The end of this relation looks rather suspicious for its antiquity, or may be a later addition. The throwing of the scalps into the sink has to be considered as a sort of sacrifice, although it is difficult to say which power of nature the dog represented. The howling of the dog before evening and the direction of the pole seem to indicate the state of the weather and the moisture of the ground, which could give origin to fevers. That the passage: "the dog was lost in the Mississippi," should read: "_the dog was lost in the State of Mississippi_," is plainly shown by the sentences following the statement.