and that knives and hatchets must be kept out of his way, as he had a
mind to kill somebody. Then, rolling his eyes towards Le Jeune, he began
a series of frantic gestures and outcries,--then stopped abruptly and
stared into vacancy, silent and motionless,--then resumed his former
clamor, raged in and out of the hut, and, seizing some of its supporting
poles, broke them, as if in an uncontrollable frenzy. The missionary,
though alarmed, sat reading his breviary as before. When, however,
on the next morning, the sorcerer began again to play the maniac, the
thought occurred to him, that some stroke of fever might in truth have
touched his brain. Accordingly, he approached him and felt his pulse,
which he found, in his own words, "as cool as a fish." The pretended
madman looked at him with astonishment, and, giving over the attempt to
frighten him, presently returned to his senses.

[ The Indians, it is well known, ascribe mysterious and supernatural
powers to the insane, and respect them accordingly. The Neutral Nation
(see Introduction, "The Huron-Iroquois Family" (p. xliv)) was full of
pretended madmen, who raved about the villages, throwing firebrands,
and making other displays of frenzy. ]

Le Jeune, robbed of his sleep by the ceaseless thumping of the sorcerer's
drum and the monotonous cadence of his medicine-songs, improved the time
in attempts to convert him. "I began," he says, "by evincing a great
love for him, and by praises, which I threw to him as a bait whereby I
might catch him in the net of truth." [ 1 ] But the Indian, though
pleased with the Father's flatteries, was neither caught nor conciliated.

[ "Ie commencay par vn temoignage de grand amour en son endroit, et par
des louanges que ie luy iettay comme vne amorce pour le prendre dans les
filets de la verite. Ie luy fis entendre que si vn esprit, capable des