He was now an old man.
The aged sceptic is not a little conceited as the following exordium to
one of his speeches evinces: "It is very strange that I never meet with
anyone who is equal in sense to myself." The same old man in one of his
communicative moods related to us the following tradition: The earth had
been formed but continued enveloped in total darkness, when a bear and a
squirrel met on the shores of a lake; a dispute arose as to their
respective powers, which they agreed to settle by running in opposite
directions round the lake, and whichever arrived first at the starting
point was to evince his superiority by some signal act of power. The
squirrel beat, ran up a tree, and loudly demanded light which, instantly
beaming forth, discovered a bird dispelling the gloom with its wings; the
bird was afterwards recognised to be a crow. The squirrel next broke a
piece of bark from the tree, endowed it with the power of floating, and
said, "Behold the material which shall afford the future inhabitants of
the earth the means of traversing the waters."
The Indians are not the first people who have ascribed the origin of
nautics to the ingenuity of the squirrel. The Copper Indians consider the
bear, otter, and other animals of prey, or rather some kind of spirits
which assume the forms of these creatures, as their constant enemies and
the cause of every misfortune they endure; and in seasons of difficulty
or sickness they alternately deprecate and abuse them.
Few of this nation have more than one wife at a time and none but the
leaders have more than two. Akaitcho has three and the mother of his only
son is the favourite. They frequently marry two sisters and there is no
prohibition to the intermarriage of cousins but a man is restricted from
marrying his niece.
The last war excursion they made against the Esquimaux was ten years ago
when they destroyed about thirty persons at the mouth of what they term
Stony-Point River, not far from the mouth of the Copper-Mine River. They
now seem desirous of being on friendly terms with that persecuted nation
and hope through our means to establish a lucrative commerce with them.
Indeed the Copper Indians are sensible of the advantages that would
accrue to them were they made the carriers of goods between the traders
and Esquimaux.
At the time of Hearne's visit the Copper Indians, being unsupplied with
firearms, were oppressed by the Chipewyans; but even that traveller had
occasion to praise their kindness of heart. Since they have received arms
from the traders the Chipewyans are fearful of venturing upon their
lands; and all of that nation who frequent the shores of Great Slave Lake
hold the name of Akaitcho in great respect.
