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245 John Howard Payne Esq., Brainerd July 25 - 1807.

N. York

Dear Sir,

 I had promised you another communication on Indians antiquities, or I should let my few? rest at this time, I begin to be quite discouraged of being able to give you communications worthy of notice. As far as I know all that I have sent you is correct, but in general, it is very defective; and unless you can, Sir, personally visit the nation, I fear it will not be in your power to do justice to the subject of Indian antiquities. For instance, the feast of first fruits, and that when the yowa hymn was sung one wanting, six, as you have them in some of their most essential parts. With regard  to the feast of first fruits, God directed, and commanded that the whole nation should assemble at one place to celebrate it. This, it is said, was about the first of the new moon in August. God directed also that at that feast they should have a shade to go under, and carry green boughs in their right hands, holding them over their heads as they danced, to remind them that there were sent shades prepared for them above. They therefore selected a beautiful shade tree, cut it down near the roots, and set it out in the council house yard. They then went to the woods and got boughs to hold over their heads. This dance the men celebrate alone, no woman was admitted into the yard. This dance was a mere expression of joy. The performers ran, and jumped, and sang, and in every possible manner manifested the joyfulness of the occasion, and ^though their exercises seemed wild and disorderly, yet all went by rule, under the direction of a leader, Seven times, during each dance they all successively passed under the shade of the tree out in the yard.
Though the females could not join in this dance, nor enter the yard while it was celebrated, yet these were their dances at different times during the four days of the feast in which the women united.
On the morning of the first day of this feast, very early the priest directed all to the river. Then standing on the bank he uttered a prayer for them, and then ordered them to bathe. This they did, as follows. All the men went a little up stream, and the women & children a little down, and all waded into deep water. Then with their face to the east, all plunged entirely in