Whereas if they burned the bones the soul would be lost, and
so it would be quite impossible for that salmon to rise from the
dead. In like manner the Ottawa Indians of Canada, believing that
the souls of dead fish passed into other bodies of fish, never
burned fish bones, for fear of displeasing the souls of the fish,
who would come no more to the nets. The Hurons also refrained from
throwing fish bones into the fire, lest the souls of the fish should
go and warn the other fish not to let themselves be caught, since
the Hurons would burn their bones. Moreover, they had men who
preached to the fish and persuaded them to come and be caught. A
good preacher was much sought after, for they thought that the
exhortations of a clever man had a great effect in drawing the fish
to the nets. In the Huron fishing village where the French
missionary Sagard stayed, the preacher to the fish prided himself
very much on his eloquence, which was of a florid order. Every
evening after supper, having seen that all the people were in their
places and that a strict silence was observed, he preached to the
fish.
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