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Gilfillan on staying in wigwams

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I have never been refused admission, and the privilege of passing the night, in any wigwam. When one has been travelling all day through the virgin forest, in a temperature far below zero, and has not seen a house nor a human being and knows not where or how he is to pass the night, it is the most comforting sight in the whole world to see the glowing column of light from the top of the wigwam of some wandering family out hunting, and to look in and see that happy group bathed in the light and warmth of the life-giving fire. No princely hotel in a great city can equal the blessedness of that wigwam. And no one, whether Ojibway or white, is ever refused admission; on the contrary, they are made heartily welcome, as long as there is an inch of space.
from
Joseph A. Gilfillan, The Ojibways in Minnesota, Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society, Vol. 9 (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society, 1901) 68-69.

The Ojibwe People's Dictionary is developed and maintained by:
Nora Livesay, Editor
John D. Nichols, Founder and Linguistic Editor

with support and collaboration from the University of Minnesota's Department of American Indian Studies and University Libraries.

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