Keith, George. An Account of Mackenzie River (Letters to Roderick Mackenzie), 1807-1817. An electronic transcription. MFTP #0033

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No. 23

or not, it always strikes me very forcibly to this effect. No words are attached to this air, which is seldom the case with their other Songs, excepting the dancing and war Songs. Superstition has no hold of this Tribe, altho, I think it would not be difficult to impose upon their credulity in this respect. A good hunter or any one endowed with superior understanding and conduct commands respect and often a kind of pre-eminence, with those few at least who occasionally live with him. Good hunters are seldom to be met with amongst this Tribe, and consequently justly admired both by the male and particularly by the female sex. A number of the former, merely from the indolent habits contracted in youth, are unable to support their manhood, except as fishermen in which quality they serve & provide fuel for the women or any other drudgery of the kind. Bodily strength is likewise a powerful engine, and in youth is sometimes perverted or

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