white man the period of the arrival of an eclipse, he is sure to make use of it to display his Wah-kon, or supernatural knowledge. At the moment of the eclipse the Indians rush out of their lodges, armed in full. They fire their guns, discharge their arrows in the air, and shout and howl, in order to frighten and put to flight the enemy of the Master of Life. Their pretended success is followed by great reoicings.
The bear is the terror of all American Indians, for he causes the most serious accidents, and is excessively dangerous, if he be encountered in a thick forest. Every year some savage is killed or crippled in a fight with a bear. They address it prayers and invocations; they offer it sacrifices of tobacco, belts and other esteemed objects; they celebrate feasts in its honor, to obtain its favors and live without accident. A bear's head is often preserved in the camp for several days, mounted in some suitable position, and adorned with scraps of scarlet cloth and trimmed with a va
riety of necklaces, collars and colored feathers. Then they offer it the calumet, and ask that they may be able to kill. every bear they meet, without accident to themselves, ii. order to anoint themselves with his fine grease and make a banquet of his tender flesh.
The wolf is also more or less honored among the Indians. Most of the women refuse to dress its skin, at any price. The only reason that I could discover for this freak is that the wolves sometimes get mad, bite those they meet and give them the hydrophobia. It is, doubtless, to escape this terrible disease and to avoid the destruction of their game, that the Indians make him presents and offer him supplications and prayers. In other cases he is little feared. He seldom injures men, but is formidable to the animals, and makes great ravages among them, especially among bison calves, kids, deer, antelopes, hares, etc.
The " little medicine-wolf " [coyote] is in great veneration among the Assiniboins. He ordinarily approaches the camp during the night. As soon as an Indian hears his