tribes of Indians for the first time.

"About twelve o'clock they began to assemble. Each took a place
corresponding to his rank. We soon mustered about sixty chiefs and
headmen. Between one and two p.m. we began to feast, which consisted,
as usual, of salmon and rice, and molasses. I had heard Kahdoonahah say
that they intended to perform before me their '_Ahlied;_' but I
requested him to have no playing, as I wanted to speak very solemnly to
them. He promised me they would do nothing bad; but now that the
feasting was over, much to my sorrow, he put on his dancing mask and
robes. The leading singers stepped out, and soon all were engaged in a
spirited chant. They kept excellent time by clapping their hands and
beating a drum. (I found out afterwards that they had been singing my
praises and asking me to pity them and to do them good.) The chief
Kahdoonahah danced with all his might during the singing. He wore a
cap, which had a mask in front, set with mother-of-pearl, and trimmed
with porcupine's quills. The quills enabled him to hold a quantity of
white bird's down on the top of his head, which he ejected while
dancing, by jerking his head forward: thus he soon appeared as if in a
shower of snow. In the middle of the dance a man approached me with a
handful of down, and blew it over my head, thus symbolically uniting me
in friendship with all the chiefs present, and the tribes they
severally represented.

"After the dance and singing were over, I felt exceedingly anxious
about addressing them; but circumstances seemed so unfavourable on
account of the excitement, that my heart began to sink. What made the
matter worse, too, was a chief, who had lately been shot in the arm for
overstepping his rank, began talking very passionately. This aroused
me. I saw at once that I must speak, or probably the meeting might