Hearne remarked, in 1772, that when two parties of Athapaska Indians
met, the ceremonies which passed between them were very formal. They
would advance within twenty or thirty yards of each other, make a full
halt, and then sit or lie down on the ground, not speaking for some
minutes. At length one of them, generally an elderly man, broke
silence by acquainting the other party with every misfortune that had
befallen him and his companions from the last time they had seen or
heard of each other, including all deaths and other calamities which
had happened to any other Indians during the same period. When he
finished, another orator, belonging to the other party, related in
like manner all the bad news that had come to _his_ knowledge. If
these orations contained any news that in the least affected either
party, it would not be long before some of them began to sigh and sob,
and soon after to break out into a loud cry, which was generally
accompanied by most of the grown persons of both sexes; and sometimes
it was common to hear them all--men, women, and children--joining in
one universal howl. When the first transports of grief had subsided,
they advanced by degrees, and both parties mixed with each other, the
men with the men, the women with the women. They then passed round
tobacco pipes very freely, and the conversation became general.
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