hose who wished to show respect. We were taught
generosity to the poor and reverence for the "Great Mystery." Religion
was the basis of all Indian training.

VI

THE BOY HUNTER

There was almost as much difference between the Indian boys who were
brought up on the open prairies and those of the woods, as between city
and country boys. The hunting of the prairie boys was limited and their
knowledge of natural history imperfect. They were, as a rule, good
riders, but in all-round physical development much inferior to the red
men of the forest.

Our hunting varied with the season of the year, and the nature of the
country which was for the time our home. Our chief weapon was the bow
and arrows, and perhaps, if we were lucky, a knife was possessed by
some one in the crowd. In the olden times, knives and hatchets were
made from bone and sharp stones.

For fire we used a flint with a spongy piece of dry wood and a stone to
strike with. Another way of starting fire was for several of the boys
to sit down in a circle and rub two pieces of dry, spongy wood
together, one after another, until the wood took fire.

We hunted in company a great deal, though it was a common thing for a
boy to set out for the woods quite alone, and he usually enjoyed
himself fully as much. Our game consisted mainly of small birds,
rabbits, squirrels and grouse. Fishing, too, occupied much of our time.
We hardly ever passed a creek or a pond without searching for some
signs of fish. When fish were present, we always managed to get some.
Fish-lines were made of wild hemp, sinew or horse-hair. We either
caught fish with lines, snared or speared them, or shot them with bow
and arrows. In the fall we charmed them up to the surface by gently
tickling them with a stick and quickly threw them out. We have
sometimes dammed the brooks and driven the larger fish into a willow
basket made for that purpose.

It was part of our hunting to find new and strange things in the woods.
We examined the slightest sign of life; and if a bird had scratched the
leaves off the ground, or a bear dragged up a root for his morning
meal, we stopped to speculate on the time it was done. If we saw a
large old tree with some scratches on its bark, we concluded that a
bear or some raccoons must be living there. In that case we did not go
any nearer than was necessary, but later reported the incident at home.
An old deer-track would at once bring on a warm discussion as