Original - North Central Michigan College Library

anfcand matted into ropes which spread themselvesin all directions.The same evening we were invited to asecond feast. Everything was nearly as before,except that in the morning all the guests weremen, and now half were women. All the womenwere seated on one side of the floor of the tent,and all the men on the other, with a fire placedbetween them. The fire rendering the tentwarm, the men, one after another, dropped theskins which were their garments, and leftthemselves entirely naked. The appearanceof one of them in particular having led us, whowere strangers, into an involuntary and illstifledlaugh, the men calmly asked us theoccasion of our mirth; but one of the womenpointing to the cause, the individual restoredthe covering of his robe.The women are themselves perfectly modest,both in dress and demeanor, and those whowere now present maintained the first rankin the village; but custom had rendered thescene inoffensive to their eyes.Our repast concluded, we departed, takingwith us our dishes, in which the greater partof the ox tongues which had been laid uponthem remained unconsumed.All night in our tent we had a guard of sixsoldiers; and when I awoke, as several timesI did, I always found them smoking their pipesin silence.We rose at daybreak, according to the279