He dresses in
many colors, and wears a forked hat. One side of his face is red, the
other blue, his eyes are also of different colors. He always carries a
bow and arrow in his hand, but never has occasion to use it, as one look
will kill the animal he wants.
They sing songs to this giant, and once in a long time dance in honor of
him; but so severe is the latter custom, that it is rarely performed.
The following incident will show how great is their reverence for this
singular being. An Indian made a vapor bath, and placed inside of it a
rude image of the giant, made of birch bark. This he intended to pray to
while bathing.
After the hot stone was placed inside of the wigwam, several Indians
went in to assist in giving the bath to their sick friend. One of them
commenced pouring the water on the hot stone, and the water flew on the
others, and scalded them badly; the image of the giant was also
displaced; the Indians never dreamed of attributing their burns to the
natural cause, but concluded that the giant was displeased at their
placing his image there, and they considered it as an instance of his
mercy that they were not scalded to death.
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