been very much of a hardship if he had failed
altogether in the performance of this pious duty. Many of the Indians,
who had lost friends and relatives in their fights with the Miamis, were
in favor of killing the white men, but better counsels prevailed, and
they were spared. The hope of opening up a trade intercourse with the
French largely entered into the decision.

While traveling up the river one of the white men shot a wild turkey
with his gun, which produced a great sensation among the Indians, and
was the first time a Dakota ever heard the discharge of firearms. They
called the gun Maza wakan, or spirit iron.

The party camped at Lake Pepin, and on the nineteenth day of their
captivity they arrived in the vicinity of where St. Paul now stands.
From this point they proceeded by land to Mille Lacs, where they
were taken by the Indians to their several villages, and were
kindly treated. These Indians were part of the band of Dakotas, called
M'day-wa-kon-ton-wans, or the Lake Villagers. I spell the Indian names
as they are now known, and not as they are given in Hennepin's
narrative, although it is quite remarkable how well he preserved them
with sound as his only guide.

While at this village the Indians gave Hennepin some steam baths, which
he says were very effective in removing all traces of soreness and
fatigue, and in a short time made him feel as well and strong as he ever
was. I have often witnessed this medical process among the Dakotas. They
make a small lodge of poles covered with a buffalo skin, or something
similar, and place in it several large boulders heated to a high degree.
The patient then enters naked, and pours water over the stones,
producing a dense steam, which envelopes him and nearly boils him. He
stands it as long as he can, and then undergoes a thorough rubbing. The
effect is to remove stiffness and soreness produced by long journeys on
foot, or other serious labor.

Hennepin tells in a very agreeable way many things that occurred during
his captivity: how astonished the Indians were at all the articles he
had. A mariner's compass created much wonder, and an iron pot with feet
like lions' paws they would not touch with the naked hand; but their
astonishment knew no bounds when he told them that the whites only
allowed a man one wife, and that his religious office did not permit
him to have any.

I might say here that the Dakotas are polygamous, as savage people
generally are, and t