blows; with
the latter they cut up the weeds which choked the maize. The various
benefits conferred upon the Indians by their visiters confirmed them
in the belief that they were indeed spiritual beings, he in red being
in their estimation the Supreme Manitou, and his attendants, the
inferior Manitous. The visiters did not this time all go back in the
canoes; many of them continued to abide with the Indians, who gave or
sold them land(4), and lived very contentedly with them until they
wished to dispossess them of the very grounds where they had buried
the bones of their fathers. Wars were then commenced, and the Indians
were soon dispossessed of the soil which was theirs by their birthright.

NOTES.

(1) _The Yagesho._--p. 99.

I have not the means of judging whether this is an imaginary beast or
not, probably it was. The following is the Indian account: The
Tagisho, or Yagesho, was an animal much superior to the largest bear,
remarkably long-bodied, broad down by his shoulders, but thin or
narrow just at its hind legs. It had a large head and fearful look.
Its legs were short and thick; its paws (at the toes of which were
nails or claws, nearly as long as an Indian's finger), spread very
wide. It was almost bare of hair, except the hinder part of its legs,
in which places the hair was very long. For this reason, the Indians
gave it the name of "_Naked Bear_." Several of these animals had been
destroyed by the Indians, but the one of which the following account
is given, had escaped them, and for years had from time to time
destroyed many Indians, particularly women and children when they were
out in the woods gathering nuts, digging roots, or at work in the
fields. Hunters, when overtaken by this animal, had no way of
escaping, except where a river or lake was at hand, by plunging into
it, and swimming out or down the stream to a great distance; when this
was the case, and the beast was not able to pursue further, then he
would set up such a roaring noise, that every Indian hearing it would
tremble. This animal preyed on every beast he could lay hold of; he
would catch and kill the largest bears and devour them; while bears
were plenty, the Indians had not so much to dread from him; but, when
this was not the case, he would run about the woods, searching for the
track or scent of hunters, following them up, and making prey of them.
The women were so afraid of going out to work, that the men assembled
to delibera