gt·eat quantities of bones in the ncighhourhood, which induced us to believe that these animals were most probalJly sacrificed at the funeral t•itcs of thl'ir masters. lla,,ing dmcd we proceeded past a. sma.U island, wllCI'C WCI'e fom· huts or Inclians, and at the lowci' extremity a bad 1·apid. llalf' a mile beyond this, aml at the distance or twenty-four from oul· c1amtl, we came to tltc commencement of tl1c highlands on the •·ight, which at·c the first we have seen on that side ~incc ncar the ~lusclcshell rapids, leaving a valley f01·ty ~miles in extent. l~igltt miles lower we passed a large island .in the middle of the ri ver, below whieh a rc eleven small h lancls, five on the right, the same number on the left and one in the middle of the stream. A brook falls in on the t·i ~ht side, and a. small t•inllet empties itself behind one of the islands. rl'he countt•y on the right consists of high ami rugged hills; the left is a ]ow 11lain with no timher on either side, c. ee1,t a few small willow .. brnshcs along the banks; though a ft'W miles after leaving these island the «·ountry on the}(>(' rise!:4 to the same bPight with that opposite VOT,, JT. n |