"It Ought To Be Clean; It Has Been Washed Often
Enough.
Owgh!
You see, Moodie," he continued, "I have no hat - never
wear hat - want no shade to my eyes - love the sun - see all around
me - up and down - much better widout hat. Could not put grapes in
hat - blanket-coat too large, crush fruit, juice run out. I had
noting but my shirt, so I takes off shirt, and brings grape safe
over the water on my back. Papouse no care for dirty shirt; their
lee-tel bellies have no eyes."
In spite of this eloquent harangue, I could not bring myself to use
the grapes, ripe and tempting as they looked, or give them to the
children. Mr. W - - and his wife happening to step in at that moment,
fell into such an ecstasy at the sight of the grapes, that, as they
were perfectly unacquainted with the circumstance of the shirt, I
very generously gratified their wishes by presenting them with the
contents of the large dish; and they never ate a bit less sweet for
the novel mode in which they were conveyed to me!
The Indians, under their quiet exterior, possess a deal of humour.
They have significant names for everything, and a nickname for every
one, and some of the latter are laughably appropriate. A fat,
pompous, ostentatious settler in our neighbourhood they called
Muckakee, "the bull frog." Another, rather a fine young man, but
with a very red face, they named Segoskee, "the rising sun." Mr.
Wood, who had a farm above ours, was a remarkably slender young man,
and to him they gave the appellation of Metiz, "thin stick." A
woman, that occasionally worked for me, had a disagreeable squint;
she was known in Indian by the name of Sachabo, "cross eye." A
gentleman with a very large nose was Choojas, "big, or ugly nose."
My little Addie, who was a fair, lovely creature, they viewed with
great approbation, and called Anoonk, "a star;" while the rosy Katie
was Nogesigook, "the northern lights." As to me, I was Nonocosiqui,
a "humming-bird;" a ridiculous name for a tall woman, but it had
reference to the delight I took in painting birds.
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