Libr@rsi

1656 - 58] RELA TION OF idjy sS 303
bones are given to the dogs. Therefore, they
throw into the fire, or into the river, or else bury
the bones of beavers, from fear lest the dogs may
find them. In respect to animals that are devoid
of intelligence, that is, such as let themselves be
readily caught, their bones are held in contempt,
and are thrown to the dogs. Those who are now
instructed make fun of such superstitions and
fancies.
When the Savages are not hunting or on a journey,
their usual posture is to recline or sit on the
ground. They cannot remain standing, maintaining
that their legs become swollen immediately. Seats
higher than the ground they dislike; the French, on
the contrary, use chairs, benches, or stools, leaving
the ground and litter to animals.
A good dancer in France does not move [126] his
arms much, and holds his body erect, moving his
feet so nimbly that, you would say, he spurns the
ground and wishes to stay in the air. The Savages,
on the contrary, bend over in their dances, thrust-
as if
ing out their arms and moving them violently
they were kneading bread, while they strike the
ground with their feet so vigorously that one would
say they are determined to make it tremble, or to
bury themselves in it up to the neck.
off their
People, on coming from town and taking
shoes, put them down somewhere out of the way;
the Savages hang them in the highest place in their
cabins, to let them dry.
In France, children are carried on the arm, or
clasped to the breast ; in Canadas, the mothers bear
them behind their backs. In France, they are kept