By such means the Cree
warrior becomes god-like; but unless he kills an enemy before his return
his newly-acquired powers are estimated to be productive in future of
some direful consequence to himself.
As we did not witness any of the Cree dances ourselves we shall merely
mention that, like the other North American nations, they are accustomed
to practice that amusement on meeting with strange tribes before going to
war and on other solemn occasions.
The habitual intoxication of the Cumberland House Crees has induced such
a disregard of personal appearance that they are squalid and dirty in the
extreme; hence a minute description of their clothing would be by no
means interesting. We shall therefore only remark in a general manner
that the dress of the male consists of a blanket thrown over the
shoulders, a leathern shirt or jacket, and a piece of cloth tied round
the middle. The women have in addition a long petticoat; and both sexes
wear a kind of wide hose which, reaching from the ankle to the middle of
the thigh, are suspended by strings to the girdle. These hose or, as they
are termed, Indian stockings, are commonly ornamented with beads or
ribands, and from their convenience have been universally adopted by the
white residents as an essential part of their winter clothing. Their
shoes, or rather short boots for they tie round the ankle, are made of
soft dressed moose-skins, and during the winter they wrap several pieces
of blanket round their feet.
They are fond of European articles of dress, considering it as mean to be
dressed entirely in leather, and the hunters are generally furnished
annually with a capot or great coat, and the women with shawls, printed
calicoes, and other things very unsuitable to their mode of life but
which they wear in imitation of the wives of the traders; all these
articles, however showy they may be at first, are soon reduced to a very
filthy condition by the Indian custom of greasing the face and hair with
soft fat or marrow instead of washing them with water. This practice they
say preserves the skin soft and protects it from cold in the winter and
the mosquitoes in summer, but it renders their presence disagreeable to
the olfactory organs of an European, particularly when they are seated in
a close tent and near a hot fire.
The only peculiarity which we observed in their mode of rearing children
consists in the use of a sort of cradle extremely well adapted to their
mode of life.
