sign of the cross, and to confess. He is now a member of the Church,
and is dismissed to his woods--a Christian, can we say? The Methodists
pursue a different course. Their converts must not only reform their
lives, but give indubitable proofs that they are reformed; they
are taught so as to understand thoroughly the sound principles of
Christianity; and they must give an account of their faith, and a
reason for the hope that is in them, before they are admitted as
members of the Christian community. "The tree is known by its fruits."

The Sachems, or chiefs of the Algonquins, possess little or no
authority, but their advice is of some weight There are gradations of
rank in the chieftainship; the Kitchi Okima, or great chief, takes
precedence at the Council, and propounds the subject of discussion;
the inferior chiefs (Okimas) speak in turn, according to seniority;
every old man, however, whether chief or not, is allowed to give his
opinion, and the general voice of the assembly decides the question at
issue. It is seldom, however, that any question arises requiring much
deliberation in the present times of peace. When a party of strange
Indians arrives at the village, a council is called to ascertain the
means the community may possess of discharging properly the rites of
hospitality; each individual states the modicum he is willing to
contribute, in cash or in kind, and the proceeds, which are always
sufficient to entertain the guests sumptuously, according to Indian
ideas, while they remain, are placed at the disposal of the Kitchi
Okima.

Councils are held and harangues delivered when they receive their
annual presents from Government; these consist of blankets, cloth,
ammunition, and a variety of small articles, all of which in their
present impoverished state are highly valued by them. They profess an