The clothing of the Not them Indians consists chiefly of deer skins, with the hair inwards ; but, for summer use, they prepare from these skins a fine soft leather, with which they make their stockings, jackets, &c. To make a complete winter dress for a grown person requires the principal parts of eight or ten deer skins ; and all these must, if possible, be procured in the month of August, or beginning of September, when the fur is thickest, and the skin least injured by worms. Each person is calculated to require annually ten more of these skins for the lighter parts of summer clothing, for thongs, lines, and other do mestic purposes, besides what is needed for tents, bags, &c. The coverings of the tents are always formed of skins with the hair ; and by the Northern Indians are commonly com posed (differently from the practice among the Southern tribes) of separate pieces, containing about five skins in each. At the commencement of the winter season, they frequently sew a few of the skins of the deer's legs toge ther in the shape of long portmanteaus, which they use as a kind of temporary sledge, till they reach a situation where wood can be procured. They then construct proper sledges of thin boards of larch fir ; and make them of va rious sizes, according to the strength of the persons by whom they are to be dragged. In .general they do not exceed eight or nine feet in length, and twelve or fourteen inches in breadth ; but sometimes they are not less than twelve or fourteen feet long, and fifteen or sixteen inches wide. The boards, of which they are made, are only about a quarter of an inch thick, and five or six inches broad. They are sewed together with thongs of parchment deer skin, and several cross-bars are fastened on the upper side to strengthen the vehicle, and secure the ground lashing. The head or fore part of the sledge is turned up, so as to form a semicircle of fifteen or twenty inches diameter, to I revent the carriage from diving into light snow, and ena ble it to rise over the inequalities of the surface. The trace is a double line or slip of leather fastened to the head of the sledge, and attached to a collar, which is put across the shoulders of the person who hauls it, so- as to rest upon the breast. They are sometimes dragged by dogs, but too commonly by the women. The snow shoes of the Northern Indians differ from all others in that country, in being made so as to be worn always on the some foot, hav ing a large sweep or curve on the outside, but nearly straight in the inside. The frames arc usually made of birch wood, and a netting of thongs from deer skin fastens the toes and heels to the bottom or sole. They are four feet and a half in length, and about thirteen inches broad.
The canoes of the Northern Indians are smaller and lighter than those of the Southern nations, so as to be car ried by a single person on the longest journies ; and are chiefly employed for crossing the rivers and lakes, with which they meet in their progress. These canoes are flat bottomed, and sharp at each end, so as to hear some re semblance to a weaver's shuttle. They seldom exceed twelve or thirteen feet in length; and are from twenty to twenty-four inches broad at the widest part. The forepart is unnecessarily long and narrow, and is all covered over with birch bark, so as to admit of nothing being laid into it. The hinder part is much wider, for receiving the baggage, or a second person, who must lie along the bottom, that the vessel may not upset, while the rower sits on his heels in the middle space, impelling the vessel with a single pad dle. A hatchet, a knife, a file, and an awl, are all the tools which these Indians employ in making their canoes, snow shoes, bows, arrows, and other kinds of wooden work. These few instruments they use with the utmost dexterity, and execute every thing in the neatest manner. In tan ning their leather also, they use a very simple, yet effica cious process. The skins are first well soaked in a lather made of the brains, marrow, and soft fat of the animal ; then dried before the fire, and even hung in the smoke for seve ral days. They are next thoroughly steeped and washed in warm water, till the grain of the skin is perfectly open and moistened ; after which they are carefully wrung, and dried before a slow fire, being in the meantime repeatedly rubbed and stretched as long as any moisture remains. Last of all, they are scraped smooth with a knife, and are extremely soft and beautiful, almost equal to shamois leather. The women of the Northern Indians, as in most other tribes, are more the slaves than the companions of the men ; and are held in a state of unmitigated subjection. They are commonly rather of low stature and a delicate shape; but being inured to labour from their infancy, they are able to sustain all kinds of drudgery, and to carry very heavy loads on their journies. It is nothing unusual to see them bear on their backs a burden of eight or ten stone of fourteen pounds each, or haul in a sledge a much greater weight. They are expected also to dress the deer skins, make the clothing, cook the victuals, pitch the tents, carry home the game when killed, and perform all the work of splitting, drying, and preserving it for use. When the meal is prepared, they are not allowed to partake, till all the males, even the servants of their fathers or husbands, have eaten what they think proper ; and, in times of scar city, it is not unfrequently their lot to be left without a sin gle morsel. They possess little beauty even in youth ;
and become old and wrinkled before they reach the age of thirty. But they are remarkably chaste, mild, and oblig ing creatures, making the most faithful servants, affection ate wives, and indulgent mothers. A plurality of wives is customary among all these Indians, and every man takes as many as he is able to maintain, or has occasion to em ploy in his service. It is not uncommon to see six or eight in one family ; and they are changed or increased in number, at the pleasure of the husband. • From the early age of eight or nine years, the girls are kept under the greatest restraint, and are not permitted to join in any amusements with the children of the other sex; but are obliged to be constantly beside the old women, learning their domestic labours. They are betrothed at an early period of life, without any choice of their own, but entirely at the will of their relations, who are chiefly anxious to connect them with men able to maintain them. No cere monies attend their marriages, or divorces; and they are taken or dismissed as the husband chooses. When he suspects any of them of incontinency, or is not pleased with her accomplishments, he administers a beating and ' turns her out of doors, telling her to go to her lover or re lations, as the case may be. It is also a daily occurrence among them to take by force the wives of others whom they may happen to fancy ; and all that is necessary to de cide the claim is to vanquish the former husband in wrest ling. On these occasions, the bystanders never attempt to interfere ; nor will one brother even offer to assist ano ther, except by giving his advice aloud, which being equally heard, may be equally followed by both the par ties engaged. In these contests, there is properly nothing like fighting ; and it is very rarely that either of the com batants receives any hurt. The whole affair consists in pulling each other about by the hair of the head, or, if they should have taken care to cut off their hair and grease their heads before beginning the contest, they endeavour to seize each other around the waist, and struggle to prove their superior strength and title, by throwing their antago nist to the ground. When one of them falls or yields, the other is entitled to carry off the woman, who was the cause of contention; but as the children usually go with the mother, it is chiefly for the younger wives that these con tests take place. It is a common custom among them to exchange wives for a night, as one of the strongest ties of friendship between the two families; and, in case of the death of either husband, the other considers himself bound to support the children of the deceased. The wo men among the Northern Indians are less prolific than the females of more civilized nations ; and their children are commonly born at such intervals, that the youngest is usually two or three years old before another is brought into the world. The wife, when taken in labour, is re moved to a small tent erected for her separate accommo dation, at such a distance from the other tents that her cries cannot be heard; and no male above the age of child hood approaches the place. No assistance is offered by the other women to facilitate the birth, which is generally easy, and the recovery of the mother not less speedy. A woman after delivery, however, is accounted unclean for a month or more, and continues to occupy a separate tent with one or two female acquaintances; nor does the father, during all that time, even see the child, in the apprehension that he might dislike its appearance, before its counte nance is duly formed. At certain monthly periods, also, the women are not permitted to remain in the same tent with their husbands, and are obliged to make a small hovel for themselves at a little distance from the rest. When these periods arrive, they creep out of the tent at the side where they happen to be sitting, as on such occasions they are not permitted to go out or in by the door ; and it is said, that, upon any disagreement with their husbands, they cften make a pretence of being in that situation, as a reason for a temporary separation. During these periods, a woman is restricted from walking on the ice of rivers or lakes, or where a fishing net is placed, or from crossing a path where the head of any animal has been carried, or from eating of any part of the head ; and all this from a super stitious notion that by so doing she would impede their success in hunting. The children are not put in cradles as among the Southern Indians, but merely have a small bundle of dry moss placed between their legs, and are thus carried on the mother's back next her skin, till they are able to walk. Though managed in this awkward manner, very few deformed persons are seen among them. The children are named by the parents or near relatives; and the names of the boys are generally taken from that of some animal, place or season. Those of the girls are most frequently expressive of some quality or pact of the martin, such as White Martin, Black Martin, Summer Martin, Martin's- head, Martin's-foot, &c. The men, though very indifferent about their wives, express much affection to their children, especially to the youngest ; ap parently actuated by no other principle than mere natural instinct.