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- height: auto; - } - - .plate { - text-align: right; - margin-right: 1%; - font-size: large; - page-break-after: avoid; - } - - figure { - text-align: center; - margin-top: 0; - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; - clear: both; - page-break-inside: avoid; - } - - figcaption { - font-weight: bold; - font-size: large; - text-align: center; - } - - .col50 { - display: inline-block; - width: 49.5%; - vertical-align: top; - } - - .illowp25 { width: 25%; max-width: 18.75em; } - .illowp75 { width: 75%; max-width: 56.25em; } - .illowp100 { width: 100%; max-width: 75em; } - - /* === Abreviation: no underline, no color === */ - abbr { - border: none; - text-decoration: none; - } - - /* === Transcriber's notes === */ - ul.spaced li { padding-top: 1%; } - - .transnote { - background-color: #E6E6FA; - border: 1px solid black; - color: black; - font-size: smaller; - padding: 0.5em; - margin-bottom: 5em; - font-family: sans-serif; - } - - </style> -</head> - -<body> -<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Illustrations of the manners, customs, & condition of the North American Indians, Vol. I (of 2), by George Catlin</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Illustrations of the manners, customs, & condition of the North American Indians, Vol. I (of 2)</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em;'>With letters and notes, written during eight years of travel and adventure among the wildest and most remarkable tribes now existing</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: George Catlin</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: August 16, 2022 [eBook #68768]</p> -<br> -[Most recently updated: August 23, 2023]<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Richard Hulse, Robert Tonsing and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE MANNERS, CUSTOMS, & CONDITION OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS, VOL. I (OF 2) ***</div> - <figure class="illowp75 x-ebookmaker-drop"> - <img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="cover"> - </figure> - - <hr class="chap"> - <figure class="illowp75" id="i_frontis"> - <img src="images/frontis.jpg" alt=""> - <figcaption><span class="small"><i>G. Catlin</i></span><br> - <i>The Author painting a Chief at the base of the Rocky Mountains.</i></figcaption> - </figure> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="titlepage"> - <h1>ILLUSTRATIONS<br> - <span class="xsmall">OF THE</span><br> - <span class="xlarge normal"><i>MANNERS, CUSTOMS, & CONDITION</i></span><br> - <span class="xsmall">OF THE</span><br> - <span class="xxxlarge">NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS.</span></h1> - - <div class="antiqua" style="font-size: 170%;"><span class="gesperrt1">With Letters and Notes</span>,</div> - - <div class="smcap mt2">Written during Eight Years of Travel and Adventure among the<br> - Wildest and most Remarkable Tribes now Existing.</div> - - <div class="smcap xlarge mt3">By GEORGE CATLIN.</div> - - <div class="lh1 mt3"><span class="small">WITH</span><br> - <span class="large"><i>THREE HUNDRED AND SIXTY COLOURED ENGRAVINGS</i></span><br> - <span class="small">FROM THE AUTHOR’S ORIGINAL PAINTINGS.</span></div> - - <figure class="mt3"> - <img class="illowp25" src="images/i_title.jpg" alt="Logo"> - </figure> - - <div class="large mt3">IN TWO VOLUMES.—VOL. <abbr title="1">I.</abbr></div> - - <div class="large lh1 mt3"><span class="antiqua">London</span>:<br> - <b><span class="large gesperrt2">CHATTO & WINDUS, PICCADILLY</span>.<br> - <span class="small">1876.</span></b></div> - </div> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="titlepage"> - <div class="xsmall lh1 mt10 mb10"><b>LONDON:<br> - <span class="gesperrt2">PRINTED BY J. OGDEN AND CO</span>.,<br> - 172, <abbr title="Saint">ST.</abbr> JOHN STREET, E.C.</b></div> - </div> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter lh2"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_iii">iii</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS<br> - <span class="small">OF</span><br>THE FIRST VOLUME.</h2> - </div> - - <div class="hang"><a href="#i_frontis"><span class="smcap">Frontispiece</span></a>:—<i>The Author painting a Chief in an Indian - Village.</i></div> - - <div class="hang"><a href="#i_map"><span class="smcap">Map</span> <i>of</i> <span class="smcap">Indian Localities</span></a> <i>embraced within - the Author’s Travels</i>.</div> - - <div class="center mt2"><a href="#LETTER_1">LETTER—<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 1.</span></a></div> - - <div class="hang">Wyöming, birth-place of the Author, <a href="#Page_2"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 2</a>.—His former Profession—First - cause of his Travels to the Indian Country—Delegation of Indians in - Philadelphia—First start to the Far West, in 1832, <a href="#Page_3"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 3</a>.—Design of - forming a National Gallery—Numbers of Tribes visited, and number of - Paintings and other things collected, <a href="#Page_4"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 4</a>.—Probable extinction of - the Indians, <a href="#Page_5"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 5</a>.—Former and present numbers of—The proper mode of - approaching them, and estimating their character, <a href="#Page_5"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 5–10</a>.</div> - - <div class="hang"><span class="smcap">Certificates</span> <i>of Government Officers, Indian Agents and - others, as to the fidelity of the Portraits and other Paintings</i>, <a href="#Page_11"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 11–13</a>.</div> - - <div class="center mt2"><a href="#LETTER_2">LETTER—<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 2.</span></a></div> - - <div class="hang">Mouth of Yellow Stone, <a href="#Page_14"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 14</a>, <a href="#i_003"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 3</a>.—Distance from <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> - Louis—Difficulties of the Missouri—Politeness of Mr. Chouteau and - Major Sanford—Fur Company’s Fort—Indian Epicures—New and true School - for the Arts—Beautiful Models, <a href="#Page_14"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 14–16</a>.</div> - - <div class="center mt2"><a href="#LETTER_3">LETTER—<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 3, Mouth of Yellow Stone.</span></a></div> - - <div class="hang">Character of Missouri River, <a href="#Page_18"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 18</a>, <a href="#i_004"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 4</a>.—Beautiful prairie shores, <a href="#Page_19"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> - 19</a>, <a href="#i_005"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 5</a>.—Picturesque clay bluffs, <a href="#Page_19"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 19</a>, <a href="#i_006"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 6</a>.—First appearance of - a steamer at the Yellow Stone, and curious conjectures of the Indians - about it, <a href="#Page_20"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 20</a>.—Fur Company’s Establishment at the mouth of Yellow - Stone—M‘Kenzie—His table and politeness, <a href="#Page_21"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 21</a>.—Indian tribes in this - vicinity, <a href="#Page_22"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 22</a>.</div> - - <div class="center mt2"><a href="#LETTER_4">LETTER—<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 4, Mouth of Yellow Stone</span></a></div> - - <div class="hang">Upper Missouri Indians—General character, <a href="#Page_23"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 23</a>.—Buffaloes—Description - of, <a href="#Page_24"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 24</a>, pls. <a href="#i_007">7</a>, <a href="#i_008">8</a>.—Modes of killing them—Buffalo-hunt, <a href="#Page_25"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> - 25</a>.—Chardon’s Leap, <a href="#Page_26"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 26</a>, <a href="#i_009"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 9</a>.—Wounded bull, <a href="#Page_26"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 26</a>, <a href="#i_018"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> - 10</a>.—Extraordinary feat of Mr. M‘Kenzie, <a href="#Page_27"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 27</a>.—Return from the chase, - <a href="#Page_28"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 28</a>.</div> - - <div class="hang"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_iv">iv</span></div> - - <div class="center mt2"><a href="#LETTER_5">LETTER—<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 5, Mouth of Yellow Stone.</span></a></div> - - <div class="hang">Author’s painting-room, and characters in it, <a href="#Page_29"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 29</a>.—Blackfoot - chief, <a href="#Page_29"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 29</a>, <a href="#i_011"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 11</a>.—Other Blackfoot chiefs, and their costumes, - <a href="#Page_30"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 30</a>.—Blackfoot woman and child, <a href="#Page_30"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 30</a>, pls. <a href="#i_012">12</a>, <a href="#i_013">13</a>;—Scalps, - and objects for which taken—red pipes, and pipe-stone quarry, <a href="#Page_31"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> - 31</a>.—Blackfoot bows, shields, arrows and lances, <a href="#Page_32"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 32, 33</a>, <a href="#i_018"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> - 18</a>.—Several distinguished Blackfeet, <a href="#Page_34"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 34</a>, pls. <a href="#i_014">14</a>, <a href="#i_015">15</a>, <a href="#i_016">16</a>, <a href="#i_017">17</a>.</div> - - <div class="center mt2"><a href="#LETTER_6">LETTER—<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 6, Mouth of Yellow Stone.</span></a></div> - - <div class="hang">Medicines or mysteries—medicine-bag—origin of the word medicine, - <a href="#Page_35"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 35</a>.—Mode of forming the medicine-bag, <a href="#Page_36"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 36</a>.—Value of the - medicine-bag to the Indian, and materials for their construction, - <a href="#Page_37"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 37</a>, <a href="#i_018"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 18</a>.—Blackfoot doctor or medicine-man—his mode of curing - the sick, <a href="#Page_39"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 39</a>, <a href="#i_019"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 19</a>.—Different offices and importance of - medicine-men, <a href="#Page_41"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 41</a>.</div> - - <div class="center mt2"><a href="#LETTER_7">LETTER—<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 7, Mouth of Yellow Stone.</span></a></div> - - <div class="hang">Crews and Blackfeet—General character and appearance, <a href="#Page_42"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 42</a>.—Killing - and drying meat, <a href="#Page_43"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 43</a>, <a href="#i_022"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 22</a>.—Crow lodge or wigwam, <a href="#Page_43"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 43</a>, <a href="#i_020"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> - 20</a>.—Striking their tents and encampment moving, <a href="#Page_44"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 44</a>, <a href="#i_021"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 21</a>.—Mode - of dressing and smoking skins, <a href="#Page_45"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 45</a>.—Crows—Beauty of their - dresses—Horse-stealing or capturing—Reasons why they are called - rogues and robbers of the first order, &c. <a href="#Page_46"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 46</a>.</div> - - <div class="center mt2"><a href="#LETTER_8">LETTER—<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 8, Mouth of Yellow Stone.</span></a></div> - - <div class="hang">Further remarks on the Crows—Extraordinary length of hair, <a href="#Page_49"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> - 49</a>.—Peculiarities of the Crow head, and several portraits, <a href="#Page_50"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 50</a>, - pls. <a href="#i_024">24</a>, <a href="#i_024">25</a>, <a href="#i_026">26</a>, <a href="#i_026">27</a>.—Crow and Blackfeet women—Their modes of dressing - and painting, <a href="#Page_51"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 51</a>.—Differences between the Crow and Blackfoot - languages, <a href="#Page_51"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 51</a>.—Different hands—Different languages, and numbers - of the Blackfeet, <a href="#Page_52"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 52</a>.—Knisteneaux—Assinneboins, and Ojibbeways, - <a href="#Page_53"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 53</a>.—Assinneboins a part of the Sioux—Their mode of boiling meat, - <a href="#Page_54"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 54</a>.—Pipe-dance, <a href="#Page_55"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 55</a>, <a href="#i_052"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 52</a>.—Wi-jun-jon (a chief) and wife, - pls. <a href="#i_028">28</a>, <a href="#i_028">29</a>.—His visit to Washington, <a href="#Page_56"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 56</a>.—Dresses of women - and children of the Assinneboins, <a href="#Page_57"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 57</a>, <a href="#i_034"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 34</a>.—Knisteneaux (or - Crees)—character and numbers, and several portraits, <a href="#Page_57"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 57</a>, pls. <a href="#i_030">30</a>, - <a href="#i_030">31</a>.—Ojibbeways—Chief and wife, <a href="#Page_58"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 58</a>, pls. <a href="#i_035">35</a>, <a href="#i_036">36</a>.</div> - - <div class="center mt2"><a href="#LETTER_9">LETTER—<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 9, Mouth of Yellow Stone.</span></a></div> - - <div class="hang">Contemplations of the Great Far West and its customs, <a href="#Page_59"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 59</a>.—Old - acquaintance, <a href="#Page_60"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 60</a>.—March and effects of civilization, <a href="#Page_60"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 60</a>.—The - “Far West”—The Author in search of it, <a href="#Page_62"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 62</a>.—Meeting with - “Ba’tiste,” a free trapper, <a href="#Page_63"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 63, 64</a>.</div> - - <div class="center mt2"><a href="#LETTER_10">LETTER—<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 10, Mandan Village, Upper Missouri.</span></a></div> - - <div class="hang">A strange place—Voyage from Mouth of Yellow Stone down the river to - Mandans—Commencement—Leave M‘Kenzie’s Fort, <a href="#Page_66"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 66</a>.—Assinneboins - encamped on the river Wi-jun-jon lecturing on the customs of white - people—Mountain-sheep, <span class="pagenum" id="Page_v">v</span><a href="#Page_67"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 67</a>,—War-eagles—Grizzly bears, <a href="#Page_68"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 68</a>.—Clay - bluffs, “brick-kilns,” volcanic remains, <a href="#Page_69"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 69</a>, pls. <a href="#i_037">37</a>, <a href="#i_038">38</a>.—Red - pumice stone—A wild stroll—Mountaineer’s sleep, <a href="#Page_70"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 70</a>.—Grizzly bear - and cubs—Courageous attack—Canoe robbed, <a href="#Page_71"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 71</a>.—Eating our meals - on a pile of drift-wood—Encamping in the night—Voluptuous scene of - wild flowers, buffalo bush and berries, <a href="#Page_72"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 72</a>.—Adventure after an - elk—War-party discovered, <a href="#Page_74"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 74</a>.—Magnificent scenery in the “Grand - Détour”—Stupendous clay bluffs—Table land, <a href="#Page_75"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 75</a>, <a href="#i_039"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 39</a>.—Antelope - shooting, <a href="#Page_76"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 76</a>, <a href="#i_040"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 40</a>.—“Grand Dome”—Prairie dogs—Village—Fruitless - endeavours to shoot them, <a href="#Page_77"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 77</a>, <a href="#i_042"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 42</a>.—Pictured bluff and the Three - Domes, <a href="#Page_78"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 78</a>, pls. <a href="#i_043">43</a>, <a href="#i_044">44</a>.—Arrival at the Mandan village, <a href="#Page_79"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 79</a>.</div> - - <div class="center mt2"><a href="#LETTER_11">LETTER—<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 11, Mandan Village.</span></a></div> - - <div class="hang">Location—Village, <a href="#Page_80"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 80</a>, <a href="#i_045"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 45</a>.—Former locations fortification of - their village—Description of village and mode of constructing their - wigwams, <a href="#Page_81"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 81, 82</a>.—Description of interior—Beds—Weapons—Family - groups, <a href="#Page_82"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 82, 83</a>, <a href="#i_046"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 46</a>.—Indian garrulity—Jokes—Fire-side fun and - story-telling, <a href="#Page_84"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 84</a>.—Causes of Indian taciturnity in civilized - society, <a href="#Page_85"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 85</a>.</div> - - <div class="center mt2"><a href="#LETTER_12">LETTER—<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 12, Mandan Village.</span></a></div> - - <div class="hang">Bird’s-eye view of the village, <a href="#Page_87"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 87</a>, <a href="#i_047"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 47</a>.—The “big - canoe”—Medicine-lodge—A strange medley, <a href="#Page_88"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 88</a>.—Mode of depositing - the dead on scaffolds, <a href="#Page_89"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 89</a>.—Respect to the dead—Visiting the - dead—Feeding the dead—Converse with the dead—Bones of the dead, <a href="#Page_90"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> - 90</a>, <a href="#i_048"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 48</a>.</div> - - <div class="center mt2"><a href="#LETTER_13">LETTER—<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 13, Mandan Village.</span></a></div> - - <div class="hang">The wolf-chief—Head-chief of the tribe, <a href="#Page_92"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 92</a>, <a href="#i_049"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> - 49</a>.—Several portraits, <a href="#Page_92"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 92</a>, pls. <a href="#i_050">50</a>, <a href="#i_050">51</a>, <a href="#i_052">52</a>, <a href="#i_052">53</a>.—Personal - appearance—Peculiarities—Complexion, <a href="#Page_93"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 93</a>.—“Cheveux gris,” <a href="#Page_94"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> - 94</a>.—Hair of the men—Hair of the women, <a href="#Page_95"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 95</a>, <a href="#i_054"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 54</a>.—Bathing and - swimming, <a href="#Page_96"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 96</a>.—Mode of swimming—Sudatories or vapour-baths, <a href="#Page_97"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> - 97–8</a>, <a href="#i_071"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 71</a>.</div> - - <div class="center mt2"><a href="#LETTER_14">LETTER—<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 14, Mandan Village.</span></a></div> - - <div class="hang">Costumes of the Mandans—High value set upon them—Two horses for - a head-dress—Made of war-eagles’ quills and ermine, <a href="#Page_100"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 100, - 101</a>.—Head-dresses with horns, <a href="#Page_103"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 103</a>.—A Jewish custom, <a href="#Page_104"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 104</a>.</div> - - <div class="center mt2"><a href="#LETTER_15">LETTER—<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 15, Mandan Village.</span></a></div> - - <div class="hang">Astonishment of the Mandans at the operation of the Author’s - brush, <a href="#Page_105"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 105</a>.—The Author installed medicine or medicine-man, - <a href="#Page_106"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 106</a>.—Crowds around the Author—Curiosity to see and to touch - him, <a href="#Page_107"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 107</a>.—Superstitious fears for those who were painted, <a href="#Page_168"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> - 168</a>.—Objections raised to being painted, <a href="#Page_109"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 109</a>.—The Author’s - operations opposed by a Mandan doctor, or medicine-man, and how - brought over, <a href="#Page_110"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 110</a>, <a href="#i_055"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 55</a>.</div> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_vi">vi</span></p> - - <div class="center mt2"><a href="#LETTER_16">LETTER—<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 16, Mandan Village.</span></a></div> - - <div class="hang">An Indian beau or dandy, <a href="#Page_112"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 112</a>.—A fruitless endeavour to paint one, <a href="#Page_113"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> - 113</a>.—Mah-to-toh-pa (the four bears), second chief of the tribe—The - Author feasted in his wigwam, <a href="#Page_114"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 114</a>, <a href="#i_062"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 62</a>.—Viands of the feast, <a href="#Page_115"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> - 115</a>.—Pemican and marrow-fat—Mandan pottery—Robe presented, <a href="#Page_116"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 116</a>.</div> - - <div class="center mt2"><a href="#LETTER_17">LETTER—<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 17, Mandan Village.</span></a></div> - - <div class="hang">Polygamy—Reasons and excuses for it, <a href="#Page_118"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 118</a>.—Marriages, how - contracted—Wives bought and sold, <a href="#Page_120"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 120</a>.—Paternal and filial - affection—Virtue and modesty of women—Early marriages—Slavish lives - and occupations of the Indian women, <a href="#Page_121"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 121</a>.—Pomme blanche—Dried - meat—Caches—Modes of cooking, and times of eating—Attitudes in - eating, <a href="#Page_122"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 122</a>.—Separation of males and females in eating—the Indians - moderate eaters—Some exceptions, <a href="#Page_123"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 123</a>.—Curing meat in the sun, - without smoke or salt—The wild Indians eat no salt, <a href="#Page_124"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 124</a>.</div> - - <div class="center mt2"><a href="#LETTER_18">LETTER—<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 18. Mandan Village.</span></a></div> - - <div class="hang">Indian dancing—“Buffalo dance,” <a href="#Page_127"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 127</a>, <a href="#i_056"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 56</a>.—Discovery of - buffaloes—Preparations for the chase—Start—A decoy—A retreat—Death - and scalping, <a href="#Page_129"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 129</a>.</div> - - <div class="center mt2"><a href="#LETTER_19">LETTER—<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 19, Mandan Village.</span></a></div> - - <div class="hang">Sham fight and sham scalp dance of the Mandan boys, <a href="#Page_131"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 131</a>, <a href="#i_057"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> - 57</a>.—Game of Tchung-kee, <a href="#Page_132"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 132</a>, <a href="#i_059"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 59</a>.—Feasting—Fasting and - sacrificing—White buffalo robe—Its value <a href="#Page_133"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 133</a>, <a href="#i_047"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 47</a>.—Rain makers - and rain stoppers, <a href="#Page_131"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 131</a>.—Rain making, <a href="#Page_135"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 135</a>, <a href="#i_058"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 58</a>.—“The thunder - boat”—The big double medicine, <a href="#Page_140"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 140</a>.</div> - - <div class="center mt2"><a href="#LETTER_20">LETTER—<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 20, Mandan Village.</span></a></div> - - <div class="hang">Mandan archery—“Game of the arrow,” <a href="#Page_141"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 141</a>, <a href="#i_060"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 60</a>.—Wild - horses—Horse-racing, <a href="#Page_142"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 142</a>, <a href="#i_061"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 61</a>.—Foot war-party in council, <a href="#Page_143"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> - 143</a>, <a href="#i_063"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 63</a>.</div> - - <div class="center mt2"><a href="#LETTER_21">LETTER—<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 21, Mandan Village, Upper Missouri.</span></a></div> - - <div class="hang">Mah-to-toh-pa, (the Four Bears)—His costume and his portrait, <a href="#Page_145"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 145</a>, - <a href="#i_064"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 64</a>.—The robe of Mah-to-toh-pa, with all the battles of his life - painted on it, <a href="#Page_148"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 148</a>, <a href="#i_065"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 65</a>.</div> - - <div class="center mt2"><a href="#LETTER_22">LETTER—<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 22, Mandan Village.</span></a></div> - - <div class="hang">Mandan religious ceremonies—Mandan religious creed, <a href="#Page_156"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 156</a>.—Three - objects of the ceremony, <a href="#Page_157"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 157</a>.—Place of holding the ceremony—Big - canoe—Season of commencing—and manner, <a href="#Page_158"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 158</a>.—Opening the medicine - lodge—Sacrifices to the water, <a href="#Page_159"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 159</a>.—Fasting scene for four - days and nights, <a href="#Page_161"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 161</a>, <a href="#i_066"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 66</a>.—Bei-lohck-nah-pick, (the bull - dance), <a href="#Page_164"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 164</a>, <a href="#i_067"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 67</a>.—Pohk-hong (the cutting or torturing scene), - <a href="#Page_169"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 169</a>, <a href="#i_068"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 68</a>.—Ah-ke-nah-ka-nah-pick,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</span> (the last race) <a href="#Page_173"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 173</a>, - <a href="#i_069"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 69</a>.—Extraordinary instances of cruelty in self-torture, <a href="#Page_175"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> - 175</a>.—Sacrificing to the water, <a href="#Page_176"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 176</a>.—Certificates of the Mandan - ceremonies—Inferences drawn from these horrible cruelties, with - traditions, <a href="#Page_177"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 177</a>.—Tradition of O-kee-hee-de (the Evil Spirit), <a href="#Page_179"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> - 179</a>.—Mandans can be civilized, <a href="#Page_183"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 183</a>.</div> - - <div class="center mt2"><a href="#LETTER_23">LETTER—<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 23, Minataree Village.</span></a></div> - - <div class="hang">Location and numbers—Origin, <a href="#Page_185"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 185</a>.—Principal village, <a href="#i_070"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 70</a>.—Vapour - baths, <a href="#i_071"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 71</a>.—Old chief, Black Moccasin, <a href="#Page_186"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 186</a>, <a href="#i_072"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 72</a>.—Two - portraits, man and woman, pls. <a href="#i_073">73</a>, <a href="#i_073">74</a>.—Green corn dance, <a href="#Page_189"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 189</a>, <a href="#i_075"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 75</a>.</div> - - <div class="center mt2"><a href="#LETTER_24">LETTER—<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 24, Minataree Village.</span></a></div> - - <div class="hang">Crows, in the Minataree village, <a href="#Page_191"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 191</a>.—Crow chief on horseback, - in full dress, <a href="#Page_192"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 192</a>, <a href="#i_076"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 76</a>.—Peculiarities of the Crows—Long - hair—Semi-lunar faces, <a href="#Page_193"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 193</a>, pls. <a href="#i_077">77</a>, <a href="#i_073">78</a>.—Rats in the Minataree - village, <a href="#Page_195"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 195</a>.—Crossing Knife River in “bull boat”—Swimming of - Minataree girls, <a href="#Page_196"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 196</a>.—Horse-racing—A banter—Riding a “naked horse,” - <a href="#Page_197"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 197</a>.—Grand buffalo surround, <a href="#Page_199"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 199</a>, <a href="#i_079"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 79</a>.—Cutting up and - carrying in meat, <a href="#Page_201"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 201</a>.</div> - - <div class="center mt2"><a href="#LETTER_25">LETTER—<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 25, Little Mandan Village, Upper Missouri.</span></a></div> - - <div class="hang">An Indian offering himself for a pillow, <a href="#Page_203"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 203</a>.—Portraits of - Riccarees, <a href="#Page_204"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 204</a>, pls. <a href="#i_081">83</a>, <a href="#i_084">84</a>, <a href="#i_082">82</a>, - <a href="#i_081">81</a>.—Riccaree village, <a href="#Page_204"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 204</a>, <a href="#i_080"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> - 80</a>.—Origin of the Mandans—Welsh colony—Expedition of Madoc, <a href="#Page_206"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 206–7</a>.</div> - - <div class="center mt2"><a href="#LETTER_26">LETTER—<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 26, Mouth of Teton River.</span></a></div> - - <div class="hang">Sioux or (Dah-co-ta), <a href="#Page_208"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 208</a>.—Fort Pierre, <a href="#i_085"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 85</a>.—Mississippi - and Missouri Sioux, <a href="#Page_209"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 209</a>.—Ha-wan-je-tah (chief), <a href="#Page_211"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 211</a>, <a href="#i_086"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> - 86</a>.—Puncahs, Shoo-de-ga-cha (chief) and wife, <a href="#Page_212"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 212</a>, pls. <a href="#i_087">87</a>, - <a href="#i_088">88</a>.—Four wives taken at once, <a href="#Page_213"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 213</a>, <a href="#i_090"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 90</a>.—Portrait of one of the - wives, <a href="#Page_214"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 214</a>, <a href="#i_089"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 89</a>.—Early marriages—Causes of, <a href="#Page_215"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 215</a>.</div> - - <div class="center mt2"><a href="#LETTER_27">LETTER—<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 27, Mouth of Teton River.</span></a></div> - - <div class="hang">Custom of exposing the aged, <a href="#Page_216"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 216</a>.—A tedious march on foot, <a href="#Page_218"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> - 218</a>.—Level prairies—“Out of sight of land”—Mirage—Looming of the - prairies, <a href="#Page_218"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 218</a>.—Turning the toes in—Bijou hills—Salt meadows, - <a href="#Page_219"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 219</a>.—Arrive at Fort Pierre—Great assemblage of Sioux—Paint the - portrait of the chief—Superstitious objections—Opposed by the - doctors, <a href="#Page_220"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 220</a>.—Difficulty settled—Death of Ha-wan-je-tah (the - chief)—Mode of, <a href="#Page_221"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 221</a>.—Portraits of other Sioux chiefs—Wampum, - <a href="#Page_222"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 222–3</a>, pls. <a href="#i_091">91</a>, <a href="#i_091">92</a>.—Beautiful Sioux women—Daughter of Black - Rock—Chardon, his Indian wife, <a href="#Page_224"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 224–5</a>, pls. <a href="#i_094">94</a>, <a href="#i_094">95</a>.</div> - - <div class="center mt2"><a href="#LETTER_28">LETTER—<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 28, Mouth of Teton River.</span></a></div> - - <div class="hang">Difficulty of painting Indian women, <a href="#Page_226"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 226</a>.—Indian vanity—Watching - their portraits—Arrival of the first steamer amongst the Sioux, <a href="#Page_227"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> - 227</a>.—Dog-feast, <a href="#Page_228"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 228</a>, <a href="#i_096"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 96</a>.</div> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_viii">viii</span></p> - - <div class="center mt2"><a href="#LETTER_29">LETTER—<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 29, Mouth of Teton River.</span></a></div> - - <div class="hang">Voluntary torture, “looking at the sun,” <a href="#Page_232"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 232</a>, <a href="#i_097"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 97</a>.—Religious - ceremony, <a href="#Page_233"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 233</a>.—Smoking “k’nick-k’neck”—Pipes, <a href="#Page_234"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 234</a>. <a href="#i_098"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> - 98</a>.—Calumets or pipes of peace, <a href="#Page_235"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 235</a>.—Tomahawks and scalping knives, - <a href="#Page_235"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 235–6</a>, <a href="#i_099"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 99</a>.—Dance of the chiefs, <a href="#Page_237"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 237</a>, <a href="#i_100"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 100</a>.—Scalps—Mode - of taking, and object, <a href="#Page_238"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 238–9</a>.—Modes of carrying and using the - scalps, <a href="#Page_240"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 240</a>, <a href="#i_101"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 101</a>.</div> - - <div class="center mt2"><a href="#LETTER_30">LETTER—<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 30, Mouth of Teton River.</span></a></div> - - <div class="hang">Indian weapons and instruments of music, <a href="#Page_241"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 241</a>, <a href="#i_101a"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> - 101½</a>.—Quiver and shield—Smoking the shield, <a href="#Page_241"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 241</a>.—Tobacco - pouches—Drums—Rattles—Whistles—Lutes, <a href="#Page_242"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 242</a>, <a href="#i_101a"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 101½</a>.—Bear dance, - <a href="#Page_244"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 244</a>, <a href="#i_102"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 102</a>.—Beggars’ dance—Scalp dance, <a href="#Page_245"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 245</a>, <a href="#i_103">pls. 103, 104</a>.</div> - - <div class="center mt2"><a href="#LETTER_31">LETTER—<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 31, Mouth of Teton River.</span></a></div> - - <div class="hang">Bisons (or buffaloes) description of, <a href="#Page_247"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 247</a>.—Habits of, <a href="#Page_248"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 248</a>.—Bulls’ - fighting—Buffalo wallows—Fairy circles, <a href="#Page_249"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 249</a>, pls. <a href="#i_105">105</a>, - <a href="#i_106">106</a>.—Running the buffaloes, and throwing the arrow, <a href="#Page_251"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 251</a>, <abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> - <a href="#i_107">107</a>.—Buffalo chase—Use of the laso, <a href="#Page_253"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 253</a>, pls. <a href="#i_108">108</a>, <a href="#i_109">109</a>.—Hunting - under masque of white wolfskins, <a href="#Page_254"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 254</a>, <a href="#i_110"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 110</a>.—Horses destroyed - in buffalo hunting, <a href="#Page_255"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 255</a>, <a href="#i_111"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 111</a>.—Buffalo calf—Mode of catching - and bringing in, <a href="#Page_255"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 255</a>, <a href="#i_112"><abbr title="plate">pl.</abbr> 112</a>.—Immense and wanton destruction of - buffaloes—1,400 killed, <a href="#Page_256"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 256</a>.—White wolves attacking buffaloes, <a href="#Page_257"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> - 257–8</a>, pls. <a href="#i_113">113</a>, <a href="#i_114">114</a>.—Contemplations on the probable extinction of - buffaloes and Indians, <a href="#Page_258"><abbr title="page">p.</abbr> 258, 264</a>.</div> - - <hr class="chap"> - <figure id="i_map"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_map.jpg" alt=""> - <figcaption style="font-size: medium;">OUTLINE MAP<br> - <span class="xsmall"><i>OF</i></span><br> - INDIAN LOCALITIES<br> - <i>in 1833</i>.<br> - <hr class="short"> - In Vol. 2. see Map of<br> - <i>LOCALITIES in 1840,</i><br> - <i>since all the tribes have</i><br> - <i>been removed from the States,</i><br> - <i>W. of the Mississippi</i> - <hr class="short"> - [<a href="images/i_map_big.jpg">See larger version</a>] - </figcaption> - </figure> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_1">1</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_1">LETTER—<abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 1.</h2> - </div> - - <p><span class="smcap">As</span> the following pages have been hastily compiled, at the urgent - request of a number of my friends, from a series of Letters and Notes - written by myself during several years’ residence and travel amongst - a number of the wildest and most remote tribes of the North American - Indians, I have thought it best to make this page the beginning of my - book; dispensing with Preface, and even with Dedication, other than - that which I hereby make of it, with all my heart, to those who will - take the pains to read it.</p> - - <p>If it be necessary to render any apology for beginning thus - unceremoniously my readers will understand that I had no space in - these, my first volumes, to throw away; nor much time at my disposal, - which I could, in justice, use for introducing myself and my works to - the world.</p> - - <p>Having commenced thus abruptly then, I will venture to take upon myself - the sin of calling this one of the series of Letters of which I have - spoken; although I am writing it several years later, and placing it - at the beginning of my book; by which means I will be enabled briefly - to introduce myself to my readers (who, as yet, know little or nothing - of me), and also the subjects of the following epistles, with such - explanations of the customs described in them, as will serve for a - key or glossary to the same, and prepare the reader’s mind for the - information they contain.</p> - - <p>Amidst the multiplicity of books which are, in this enlightened age, - flooding the world, I feel it my duty, as early as possible, to beg - pardon for making a book at all; and in the next (if my readers should - become so much interested in my narrations, as to censure me for the - brevity of the work) to take some considerable credit for not having - trespassed too long upon their time and patience.</p> - - <p>Leaving my readers, therefore, to find out what is in the book, without - promising them anything, I proceed to say—of <em>myself</em>, that I was - born in Wyöming, in North America, some thirty or forty years since, - of parents<span class="pagenum" id="Page_2">2</span> who entered that beautiful and famed valley soon after the - close of the revolutionary war, and the disastrous event of the “Indian - massacre.”</p> - - <p>The early part of my life was whiled away, apparently, somewhat - in vain, with books reluctantly held in one hand, and a rifle or - fishing-pole firmly and affectionately grasped in the other.</p> - - <p>At the urgent request of my father, who was a practising lawyer, I - was prevailed upon to abandon these favourite themes, and also my - occasional dabblings with the brush, which had secured already a corner - in my affections; and I commenced reading the law for a profession, - under the direction of Reeve and Gould, of Connecticut. I attended - the lectures of these learned judges for two years—was admitted - to the bar—and practised the law, as a sort of <em>Nimrodical</em> - lawyer, in my native land, for the term of two or three years; when - I very deliberately sold my law library and all (save my rifle and - fishing-tackle), and converting their proceeds into brushes and paint - pots; I commenced the art of painting in Philadelphia, without teacher - or adviser.</p> - - <p>I there closely applied my hand to the labours of the art for several - years; during which time my mind was continually reaching for some - branch or enterprise of the art, on which to devote a whole life-time - of enthusiasm; when a delegation of some ten or fifteen noble and - dignified-looking Indians, from the wilds of the “Far West,” suddenly - arrived in the city, arrayed and equipped in all their classic - beauty,—with shield and helmet,—with tunic and manteau,—tinted and - tasselled off, exactly for the painter’s palette!</p> - - <p>In silent and stoic dignity, these lords of the forest strutted about - the city for a few days, wrapped in their pictured robes, with their - brows plumed with the quills of the war-eagle, attracting the gaze - and admiration of all who beheld them. After this, they took their - leave for Washington City, and I was left to reflect and regret, which - I did long and deeply, until I came to the following deductions and - conclusions.</p> - - <p>Black and blue cloth and civilization are destined, not only to - veil, but to obliterate the grace and beauty of Nature. Man, in the - simplicity and loftiness of his nature, unrestrained and unfettered - by the disguises of art, is surely the most beautiful model for the - painter,—and the country from which he hails is unquestionably the best - study or school of the arts in the world: such I am sure, from the - models I have seen, is the wilderness of North America. And the history - and customs of such a people, preserved by pictorial illustrations, - are themes worthy the life-time of one man, and nothing short of the - loss of my life, shall prevent me from visiting their country, and of - becoming their historian.</p> - - <p>There was something inexpressibly delightful in the above resolve, - which was to bring me amidst such living models for my brush: and at - the same time to place in my hands again, for my living and protection, - the objects of my heart above-named; which had long been laid by to - rust and decay<span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">3</span> in the city, without the remotest prospect of again - contributing to my amusement.</p> - - <p>I had fully resolved—I opened my views to my friends and relations, - but got not one advocate or abettor. I tried fairly and faithfully, - but it was in vain to reason with those whose anxieties were ready to - fabricate every difficulty and danger that could be imagined, without - being able to understand or appreciate the extent or importance of - my designs, and I broke from them all,—from my wife and my aged - parents,—myself my only adviser and protector.</p> - - <p>With these views firmly fixed—armed, equipped, and supplied, I started - out in the year 1832, and penetrated the vast and pathless wilds - which are familiarly denominated the great “Far West” of the North - American Continent, with a light heart, inspired with an enthusiastic - hope and reliance that I could meet and overcome all the hazards - and privations of a life devoted to the production of a literal and - graphic delineation of the living manners, customs, and character of an - interesting race of people, who are rapidly passing away from the face - of the earth—lending a hand to a dying nation, who have no historians - or biographers of their own to pourtray with fidelity their native - looks and history; thus snatching from a hasty oblivion what could be - saved for the benefit of posterity, and perpetuating it, as a fair and - just monument, to the memory of a truly lofty and noble race.</p> - - <p>I have spent about eight years already in the pursuit above-named, - having been for the most of that time immersed in the Indian country, - mingling with red men, and identifying myself with them as much as - possible, in their games and amusements; in order the better to - familiarize myself with their superstitions and mysteries, which are - the keys to Indian life and character.</p> - - <p>It was during the several years of my life just mentioned, and whilst I - was in familiar participation with them in their sports and amusements, - that I penned the following series of epistles; describing only such - glowing or curious scenes and events as passed under my immediate - observation; leaving their early history, and many of their traditions, - language, &c. for a subsequent and much more elaborate work, for which - I have procured the materials, and which I may eventually publish.</p> - - <p>I set out on my arduous and perilous undertaking with the determination - of reaching, ultimately, every tribe of Indians on the Continent - of North America, and of bringing home faithful portraits of their - principal personages, both men and women, from each tribe; views of - their villages, games, &c. and full notes on their character and - history. I designed, also, to procure their costumes, and a complete - collection of their manufactures and weapons, and to perpetuate them in - a <i>Gallery unique</i>, for the use and instruction of future ages.</p> - - <p>I claim whatever merit there may have been in the originality of such - a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">4</span> design, as I was undoubtedly the first artist who ever set out upon - such a work, designing to carry his canvass to the Rocky Mountains; - and a considerable part of the following Letters were written and - published in the New York Papers, as early as the years 1832 and 1833; - long before the Tours of Washington Irving, and several others, whose - interesting narratives are before the world.</p> - - <p>I have, as yet, by no means visited <em>all</em> the tribes; but I have - progressed a very great way with the enterprise, and with far greater - and more complete success than I expected.</p> - - <p>I have visited forty-eight different tribes, the greater part of which - I found speaking different languages, and containing in all 400,000 - souls. I have brought home safe, and in good order, 310 portraits in - oil, all painted in their native dress, and in their own wigwams; - and also 200 other paintings in oil, containing views of their - villages—their wigwams—their games and religious ceremonies—their - dances—their ball plays—their buffalo hunting, and other amusements - (containing in all, over 3000 full-length figures); and the landscapes - of the country they live in, as well as a very extensive and curious - collection of their costumes, and all their other manufactures, from - the size of a wigwam down to the size of a quill or a rattle.</p> - - <p>A considerable part of the above-named paintings, and Indian - manufactures, will be found amongst the very numerous illustrations - in the following pages; having been, in every instance, faithfully - copied and reduced by my own hand, for the engraver, from my original - paintings; and the reader of this book who will take the pains to step - in to “<span class="smcap">Catlin’s North American Indian Gallery</span>,” will find - nearly every scene and custom which is described in this work, as well - as many others, carefully and correctly delineated, and displayed upon - the walls, and every weapon (and every “Sachem” and every “Sagamore” - who has wielded them) according to the tenor of the tales herein - recited.</p> - - <p>So much of <em>myself</em> and of my <em>works</em>, which is all that I - wish to say at present.</p> - - <p>Of the <span class="smcap">Indians</span>, I have much more to say, and to the following - delineations of them, and their character and customs, I shall make no - further apology for requesting the attention of my readers.</p> - - <p>The Indians (as I shall call them), the savages or red men of the - forests and prairies of North America, are at this time a subject of - great interest and some importance to the civilized world; rendered - more particularly so in this age, from their relative position to, and - their rapid declension from, the civilized nations of the earth. A - numerous nation of human beings, whose origin is beyond the reach of - human investigation,—whose early history is lost—whose term of national - existence is nearly expired—three-fourths of whose country has fallen - into the possession of civilized man within the short space of 250 - years—twelve millions of whose bodies have fattened the soil in the - mean time; who have fallen victims to whiskey, the small-pox, and the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">5</span> - bayonet; leaving at this time but a meagre proportion to live a short - time longer, in the certain apprehension of soon sharing a similar fate.</p> - - <p>The writer who would undertake to embody the whole history of such a - people, with all their misfortunes and calamities, must needs have much - more space than I have allotted to this epitome; and he must needs - begin also (as I am doing) with those who are <em>living</em>, or he - would be very apt to dwell upon the preamble of his work, until the - present living remnants of the race should have passed away; and their - existence and customs, like those of ages gone bye, become subjects of - doubt and incredulity to the world for whom his book was preparing. - Such an historian also, to do them justice, must needs correct many - theories and opinions which have, either ignorantly or maliciously, - gone forth to the world in indelible characters; and gather and arrange - a vast deal which has been but imperfectly recorded, or placed to - the credit of a people who have not had the means of recording it - themselves; but have entrusted it, from necessity, to the honesty and - punctuality of their enemies.</p> - - <p>In such an history should be embodied, also, a correct account of their - treatment, and the causes which have led to their rapid destruction; - and a plain and systematical prophecy as to the time and manner of - their final extinction, based upon the causes and the ratio of their - former and present declension.</p> - - <p>So Herculean a task may fall to my lot at a future period, or it - may not: but I send forth these volumes at this time, fresh and - full of their living deeds and customs, as a familiar and unstudied - introduction (at least) to them and their native character; which I - confidently hope will repay the readers who read for information and - historical facts, as well as those who read but for amusement.</p> - - <p>The world know generally, that the Indians of North America are - copper-coloured; that their eyes and their hair are black, &c.; that - they are mostly uncivilized, and consequently unchristianized; that - they are nevertheless human beings, with features, thoughts, reason, - and sympathies like our own; but few yet know how they <em>live</em>, how - they <em>dress</em>, how they <em>worship</em>, what are their actions, - their customs, their religion, their amusements, &c. as they practise - them in the uncivilized regions of their uninvaded country, which it is - the main object of this work, clearly and distinctly to set forth.</p> - - <p>It would be impossible at the same time, in a book of these dimensions, - to explain <em>all</em> the manners and customs of these people; but as - far as they are narrated, they have been described by my pen, upon the - spot, as I have seen them transacted; and if some few of my narrations - should seem a <em>little too highly coloured</em>, I trust the world - will be ready to extend to me that pardon which it is customary to - yield to all artists whose main faults exist in the vividness of their - colouring, rather than in the drawing of their pictures; but there - is nothing else in them, I think, that I should ask pardon for, even - though some of them should stagger credulity, and incur<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">6</span> for me the - censure of those critics, who sometimes, unthinkingly or unmercifully, - sit at home at their desks, enjoying the luxury of wine and a good - cigar, over the simple narration of the honest and weather-worn - traveller (who shortens his half-starved life in catering for the - world), to condemn him and his work to oblivion, and his wife and his - little children to poverty and starvation; merely because he describes - scenes which they have not beheld, and which, consequently, they are - unable to believe.</p> - - <p>The Indians of North America, as I have before said, are - copper-coloured, with long black hair, black eyes, tall, straight, and - elastic forms—are less than two millions in number—were originally - the undisputed owners of the soil, and got their title to their lands - from the Great Spirit who created them on it,—were once a happy and - flourishing people, enjoying all the comforts and luxuries of life - which they knew of, and consequently cared for:—were sixteen millions - in numbers, and sent that number of daily prayers to the Almighty, - and thanks for his goodness and protection. Their country was entered - by white men, but a few hundred years since; and thirty millions of - these are now scuffling for the goods and luxuries of life, over - the bones and ashes of twelve millions of red men; six millions of - whom have fallen victims to the small-pox, and the remainder to the - sword, the bayonet, and whiskey; all of which means of their death and - destruction have been introduced and visited upon them by acquisitive - white men; and by white men, also, whose forefathers were welcomed - and embraced in the land where the poor Indian met and fed them with - “ears of green corn and with pemican.” Of the two millions remaining - alive at this time, about 1,400,000, are already the miserable living - victims and dupes of white man’s cupidity, degraded, discouraged and - lost in the bewildering maze that is produced by the use of whiskey and - its concomitant vices; and the remaining number are yet unroused and - unenticed from their wild haunts or their primitive modes, by the dread - or love of white man and his allurements.</p> - - <p>It has been with these, mostly, that I have spent my time, and of - these, chiefly, and their customs, that the following Letters treat. - Their habits (and their’s alone) as we can see them transacted, are - native, and such as I have wished to fix and preserve for future ages.</p> - - <p>Of the dead, and of those who are dying, of those who have suffered - death, and of those who are now trodden and kicked through it, I may - speak more fully in some deductions at the close of this book; or at - some future time, when I may find more leisure, and may be able to - speak of these scenes without giving offence to the world, or to any - body in it.</p> - - <p>Such a portrait then as I have set forth in the following pages (taken - by myself from the free and vivid realities of life, instead of the - vague and uncertain imagery of recollection, or from the haggard - deformities and distortions of disease and death), I offer to the world - for their amusement, as well as for their information; and I trust they - will pardon me, if it should be thought<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">7</span> that I have over-estimated the - Indian character, or at other times descended too much into the details - and minutiæ of Indian mysteries and absurdities.</p> - - <p>The reader, then, to understand me rightly, and draw from these Letters - the information which they are intended to give, must follow me a vast - way from the civilized world; he must needs wend his way from the city - of New York, over the Alleghany, and far beyond the mighty Missouri, - and even to the base and summit of the Rocky Mountains, some two or - three thousand miles from the Atlantic coast. He should forget many - theories he has read in the books of Indian barbarities, of wanton - butcheries and murders; and divest himself, as far as possible of the - deadly prejudices which he has carried from his childhood, against this - most unfortunate and most abused part of the race of his fellow-man.</p> - - <p>He should consider, that if he has seen the savages of North America - without making such a tour, he has fixed his eyes upon and drawn his - conclusions (in all probability) only from those who inhabit the - frontier; whose habits have been changed—whose pride has been cut - down—whose country has been ransacked—whose wives and daughters have - been shamefully abused—whose lands have been wrested from them—whose - limbs have become enervated and naked by the excessive use of - whiskey—whose friends and relations have been prematurely thrown into - their graves—whose native pride and dignity have at last given way to - the unnatural vices which civilized cupidity has engrafted upon them, - to be silently nurtured and magnified by a burning sense of injury and - injustice, and ready for that cruel vengeance which often falls from - the hand that is palsied by refined abuses, and yet unrestrained by the - glorious influences of refined and moral cultivation.—That if he has - laid up what he considers well-founded knowledge of these people, from - books which he has read, and from newspapers only, he should pause at - least, and withhold his sentence before he passes it upon the character - of a people, who are dying at the hands of their enemies, without the - means of recording their own annals—struggling in their nakedness with - their simple weapons, against guns and gunpowder—against whiskey and - steel, and disease, and mailed warriors who are continually trampling - them to the earth, and at last exultingly promulgating from the very - soil which they have wrested from the poor savage, the history of his - cruelties and barbarities, whilst his bones are quietly resting under - the very furrows which their ploughs are turning.</p> - - <p>So great and unfortunate are the disparities between savage and civil, - in numbers—in weapons and defences—in enterprise, in craft, and in - education, that the former is almost universally the sufferer either in - peace or in war; and not less so after his pipe and his tomahawk have - retired to the grave with him, and his character is left to be entered - upon the pages of history, and that justice done to his memory which - from necessity, he has intrusted to his enemy.</p> - - <p>Amongst the numerous historians, however, of these strange people, they - have had some friends who have done them justice; yet as a part of all - systems<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">8</span> of justice whenever it is meted to the poor Indian, it comes - invariably too late, or is administered at an ineffectual distance; and - that too when his enemies are continually about him, and effectually - applying the means of his destruction.</p> - - <p>Some writers, I have been grieved to see, have written down the - character of the North American Indian, as dark, relentless, cruel and - murderous in the last degree; with scarce a quality to stamp their - existence of a higher order than that of the brutes:—whilst others - have given them a high rank, as I feel myself authorized to do, as - honourable and highly-intellectual beings; and others, both friends and - foes to the red men, have spoken of them as an “anomaly in nature!”</p> - - <p>In this place I have no time or inclination to reply to so - unaccountable an assertion as this; contenting myself with the belief, - that the term would be far more correctly applied to that part of the - human family who have strayed farthest from nature, than it could be to - those who are simply moving in, and filling the sphere for which they - were designed by the Great Spirit who made them.</p> - - <p>From what I have seen of these people I feel authorized to say, that - there is nothing very strange or unaccountable in their character; but - that it is a simple one, and easy to be learned and understood, if the - right means be taken to familiarize ourselves with it. Although it has - its dark spots, yet there is much in it to be applauded, and much to - recommend it to the admiration of the enlightened world. And I trust - that the reader, who looks through these volumes with care, will be - disposed to join me in the conclusion that the North American Indian in - his native state, is an honest, hospitable, faithful, brave, warlike, - cruel, revengeful, relentless,—yet honourable, contemplative and - religious being.</p> - - <p>If such be the case, I am sure there is enough in it to recommend it - to the fair perusal of the world, and charity enough in all civilized - countries, in this enlightened age, to extend a helping hand to a - dying race; provided that prejudice and fear can be removed, which - have heretofore constantly held the civilized portions in dread of the - savage—and away from that familiar and friendly embrace, in which alone - his true native character can be justly appreciated.</p> - - <p>I am fully convinced, from a long familiarity with these people, that - the Indian’s misfortune has consisted chiefly in our ignorance of their - true native character and disposition, which has always held us at a - distrustful distance from them; inducing us to look upon them in no - other light than that of a hostile foe, and worthy only of that system - of continued warfare and abuse that has been for ever waged against - them.</p> - - <p>There is no difficulty in approaching the Indian and getting acquainted - with him in his wild and unsophisticated state, and finding him an - honest and honourable man; with feelings to meet feelings, if the above - prejudice and dread can be laid aside, and any one will take the pains, - as I have done, to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">9</span> go and see him in the simplicity of his native - state, smoking his pipe under his own humble roof, with his wife and - children around him, and his faithful dogs and horses hanging about - his hospitable tenement.—So the world <em>may</em> see him and smoke - his friendly pipe, which will be invariably extended to them; and - share, with a hearty welcome, the best that his wigwam affords for the - appetite, which is always set out to a stranger the next moment after - he enters.</p> - - <p>But so the mass of the world, most assuredly, will <em>not</em> see these - people; for they are too far off, and approachable to those only whose - avarice or cupidity alone lead them to those remote regions, and whose - shame prevents them from publishing to the world the virtues which they - have thrown down and trampled under foot.</p> - - <p>The very use of the word savage, as it is applied in its general sense, - I am inclined to believe is an abuse of the word, and the people to - whom it is applied. The word, in its true definition, means no more - than <em>wild</em>, or <em>wild man</em>; and a wild man may have been - endowed by his Maker with all the humane and noble traits that inhabit - the heart of a tame man. Our ignorance and dread or fear of these - people, therefore, have given a new definition to the adjective; and - nearly the whole civilized world apply the word <em>savage</em>, as - expressive of the most ferocious, cruel, and murderous character that - can be described.</p> - - <p>The grizzly bear is called savage, because he is blood-thirsty, - ravenous and cruel; and so is the tiger, and they, like the poor red - man, have been feared and dreaded (from the distance at which ignorance - and prejudice have kept us from them, or from resented abuses which we - have practised when we have come in close contact with them), until Van - Amburgh shewed the world, that even these ferocious and unreasoning - animals wanted only the friendship and close embrace of their master, - to respect and to love him.</p> - - <p>As evidence of the hospitality of these ignorant and benighted people, - and also of their honesty and honour, there will be found recorded - many striking instances in the following pages. And also, as an offset - to these, many evidences of the dark and cruel, as well as ignorant - and disgusting excesses of passions, unrestrained by the salutary - influences of laws and Christianity.</p> - - <p>I have roamed about from time to time during seven or eight years, - visiting and associating with some three or four hundred thousand of - these people, under an almost infinite variety of circumstances; and - from the very many and decided voluntary acts of their hospitality - and kindness, I feel bound to pronounce them, by nature, a kind and - hospitable people. I have been welcomed generally in their country, - and treated to the best that they could give me, without any charges - made for my board; they have often escorted me through their enemies’ - country at some hazard to their own lives, and aided me in passing - mountains and rivers with my awkward baggage;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">10</span> and under all of these - circumstances of exposure, no Indian ever betrayed me, struck me a - blow, or stole from me a shilling’s worth of my property that I am - aware of.</p> - - <p>This is saying a great deal, (and proving it too, if the reader will - believe me) in favour of the virtues of these people; when it is borne - in mind, as it should be, that there is no law in their land to punish - a man for theft—that locks and keys are not known in their country—that - the commandments have never been divulged amongst them; nor can any - human retribution fall upon the head of a thief, save the disgrace - which attaches as a stigma to his character, in the eyes of his people - about him.</p> - - <p>And thus in these little communities, strange as it may seem, in the - absence of all systems of jurisprudence, I have often beheld peace - and happiness, and quiet, reigning supreme, for which even kings and - emperors might envy them. I have seen rights and virtue protected, - and wrongs redressed; and I have seen conjugal, filial and paternal - affection in the simplicity and contentedness of nature. I have - unavoidably, formed warm and enduring attachments to some of these - men which I do not wish to forget—who have brought me near to their - hearts, and in our final separation have embraced me in their arms, and - commended me and my affairs to the keeping of the Great Spirit.</p> - - <p>For the above reasons, the reader will be disposed to forgive me for - dwelling so long and so strong on the justness of the claims of these - people; and for my occasional expressions of sadness, when my heart - bleeds for the fate that awaits the remainder of their unlucky race; - which is long to be outlived by the rocks, by the beasts, and even - birds and reptiles of the country they live in;—set upon by their - fellow-man, whose cupidity, it is feared, will fix no bounds to the - Indian’s earthly calamity, short of the grave.</p> - - <p>I cannot help but repeat, before I close this Letter, that the tribes - of the red men of North America, as a nation of human beings, are on - their wane; that (to use their own very beautiful figure) “they are - fast travelling to the shades of their fathers, towards the setting - sun;” and that the traveller who would see these people in their native - simplicity and beauty, must needs be hastily on his way to the prairies - and Rocky Mountains, or he will see them only as they are now seen - on the frontiers, as a basket of <em>dead game</em>,—harassed, chased, - bleeding and dead; with their plumage and colours despoiled; to be - gazed amongst in vain for some system or moral, or for some scale by - which to estimate their true native character, other than that which - has too often recorded them but a dark and unintelligible mass of - cruelty and barbarity.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">11</span></p> - - <p>Without further comments I close this Letter, introducing my readers - at once to the heart of the Indian country, only asking their - forgiveness for having made it so long, and their patience whilst - travelling through the following pages (as I journeyed through those - remote realms) in search of information and rational amusement; in - tracing out the true character of that “<em>strange anomaly</em>” of man - in the simple elements of his nature, undissolved or compounded into - the mysteries of enlightened and fashionable life.</p> - - <hr class="tb"> - - <p class="center"><b>NOTE.</b></p> - - <p><i>As the singular manners of the Country set forth in the following - pages, and the extraordinary scenes represented in the very numerous - illustrations, are of such a character as to require all possible aids - for the satisfaction of the readers; I hope they will excuse me for - intruding in this place the numerous Certificates which follow, and - which have been voluntarily furnished me by men whose lives, it will - be seen, have been spent, in great part, in the Indian Country, and in - familiarity with the men and manners set forth in the work</i>:</p> - - <p class="center mt3">CERTIFICATES.</p> - - <p>“I hereby certify, that the persons whose signatures are affixed to - the certificates here below, by Mr. <span class="smcap">Catlin</span>, are officers in - the service of the United States, as herein set forth; and that their - opinions of the accuracy of the likenesses, and correctness of the - views, &c. exhibited by him in his ‘<span class="smcap">Indian Gallery</span>,’ are - entitled to full credit.</p> - - <p class="right">“J. R. POINSETT, <i>Secretary of War, Washington</i>.”</p> - - <p>“With regard to the gentlemen whose names are affixed to certificates - below, I am fully warranted in saying, that no individuals have had - better opportunities of acquiring a knowledge of the persons, habits, - costumes, and sports of the Indian tribes, or possess stronger claims - upon the public confidence in the statements they make, respecting - the correctness of delineations, &c. of Mr. <span class="smcap">Catlin’s Indian - Gallery</span>; and I may add my own testimony, with regard to many - of those Indians whom I have seen, and whose likenesses are in the - collection, and sketched with fidelity and correctness.</p> - - <p class="right">“C. A. HARRIS, <i>Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Washington</i>.”</p> - - <hr class="tb"> - - <p>“I have seen Mr. <span class="smcap">Catlin’s</span> Collection of Portraits of Indians, - east of the Rocky Mountains many of which were familiar to me, and - painted in my presence: and as far as they have included Indians of - my acquaintance, the <em>likenesses</em> are easily recognized, bearing - the most striking resemblance to the originals, as well as faithful - representations of their costumes.</p> - - <p class="right">“W. CLARK, <i>Superintendent of Indian Affairs, <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Louis</i>.”</p> - - <hr class="tb"> - - <p>“I have examined Mr. <span class="smcap">Catlin’s</span> Collection of the Upper Missouri - Indians to the Rocky Mountains, all of which I am acquainted with; - and indeed most of them were painted when I was present, and I do - not hesitate to pronounce them correct likenesses, and readily to be - recognized. And I consider the <em>costumes</em>, as painted by him, to - be the <em>only correct representations</em> I have ever seen.</p> - - <div class="right"> - <div class="inline"> - <div class="center"> - “JOHN F. A. SANFORD,<br> - “<i>U. SS. Indian Agent for Mandans, Rickarees, Minatarees,</i><br> - <i>Crows, Knisteneaux, Assinneboins, Blackfeet, &c.</i>” - </div> - </div> - </div> - - <p class="pagenum" id="Page_12">12</p> - - <hr class="tb"> - - <p>“We have seen Mr. <span class="smcap">Catlin’s</span> Portraits of Indians east of the - Rocky Mountains, many of which are familiar to us; the likenesses are - easily recognized, bearing a strong resemblance to the originals, as - well as a faithful representation of their costumes.</p> - - <div> - <span class="fright">“J. DOUGHERTY, <i>Indian Agent</i>.</span><br> - <span style="margin-left: 1em;">“<i>November 27th, 1837.</i></span><span class="fright" style="margin-right: 8em;">J. GANTT.”</span> - </div> - - <hr class="tb"> - - <p>“We hereby certify, that the Portraits of the Grand Pawnees, Republican - Pawnees, Pawnee Loups, Tappage Pawnees, Otoes, Omahaws, and Missouries, - which are in Mr. <span class="smcap">Catlin’s Indian Gallery</span>, were painted from - life by Mr. <span class="smcap">Geo. Catlin</span>, and that the individuals sat to him - in the costumes precisely in which they are painted.</p> - - <div> - <span class="fright">“J. DOUGHERTY, <i>I. A. for Pawnees, Omahaws, and Otoes</i>.</span><br> - <span style="margin-left: 1em;">“<i>New York, 1837.</i></span><span class="fright" style="margin-right: 18.8em;">J. GANTT.”</span> - </div> - - <hr class="tb"> - - <p>“I have seen Mr. <span class="smcap">Catlin’s</span> Collection of Indian Portraits, many - of which were familiar to me, and painted in my presence at their own - villages. I have spent the greater part of my life amongst the tribes - and individuals he has represented, and I do not hesitate to pronounce - them correct likenesses, and easily recognized: also his sketches of - their <em>manners</em> and <em>customs</em>, I think, are excellent; and - the <em>landscape views</em> on the Missouri and Mississippi, are correct - representations.</p> - - <p class="right">“K. M‘KENZIE, <i>of the Am. Fur Co. Mouth of Yellow Stone</i>.”</p> - - <hr class="tb"> - - <p>“We hereby certify, that the Portraits of Seminoles and Euchees, in Mr. - <span class="smcap">Catlin’s Gallery</span>, were painted by him, from the life, at Fort - Moultrie; that the Indians sat or stood in the costumes precisely in - which they are painted, and that the likenesses are remarkably good.</p> - - <div> - <span style="margin-left: 1em;">“P. MORRISON, Capt. 4th Inft.</span><span class="fright">H. WHARTON, 2d. Lieut. 6th Inft.</span><br> - <span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">J. S. HATHAWAY, 2d Lieut. 1st Art.</span><span class="fright" style="margin-right: 0.8em;">F. WEEDON, Assistant Surgeon.</span><br> - <span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Fort Moultrie, Jan. 26, 1838.</i>”</span> - </div> - - <hr class="tb"> - - <p>“Having examined Mr. <span class="smcap">Catlin’s</span> Collection of Portraits of - Indians of the Missouri to the Rocky Mountains, I have no hesitation - in pronouncing them, so far as I am acquainted with the Individuals, - to be the best I have ever seen, both as regards the expression of - countenance, and the exact and complete manner in which the costume has - been painted by him.</p> - - <p class="right">“J. L. BEAN, <i>S. Agent for Indian Affairs</i>.”</p> - - <hr class="tb"> - - <p>“I have been for many years past in familiar acquaintance with - the Indian tribes of the Upper Missouri to the Rocky Mountains, - and also with the landscape and other scenes represented in Mr. - <span class="smcap">Catlin’s</span> Collection; and it gives me great pleasure to assure - the world, that on looking them over, I found the likenesses of my - old friends easily to be recognized; and his sketches of Manners and - Customs to be pourtrayed with singular truth and correctness.</p> - - <p class="right">“J. PILCHER, <i>Agent for Upper Missouri Indians</i>.”</p> - - <hr class="tb"> - - <p>“It gives me great pleasure in being enabled to add my name to the - list of those who have spontaneously expressed their approbation of - Mr. <span class="smcap">Catlin’s</span> Collection of Indian Paintings. His Collection - of materials place it in his power to throw much light on the Indian - character, and his portraits, so far as I have seen them, are drawn - with great fidelity as to character and likeness.</p> - - <p class="right">“H. SCHOOLCRAFT, <i>Indian Agent for Wisconsin Territory</i>.”</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">13</span></p> - - <hr class="tb"> - - <p>“Having lived and dealt with the Black Feet Indians for five years - past, I was enabled to recognize <em>every one</em> of the Portraits of - those people, and of the Crows also, which Mr. <span class="smcap">Catlin</span> has in - his Collection, from the faithful likenesses they bore to the originals.</p> - - <p class="right">“<i><abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Louis, 1835.</i> “J. E. BRAZEAU.”</p> - - <hr class="tb"> - - <p>“Having spent sixteen years in the continual acquaintance with the - Indians of the several tribes of the Missouri, represented in Mr. - <span class="smcap">Catlin’s</span> Gallery of Indian Paintings, I was enabled to judge - of the correctness of the likenesses, and I <em>instantly recognized - every one of them</em>, when I looked them over, from the striking - resemblance they bore to the originals—so also, of the Landscapes on - the Missouri.</p> - - <p class="right">“HONORE PICOTTE.”</p> - - <hr class="tb"> - - <p>“The Portraits, in the possession of Mr. <span class="smcap">Catlin</span>, of Pawnee - Picts, Kioways, Camanches, Wecos, and Osages, were painted by him - <em>from life</em>, when on a tour to their country, with the United - States Dragoons. The <em>likenesses</em> are good, very easily to be - recognized, and the <em>costumes</em> faithfully represented.</p> - - <div> - <span style="margin-left: 1em;">“HENRY DODGE, Col. of Drag.</span><span class="fright" style="margin-right: 2em;">D. PERKINS. Capt. of Drag.</span><br> - <span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">R. H. MASON, Major of Ditto.</span><span class="fright" style="margin-right: 3.8em;">M. DUNCAN,      Ditto.</span><br> - <span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">D. HUNTER, Capt.</span><span style="margin-left: 2.4em;">Ditto.</span><span class="fright">T. B. WHEELOCK, Lieut. Drag.”</span> - </div> - - <hr class="tb"> - - <p>“The Landscapes, Buffalo-Hunting scenes, &c. above-mentioned, I have - seen, and although it has been thirty years since I travelled over that - country; yet a considerable number of them I recognized as faithful - representations, and the remainder of them are so much in the peculiar - character of that country as to seem entirely familiar to me.</p> - - <p class="right">“WM. CLARK, <i>Superintendent of Indian Affairs</i>.”</p> - - <hr class="tb"> - - <p>“The Landscape Views on the Missouri, Buffalo Hunts, and other scenes, - taken by my friend Mr. <span class="smcap">Catlin</span>, are correct delineations of the - scenes they profess to represent, as I am perfectly well acquainted - with the country, having passed through it more than a dozen times. And - further, I know, that they were taken on the spot, from nature, as I - was present when Mr. <span class="smcap">Catlin</span> visited that country.</p> - - <p class="right">“JOHN F. A. SANFORD, <i>U. SS. Indian Agent</i>.”</p> - - <hr class="tb"> - - <p>“It gives me great pleasure to be able to pronounce the Landscape - Views, Views of Hunting, and other scenes, taken on the Upper Missouri - by Mr. <span class="smcap">Catlin</span>, to be correct delineations of the scenery they - profess to represent; and although I was not present when they were - taken in the field, I was able to identify almost every one between <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> - Louis and the grand bend of the Missouri.</p> - - <p class="right">“J. L. BEAN, <i>S. Agent of Indian Affairs</i>.”</p> - - <hr class="tb"> - - <p>“I have examined a series of paintings by Mr. <span class="smcap">Catlin</span>, - representing <em>Indian Buffalo Hunts, Landscapes, &c.</em>, and from an - acquaintance of twenty-seven years with such scenes as are represented, - I feel qualified to judge them, and do unhesitatingly pronounce them - good and unexaggerated representations.</p> - - <p class="right">“JNO. DOUGHERTY, <i>Indian Agent for Pawnees, Omahaws, and Otoes</i>.”</p> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">14</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_2">LETTER—<abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 2.</h2> - </div> - <div class="subheadc">MOUTH OF YELLOW STONE, <i>UPPER MISSOURI</i>, 1832.</div> - - <p><span class="smcap">I arrived</span> at this place yesterday in the steamer “Yellow Stone,” - after a voyage of nearly three months from <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Louis, a distance of - two thousand miles, the greater part of which has never before been - navigated by steam; and the almost insurmountable difficulties which - continually oppose the <i lang="fr">voyageur</i> on this turbid stream, have - been by degrees overcome by the indefatigable zeal of Mr. Chouteau, a - gentleman of great perseverance, and part proprietor of the boat. To - the politeness of this gentleman I am indebted for my passage from <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> - Louis to this place, and I had also the pleasure of his <em>company</em>, - with that of Major Sanford, the government agent for the Missouri - Indians.</p> - - <p>The American Fur Company have erected here, for their protection - against the savages, a very substantial Fort, 300 feet square, with - bastions armed with ordnance (<a href="#i_003"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 3</a>); and our approach - to it under the continued roar of cannon for half an hour, and the - shrill yells of the half-affrighted savages who lined the shores, - presented a scene of the most thrilling and picturesque appearance. A - voyage so full of incident, and furnishing so many novel scenes of the - picturesque and romantic, as we have passed the numerous villages of - the “astonished natives,” saluting them with the puffing of steam and - the thunder of artillery, would afford subject for many epistles; and I - cannot deny myself the pleasure of occasionally giving you some little - sketches of scenes that I have witnessed, and <em>am witnessing</em>; and - of the singular feelings that are excited in the breast of the stranger - travelling through this interesting country. Interesting (as I have - said) and <em>luxurious</em>, for this is truly the land of Epicures; we - are invited by the savages to feasts of <em>dog’s meat</em>, as the most - honourable food that can be presented to a stranger, and glutted with - the more delicious food of beavers’ tails, and buffaloes’ tongues. You - will, no doubt, be somewhat surprised on the receipt of a Letter from - me, so far strayed into the Western World; and still more startled, - when I tell you that I am here in the full enthusiasm and practice of - my art. That enthusiasm alone has brought me into this remote region, - 3500 miles from my native soil; the last 2000 of which have furnished - me with almost unlimited models, both in landscape and the human - figure, exactly suited to my feelings. I am now in the full possession - and enjoyments of those conditions, on which alone I was induced to - pursue the art as a profession; and in anticipation of which alone, my - admiration for the art could ever have been kindled into a pure flame. - I mean the free use of nature’s undisguised models, with the privilege - of selecting for myself. If I am here losing the benefit of the - fleeting fashions of the day, and neglecting that elegant polish, which - the world say an artist should draw from a continual intercourse with - the polite world; yet have I this consolation, that in this country, - I am entirely divested of those dangerous steps and allurements which - beset an artist in fashionable life; and have little to steal my - thoughts away from the contemplation of the beautiful models that - are about me. If, also, I have not here the benefit of that feeling - of emulation, which is the life and spur to the arts, where artists - are associates together; yet am I surrounded by living models of such - elegance and beauty, that I feel an unceasing excitement of a much - higher order—the certainty that I am drawing knowledge from the true - source. My enthusiastic admiration of man in the honest and elegant - simplicity of nature, has always fed the warmest feelings of my bosom, - and shut half the avenues to my heart against the specious refinements - of the accomplished world. This feeling, together with the desire to - study my art, independently of the embarrassments which the ridiculous - fashions of civilized society have thrown in its way, has led me to the - wilderness for a while, as the true school of the arts.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>3</i></div> - <figure id="i_003"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_003.jpg" alt="View of fort"> - <figcaption>3</figcaption> - </figure> - - <figure class="mt2" id="i_004"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_004.jpg" alt="River filled with trees"> - <figcaption>4</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>I have for a long time been of opinion, that the wilderness of our - country afforded models equal to those from which the Grecian sculptors - transferred to the marble such inimitable grace and beauty; and I am - now more confirmed in this opinion, since I have immersed myself in - the midst of thousands and tens of thousands of these knights of the - forest; whose whole lives are lives of chivalry, and whose daily feats, - with their naked limbs, might vie with those of the Grecian youths in - the beautiful rivalry of the Olympian games.</p> - - <p>No man’s imagination, with all the aids of description that can be - given to it, can ever picture the beauty and wildness of scenes that - may be daily witnessed in this romantic country; of hundreds of these - graceful youths, without a care to wrinkle, or a fear to disturb - the full expression of pleasure and enjoyment that beams upon their - faces—their long black hair mingling with their horses’ tails, floating - in the wind, while they are flying over the carpeted prairie, and - dealing death with their spears and arrows, to a band of infuriated - buffaloes; or their splendid procession in a war-parade, arrayed in all - their gorgeous colours and trappings, moving with most exquisite grace - and manly beauty, added to that bold defiance which man carries on his - front, who acknowledges no superior on earth, and who is amenable to no - laws except the laws of God and honour.</p> - - <p>In addition to the knowledge of human nature and of my art, which I - hope to acquire by this toilsome and expensive undertaking, I have - another in view, which, if it should not be of equal service to me, - will be of no less<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">16</span> interest and value to posterity. I have, for many - years past, contemplated the noble races of red men who are now spread - over these trackless forests and boundless prairies, melting away - at the approach of civilization. Their rights invaded, their morals - corrupted, their lands wrested from them, their customs changed, and - therefore lost to the world; and they at last sunk into the earth, and - the ploughshare turning the sod over their graves, and I have flown - to their rescue—not of their lives or of their race (for they are - “<em>doomed</em>” and must perish), but to the rescue of their looks and - their modes, at which the acquisitive world may hurl their poison and - every besom of destruction, and trample them down and crush them to - death; yet, phœnix-like, they may rise from the “stain on a painter’s - palette,” and live again upon canvass, and stand forth for centuries - yet to come, the living monuments of a noble race. For this purpose, - I have designed to visit every tribe of Indians on the Continent, if - my life should be spared; for the purpose of procuring portraits of - distinguished Indians, of both sexes in each tribe, painted in their - native costume; accompanied with pictures of their villages, domestic - habits, games, mysteries, religious ceremonies, &c. with anecdotes, - traditions, and history of their respective nations.</p> - - <p>If I should live to accomplish my design, the result of my labours will - doubtless be interesting to future ages; who will have little else left - from which to judge of the original inhabitants of this simple race of - beings, who require but a few years more of the march of civilization - and death, to deprive them of all their native customs and character. - I have been kindly supplied by the Commander-in-Chief of the Army and - the Secretary of War, with letters to the commander of every military - post, and every Indian agent on the Western Frontier, with instructions - to render me all the facilities in their power, which will be of great - service to me in so arduous an undertaking. The opportunity afforded me - by familiarity with so many tribes of human beings in the simplicity of - nature, devoid of the deformities of art; of drawing fair conclusions - in the interesting sciences of physiognomy and phrenology; of manners - and customs, rites, ceremonies, &c.; and the opportunity of examining - the geology and mineralogy of this western, and yet unexplored - country, will enable me occasionally to entertain you with much new - and interesting information, which I shall take equal pleasure in - communicating by an occasional Letter in my clumsy way.</p> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">17</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_3">LETTER—<abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 3.</h2> - </div> - <div class="subheadc">MOUTH OF YELLOW STONE, <i>UPPER MISSOURI</i>.</div> - - <p><span class="smcap">Since</span> the date of my former Letter, I have been so much engaged in - the amusements of the country, and the use of my brush, that I have - scarcely been able to drop you a line until the present moment.</p> - - <p>Before I let you into the amusements and customs of this delightful - country however, (and which, as yet, are secrets to most of the world), - I must hastily travel with you over the tedious journey of 2000 miles, - from <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Louis to this place; over which distance one is obliged to - pass, before he can reach this wild and lovely spot.</p> - - <p>The Missouri is, perhaps, different in appearance and character - from all other rivers in the world; there is a terror in its manner - which is sensibly felt, the moment we enter its muddy waters from - the Mississippi. From the mouth of the Yellow Stone River, which is - the place from whence I am now writing, to its junction with the - Mississippi, a distance of 2000 miles, the Missouri, with its boiling, - turbid waters, sweeps off, in one unceasing current; and in the whole - distance there is scarcely an eddy or resting-place for a canoe. Owing - to the continual falling in of its rich alluvial banks, its water is - always turbid and opaque; having, at all seasons of the year, the - colour of a cup of chocolate or coffee, with sugar and cream stirred - into it. To give a better definition of its density and opacity, I - have tried a number of simple experiments with it at this place, and - at other points below, at the results of which I was exceedingly - surprised. By placing a piece of silver (and afterwards a piece of - shell, which is a much whiter substance) in a tumbler of its water, - and looking through the side of the glass, I ascertained that those - substances could not be seen through the eighth part of an inch; this, - however, is in the spring of the year, when the freshet is upon the - river, rendering the water, undoubtedly, much more turbid than it would - be at other seasons; though it is always muddy and yellow, and from its - boiling and wild character and uncommon colour, a stranger would think, - even in its lowest state, that there was a freshet upon it.</p> - - <p>For the distance of 1000 miles above <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Louis, the shores of this - river (and, in many places, the whole bed of the stream) are filled - with snags and raft, formed of trees of the largest size, which have - been undermined by the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">18</span> falling banks and cast into the stream; - their roots becoming fastened in the bottom of the river, with their - tops floating on the surface of the water, and pointing down the - stream, forming the most frightful and discouraging prospect for the - adventurous voyageur. (See <a href="#i_004"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 4</a>.)</p> - - <p>Almost every island and sand-bar is covered with huge piles of these - floating trees, and when the river is flooded, its surface is almost - literally covered with floating raft and drift wood which bid positive - defiance to keel-boats and steamers, on their way up the river.</p> - - <p>With what propriety this “Hell of waters” might he denominated the - “River Styx,” I will not undertake to decide; but nothing could be more - appropriate or innocent than to call it the River <em>of Sticks</em>.</p> - - <p>The scene is not, however, all so dreary; there is a redeeming beauty - in the green and carpeted shores, which hem in this huge and terrible - deformity of waters. There is much of the way though, where the mighty - forests of stately cotton wood stand, and frown in horrid dark and - coolness over the filthy abyss below; into which they are ready to - plunge headlong, when the mud and soil in which they were germed and - reared have been washed out from underneath them, and with the rolling - current are mixed, and on their way to the ocean.</p> - - <p>The greater part of the shores of this river, however, are without - timber, where the eye is delightfully relieved by wandering over the - beautiful prairies; most of the way gracefully sloping down to the - water’s edge, carpeted with the deepest green, and, in distance, - softening into velvet of the richest hues, entirely beyond the reach - of the artist’s pencil. Such is the character of the upper part of the - river especially; and as one advances towards its source, and through - its upper half, it becomes more pleasing to the eye, for snags and raft - are no longer to be seen; yet the current holds its stiff and onward - turbid character.</p> - - <p>It has been, heretofore, very erroneously represented to the world, - that the scenery on this river was monotonous, and wanting in - picturesque beauty. This intelligence is surely incorrect, and that - because it has been brought perhaps, by men who are not the best - judges in the world, of Nature’s beautiful works; and if they were, - they always pass them by, in pain or desperate distress, in toil and - trembling fear for the safety of their furs and peltries, or for their - lives, which are at the mercy of the yelling savages who inhabit this - delightful country.</p> - - <p>One thousand miles or more of the upper part of the river, was, to - my eye, like fairy-land; and during our transit through that part of - our voyage, I was most of the time rivetted to the deck of the boat, - indulging my eyes in the boundless and tireless pleasure of roaming - over the thousand hills, and bluffs, and dales, and ravines; where the - astonished herds of buffaloes, of elks, and antelopes, and sneaking - wolves, and mountain-goats, were to be seen bounding up and down and - over the green fields; each one and each tribe, band, and gang, taking - their own way, and using their own means to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">19</span> the greatest advantage - possible, to leave the sight and sound of the puffing of our boat; - which was, for the first time, saluting the green and wild shores of - the Missouri with the din of mighty steam.</p> - - <p>From <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Louis to the falls of the Missouri, a distance of 2600 miles, - is one continued prairie; with the exception of a few of the bottoms - formed along the bank of the river, and the streams which are falling - into it, which are often covered with the most luxuriant growth of - forest timber.</p> - - <p>The summit level of the great prairies stretching off to the west and - the east from the river, to an almost boundless extent, is from two to - three hundred feet above the level of the river; which has formed a bed - or valley for its course, varying in width from two to twenty miles. - This channel or valley has been evidently produced by the force of the - current, which has gradually excavated, in its floods and gorges, this - immense space, and sent its débris into the ocean. By the continual - overflowing of the river, its deposits have been lodged and left with a - horizontal surface, spreading the deepest and richest alluvion over the - surface of its meadows on either side; through which the river winds - its serpentine course, alternately running from one bluff to the other, - which present themselves to its shores in all the most picturesque and - beautiful shapes and colours imaginable—some with their green sides - gracefully slope down in the most lovely groups to the water’s edge - (<a href="#i_005"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 5</a>); whilst others, divested of their verdure, present - themselves in immense masses of clay of different colours, which arrest - the eye of the traveller, with the most curious views in the world.</p> - - <p>These strange and picturesque appearances have been produced by the - rains and frosts, which are continually changing the dimensions, and - varying the thousand shapes of these denuded hills, by washing down - their sides and carrying them into the river.</p> - - <p>Amongst these groups may be seen tens and hundreds of thousands of - different forms and figures, of the sublime and the picturesque; in - many places for miles together, as the boat glides along, there is - one continued appearance, before and behind us, of some ancient and - boundless city in ruins—ramparts, terraces, domes, towers, citadels - and castles may be seen,—cupolas, and magnificent porticos, and here - and there a solitary column and crumbling pedestal, and even spires - of clay which stand alone—and glistening in distance, as the sun’s - rays are refracted back by the thousand crystals of gypsum which are - imbedded in the clay of which they are formed (<a href="#i_006"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 6</a>). Over - and through these groups of domes and battlements (as one is compelled - to imagine them), the sun sends his long and gilding rays, at morn or - in the evening; giving life and light, by aid of shadows cast, to the - different glowing colours of these clay-built ruins; shedding a glory - over the solitude of this wild and pictured country, which no one can - realize unless he travels here and looks upon it.</p> - - <p>It is amidst these wild and quiet haunts that the mountain-sheep, and - the fleet-bounding antelope sport and live in herds, secure from their - enemies,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">20</span> to whom the sides and slopes of these bluffs (around which - they fearlessly bound) are nearly inaccessible.</p> - - <p>The grizzly bear also has chosen these places for his abode; he - sullenly sneaks through the gulphs and chasms, and ravines, and frowns - away the lurking Indian; whilst the mountain-sheep and antelope are - bounding over and around the hill tops, safe and free from harm of man - and beast.</p> - - <p>Such is a hasty sketch of the river scenes and scenery for 2000 miles, - over which we tugged, and puffed, and blowed, and toiled for three - months, before we reached this place. Since we arrived here, the - steamer has returned and left me here to explore the country and visit - the tribes in this vicinity, and then descend the river from this place - to <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Louis; which Tour, if I live through it, will furnish material - for many a story and curious incident, which I may give you in detail - in future epistles, and when I have more leisure than I have at the - present moment. I will then undertake to tell how we astonished the - natives, in many an instance, which I can in this Letter but just - hint at and say adieu. If anything did ever literally and completely - “astonish (and astound) the natives,” it was the appearance of our - steamer, puffing and blowing, and paddling and rushing by their - villages which were on the banks of the river.</p> - - <p>These poor and ignorant people for the distance of 2000 miles, had - never before seen or heard of a steam-boat, and in some places they - seemed at a loss to know what to do, or how to act; they could not, - as the Dutch did at Newburgh, on the Hudson River, take it to be a - “<em>floating saw-mill</em>”—and they had no name for it—so it was, like - every thing else (with them), which is mysterious and unaccountable, - called <em>medicine</em> (mystery). We had on board one twelve-pound - cannon and three or four eight-pound swivels, which we were taking up - to arm the Fur Company’s Fort at the mouth of Yellow Stone, and at the - approach to every village they were all discharged several times in - rapid succession, which threw the inhabitants into utter confusion and - amazement—some of them laid their faces to the ground, and cried to - the Great Spirit—some shot their horses and dogs, and sacrificed them - to appease the Great Spirit, whom they conceived was offended—some - deserted their villages and ran to the tops of the bluffs some miles - distant; and others, in some places, as the boat landed in front of - their villages, came with great caution, and peeped over the bank of - the river to see the fate of their chiefs whose duty it was (from the - nature of their office) to approach us, whether friends or foes, and - to go on board. Sometimes, in this plight, they were instantly thrown - ‘neck and heels’ over each other’s heads and shoulders—men, women - and children, and dogs—sage, sachem, old and young—all in a mass, at - the frightful discharge of the steam from the escape-pipe, which the - captain of the boat let loose upon them for his own fun and amusement.</p> - - <p>There were many curious conjectures amongst their wise men, with regard - to the nature and powers of the steam-boat. Amongst the Mandans, some - called it the “big thunder canoe;” for when in distance below the - village,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">21</span> they saw the lightning flash from its sides, and heard - the thunder come from it; others called it the “big medicine canoe - with eyes;” it was <em>medicine</em> (mystery) because they could not - understand it; and it must have eyes, for said they, “it sees its own - way, and takes the deep water in the middle of the channel.”</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>4</i></div> - <figure id="i_005"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_005.jpg" alt="View of bluffs"> - <figcaption>5</figcaption> - </figure> - - <figure class="mt2" id="i_006"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_006.jpg" alt="View of domes and columns"> - <figcaption>6</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>They had no idea of the boat being steered by the man at the wheel, and - well they might have been astonished at its taking the deepest water. I - may (if I do not forget it) hereafter give you an account of some other - curious incidents of this kind, which we met with in this voyage; for - we met many, and some of them were really laughable.</p> - - <p>The Fort in which I am residing was built by Mr. M‘Kenzie, who now - occupies it. It is the largest and best-built establishment of the kind - on the river, being the great or principal head-quarters and depôt - of the Fur Company’s business in this region. A vast stock of goods - is kept on hand at this place; and at certain times of the year the - numerous out-posts concentrate here with the returns of their season’s - trade, and refit out with a fresh supply of goods to trade with the - Indians.</p> - - <p>The site for the Fort is well selected, being a beautiful prairie - on the bank near the junction of the Missouri with the Yellow Stone - rivers; and its inmates and its stores well protected from Indian - assaults.</p> - - <p>Mr. M‘Kenzie is a kind-hearted and high-minded Scotchman; and seems to - have charge of all the Fur Companies’ business in this region, and from - this to the Rocky Mountains. He lives in good and comfortable style, - inside of the Fort, which contains some eight or ten log-houses and - stores, and has generally forty or fifty men, and one hundred and fifty - horses about him.</p> - - <p>He has, with the same spirit of liberality and politeness with - which Mons. Pierre Chouteau treated me on my passage up the river, - pronounced me welcome at his table, which groans under the luxuries of - the country; with buffalo meat and tongues, with beavers’ tails and - marrow-fat; but <i>sans</i> coffee, <i>sans</i> bread and butter. Good - cheer and good living we get at it however, and good wine also; for a - bottle of Madeira and one of excellent Port are set in a pail of ice - every day, and exhausted at dinner.</p> - - <p>At the hospitable board of this gentleman I found also another, who - forms a happy companion for <em>mine host</em>; and whose intellectual - and polished society has added not a little to <em>my</em> pleasure and - amusement since I arrived here.</p> - - <p>The gentleman of whom I am speaking is an Englishman, by the name - of Hamilton, of the most pleasing and entertaining conversation, - whose mind seems to be a complete store-house of ancient and modern - literature and art; and whose free and familiar acquaintance with the - manners and men of his country gives him the stamp of a gentleman, who - has had the curiosity to bring the embellishments of the enlightened - world, to contrast with the rude and the wild of these remote regions.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">22</span></p> - - <p>We three <i lang="fr">bons vivants</i> form the group about the dinner-table, - of which I have before spoken, and crack our jokes and fun over the - bottles of Port and Madeira, which I have named; and a considerable - part of which, this gentleman has brought with great and precious care - from his own country.</p> - - <p>This post is the general rendezvous of a great number of Indian tribes - in these regions, who are continually concentrating here for the - purpose of trade; sometimes coming, the whole tribe together, in a - mass. There are now here, and encamped about the Fort, a great many, - and I am continually at work with my brush; we have around us at this - time the Knisteneaux, Crows, Assinneboins and Blackfeet, and in a few - days are to have large accessions.</p> - - <p>The finest specimens of Indians on the Continent are in these regions; - and before I leave these parts, I shall make excursions into their - respective countries, to their own native fire-sides; and there study - their looks and peculiar customs; enabling me to drop you now and then - an interesting Letter. The tribes which I shall be enabled to see and - study by my visit to this region, are the Ojibbeways, the Assinneboins, - Knisteneaux, Blackfeet, Crows, Shiennes, Grosventres, Mandans, and - others; of whom and their customs, their history, traditions, costumes, - &c., I shall in due season, give you further and minute accounts.</p> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">23</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_4">LETTER—<abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 4.</h2> - </div> - <div class="subheadc">MOUTH OF YELLOW STONE.</div> - - <p><span class="smcap">The</span> several tribes of Indians inhabiting the regions of the Upper - Missouri, and of whom I spoke in my last Letter, are undoubtedly the - finest looking, best equipped, and most beautifully costumed of any on - the Continent. They live in a country well-stocked with buffaloes and - wild horses, which furnish them an excellent and easy living; their - atmosphere is pure, which produces good health and long life; and they - are the most independent and the happiest races of Indians I have met - with: they are all entirely in a state of primitive wildness, and - consequently are picturesque and handsome, almost beyond description. - Nothing in the world, of its kind, can possibly surpass in beauty and - grace, some of their games and amusements—their gambols and parades, of - which I shall speak and paint hereafter.</p> - - <p>As far as my travels have yet led me into the Indian country, I have - more than realized my former predictions that those Indians who could - be found most entirely in a state of nature, with the least knowledge - of civilized society, would be found to be the most cleanly in their - persons, elegant in their dress and manners, and enjoying life to the - greatest perfection. Of such tribes, perhaps the Crows and Blackfeet - stand first; and no one would be able to appreciate the richness and - elegance (and even taste too), with which some of these people dress, - without seeing them in their own country. I will do all I can, however, - to make their looks as well as customs known to the world; I will paint - with my brush and scribble with my pen, and bring their plumes and - plumage, dresses, weapons, &c., and every thing but the Indian himself, - to prove to the world the assertions which I have made above.</p> - - <p>Every one of these red sons of the forest (or rather of the prairie) - is a knight and lord—his squaws are his slaves; the only things which - he deems worthy of his exertions are to mount his snorting steed, with - his bow and quiver slung, his arrow-shield upon his arm, and his long - lance glistening in the war-parade; or, divested of all his plumes and - trappings, armed with a simple bow and quiver, to plunge his steed - amongst the flying herds of buffaloes, and with his sinewy bow, which - he seldom bends in vain, to drive deep to life’s fountain the whizzing - arrow.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">24</span></p> - - <p>The buffalo herds, which graze in almost countless numbers on these - beautiful prairies, afford them an abundance of meat; and so much is - it preferred to all other, that the deer, the elk, and the antelope - sport upon the prairies in herds in the greatest security; as the - Indians seldom kill them, unless they want their skins for a dress. - The buffalo (or more correctly speaking bison) is a noble animal, - that roams over the vast prairies, from the borders of Mexico on the - south, to Hudson’s Bay on the north. Their size is somewhat above - that of our common bullock, and their flesh of a delicious flavour, - resembling and equalling that of fat beef. Their flesh which is easily - procured, furnishes the savages of these vast regions the means of a - wholesome and good subsistence, and they live almost exclusively upon - it—converting the skins, horns, hoofs and bones, to the construction - of dresses, shields, bows, &c. The buffalo bull is one of the most - formidable and frightful looking animals in the world when excited to - resistance; his long shaggy mane hangs in great profusion over his neck - and shoulders and often extends quite down to the ground (<a href="#i_007"><span class="smcap">plate</span> - 7</a>). The cow is less in stature, and less ferocious; though not - much less wild and frightful in her appearance (<a href="#i_008"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 8</a>).</p> - - <p>The mode in which these Indians kill this noble animal is spirited and - thrilling in the extreme; and I must in a future epistle, give you - a minute account of it. I have almost daily accompanied parties of - Indians to see the fun, and have often shared in it myself; but much - oftener ran my horse by their sides, to see how the thing was done—to - study the modes and expressions of these splendid scenes, which I am - industriously putting upon the canvass.</p> - - <p>They are all (or nearly so) killed with arrows and the lance, while at - full speed; and the reader may easily imagine, that these scenes afford - the most spirited and picturesque views of the sporting kind that can - possibly be seen.</p> - - <p>At present, I will give a little sketch of a bit of fun I joined in - yesterday, with Mr. M‘Kenzie and a number of his men, without the - company or aid of Indians.</p> - - <p>I mentioned the other day, that M‘Kenzie’s table from day to day - groans under the weight of buffalo tongues and beavers’ tails, and - other luxuries of this western land. He has within his Fort a spacious - ice-house, in which he preserves his meat fresh for any length of time - required; and sometimes, when his larder runs low. he starts out, - rallying some five or six of his best hunters (not to hunt, but to “go - for meat”). He leads the party, mounted on his favourite buffalo horse - (<i>i. e.</i> the horse amongst his whole group which is best trained - to run the buffalo), trailing a light and short gun in his hand, such - an one as he can most easily reload whilst his horse is at full speed.</p> - - <p>Such was the condition of the ice-house yesterday morning, which caused - these self-catering gentlemen to cast their eyes with a wishful look - over the prairies; and such was the plight in which our host took - the lead, and I,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">25</span> and then Mons. Chardon, and Ba’tiste Défonde and - Tullock (who is a trader amongst the Crows, and is here at this time, - with a large party of that tribe), and there were several others whose - names I do not know.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>5</i></div> - <figure id="i_007"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_007.jpg" alt="Buffalo bull"> - <figcaption>7</figcaption> - </figure> - - <figure class="mt2" id="i_008"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_008.jpg" alt="Buffalo cow"> - <figcaption>8</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>As we were mounted and ready to start, M‘Kenzie called up some four - or five of his men, and told them to follow immediately on our trail, - with as many one-horse carts, which they were to harness up, to bring - home the meat; “ferry them across the river in the scow,” said he, - “and following our trail through the bottom, you will find us on the - plain yonder, between the Yellow Stone and the Missouri rivers, with - meat enough to load you home. My watch on yonder bluff has just told - us by his signals, that there are cattle a plenty on that spot, and we - are going there as fast as possible.” We all crossed the river, and - galloped away a couple of miles or so, when we mounted the bluff; and - to be sure, as was said, there was in full view of us a fine herd of - some four or five hundred buffaloes, perfectly at rest, and in their - own estimation (probably) perfectly secure. Some were grazing, and - others were lying down and sleeping; we advanced within a mile or so - of them in full view, and came to a halt. Mons. Chardon “tossed the - feather” (a custom always observed, to try the course of the wind), - and we commenced “stripping” as it is termed (<i>i. e.</i> every man - strips himself and his horse of every extraneous and unnecessary - appendage of dress, &c. that might be an incumbrance in running): hats - are laid off, and coats—and bullet pouches; sleeves are rolled up, - a handkerchief tied tightly around the head, and another around the - waist—cartridges are prepared and placed in the waistcoat pocket, or - a half dozen bullets “throwed into the mouth,” &c., &c., all of which - takes up some ten or fifteen minutes, and is not, in appearance or - in effect, unlike a council of war. Our leader lays the whole plan - of the chase, and preliminaries all fixed, guns charged and ramrods - in our hands, we mount and start for the onset. The horses are all - trained for this business, and seem to enter into it with as much - enthusiasm, and with as restless a spirit as the riders themselves. - While “stripping” and mounting, they exhibit the most restless - impatience; and when “approaching”—(which is, all of us abreast, - upon a slow walk, and in a straight line towards the herd, until - they discover us and run), they all seem to have caught entirely the - spirit of the chase, for the laziest nag amongst them prances with - an elasticity in his step—champing his bit—his ears erect—his eyes - strained out of his head, and fixed upon the game before him, whilst - he trembles under the saddle of his rider. In this way we carefully - and silently marched, until within some forty or fifty rods; when the - herd discovering us, wheeled and laid their course in a mass. At this - instant we started! (and all <em>must</em> start, for no one could check - the fury of those steeds at that moment of excitement,) and away all - sailed, and over the prairie flew, in a cloud of dust which was raised - by their trampling hoofs. M‘Kenzie was foremost in the throng, and - soon dashed off amidst the dust and was out of sight—he was after the - fattest and the fastest. I had discovered a huge bull whose shoulders<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">26</span> - towered above the whole band, and I picked my way through the crowd to - get alongside of him. I went not for “meat,” but for a <em>trophy</em>; - I wanted his head and horns. I dashed along through the thundering - mass, as they swept away over the plain, scarcely able to tell whether - I was on a buffalo’s back or my horse—hit, and hooked, and jostled - about, till at length I found myself alongside of my game, when I gave - him a shot, as I passed him. I saw guns flash in several directions - about me, but I heard them not. Amidst the trampling throng, Mons. - Chardon had wounded a stately bull, and at this moment was passing - him again with his piece levelled for another shot; they were both - at full speed and I also, within the reach of the muzzle of my gun, - when the bull instantly turned and receiving the horse upon his horns, - and the ground received poor Chardon, who made a frog’s leap of some - twenty feet or more over the bull’s back (<a href="#i_009"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 9</a>), and almost - under my horse’s heels. I wheeled my horse as soon as possible and - rode back, where lay poor Chardon, gasping to start his breath again; - and within a few paces of him his huge victim, with his heels high - in the air, and the horse lying across him. I dismounted instantly, - but Chardon was raising himself on his hands, with his eyes and - mouth full of dirt, and feeling for his gun, which lay about thirty - feet in advance of him. “Heaven spare you! are you hurt, Chardon?” - “hi—hic——hic———hic————hic—————hic——————no,——hic———no——no, I - believe not. Oh! this is not much, Mons. Cataline—this is nothing - new—but this is a d——d hard piece of ground here—hic—oh! hic!” At this - the poor fellow fainted, but in a few moments arose, picked up his gun, - took his horse by the bit; which then opened <em>its</em> eyes, and with - a <em>hic</em> and a <em>ugh</em>—<span class="allsmcap">UGHK</span>! sprang upon its feet—shook - off the dirt—and here we were, all upon our legs again, save the bull, - whose fate had been more sad than that of either.</p> - - <p>I turned my eyes in the direction where the herd had gone, and - our companions in pursuit, and nothing could be seen of them, nor - indication, except the cloud of dust which they left behind them. - At a little distance on the right, however, I beheld my huge victim - endeavouring to make as much head-way as he possibly could, from this - dangerous ground, upon three legs. I galloped off to him, and at my - approach he wheeled around—and bristled up for battle; he seemed to - know perfectly well that he could not escape from me, and resolved to - meet his enemy and death as bravely as possible.</p> - - <p>I found that my shot had entered him a little too far forward, breaking - one of his shoulders, and lodging in his breast, and from his very - great weight it was impossible for him to make much advance upon me. - As I rode up within a few paces of him, he would bristle up with fury - enough in his <em>looks</em> alone, almost to annihilate me (<a href="#i_010"><span class="smcap">plate</span> - 10</a>); and making one lunge at me, would fall upon his neck and - nose, so that I found the sagacity of my horse alone enough to keep - me out of reach of danger: and I drew from my pocket my sketch-book, - laid my gun across my lap, and commenced taking his likeness. He stood - stiffened up, and swelling with awful<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">27</span> vengeance, which was sublime - for a picture, but which he could not vent upon me. I rode around him - and sketched him in numerous attitudes, sometimes he would lie down, - and I would then sketch him; then throw my cap at him, and rousing him - on his legs, rally a new expression, and sketch him again.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>6</i></div> - <figure id="i_009"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_009.jpg" alt="Chardon over bull's back"> - <figcaption>9</figcaption> - </figure> - - <figure class="mt2" id="i_010"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_010.jpg" alt="Wounded bull"> - <figcaption>10</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>In this way I added to my sketch-book some invaluable sketches of - this grim-visaged monster, who knew not that he was standing for his - likeness.</p> - - <p>No man on earth can imagine what is the look and expression of such a - subject before him as this was. I defy the world to produce another - animal than can look so frightful as a huge buffalo bull, when wounded - as he was, turned around for battle, and swelling with rage;—his eyes - bloodshot, and his long shaggy mane hanging to the ground,—his mouth - open, and his horrid rage hissing in streams of smoke and blood from - his mouth and through his nostrils, as he is bending forward to spring - upon his assailant.</p> - - <p>After I had had the requisite time and opportunity for using my pencil, - M‘Kenzie and his companions came walking their exhausted horses back - from the chase, and in our rear came four or five carts to carry home - the meat. The party met from all quarters around me and my buffalo - bull, whom I then shot in the head and finished. And being seated - together for a few minutes, each one took a smoke of the pipe, and - recited his exploits, and his “coups” or deaths; when all parties had - a hearty laugh at me, as a novice, for having aimed at an old bull, - whose flesh was not suitable for food, and the carts were escorted on - the trail, to bring away the meat. I rode back with Mr. M‘Kenzie, who - pointed out five cows which he had killed, and all of them selected - as the fattest and slickest of the herd. This astonishing feat was - all performed within the distance of one mile—all were killed at full - speed, and every one shot through the heart. In the short space of time - required for a horse under “full whip,” to run the distance of one - mile, he had discharged his gun five, and loaded it four times—selected - his animals, and killed at every shot! There were six or eight others - killed at the same time, which altogether furnished, as will be seen, - abundance of freight for the carts; which returned, as well as several - packhorses, loaded with the choicest parts which were cut from the - animals, and the remainder of the carcasses left a prey for the wolves.</p> - - <p>Such is the mode by which white men live in this country—such the way - in which they get their food, and such is one of their delightful - amusements—at the hazard of every bone in one’s body, to feel the fine - and thrilling exhilaration of the chase for a moment, and then as often - to upbraid and blame himself for his folly and imprudence.</p> - - <p>From this scene we commenced leisurely wending our way back; and - dismounting at the place where we had stripped, each man dressed - himself again, or slung his extra articles of dress, &c. across his - saddle, astride of which he sat; and we rode back to the Fort, reciting - as we rode, and for twenty-four hours afterwards, deeds of chivalry and - chase, and hair’s-breadth<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">28</span> escapes which each and either had fought - and run on former occasions. M‘Kenzie, with all the true character - and dignity of a leader, was silent on these subjects; but smiled, - while those in his train were reciting for him the astonishing and - almost incredible deeds of his sinewy arms, which they had witnessed - in similar scenes; from which I learned (as well as from my own - observations), that he was reputed (and actually <em>was</em>) the - most distinguished of all the white men who have flourished in these - regions, in the pursuit and death of the buffalo.</p> - - <p>On our return to the Fort, a bottle or two of wine were set forth - upon the table, and around them a half dozen parched throats were - soon moistened, and good cheer ensued. Ba’tiste Défonde, Chardon, - &c., retired to their quarters, enlarging smoothly upon the events - of our morning’s work; which they were reciting to their wives and - sweethearts; when about this time the gate of the Fort was thrown open, - and the procession of carts and packhorses laden with buffalo meat made - its entrée; gladdening the hearts of a hundred women and children, - and tickling the noses of as many hungry dogs and puppies, who were - stealing in and smelling at the tail of the procession. The door of the - ice-house was thrown open, the meat was discharged into it, and I being - fatigued, went to sleep.</p> - - <figure class="illowp75 mt2" id="i_011"> - <div class="plate"><i>7</i></div> - <img src="images/i_011.jpg" alt="Stu-mick-o-sucks, Blackfoot head chief"> - <figcaption>11</figcaption> - </figure> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">29</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_5">LETTER—<abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 5.</h2> - </div> - <div class="subheadc">MOUTH OF YELLOW STONE, <i>UPPER MISSOURI</i>.</div> - - <p><span class="smcap">In</span> my former epistle I told you there were encamped about the Fort - a host of wild, incongruous spirits—chiefs and sachems—warriors, - braves, and women and children of different tribes—of Crows and - Blackfeet—Ojibbeways—Assinneboins—and Crees or Knisteneaux. Amongst - and in the midst of them am I, with my paint pots and canvass, snugly - ensconced in one of the bastions of the Fort, which I occupy as a - painting-room. My easel stands before me, and the cool breech of a - twelve-pounder makes me a comfortable seat, whilst her muzzle is - looking out at one of the port-holes. The operations of my brush are - <em>mysteries</em> of the highest order to these red sons of the prairie, - and my room the earliest and latest place of concentration of these - wild and jealous spirits, who all meet here to be amused and pay me - signal honours; but gaze upon each other, sending their sidelong looks - of deep-rooted hatred and revenge around the group. However, whilst in - the Fort, their weapons are placed within the arsenal, and naught but - looks and thoughts can be breathed here; but death and grim destruction - will visit back those looks upon each other, when these wild spirits - again are loose and free to breathe and act upon the plains.</p> - - <p>I have this day been painting a portrait of the head chief of the - Blackfoot nation; he is a good-looking and dignified Indian, about - fifty years of age, and superbly dressed (<a href="#i_011"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 11</a>); whilst - sitting for his picture he has been surrounded by his own braves - and warriors, and also gazed at by his enemies, the Crows and the - Knisteneaux, Assinneboins and Ojibbeways; a number of distinguished - personages of each of which tribes, have laid all day around the sides - of my room; reciting to each other the battles they have fought, and - pointing to the scalp-locks, worn as proofs of their victories, and - attached to the seams of their shirts and leggings. This is a curious - scene to witness, when one sits in the midst of such inflammable and - combustible materials, brought together, unarmed, for the first time in - their lives; peaceably and calmly recounting over the deeds of their - lives, and smoking their pipes upon it, when a few weeks or days will - bring them on the plains again, where the war-cry will be raised, and - their deadly bows will again be drawn on each other.</p> - - <p>The name of this dignitary, of whom I have just spoken, is - Stu-mick-o-sucks (the buffalo’s back fat), <i>i. e.</i> the “hump” - or “fleece,” the most delicious part of the buffalo’s flesh. I - have also painted, of the Blackfeet,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">30</span> Pe-toh-pee-kiss (the eagle - ribs), and Mix-ke-mote-skin-na (the iron horn), and Wun-nes-tou (the - white buffalo), and Tcha-aes-sa-ko-mah-pee (the bear’s child), and - In-ne-o-cose (the buffalo’s child), and half-a-dozen others, and all in - rich and costly dresses.</p> - - <p>There is no tribe, perhaps, on the Continent, who dress more - comfortably, and more gaudily, than the Blackfeet, unless it be - the tribe of Crows. There is no great difference, however, in the - costliness or elegance of their costumes; nor in the materials of which - they are formed; though there is a distinctive mode in each tribe, of - stitching or ornamenting with the porcupine quills, which constitute - one of the principal ornaments to all their fine dresses; and which - can be easily recognized, by any one a little familiar with their - modes, as belonging to such or such a tribe. The dress, for instance of - the chief whom I have just mentioned, and whose portrait I have just - painted, consists of a shirt or tunic, made of two deer skins finely - dressed, and so placed together with the necks of the skins downwards, - and the skins of the hind legs stitched together, the seams running - down on each arm, from the neck to the knuckles of the hand; this - seam is covered with a band of two inches in width, of very beautiful - embroidery of porcupine quills, and suspended from the under edge of - this, from the shoulders to the hands, is a fringe of the locks of - black hair, which he has taken from the heads of victims slain by his - own hand in battle. The leggings are made also of the same material; - and down the outer side of the leg, from the hip to the feet, extends - also a similar band or belt of the same width; and wrought in the same - manner, with porcupine quills, and fringed with scalp locks. These - locks of hair are procured from scalps, and worn as trophies.</p> - - <p>The wife (or squaw) of this dignitary Eeh-nis-kin (the crystal - stone), I have also placed upon my canvass (<a href="#i_013"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 13</a>); her - countenance is rather pleasing, which is an uncommon thing amongst - the Blackfeet—her dress is made of skins, and being the youngest of a - bevy of six or eight, and the last one taken under his guardianship, - was smiled upon with great satisfaction, whilst he exempted her from - the drudgeries of the camp; and keeping her continually in the halo of - his own person, watched and guarded her as the apple of his eye. The - grandson also of this sachem, a boy of six years of age, and too young - as yet to have acquired a name, has stood forth like a tried warrior; - and I have painted him at full length (<a href="#i_012"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 12</a>), with his - bow and quiver slung, and his robe made of a racoon skin. The history - of this child is somewhat curious and interesting; his father is dead, - and in case of the death of the chief, of whom I have spoken, he - becomes hereditary chief of the tribe. This boy has been twice stolen - away by the Crows by ingenious stratagems, and twice re-captured by - the Blackfeet, at considerable sacrifice of life, and at present he is - lodged with Mr. M‘Kenzie, for safe keeping and protection, until he - shall arrive at the proper age to take the office to which he is to - succeed, and able to protect himself.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>8</i></div> - <div class="col50"> - <figure id="i_013"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_013.jpg" alt="Eeh-nis-kin, wife of Stu-mick-o-sucks"> - <figcaption>13</figcaption> - </figure> - </div> - <div class="col50"> - <figure id="i_012"> - <img style="width: 99%;" src="images/i_012.jpg" alt="Grandson of Stu-mick-o-sucks"> - <figcaption>12</figcaption> - </figure> - </div> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">31</span></p> - - <p>The scalp of which I spoke above, is procured by cutting out a piece - of the skin of the head, the size of the palm of the hand or less, - containing the very centre or crown of the head, the place where the - hair radiates from a point, and exactly over what the phrenologists - call self-esteem. This patch then is kept and dried with great care, as - proof positive of the death of an enemy, and evidence of a man’s claims - as a warrior; and after having been formally “danced,” as the saying - is, (<i>i. e.</i> after it has been stuck up upon a pole or held up by - an “old woman,” and the warriors have danced around it for two or three - weeks at intervals,) it is fastened to the handle of a lance, or the - end of a war-club, or divided into a great many small locks and used - to fringe and ornament the victor’s dress. When these dresses are seen - bearing such trophies, it is of course a difficult matter to purchase - them of the Indian, for they often hold them above all price. I shall - hereafter take occasion to speak of the scalp-dance; describing it in - all its parts, and giving a long Letter, at the same time on scalps - and scalping, an interesting and general custom amongst all the North - American Indians.</p> - - <p>In the chief’s dress, which I am describing, there are his moccasins, - made also of buckskin, and ornamented in a corresponding manner. And - over all, his robe, made of the skin of a young buffalo bull, with - the hair remaining on; and on the inner or flesh side, beautifully - garnished with porcupine quills, and the battles of his life very - ingeniously, though rudely, pourtrayed in pictorial representations. - In his hand he holds a very beautiful pipe, the stem of which is four - or five feet long, and two inches wide, curiously wound with braids - of the porcupine quills of various colours; and the bowl of the pipe - ingeniously carved by himself from a piece of red steatite of an - interesting character, and which they all tell me is procured somewhere - between this place and the Falls of <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Anthony, on the head waters of - the Mississippi.</p> - - <p>This curious stone has many peculiar qualities, and has, undoubtedly, - but one origin in this country, and perhaps in the world. It is found - but in the hands of the savage, and every tribe, and nearly every - individual in the tribe has his pipe made of it. I consider this stone - a subject of great interest, and curiosity to the world; and I shall - most assuredly make it a point, during my Indian rambles, to visit the - place from whence it is brought. I have already got a number of most - remarkable traditions and stories relating to the “sacred quarry;” - of pilgrimages performed there to procure the stone, and of curious - transactions that have taken place on that ground. It seems, from all - I can learn, that all the tribes in these regions, and also of the - Mississippi and the Lakes, have been in the habit of going to that - place, and meeting their enemies there, whom they are obliged to treat - as friends, under an injunction of the Great Spirit.</p> - - <p>So then is this sachem (the buffalo’s back fat) dressed; and in a very - similar manner, and almost the same, is each of the others above named; - and all are armed with bow and quiver, lance and shield. These north-western<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">32</span> - tribes are all armed with the bow and lance, and protected with - the shield or arrow fender, which is carried outside of the left arm, - exactly as the Roman and Grecian shield was carried, and for the same - purpose.</p> - - <p>There is an appearance purely classic in the plight and equipment of - these warriors and “knights of the lance.” They are almost literally - always on their horses’ backs, and they wield these weapons with - desperate effect upon the open plains; where they kill their game - while at full speed, and contend in like manner in battles with their - enemy. There is one prevailing custom in these respects, amongst all - the tribes who inhabit the great plains or prairies of these western - regions. These plains afford them an abundance of wild and fleet - horses, which are easily procured; and on their backs at full speed, - they can come alongside of any animal, which they easily destroy.</p> - - <p>The bow with which they are armed is small, and apparently an - insignificant weapon, though one of great and almost incredible power - in the hands of its owner, whose sinews have been from childhood - habituated to its use and service. The length of these bows is - generally about three feet, and sometimes not more than two and a half - (<a href="#i_018"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 18</a> <i>a</i>). They have, no doubt, studied to get - the requisite power in the smallest compass possible, as it is more - easily and handily used on horseback than one of greater length. The - greater number of these bows are made of ash, or of “bois d’arc” (as - the French call it), and lined on the back with layers of buffalo or - deer’s sinews, which are inseparably attached to them, and give them - great elasticity. There are very many also (amongst the Blackfeet - and the Crows) which are made of bone, and others of the horn of the - mountain-sheep. Those made of bone are decidedly the most valuable, and - cannot in this country be procured of a good quality short of the price - of one or two horses. About these there is a mystery yet to be solved, - and I advance my opinion against all theories that I have heard in the - country where they are used and made. I have procured several very fine - specimens, and when purchasing them have inquired of the Indians, what - bone they were made of? and in every instance, the answer was, “That’s - medicine,” meaning that it was a mystery to them, or that they did not - wish to be questioned about them. The bone of which they are made is - certainly not the bone of any animal now grazing on the prairies, or - in the mountains between this place and the Pacific Ocean; for some - of these bows are three feet in length, of a solid piece of bone, and - that as close-grained—as hard—as white, and as highly polished as - any ivory; it cannot, therefore be made from the elks’ horn (as some - have supposed), which is of a dark colour and porous: nor can it come - from the buffalo. It is my opinion, therefore, that the Indians on - the Pacific coast procure the bone from the jaw of the sperm whale, - which is often stranded on that coast, and bringing the bone into the - mountains, trade it to the Blackfeet and Crows, who manufacture it into - these bows without knowing any more than we do, from what source it has - been procured.</p> - - <figure class="illowp75 mt2" id="i_014"> - <div class="plate"><i>9</i></div> - <img src="images/i_014.jpg" alt=""> - <figcaption>14</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">33</span></p> - - <p>One of these little bows in the hands of an Indian, on a fleet and - well-trained horse, with a quiver of arrows slung on his back, is a - most effective and powerful weapon in the open plains. No one can - easily credit the force with which these missiles are thrown, and the - sanguinary effects produced by their wounds, until he has rode by - the side of a party of Indians in chase of a herd of buffaloes, and - witnessed the apparent ease and grace with which their supple arms have - drawn the bow, and seen these huge animals tumbling down and gushing - out their hearts’ blood from their mouths and nostrils.</p> - - <p>Their bows are often made of bone and sinews, and their arrows headed - with flints or with bones, of their own construction (<a href="#i_018"><span class="smcap">plate</span> - 18</a>, <i>c</i>), or with steel, as they are now chiefly furnished - by the Fur Traders quite to the Rocky Mountains (<a href="#i_018"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 18</a>, - <i>d</i>). The quiver, which is uniformly carried on the back, and - made of the panther or otter skins (<a href="#i_018"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 18</a>, <i>e</i>) is a - magazine of these deadly weapons, and generally contains two varieties. - The one to be drawn upon an enemy, generally poisoned, and with long - flukes or barbs, which are designed to hang the blade in the wound - after the shaft is withdrawn, in which they are but slightly glued;—the - other to be used for their game, with the blade firmly fastened to the - shaft, and the flukes inverted; that it may easily be drawn from the - wound, and used on a future occasion.</p> - - <p>Such is the training of men and horses in this country, that this work - of death and slaughter is simple and easy. The horse is trained to - approach the animals on the <em>right</em> side, enabling its rider to - throw his arrows to the left; it runs and approaches without the use - of the halter, which is hanging loose upon its neck bringing the rider - within three or four paces of the animal, when the arrow is thrown with - great ease and certainty to the heart; and instances sometimes occur, - where the arrow passes entirely through the animal’s body.</p> - - <p>An Indian, therefore, mounted on a fleet and well-trained horse, with - his bow in his hand, and his quiver slung on his back, containing an - hundred arrows, of which he can throw fifteen or twenty in a minute, is - a formidable and dangerous enemy. Many of them also ride with a lance - of twelve or fourteen feet in length (<a href="#i_018"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 18</a>, <i>b</i>), - with a blade of polished steel; and all of them (as a protection - for their vital parts), with a shield or arrow-fender made of the - skin of the buffalo’s neck, which has been smoked, and hardened with - glue extracted from the hoofs (<a href="#i_018"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 18</a>). These shields are - arrow-proof, and will glance off a rifle shot with perfect effect by - being turned obliquely, which they do with great skill.</p> - - <p>This shield or arrow-fender is, in my opinion, made of similar - materials, and used in the same way, and for the same purpose, as was - the clypeus or small shield in the Roman and Grecian cavalry. They were - made in those days as a means of defence on horseback only—made small - and light, of bull’s hides; sometimes single, sometimes double and - tripled. Such was Hector’s shield, and of most of the Homeric heroes of - the Greek and Trojan wars. In those days also were darts or javelins - and lances; the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">34</span> same were also used by the Ancient Britons; and such - exactly are now in use amongst the Arabs and the North American Indians.</p> - - <p>In this wise then, are all of these wild red knights of the prairie, - armed and equipped,—and while nothing can possibly be more picturesque - and thrilling than a troop or war-party of these fellows, galloping - over these green and endless prairies; there can be no set of mounted - men of equal numbers, so effective and so invincible in this country - as they would be, could they be inspired with confidence of their own - powers and their own superiority; yet this never can be done;—for the - Indian, as far as the name of white man has travelled, and long before - he has to try his strength with him, is trembling with fright and fear - of his approach; he hears of white man’s arts and artifice—his tricks - and cunning, and his hundred instruments of death and destruction—he - dreads his approach, shrinks from him with fear and trembling—his - heart sickens, and his pride and courage wither, at the thoughts of - contending with an enemy, whom he thinks may war and destroy with - weapons of <em>medicine</em> or mystery.</p> - - <p>Of the Blackfeet, whom I mentioned in the beginning of this Letter, - and whose portraits are now standing in my room, there is another of - whom I must say a few words; Pe-toh-pee-kiss, the eagle ribs (<a href="#i_015"><span class="smcap">plate</span> - 14</a>). This man is one of the extraordinary men of the Blackfoot - tribe; though not a chief, he stands here in the Fort, and deliberately - boasts of eight scalps, which he says he has taken from the heads of - trappers and traders with his own hand. His dress is really superb, - almost literally covered with scalp-locks, of savage and civil.</p> - - <p>I have painted him at full length, with a head-dress made entirely - of ermine skins and horns of the buffalo. This custom of wearing - horns beautifully polished and surmounting the head-dress, is a very - curious one, being worn only by the bravest of the brave; by the most - extraordinary men in the nation. Of their importance and meaning, I - shall say more in a future epistle. When he stood for his picture, he - also held a lance and two “medicine-bags” in his hand; of lances I have - spoken,—but “medicine-bags” and “medicine” will be the text for my next - Letter.</p> - - <p>Besides the chiefs and warriors above-named, I have also - transferred to my canvass the “looks and very resemblance” - of an aged chief, who combines with his high office, the - envied title of mystery or medicine-man, <i>i. e.</i> - doctor—magician—prophet—soothsayer—jongleur—and high priest, all - combined in one person, who necessarily is looked upon as “Sir - Oracle” of the nation. The name of this distinguished functionary is - Wun-nes-tou, the white buffalo (<a href="#i_015"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 15</a>); and on his left arm - he presents his mystery-drum or tambour, in which are concealed the - hidden and sacred mysteries of his healing art.</p> - - <p>And there is also In-ne-o-cose, the iron-horn (<a href="#i_016"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 16</a>), at - full length, in a splendid dress, with his “medicine-bag” in his hand; - and Ah-kay-ee-pix-en, the woman who strikes many (<a href="#i_017"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 17</a>), - in a beautiful dress of the mountain-goats’ skin, and her robe of the - young buffalo’s hide.</p> - - <figure class="illowp75 mt2" id="i_015"> - <div class="plate"><i>10</i></div> - <img src="images/i_015.jpg" alt="Wun-nes-tou, medicine-man"> - <figcaption>15</figcaption> - </figure> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>11</i></div> - <figure id="i_017"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_017.jpg" alt="In-ne-o-cose and Ah-kay-ee-pix-en" id="i_016"> - <figcaption><span class="col50">17</span><span class="col50">16</span></figcaption> - </figure> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">35</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_6">LETTER—<abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 6.</h2> - </div> - <div class="subheadc">MOUTH OF YELLOW STONE, <i>UPPER MISSOURI</i>.</div> - - <p><span class="smcap">Now</span> for medicines or mysteries—for doctors, high-priests, for hocus - pocus, witchcraft, and animal magnetism!</p> - - <p>In the last Letter I spoke of Pe-toh-pee-kiss (the eagle ribs), a - Blackfoot brave, whose portrait I had just painted at full length, in - a splendid dress. I mentioned also, that he held two medicine-bags in - his hand; as they are represented in the picture; both of them made of - the skins of otters, and curiously ornamented with ermine, and other - strange things.</p> - - <p>I must needs stop here—my painting and every thing else, until I can - explain the word “<em>medicine</em>,” and “<em>medicine-bag</em>;” and - also some <em>medicine operations</em>, which I have seen transacted at - this place within a few days past. “Medicine” is a great word in this - country; and it is very necessary that one should know the meaning of - it, whilst he is scanning and estimating the Indian character, which is - made up, in a great degree, of mysteries and superstitions.</p> - - <p>The word medicine, in its common acceptation here, means - <em>mystery</em>, and nothing else; and in that sense I <em>shall</em> use - it very frequently in my Notes on Indian Manners and Customs.</p> - - <p>The Fur Traders in this country, are nearly all French; and in their - language, a doctor or physician, is called “<i lang="fr">Medecin</i>.” The Indian - country is full of doctors; and as they are all magicians, and skilled, - or profess to be skilled, in many mysteries, the word “medecin” has - become habitually applied to every thing mysterious or unaccountable; - and the English and Americans, who are also trading and passing through - this country, have easily and familiarly adopted the same word, with - a slight alteration, conveying the same meaning; and to be a little - more explicit, they have denominated these personages “medicine-men,” - which means something more than merely a doctor or physician. These - physicians, however, are all <em>medicine-men</em>, as they are all - supposed to deal more or less in mysteries and charms, which are aids - and handmaids in their practice. Yet it was necessary to give the - word or phrase a still more comprehensive meaning—as there were many - personages amongst them, and also amongst the white men who visit - the country, who could deal in mysteries, though not skilled in the - application of drugs and medicines; and they all range now, under the - comprehensive and accommodating phrase of “medicine-men.” For instance, - I am a “medicine-man” of the highest order amongst<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">36</span> these superstitious - people, on account of the art which I practice; which is a strange and - unaccountable thing to them, and of course, called the greatest of - “medicine.” My gun and pistols, which have percussion-locks, are great - medicine; and no Indian can be prevailed on to fire them off, for they - say they have nothing to do with white man’s medicine.</p> - - <p>The Indians do not use the word medicine, however; but in each tribe - they have a word of their own construction, synonimous with mystery or - mystery-man.</p> - - <p>The “medicine-bag” then, is a mystery-bag; and its meaning and - importance necessary to be understood, as it may be said to be the - key to Indian life and Indian character. These bags are constructed - of the skins of animals, of birds, or of reptiles, and ornamented and - preserved in a thousand different ways, as suits the taste or freak of - the person who constructs them. These skins are generally attached to - some part of the clothing of the Indian, or carried in his hand—they - are oftentimes decorated in such a manner as to be exceedingly - ornamental to his person, and always are stuffed with grass, or moss, - or something of the kind; and generally without drugs or medicines - within them, as they are religiously closed and sealed, and seldom, if - ever, to be opened. I find that every Indian in his primitive state, - carries his medicine-bag in some form or other, to which he pays the - greatest homage, and to which he looks for safety and protection - through life—and in fact, it might almost be called a species of - idolatry; for it would seem in some instances, as if he actually - worshipped it. Feasts are often made, and dogs and horses sacrificed, - to a man’s medicine; and days, and even weeks, of fasting and penance - of various kinds are often suffered, to appease his medicine, which he - imagines he has in some way offended.</p> - - <p>This curious custom has principally been done away with along the - frontier, where white men laugh at the Indian for the observance of so - ridiculous and useless a form; but in this country it is in full force, - and every male in the tribe carries this, his supernatural charm or - guardian, to which he looks for the preservation of his life, in battle - or in other danger; at which times it would be considered ominous of - bad luck and an ill fate to be without it.</p> - - <p>The manner in which this curious and important article is instituted - is this: a boy, at the age of fourteen or fifteen years, is said to - be making or “forming his medicine,” when he wanders away from his - father’s lodge, and absents himself for the space of two or three, and - sometimes even four or five, days; lying on the ground in some remote - or secluded spot, crying to the Great Spirit, and fasting the whole - time. During this period of peril and abstinence, when he falls asleep, - the first animal, bird, or reptile, of which he dreams (or pretends to - have dreamed, perhaps), he considers the Great Spirit has designated - for his mysterious protector through life. He then returns home to - his father’s lodge, and relates his success; and after allaying his - thirst, and satiating his appetite, he sallies forth with weapons<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">37</span> or - traps, until he can procure the animal or bird, the skin of which he - preserves entire, and ornaments it according to his own fancy, and - carries it with him through life, for “good luck” (as he calls it); as - his strength in battle—and in death his guardian <em>Spirit</em>, that - is buried with him, and which is to conduct him safe to the beautiful - hunting grounds, which he contemplates in the world to come.</p> - - <p>The value of the medicine-bag to the Indian is beyond all price; for - to sell it, or give it away, would subject him to such signal disgrace - in his tribe, that he could never rise above it; and again, his - superstition would stand in the way of any such disposition of it, for - he considers it the gift of the Great Spirit. An Indian carries his - <em>medicine-bag</em> into battle, and trusts to it for his protection; - and if he loses it thus, when fighting ever so bravely for his country, - he suffers a disgrace scarcely less than that which occurs in case he - sells or gives it away; his enemy carries it off and displays it to his - own people as a trophy; whilst the loser is cut short of the respect - that is due to other young men of his tribe, and for ever subjected - to the degrading epithet of “a man without medicine,” or “he who has - lost his medicine,” until he can replace it again; which can only be - done, by rushing into battle and plundering one from an enemy whom he - slays with his own hand. This done, his medicine is restored, and he - is reinstated again in the estimation of his tribe; and even higher - than before, for such is called the best of medicine, or “<em>medicine - honourable</em>.”</p> - - <p>It is a singular fact, that a man can institute his mystery or - medicine, but once in his life; and equally singular that he can - reinstate himself by the adoption of the medicine of his enemy; both - of which regulations are strong and violent inducements for him to - fight bravely in battle: the first, that he may protect and preserve - his medicine; and the second, in case he has been so unlucky as to - lose it, that he may restore it, and his reputation also, while he is - desperately contending for the protection of his community.</p> - - <p>During my travels thus far, I have been unable to buy a medicine-bag of - an Indian, although I have offered them extravagant prices for them; - and even on the frontier, where they have been induced to abandon the - practice, though a white man may induce an Indian to relinquish his - medicine, yet he cannot <em>buy</em> it of him—the Indian in such case - will bury it, to please a white man, and save it from his sacrilegious - touch; and he will linger around the spot and at regular times visit it - and pay it his devotions, as long as he lives.</p> - - <p>These curious appendages to the persons or wardrobe of an Indian - (<a href="#i_018"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 18</a>, <i>g</i>), are sometimes made of the skin of an - otter, a beaver, a musk-rat, a weazel, a racoon, a pole-cat, a snake, - a frog, a toad, a bat, a mouse, a mole, a hawk, an eagle, a magpie, - or a sparrow:—sometimes of the skin of an animal so large as a wolf; - and at others, of the skins of the lesser animals, so small that they - are hidden under the dress, and very difficult to be found, even if - searched for.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">38</span></p> - - <p>Such then is the medicine-bag—such its meaning and importance; and when - its owner dies, it is placed in his grave and decays with his body.</p> - - <p>In the case of the portrait of which I spoke in the beginning - of this Letter, there are seen two medicine-bags in the hand of - Pe-toh-pee-kiss; the one was of his own instituting, and the other was - taken from his enemy, whom he had slain in battle; both of these he has - a right to display and boast of on such an occasion. This is but the - beginning or incipient stage of “medicines,” however, in this strange - and superstitious country; and if you have patience, I will carry you - a few degrees further into the mysteries of conjuration, before I - close this Letter. Sit still then and read, until I relate a scene of - a tragic, and yet of the most grotesque character, which took place in - this Fort a few days since, and to all of which I was an eye-witness. - The scene I will relate as it transpired precisely; and call it the - story of the “doctor,” or the “Blackfoot medicine-man.”</p> - - <p>Not many weeks since, a party of Knisteneaux came here from the north, - for the purpose of making their summer’s trade with the Fur Company; - and, whilst here, a party of Blackfeet, their natural enemies (the - same who are here now), came from the west, also to trade. These two - belligerent tribes encamped on different sides of the Fort, and had - spent some weeks here in the Fort and about it, in apparently good - feeling and fellowship; unable in fact to act otherwise, for, according - to a regulation of the Fort their arms and weapons were all locked up - by M‘Kenzie in his “arsenal,” for the purpose of preserving the peace - amongst these fighting-cocks.</p> - - <p>The Knisteneaux had completed their trade, and loitered about the - premises, until all, both Indians and white men, were getting tired of - their company, wishing them quietly off. When they were ready to start, - with their goods packed upon their backs, their arms were given them, - and they started; bidding everybody, both friends and foes, a hearty - farewell. They went out of the Fort, and though the party gradually - moved off, one of them undiscovered, loitered about the Fort, until he - got an opportunity to poke the muzzle of his gun through between the - piquets; when he fired it at one of the chiefs of the Blackfeet, who - stood within a few paces, talking with Mr. M‘Kenzie, and shot him with - two musket bullets through the centre of his body! The Blackfoot fell, - and rolled about upon the ground in the agonies of death. The Blackfeet - who were in the Fort seized their weapons and ran in a mass out of the - Fort, in pursuit of the Knisteneaux, who were rapidly retreating to the - bluffs. The Frenchmen in the Fort, also, at so flagrant and cowardly - an insult, seized their guns and ran out, joining the Blackfeet in - the pursuit. I, at that moment, ran to my painting-room in one of the - bastions overlooking the plain, where I had a fair view of the affair; - many shots were exchanged back and forward, and a skirmish ensued - which lasted half an hour; the parties, however, were so far apart - that little effect was produced; the Knisteneaux were driven off over - the bluffs, having lost one man and had several others wounded. The - Blackfeet and Frenchmen<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">39</span> returned into the Fort, and then, I saw what - I never before saw in my life—I saw a “<em>medicine-man</em>” performing - his mysteries over a dying man. The man who had been shot was still - living, though two bullets had passed through the centre of his body, - about two inches apart from each other; he was lying on the ground in - the agonies of death, and no one could indulge the slightest hope of - his recovery; yet the <em>medicine-man</em> must needs be called (for - such a personage they had in their party), and hocus pocus applied to - the dying man, as the dernier resort, when all drugs and all specifics - were useless, and after all possibility of recovery was extinct!</p> - - <figure class="illowp75 mt2" id="i_018"> - <div class="plate"><i>12</i></div> - <img src="images/i_018.jpg" alt="Weapons and medicine-bags"> - <figcaption>18</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>I have mentioned that all tribes have their physicians, who are also - medicine (or mystery) men. These professional gentlemen are worthies - of the highest order in all tribes. They are regularly called and paid - as physicians, to prescribe for the sick; and many of them acquire - great skill in the medicinal world, and gain much celebrity in their - nation. Their first prescriptions are roots and herbs, of which they - have a great variety of species; and when these have all failed, their - last resort is to “<em>medicine</em>” or mystery; and for this purpose, - each one of them has a strange and unaccountable dress, conjured up - and constructed during a life-time of practice, in the wildest fancy - imaginable, in which he arrays himself, and makes his last visit to - his dying patient,—dancing over him, shaking his frightful rattles, - and singing songs of incantation, in hopes to cure him by a charm. - There are some instances, of course, where the exhausted patient - unaccountably recovers, under the application of these absurd forms; - and in such cases, this ingenious son of <em>Indian</em> Esculapius - will be seen for several days after, on the top of a wigwam, with his - right arm extended and waving over the gaping multitude, to whom he is - vaunting forth, without modesty, the surprising skill he has acquired - in his art, and the undoubted efficacy of his medicine or mystery. But - if, on the contrary, the patient dies, he soon changes his dress, and - joins in doleful lamentations with the mourners; and easily, with his - craft, and the ignorance and superstition of his people, protects his - reputation and maintains his influence over them; by assuring them, - that it was the will of the Great Spirit that his patient should die, - and when sent for, his feeble efforts must cease.</p> - - <p>Such was the case, and such the extraordinary means resorted to in - the instance I am now relating. Several hundred spectators, including - Indians and traders, were assembled around the dying man, when it was - announced that the “<em>medicine-man</em>” was coming; we were required - to “form a ring,” leaving a space of some thirty or forty feet in - diameter around the dying man, in which the doctor could perform his - wonderful operations; and a space was also opened to allow him free - room to pass through the crowd without touching any one. This being - done, in a few moments his arrival was announced by the death-like - “hush——sh——” through the crowd; and nothing was to be heard, save the - light and casual tinkling of the rattles upon his dress, which was - scarcely perceptible to the ear, as he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">40</span> cautiously and slowly moved - through the avenue left for him; which at length brought him into the - ring, in view of the pitiable object over whom his mysteries were to be - performed.</p> - - <p>Readers! you may have seen or read of the witch of Endor—or you may - imagine all the ghosts, and spirits, and furies, that ever ranked - amongst the “rank and file” of demonology; and yet you must see my - painting of this strange scene before you can form a just conception - of real frightful ugliness and Indian conjuration—yes, and even more: - you must see the magic <em>dress</em> of this Indian “big bug” (which I - have this day procured in all its parts), placed upon the back of some - person who can imitate the strides, and swells, the grunts, and spring - the rattles of an Indian magician.</p> - - <p>His entrée and his garb were somewhat thus:—he approached the ring - with his body in a crouching position (<a href="#i_019"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 19</a>), with a slow - and tilting step—his body and head were entirely covered with the skin - of a yellow bear, the head of which (his own head being inside of it) - served as a mask; the huge claws of which also, were dangling on his - wrists and ancles; in one hand he shook a frightful rattle, and in the - other brandished his medicine-spear or magic wand; to the rattling din - and discord of all of which, he added the wild and startling jumps - and yelps of the Indian, and the horrid and appalling grunts, and - snarls, and growls of the grizzly bear, in ejaculatory and guttural - incantations to the Good and Bad Spirits, in behalf of his patient; who - was rolling and groaning in the agonies of death, whilst he was dancing - around him, jumping over him, and pawing him about, and rolling him in - every direction.</p> - - <p>In this wise, this strange operation proceeded for half an hour, to the - surprise of a numerous and death-like silent audience, until the man - died; and the medicine-man danced off to his quarters, and packed up, - and tied and secured from the sight of the world, his mystery dress and - equipments.</p> - - <p>This dress, in all its parts, is one of the greatest curiosities in the - whole collection of Indian manufactures which I have yet obtained in - the Indian country. It is the strangest medley and mixture, perhaps of - the mysteries of the animal and vegetable kingdoms that ever was seen. - Besides the skin of the yellow bear (which being almost an anomaly in - that country, is out of the regular order of nature, and, of course, - great medicine, and converted to a medicine use), there are attached to - it the skins of many animals, which are also anomalies or deformities, - which render them, in their estimation, <em>medicine</em>; and there are - also the skins of snakes, and frogs, and bats,—beaks and toes and tails - of birds,—hoofs of deer, goats, and antelopes; and, in fact, the “odds - and ends,” and fag ends, and tails, and tips of almost everything that - swims, flies, or runs, in this part of the wide world.</p> - - <p>Such is a medicine-man or a physician, and such is one of his wild - and ridiculous manœuvres, which I have just witnessed in this strange - country.</p> - - <p>These men, as I before remarked, are valued as dignitaries in the - tribe, and the greatest respect is paid to them by the whole community; - not only<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">41</span> for their skill in their “materia medica;” but more - especially for their tact in magic and mysteries, in which they all - deal to a very great extent. I shall have much more to say of these - characters and their doings in future epistles, and barely observe in - the present place, that no tribe is without them;—that in all tribes - their doctors are conjurors—are magicians—are sooth-sayers, and I had - like to have said, high-priests, inasmuch as they superintend and - conduct all their religious ceremonies;—they are looked upon by all - as oracles of the nation. In all councils of war and peace, they have - a seat with the chiefs—are regularly consulted before any public step - is taken, and the greatest deference and respect is paid to their - opinions.</p> - - <figure class="illowp75 mt2" id="i_019"> - <div class="plate "><i>13</i></div> - <img src="images/i_019.jpg" alt="Medicine-mam"> - <figcaption>19</figcaption> - </figure> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">42</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_7">LETTER—<abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 7.</h2> - </div> - <div class="subheadc">MOUTH OF YELLOW STONE, <i>UPPER MISSOURI</i>.</div> - - <p><span class="smcap">The</span> Letter which I gave you yesterday, on the subject of “medicines” - and “medicine-men,” has somewhat broken the “thread of my discourse;” - and left my painting-room (in the bastion), and all the Indians in it, - and portraits, and buffalo hunts, and landscapes of these beautiful - regions, to be taken up and discussed; which I will now endeavour to - do, beginning just where I left (or digressed) off.</p> - - <p>I was seated on the cool breech of a twelve-pounder, and had my easel - before me, and Crows and Blackfeet, and Assinneboins, whom I was - tracing upon the canvass. And so I have been doing to-day, and shall - be for several days to come. My painting-room has become so great a - lounge, and I so great a “medicine-man,” that all other amusements are - left, and all other topics of conversation and gossip are postponed - for future consideration. The chiefs have had to place “soldiers” - (as they are called) at my door, with spears in hand to protect me - from the throng, who otherwise would press upon me; and none but the - worthies are allowed to come into my medicine apartments, and none to - be painted, except such as are decided by the chiefs to be worthy of so - high an honour.</p> - - <p>The Crows and Blackfeet who are here together, are enemies of the - most deadly kind while out on the plains; but here they sit and smoke - quietly together, yet with a studied and dignified reserve.</p> - - <p>The Blackfeet are, perhaps, one of the most (if not entirely the most) - numerous and warlike tribes on the Continent. They occupy the whole of - the country about the sources of the Missouri, from this place to the - Rocky Mountains; and their numbers, from the best computations, are - something like forty or fifty thousand—they are (like all other tribes - whose numbers are sufficiently large to give them boldness) warlike - and ferocious, <i>i. e.</i> they are predatory, are roaming fearlessly - about the country, even into and through every part of the Rocky - Mountains, and carrying war amongst their enemies, who are, of course, - every tribe who inhabit the country about them.</p> - - <p>The Crows who live on the head waters of Yellow Stone, and extend from - this neighbourhood also to the base of the Rocky Mountains, are similar - in the above respects to the Blackfeet; roaming about a great part of - the year—and seeking their enemies wherever they can find them.</p> - - <p>They are a much smaller tribe than the Blackfeet, with whom they are - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">43</span>always at war, and from whose great numbers they suffer prodigiously - in battle; and probably will be in a few years entirely destroyed by - them.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>14</i></div> - <figure id="i_020"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_020.jpg" alt="Crow lodge"> - <figcaption>20</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>The Crows have not, perhaps, more than 7000 in their nation, and - probably not more than eight hundred warriors or fighting men. Amongst - the more powerful tribes, like the Sioux and Blackfeet, who have been - enabled to preserve their warriors, it is a fair calculation to count - one in five as warriors; but among the Crows and Minatarees, and - Puncahs, and several other small but warlike tribes, this proportion - cannot exist; as in some of these I have found two or three women to - a man in the nation; in consequence of the continual losses sustained - amongst their men in war, and also whilst pursuing the buffaloes on the - plains for food, where their lives are exceedingly exposed.</p> - - <p>The Blackfeet and the Crows, like the Sioux and Assinneboins, have - nearly the same mode of constructing their wigwam or lodge; in which - tribes it is made of buffalo skins sewed together, after being dressed, - and made into the form of a tent; supported within by some twenty - or thirty pine poles of twenty-five feet in height, with an apex or - aperture at the top, through which the smoke escapes and the light - is admitted. These lodges, or tents, are taken down in a few minutes - by the squaws, when they wish to change their location, and easily - transported to any part of the country where they wish to encamp; - and they generally move some six or eight times in the course of the - summer; following the immense herds of buffaloes, as they range over - these vast plains, from east to west, and north to south. The objects - for which they do this are two-fold,—to procure and dress their skins, - which are brought in, in the fall and winter, and sold to the Fur - Company, for white man’s luxury; and also for the purpose of killing - and drying buffalo meat (<a href="#i_022"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 22</a>), which they bring in from - their hunts, packed on their horses’ backs, in great quantities; making - pemican, and preserving the marrow-fat for their winter quarters; which - are generally taken up in some heavy-timbered bottom, on the banks of - some stream, deep imbedded within the surrounding bluffs, which break - off the winds, and make their long and tedious winter tolerable and - supportable. They then sometimes erect their skin lodges amongst the - timber, and dwell in them during the winter months; but more frequently - cut logs and make a miserable and rude sort of log cabin, in which they - can live much warmer and better protected from the assaults of their - enemies, in case they are attacked; in which case a log cabin is a - tolerable fort against Indian weapons.</p> - - <p>The Crows, of all the tribes in this region, or on the Continent, make - the most beautiful lodge. As I have before mentioned, they construct - them as the Sioux do, and make them of the same material; yet they - oftentimes dress the skins of which they are composed almost as white - as linen, and beautifully garnish them with porcupine quills, and - paint and ornament them in such a variety of ways, as renders them - exceedingly picturesque and agreeable to the eye. I have procured - a very beautiful one of this description<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">44</span> (<a href="#i_020"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 20</a>), - highly-ornamented, and fringed with scalp-locks, and sufficiently large - for forty men to dine under. The poles which support it are about - thirty in number, of pine, and all cut in the Rocky Mountains, having - been some hundred years, perhaps, in use. This tent, when erected, is - about twenty-five feet high, and has a very pleasing effect; with the - Great or Good Spirit painted on one side, and the Evil Spirit on the - other. If I can ever succeed in transporting it to New York and other - eastern cities, it will be looked upon as a beautiful and exceedingly - interesting specimen.</p> - - <p>The manner in which an encampment of Indians strike their tents and - transport them is curious, and to the traveller in this country a very - novel and unexpected sight, when he first beholds it. Whilst ascending - the river to this place, I saw an encampment of Sioux, consisting of - six hundred of these lodges, struck, and all things packed and on the - move in a very few minutes. The chief sends his runners or criers (for - such all chiefs keep in their employment) through the village, a few - hours before they are to start; announcing his determination to move, - and the hour fixed upon, and the necessary preparations are in the - meantime making; and at the time announced, the lodge of the chief is - seen flapping in the wind, a part of the poles having been taken out - from under it; this is the signal, and in one minute, six hundred of - them (on a level and beautiful prairie), which before had been strained - tight and fixed, were seen waving and flapping in the wind, and in one - minute more all were flat upon the ground. Their horses and dogs, of - which they had a vast number, had all been secured upon the spot, in - readiness; and each one was speedily loaded with the burthen allotted - to it, and ready to fall into the grand procession.</p> - - <p>For this strange cavalcade, preparation is made in the following - manner: the poles of a lodge are divided into two bunches, and the - little ends of each bunch fastened upon the shoulders or withers of a - horse, leaving the butt ends to drag behind on the ground on either - side. Just behind the horse, a brace or pole is tied across, which - keeps the poles in their respective places; and then upon that and - the poles behind the horse, is placed the lodge or tent, which is - rolled up, and also numerous other articles of household and domestic - furniture, and on the top of all, two, three, and even (sometimes) four - women and children! Each one of these horses has a conductress, who - sometimes walks before and leads it, with a tremendous pack upon her - own back; and at others she sits astride of its back, with a child, - perhaps, at her breast, and another astride of the horse’s back behind - her, clinging to her waist with one arm, while it affectionately - embraces a sneaking dog-pup in the other.</p> - - <p>In this way five or six hundred wigwams, with all their furniture - (<a href="#i_021"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 21</a>), may be seen drawn out for miles, creeping over the - grass-covered plains of this country; and three times that number of - men, on good horses, strolling along in front or on the flank; and, in - some tribes, in the rear of this heterogeneous caravan, at least five - times that number of dogs, which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">45</span> fall into the rank, and follow in - the train and company of the women, and every cur of them, who is large - enough, and not too cunning to be enslaved, is encumbered with a car or - sled (or whatever it may be better called), on which he patiently drags - his load—a part of the household goods and furniture of the lodge to - which he belongs. Two poles, about fifteen feet long, are placed upon - the dog’s shoulder, in the same manner as the lodge poles are attached - to the horses, leaving the larger ends to drag upon the ground behind - him; on which is placed a bundle or wallet which is allotted to him to - carry, and with which he trots off amid the throng of dogs and squaws; - faithfully and cheerfully dragging his load ’till night, and by the way - loitering and occasionally</p> - - <div class="center-container"> - <div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="i0">“Catching at little bits of fun and glee</div> - <div class="i1">That’s played on dogs enslaved by dog that’s free.”</div> - </div> - </div> - </div> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>15</i></div> - <figure id="i_021"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_021.jpg" alt="Sioux on the move"> - <figcaption>21</figcaption> - </figure> - - <figure class="mt2" id="i_022"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_022.jpg" alt="Crow camp"> - <figcaption>22</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>The Crows, like the Blackfeet, are beautifully costumed, and perhaps - with somewhat more of taste and elegance; inasmuch as the skins of - which their dresses are made are more delicately and whitely dressed. - The art of dressing skins belongs to the Indians in all countries; - and the Crows surpass the civilized world in the beauty of their - skin-dressing. The art of tanning is unknown to them, so far as - civilized habits and arts have not been taught them; yet the art of - dressing skins, so far as we have it in the civilized world, has been - (like hundreds of other ornamental and useful customs which we are - practising), borrowed from the savage; without our ever stopping to - enquire from whence they come, or by whom invented.</p> - - <p>The usual mode of dressing the buffalo, and other skins, is by - immersing them for a few days under a lye from ashes and water, until - the hair can be removed; when they are strained upon a frame or upon - the ground, with stakes or pins driven through the edges into the - earth; where they remain for several days, with the brains of the - buffalo or elk spread upon and over them; and at last finished by - “graining,” as it is termed, by the squaws; who use a sharpened bone, - the shoulder-blade or other large bone of the animal, sharpened at the - edge, somewhat like an adze; with the edge of which they scrape the - fleshy side of the skin; bearing on it with the weight of their bodies, - thereby drying and softening the skin, and fitting it for use.</p> - - <p>The greater part of these skins, however, go through still another - operation afterwards, which gives them a greater value, and renders - them much more serviceable—that is, the process of smoking. For this, - a small hole is dug in the ground, and a fire is built in it with - rotten wood, which will produce a great quantity of smoke without - much blaze; and several small poles of the proper length stuck in the - ground around it, and drawn and fastened together at the top, around - which a skin is wrapped in form of a tent, and generally sewed together - at the edges to secure the smoke within it;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">46</span> within this the skins - to be smoked are placed, and in this condition the tent will stand a - day or so, enclosing the heated smoke; and by some chemical process - or other, which I do not understand, the skins thus acquire a quality - which enables them, after being ever so many times wet, to dry soft - and pliant as they were before, which secret I have never yet seen - practiced in my own country; and for the lack of which, all of our - dressed skins when once wet, are, I think, chiefly ruined.</p> - - <p>An Indian’s dress of deer skins, which is wet a hundred times upon his - back, dries soft; and his lodge also, which stands in the rains, and - even through the severity of winter, is taken down as soft and as clean - as when it was first put up.</p> - - <p>A Crow is known wherever he is met by his beautiful white dress, and - his tall and elegant figure; the greater part of the men being six - feet high. The Blackfeet on the other hand, are more of the Herculean - make—about middling stature, with broad shoulders, and great expansion - of chest; and the skins of which their dresses are made, are chiefly - dressed black, or of a dark brown colour; from which circumstance, in - all probability, they having black leggings or moccasins, have got the - name of Blackfeet.</p> - - <p>The Crows are very handsome and gentlemanly Indians in their personal - appearance: and have been always reputed, since the first acquaintance - made with them, very civil and friendly.</p> - - <p>These people to be sure, have in some instances plundered and robbed - trappers and travellers in their country; and for that I have sometimes - heard them called rascals and thieves, and rogues of the first order, - &c.; yet they do not consider themselves such; for thieving in their - estimation is a high crime, and considered the most disgraceful act - that a man can possibly do. They call this <em>capturing</em>, where - they sometimes run off a Trader’s horses, and make their boast of it; - considering it a kind of retaliation or summary justice, which they - think it right and honourable that they should administer. And why - not? for the unlicensed trespass committed through their country from - one end to the other, by mercenary white men, who are destroying the - game, and catching all the beaver and other rich and valuable furs - out of their country, without paying them an equivalent, or, in fact, - anything at all, for it; and this too, when they have been warned time - and again of the danger they would be in, if they longer persisted in - the practice. Reader, I look upon the Indian as the most honest and - honourable race of people that I ever lived amongst in my life; and in - their native state, I pledge you my honour they are the last of all - the human family to pilfer or to steal, if you trust to their honour; - and for this never-ending and boundless system of theft and plunder, - and debauchery, that is practiced off upon these rightful owners of - the soil, by acquisitive white men, I consider the infliction, or - retaliation, by driving off and appropriating a few horses, but a - lenient punishment, which those persons at least should expect; and - which, in fact, none but a very honourable and high-minded people - could inflict, instead<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">47</span> of a much severer one; which they could easily - practice upon the few white men in their country, without rendering - themselves amenable to any law.</p> - - <p>Mr. M‘Kenzie has repeatedly told me, within the four last weeks, while - in conversation relative to the Crows, that they were friendly and - honourable in their dealing with the whites, and that he considered - them the finest Indians of his acquaintance.</p> - - <p>I recollect whilst in <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Louis, and other places at the East, to have - heard it often said, that the Crows were a rascally and thieving set of - vagabonds, highway robbers, &c. &c.; and I have been told since, that - this information has become current in the world, from the fact that - they made some depredations upon the camp of Messrs. Crooks and Hunt of - the Fur Company; and drove off a number of their horses, when they were - passing through the Crow country, on their way to Astoria. This was no - doubt true; and equally true, would these very Indians tell us, was the - fact, that they had a good and sufficient reason for it.</p> - - <p>These gentlemen, with their party, were crossing the Crow country - with a large stock of goods, of guns, and ammunition, of knives, and - spears, arrowheads, &c.; and stopped for some time and encamped in the - midst of the Crow country (and I think wintered there), when the Crows - assembled in large numbers about them, and treated them in a kind and - friendly manner; and at the same time proposed to trade with them for - guns and ammunition, &c. (according to these gentlemen’s own account,) - of which they were in great want, and for which they brought a great - many horses, and offered them repeatedly in trade; which they refused - to take, persisting in their determination of carrying their goods - to their destined place, across the mountains; thereby disappointing - these Indians, by denying them the arms and weapons which were in - their possession, whilst they were living upon them, and exhausting - the game and food of their country. No doubt, these gentlemen told the - Crows, that these goods were going to Astoria, of which place they knew - nothing; and of course, it was enough for them that they were going to - take them farther west; which they would at once suppose was to the - Blackfeet, their principal enemy, having eight or ten warriors to one - of the Crows; where they supposed the white men could get a greater - price for their weapons, and arm their enemies in such a way as would - enable them to turn upon the Crows, and cut them to pieces without - mercy. Under these circumstances, the Crows rode off, and to show their - indignation, drove off some of the Company’s horses, for which they - have ever since been denominated a band of thieves and highway robbers. - It is a custom, and a part of the system of jurisprudence amongst all - savages, to revenge upon the person or persons who give the offence, - if they can; and if not, to let that punishment fall upon the head of - the first white man who comes in their way, provided the offender was a - white man. And I would not be surprised, therefore, if I get robbed of - my horse; and you too, readers, if you go into that country, for that - very (supposed) offence.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">48</span></p> - - <p>I have conversed often and much with Messrs. Sublette and Campbell, - two gentlemen of the highest respectability, who have traded with the - Crows for several years, and they tell me they are one of the most - honourable, honest, and high-minded races of people on earth; and with - Mr. Tullock, also, a man of the strictest veracity, who is now here - with a party of them; and, he says, they never steal,—have a high - sense of honour,—and being fearless and proud, are quick to punish or - retaliate.</p> - - <p>So much for the character of the Crows for the present, a subject which - I shall assuredly take up again, when I shall have seen more of them - myself.</p> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">49</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_8">LETTER—<abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 8.</h2> - </div> - <div class="subheadc">MOUTH OF YELLOW STONE, <i>UPPER MISSOURI</i>.</div> - - <p><span class="smcap">Since</span> my last Letter, nothing of great moment has transpired at this - place; but I have been continually employed in painting my portraits - and making notes on the character and customs of the wild folks who - are about me. I have just been painting a number of the Crows, fine - looking and noble gentlemen. They are really a handsome and well-formed - set of men as can be seen in any part of the world. There is a sort of - ease and grace added to their dignity of manners, which gives them the - air of gentlemen at once. I observed the other day, that most of them - were over six feet high, and very many of these have cultivated their - natural hair to such an almost incredible length, that it sweeps the - ground as they walk; there are frequent instances of this kind amongst - them, and in some cases, a foot or more of it will drag on the grass - as they walk, giving exceeding grace and beauty to their movements. - They usually oil their hair with a profusion of bear’s grease every - morning, which is no doubt one cause of the unusual length to which - their hair extends; though it cannot be the sole cause of it, for the - other tribes throughout this country use the bear’s grease in equal - profusion without producing the same results. The Mandans, however, and - the Sioux, of whom I shall speak in future epistles, have cultivated - a very great growth of the hair, as many of them are seen whose hair - reaches near to the ground.</p> - - <p>This extraordinary length of hair amongst the Crows is confined to the - men alone; for the women, though all of them with glossy and beautiful - hair, and a great profusion of it, are unable to cultivate it to so - great a length; or else they are not allowed to compete with their - lords in a fashion so ornamental (and on which the men so highly pride - themselves), and are obliged in many cases to cut it short off.</p> - - <p>The fashion of long hair amongst the men, prevails throughout all the - Western and North Western tribes, after passing the Sacs and Foxes; and - the Pawnees of the Platte, who, with two or three other tribes only, - are in the habit of shaving nearly the whole head.</p> - - <p>The present chief of the Crows, who is called “Long-hair,” and has - received his name as well as his office from the circumstance of - having the longest hair of any man in the nation, I have not yet - seen: but I hope I yet may, ere I leave this part of the country. - This extraordinary man is known to several gentlemen with whom I am - acquainted, and particularly to Messrs. Sublette and Campbell, of whom - I have before spoken, who<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">50</span> told me they had lived in his hospitable - lodge for months together; and assured me that they had measured his - hair by a correct means, and found it to be ten feet and seven inches - in length; closely inspecting every part of it at the same time, and - satisfying themselves that it was the natural growth.</p> - - <p>On ordinary occasions it is wound with a broad leather strap, from his - head to its extreme end, and then folded up into a budget or block, of - some ten or twelve inches in length, and of some pounds weight; which - when he walks is carried under his arm, or placed in his bosom, within - the folds of his robe; but on any great parade or similar occasion, his - pride is to unfold it, oil it with bear’s grease and let it drag behind - him, some three or four feet of it spread out upon the grass, and black - and shining like a raven’s wing.</p> - - <p>It is a common custom amongst most of these upper tribes, to splice or - add on several lengths of hair, by fastening them with glue; probably - for the purpose of imitating the Crows, upon whom alone Nature has - bestowed this conspicuous and signal ornament.</p> - - <p>Amongst the Crows of distinction now at this place, I have painted - the portraits of several, who exhibit some striking peculiarities. - Amongst whom is Chah-ee-chopes, the four wolves (<a href="#i_024"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 24</a>); - a fine looking fellow, six feet in stature, and whose natural hair - sweeps the grass as he walks; he is beautifully clad, and carries - himself with the most graceful and manly mien—he is in mourning for - a brother; and according to their custom, has cut off a number of - locks of his long hair, which is as much as a man can well spare of - so valued an ornament, which he has been for the greater part of his - life cultivating; whilst a woman who mourns for a husband or child, is - obliged to crop her hair short to her head, and so remain till it grows - out again; ceasing gradually to mourn as her hair approaches to its - former length.</p> - - <p>Duhk-pits-a-ho-shee, the red bear (<a href="#i_026"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 26</a>), a distinguished - warrior; and Oo-je-en-a-he-ha, the woman who lives in the bear’s den - (<a href="#i_024"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 25</a>). I have also painted Pa-ris-ka-roo-pa (two crows) - the younger (<a href="#i_026"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 27</a>), one of the most extraordinary men in - the Crow nation; not only for his looks, from the form of his head, - which seems to be distortion itself—and curtailed of all its fair - proportions; but from his extraordinary sagacity as a counsellor and - orator, even at an early stage of his life.</p> - - <p>There is something very uncommon in this outline, and sets forth the - striking peculiarity of the Crow tribe, though rather in an exaggerated - form. The semi-lunar outline of the Crow head, with an exceedingly low - and retreating forehead, is certainly a very peculiar and striking - characteristic; and though not so strongly marked in most of the tribe - as in the present instance, is sufficient for their detection whenever - they are met; and will be subject for further comment in another place.</p> - - <p>The Crow women (and Blackfeet also) are not handsome, and I shall at - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">51</span>present say but little of them. They are, like all other Indian - women, the slaves of their husbands: being obliged to perform all the - domestic duties and drudgeries of the tribe, and not allowed to join - in their religious rites or ceremonies, nor in the dance or other - amusements.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>16</i></div> - <figure id="i_024"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_024.jpg" alt="Chah-ee-chopes and Oo-je-en-a-he-ha"> - <figcaption><span class="col50">24</span><span class="col50">25</span></figcaption> - </figure> - - <figure class="mt2" id="i_026"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_026.jpg" alt="Duhk-pits-a-ho-shee and Pa-ris-ka-roo-pa"> - <figcaption><span class="col50">26</span><span class="col50">27</span></figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>The women in all these upper and western tribes are decently dressed, - and many of them with great beauty and taste; their dresses are all of - deer or goat skins, extending from their chins quite down to the feet; - these dresses are in many instances trimmed with ermine, and ornamented - with porcupine quills and beads with exceeding ingenuity.</p> - - <p>The Crow and Blackfeet women, like all others I ever saw in any Indian - tribe, divide the hair on the forehead, and paint the separation or - crease with vermilion or red earth. For what purpose this little, but - universal, custom is observed, I never have been able to learn.</p> - - <p>The men amongst the Blackfeet tribe, have a fashion equally simple, and - probably of as little meaning, which seems strictly to be adhered to - by every man in the tribe; they separate the hair in two places on the - forehead, leaving a lock between the two, of an inch or two in width, - which is carefully straightened down on to the bridge of the nose, and - there cut square off. It is more than probable that this is done for - the purpose of distinction; that they may thereby be free from the - epithet of effeminacy, which might otherwise attach to them.</p> - - <p>These two tribes, whom I have spoken of connectedly, speak two distinct - and entirely dissimilar languages; and the language of each is - different, and radically so, from that of all other tribes about them. - As these people are always at war, and have been, time out of mind, - they do not intermarry or hold converse with each other, by which any - knowledge of each other’s language could be acquired. It would be the - work of a man’s life-time to collect the languages of all the different - tribes which I am visiting; and I shall, from necessity, leave this - subject chiefly for others, who have the time to devote to them, to - explain them to the world. I have, however, procured a brief vocabulary - of their words and sentences in these tribes; and shall continue to do - so amongst the tribes I shall visit, which will answer as a specimen - or sample in each; and which, in the sequel to these Letters (if they - should ever be published), will probably be arranged.</p> - - <p>The Blackfeet are, perhaps, the most powerful tribe of Indians on - the Continent; and being sensible of their strength, have stubbornly - resisted the Traders in their country, who have been gradually forming - an acquaintance with them, and endeavouring to establish a permanent - and profitable system of trade. Their country abounds in beaver and - buffalo, and most of the fur-bearing animals of North America; and - the American Fur Company, with an unconquerable spirit of trade and - enterprize, has pushed its establishments into their country; and the - numerous parties of trappers are tracing up their streams and rivers, - rapidly destroying the beavers which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">52</span> dwell in them. The Blackfeet - have repeatedly informed the Traders of the Company, that if their - men persisted in trapping beavers in their country, they should kill - them whenever they met them. They have executed their threats in many - instances, and the Company loses some fifteen or twenty men annually, - who fall by the hands of these people, in defence of what they deem - their property and their rights. Trinkets and whiskey, however, will - soon spread their charms amongst these, as they have amongst other - tribes; and white man’s voracity will sweep the prairies and the - streams of their wealth, to the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean; - leaving the Indians to inhabit, and at last to starve upon, a dreary - and solitary waste.</p> - - <p>The Blackfeet, therefore, having been less traded with, and less seen - by white people than most of the other tribes, are more imperfectly - understood; and it yet remains a question to be solved—whether there - are twenty, or forty or fifty thousand of them? for no one, as yet, can - correctly estimate their real strength. From all I can learn, however, - which is the best information that can be got from the Traders, there - are not far from 40,000 Indians (altogether), who range under the - general denomination of Blackfeet.</p> - - <p>From our slight and imperfect knowledge of them, and other tribes - occupying the country about the sources of the Missouri, there is no - doubt in my mind, that we are in the habit of bringing more Indians - into the computation, than are entitled justly to the appellation of - “Blackfeet.”</p> - - <p>Such, for instance, are the “Grosventres de Prairie” and Cotonnés, - neither of which speak the Blackfeet language; but hunt, and eat, - and fight, and intermarry with the Blackfeet; living therefore in a - state of confederacy and friendship with them, but speaking their own - language, and practicing their own customs.</p> - - <p>The Blackfeet proper are divided into four bands or families, as - follow:—the “Pe-a-gans,” of 500 lodges; the “Blackfoot” band, of 450 - lodges; the “Blood” band, of 450 lodges; and the “Small Robes,” of 250 - lodges. These four bands constituting about 1650 lodges, averaging ten - to the lodge, amount to about 16,500 souls.</p> - - <p>There are then of the other tribes above-mentioned (and whom we, - perhaps, incorrectly denominate Blackfeet), Grosventres des Prairies, - 430 lodges, with language entirely distinct; Circees, of 220 lodges, - and Cotonnés, of 250 lodges, with language also distinct from either.<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p> - - <p>There is in this region a rich and interesting field for the linguist - of the antiquarian; and stubborn facts, I think, if they could be well - procured, that would do away the idea which many learned gentlemen - entertain, that the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">53</span> - Indian languages of North America can all be traced to two or three - roots. The language of the Dohcotas is entirely and radically distinct - from that of the Mandans, and theirs equally so from the Blackfoot and - the Crows. And from the lips of Mr. Brazeau, a gentleman of education - and strict observation, who has lived several years with the Blackfeet - and Shiennes, and who speaks the language of tribes on either side - of them, assures me that these languages are radically distinct and - dissimilar, as I have above stated; and also, that although he has - been several years amongst those tribes, he has not been able to trace - the slightest resemblance between the Circee, Cotonné, and Blackfoot, - and Shienne, and Crow, and Mandan tongues; and from a great deal - of corroborating information, which I have got from other persons - acquainted with these tribes, I am fully convinced of the correctness - of his statements.</p> - - <p>Besides the Blackfeet and Crows, whom I told you were assembled at - this place, are also the Knisteneaux (or Crees, as they are commonly - called), a very pretty and pleasing tribe of Indians, of about 3000 - in number, living on the north of this, and also the Assinneboins and - Ojibbeways; both of which tribes also inhabit the country to the north - and north-east of the mouth of Yellow Stone.</p> - - <p>The Knisteneaux are of small stature, but well-built for strength and - activity combined; are a people of wonderful prowess for their numbers, - and have waged an unceasing warfare with the Blackfeet, who are their - neighbours and enemies on the west. From their disparity in numbers - they are rapidly thinning the ranks of their warriors, who bravely - sacrifice their lives in contentions with their powerful neighbours. - This tribe occupy the country from the mouth of the Yellow Stone, in - a north-western direction, far into the British territory, and trade - principally at the British N. W. Company’s Posts.</p> - - <p>The Assinneboins of seven thousand, and the Ojibbeways of six thousand, - occupy a vast extent of country, in a north-eastern direction from - this; extending also into the British possessions as high north as - Lake Winnepeg; and trading principally with the British Company. These - three tribes are in a state of nature, living as neighbours, and are - also on terms of friendship with each other. This friendship, however, - is probably but a temporary arrangement, brought about by the Traders - amongst them; and which, like most Indian peace establishments, will be - of short duration.</p> - - <p>The Ojibbeways are, undoubtedly, a part of the tribe of Chippeways, - with whom we are more familiarly acquainted, and who inhabit the - south-west shore of Lake Superior. Their language is the same, though - they are separated several hundred miles from any of them, and seem to - have no knowledge of them, or traditions of the manner in which, or of - the time when, they became severed from each other.</p> - - <p>The Assinneboins are a part of the Dohcotas, or Sioux, undoubtedly; for - their personal appearance as well as their language is very similar.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">54</span></p> - - <p>At what time, or in what manner, these two parts of a nation got - strayed away from each other is a mystery; yet such cases have often - occurred, of which I shall say more in future. Large parties who - are straying off in pursuit of game, or in the occupation of war, - are oftentimes intercepted by their enemy; and being prevented from - returning, are run off to a distant region, where they take up their - residence and establish themselves as a nation.</p> - - <p>There is a very curious custom amongst the Assinneboins, from which - they have taken their name; a name given them by their neighbours, - from a singular mode they have of boiling their meat, which is done in - the following manner:—when they kill meat, a hole is dug in the ground - about the size of a common pot, and a piece of the raw hide of the - animal, as taken from the back, is put over the hole, and then pressed - down with the hands close around the sides, and filled with water. The - meat to be boiled is then put in this hole or pot of water; and in a - fire, which is built near by, several large stones are heated to a red - heat, which are successively dipped and held in the water until the - meat is boiled; from which singular and peculiar custom, the Ojibbeways - have given them the appellation of Assinneboins or stone boilers.</p> - - <p>This custom is a very awkward and tedious one, and used only as an - ingenious means of boiling their meat, by a tribe who was too rude and - ignorant to construct a kettle or pot.</p> - - <p>The Traders have recently supplied these people with pots; and even - long before that, the Mandans had instructed them in the secret of - manufacturing very good and serviceable earthen pots; which together - have entirely done away the custom, excepting at public festivals; - where they seem, like all others of the human family, to take pleasure - in cherishing and perpetuating their ancient customs.</p> - - <p>Of these three tribes, I have also lined my painting-room with a number - of very interesting portraits of the distinguished and brave men; and - also representations of their games and ceremonies, which will be found - in my <span class="smcap">Indian Gallery</span>, if I live, and they can be preserved - until I get home.</p> - - <p>The Assinneboins, or stone boilers, are a fine and noble looking race - of Indians; bearing, both in their looks and customs, a striking - resemblance to the Dohcotas or Sioux, from whom they have undoubtedly - sprung. The men are tall, and graceful in their movements; and wear - their pictured robes of the buffalo hide with great skill and pleasing - effect. They are good hunters, and tolerably supplied with horses; - and living in a country abounding with buffaloes, are well supplied - with the necessaries of Indian life, and may be said to live well. - Their games and amusements are many, of which the most valued one is - the ball-play; and in addition to which, they have the game of the - moccasin, horse-racing, and dancing; some one of which, they seem to be - almost continually practicing, and of all of which I shall hereafter - give the reader (as well as of many others of their amusements) a - minute account.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">55</span></p> - - <p>Their dances, which were frequent and varied, were generally exactly - the same as those of the Sioux, of which I have given a faithful - account in my Notes on the Sioux, and which the reader will soon meet - with. There was one of these scenes, however, that I witnessed the - other day, which appeared to me to be peculiar to this tribe, and - exceedingly picturesque in its effect; which was described to me as - the <em>pipe-dance</em>, and was as follows:—On a hard-trodden pavement - in front of their village, which place is used for all their public - meetings, and many of their amusements, the young men, who were - to compose the dance, had gathered themselves around a small fire - (<a href="#i_032"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 32</a>), and each one seated on a buffalo-robe spread upon - the ground. In the centre and by the fire, was seated a dignitary, who - seemed to be a chief (perhaps a doctor or medicine-man), with a long - pipe in his hand, which he lighted at the fire and smoked incessantly, - grunting forth at the same time, in half-strangled gutturals, a sort - of song, which I did not get translated to my satisfaction, and which - might have been susceptible of none. While this was going on, another - grim-visaged fellow in another part of the group, commenced beating - on a drum or tambourine, accompanied by his voice; when one of the - young men seated, sprang instantly on his feet, and commenced singing - in time with the taps of the drum, and leaping about on one foot and - the other in the most violent manner imaginable. In this way he went - several times around the circle, bowing and brandishing his fists in - the faces of each one who was seated, until at length he grasped one of - them by the hands, and jerked him forcibly up upon his feet; who joined - in the dance for a moment, leaving the one who had pulled him up, to - continue his steps and his song in the centre of the ring; whilst he - danced around in a similar manner, jerking up another, and then joining - his companion in the centre; leaving the third and the fourth, and - so on to drag into the ring, each one his man, until all were upon - their feet; and at last joined in the most frightful gesticulations - and yells that seemed almost to make the earth quake under our feet. - This strange manœuvre, which I did but partially understand, lasted - for half or three-quarters of an hour; to the great amusement of the - gaping multitude who were assembled around, and broke up with the most - piercing yells and barks like those of so many affrighted dogs.</p> - - <p>The Assinneboins, somewhat like the Crows, cultivate their hair to - a very great length, in many instances reaching down nearly to the - ground; but in most instances of this kind, I find the great length is - produced by splicing or adding on several lengths, which are fastened - very ingeniously by means of glue, and the joints obscured by a sort - of paste of red earth and glue, with which the hair is at intervals of - every two or three inches filled, and divided into locks and slabs of - an inch or so in breadth, and falling straight down over the back to - the heels.</p> - - <p>I have painted the portrait of a very distinguished young man, and son - of the chief (<a href="#i_028"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 28</a>); his dress is a very handsome one, and - in every<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">56</span> respect answers well to the descriptions I have given above. - The name of this man is Wi-jun-jon (the pigeon’s egg head), and by the - side of him (<a href="#i_028"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 29</a>) will be seen the portrait of his wife, - Chin-cha-pee (the fire bug that creeps), a fine looking squaw, in a - handsome dress of the mountain-sheep skin, holding in her hand a stick - curiously carved, with which every woman in this country is supplied; - for the purpose of digging up the “Pomme Blanche,” or prairie turnip, - which is found in great quantities in these northern prairies, and - furnishes the Indians with an abundant and nourishing food. The women - collect these turnips by striking the end of the stick into the ground, - and prying them out; after which they are dried and preserved in their - wigwams for use during the season.</p> - - <p>I have just had the satisfaction of seeing this travelled-gentleman - (Wi-jun-jon) meet his tribe, his wife and his little children; after an - absence of a year or more, on his journey of 6000 miles to Washington - City, and back again (in company with Major Sanford, the Indian agent); - where he has been spending the winter amongst the fashionables in the - polished circles of civilized society. And I can assure you, readers, - that his entrée amongst his own people, in the dress and with the airs - of a civilized beau, was one of no ordinary occurrence; and produced no - common sensation amongst the red-visaged Assinneboins, or in the minds - of those who were travellers, and but spectators to the scene.</p> - - <p>On his way home from <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Louis to this place, a distance of 2000 miles, - I travelled with this gentleman, on the steamer Yellow-Stone; and saw - him step ashore (on a beautiful prairie, where several thousands of - his people were encamped), with a complete suit <i lang="fr">en militaire</i>, - a colonel’s uniform of blue, presented to him by the President of - the United States, with a beaver hat and feather, with epaulettes of - gold—with sash and belt, and broad sword; with high-heeled boots—with - a keg of whiskey under his arm, and a blue umbrella in his hand. In - this plight and metamorphose, he took his position on the bank, amongst - his friends—his wife and other relations; not one of whom exhibited, - for an half-hour or more, the least symptoms of recognition, although - they knew well who was before them. He also gazed upon them—upon his - wife and parents, and little children, who were about, as if they were - foreign to him, and he had not a feeling or thought to interchange with - them. Thus the mutual gazings upon and from this would-be-stranger, - lasted for full half an hour; when a gradual, but cold and exceedingly - formal recognition began to take place, and an acquaintance ensued, - which ultimately and smoothly resolved itself, without the least - apparent emotion, into its former state; and the mutual kindred - intercourse seemed to flow on exactly where it had been broken off, - as if it had been but for a moment, and nothing had transpired in the - interim to check or change its character or expression.</p> - - <p>Such is one of the stoic instances of a custom which belongs to all the - North American Indians, forming one of the most striking features in - their<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">57</span> character; valued, cherished and practiced, like many others - of their strange notions, for reasons which are difficult to be learned - or understood; and which probably will never be justly appreciated by - others than themselves.</p> - - <figure class="mt2" id="i_028"> - <div class="plate"><i>17</i></div> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_028.jpg" alt="Wi-jun-jon and Chin-cha-pee"> - <figcaption><span class="col50">29</span><span class="col50">28</span></figcaption> - </figure> - - <figure class="mt2" id="i_030"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_030.jpg" alt="Bro-cas-sie and his wife"> - <figcaption><span class="col50">30</span><span class="col50">31</span></figcaption> - </figure> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>18</i></div> - <figure id="i_032"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_032.jpg" alt="Pipe dance"> - <figcaption>32</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>This man, at this time, is creating a wonderful sensation amongst - his tribe, who are daily and nightly gathered in gaping and listless - crowds around him, whilst he is descanting upon what he has seen in the - fashionable world; and which to them is unintelligible and beyond their - comprehension; for which I find they are already setting him down as a - liar and impostor.</p> - - <p>What may be the final results of his travels and initiation into the - fashionable world, and to what disasters his incredible narrations - may yet subject the poor fellow in this strange land, time only will - develop.</p> - - <p>He is now in disgrace, and spurned by the leading men of the tribe, and - rather to be pitied than envied, for the advantages which one might - have supposed would have flown from his fashionable tour. More of this - curious occurrence and of this extraordinary man, I will surely give in - some future epistles.</p> - - <p>The women of this tribe are often comely, and sometimes pretty; in - <a href="#i_034"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 34</a>, will be seen a fair illustration of the dresses of - the women and children, which are usually made of the skins of the - mountain-goat, and ornamented with porcupine’s quills and rows of elk’s - teeth.</p> - - <p>The Knisteneaux (or Crees, as they are more familiarly called in this - country) are a very numerous tribe, extending from this place as high - north as the shores of Lake Winnepeg; and even much further in a - north-westerly direction, towards, and even through, a great part of - the Rocky Mountains.</p> - - <p>I have before said of these, that they were about 3000 in numbers—by - that, I meant but a small part of this extensive tribe, who are in the - habit of visiting the American Fur Company’s Establishment, at this - place, to do their trading; and who themselves, scarcely know anything - of the great extent of country over which this numerous and scattered - family range. Their customs may properly be said to be primitive, as no - inroads of civilized habits have been as yet successfully made amongst - them. Like the other tribes in these regions, they dress in skins, and - gain their food, and conduct their wars in a very similar manner. They - are a very daring and most adventurous tribe; roaming vast distances - over the prairies and carrying war into their enemy’s country. With the - numerous tribe of Blackfeet, they are always waging an uncompromising - warfare; and though fewer in numbers and less in stature, they have - shewn themselves equal in sinew, and not less successful in mortal - combats.</p> - - <p>Amongst the foremost and most renowned of their warriors, is - Bro-cas-sie, the broken arm (<a href="#i_030"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 30</a>), in a handsome dress; - and by the side of him (<a href="#i_030"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 31</a>), his wife, a simple and - comely looking woman. In <a href="#i_033"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 33</a>, will be seen the full - length portrait of a young woman with a child on her back, shewing - fairly the fashion of cutting and ornamenting the dresses<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">58</span> of the - females in this tribe; which, without further comment, is all I shall - say at this time, of the valorous tribe of Crees or Knisteneaux.</p> - - <p>The Ojibbeways I have briefly mentioned in a former place, and of them - should say more; which will be done at a proper time, after I shall - have visited other branches of this great and scattered family.</p> - - <p>The chief of that part of the Ojibbeway tribe who inhabit these - northern regions (<a href="#i_035"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 35</a>), and whose name is Sha-co-pay (the - Six), is a man of huge size; with dignity of manner, and pride and - vanity, just about in proportion to his bulk. He sat for his portrait - in a most beautiful dress, fringed with scalp locks in profusion; which - he had snatched, in his early life from his enemies’ heads, and now - wears as proud trophies and proofs of what his arm has accomplished - in battles with his enemies. His shirt of buckskin is beautifully - embroidered and painted in curious hieroglyphics, the history of his - battles and charts of his life. This, and also each and every article - of his varied dress, had been manufactured by his wives, of which - he had several; and one, though not the most agreeable (<a href="#i_036"><span class="smcap">plate</span> - 36</a>), is seen represented by his side.</p> - - <p>I have much to see of these people yet, and much consequently to write; - so for the present I close my book.</p> - - <div class="footnotes"> - <div class="footnote"> - <a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[1]</a> Several years since writing the above, I held a - conversation with Major Pilcher (a strictly correct and honourable man, - who was then the agent for these people, who has lived amongst them, - and is at this time superintendent of Indian affairs at <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Louis), who - informed me, much to my surprise, that the Blackfeet were not far from - 60,000 in numbers, including all the confederacy of which I have just - spoken. - </div> - </div> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">59</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_9">LETTER—<abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 9.</h2> - </div> - <div class="subheadc">MOUTH OF YELLOW STONE, <i>UPPER MISSOURI</i>.</div> - - <p><span class="smcap">Since</span> the dates of my other Letters from this place, I have been taking - some wild rambles about this beautiful country of green fields; jolted - and tossed about, on horseback and on foot, where pen, ink, and paper - never thought of going; and of course the most that I saw and have - learned, and would tell to the world, is yet to be written. It is not - probable, however, that I shall again date a letter at this place, as I - commence, in a few days, my voyage down the river in a canoe; but yet - I may give you many a retrospective glance at this fairy land and its - amusements.</p> - - <p>A traveller on his tour through such a country as this, has no time - to write, and scarcely time enough to moralize. It is as much as - he can <em>well</em> do to “look out for his <em>scalp</em>,” and “for - <em>something to eat</em>.” Impressions, however, of the most vivid kind, - are rapidly and indelibly made by the fleeting incidents of savage - life; and for the mind that can ruminate upon them with pleasure, there - are abundant materials clinging to it for its endless entertainment - in driving the quill when he gets back. The mind susceptible of such - impressions catches volumes of incidents which are easy to write—it is - but to unfold a web which the fascinations of this <em>shorn</em> country - and its allurements have spun over the soul—it is but to paint the - splendid panorama of a world entirely different from anything seen or - painted before; with its thousands of miles, and tens of thousands of - grassy hills and dales, where nought but silence reigns, and where the - soul of a contemplative mould is seemingly lifted up to its Creator. - What man in the world, I would ask, ever ascended to the pinnacle of - one of Missouri’s green-carpeted bluffs, a thousand miles severed from - his own familiar land, and giddily gazed over the interminable and - boundless ocean of grass-covered hills and valleys which lie beneath - him, where the gloom of <em>silence</em> is complete—where not even - the voice of the sparrow or cricket is heard—without feeling a sweet - melancholy come over him, which seemed to drown his sense of everything - beneath and on a level with him?</p> - - <p>It is but to paint a vast country of green fields, where the <em>men</em> - are all <em>red</em>—where <em>meat</em> is the staff of life—where - no <em>laws</em>, but those of <em>honour</em>, are known—where the - oak and the pine give way to the cotton-wood and peccan—where the - buffaloes range, the elk, mountain-sheep, and the fleet-bounding<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">60</span> - antelope—where the magpie and chattering parroquettes supply the - place of the red-breast and the blue-bird—where wolves are white and - bears grizzly—where pheasants are hens of the prairie, and frogs have - horns!—where the rivers are yellow, and white men are turned savages - in looks. Through the whole of this strange land the dogs are all - wolves—women all slaves—men all lords. The <em>sun</em> and <em>rats</em> - alone (of all the list of old acquaintance), could be recognised in - this country of strange metamorphose. The former shed everywhere his - familiar rays; and Monsr. Ratapon was hailed as an old acquaintance, - which it gave me pleasure to meet; though he had grown a little more - <em>savage</em> in his look.</p> - - <p>In traversing the immense regions of the <em>classic</em> West, the mind - of a philanthropist is filled to the brim with feelings of admiration; - but to reach this country, one is obliged to descend from the light - and glow of civilized atmosphere, through the different grades of - civilization, which gradually sink to the most deplorable condition - along the extreme frontier; thence through the most pitiable misery - and wretchedness of savage degradation; where the genius of natural - liberty and independence have been blasted and destroyed by the - contaminating vices and dissipations introduced by the immoral part - of <em>civilized</em> society. Through this dark and sunken vale of - wretchedness one hurries, as through a pestilence, until he gradually - rises again into the proud and chivalrous pale of savage society, - in its state of original nature, beyond the reach of civilized - contamination; here he finds much to fix his enthusiasm upon, and much - to admire. Even here, the predominant passions of the savage breast, - of ferocity and cruelty, are often found; yet <em>restrained</em>, - and frequently <em>subdued</em>, by the noblest traits, of honour and - magnanimity,—a race of men who live and enjoy life and its luxuries, - and practice its virtues, very far beyond the usual estimation of the - world, who are apt to judge the savage and his virtues from the poor, - degraded, and humbled specimens which alone can be seen along our - frontiers. From the first settlements of our Atlantic coast to the - present day, the bane of this <em>blasting frontier</em> has regularly - crowded upon them, from the northern to the southern extremities of our - country; and, like the fire in a prairie, which destroys everything - where it passes, it has blasted and sunk them, and all but their - names, into oblivion, wherever it has travelled. It is to this tainted - class alone that the epithet of “poor, naked, and drunken savage,” - can be, with propriety, applied; for all those numerous tribes which - I have visited, and are yet uncorrupted by the vices of civilized - acquaintance, are well clad, in many instances cleanly, and in the - full enjoyment of life and its luxuries. It is for the character and - preservation of these noble fellows that I am an enthusiast; and it is - for these uncontaminated people that I would be willing to devote the - energies of my life. It is a sad and melancholy truth to contemplate, - that all the numerous tribes who inhabited our vast Atlantic States - <em>have not</em> “fled to the West;”—that they are not to be found - here—that they have been blasted by the fire which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">61</span> has passed - over them—have sunk into their graves, and everything but their names - travelled into oblivion.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>19</i></div> - <div class="col50"> - <figure id="i_033"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_033.jpg" alt="Dresses of woman and child"> - <figcaption>33</figcaption> - </figure> - </div> - <div class="col50"> - <figure id="i_034"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_034.jpg" alt="Dresses of woman and child"> - <figcaption>34</figcaption> - </figure> - </div> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>20</i></div> - <div class="col50"> - <figure id="i_035"> - <img style="width: 99.4%;" src="images/i_035.jpg" alt="Sha-co-pay, Ojibbeway chief"> - <figcaption>35</figcaption> - </figure> - </div> - <div class="col50"> - <figure id="i_036"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_036.jpg" alt="Wife of Sha-co-pay"> - <figcaption>36</figcaption> - </figure> - </div> - - <p>The distinctive character of all these Western Indians, as well as - their traditions relative to their ancient locations, prove beyond a - doubt, that they have been for a very long time located on the soil - which they now possess; and in most respects, distinct and unlike those - nations who formerly inhabited the Atlantic coast, and who (according - to the erroneous opinion of a great part of the world), have fled to - the West.</p> - - <p>It is for these inoffensive and unoffending people, yet unvisited by - the vices of civilized society, that I would proclaim to the world, - that it is time, for the honour of our country—for the honour of - every citizen of the republic—and for the sake of humanity, that our - government should raise her strong arm to save the remainder of them - from the pestilence which is rapidly advancing upon them. We have - gotten from them territory enough, and the country which they now - inhabit is most of it too barren of timber for the use of civilized - man; it affords them, however, the means and luxuries of savage life; - and it is to be hoped that our government will not acquiesce in the - continued wilful destruction of these happy people.</p> - - <p>My heart has sometimes almost bled with pity for them, while amongst - them, and witnessing their innocent amusements, as I have contemplated - the inevitable bane that was rapidly advancing upon them; without that - check from the protecting arm of government, and which alone could - shield them from destruction.</p> - - <p>What degree of happiness these sons of Nature may attain to in the - world, in their own way; or in what proportion they may relish the - pleasures of life, compared to the sum of happiness belonging to - civilized society, has long been a subject of much doubt, and one which - I cannot undertake to decide at this time. I would say thus much, - however, that if the thirst for knowledge has entailed everlasting - miseries on mankind from the beginning of the world; if refined - and intellectual pains increase in proportion to our intellectual - pleasures, I do not see that we gain much advantage over them on that - score; and judging from the full-toned enjoyment which beams from their - happy faces, I should give it as my opinion, that their lives were - much more happy than ours; that is, if the word happiness is properly - applied to the enjoyments of those who have not experienced the light - of the Christian religion. I have long looked with the eye of a critic, - into the jovial faces of these sons of the forest, unfurrowed with - cares—where the agonizing feeling of poverty had never stamped distress - upon the brow. I have watched the bold, intrepid step—the proud, yet - dignified deportment of Nature’s man, in fearless freedom, with a soul - unalloyed by mercenary lusts, too great to yield to laws or power - except from God. As these independent fellows are all joint-tenants of - the soil, they are all rich, and none of the steepings of comparative - poverty can strangle their just claims to renown. Who (I would<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">62</span> ask) - can look without admiring, into a society where peace and harmony - prevail—where virtue is cherished—where rights are protected, and - wrongs are redressed—with no laws, but the laws of honour, which are - the supreme laws of their land. Trust the boasted virtues of civilized - society for awhile, with all its intellectual refinements, to such a - tribunal, and then write down the degradation of the “lawless savage,” - and our trancendent virtues.</p> - - <p>As these people have no laws, the sovereign right of summary redress - lies in the breast of the party (or friends of the party) aggrieved; - and infinitely more dreaded is the certainty of cruel revenge from - the licensed hands of an offended savage, than the slow and uncertain - vengeance of the law.</p> - - <p>If you think me <em>enthusiast</em>, be it so; for I deny it not. It has - ever been the predominant passion of my soul to seek Nature’s wildest - haunts, and give my hand to Nature’s men. Legends of <em>these</em>, - and visits to <em>those</em>, filled the earliest page of my juvenile - impressions.</p> - - <p>The tablet has stood, and I am an enthusiast for God’s works as He left - them.</p> - - <p>The sad tale of my native “valley,”<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> has been beautifully sung; and - from the flight of “Gertrude’s” soul, my young imagination closely - traced the savage to his deep retreats, and gazed upon him in dreadful - horror, until pity pleaded, and admiration worked a charm.</p> - - <p>A journey of 4000 miles from the Atlantic shore, regularly receding - from the centre of civilized society to the extreme wilderness of - Nature’s original work, and back again, opens a book for many an - interesting tale to be sketched; and the mind which lives, but to - relish the works of Nature, reaps a reward on such a tour of a much - higher order than can arise from the selfish expectations of pecuniary - emolument. Notwithstanding all that has been written and said, there - is scarcely any subject on which the <em>knowing</em> people of the - East, are yet less informed and instructed than on the character and - amusements of the West: by this I mean the “Far West;”—the country - whose fascinations spread a charm over the mind almost dangerous to - civilized pursuits. Few people even know the true definition of the - term “West;” and where is its location?—phantom-like it flies before us - as we travel, and on our way is continually gilded, before us, as we - approach the setting sun.</p> - - <p>In the commencement of my Tour, several of my travelling companions - from the city of New York, found themselves at a frightful distance - to the West, when we arrived at Niagara Falls; and hastened back to - amuse their friends with tales and scenes of the West. At Buffalo a - steam-boat was landing with 400 passengers, and twelve days out—“Where - from?” “From the West.” In the rich state of Ohio, hundreds were - selling their farms and going—to the West. In the beautiful city of - Cincinnati, people said to me, “Our town has passed the days of its - most rapid growth, it is not far enough West.”—In <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Louis, 1400 miles - west of New York, my landlady assured <span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">63</span>me that I would be pleased with - her boarders, for they were nearly all merchants from the “West.” I - there asked,—“Whence come those steam-boats, laden with pork, honey, - hides, &c.?”</p> - - <p>From the West.</p> - - <p>Whence those ponderous bars of silver, which those men have been for - hours shouldering and putting on board that boat?</p> - - <p>They come from Santa Fee, from the West.</p> - - <p>Where goes this steam-boat so richly laden with dry goods, - steam-engines, &c.?</p> - - <p>She goes to Jefferson city.</p> - - <p>Jefferson city?—Where is that?</p> - - <p>Far to the West.</p> - - <p>And where goes that boat laden down to her gunnels, the Yellow Stone?</p> - - <p>She goes still farther to the West—“Then,” said I, “I’ll go to the - West.”</p> - - <p>I went on the Yellow Stone— <span class="gesperrtstar">* * * *</span></p> - - <p><span class="gesperrtstar">* * *</span> Two thousand miles on her, and we were at the mouth of Yellow - Stone river—at the West. What! invoices, bills of lading, &c., a - wholesale establishment so far to the West! And those strange looking, - long-haired gentlemen, who have just arrived, and are relating the - adventures of their long and tedious journey. Who are they?</p> - - <p>Oh! they are some of our merchants just arrived from the West.</p> - - <p>And that keel-boat, that Mackinaw-boat, and that formidable caravan, - all of which are richly laden with goods.</p> - - <p>These, Sir, are outfits starting for the <em>West</em>.</p> - - <p>Going to the <em>West</em>, ha? “Then” said I, “I’ll try it again. I will - try and see if I can go to the West.”</p> - - <p><span class="gesperrtstar">* * *</span> What, a Fort here, too?</p> - - <p>Oui, Monsieur—oui, Monsieur (as a dauntless, and - <em>semibarbarian</em>-looking, jolly fellow, dashed forth in advance of - his party on his wild horse to meet me.)</p> - - <p>What distance are you west of Yellow Stone here, my good fellow?</p> - - <p>Comment?</p> - - <p>What distance?—(stop)—quel distance?</p> - - <p>Pardón, Monsieur, je ne sais pas, Monsieur.</p> - - <p>Ne parlez vous l’Anglais?</p> - - <p>Non, Monsr. I speaks de French and de Americaine; mais je ne parle pas - l’Anglais.</p> - - <p>“Well then, my good fellow, I will speak English, and you may speak - Americaine.”</p> - - <p>Pardón, pardón, Monsieur.</p> - - <p>Well, then we will both speak Americaine.</p> - - <p>Val, sare, je suis bien content, pour for I see dat you speaks putty - coot Americaine.</p> - - <p>What may I call your name?</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">64</span></p> - - <p>Ba’tiste, Monsieur.</p> - - <p>What Indians are those so splendidly dressed, and with such fine - horses, encamped on the plain yonder?</p> - - <p>Ils sont Corbeaux.</p> - - <p>Crows, ha?</p> - - <p>Yes, sare, Monsieur.</p> - - <p>We are then in the Crow country?</p> - - <p>Non, Monsieur, not putty éxact; we are in de coontrae of de dam Pieds - noirs.</p> - - <p>Blackfeet, ha?</p> - - <p>Oui.</p> - - <p>What blue mountain is that which we see in the distance yonder?</p> - - <p>Ha, quel Montaigne? cela est la Montaigne du (pardón).</p> - - <p>Du Rochers, I suppose?</p> - - <p>Oui, Monsieur, de Rock Montaigne.</p> - - <p>You live here, I suppose?</p> - - <p>Non, Monsieur, I comes fair from de West.</p> - - <p>What, from the West! Where under the heavens is that?</p> - - <p>Wat, diable! de West? well you shall see, Monsieur, he is putty fair - off, súppose. Monsieur Pierre Chouteau can give you de histoire de ma - vie—il bien sait que je prends les castors, very fair in de West.</p> - - <p>You carry goods, I suppose, to trade with the Snake Indians beyond the - mountains, and trap beaver also?</p> - - <p>Oui, Monsieur.</p> - - <p>Do you see anything of the “Flat-heads” in your country?</p> - - <p>Non, Monsieur, ils demeurent very, <em>very</em> fair to de West.</p> - - <p>Well, Ba’tiste, I’ll lay my course back again for the present, and at - some future period, endeavour to go to the “West.” But you say you - trade with the Indians and trap beavers; you are in the employment of - the American Fur Company, I suppose?</p> - - <p>Non, Monsieur, not quite éxact; mais, súppose, I am “<em>free - trappare</em>,” free, Monsr. free.</p> - - <p>Free trapper, what’s that? I don’t understand you, Ba’tiste.</p> - - <p>Well, Monsr. súppose he is easy pour understand—you shall know all. - In de first place, I am enlist for tree year in de Fur Comp in <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> - Louis—for bounté—pour bounté, eighty dollare (understand, ha?) den I - am go for wages, et I ave come de Missouri up, et I am trap castors - putty much for six years, you see, until I am learn very much; and den - you see, Monsr. M‘Kenzie is give me tree horse—one pour ride, et two - pour pack (mais he is not buy, him not give, he is lend), and he is - lend twelve trap; and I ave make start into de Rocky Montaigne, et I am - live all álone on de leet rivares pour prendre les castors. Sometime - six months—sometime five month, and I come back to Yel Stone, et Monsr. - M‘Kenzie is give me coot price pour all.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">65</span></p> - - <p>So Mr. M‘Kenzie fits you out, and takes your beaver of you at a certain - price?</p> - - <p>Oui, Monsr. oui.</p> - - <p>What price does he pay you for your beaver, Ba’tiste?</p> - - <p>Ha! súppose one dollare pour one beavare.</p> - - <p>A dollar per skin, ah?</p> - - <p>Oui.</p> - - <p>Well, you must live a lonesome and hazardous sort of life; can you make - anything by it?</p> - - <p>Oh! oui, Monsr. putty coot, mais if it is not pour for de dam rascalité - Riccaree, et de dam Pieds noirs, de Blackfoot Ingin, I am make very - much monnair, mais (sacré), I am rob—rob—rob too much!</p> - - <p>What, do the Blackfeet rob you of your furs?</p> - - <p>Oui, Monsr. rob, súppose, five time! I am been free trappare seven - year, et I am rob five time—I am someting left not at all—he is take - all; he is take all de horse—he is take my gun—he is take all my - clothes—he is takee de castors—et I am come back with foot. So in - de Fort, some cloths is cost putty much monnair, et some whiskey is - give sixteen dollares pour gall; so you see I am owe de Fur Comp 600 - dollare, by Gar!</p> - - <p>Well, Ba’tiste, this then is what you call being a free trapper is it?</p> - - <p>Oui, Monsr. “free trappare,” free!</p> - - <p>You seem to be going down towards the Yellow Stone, and probably have - been out on a trapping excursion.</p> - - <p>Oui, Monsr. c’est vrai.</p> - - <p>Have you been robbed this time, Ba’tiste?</p> - - <p>Oui, Monsr. by de dam Pieds noirs—I am loose much; I am loose all—very - all——eh bien——pour le dernier—c’est le dernier fois, Monsr. I am go to - Yel Stone—I am go le Missouri down, I am go to <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Louis.</p> - - <p>Well, Ba’tiste, I am to figure about in this part of the world a few - weeks longer, and then I shall descend the Missouri from the mouth of - Yellow Stone, to <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Louis; and I should like exceedingly to employ - just such a man as you are as a voyageur with me—I will give you good - wages, and pay all your expenses; what say you?</p> - - <p>Avec tout mon cour, Monsr. remercie, remercie.</p> - - <p>It’s a bargain then, Ba’tiste; I will see you at the mouth of Yellow - Stone.</p> - - <p>Oui, Monsr. in de Yel Stone, bon soir, bon soir, Monsr.</p> - - <p>But stop, Ba’tiste, you told me those were Crows encamped yonder.</p> - - <p>Oui, Monsieur, oui, des Corbeaux.</p> - - <p>And I suppose you are their interpreter?</p> - - <p>Non, Monsieur.</p> - - <p>But you speak the Crow language?</p> - - <p>Ouis, Monsieur.</p> - - <p>Well then, turn about; I am going to pay them a visit, and you can - render me a service.—Bien, Monsieur, allons.</p> - - <div class="footnotes"> - <div class="footnote"> - <a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">[2]</a> Wyöming. - </div> - </div> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">66</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_10">LETTER—<abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 10.</h2> - </div> - <div class="subheadc">MANDAN VILLAGE, <i>UPPER MISSOURI</i>.</div> - - <p><span class="smcap">Soon</span> after the writing of my last Letter, which was dated at the Mouth - of Yellow Stone, I embarked on the river for this place, where I landed - safely; and have resided for a couple of weeks, a guest in this almost - subterraneous city—the strangest place in the world; where one sees - in the most rapid succession, scenes which force him to mirth—to pity - and compassion—to admiration—disgust; to fear and astonishment. But - before I proceed to reveal them, I must give you a brief sketch of my - voyage down the river from the Mouth of the Yellow Stone river to this - place, a distance of 200 miles; and which my little note-book says, was - performed somewhat in the following manner:</p> - - <p>When I had completed my rambles and my sketches in those regions, and - Ba’tiste and Bogard had taken their last spree, and fought their last - battles, and forgotten them in the final and affectionate embrace and - farewell (all of which are habitual with these game-fellows, when - settling up their long-standing accounts with their fellow-trappers - of the mountain streams); and after Mr. M‘Kenzie had procured for me - a snug little craft, that was to waft us down the mighty torrent; we - launched off one fine morning, taking our leave of the Fort, and the - friends within it; and also, for ever, of the beautiful green fields, - and hills, and dales, and prairie bluffs, that encompass the enchanting - shores of the Yellow Stone.</p> - - <p>Our canoe, which was made of green timber, was heavy and awkward; but - our course being with the current, promised us a fair and successful - voyage. Ammunition was laid in in abundance—a good stock of dried - buffalo tongues—a dozen or two of beavers’ tails—and a good supply of - pemican. Bogard and Ba’tiste occupied the middle and bow, with their - paddles in their hands; and I took my seat in the stern of the boat, - at the steering oar. Our larder was as I have said; and added to that, - some few pounds of fresh buffalo meat.</p> - - <p>Besides which, and ourselves, our little craft carried several - packs of Indian dresses and other articles, which I had purchased - of the Indians; and also my canvass and easel, and our culinary - articles, which were few and simple;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">67</span> consisting of three tin cups, a - coffee-pot—one plate—a frying-pan—and a tin kettle.</p> - - <p>Thus fitted out and embarked, we swept off at a rapid rate under the - shouts of the savages, and the cheers of our friends, who lined the - banks as we gradually lost sight of them, and turned our eyes towards - <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Louis, which was 2000 miles below us, with nought intervening, save - the widespread and wild regions, inhabited by the roaming savage.</p> - - <p>At the end of our first day’s journey, we found ourselves handily - encamping with several thousand Assinneboins, who had pitched their - tents upon the bank of the river, and received us with every mark of - esteem and friendship.</p> - - <p>In the midst of this group, was my friend Wi-jun-jon (the pigeon’s - egg head), still lecturing on the manners and customs of the “pale - faces.” Continuing to relate without any appearance of exhaustion, the - marvellous scenes which he had witnessed amongst the white people, on - his tour to Washington City.</p> - - <p>Many were the gazers who seemed to be the whole time crowding around - him, to hear his recitals; and the plight which he was in rendered his - appearance quite ridiculous. His beautiful military dress, of which I - before spoke, had been so shockingly tattered and metamorphosed, that - his appearance was truly laughable.</p> - - <p>His keg of whiskey had dealt out to his friends all its charms—his - frock-coat, which his wife had thought was of no earthly use below - the waist, had been cut off at that place, and the nether half of it - supplied her with a beautiful pair of leggings; and his silver-laced - hat-band had been converted into a splendid pair of garters for the - same. His umbrella the poor fellow still affectionately held on to, - and kept spread at all times. As I before said, his theme seemed to - be exhaustless, and he, in the estimation of his tribe, to be an - unexampled liar.</p> - - <p>Of the village of Assinneboins we took leave on the following morning, - and rapidly made our way down the river. The rate of the current - being four or five miles per hour, through one continued series of - picturesque grass-covered bluffs and knolls, which everywhere had the - appearance of an old and highly-cultivated country, with houses and - fences removed.</p> - - <p>There is, much of the way, on one side or the other, a bold and abrupt - precipice of three or four hundred feet in elevation, presenting itself - in an exceedingly rough and picturesque form, to the shore of the - river; sloping down from the summit level of the prairies above, which - sweep off from the brink of the precipice, almost level, to an unknown - distance.</p> - - <p>It is along the rugged and wild fronts of these cliffs, whose sides are - generally formed of hard clay, that the mountain-sheep dwell, and are - often discovered in great numbers. Their habits are much like those - of the goat; and in every respect they are like that animal, except - in the horns, which resemble those of the ram; sometimes making two - entire circles in their<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">68</span> coil; and at the roots, each horn is, in some - instances, from five to six inches in breadth.</p> - - <p>On the second day of our voyage we discovered a number of these - animals skipping along the sides of the precipice, always keeping - about equi-distant between the top and bottom of the ledge; leaping - and vaulting in the most extraordinary manner from point to point, and - seeming to cling actually, to the sides of the wall, where neither man - nor beast could possibly follow them.</p> - - <p>We landed our canoe, and endeavoured to shoot one of these sagacious - animals; and after he had led us a long and fruitless chase, amongst - the cliffs, we thought we had fairly entrapped him in such a way as to - be sure to bring him, at last, within the command of our rifles; when - he suddenly bounded from his narrow foot-hold in the ledge, and tumbled - down a distance of more than a hundred feet, amongst the fragments of - rocks and clay, where I thought we must certainly find his carcass - without further trouble; when, to my great surprise, I saw him bounding - off, and he was almost instantly out of my sight.</p> - - <p>Bogard, who was an old hunter, and well acquainted with these - creatures, shouldered his rifle, and said to me—“the game is up; and - you now see the use of those big horns; when they fall by accident, or - find it necessary to quit their foot-hold in the crevice, they fall - upon their head at a great distance unharmed, even though it should be - on the solid rock.”</p> - - <p>Being on shore, and our canoe landed secure, we whiled away the greater - part of this day amongst the wild and ragged cliffs, into which we had - entered; and a part of our labours were vainly spent in the pursuit - of a war-eagle. This noble bird is the one which the Indians in these - regions, value so highly for their tail feathers, which are used as - the most valued plumes for decorating the heads and dresses of their - warriors. It is a beautiful bird, and, the Indians tell me, conquers - all other varieties of eagles in the country; from which circumstance, - the Indians respect the bird, and hold it in the highest esteem, and - value its quills. I am unable so say to what variety it belongs; but - I am sure it is not to be seen in any of our museums; nor is it to be - found in America (I think), until one gets near to the base of the - Rocky Mountains. This bird has often been called the calumet eagle and - war-eagle; the last of which appellations I have already accounted - for; and the other has arisen from the fact, that the Indians almost - invariably ornament their calumets or pipes of peace with its quills.</p> - - <p>Our day’s loitering brought us through many a wild scene; occasionally - across the tracks of the grizzly bear, and, in sight merely of a band - of buffaloes; “which got the wind of us,” and were out of the way, - leaving us to return to our canoe at night, with a mere speck of good - luck. Just before we reached the river, I heard the crack of a rifle, - and in a few moments Bogard came in sight, and threw down from his - shoulders a fine antelope; which added to our larder, and we were - ready to proceed. We embarked<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">69</span> and travelled until nightfall, when - we encamped on a beautiful little prairie at the base of a series of - grass-covered bluffs; and the next morning cooked our breakfast and - ate it, and rowed on until late in the afternoon; when we stopped at - the base of some huge clay bluffs, forming one of the most curious - and romantic scenes imaginable. At this spot the river expands itself - into the appearance somewhat of a beautiful lake; and in the midst of - it, and on and about its sand-bars, floated and stood, hundreds and - thousands of white swans and pelicans.</p> - - <p>Though the scene in front of our encampment at this place was placid - and beautiful; with its flowing water—its wild fowl—and its almost - endless variety of gracefully sloping hills and green prairies in the - distance; yet it was not less wild and picturesque in our rear, where - the rugged and various coloured bluffs were grouped in all the wildest - fancies and rudeness of Nature’s accidental varieties.</p> - - <p>The whole country behind us seemed to have been dug and thrown up into - huge piles, as if some giant mason had been there mixing his mortar - and paints, and throwing together his rude models for some sublime - structure of a colossal city;—with its walls—its domes—its ramparts—its - huge porticos and galleries—its castles—its fosses and ditches;—and in - the midst of his progress, he had abandoned his works to the destroying - hand of time, which had already done much to tumble them down, and - deface their noble structure; by jostling them together, with all their - vivid colours, into an unsystematic and unintelligible mass of sublime - ruins.</p> - - <p>To this group of clay bluffs, which line the river for many miles in - distance, the voyageurs have very appropriately given the name of “the - Brick-kilns;” owing to their red appearance, which may be discovered in - a clear day at the distance of many leagues.</p> - - <p>By the action of water, or other power, the country seems to have been - graded away; leaving occasionally a solitary mound or bluff, rising in - a conical form to the height of two or three hundred feet, generally - pointed or rounded at the top, and in some places grouped together - in great numbers; some of which having a tabular surface on the top, - and covered with a green turf. This fact (as all of those which are - horizontal on their tops, and corresponding exactly with the summit - level of the wide-spreading prairies in distance) clearly shows, that - their present isolated and rounded forms have been produced by the - action of waters: which have carried away the intervening earth, and - left them in the picturesque shapes in which they are now seen.</p> - - <p>A similar formation (or <em>de</em>formation) may be seen in hundreds of - places on the shores of the Missouri river, and the actual progress - of the operation by which it is produced; leaving yet for the - singularity of this place, the peculiar feature, that nowhere else - (to my knowledge) occurs; that the superstratum, forming the tops of - these mounds (where they remain high enough to support anything of - the original surface) is composed, for the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">70</span> depth of fifteen feet, of - red pumice; terminating at its bottom, in a layer of several feet of - sedimentary deposite, which is formed into endless conglomerates of - basaltic crystals.</p> - - <p>This strange feature in the country arrests the eye of a traveller - suddenly, and as instantly brings him to the conclusion, that he stands - in the midst of the ruins of an extinguished volcano.</p> - - <p>As will be seen in the drawings (<a href="#i_037"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 37</a>, a near view, - and <a href="#i_038"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 38</a>, a distant view), the sides of these conical - bluffs (which are composed of strata of different coloured clays), are - continually washing down by the effect of the rains and melting of the - frost; and the superincumbent masses of pumice and basalt are crumbling - off, and falling down to their bases; and from thence, in vast - quantities, by the force of the gorges of water which are often cutting - their channels between them—carried into the river, which is close by; - and wafted for thousands of miles, floating as light as a cork upon its - surface, and lodging in every pile of drift-wood from this place to the - ocean.</p> - - <p>The upper part of this layer of pumice is of a brilliant red; and when - the sun is shining upon it, is as bright and vivid as vermilion. It is - porous and open, and its specific gravity but trifling. These curious - bluffs must be seen as they are in nature; or else in a painting, where - their colours are faithfully given, or they lose their picturesque - beauty, which consists in the variety of their vivid tints. The strata - of clay are alternating from red to yellow—white—brown and dark blue; - and so curiously arranged, as to form the most pleasing and singular - effects.</p> - - <p>During the day that I loitered about this strange scene, I left my - men stretched upon the grass, by the canoe; and taking my rifle and - sketch-book in my hand, I wandered and clambered through the rugged - defiles between the bluffs; passing over and under the immense blocks - of the pumice, that had fallen to their bases; determined, if possible, - to find the crater, or source, from whence these strange phenomena - had sprung; but after clambering and squeezing about for some time, - I unfortunately came upon the enormous tracks of a grizzly bear, - which, apparently, was travelling in the same direction (probably for - a very different purpose) but a few moments before me; and my ardour - for exploring was instantly so cooled down, that I hastily retraced - my steps, and was satisfied with making my drawings, and collecting - specimens of the lava and other minerals in its vicinity.</p> - - <p>After strolling about during the day, and contemplating the beauty of - the scenes that were around me, while I sat upon the pinnacles of these - pumice-capped mounds; most of which time, Bogard and Ba’tiste laid - enjoying the pleasure of a “mountaineer’s nap”—we met together—took - our coffee and dried buffalo tongues—spread our buffalo robes upon the - grass, and enjoyed during the night the luxury of sleep, that belongs - so peculiarly to the tired voyageur in these realms of pure air and - dead silence.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>21</i></div> - <figure id="i_037"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_037.jpg" alt="Conical bluffs"> - <figcaption>37</figcaption> - </figure> - - <figure class="mt2" id="i_038"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_038.jpg" alt="Conical bluffs"> - <figcaption>38</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">71</span></p> - - <p>In the morning, and before sunrise, as usual, Bogard (who was a Yankee, - and a “wide-awake-fellow,” just retiring from a ten years’ siege of - hunting and trapping in the Rocky Mountains,) thrust his head out from - under the robe, rubbing his eyes open, and exclaiming as he grasped - for his gun, “By darn, look at old Cale! will you!” Ba’tiste, who was - more fond of his dreams, snored away, muttering something that I could - not understand, when Bogard seized him with a grip, that instantly - shook off his iron slumbers. I rose at the same time, and all eyes were - turned at once upon <em>Caleb</em> (as the grizzly bear is familiarly - called by the trappers in the Rocky Mountains—or more often “Cale,” - for brevity’s sake), who was sitting up in the dignity and fury of her - sex, within a few rods, and gazing upon us, with her two little cubs - at her side! here was a “<em>fix</em>,” and a subject for the painter; - but I had no time to sketch it—I turned my eyes to the canoe which had - been fastened at the shore a few paces from us; and saw that everything - had been pawed out of it, and all eatables had been without ceremony - devoured. My packages of dresses and Indian curiosities had been drawn - out upon the bank, and deliberately opened and inspected. Every thing - had been scraped and pawed out, to the bottom of the boat; and even - the rawhide thong, with which it was tied to a stake, had been chewed, - and no doubt swallowed, as there was no trace of it remaining. Nor was - this peep into the secrets of our luggage enough for her insatiable - curiosity—we saw by the prints of her huge paws, that were left in the - ground, that she had been perambulating our humble mattresses, smelling - at our toes and our noses, without choosing to molest us; verifying a - trite saying of the country, “That man lying down is <em>medicine</em> to - the grizzly bear;” though it is a well-known fact, that man and beast, - upon their feet, are sure to be attacked when they cross the path of - this grizzly and grim monster, which is the terror of all this country; - often growing to the enormous size of eight hundred or one thousand - pounds.</p> - - <p>Well—whilst we sat in the dilemma which I have just described, each - one was hastily preparing his weapons for defence, when I proposed the - mode of attack; by which means I was in hopes to destroy her—capture - her young ones, and bring her skin home as a trophy. My plans, however, - entirely failed, though we were well armed; for Bogard and Ba’tiste - both remonstrated with a vehemence that was irresistible; saying that - the standing rule in the mountains was “never to fight Caleb, except - in self-defence.” I was almost induced, however, to attack her alone, - with my rifle in hand, and a pair of heavy pistols; with a tomahawk - and scalping-knife in my belt; when Ba’tiste suddenly thrust his arm - over my shoulder and pointing in another direction, exclaimed in an - emphatic tone, “Voila! voila un corps de reserve—Monsr. Cataline—voila - sa mari! allons—allons! déscendons la riviére, toute de suite! toute - de suite! Monsr.” to which Bogard added, “these darned animals are too - much for us, and we had better be off;” at which my courage cooled, and - we packed up and re-embarked as fast as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">72</span> possible; giving each one of - them the contents of our rifles as we drifted off in the current; which - brought the she-monster, in all her rage and fury, to the spot where - we, a few moments before, had passed our most prudent resolve.</p> - - <p>During the rest of this day, we passed on rapidly, gazing upon and - admiring the beautiful shores, which were continually changing, from - the high and ragged cliffs, to the graceful and green slopes of the - prairie bluffs; and then to the wide expanded meadows, with their long - waving grass, enamelled with myriads of wild flowers.</p> - - <p>The scene was one of enchantment the whole way; our chief conversation - was about grizzly bears and hair’s-breadth escapes; of the histories - of which my companions had volumes in store.—Our breakfast was a late - one—cooked and eaten about five in the afternoon; at which time our - demolished larder was luckily replenished by the unerring rifle of - Bogard, which brought down a fine antelope, as it was innocently gazing - at us, from the bank of the river. We landed our boat, and took in - our prize; but there being no wood for our fire, we shoved off, and - soon ran upon the head of an island, that was covered with immense - quantities of raft and drift wood, where we easily kindled a huge fire - and ate our delicious meal from a clean peeled log, astride of which - we comfortably sat, making it answer admirably the double purpose of - chairs and a table. After our meal was finished, we plied the paddles, - and proceeded several miles further on our course; leaving our fire - burning, and dragging our canoe upon the shore, in the dark, in a wild - and unknown spot; and silently spreading our robes for our slumbers, - which it is not generally considered prudent to do by the side of our - fires, which might lead a war-party upon us, who often are prowling - about and seeking an advantage over their enemy.</p> - - <p>The scenery of this day’s travel, as I have before said, was - exceedingly beautiful; and our canoe was often run to the shore, - upon which we stepped to admire the endless variety of wild flowers, - “wasting their sweetness on the desert air,” and the abundance of - delicious fruits that were about us. Whilst wandering through the high - grass, the wild sun-flowers and voluptuous lilies were constantly - taunting us by striking our faces; whilst here and there, in every - direction, there were little copses and clusters of plum trees and - gooseberries, and wild currants, loaded down with their fruit; and - amongst these, to sweeten the atmosphere and add a charm to the - effect, the wild rose bushes seemed planted in beds and in hedges, and - everywhere were decked out in all the glory of their delicate tints, - and shedding sweet aroma to every breath of the air that passed over - them.</p> - - <p>In addition to these, we had the luxury of service-berries, without - stint; and the buffalo bushes, which are peculiar to these northern - regions, lined the banks of the river and defiles in the bluffs, - sometimes for miles together; forming almost impassable hedges, - so loaded with the weight of their fruit, that their boughs were - everywhere gracefully bending down and resting on the ground.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">73</span></p> - - <p>This last shrub (<i>shepperdia</i>), which may be said to be the most - beautiful ornament that decks out the wild prairies, forms a striking - contrast to the rest of the foliage, from the blue appearance of its - leaves, by which it can be distinguished for miles in distance. The - fruit which it produces in such incredible profusion, hanging in - clusters to every limb and to every twig, is about the size of ordinary - currants, and not unlike them in colour and even in flavour; being - exceedingly acid, and almost unpalatable, until they are bitten by the - frost of autumn, when they are sweetened, and their flavour delicious; - having, to the taste, much the character of grapes, and I am inclined - to think, would produce excellent wine.</p> - - <p>The shrub which bears them resembles some varieties of the thorn, - though (as I have said) differs entirely in the colour of its leaves. - It generally grows to the height of six or seven feet, and often to - ten or twelve; and in groves or hedges, in some places, for miles in - extent. While gathering the fruit, and contemplating it as capable of - producing good wine, I asked my men this question, “Suppose we three - had ascended the river to this point in the spring of the year, and in - a timbered bottom had pitched our little encampment; and one of you two - had been a boat-builder, and the other a cooper—the one to have got out - your staves and constructed the wine casks, and the other to have built - a mackinaw-boat, capable of carrying fifty or a hundred casks; and I - had been a good hunter, capable of supplying the little encampment with - meat; and we should have started off about this time, to float down - the current, stopping our boat wherever we saw the finest groves of - the buffalo bush, collecting the berries and expressing the juice, and - putting it into our casks for fermentation while on the water for two - thousand miles; how many bushels of these berries could you two gather - in a day, provided I watched the boat and cooked your meals? and how - many barrels of good wine do you think we could offer for sale in <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> - Louis when we should arrive there?”</p> - - <p>This idea startled my two men exceedingly, and Ba’tiste gabbled so - fast in French, that I could not translate; and I am almost willing - to believe, that but for the want of the requisite tools for the - enterprize, I should have lost the company of Bogard and Ba’tiste; - or that I should have been under the necessity of submitting to one - of the unpleasant alternatives which are often regulated by the - <em>majority</em>, in this strange and singular wilderness.</p> - - <p>I at length, however, got their opinions on the subject; when they - mutually agreed that they could gather thirty bushels of this fruit - per day; and I gave it then, and I offer it now, as my own also, - that their estimate was not out of the way, and judged so from the - experiments which we made in the following manner:—We several times - took a large mackinaw blanket which I had in the canoe, and spreading - it on the ground under the bushes, where they were the most abundantly - loaded with fruit; and by striking the stalk of the tree with a club, - we received the whole contents of its branches in an instant on the - blanket, which was taken up by the corners, and not unfrequently<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">74</span> would - produce us, from one blow, the eighth part of a bushel of this fruit; - when the boughs relieved of their burden, instantly flew up to their - native position.</p> - - <p>Of this beautiful native, which I think would form one of the loveliest - ornamental shrubs for a gentleman’s park or pleasure grounds, I - procured a number of the roots; but which, from the many accidents and - incidents that our unlucky bark was subjected to on our rough passage, - I lost them (and almost the recollection of them) as well as many other - curiosities I had collected on our way down the river.</p> - - <p>On the morning of the next day, and not long after we had stopped and - taken our breakfast, and while our canoe was swiftly gliding along - under the shore of a beautiful prairie, I saw in the grass, on the - bank above me, what I supposed to be the back of a fine elk, busy at - his grazing. I let our craft float silently by for a little distance, - when I communicated the intelligence to my men, and slily ran in, to - the shore. I pricked the priming of my firelock, and taking a bullet - or two in my mouth, stepped ashore, and trailing my rifle in my hand, - went back under the bank, carefully crawling up in a little ravine, - quite sure of my game; when, to my utter surprise and violent alarm, - I found the elk to be no more nor less than an Indian pony, getting - his breakfast! and a little beyond him, a number of others grazing; - and nearer to me, on the left, a war-party reclining around a little - fire; and yet nearer, and within twenty paces of the muzzle of my gun, - the naked shoulders if a brawny Indian, who seemed busily engaged in - cleaning his gun. From this critical dilemma, the reader can easily - imagine that I vanished with all the suddenness and secrecy that was - possible, bending my course towards my canoe. Bogard and Ba’tiste - correctly construing the expression of my face, and the agitation of - my hurried retreat, prematurely unmoored from the shore; and the force - of the current carrying them around a huge pile of drift wood, threw - me back for some distance upon my own resources; though they finally - got in, near the shore, and I into the boat, with the steering oar in - my hand; when we plied our sinews with effect and in silence, till we - were wafted far from the ground which we deemed critical and dangerous - to our lives; for we had been daily in dread of meeting a war-party of - the revengeful Riccarees, which we had been told was on the river, in - search of the Mandans. From and after this exciting occurrence, the - entries in my journal for the rest of the voyage to the village of the - Mandans, were as follow:—</p> - - <p>Saturday, fifth day of our voyage from the mouth of Yellow Stone, at - eleven o’clock.—Landed our canoe in the Grand Détour (or Big Bend) as - it is called, at the base of a stately clay mound, and ascended, all - hands, to the summit level, to take a glance at the picturesque and - magnificent works of Nature that were about us. Spent the remainder - of the day in painting a view of this grand scene; for which purpose - Ba’tiste and Bogard carried my easel and canvass to the top of a - huge mound, where they left me at my<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">75</span> work; and I painted my picture - (<a href="#i_039"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 39</a>), whilst they amused themselves with their rifles, - decoying a flock of antelopes, of which they killed several, and - abundantly added to the stock of our provisions.</p> - - <p>Scarcely anything in nature can be found, I am sure, more exceedingly - picturesque than the view from this place; exhibiting the wonderful - manner in which the gorges of the river have cut out its deep channel - through these walls of clay on either side, of two or three hundred - feet in elevation; and the imposing features of the high table-lands in - distance, standing as a perpetual anomaly in the country, and producing - the indisputable, though astounding evidence of the fact, that there - has been at some ancient period, a <em>super</em> surface to this - country, corresponding with the elevation of these tabular hills, whose - surface, for half a mile or more, on their tops, is perfectly level; - being covered with a green turf, and yet one hundred and fifty or two - hundred feet elevated above what may now be properly termed the summit - level of all this section of country; as will be seen stretching off at - their base, without furnishing other instances in hundreds of miles, - of anything rising one foot above its surface, excepting the solitary - group which is shewn in the painting.</p> - - <p>The fact, that <em>there</em> was once the summit level of this great - valley, is a stubborn one, however difficult it may be to reconcile - it with reasonable causes and results; and the mind of feeble man is - at once almost paralyzed in endeavouring to comprehend the process - by which the adjacent country, from this to the base of the Rocky - Mountains, as well as in other directions, could have been swept away; - and equally so, for knowledge of the place where its mighty deposits - have been carried.</p> - - <p>I recollect to have seen on my way up the river, at the distance of - six or eight hundred miles below, a place called “the Square Hills,” - and another denominated “the Bijou Hills;” which are the only features - on the river, seeming to correspond with this strange <em>remain</em>, - and which, on my way down, I shall carefully examine; and not fail to - add their testimonies (if I am not mistaken in their character) to - further speculations on this interesting feature of the geology of the - great valley of the Missouri. Whilst my men were yet engaged in their - sporting excursions, I left my easel and travelled to the base and - summit of these tabular hills; which, to my great surprise, I found to - be several miles from the river, and a severe journey to accomplish - getting back to our encampment at nightfall. I found by their sides - that they were evidently of an alluvial deposite, composed of a great - variety of horizontal layers of clays of different colours—of granitic - sand and pebbles (many of which furnished me beautiful specimens of - agate, jasper and carnelians), and here and there large fragments of - pumice and cinders, which gave, as instances above-mentioned, evidences - of volcanic remains.</p> - - <p>The mode by which Bogard and Ba’tiste had been entrapping the timid - and sagacious antelopes was one which is frequently and successfully - practised in this country; and on this day had afforded them fine - sport.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">76</span></p> - - <p>The antelope of this country, I believe to be different from all - other known varieties, and forms one of the most pleasing, living - ornaments to this western world. They are seen in some places in great - numbers sporting and playing about the hills and dales; and often, in - flocks of fifty or a hundred, will follow the boat of the descending - voyageur, or the travelling caravan, for hours together; keeping off - at a safe distance, on the right or left, galloping up and down the - hills, snuffing their noses and stamping their feet; as if they were - endeavouring to remind the traveller of the wicked trespass he was - making on their own hallowed ground.</p> - - <p>This little animal seems to be endowed, like many other gentle and - sweet-breathing creatures, with an undue share of curiosity, which - often leads them to destruction; and the hunter who wishes to entrap - them, saves himself the trouble of travelling after them. When he has - been discovered, he has only to elevate above the tops of the grass, - his red or yellow handkerchief on the end of his gun-rod (<a href="#i_040"><span class="smcap">plate</span> - 40</a>), which he sticks in the ground, and to which they are sure to - advance, though with great coyness and caution; whilst he lies close, - at a little distance, with his rifle in hand; when it is quite an easy - matter to make sure of two or three at a shot, which he gets in range - of his eye, to be pierced with one bullet.</p> - - <p>On Sunday, departed from our encampment in the Grand Détour; and having - passed for many miles, through a series of winding and ever-varying - bluffs and fancied ruins, like such as have already been described, - our attention was more than usually excited by the stupendous scene - (<a href="#i_041"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 41</a>), called by the voyageurs “the Grand Dome,” which - was lying in full view before us.</p> - - <p>Our canoe was here hauled ashore, and a day whiled away again, amongst - these clay built ruins.</p> - - <p>We clambered to their summits and enjoyed the distant view of the - Missouri for many miles below, wending its way through the countless - groups of clay and grass-covered hills; and we wandered back on the - plains, in a toilsome and unsuccessful pursuit of a herd of buffaloes, - which we discovered at some distance. Though we were disappointed - in the results of the chase; yet we were in a measure repaid in - amusements, which we found in paying a visit to an extensive village of - prairie dogs, and of which I should render some account.</p> - - <p>I have subjoined a sketch (<a href="#i_042"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 42</a>) of one of these - <i>sub-terra</i> communities; though it was taken in a former - excursion, when my party was on horseback, and near the mouth of the - Yellow Stone River; yet it answers for this place as well as any other, - for their habits are one and the same wherever they are found; their - houses or burrows are all alike, and as their location is uniformly on - a level and desolate prairie, without timber, there is little room for - variety or dissimilarity.</p> - - <p>The prairie dog of the American Prairies is undoubtedly a variety - of the marmot; and probably not unlike those which inhabit the vast - Steppes of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">77</span> Asia. It bears no resemblance to any variety of dogs, - except in the sound of its voice, when excited by the approach of - danger, which is something like that of a very small dog, and still - much more resembling the barking of a grey squirrel.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>22</i></div> - <figure id="i_039"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_039.jpg" alt="The Grand Détour"> - <figcaption>39</figcaption> - </figure> - - <figure class="mt2" id="i_040"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_040.jpg" alt="Shooting antelope"> - <figcaption>40</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>The size of these curious little animals is not far from that of a - very large rat, and they are not unlike in their appearance. As I have - said, their burrows, are uniformly built in a lonely desert; and away, - both from the proximity of timber and water. Each individual, or each - family, dig their hole in the prairie to the depth of eight or ten - feet, throwing up the dirt from each excavation, in a little pile, in - the form of a cone, which forms the only elevation for them to ascend; - where they sit, to bark and chatter when an enemy is approaching their - village. These villages are sometimes of several miles in extent; - containing (I would almost say) myriads of their excavations and little - dirt hillocks, and to the ears of their visitors, the din of their - barkings is too confused and too peculiar to be described.</p> - - <p>In the present instance, we made many endeavours to shoot them, but - finding our efforts to be entirely in vain. As we were approaching them - at a distance, each one seemed to be perched up, on his hind feet, - on his appropriate domicil, with a significant jerk of his tail at - every bark, positively disputing our right of approach. I made several - attempts to get near enough to “draw a bead” upon one of them; and - just before I was ready to fire (and as if they knew the utmost limits - of their safety), they sprang down into their holes, and instantly - turning their bodies, shewed their ears and the ends of their noses, as - they were peeping out at me; which position they would hold, until the - shortness of the distance subjected their scalps to danger again, from - the aim of a rifle; when they instantly disappeared from our sight, - and all was silence thereafter, about their premises, as I passed them - over; until I had so far advanced by them, that their ears were again - discovered, and at length themselves, at full length, perched on the - tops of their little hillocks and threatening as before; thus gradually - sinking and rising like a wave before and behind me.</p> - - <p>The holes leading down to their burrows, are four or five inches in - diameter, and run down nearly perpendicular; where they undoubtedly - communicate into something like a subterraneous city (as I have - formerly learned from fruitless endeavours to dig them out), undermined - and vaulted; by which means, they can travel for a great distance under - the ground, without danger from pursuit.</p> - - <p>Their food is simply the grass in the immediate vicinity of their - burrows, which is cut close to the ground by their flat, shovel teeth; - and, as they sometimes live twenty miles from any water, it is to be - supposed that they get moisture enough from the dew on the grass, on - which they feed chiefly at night; or that (as is generally supposed) - they sink wells from their under-ground habitations, by which they - descend low enough to get their supply. In the winter, they are for - several months invisible; existing, undoubtedly,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">78</span> in a torpid state, - as they certainly lay by no food for that season—nor can they procure - any. These curious little animals belong to almost every latitude in - the vast plains of prairie in North America; and their villages, which - I have sometimes encountered in my travels, have compelled my party to - ride several miles out of our way to get by them; for their burrows are - generally within a few feet of each other, and dangerous to the feet - and the limbs of our horses.</p> - - <p>The sketch of the bluffs denominated “the Grand Dome,” of which I spoke - but a few moments since, is a faithful delineation of the lines and - character of that wonderful scene; and the reader has here a just and - striking illustration of the ruin-like appearances, as I have formerly - described, that are so often met with on the banks of this mighty river.</p> - - <p>This is, perhaps, one of the most grand and beautiful scenes of the - kind to be met with in this country, owing to the perfect appearance - of its several huge domes, turrets, and towers, which were everywhere - as precise and as perfect in their forms as they are represented in - the illustration. These stupendous works are produced by the continual - washing down of the sides of these clay-formed hills; and although, in - many instances, their sides, by exposure, have become so hardened, that - their change is very slow; yet they are mostly subjected to continual - phases, more or less, until ultimately their decomposition ceases, - and their sides becoming seeded and covered with a green turf, which - protects and holds them (and will hold them) unalterable: with carpets - of green, and enamelled with flowers, to be gazed upon with admiration, - by the hardy voyageur and the tourist, for ages and centuries to come.</p> - - <p>On Monday, the seventh day from the mouth of the Yellow Stone River, - we floated away from this noble scene; looking back again and again - upon it, wondering at its curious and endless changes, as the swift - current of the river, hurried us by, and gradually out of sight of it. - We took a sort of melancholy leave of it—but at every bend and turn in - the stream, we were introduced to others—and others—and yet others, - almost as strange and curious. At the base of one of these, although - we had passed it, we with difficulty landed our canoe, and I ascended - to its top, with some hours’ labour; having to cut a foot-hold in the - clay with my hatchet for each step, a great part of the way up its - sides. So curious was this solitary bluff, standing alone as it did, - to the height of 250 feet (<a href="#i_043"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 43</a>), with its sides washed - down into hundreds of variegated forms—with large blocks of indurated - clay, remaining upon pedestals and columns as it were, and with such - a variety of tints; that I looked upon it as a beautiful picture, and - devoted an hour or two with my brush, in transferring it to my canvass.</p> - - <p>In the after part of this day we passed another extraordinary scene, - which is denominated “the Three Domes” (<a href="#i_044"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 44</a>), forming an - exceedingly pleasing group, though requiring no further description for - the reader, who is now sufficiently acquainted with these scenes to - understand them.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>23</i></div> - <figure id="i_041"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_041.jpg" alt="The Grand Dome,"> - <figcaption>41</figcaption> - </figure> - - <figure class="mt2" id="i_042"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_042.jpg" alt="Prairie dog village"> - <figcaption>42</figcaption> - </figure> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>24</i></div> - <figure id="i_043"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_043.jpg" alt="River bluff"> - <figcaption>43</figcaption> - </figure> - - <figure class="mt2" id="i_044"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_044.jpg" alt="The Three Domes"> - <figcaption>44</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">79</span></p> - - <p>On this day, just before night, we landed our little boat in front of - the Mandan village; and amongst the hundreds and thousands who flocked - towards the river to meet and to greet us, was Mr. Kipp, the agent of - the American Fur Company, who has charge of their Establishment at this - place. He kindly ordered my canoe to be taken care of, and my things to - be carried to his quarters, which was at once done; and I am at this - time reaping the benefits of his genuine politeness, and gathering the - pleasures of his amusing and interesting society.</p> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">80</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_11">LETTER—<abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 11.</h2> - </div> - <div class="subheadc">MANDAN VILLAGE, <i>UPPER MISSOURI</i>.</div> - - <p><span class="smcap">I said</span> that I was here in the midst of a strange people, which is - literally true; and I find myself surrounded by subjects and scenes - worthy the pens of Irving or Cooper—of the pencils of Raphael or - Hogarth; rich in legends and romances, which would require no aid of - the imagination for a book or a picture.</p> - - <p>The Mandans (or See-pohs-kah-nu-mah-kah-kee, “people of the pheasants,” - as they call themselves), are perhaps one of the most ancient tribes - of Indians in our country. Their origin, like that of all the other - tribes is from necessity, involved in mystery and obscurity. Their - traditions and peculiarities I shall casually recite in this or future - epistles; which when understood, will at once, I think, denominate - them a peculiar and distinct race. They take great pride in relating - their traditions, with regard to their origin; contending that they - were the <em>first</em> people created on earth. Their existence in these - regions has not been from a very ancient period; and, from what I could - learn of their traditions, they have, at a former period, been a very - numerous and powerful nation; but by the continual wars which have - existed between them and their neighbours, they have been reduced to - their present numbers.</p> - - <p>This tribe is at present located on the west bank of the Missouri, - about 1800 miles above <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Louis, and 200 below the Mouth of Yellow - Stone river. They have two villages only, which are about two miles - distant from each other; and number in all (as near as I can learn), - about 2000 souls. Their present villages are beautifully located, and - judiciously also, for defence against the assaults of their enemies. - The site of the lower (or principal) town, in particular (<a href="#i_045"><span class="smcap">plate</span> - 45</a>), is one of the most beautiful and pleasing that can be seen - in the world, and even more beautiful than imagination could ever - create. In the very midst of an extensive valley (embraced within a - thousand graceful swells and parapets or mounds of interminable green, - changing to blue, as they vanish in distance) is built the city, or - principal town of the Mandans. On an extensive plain (which is covered - with a green turf, as well as the hills and dales, as far as the eye - can possibly range, without tree or bush to be seen) are to be seen - rising from the ground, and towards the heavens, domes—(not “of gold,” - but) of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">81</span> dirt—and the thousand spears (not “spires”) and scalp-poles, - &c. &c., of the semi-subterraneous village of the hospitable and - gentlemanly Mandans.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>25</i></div> - <figure id="i_045"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_045.jpg" alt="Mandan town"> - <figcaption>45</figcaption> - </figure> - - <figure class="mt2" id="i_046"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_046.jpg" alt="Mandan lodge interior"> - <figcaption>46</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>These people formerly (and within the recollection of many of their - oldest men) lived fifteen or twenty miles farther down the river, in - ten contiguous villages; the marks or ruins of which are yet plainly - to be seen. At that period, it is evident, as well from the number of - lodges which their villages contained, as from their traditions, that - their numbers were much greater than at the present day.</p> - - <p>There are other, and very interesting, traditions and historical facts - relative to a still prior location and condition of these people, - of which I shall speak more fully on a future occasion. From these, - when they are promulged, I think there may be a pretty fair deduction - drawn, that they formerly occupied the lower part of the Missouri, and - even the Ohio and Muskingum, and have gradually made their way up the - Missouri to where they now are.</p> - - <p>There are many remains on the river below this place (and, in fact, - to be seen nearly as low down as <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Louis), which shew clearly the - peculiar construction of Mandan lodges, and consequently carry a strong - proof of the above position. While descending the river, however, which - I shall commence in a few weeks, in a canoe, this will be a subject of - interest; and I shall give it close examination.</p> - - <p>The ground on which the Mandan village is at present built, was - admirably selected for defence; being on a bank forty or fifty feet - above the bed of the river. The greater part of this bank is nearly - perpendicular, and of solid rock. The river, suddenly changing its - course to a right-angle, protects two sides of the village, which is - built upon this promontory or angle; they have therefore but one side - to protect, which is effectually done by a strong piquet, and a ditch - inside of it, of three or four feet in depth. The piquet is composed - of timbers of a foot or more in diameter, and eighteen feet high, set - firmly in the ground at sufficient distances from each other to admit - of guns and other missiles to be fired between them. The ditch (unlike - that of civilized modes of fortification) is inside of the piquet, in - which their warriors screen their bodies from the view and weapons of - their enemies, whilst they are reloading and discharging their weapons - through the piquets.</p> - - <p>The Mandans are undoubtedly secure in their villages, from the attacks - of any Indian nation, and have nothing to fear, except when they meet - their enemy on the prairie. Their village has a most novel appearance - to the eye of a stranger; their lodges are closely grouped together, - leaving but just room enough for walking and riding between them; and - appear from without, to be built entirely of dirt; but one is surprised - when he enters them, to see the neatness, comfort, and spacious - dimensions of these earth-covered dwellings. They all have a circular - form, and are from forty to sixty feet in diameter. Their foundations - are prepared by digging some two feet in the ground, and forming the - floor of earth, by levelling the requisite size for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">82</span> the lodge. These - floors or foundations are all perfectly circular, and varying in size - in proportion to the number of inmates, or of the quality or standing - of the families which are to occupy them. The superstructure is then - produced, by arranging, inside of this circular excavation, firmly - fixed in the ground and resting against the bank, a barrier or wall of - timbers, some eight or nine inches in diameter, of equal height (about - six feet) placed on end, and resting against each other, supported by - a formidable embankment of earth raised against them outside; then, - resting upon the tops of these timbers or piles, are others of equal - size and equal in numbers, of twenty or twenty-five feet in length, - resting firmly against each other, and sending their upper or smaller - ends towards the centre and top of the lodge; rising at an angle of - forty-five degrees to the apex or sky-light, which is about three or - four feet in diameter, answering as a chimney and a sky-light at the - same time. The roof of the lodge being thus formed, is supported by - beams passing around the inner part of the lodge about the middle of - these poles or timbers, and themselves upheld by four or five large - posts passing down to the floor of the lodge. On the top of, and over - the poles forming the roof, is placed a complete mat of willow-boughs, - of half a foot or more in thickness, which protects the timbers from - the dampness of the earth, with which the lodge is covered from bottom - to top, to the depth of two or three feet; and then with a hard or - tough clay, which is impervious to water, and which with long use - becomes quite hard, and a lounging place for the whole family in - pleasant weather—for sage—for wooing lovers—for dogs and all; an airing - place—a look-out—a place for gossip and mirth—a seat for the solitary - gaze and meditations of the stern warrior, who sits and contemplates - the peaceful mirth and happiness that is breathed beneath him, fruits - of his hard-fought battles, on fields of desperate combat with - bristling Red Men.</p> - - <p>The floors of these dwellings are of earth, but so hardened by use, and - swept so clean, and tracked by bare and moccassined feet, that they - have almost a polish, and would scarcely soil the whitest linen. In the - centre, and immediately under the sky-light (<a href="#i_046"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 46</a>) is the - fire-place—a hole of four or five feet in diameter, of a circular form, - sunk a foot or more below the surface, and curbed around with stone. - Over the fire-place, and suspended from the apex of diverging props or - poles, is generally seen the pot or kettle, filled with buffalo meat; - and around it are the family, reclining in all the most picturesque - attitudes and groups, resting on their buffalo-robes and beautiful mats - of rushes. These cabins are so spacious, that they hold from twenty - to forty persons—a family and all their connexions. They all sleep on - bedsteads similar in form to ours, but generally not quite so high; - made of round poles rudely lashed together with thongs. A buffalo skin, - fresh stripped from the animal, is stretched across the bottom poles, - and about two feet from the floor; which, when it dries, becomes much - contracted, and forms a perfect sacking-bottom. The fur side of this - skin is placed uppermost, on which they lie with great comfort, with - a buffalo-robe<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">83</span> folded up for a pillow, and others drawn over them - instead of blankets. These beds, as far as I have seen them (and I have - visited almost every lodge in the village), are uniformly screened with - a covering of buffalo or elk skins, oftentimes beautifully dressed - and placed over the upright poles or frame, like a suit of curtains; - leaving a hole in front, sufficiently spacious for the occupant to pass - in and out, to and from his or her bed. Some of these coverings or - curtains are exceedingly beautiful, being cut tastefully into fringe, - and handsomely ornamented with porcupine’s quills and picture writings - or hieroglyphics.</p> - - <p>From the great number of inmates in these lodges, they are necessarily - very spacious, and the number of beds considerable. It is no uncommon - thing to see these lodges fifty feet in diameter inside (which is an - immense room), with a row of these curtained beds extending quite - around their sides, being some ten or twelve of them, placed four or - five feet apart, and the space between them occupied by a large post, - fixed quite firm in the ground, and six or seven feet high, with - large wooden pegs or bolts in it, on which are hung and grouped, with - a wild and startling taste, the arms and armour of the respective - proprietor; consisting of his whitened shield, embossed and emblazoned - with the figure of his protecting <em>medicine</em> (or mystery), his - bow and quiver, his war-club or battle-axe, his dart or javelin—his - tobacco pouch and pipe—his medicine-bag—and his eagle—ermine or raven - head-dress; and over all, and on the top of the post (as if placed - by some conjuror or Indian magician, to guard and protect the spell - of wildness that reigns in this strange place), stands forth and in - full relief the head and horns of a buffalo, which is, by a village - regulation, owned and possessed by every man in the nation, and hung at - the head of his bed, which he uses as a mask when called upon by the - chiefs, to join in the buffalo-dance, of which I shall say more in a - future epistle.</p> - - <p>This arrangement of beds, of arms, &c., combining the most vivid - display and arrangement of colours, of furs, of trinkets—of barbed and - glistening points and steel—of mysteries and hocus pocus, together - with the sombre and smoked colour of the roof and sides of the - lodge; and the wild, and rude and red—the graceful (though uncivil) - conversational, garrulous, story-telling and happy, though ignorant - and untutored groups, that are smoking their pipes—wooing their - sweethearts, and embracing their little ones about their peaceful and - endeared fire-sides; together with their pots and kettles, spoons, - and other culinary articles of their own manufacture, around them; - present altogether, one of the most picturesque scenes to the eye of a - stranger, that can be possibly seen; and far more wild and vivid than - could ever be imagined.</p> - - <p>Reader, I said these people were garrulous, story-telling and happy; - this is true, and literally so; and it belongs to me to establish the - fact, and correct the error which seems to have gone forth to the world - on this subject.</p> - - <p>As I have before observed, there is no subject that I know of within - the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">84</span> scope and reach of human wisdom, on which the civilized world in - this enlightened age are more incorrectly informed, than upon that - of the true manners and customs, and moral condition, rights and - abuses, of the North American Indians; and that, as I have also before - remarked, chiefly on account of the difficulty of our cultivating a - fair and honourable acquaintance with them, and doing them the justice, - and ourselves the credit, of a fair and impartial investigation of - their true character. The present age of refinement and research has - brought every thing else that I know of (and a vast deal more than - the most enthusiastic mind ever dreamed of) within the scope and fair - estimation of refined intellect and of science; while the wild and - timid savage, with his interesting customs and modes has vanished, or - his character has become changed, at the approach of the enlightened - and intellectual world; who follow him like a phantom for awhile, and - in ignorance of his true character at last turn back to the common - business and social transactions of life.</p> - - <p>Owing to the above difficulties, which have stood in the way, the world - have fallen into many egregious errors with regard to the true modes - and meaning of the savage, which I am striving to set forth and correct - in the course of these epistles. And amongst them all, there is none - more common, nor more entirely erroneous, nor more easily refuted, - than the current one, that “the Indian is a sour, morose, reserved and - taciturn man.” I have heard this opinion advanced a thousand times and - I believed it; but such certainly, is not uniformly nor generally the - case.</p> - - <p>I have observed in all my travels amongst the Indian tribes, and - more particularly amongst these unassuming people, that they are a - far more talkative and conversational race than can easily be seen - in the civilized world. This assertion, like many others I shall - occasionally make, will somewhat startle the folks at the East, yet - it is true. No one can look into the wigwams of these people, or into - any little momentary group of them, without being at once struck with - the conviction that small-talk, gossip, garrulity, and story-telling, - are the leading passions with them, who have little else to do in - the world, but to while away their lives in the innocent and endless - amusement of the exercise of those talents with which Nature has - liberally endowed them, for their mirth and enjoyment.</p> - - <p>One has but to walk or ride about this little town and its environs - for a few hours in a pleasant day, and overlook the numerous games and - gambols, where their notes and yelps of exultation are unceasingly - vibrating in the atmosphere; or peep into their wigwams (and watch - the glistening fun that’s beaming from the noses, cheeks, and chins, - of the crouching, cross-legged, and prostrate groups around the fire; - where the pipe is passed, and jokes and anecdote, and laughter are - excessive) to become convinced that it is natural to laugh and be - merry. Indeed it would be strange if a race of people like these, who - have little else to do or relish in life, should be curtailed in that - source of pleasure and amusement; and it<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">85</span> would be also strange, if a - life-time of indulgence and practice in so innocent and productive a - mode of amusement, free from the cares and anxieties of business or - professions, should not advance them in their modes, and enable them to - draw far greater pleasure from such sources, than we in the civilized - and business world can possibly feel. If the uncultivated condition of - their minds curtails the number of their enjoyments; yet they are free - from, and independent of, a thousand cares and jealousies, which arise - from mercenary motives in the civilized world; and are yet far a-head - of us (in my opinion) in the real and uninterrupted enjoyment of their - simple natural faculties.</p> - - <p>They live in a country and in communities, where it is not customary - to look forward into the future with concern, for they live without - incurring the expenses of life, which are absolutely necessary and - unavoidable in the enlightened world; and of course their inclinations - and faculties are solely directed to the enjoyment of the present day, - without the sober reflections on the past or apprehensions of the - future.</p> - - <p>With minds thus unexpanded and uninfluenced by the thousand passions - and ambitions of civilized life, it is easy and natural to concentrate - their thoughts and their conversation upon the little and trifling - occurrences of their lives. They are fond of fun and good cheer, and - can laugh easily and heartily at a slight joke, of which their peculiar - modes of life furnish them an inexhaustible fund, and enable them to - cheer their little circle about the wigwam fire-side with endless - laughter and garrulity.</p> - - <p>It may be thought, that I am taking a great deal of pains to establish - this fact, and I am dwelling longer upon it than I otherwise should, - inasmuch as I am opposing an error that seems to have become current - through the world; and which, if it be once corrected, removes a - material difficulty, which has always stood in the way of a fair and - just estimation of the Indian character. For the purpose of placing - the Indian in a proper light before the world, as I hope to do in - many respects, it is of importance to me—it is but justice to the - savage—and justice to my readers also, that such points should be - cleared up as I proceed; and for the world who enquire for correct and - just information, they must take my words for the truth, or else come - to this country and look for themselves, into these grotesque circles - of never-ending laughter and fun, instead of going to Washington - City to gaze on the poor embarrassed Indian who is called there by - his “Great Father,” to contend with the sophistry of the learned and - acquisitive world, in bartering away his lands with the graves and the - hunting grounds of his ancestors. There is not the proper place to - study the Indian character; yet it is the place where the sycophant and - the scribbler go to gaze and frown upon him—to learn his character, - and write his history! and because he does not speak, and quaffs the - delicious beverage which he receives from white men’s hands, “he’s a - speechless brute and a drunkard.” An Indian is a beggar in Washington - City, and a white man is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">86</span> almost equally so in the Mandan village. An - Indian in Washington is mute, is dumb and embarrassed; and so is a - white man (and for the very same reasons) in this place—he has nobody - to talk to.</p> - - <p>A wild Indian, to reach the civilized world, must needs travel - some thousands of miles in vehicles of conveyance, to which he is - unaccustomed—through latitudes and longitudes which are new to - him—living on food that he is unused to—stared and gazed at by the - thousands and tens of thousands whom he cannot talk to—his heart - grieving and his body sickening at the exhibition of white men’s wealth - and luxuries, which are enjoyed on the land, and over the bones of - his ancestors. And at the end of his journey he stands (like a caged - animal) to be scanned—to be criticised—to be pitied—and heralded to the - world as a mute—as a brute, and a beggar.</p> - - <p>A white man, to reach this village, must travel by steam-boat—by - canoes—on horseback and on foot; swim rivers—wade quagmires—fight - mosquitoes—patch his moccasins, and patch them again and again, and his - breeches; live on meat alone—sleep on the ground the whole way, and - think and dream of his friends he has left behind; and when he gets - here, half-starved, and half-naked, and more than half sick, he finds - himself a beggar for a place to sleep, and for something to eat; a - mute amongst thousands who flock about him, to look and to criticise, - and to laugh at him for his jaded appearance, and to speak of him as - they do of all white men (without distinction) as liars. These people - are in the habit of seeing no white men in their country but Traders, - and know of no other; deeming us all alike, and receiving us all under - the presumption that we come to trade or barter; applying to us all, - indiscriminately, the epithet of “liars” or Traders.</p> - - <p>The reader will therefore see, that we mutually suffer in each other’s - estimation from the unfortunate ignorance, which distance has chained - us in; and (as I can vouch, and the Indian also, who has visited - the civilized world) that the historian who would record justly and - correctly the character and customs of a people, must go and live among - them.</p> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">87</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_12">LETTER—<abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 12.</h2> - </div> - <div class="subheadc">MANDAN VILLAGE, UPPER MISSOURI.</div> - - <p><span class="smcap">In</span> my last, I gave some account of the village, and the customs, and - appearances of this strange people,—and I will now proceed to give - further details on that subject.</p> - - <p>I have this morning, perched myself upon the top of one of the - earth-covered lodges, which I have before described, and having the - whole village beneath and about me (<a href="#i_047"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 47</a>), with its - sachems—its warriors—its dogs—and its horses in motion—its medicines - (or mysteries) and scalp-poles waving over my head—its piquets—its - green fields and prairies, and river in full view, with the din and - bustle of the thrilling panorama that is about me. I shall be able, I - hope, to give some sketches more to the life than I could have done - from any effort of recollection.</p> - - <p>I said that the lodges or wigwams were covered with earth—were of forty - or sixty feet in diameter, and so closely grouped that there was but - just room enough to walk and ride between them,—that they had a door by - which to enter them, and a hole in the top for the admission of light, - and for the smoke to escape,—that the inmates were at times grouped - upon their tops in conversations and other amusements, &c.; and yet - you know not exactly how they look, nor what is the precise appearance - of the strange world that is about me. There is really a newness - and rudeness in every thing that is to be seen. There are several - hundred houses or dwellings about me, and they are purely unique—they - are all covered with dirt—the people are all red, and yet distinct - from all other red folks I have seen. The horses are wild—every dog - is a wolf—the whole moving mass are strangers to me: the living, in - everything, carry an air of intractable wildness about them, and the - dead are not buried, but dried upon scaffolds.</p> - - <p>The groups of lodges around me present a very curious and pleasing - appearance, resembling in shape (more nearly than anything else I - can compare them to) so many potash-kettles inverted. On the tops - of these are to be seen groups standing and reclining, whose wild - and picturesque appearance it would be difficult to describe. Stern - warriors, like statues, standing in dignified groups, wrapped in their - painted robes, with their heads decked and plumed with quills of the - war-eagle; extending their long arms to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">88</span> the east or the west, the - scenes of their battles, which they are recounting over to each other. - In another direction, the wooing lover, softening the heart of his fair - Taih-nah-tai-a with the notes of his simple lute. On other lodges, and - beyond these, groups are engaged in games of the “moccasin,” or the - “platter.” Some are to be seen manufacturing robes and dresses, and - others, fatigued with amusements or occupations, have stretched their - limbs to enjoy the luxury of sleep, whilst basking in the sun. With - all this wild and varied medley of living beings are mixed their dogs, - which seem to be so near an Indian’s heart, as almost to constitute a - material link of his existence.</p> - - <p>In the centre of the village is an open space, or public area, of 150 - feet in diameter, and circular in form, which is used for all public - games and festivals, shews and exhibitions; and also for their “annual - religious ceremonies,” which are soon to take place, and of which I - shall hereafter give some account. The lodges around this open space - front in, with their doors towards the centre; and in the middle of - this circle stands an object of great religious veneration, as I am - told, on account of the importance it has in the conduction of those - annual religious rites.</p> - - <p>This object is in form of a large hogshead, some eight or ten feet - high, made of planks and hoops, containing within it some of their - choicest medicines or mysteries, and religiously preserved unhacked or - scratched, as a symbol of the “Big Canoe,” as they call it.</p> - - <p>One of the lodges fronting on this circular area, and facing this - strange object of their superstition, is called the “Medicine Lodge,” - or council house. It is in this sacred building that these wonderful - ceremonies, in commemoration of the flood, take place. I am told by the - Traders that the cruelties of these scenes are frightful and abhorrent - in the extreme; and that this huge wigwam, which is now closed, has - been built exclusively for this grand celebration. I am every day - reminded of the near approach of the season for this strange affair, - and as I have not yet seen any thing of it, I cannot describe it; I - know it only from the relations of the Traders who have witnessed parts - of it; and their descriptions are of so extraordinary a character, that - I would not be willing to describe until I can see for myself,—which - will, in all probability, be in a few days.</p> - - <p>In ranging the eye over the village from where I am writing, there - is presented to the view the strangest mixture and medley of - unintelligible trash (independent of the living beings that are in - motion), that can possibly be imagined. On the roofs of the lodges, - besides the groups of living, are buffaloes’ skulls, skin canoes, - pots and pottery; sleds and sledges—and suspended on poles, erected - some twenty feet above the doors of their wigwams, are displayed in a - pleasant day, the scalps of warriors, preserved as trophies; and thus - proudly exposed as evidence of their warlike deeds. In other parts are - raised on poles the warriors’ pure and whitened shields and quivers, - with medicine-bags attached; and here and there a sacrifice of red - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">89</span>cloth, or other costly stuff, offered up to the Great Spirit, over - the door of some benignant chief, in humble gratitude for the blessings - which he is enjoying. Such is a part of the strange medley that is - before and around me; and amidst them and the blue streams of smoke - that are rising from the tops of these hundred “coal-pits,” can be - seen in distance, the green and boundless, treeless, bushless prairie; - and on it, and contiguous to the piquet which encloses the village, a - hundred scaffolds on which their “dead live,” as they term it.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>26</i></div> - <figure id="i_047"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_047.jpg" alt="Tops of Mandan lodges"> - <figcaption>47</figcaption> - </figure> - - <figure class="mt2" id="i_048"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_048.jpg" alt="Mandan cemetery"> - <figcaption>48</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>These people never bury the dead, but place the bodies on slight - scaffolds just above the reach of human hands, and out of the way of - wolves and dogs; and they are there left to moulder and decay. This - cemetery, or place of deposite for the dead, is just back of the - village, on a level prairie (<a href="#i_048"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 48</a>); and with all its - appearances, history, forms, ceremonies, &c. is one of the strangest - and most interesting objects to be described in the vicinity of this - peculiar race.</p> - - <p>Whenever a person dies in the Mandan village, and the customary honours - and condolence are paid to his remains, and the body dressed in its - best attire, painted, oiled, feasted, and supplied with bow and quiver, - shield, pipe and tobacco—knife, flint and steel, and provisions enough - to last him a few days on the journey which he is to perform; a fresh - buffalo’s skin, just taken from the animal’s back, is wrapped around - the body, and tightly bound and wound with thongs of raw hide from head - to foot. Then other robes are soaked in water, till they are quite - soft and elastic, which are also bandaged around the body in the same - manner, and tied fast with thongs, which are wound with great care and - exactness, so as to exclude the action of the air from all parts of the - body.</p> - - <p>There is then a separate scaffold erected for it, constructed of four - upright posts, a little higher than human hands can reach; and on the - tops of these are small poles passing around from one post to the - others; across which a number of willow-rods just strong enough to - support the body, which is laid upon them on its back, with its feet - carefully presented towards the rising sun.</p> - - <p>There are a great number of these bodies resting exactly in a similar - way; excepting in some instances where a chief, or medicine-man, may - be seen with a few yards of scarlet or blue cloth spread over his - remains, as a mark of public respect and esteem. Some hundreds of these - bodies may be seen reposing in this manner in this curious place, which - the Indians call, “the village of the dead;” and the traveller, who - visits this country to study and learn, will not only be struck with - the novel appearance of the scene; but if he will give attention to - the respect and devotions that are paid to this sacred place, he will - draw many a moral deduction that will last him through life: he will - learn, at least, that filial, conjugal, and paternal affection are not - necessarily the results of civilization; but that the Great Spirit - has given them to man in his native state; and that the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">90</span> spices and - improvements of the enlightened world have never refined upon them.</p> - - <p>There is not a day in the year in which one may not see in this place - evidences of this fact, that will wring tears from his eyes, and kindle - in his bosom a spark of respect and sympathy for the poor Indian, if - he never felt it before. Fathers, mothers, wives, and children, may - be seen lying under these scaffolds, prostrated upon the ground, with - their faces in the dirt, howling forth incessantly the most piteous - and heart-broken cries and lamentations for the misfortunes of their - kindred; tearing their hair—cutting their flesh with their knives, - and doing other penance to appease the spirits of the dead, whose - misfortunes they attribute to some sin or omission of their own, for - which they sometimes inflict the most excruciating self-torture.</p> - - <p>When the scaffolds on which the bodies rest, decay and fall to the - ground, the nearest relations having buried the rest of the bones, - take the skulls, which are perfectly bleached and purified, and place - them in circles of an hundred or more on the prairie—placed at equal - distances apart (some eight or nine inches from each other), with the - faces all looking to the centre; where they are religiously protected - and preserved in their precise positions from year to year, as objects - of religious and affectionate veneration (<a href="#i_048"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 48</a>).</p> - - <p>There are several of these “Golgothas” or circles of twenty or thirty - feet in diameter, and in the centre of each ring or circle is a - little mound of three feet high, on which uniformly rest two buffalo - skulls (a male and female); and in the centre of the little mound is - erected a “medicine pole,” about twenty feet high, supporting many - curious articles of mystery and superstition, which they suppose have - the power of guarding and protecting this sacred arrangement. Here - then, to this strange place do these people again resort, to evince - their further affections for the dead—not in groans and lamentations - however, for several years have cured the anguish; but fond affections - and endearments are here renewed, and conversations are here held and - cherished with the dead.</p> - - <p>Each one of these skulls is placed upon a bunch of wild sage, which - has been pulled and placed under it. The wife knows (by some mark or - resemblance) the skull of her husband or her child, which lies in this - group; and there seldom passes a day that she does not visit it, with - a dish of the best cooked food that her wigwam affords, which she sets - before the skull at night, and returns for the dish in the morning. - As soon as it is discovered that the sage on which the skull rests is - beginning to decay, the woman cuts a fresh bunch, and places the skull - carefully upon it, removing that which was under it.</p> - - <p>Independent of the above-named duties, which draw the women to this - spot, they visit it from inclination, and linger upon it to hold - converse and company with the dead. There is scarcely an hour in a - pleasant day, but<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">91</span> more or less of these women may be seen sitting or - laying by the skull of their child or husband—talking to it in the most - pleasant and endearing language that they can use (as they were wont - to do in former days) and seemingly getting an answer back. It is not - unfrequently the case, that the woman brings her needle-work with her, - spending the greater part of the day, sitting by the side of the skull - of her child, chatting incessantly with it, while she is embroidering - or garnishing a pair of moccasins; and perhaps, overcome with fatigue, - falls asleep, with her arms encircled around it, forgetting herself for - hours; after which she gathers up her things and returns to the village.</p> - - <p>There is something exceedingly interesting and impressive in these - scenes, which are so strikingly dissimilar, and yet within a few rods - of each other; the one is the place where they pour forth the frantic - anguish of their souls—and afterwards pay their visits to the other, to - jest and gossip with the dead.</p> - - <p>The great variety of shapes and characters exhibited in these groups - of crania, render them a very interesting study for the craniologist - and phrenologist; but I apprehend that it would be a matter of great - difficulty (if not of impossibility) to procure them at this time, for - the use and benefit of the scientific world.</p> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">92</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_13">LETTER—<abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 13.</h2> - </div> - <div class="subheadc">MANDAN VILLAGE, UPPER MISSOURI.</div> - - <p><span class="smcap">In</span> several of my former Letters I have given sketches of the village, - and some few of the customs of these peculiar people; and I have many - more yet in store; some of which will induce the readers to laugh, and - others almost dispose them to weep. But at present, I drop them, and - introduce a few of the wild and gentlemanly Mandans themselves; and - first, Ha-na-tah-nu-mauh, the wolf chief (<a href="#i_049"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 49</a>). This - man is head-chief of the nation, and familiarly known by the name of - “Chef de Loup,” as the French Traders call him; a haughty, austere, and - overbearing man, respected and feared by his people rather than loved. - The tenure by which this man holds his office, is that by which the - head-chiefs of most of the tribes claim, that of inheritance. It is - a general, though not an infallible rule amongst the numerous tribes - of North American Indians, that the office of chief belongs to the - eldest son of a chief; provided he shews himself, by his conduct, to be - equally worthy of it as any other in the nation: making it hereditary - on a very proper condition—in default of which requisites, or others - which may happen, the office is elective.</p> - - <p>The dress of this chief was one of great extravagance, and some beauty; - manufactured of skins, and a great number of quills of the raven, - forming his stylish head-dress.</p> - - <p>The next and second chief of the tribe, is Mah-to-toh-pa (the four - bears). This extraordinary man, though second in office is undoubtedly - the first and most popular man in the nation. Free, generous, elegant - and gentlemanly in his deportment—handsome, brave and valiant; wearing - a robe on his back, with the history of his battles emblazoned on it; - which would fill a book of themselves, if properly translated. This, - readers, is the most extraordinary man, perhaps, who lives at this day, - in the atmosphere of Nature’s noblemen; and I shall certainly tell you - more of him anon.</p> - - <p>After him, there are Mah-tahp-ta-ha, he who rushes through the - middle (<a href="#i_050"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 50</a>); Seehk-hee-da, the mouse-coloured - feather (<a href="#i_050"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 51</a>); San-ja-ka-ko-kah (the deceiving wolf); - Mah-to-he-ha (the old bear), and others, distinguished as chiefs and - warriors—and there are belles also; such as Mi-neek-e-sunk-te-ca, the - mink (<a href="#i_052"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 53</a>); and the little gray-haired Sha-ko-ka, mint - (<a href="#i_052"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 52</a>); and fifty others, who are famous for - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">93</span>their - conquests, not with the bow or the javelin, but with their small black - eyes, which shoot out from under their unfledged brows, and pierce the - boldest, fiercest chieftain to the heart.</p> - - <figure class="mt2 illowp75" id="i_049"> - <div class="plate"><i>27</i></div> - <img src="images/i_049.jpg" alt="Ha-na-tah-nu-mauh, Mandan chief"> - <figcaption>49</figcaption> - </figure> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>28</i></div> - <figure id="i_050"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_050.jpg" alt="Mah-tahp-ta-ha and Seehk-hee-da"> - <figcaption><span class="col50">50</span><span class="col50">51</span></figcaption> - </figure> - - <figure class="mt2" id="i_052"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_052.jpg" alt="Sha-ko-ka and Mi-neek-e-sunk-te-ca"> - <figcaption><span class="col50">52</span><span class="col50">53</span></figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>The Mandans are certainly a very interesting and pleasing people in - their personal appearance and manners; differing in many respects, both - in looks and customs, from all other tribes which I have seen. They - are not a warlike people; for they seldom, if ever, carry war into - their enemies’ country; but when invaded, shew their valour and courage - to be equal to that of any people on earth. Being a small tribe, and - unable to contend on the wide prairies with the Sioux and other roaming - tribes, who are ten times more numerous; they have very judiciously - located themselves in a permanent village, which is strongly fortified, - and ensures their preservation. By this means they have advanced - further in the arts of manufacture; have supplied their lodges more - abundantly with the comforts, and even luxuries of life, than any - Indian nation I know of. The consequence of this is, that this tribe - have taken many steps ahead of other tribes in manners and refinements - (if I may be allowed to apply the word refinement to Indian life); and - are therefore familiarly (and correctly) denominated, by the Traders - and others, who have been amongst them, “the polite and friendly - Mandans.”</p> - - <p>There is certainly great justice in the remark; and so forcibly have - I been struck with the peculiar ease and elegance of these people, - together with the diversity of complexions, the various colours of - their hair and eyes; the singularity of their language, and their - peculiar and unaccountable customs, that I am fully convinced that - they have sprung from some other origin than that of the other North - American tribes, or that they are an amalgam of natives with some - civilized race.</p> - - <p>Here arises a question of very great interest and importance for - discussion; and, after further familiarity with their character, - customs, and traditions, if I forget it not, I will eventually give it - further consideration. Suffice it then, for the present, that their - <em>personal appearance</em> alone, independent of their modes and - customs, pronounces them at once, as more or less, than savage.</p> - - <p>A stranger in the Mandan village is first struck with the different - shades of complexion, and various colours of hair which he sees in a - crowd about him; and is at once almost disposed to exclaim that “these - are not Indians.”</p> - - <p>There are a great many of these people whose complexions appear as - light as half breeds; and amongst the women particularly, there are - many whose skins are almost white, with the most pleasing symmetry - and proportion of features; with hazel, with grey, and with blue - eyes,—with mildness and sweetness of expression, and excessive modesty - of demeanour, which render them exceedingly pleasing and beautiful.</p> - - <p>Why this diversity of complexion I cannot tell, nor can they - themselves<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">94</span> account for it. Their traditions, so far as I have yet - learned them, afford us no information of their having had any - knowledge of white men before the visit of Lewis and Clarke, made to - their village thirty-three years ago. Since that time there have been - but very few visits from white men to this place, and surely not enough - to have changed the complexions and the customs of a nation. And I - recollect perfectly well that Governor Clarke told me, before I started - for this place, that I would find the Mandans a strange people and half - white.</p> - - <p>The diversity in the colour of hair is also equally as great as that - in the complexion; for in a numerous group of these people (and more - particularly amongst the females, who never take pains to change its - natural colour, as the men often do), there may be seen every shade and - colour of hair that can be seen in our own country, with the exception - of red or auburn, which is not to be found.</p> - - <p>And there is yet one more strange and unaccountable peculiarity, which - can probably be seen nowhere else on earth; nor on any rational grounds - accounted for,—other than it is a freak or order of Nature, for which - she has not seen fit to assign a reason. There are very many, of both - sexes, and of every age, from infancy to manhood and old age, with hair - of a bright silvery grey; and in some instances almost perfectly white.</p> - - <p>This singular and eccentric appearance is much oftener seen among the - women than it is with the men; for many of the latter who have it, - seem ashamed of it, and artfully conceal it, by filling their hair - with glue and black and red earth. The women, on the other hand, seem - proud of it, and display it often in an almost incredible profusion, - which spreads over their shoulders and falls as low as the knee. I have - ascertained, on a careful enquiry, that about one in ten or twelve of - the whole tribe are what the French call “cheveux gris,” or greyhairs; - and that this strange and unaccountable phenomenon is not the result of - disease or habit; but that it is unquestionably a hereditary character - which runs in families, and indicates no inequality in disposition or - intellect. And by passing this hair through my hands, as I often have, - I have found it uniformly to be as coarse and harsh as a horse’s mane; - differing materially from the hair of other colours, which amongst the - Mandans, is generally as fine and as soft as silk.</p> - - <p>The reader will at once see, by the above facts, that there is enough - upon the faces and heads of these people to stamp them peculiar,—when - he meets them in the heart of this almost boundless wilderness, - presenting such diversities of colour in the complexion and hair; when - he knows from what he has seen, and what he has read, that all other - primitive tribes known in America, are dark copper-coloured, with jet - black hair.</p> - - <p>From these few facts alone, the reader will see that I am amongst a - strange and interesting people, and know how to pardon me, if I lead - him through a maze of novelty and mysteries to the knowledge of a - strange, yet kind and hospitable, people, whose fate, like that of all - their race is sealed;—<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">95</span> whose doom is fixed, to live just long enough - to be imperfectly known, and then to fall before the fell disease or - sword of civilizing devastation.</p> - - <p>The stature of the Mandans is rather below the ordinary size of - man, with beautiful symmetry of form and proportion, and wonderful - suppleness and elasticity; they are pleasingly erect and graceful, - both in their walk and their attitudes; and the hair of the men, - which generally spreads over their backs, falling down to the hams, - and sometimes to the ground, is divided into plaits or slabs of two - inches in width, and filled with a profusion of glue and red earth or - vermilion, at intervals of an inch or two, which becoming very hard, - remains in and unchanged from year to year.</p> - - <p>This mode of dressing the hair is curious, and gives to the Mandans the - most singular appearance. The hair of the men is uniformly all laid - over from the forehead backwards; carefully kept above and resting on - the ear, and thence falling down over the back, in these flattened - bunches, and painted red, extending oftentimes quite on to the calf - of the leg, and sometimes in such profusion as almost to conceal the - whole figure from the person walking behind them. In the portrait of - San-ja-ka-ko-kah (the deceiving wolf, <a href="#i_054"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 54</a>), where he is - represented at full length, with several others of his family around - him in a group, there will be seen a fair illustration of these and - other customs of these people.</p> - - <p>The hair of the women is also worn as long as they can possibly - cultivate it, oiled very often, which preserves on it a beautiful gloss - and shows its natural colour. They often braid it in two large plaits, - one falling down just back of the ear, on each side of the head; and - on any occasion which requires them to “put on their best looks,” they - pass their fingers through it, drawing it out of braid, and spreading - it over their shoulders. The Mandan women observe strictly the same - custom, which I observed amongst the Crows and Blackfeet (and, in fact, - all other tribes I have seen, without a single exception), of parting - the hair on the forehead, and always keeping the crease or separation - filled with vermilion or other red paint. This is one of the very few - little (and apparently trivial) customs which I have found amongst the - Indians, without being able to assign any cause for it, other than that - “they are Indians,” and that this is an Indian fashion.</p> - - <p>In mourning, like the Crows and most other tribes the women are obliged - to crop their hair all off; and the usual term of that condolence is - until the hair has grown again to its former length.</p> - - <p>When a man mourns for the death of a near relation the case is quite - different; his long, valued tresses, are of much greater importance, - and only a lock or two can be spared. Just enough to tell of his grief - to his friends, without destroying his most valued ornament, is doing - just reverence and respect to the dead.</p> - - <p>To repeat what I have said before, the Mandans are a pleasing and - friendly race of people, of whom it is proverbial amongst the Traders - and all who ever have known them that their treatment of white men - in their<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">96</span> country has been friendly and kind ever since their first - acquaintance with them—they have ever met and received them, on the - prairie or in their villages, with hospitality and honour.</p> - - <p>They are handsome, straight and elegant in their forms—not tall, - but quick and graceful; easy and polite in their manners, neat in - their persons and beautifully clad. When I say “neat in person and - beautifully clad,” however, I do not intend my readers to understand - that such is the case with them all, for among them and most other - tribes, as with the enlightened world, there are different grades of - society—those who care but little for their personal appearance, and - those who take great pains to please themselves and their friends. - Amongst this class of personages, such as chiefs and braves, or - warriors of distinction, and their families, and dandies or exquisites - (a class of beings of whom I shall take due time to speak in a future - Letter), the strictest regard to decency, and cleanliness and elegance - of dress is observed; and there are few people, perhaps, who take more - pains to keep their persons neat and cleanly than they do.</p> - - <p>At the distance of half a mile or so above the village, is the - customary place where the women and girls resort every morning in the - summer months, to bathe in the river. To this spot they repair by - hundreds, every morning at sunrise, where, on a beautiful beach, they - can be seen running and glistening in the sun, whilst they are playing - their innocent gambols and leaping into the stream. They all learn to - swim well, and the poorest swimmer amongst them will dash fearlessly - into the boiling and eddying current of the Missouri, and cross it with - perfect ease. At the distance of a quarter of a mile back from the - river, extends a terrace or elevated prairie, running north from the - village, and forming a kind of semi-circle around this bathing-place; - and on this terrace, which is some twenty or thirty feet higher than - the meadow between it and the river, are stationed every morning - several sentinels, with their bows and arrows in hand, to guard and - protect this sacred ground from the approach of boys or men from any - directions.</p> - - <p>At a little distance below the village, also, is the place where - the men and boys go to bathe and learn to swim. After this morning - ablution, they return to their village, wipe their limbs dry, and use a - profusion of bear’s grease through their hair and over their bodies.</p> - - <p>The art of swimming is known to all the American Indians; and perhaps - no people on earth have taken more pains to learn it, nor any who turn - it to better account. There certainly are no people whose avocations - of life more often call for the use of their limbs in this way; as - many of the tribes spend their lives on the shores of our vast lakes - and rivers, paddling about from their childhood in their fragile bark - canoes, which are liable to continual accidents, which often throw the - Indian upon his natural resources for the preservation of his life.</p> - - <p>There are many times also, when out upon their long marches in the - prosecution of their almost continued warfare, when it becomes - necessary to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">97</span> plunge into and swim across the wildest streams and - rivers, at times when they have no canoes or craft in which to cross - them. I have as yet seen no tribe where this art is neglected. It is - learned at a very early age by both sexes, and enables the strong and - hardy muscles of the squaws to take their child upon the back, and - successfully to pass any river that lies in their way.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>29</i></div> - <figure id="i_054"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_054.jpg" alt="San-ja-ka-ko-kah and family"> - <figcaption>54</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>The mode of swimming amongst the Mandans, as well as amongst most of - the other tribes, is quite different from that practiced in those parts - of the civilized world, which I have had the pleasure yet to visit. The - Indian, instead of parting his hands simultaneously under the chin, and - making the stroke outward, in a horizontal direction, causing thereby - a serious strain upon the chest, throws his body alternately upon the - left and the right side, raising one arm entirely above the water and - reaching as far forward as he can, to dip it, whilst his whole weight - and force are spent upon the one that is passing under him, and like a - paddle propelling him along; whilst this arm is making a half circle, - and is being raised out of the water behind him, the opposite arm is - describing a similar arch in the air over his head, to be dipped in the - water as far as he can reach before him, with the hand turned under, - forming a sort of bucket, to act most effectively as it passes in its - turn underneath him.</p> - - <p>By this bold and powerful mode of swimming, which may want the grace - that many would wish to see, I am quite sure, from the experience I - have had, that much of the fatigue and strain upon the breast and spine - are avoided, and that a man will preserve his strength and his breath - much longer in this alternate and rolling motion, than he can in the - usual mode of swimming, in the polished world.</p> - - <p>In addition to the modes of bathing which I have above described, - the Mandans have another, which is a much greater luxury, and often - resorted to by the sick, but far more often by the well and sound, as - a matter of luxury only, or perhaps for the purpose of hardening their - limbs and preparing them for the thousand exposures and vicissitudes - of life to which they are continually liable. I allude to their vapour - baths, or <em>sudatories</em>, of which each village has several, and - which seem to be a kind of public property—accessible to all, and - resorted to by all, male and female, old and young, sick and well.</p> - - <p>In every Mandan lodge is to be seen a crib or basket, much in the shape - of a bathing-tub, curiously woven with willow boughs, and sufficiently - large to receive any person of the family in a reclining or recumbent - posture; which, when any one is to take a bath, is carried by the squaw - to the sudatory for the purpose, and brought back to the wigwam again - after it has been used.</p> - - <p>These sudatories are always near the village, above or below it, on - the bank of the river. They are generally built of skins (in form of - a Crow or Sioux lodge which I have before described), covered with - buffalo skins<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">98</span> sewed tight together, with a kind of furnace in the - centre; or in other words, in the centre of the lodge are two walls of - stone about six feet long and two and a half apart, and about three - feet high; across and over this space, between the two walls, are laid - a number of round sticks, on which the bathing crib is placed (vide - <a href="#i_071"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 71</a>). Contiguous to the lodge, and outside of it, is a - little furnace something similar, in the side of the bank, where the - woman kindles a hot fire, and heats to a red heat a number of large - stones, which are kept at these places for this particular purpose; and - having them all in readiness, she goes home or sends word to inform her - husband or other one who is waiting, that all is ready; when he makes - his appearance entirely naked, though with a large buffalo robe wrapped - around him. He then enters the lodge and places himself in the crib or - basket, either on his back or in a sitting posture (the latter of which - is generally preferred), with his back towards the door of the lodge; - when the squaw brings in a large stone red hot, between two sticks - (lashed together somewhat in the form of a pair of tongs) and, placing - it under him, throws cold water upon it, which raises a profusion of - vapour about him. He is at once enveloped in a cloud of steam, and a - woman or child will sit at a little distance and continue to dash water - upon the stone, whilst the matron of the lodge is out, and preparing to - make her appearance with another heated stone: or he will sit and dip - from a wooden bowl, with a ladle made of the mountain-sheep’s horn, and - throw upon the heated stones, with his own hands, the water which he is - drawing through his lungs and pores, in the next moment, in the most - delectable and exhilarating vapours, as it distils through the mat of - wild sage and other medicinal and aromatic herbs, which he has strewed - over the bottom of his basket, and on which he reclines.</p> - - <p>During all this time the lodge is shut perfectly tight, and he quaffs - this delicious and renovating draught to his lungs with deep drawn - sighs, and with extended nostrils, until he is drenched in the most - profuse degree of perspiration that can be produced; when he makes a - kind of strangled signal, at which the lodge is opened, and he darts - forth with the speed of a frightened deer, and plunges headlong into - the river, from which he instantly escapes again, wraps his robe around - him and “leans” as fast as possible for home. Here his limbs are wiped - dry, and wrapped close and tight within the fur of the buffalo robes, - in which he takes his nap, with his feet to the fire; then oils his - limbs and hair with bear’s grease, dresses and plumes himself for a - visit—a feast—a parade, or a council; or slicks down his long hair, - and rubs his oiled limbs to a polish, with a piece of soft buckskin, - prepared to join in games of ball or Tchung-kee.</p> - - <p>Such is the sudatory or the vapour bath of the Mandans, and as I before - observed, it is resorted to both as an every-day luxury by those who - have the time and energy or industry to indulge in it; and also used - by the sick as a remedy for nearly all the diseases which are known - amongst them.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">99</span> Fevers are very rare, and in fact almost unknown amongst - these people: but in the few cases of fever which have been known, this - treatment has been applied, and without the fatal consequences which - we would naturally predict. The greater part of their diseases are - inflammatory rheumatisms, and other chronic diseases; and for these, - this mode of treatment, with their modes of life, does admirably well. - This custom is similar amongst nearly all of these Missouri Indians, - and amongst the Pawnees, Omahas, and Punchas and other tribes, who have - suffered with the small-pox (the dread destroyer of the Indian race), - this mode was practiced by the poor creatures, who fled by hundreds - to the river’s edge, and by hundreds died before they could escape - from the waves, into which they had plunged in the heat and rage of a - burning fever. Such will yet be the scourge, and such the misery of - these poor unthinking people, and each tribe to the Rocky Mountains, - as it has been with every tribe between here and the Atlantic - Ocean. White men—whiskey—tomahawks—scalping knives—guns, powder and - ball—small-pox—debauchery—extermination.</p> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">100</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_14">LETTER—<abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 14.</h2> - </div> - <div class="subheadc">MANDAN VILLAGE, UPPER MISSOURI.</div> - - <p>The Mandans in many instances dress very neatly, and some of them - splendidly. As they are in their native state, their dresses are all - of their own manufacture; and of course, altogether made of skins of - different animals belonging to those regions. There is, certainly, - a reigning and striking similarity of costume amongst most of the - North Western tribes; and I cannot say that the dress of the Mandans - is decidedly distinct from that of the Crows or the Blackfeet, the - Assinneboins or the Sioux; yet there are modes of stitching or - embroidering, in every tribe, which may at once enable the traveller, - who is familiar with their modes, to detect or distinguish the dress - of any tribe. These differences consist generally in the fashions of - constructing the head-dress, or of garnishing their dresses with the - porcupine quills, which they use in great profusion.</p> - - <p>Amongst so many different and distinct nations, always at war with - each other, and knowing nothing at all of each other’s languages; and - amongst whom, fashions in dress seldom if ever change; it may seem - somewhat strange that we should find these people so nearly following, - or imitating each other, in the forms and modes of their dress and - ornaments. This must however, be admitted, and I think may be accounted - for in a manner, without raising the least argument in favour of the - theory of their having all sprung from one stock or one family; for in - their continual warfare, when chiefs or warriors fall, their clothes - and weapons usually fall into the possession of the victors, who wear - them; and the rest of the tribe would naturally more or less often - copy from or imitate them; and so also in their repeated councils or - treaties of peace, such articles of dress and other manufactures are - customarily exchanged, which are equally adopted by the other tribe; - and consequently, eventually lead to the similarity which we find - amongst the modes of dress, &c. of the different tribes.</p> - - <p>The tunic or shirt of the Mandan men is very similar in shape to that - of the Blackfeet—made of two skins of deer or mountain-sheep, strung - with scalp-locks, beads, and ermine. The leggings, like those of the - other tribes, of whom I have spoken, are made of deer skins, and shaped - to fit the leg, embroidered with porcupine quills, and fringed with - scalps from their enemies heads. Their moccasins are made of buckskin, - and neatly ornamented<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">101</span> with porcupine quills—over their shoulders (or - in other words, over one shoulder and passing under the other), they - very gracefully wear a robe from the young buffalo’s back, oftentimes - cut down to about half its original size, to make it handy and easy - for use. Many of these are also fringed on one side with scalp-locks; - and the flesh side of the skin curiously ornamented with pictured - representations of the creditable events and battles of their lives.</p> - - <p>Their head-dresses are of various sorts, and many of them exceedingly - picturesque and handsome; generally made of war-eagles’ or ravens - quills and ermine. These are the most costly part of an Indian’s dress - in all this country, owing to the difficulty of procuring the quills - and the fur. The war-eagle being the “<i>rara avis</i>,” and the ermine - the rarest animal that is found in the country. The tail of a war-eagle - in this village, provided it is a perfect one, containing some six or - eight quills, which are denominated first-rate plumes, and suitable to - arrange in a head-dress, will purchase a tolerable good horse (horses, - however, are much cheaper here than they are in most other countries). - I have had abundant opportunities of learning the great value which - these people sometimes attach to such articles of dress and ornament, - as I have been purchasing a great many, which I intend to exhibit in - my Gallery of Indian Paintings, that the world may examine them for - themselves, and thereby be enabled to judge of the fidelity of my - works, and the ingenuity of Indian manufactures.</p> - - <p>In these purchases I have often been surprised at the prices demanded - by them; and perhaps I could not recite a better instance of the kind, - than one which occurred here a few days since:—One of the chiefs, whom - I had painted at full length, in a beautiful costume, with head-dress - of war-eagles’ quills and ermine, extending quite down to his feet; - and whom I was soliciting for the purchase of his dress complete, was - willing to sell to me all but the head-dress; saying, that “he could - not part with that, as he would never be able to get quills and ermine - of so good a quality to make another like it.” I agreed with him, - however, for the rest of the dress, and importuned him, from day to - day, for the head-dress, until he at length replied, that, if I must - have it, he must have two horses for it; the bargain was instantly - struck—the horses were procured of the Traders at twenty-five dollars - each, and the head-dress secured for my Collection.</p> - - <p>There is occasionally, a chief or a warrior of so extraordinary renown, - that he is allowed to wear horns on his head-dress, which give to his - aspect a strange and majestic effect. These are made of about a third - part of the horn of a buffalo bull; the horn having been split from end - to end, and a third part of it taken and shaved thin and light, and - highly polished. These are attached to the top of the head-dress on - each side, in the same place that they rise and stand on the head of - a buffalo; rising out of a mat<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">102</span> of ermine skins and tails, which hang - over the top of the head-dress, somewhat in the form that the large and - profuse locks of hair hang and fall over the head of a buffalo bull. - See head-dress in <span class="smcap">plates</span> <a href="#i_014">14</a>, <a href="#i_064">64</a>, and <a href="#i_091">91</a>, of three different - tribes.</p> - - <p>The same custom I have found observed amongst the Sioux,—the Crows—the - Blackfeet and Assinneboins, and it is one of so striking a character - as needs a few more words of observation. There is a peculiar meaning - or importance (in their estimation) to this and many other curious and - unaccountable appearances in the habits of Indians, upon which the - world generally look as things that are absurd and ridiculous, merely - because they are beyond the world’s comprehension, or because we do not - stop to enquire or learn their uses or meaning.</p> - - <p>I find that the principal cause why we underrate and despise the - savage, is generally because we do not understand him; and the reason - why we are ignorant of him and his modes, is that we do not stop to - investigate—the world have been too much in the habit of looking - upon him as altogether inferior—as a beast, a brute; and unworthy - of more than a passing notice. If they stop long enough to form - an acquaintance, it is but to take advantage of his ignorance and - credulities—to rob him of the wealth and resources of his country;—to - make him drunk with whiskey, and visit him with abuses which in his - ignorance he never thought of. By this method his first visitors - entirely overlook and never understand the meaning of his thousand - interesting and characteristic customs; and at the same time, by - changing his native modes and habits of life, blot them out from the - view of the enquiring world for ever.</p> - - <p>It is from the observance of a thousand little and apparently trivial - modes and tricks of Indian life, that the Indian character must be - learned; and, in fact, it is just the same with us if the subject were - reversed: excepting that the system of civilized life would furnish - ten apparently useless and ridiculous trifles to one which is found in - Indian life; and at least twenty to one which are purely nonsensical - and unmeaning.</p> - - <p>The civilized world look upon a group of Indians, in their classic - dress, with their few and simple oddities, all of which have their - moral or meaning, and laugh at them excessively, because they are not - like ourselves—we ask, “why do the silly creatures wear such great - bunches of quills on their heads?—Such loads and streaks of paint upon - their bodies—and bear’s grease? abominable!” and a thousand other - equally silly questions, without ever stopping to think that Nature - taught them to do so—and that they all have some definite importance - or meaning which an Indian could explain to us at once, if he were - asked and felt disposed to do so—that each quill in his head stood, - in the eyes of his whole tribe, as the symbol of an enemy who had - fallen by his hand—that every streak of red paint covered a wound - which he had got in honourable combat—and that the bear’s grease with - which he carefully anoints his body every morning, from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">103</span> head to foot, - cleanses and purifies the body, and protects his skin from the bite of - mosquitoes, and at the same time preserves him from colds and coughs - which are usually taken through the pores of the skin.</p> - - <p>At the same time, an Indian looks among the civilized world, no doubt, - with equal, if not much greater, astonishment, at our apparently, as - well as <em>really</em>, ridiculous customs and fashions; but he laughs - not, nor ridicules, nor questions,—for his natural good sense and good - manners forbid him,—until he is reclining about the fire-side of his - wigwam companions, when he vents forth his just criticisms upon the - learned world, who are a rich and just theme for Indian criticism and - Indian gossip.</p> - - <p>An Indian will not ask a white man the reason why he does not oil his - skin with bears’ grease, or why he does not paint his body—or why he - wears a hat on his head, or why he has buttons on the back part of - his coat, where they never can be used—or why he wears whiskers, and - a shirt collar up to his eyes—or why he sleeps with his head towards - the fire instead of his feet—why he walks with his toes out instead of - turning them in—or why it is that hundreds of white folks will flock - and crowd round a table to see an Indian eat—but he will go home to his - wigwam fire-side, and “make the welkin ring” with jokes and fun upon - the ignorance and folly of the knowing world.</p> - - <p>A wild Indian thrown into the civilized atmosphere will see a man - occasionally moving in society, wearing a cocked hat; and another with - a laced coat and gold or silver epaulettes upon his shoulders, without - knowing or enquiring the meaning of them, or the objects for which they - are worn. Just so a white man travels amongst a wild and untaught tribe - of Indians, and sees occasionally one of them parading about their - village, with a head-dress of eagles’ quills and ermine, and elevated - above it a pair of beautifully polished buffalo horns; and just as - ignorant is he also, of their meaning or importance; and more so, for - the first will admit the presumption that epaulettes and cocked hats - amongst the civilized world, are made for some important purpose,—but - the latter will presume that horns on an Indian’s head are nothing more - nor less (nor can they be in their estimation), than Indian nonsense - and stupidity.</p> - - <p>This brings us to the “corned crest” again, and if the poor Indian - scans epaulettes and cocked hats, without enquiring their meaning, - and explaining them to his tribe, it is no reason why I should have - associated with the noble dignitaries of these western regions, with - horns and ermine on their heads, and then to have introduced the - subject without giving some further clue to their importance and - meaning. For me, this negligence would be doubly unpardonable, as I - travel, not to <em>trade</em> but to <em>herald</em> the Indian and his - dying customs to posterity.</p> - - <p>This custom then, which I have before observed belongs to all the - north-western tribes, is one no doubt of very ancient origin, having - a purely classic meaning. No one wears the head-dress surmounted with - horns except<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">104</span> the dignitaries who are very high in authority, and whose - exceeding valour, worth, and power is admitted by all the nation.</p> - - <p>He may wear them, however, who is not a <em>chief</em>; but a brave, or - warrior of such remarkable character, that he is esteemed universally - in the tribe, as a man whose “voice is as loud in council” as that of a - chief of the first grade, and consequently his <em>power</em> as great.</p> - - <p>This head-dress with horns is used only on certain occasions, and they - are very seldom. When foreign chiefs, Indian agents, or other important - personages visit a tribe; or at war parades, at the celebration of - a victory, at public festivals, &c. they are worn; but on no other - occasions—unless, sometimes, when a chief sees fit to lead a war-party - to battle, he decorates his head with this symbol of power, to - stimulate his men; and throws himself into the foremost of the battle, - inviting his enemy to concentrate their shafts upon him.</p> - - <p>The horns on these head-dresses are but loosely attached at the bottom, - so that they easily fall back or forward, according as the head is - inclined forward or backward; and by an ingenious motion of the head, - which is so slight as to be almost imperceptible—they are made to - balance to and fro, and sometimes, one backward and the other forward - like a horse’s ears, giving a vast deal of expression and force of - character, to the appearance of the chief who is wearing them. This, - reader, is a remarkable instance (like hundreds of others), for its - striking similarity to <em>Jewish customs</em>, to the kerns (or keren, - in Hebrew), the horns worn by the Abysinian chiefs and Hebrews, as - a <em>symbol of power</em> and command; worn at great parades and - celebrations of victories.</p> - - <p>“The false prophet Zedekiah, made him horns of iron” (1 Kings <abbr title="22">xxii</abbr>. - 11). “Lift not your horns on high; speak not with a stiff neck” (Ps. - <abbr title="75">lxxv.</abbr> 5).</p> - - <p>This last citation seems so exactly to convey to my mind the mode of - raising and changing the position of the horns by a motion of the head, - as I have above described, that I am irresistibly led to believe that - this custom is now practiced amongst these tribes very nearly as it - was amongst the Jews; and that it has been, like many other customs of - which I shall speak more in future epistles, handed down and preserved - with very little innovation or change from that ancient people.</p> - - <p>The reader will see this custom exemplified in the portrait of - Mah-to-toh-pa (<a href="#i_064"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 64</a>). This man, although the second chief, - was the only man in the nation who was allowed to wear the horns; and - all, I found, looked upon him as the leader, who had the power to - lead all the warriors in time of war; and that, in consequence of the - extraordinary battles which he had fought.</p> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">105</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_15">LETTER—<abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 15.</h2> - </div> - <div class="subheadc">MANDAN VILLAGE, UPPER MISSOURI.</div> - - <p><span class="smcap">A week</span> or more has elapsed since the date of my last Letter, and - nothing as yet of the great and curious event—or the <em>Mandan - religious ceremony</em>. There is evidently much preparation making for - it, however; and from what I can learn, no one in the nation, save the - <em>medicine-men</em>, have any knowledge of the exact day on which it is - to commence. I am informed by the chiefs, that it takes place as soon - as the willow-tree is in full leaf; for, say they, “the twig which the - bird brought in was a willow bough, and had full-grown leaves on it.” - So it seems that this celebration has some relation to the Flood.</p> - - <p>This great occasion is close at hand, and will, undoubtedly, commence - in a few days; in the meantime I will give a few notes and memorandums, - which I have made since my last.</p> - - <p>I have been continually at work with my brush, with fine and - picturesque subjects before me; and from the strange, whimsical, - and superstitious notions which they have of an art so novel and - unaccountable to them, I have been initiated into many of their - mysteries—have witnessed many very curious incidents, and preserved - several anecdotes, some of which I must relate.</p> - - <p>Perhaps nothing ever more completely astonished these people than - the operations of my <em>brush</em>. The art of portrait-painting - was a subject entirely new to them, and of course, unthought of; - and my appearance here has commenced a new era in the arcana of - <em>medicine</em> or mystery. Soon after arriving here, I commenced and - finished the portraits of the two principal chiefs. This was done - without having awakened the curiosity of the villagers, as they had - heard nothing of what was going on, and even the chiefs themselves - seemed to be ignorant of my designs, until the pictures were completed. - No one else was admitted into my lodge during the operation; and - when finished, it was exceedingly amusing to see them mutually - recognizing each other’s likeness, and assuring each other of the - striking resemblance which they bore to the originals. Both of these - pressed their hand over their mouths awhile in dead silence (a custom - amongst most tribes, when anything surprises them very much); looking - attentively upon the portraits and myself, and upon the palette and - colours with which these unaccountable effects had been produced.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">106</span></p> - - <p>They then walked up to me in the most gentle manner, taking me in - turn by the hand, with a firm grip; with head and eyes inclined - downwards, and in a tone a little above a whisper—pronounced the words - “te-ho-pe-nee Wash-ee!” and walked off.</p> - - <p>Readers, at that moment I was christened with a new and a great - name—one by which I am now familiarly hailed, and talked of in this - village; and no doubt will be, as long as traditions last in this - strange community.</p> - - <p>That moment conferred an honour on me, which you as yet do not - understand. I took the degree (not of Doctor of Laws, nor Bachelor of - Arts) of Master of Arts—of mysteries—of magic, and of hocus pocus. - I was recognized in that short sentence as a “great <em>medicine - white man</em>;” and since that time, have been regularly installed - <em>medicine</em> or mystery, which is the most honourable degree that - could be conferred upon me here; and I now hold a place amongst the - most eminent and envied personages, the doctors and conjurati of this - titled community.</p> - - <p>Te-ho-pe-nee Wash-ee (or medicine white man) is the name I now go by, - and it will prove to me, no doubt, of more value than gold, for I have - been called upon and feasted by the doctors, who are all mystery-men; - and it has been an easy and successful passport already to many strange - and mysterious places; and has put me in possession of a vast deal of - curious and interesting information, which I am sure I never should - have otherwise learned. I am daily growing in the estimation of the - medicine-men and the chiefs; and by assuming all the gravity and - circumspection due from so high a dignitary (and even considerably - more); and endeavouring to perform now and then some art or trick that - is unfathomable, I am in hopes of supporting my standing, until the - great annual ceremony commences; on which occasion, I may possibly be - allowed a seat in the <em>medicine-lodge</em> by the doctors, who are the - sole conductors of this great source and fountain of all priestcraft - and conjuration in this country.</p> - - <p>After I had finished the portraits of the two chiefs, and they had - returned to their wigwams, and deliberately seated themselves by their - respective fire-sides, and silently smoked a pipe or two (according - to an universal custom), they gradually began to tell what had taken - place; and at length crowds of gaping listeners, with mouths wide open, - thronged their lodges; and a throng of women and girls were about my - house, and through every crack and crevice I could see their glistening - eyes, which were piercing my hut in a hundred places, from a natural - and restless propensity, a curiosity to see what was going on within. - An hour or more passed in this way, and the soft and silken throng - continually increased, until some hundreds of them were clung, and - piled about my wigwam like a swarm of bees hanging on the front and - sides of their hive.</p> - - <p>During this time, not a man made his appearance about the - premises—after awhile, however, they could be seen, folded in their - robes, gradually <em>siding</em> up towards the lodge, with a silly look - upon their faces, which confessed at<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">107</span> once that curiosity was leading - them reluctantly, where their pride checked and forbade them to go. The - rush soon after became general, and the chiefs and medicine-men took - possession of my room, placing <em>soldiers</em> (braves with spears in - their hands) at the door, admitting no one, but such as were allowed by - the chiefs, to come in.</p> - - <p>Monsr. Kipp (the agent of the Fur Company, who has lived here eight - years, and to whom, for his politeness and hospitality, I am much - indebted), at this time took a seat with the chiefs, and, speaking - their language fluently, he explained to them my views and the objects - for which I was painting these portraits; and also expounded to them - the manner in which they were made,—at which they seemed all to be very - much pleased. The necessity at this time of exposing the portraits to - the view of the crowds who were assembled around the house, became - imperative, and they were held up together over the door, so that - the whole village had a chance to see and recognize their chiefs. - The effect upon so mixed a multitude, who as yet had heard no way of - accounting for them, was novel and really laughable. The likenesses - were instantly recognized, and many of the gaping multitude commenced - yelping; some were stamping off in the jarring dance—others were - singing, and others again were crying—hundreds covered their mouths - with their hands and were mute; others, indignant, drove their spears - frightfully into the ground, and some threw a reddened arrow at the - sun, and went home to their wigwams.</p> - - <p>The pictures seen,—the next curiosity was to see the man who made them, - and I was called forth. Readers! if you have any imagination, save me - the trouble of painting this scene. <span class="gesperrtstar">* * * * * * *</span> I stepped forth, and - was instantly hemmed in in the throng. Women were gaping and gazing—and - warriors and braves were offering me their hands,—whilst little boys - and girls, by dozens, were struggling through the crowd to touch me - with the ends of their fingers; and whilst I was engaged, from the - waist upwards, in fending off the throng and shaking hands, my legs - were assailed (not unlike the nibbling of little fish, when I have been - standing in deep water) by children, who were creeping between the legs - of the bystanders for the curiosity or honour of touching me with the - end of their finger. The eager curiosity and expression of astonishment - with which they gazed upon me, plainly shewed that they looked upon - me as some strange and unaccountable being. They pronounced me the - greatest <em>medicine-man</em> in the world; for they said I had made - <em>living beings</em>,—they said they could see their chiefs alive, in - two places—those that I had made were a <em>little</em> alive—they could - see their eyes move—could see them smile and laugh, and that if they - could laugh they could certainly speak, if they should try, and they - must therefore have <em>some life</em> in them.</p> - - <p>The squaws generally agreed, that they had discovered life enough in - them to render my <em>medicine</em> too great for the Mandans; saying - that such an<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">108</span> operation could not be performed without taking away from - the original something of his existence, which I put in the picture, - and they could see it move, could see it stir.</p> - - <p>This curtailing of the natural existence, for the purpose of - instilling life into the secondary one, they decided to be an useless - and destructive operation, and one which was calculated to do great - mischief in their happy community; and they commenced a mournful and - doleful chaunt against me, crying and weeping bitterly through the - village, proclaiming me a most “dangerous man; one who could make - living persons by looking at them; and at the same time, could, as - a matter of course, destroy life in the same way, if I chose. That - my medicine was dangerous to their lives, and that I must leave the - village immediately. That bad luck would happen to those whom I - painted—that I was to take a part of the existence of those whom I - painted, and carry it home with me amongst the white people, and that - when they died they would never sleep quiet in their graves.”</p> - - <p>In this way the women and some old quack medicine-men together, - had succeeded in raising an opposition against me; and the reasons - they assigned were so plausible and so exactly suited for their - superstitious feelings, that they completely succeeded in exciting - fears and a general panic in the minds of a number of chiefs who had - agreed to sit for their portraits, and my operations were, of course, - for several days completely at a stand. A grave council was held on - the subject from day to day, and there seemed great difficulty in - deciding what was to be done with me and the dangerous art which I was - practicing; and which had far exceeded their original expectations. I - finally got admittance to their sacred conclave, and assured them that - I was but a man like themselves,—that my art had no <em>medicine</em> or - mystery about it, but could be learned by any of them if they would - practice it as long as I had—that my intentions towards them were of - the most friendly kind, and that in the country where I lived, brave - men never allowed their squaws to frighten them with their foolish - whims and stories. They all immediately arose, shook me by the hand, - and dressed themselves for their pictures. After this, there was no - further difficulty about sitting; all were ready to be painted,—the - squaws were silent, and my painting-room a continual resort for the - chiefs, and braves, and medicine-men; where they waited with impatience - for the completion of each one’s picture,—that they could decide as to - the likeness as it came from under the brush; that they could laugh, - and yell, and sing a new song, and smoke a fresh pipe to the health and - success of him who had just been safely delivered from the hands and - the mystic operation of the “<em>white medicine</em>.”</p> - - <p>In each of these operations, as they successfully took place, I - observed that a pipe or two were well filled, and as soon as I - commenced painting, the chiefs and braves, who sat around the sides - of the lodge, commenced smoking for the success of the picture (and - probably as much or more so for the safe deliverance of the sitter from - harm while under the operation);<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">109</span> and so they continued to pass the - pipe around until the portrait was completed.</p> - - <p>In this way I progressed with my portraits, stopping occasionally - very suddenly as if something was wrong, and taking a tremendous puff - or two at the pipe, and streaming the smoke through my nostrils, - exhibiting in my looks and actions an evident relief; enabling me to - proceed with more facility and success,—by flattering and complimenting - each one on his good looks after I had got it done, and taking them - according to rank, or standing, making it a matter of honour with them, - which pleased them exceedingly, and gave me and my art the stamp of - respectability at once.</p> - - <p>I was then taken by the arm by the chiefs, and led to their lodges, - where feasts were prepared for me in elegant style, <i>i. e.</i> in - the best manner which this country affords; and being led by the arm, - and welcomed to them by <em>gentlemen</em> of high and exalted feelings, - rendered them in my estimation truly elegant.</p> - - <p>I was waited upon in due form and ceremony by the <em>medicine-men</em>, - who received me upon the old adage, “Similis simili gaudet.” I was - invited to a feast, and they presented me a <i lang="mhq">she-shee-quoi</i>, - or a doctor’s rattle, and also a magical wand, or a doctor’s staff, - strung with claws of the grizzly bear, with hoofs of the antelope—with - ermine—with wild sage and bat’s wings—and perfumed withal with the - <em>choice</em> and <em>savoury</em> odour of the pole-cat—a dog was - sacrificed and hung by the legs over my wigwam, and I was therefore and - thereby initiated into (and countenanced in the practice of) the arcana - of medicine or mystery, and considered a Fellow of the Extraordinary - Society of <em>Conjurati</em>.</p> - - <p>Since this signal success and good fortune in my operations, things - have gone on very pleasantly, and I have had a great deal of amusement. - Some altercation has taken place, however, amongst the chiefs and - braves, with regard to standing or rank, of which they are exceedingly - jealous; and they must sit (if at all) in regular order, according to - that rank; the trouble is all settled at last, however, and I have had - no want of subjects, though a great many have become again alarmed, - and are unwilling to sit, for fear, as some say, that they will die - prematurely if painted; and as others say, that if they are painted, - the picture will live after they are dead, and they cannot sleep quiet - in their graves.</p> - - <p>I have had several most remarkable occurrences in my painting-room, of - this kind, which have made me some everlasting enemies here; though - the minds and feelings of the chiefs and medicine-men have not been - affected by them. There has been three or four instances where proud - and aspiring young men have been in my lodge, and after gazing at the - portraits of the head chief across the room (which sits looking them - in the eyes), have raised their hands before their faces and walked - around to the side of the lodge, on the right or left, from whence to - take a long and fair side-look at the chief, instead of staring him - full in the face (which is a most unpardonable offence<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">110</span> in all Indian - tribes); and after having got in that position, and cast their eyes - again upon the portrait which was yet looking them full in the face, - have thrown their robes over their heads and bolted out of the wigwam, - filled equally with astonishment and indignation; averring, as they - always will in a sullen mood, that they “saw the eyes move,”—that as - they walked around the room “the eyes of the portrait followed them.” - With these unfortunate gentlemen, repeated efforts have been made by - the Traders, and also by the chiefs and doctors, who understand the - illusion, to convince them of their error, by explaining the mystery; - but they will not hear to any explanation whatever; saying, that “what - they see with their eyes is always evidence enough for them;” that they - always “believe their own eyes sooner than a hundred tongues,” and all - efforts to get them a second time to my room, or into my company in any - place, have proved entirely unsuccessful.</p> - - <p>I had trouble brewing also the other day from another source; one of - the “<em>medicines</em>” commenced howling and haranguing around my - domicil, amongst the throng that was outside, proclaiming that all who - were inside and being painted were fools and would soon die; and very - materially affecting thereby my popularity. I however sent for him - and called him in the next morning, when I was alone, having only the - interpreter with me; telling him that I had had my eye upon him for - several days, and had been so well pleased with his looks, that I had - taken great pains to find out his history, which had been explained by - all as one of a most extraordinary kind, and his character and standing - in his tribe as worthy of my particular notice; and that I had several - days since resolved that as soon as I had practiced my hand long enough - upon the others, to get the stiffness out of it (after paddling my - canoe so far as I had) and make it to work easily and successfully, - I would begin on his portrait, which I was then prepared to commence - on that day, and that I felt as if I could do him justice. He shook - me by the hand, giving me the “Doctor’s grip,” and beckoned me to sit - down, which I did, and we smoked a pipe together. After this was over, - he told me, that “he had no inimical feelings towards me, although he - had been telling the chiefs that they were all fools, and all would - die who had their portraits painted—that although he had set the old - women and children all crying, and even made some of the young warriors - tremble, yet he had no unfriendly feelings towards me, nor any fear - or dread of my art.” “I know you are a good man (said he), I know you - will do no harm to any one, your medicine is great and you are a great - ‘medicine-man.’ I would like to see myself very well—and so would all - of the chiefs; but they have all been many days in this medicine-house, - and they all know me well, and they have not asked me to come in and be - <em>made alive</em> with paints—my friend, I am glad that my people have - told you who I am—my heart is glad—I will go to my wigwam and eat, and - in a little while I will come, and you may go to work;”—another pipe - was lit and smoked, and he got up and went off. I prepared my canvass - and palette,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">111</span> and whistled away the time until twelve o’clock, before - he made his appearance; having used the whole of the fore-part of the - day at his toilette, arranging his dress and ornamenting his body for - his picture.</p> - - <figure class="mt2 illowp75" id="i_055"> - <div class="plate"><i>30</i></div> - <img src="images/i_055.jpg" alt="Mah-to-he-ha"> - <figcaption>55</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>At that hour then, bedaubed and streaked with paints of various - colours, with bear’s grease and charcoal, with medicine-pipes in his - hands and foxes tails attached to his heels, entered Mah-to-he-ha (the - old bear, <a href="#i_055"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 55</a>), with a train of his own profession, who - seated themselves around him; and also a number of boys, whom it was - requested should remain with him, and whom I supposed it possible - might have been pupils, whom he was instructing in the mysteries of - <i>materia medica</i> and <i>hoca poca</i>. He took his position in - the middle of the room, waving his eagle calumets in each hand, and - singing his medicine-song which he sings over his dying patient, - looking me full in the face until I completed his picture, which I - painted at full length. His vanity has been completely gratified in - the operation; he lies for hours together, day after day, in my room, - in front of his picture, gazing intensely upon it; lights my pipe for - me while I am painting—shakes hands with me a dozen times on each day, - and talks of me, and enlarges upon my <em>medicine</em> virtues and my - talents, wherever he goes; so that this new difficulty is now removed, - and instead of preaching against me, he is one of my strongest and most - enthusiastic friends and aids in the country.</p> - - <p>There is yet to be described another sort of personage, that is often - seen stalking about in all Indian communities, a kind of nondescript, - with whom I have been somewhat annoyed, and still more amused, since I - came to this village, of whom (or of <em>which</em>) I shall give some - account in my next epistle.</p> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">112</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_16">LETTER—<abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 16.</h2> - </div> - <div class="subheadc">MANDAN VILLAGE, UPPER MISSOURI.</div> - - <p><span class="smcap">Besides</span> chiefs, and braves and doctors, of whom I have heretofore - spoken, there is yet another character of whom I must say a few words - before I proceed to other topics. The person I allude to, is the one - mentioned at the close of my last Letter, and familiarly known and - countenanced in every tribe as an Indian <i lang="fr">beau</i> or <em>dandy</em>. - Such personages may be seen on every pleasant day, strutting and - parading around the village in the most beautiful and unsoiled dresses, - without the honourable trophies however of scalp locks and claws of - the grizzly bear, attached to their costume, for with such things they - deal not. They are not peculiarly anxious to hazard their lives in - equal and honourable combat with the one, or disposed to cross the path - of the other; but generally remain about the village, to take care of - the women, and attire themselves in the skins of such animals as they - can easily kill, without seeking the rugged cliffs for the war-eagle, - or visiting the haunts of the grizzly bear. They plume themselves - with swan’s-down and quills of ducks, with braids and plaits of - sweet-scented grass and other harmless and unmeaning ornaments, which - have no other merit than they themselves have, that of looking pretty - and ornamental.</p> - - <p>These clean and elegant gentlemen, who are very few in each tribe, are - held in very little estimation by the chiefs and braves; inasmuch as it - is known by all, that they have a most horrible aversion to arms, and - are denominated “faint hearts” or “old women” by the whole tribe, and - are therefore but little respected. They seem, however, to be tolerably - well contented with the appellation, together with the celebrity - they have acquired amongst the women and children for the beauty and - elegance of their personal appearance; and most of them seem to take - and enjoy their share of the world’s pleasures, although they are - looked upon as drones in society.</p> - - <p>These gay and tinselled bucks may be seen in a pleasant day in all - their plumes, astride of their pied or dappled ponies, with a fan in - the right hand, made of a turkey’s tail—with whip and a fly-brush - attached to the wrist of the same hand, and underneath them a white and - beautiful and soft pleasure-saddle, ornamented with porcupine quills - and ermine, parading through and lounging about the village for an hour - or so, when they will cautiously bend their course to the suburbs of - the town, where they will sit<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">113</span> or recline upon their horses for an hour - or two, overlooking the beautiful games where the braves and the young - aspirants are contending in manly and athletic amusements;—when they - are fatigued with this severe effort, they wend their way back again, - lift off their fine white saddle of doe’s-skin, which is wadded with - buffalo’s hair, turn out their pony—take a little refreshment, smoke a - pipe, fan themselves to sleep, and doze away the rest of the day.</p> - - <p>Whilst I have been painting, from day to day, there have been two or - three of these fops continually strutting and taking their attitudes - in front of my door; decked out in all their finery, without receiving - other benefit or other information, than such as they could discover - through the cracks and seams of my cabin. The chiefs, I observed, - passed them by without notice, and of course, without inviting them - in; and they seemed to figure about my door from day to day in their - best dresses and best attitudes, as if in hopes that I would select - them as models, for my canvass. It was natural that I should do so, - for their costume and personal appearance was entirely more beautiful - than anything else to be seen in the village. My plans were laid, - and one day when I had got through with all of the head men, who - were willing to sit to be painted, and there were two or three of - the chiefs lounging in my room, I stepped to the door and tapped one - of these fellows on the shoulder, who took the hint, and stepped in, - well-pleased and delighted with the signal and honourable notice I had - at length taken of him and his beautiful dress. Readers, you cannot - imagine what was the expression of gratitude which beamed forth in - this poor fellow’s face, and how high his heart beat with joy and - pride at the idea of my selecting him to be immortal, alongside of the - chiefs and worthies whose portraits he saw arranged around the room; - and by which honour he, undoubtedly, considered himself well paid for - two or three weeks of regular painting, and greasing, and dressing, - and standing alternately on one leg and the other at the door of my - premises.</p> - - <p>Well, I placed him before me, and a canvass on my easel, and “chalked - him out” at full length. He was truly a beautiful subject for the - brush, and I was filled with enthusiasm—his dress from head to foot was - of the skins of the mountain-goat, and dressed so neatly, that they - were almost as soft and as white as Canton crape—around the bottom and - the sides it was trimmed with ermine, and porcupine quills of beautiful - dyes garnished it in a hundred parts;—his hair which was long, and - spread over his back and shoulders, extending nearly to the ground, was - all combed back and parted on his forehead like that of a woman. He - was a tall and fine figure, with ease and grace in his movements, that - were well worthy of a man of better caste. In his left hand he held a - beautiful pipe—and in his right hand he plied his fan, and on his wrist - was still attached his whip of elk’s horn, and his fly-brush, made of - the buffalo’s tail. There was nought about him of the terrible, and - nought to shock the finest, chastest intellect.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">114</span></p> - - <p>I had thus far progressed, with high-wrought feelings of pleasure, - when the two or three chiefs, who had been seated around the lodge, - and whose portraits I had before painted, arose suddenly, and wrapping - themselves tightly in their robes, crossed my room with a quick and - heavy step, and took an informal leave of my cabin. I was apprehensive - of their displeasure, though I continued my work; and in a few moments - the interpreter came furiously into my room, addressing me thus:—“My - God, Sir! this never will do; you have given great offence to the - chiefs—they have made complaint of your conduct to me—they tell me - this is a worthless fellow—a man of no account in the nation, and if - you paint his picture, you must instantly destroy theirs; you have no - alternative, my dear Sir—and the quicker this chap is out of your lodge - the better.”</p> - - <p>The same matter was explained to my sitter by the interpreter, when - he picked up his robe, wrapped himself in it, plied his fan nimbly - about his face, and walked out of the lodge in silence, but with quite - a consequential smile, taking his old position in front of the door - for awhile, after which he drew himself quietly off without further - exhibition. So highly do Mandan braves and worthies value the honour - of being painted; and so little do they value a man, however lavishly - Nature may have bestowed her master touches upon him, who has not the - pride and noble bearing of a warrior.</p> - - <p>I spoke in a former Letter of Mah-to-toh-pa (the four bears), the - second chief of the nation, and the most popular man of the Mandans—a - high-minded and gallant warrior, as well as a polite and polished - gentleman. Since I painted his portrait, as I before described, I - have received at his hands many marked and signal attentions; some - of which I must name to you, as the very relation of them will put - you in possession of many little forms and modes of Indian life, that - otherwise might not have been noted.</p> - - <p>About a week since, this noble fellow stepped into my painting-room - about twelve o’clock in the day, in full and splendid dress, and - passing his arm through mine, pointed the way, and led me in the most - gentlemanly manner, through the village and into his own lodge, where - a feast was prepared in a careful manner and waiting our arrival. The - lodge in which he dwelt was a room of immense size, some forty or fifty - feet in diameter, in a circular form, and about twenty feet high—with a - sunken curb of stone in the centre, of five or six feet in diameter and - one foot deep, which contained the fire over which the pot was boiling. - I was led near the edge of this curb, and seated on a very handsome - robe, most ingeniously garnished and painted with hieroglyphics; and he - seated himself gracefully on another one at a little distance from me; - with the feast prepared in several dishes, resting on a beautiful rush - mat, which was placed between us (<a href="#i_062"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 62</a>).</p> - - <p>The simple feast which was spread before us consisted of three dishes - only, two of which were served in wooden bowls, and the third in - an earthen vessel of their own manufacture, somewhat in shape of a - bread-tray in our own country. This last contained a quantity of - <em>pem-i-can</em> and <em>marrow-fat</em>;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">115</span> and one of the former held - a fine brace of buffalo ribs, delightfully roasted; and the other - was filled with a kind of paste or pudding, made of the flour of the - “<i lang="fr">pomme blanche</i>,” as the French call it, a delicious turnip of - the prairie, finely flavoured with the buffalo berries, which are - collected in great quantities in this country, and used with divers - dishes in cooking, as we in civilized countries use dried currants, - which they very much resemble.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>31</i></div> - <figure id="i_062"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_062.jpg" alt="In Mah-to-toh-pa's lodge"> - <figcaption>62</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>A handsome pipe and a tobacco-pouch made of the otter skin, filled with - k’nick-k’neck (Indian tobacco), laid by the side of the feast; and when - we were seated, mine host took up his pipe, and deliberately filled - it; and instead of lighting it by the fire, which he could easily have - done, he drew from his pouch his flint and steel, and raised a spark - with which he kindled it. He drew a few strong whiffs through it, and - presented the stem of it to my mouth, through which I drew a whiff or - two while he held the stem in his hands. This done, he laid down the - pipe, and drawing his knife from his belt, cut off a very small piece - of the meat from the ribs, and pronouncing the words “Ho-pe-ne-chee - wa-pa-shee” (meaning a <em>medicine</em> sacrifice), threw it into the - fire.</p> - - <p>He then (by signals) requested me to eat, and I commenced, after - drawing out from my belt my knife (which it is supposed that every man - in this country carries about him, for at an Indian feast a knife is - never offered to a guest). Reader, be not astonished that I sat and - ate my dinner <em>alone</em>, for such is the custom of this strange - land. In all tribes in these western regions it is an invariable rule - that a chief never eats with his guests invited to a feast; but while - they eat, he sits by, at their service, and ready to wait upon them; - deliberately charging and lighting the pipe which is to be passed - around after the feast is over. Such was the case in the present - instance, and while I was eating, Mah-to-toh-pa sat cross-legged before - me, cleaning his pipe and preparing it for a cheerful smoke when I had - finished my meal. For this ceremony I observed he was making unusual - preparation, and I observed as I ate, that after he had taken enough - of the k’nick-k’neck or bark of the red willow, from his pouch, he - rolled out of it also a piece of the “<em>castor</em>,” which it is - customary amongst these folks to carry in their tobacco-sack to give it - a flavour; and, shaving off a small quantity of it, mixed it with the - bark, with which he charged his pipe. This done, he drew also from his - sack a small parcel containing a fine powder, which was made of dried - buffalo dung, a little of which he spread over the top, (according also - to custom,) which was like tinder, having no other effect than that of - lighting the pipe with ease and satisfaction. My appetite satiated, - I straightened up, and with a whiff the pipe was lit, and we enjoyed - together for a quarter of an hour the most delightful exchange of good - feelings, amid clouds of smoke and pantomimic signs and gesticulations.</p> - - <p>The dish of “pemican and marrow-fat,” of which I spoke, was thus:—The - first, an article of food used throughout this country, as familiarly - as we use<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">116</span> bread in the civilized world. It is made of buffalo meat - dried very hard, and afterwards pounded in a large wooden mortar until - it is made nearly as fine as sawdust, then packed in this dry state in - bladders or sacks of skin, and is easily carried to any part of the - world in good order. “Marrow-fat” is collected by the Indians from - the buffalo bones which they break to pieces, yielding a prodigious - quantity of marrow, which is boiled out and put into buffalo bladders - which have been distended; and after it cools, becomes quite hard like - tallow, and has the appearance, and very nearly the flavour, of the - richest yellow butter. At a feast, chunks of this marrow-fat are cut - off and placed in a tray or bowl, with the pemican, and eaten together; - which we civilized folks in these regions consider a very good - substitute for (and indeed we generally so denominate it) “bread and - butter.” In this dish laid a spoon made of the buffalo’s horn, which - was black as jet, and beautifully polished; in one of the others there - was another of still more ingenious and beautiful workmanship, made of - the horn of the mountain-sheep, or “Gros corn,” as the French trappers - call them; it was large enough to hold of itself two or three pints, - and was almost entirely transparent.</p> - - <p>I spoke also of the earthen dishes or bowls in which these viands were - served out; they are a familiar part of the culinary furniture of - every Mandan lodge, and are manufactured by the women of this tribe - in great quantities, and modelled into a thousand forms and tastes. - They are made by the hands of the women, from a tough black clay, and - baked in kilns which are made for the purpose, and are nearly equal in - hardness to our own manufacture of pottery; though they have not yet - got the art of glazing, which would be to them a most valuable secret. - They make them so strong and serviceable, however, that they hang them - over the fire as we do our iron pots, and boil their meat in them with - perfect success. I have seen some few specimens of such manufacture, - which have been dug up in Indian mounds and tombs in the southern and - middle states, placed in our Eastern Museums and looked upon as a great - wonder, when here this novelty is at once done away with, and the whole - mystery; where women can be seen handling and using them by hundreds, - and they can be seen every day in the summer also, moulding them into - many fanciful forms, and passing them through the kiln where they are - hardened.</p> - - <p>Whilst sitting at this feast the wigwam was as silent as death, - although we were not alone in it. This chief, like most others, had a - plurality of wives, and all of them (some six or seven) were seated - around the sides of the lodge, upon robes or mats placed upon the - ground, and not allowed to speak, though they were in readiness to obey - his orders or commands, which were uniformly given by signs manual, and - executed in the neatest and most silent manner.</p> - - <p>When I arose to return, the pipe through which we had smoked was - presented to me; and the robe on which I had sat, he gracefully raised - by the corners and tendered it to me, explaining by signs that the - paintings<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">117</span> which were on it were the representations of the battles of - his life, where he had fought and killed with his own hand fourteen - of his enemies; that he had been two weeks engaged in painting it for - me, and that he had invited me here on this occasion to present it to - me. The robe, readers, which I shall describe in a future epistle, I - took upon my shoulder, and he took me by the arm and led me back to my - painting-room.</p> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">118</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_17">LETTER—<abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 17.</h2> - </div> - <div class="subheadc">MANDAN VILLAGE, <i>UPPER MISSOURI</i>.</div> - - <p><span class="smcap">I mentioned</span> in the foregoing epistle, that the chiefs of the Mandans - frequently have a plurality of wives. Such is the custom amongst all of - these North Western tribes, and a few general remarks on this subject - will apply to them all, and save the trouble of repeating them.</p> - - <p>Polygamy is countenanced amongst all of the North American Indians, so - far as I have visited them; and it is no uncommon thing to find a chief - with six, eight, or ten, and some with twelve or fourteen wives in his - lodge. Such is an ancient custom, and in their estimation is right as - well as necessary. Women in a savage state, I believe, are always held - in a rank inferior to that of the men, in relation to whom in many - respects they stand rather in the light of menials and slaves than - otherwise; and as they are the “hewers of wood and drawers of water,” - it becomes a matter of necessity for a chief (who must be liberal, - keep open doors, and entertain, for the support of his popularity) to - have in his wigwam a sufficient number of such handmaids or menials to - perform the numerous duties and drudgeries of so large and expensive an - establishment.</p> - - <p>There are two other reasons for this custom which operate with - equal, if not with greater force than the one above assigned. In the - first place, these people, though far behind the civilized world in - acquisitiveness, have still more or less passion for the accumulation - of wealth, or, in other words, for the luxuries of life; and a - chief, excited by a desire of this kind, together with a wish to be - able to furnish his lodge with something more than ordinary for the - entertainment of his own people, as well as strangers who fall upon his - hospitality, sees fit to marry a number of wives, who are kept at hard - labour during most of the year; and the avails of that labour enable - him to procure those luxuries, and give to his lodge the appearance - of respectability which is not ordinarily seen. Amongst those tribes - who trade with the Fur Companies, this system is carried out to a - great extent, and the women are kept for the greater part of the - year, dressing buffalo robes and other skins for the market; and the - brave or chief, who has the greatest number of wives, is considered - the most affluent and envied man in the tribe; for his table is most - bountifully supplied, and his lodge the most abundantly furnished with - the luxuries<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">119</span> of civilized manufacture, who has at the year’s end the - greatest number of robes to vend to the Fur Company.</p> - - <p>The manual labour amongst savages is all done by the women; and as - there are no daily labourers or persons who will “<em>hire out</em>” to - labour for another, it becomes necessary for him who requires more than - the labour or services of one, to add to the number by legalizing and - compromising by the ceremony of marriage, his stock of labourers; who - can thus, and thus alone, be easily enslaved, and the results of their - labour turned to good account.</p> - - <p>There is yet the other inducement, which probably is more effective - than either; the natural inclination which belongs to man, who - stands high in the estimation of his people and wields the sceptre - of power—surrounded by temptations which he considers it would be - unnatural to resist, where no law or regulation of society stands - in the way of his enjoyment. Such a custom amongst savage nations - can easily be excused too, and we are bound to excuse it, when - we behold man in a state of nature, as he was made, following a - natural inclination, which is sanctioned by ancient custom and by - their religion, without a law or regulation of their society to - discountenance it; and when, at the same time, such an accumulation of - a man’s household, instead of quadrupling his expenses (as would be - the case in the civilized world), actually becomes his wealth, as the - results of their labour abundantly secure to him all the necessaries - and luxuries of life.</p> - - <p>There are other and very rational grounds on which the propriety - of such a custom may be urged, one of which is as follows:—as all - nations of Indians in their natural condition are unceasingly at war - with the tribes that are about them, for the adjustment of ancient - and never-ending feuds, as well as from a love of glory, to which in - Indian life the battle-field is almost the only road, their warriors - are killed off to that extent, that in many instances two and sometimes - three women to a man are found in a tribe. In such instances I have - found that the custom of polygamy has kindly helped the community to an - evident relief from a cruel and prodigious calamity.</p> - - <p>The instances of which I have above spoken, are generally confined to - the chiefs and medicine-men; though there is no regulation prohibiting - a poor or obscure individual from marrying several wives, other than - the personal difficulties which lie between him and the hand which he - wishes in vain to get, for want of sufficient celebrity in society, or - from a still more frequent objection, that of his inability (from want - of worldly goods) to deal in the customary way with the fathers of the - girls whom he would appropriate to his own household.</p> - - <p>There are very few instances indeed, to be seen in these regions, where - a poor or ordinary citizen has more than one wife; but amongst chiefs - and braves of great reputation, and doctors, it is common to see some - six or<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">120</span> eight living under one roof, and all apparently quiet and - contented; seemingly harmonizing, and enjoying the modes of life and - treatment that falls to their lot.</p> - - <p>Wives in this country are mostly treated for with the father, as in all - instances they are regularly bought and sold. In many cases the bargain - is made with the father alone, without ever consulting the inclinations - of the girl, and seems to be conducted on his part as a mercenary - contract entirely, where he stands out for the highest price he can - possibly command for her. There are other instances to be sure, where - the parties approach each other, and from the expression of a mutual - fondness, make their own arrangements, and pass their own mutual vows, - which are quite as sacred and inviolable as similar assurances when - made in the civilized world. Yet even in such cases, the marriage is - never consummated without the necessary form of making presents to the - father of the girl.</p> - - <p>It becomes a matter of policy and almost of absolute necessity, for the - white men who are Traders in these regions to connect themselves in - this way, to one or more of the most influential families in the tribe, - which in a measure identifies their interest with that of the nation, - and enables them, with the influence of their new family connexions, - to carry on successfully their business transactions with them. The - young women of the best families only can aspire to such an elevation; - and the most of them are exceedingly ambitious for such a connexion, - inasmuch as they are certain of a delightful exemption from the slavish - duties that devolve upon them when married under other circumstances; - and expect to be, as they generally are, allowed to lead a life of ease - and idleness, covered with mantles of blue and scarlet cloth—with beads - and trinkets, and ribbons, in which they flounce and flirt about, the - envied and tinselled belles of every tribe.</p> - - <p>These connexions, however, can scarcely be called marriages, for I - believe they are generally entered into without the form or solemnizing - ceremony of a marriage, and on the part of the father of the girls, - conducted purely as a mercenary or business transaction; in which - they are very expert, and practice a deal of shrewdness in exacting - an adequate price from a purchaser whom they consider possessed of - so large and so rich a stock of the world’s goods; and who they deem - abundantly able to pay liberally for so delightful a commodity.</p> - - <p>Almost every Trader and every clerk who commences in the business of - this country, speedily enters into such an arrangement, which is done - with as little ceremony as he would bargain for a horse, and just as - unceremoniously do they annul and abolish this connexion when they - wish to leave the country, or change their positions from one tribe to - another; at which time the woman is left, a fair and proper candidate - for matrimony or speculation, when another applicant comes along, and - her father equally desirous for another horse or gun, &c. which he can - easily command at her second espousal.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">121</span></p> - - <p>From the enslaved and degraded condition in which the women are held in - the Indian country, the world would naturally think that theirs must - be a community formed of incongruous and unharmonizing materials; and - consequently destitute of the fine, reciprocal feelings and attachments - which flow from the domestic relations in the civilized world; yet it - would be untrue, and doing injustice to the Indians, to say that they - were in the least behind us in conjugal, in filial, and in paternal - affection. There is no trait in the human character which is more - universal than the attachments which flow from these relations, and - there is no part of the human species who have a stronger affection and - a higher regard for them than the North American Indians.</p> - - <p>There is no subject in the Indian character of more importance to be - rightly understood than this, and none either that has furnished me - more numerous instances and more striking proofs, of which I shall - make use on a future occasion, when I shall say a vast deal more of - marriage—of divorce—of polygamy—and of Indian domestic relations. For - the present I am scribbling about the looks and usages of the Indians - who are about me and under my eye; and I must not digress too much into - general remarks, lest I lose sight of those who are near me, and the - first to be heralded.</p> - - <p>Such, then, are the Mandans—their women are beautiful and modest,—and - amongst the respectable families, virtue is as highly cherished and - as inapproachable, as in any society whatever; yet at the same time a - chief may marry a dozen wives if he pleases, and so may a white man; - and if either wishes to marry the most beautiful and modest girl in the - tribe, she is valued only equal, perhaps, to two horses, a gun with - powder and ball for a year, five or six pounds of beads, a couple of - gallons of whiskey, and a handful of awls.</p> - - <p>The girls of this tribe, like those of most of these north-western - tribes, marry at the age of twelve or fourteen, and some at the age of - eleven years; and their beauty, from this fact, as well as from the - slavish life they lead, soon after marriage vanishes. Their occupations - are almost continual, and they seem to go industriously at them, as if - from choice or inclination, without a murmur.</p> - - <p>The principal occupations of the women in this village, consist in - procuring wood and water, in cooking, dressing robes and other skins, - in drying meat and wild fruit, and raising corn (maize). The Mandans - are somewhat of agriculturists, as they raise a great deal of corn and - some pumpkins and squashes. This is all done by the women, who make - their hoes of the shoulder-blade of the buffalo or the elk, and dig the - ground over instead of ploughing it, which is consequently done with a - vast deal of labour. They raise a very small sort of corn, the ears of - which are not longer than a man’s thumb. This variety is well adapted - to their climate, as it ripens sooner than other varieties, which - would not mature in so cold a latitude. The green corn season is one - of great festivity with them, and one of much importance. The greater - part of their crop is eaten during these festivals,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">122</span> and the remainder - is gathered and dried on the cob, before it has ripened, and packed - away in “<i lang="fr">caches</i>” (as the French call them), holes dug in the - ground, some six or seven feet deep, the insides of which are somewhat - in the form of a jug, and tightly closed at the top. The corn, and even - dried meat and pemican, are placed in these <i lang="fr">caches</i>, being packed - tight around the sides., with prairie grass, and effectually preserved - through the severest winters.</p> - - <p>Corn and dried meat are generally laid in in the fall, in sufficient - quantities to support them through the winter. These are the principal - articles of food during that long and inclement season; and in addition - to them, they oftentimes have in store great quantities of dried - squashes and dried “<i lang="fr">pommes blanches</i>,” a kind of turnip which - grows in great abundance in these regions, and of which I have before - spoken. These are dried in great quantities, and pounded into a sort of - meal, and cooked with the dried meat and corn. Great quantities also of - wild fruit of different kinds are dried and laid away in store for the - winter season, such as buffalo berries, service berries, strawberries, - and wild plums.</p> - - <p>The buffalo meat, however, is the great staple and “staff of life” in - this country, and seldom (if ever) fails to afford them an abundant and - wholesome means of subsistence. There are, from a fair computation, - something like 250,000 Indians in these western regions, who live - almost exclusively on the flesh of these animals, through every part of - the year. During the summer and fall months they use the meat fresh, - and cook it in a great variety of ways, by roasting, broiling, boiling, - stewing, smoking, &c.; and by boiling the ribs and joints with the - marrow in them, make a delicious soup, which is universally used, and - in vast quantities. The Mandans, I find, have no regular or stated - times for their meals, but generally eat about twice in the twenty-four - hours. The pot is always boiling over the fire, and any one who is - hungry (either of the household or from any other part of the village) - has a right to order it taken off, and to fall to eating as he pleases. - Such is an unvarying custom amongst the North American Indians, and I - very much doubt, whether the civilized world have in their institutions - any system which can properly be called more humane and charitable. - Every man, woman, or child in Indian communities is allowed to enter - any one’s lodge, and even that of the chief of the nation, and eat when - they are hungry, provided misfortune or necessity has driven them to - it. Even so can the poorest and most worthless drone of the nation; if - he is too lazy to hunt or to supply himself, he can walk into any lodge - and everyone will share with him as long as there is anything to eat. - He, however, who thus begs when he is able to hunt, pays dear for his - meat, for he is stigmatized with the disgraceful epithet of a poltroon - and a beggar.</p> - - <p>The Mandans, like all other tribes, sit at their meals cross-legged, - or rather with their ancles crossed in front of them, and both feet - drawn close under their bodies; or, which is very often the case also, - take their meals in a reclining<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">123</span> posture, with the legs thrown out, and - the body resting on one elbow and fore-arm, which are under them. The - dishes from which they eat are invariably on the ground or floor of - the lodge, and the group resting on buffalo robes or mats of various - structure and manufacture.</p> - - <p>The position in which the women sit at their meals and on other - occasions is different from that of the men, and one which they - take and rise from again, with great ease and much grace, by merely - bending the knees both together, inclining the body back and the head - and shoulders quite forward, they squat entirely down to the ground, - inclining both feet either to the right or the left. In this position - they always rest while eating, and it is both modest and graceful, for - they seem, with apparent ease, to assume the position and rise out of - it, without using their hands in any way to assist them.</p> - - <p>These women, however, although graceful and civil, and ever so - beautiful or ever so hungry, are not allowed to sit in the same group - with the men while at their meals. So far as I have yet travelled in - the Indian country, I never have seen an Indian woman eating with - her husband. Men form the first group at the banquet, and women, and - children and dogs all come together at the next, and these gormandize - and glut themselves to an enormous extent, though the men very seldom - do.</p> - - <p>It is time that an error on this subject, which has gone generally - abroad in the world, was corrected. It is everywhere asserted, and - almost universally believed, that the Indians are “enormous eaters;” - but comparatively speaking, I assure my readers that this is an error. - I venture to say that there are no persons on earth who practice - greater prudence and self-denial, than the men do (amongst the wild - Indians), who are constantly in war and in the chase, or in their - athletic sports and exercises; for all of which they are excited by - the highest ideas of pride and honour, and every kind of excess is - studiously avoided; and for a very great part of their lives, the most - painful abstinence is enforced upon themselves, for the purpose of - preparing their bodies and their limbs for these extravagant exertions. - Many a man who has been a few weeks along the frontier, amongst the - drunken, naked and beggared part of the Indian race, and run home - and written a book on Indians, has, no doubt, often seen them eat to - beastly excess; and he has seen them also guzzle whiskey (and perhaps - <em>sold</em> it to them) till he has seen them glutted and besotted, - without will or energy to move; and many and thousands of such things - can always be seen, where white people have made beggars of them, and - they have nothing to do but lie under a fence and beg a whole week to - get meat and whiskey enough for one feast and one carouse; but amongst - the wild Indians in this country there are no beggars—no drunkards—and - every man, from a beautiful natural precept, studies to keep his body - and mind in such a healthy shape and condition as will at all times - enable him to use his weapons in self-defence, or struggle for the - prize in their manly games.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">124</span></p> - - <p>As I before observed, these men generally eat but twice a day, and many - times not more than once, and those meals are light and simple compared - with the meals that are swallowed in the civilized world; and by the - very people also, who sit at the festive board three times a day, - making a jest of the Indian for his eating, when they actually guzzle - more liquids, besides their eating, than would fill the stomach of an - Indian.</p> - - <p>There are, however, many seasons and occasions in the year with all - Indians, when they fast for several days in succession; and others - where they can <em>get</em> nothing to eat; and at such times (their - habits are such) they may be seen to commence with an enormous meal, - and because they do so, it is an insufficient reason why we should for - ever remain under so egregious an error with regard to a single custom - of these people.</p> - - <p>I have seen so many of these, and lived with them, and travelled with - them, and oftentimes felt as if I should starve to death on an equal - allowance, that I am fully convinced I am correct in saying that the - North American Indians, taking them in the aggregate, even where they - have an abundance to subsist on, eat less than any civilized population - of equal numbers, that I have ever travelled amongst.</p> - - <p>Their mode of curing and preserving the buffalo meat is somewhat - curious, and in fact it is almost incredible also; for it is all cured - or dried in the sun, without the aid of salt or smoke! The method - of doing this is the same amongst all the tribes, from this to the - Mexican Provinces, and is as follows:—The choicest parts of the flesh - from the buffalo are cut out by the squaws, and carried home on their - backs or on horses, and there cut “<em>across the grain</em>,” in such a - manner as will take alternately the layers of lean and fat; and having - prepared it all in this way, in strips about half an inch in thickness, - it is hung up by hundreds and thousands of pounds on poles resting on - crotches, out of the reach of dogs or wolves, and exposed to the rays - of the sun for several days, when it becomes so effectually dried, that - it can be carried to any part of the world without damage. This seems - almost an unaccountable thing, and the more so, as it is done in the - hottest months of the year, and also in all the different latitudes of - an Indian country.</p> - - <p>So singular a fact as this can only be accounted for, I consider, on - the ground of the extraordinary rarity and purity of the air which - we meet with in these vast tracts of country, which are now properly - denominated “the great buffalo plains,” a series of exceedingly - elevated plateaus of <em>steppes</em> or <em>prairies</em>, lying at and - near the base of the Rocky Mountains.</p> - - <p>It is a fact then, which I presume will be new to most of the world, - that meat can be cured in the sun without the aid of smoke or salt; - and it is a fact equally true and equally surprising also, that none - of these tribes use salt in any way, although their country abounds - in salt springs; and in many places, in the frequent walks of the - Indian, the prairie may be seen, for miles together, covered with an - incrustation of salt as white as the drifted snow.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">125</span></p> - - <p>I have, in travelling with Indians, encamped by such places, where they - have cooked and eaten their meat, when I have been unable to prevail on - them to use salt in any quantity whatever. The Indians cook their meat - more than the civilized people do, and I have long since learned, from - necessity, that meat thus cooked can easily be eaten and relished too, - without salt or other condiment.</p> - - <p>The fact above asserted applies exclusively to those tribes of Indians - which I have found in their primitive state, living entirely on meat; - but everywhere along our Frontier, where the game of the country - has long since been chiefly destroyed, and these people have become - semi-civilized, raising and eating, as we do, a variety of vegetable - food, they use (and no doubt require), a great deal of salt; and in - many instances use it even to destructive excess.</p> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">126</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_18">LETTER—<abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 18.</h2> - </div> - <div class="subheadc">MANDAN VILLAGE, UPPER MISSOURI.</div> - - <p><span class="smcap">The</span> Mandans, like all other tribes, lead lives of idleness and - leisure; and of course, devote a great deal of time to their sports - and amusements, of which they have a great variety. Of these, dancing - is one of the principal, and may be seen in a variety of forms: such - as the buffalo dance, the boasting dance, the begging dance, the scalp - dance, and a dozen other kinds of dances, all of which have their - peculiar characters and meanings or objects.</p> - - <p>These exercises are exceedingly grotesque in their appearance, and to - the eye of a traveller who knows not their meaning or importance, they - are an uncouth and frightful display of starts, and jumps, and yelps, - and jarring gutturals, which are sometimes truly terrifying. But when - one gives them a little attention, and has been lucky enough to be - initiated into their mysterious meaning, they become a subject of the - most intense and exciting interest. Every dance has its peculiar step, - and every step has its meaning; every dance also has its peculiar song, - and that is so intricate and mysterious oftentimes, that not one in ten - of the young men who are dancing and singing it, know the meaning of - the song which they are chanting over. None but the medicine-men are - allowed to understand them; and even they are generally only initiated - into these secret arcana, on the payment of a liberal stipend for their - tuition, which requires much application and study. There is evidently - a set song and sentiment for every dance, for the songs are perfectly - measured, and sung in exact time with the beat of the drum; and always - with an uniform and invariable set of sounds and expressions, which - clearly indicate certain sentiments, which are expressed by the voice, - though sometimes not given in any known language whatever.</p> - - <p>They have other dances and songs which are not so mystified, but which - are sung and understood by every person in the tribe, being sung in - their own language, with much poetry in them, and perfectly metred, but - without rhyme. On these subjects I shall take another occasion to say - more; and will for the present turn your attention to the style and - modes in which some of these curious transactions are conducted.</p> - - <p>My ears have been almost continually ringing since I came here, with - the din of yelping and beating of the drums; but I have for several - days<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">127</span> past been peculiarly engrossed, and my senses almost confounded - with the stamping, and grunting, and bellowing of the <em>buffalo - dance</em>, which closed a few days since at sunrise (thank Heaven), and - which I must needs describe to you.</p> - - <p>Buffaloes, it is known, are a sort of roaming creatures, congregating - occasionally in huge masses, and strolling away about the country from - east to west, or from north to south, or just where their whims or - strange fancies may lead them; and the Mandans are sometimes, by this - means, most unceremoniously left without any thing to eat; and being a - small tribe, and unwilling to risk their lives by going far from home - in the face of their more powerful enemies, are oftentimes left almost - in a state of starvation. In any emergency of this kind, every man - musters and brings out of his lodge his mask (the skin of a buffalo’s - head with the horns on), which he is obliged to keep in readiness - for this occasion; and then commences the buffalo dance, of which I - have above spoken, which is held for the purpose of making “buffalo - come” (as they term it), of inducing the buffalo herds to change the - direction of their wanderings, and bend their course towards the Mandan - village, and graze about on the beautiful hills and bluffs in its - vicinity, where the Mandans can shoot them down and cook them as they - want them for food.</p> - - <p>For the most part of the year, the young warriors and hunters, by - riding out a mile or two from the village, can kill meat in abundance; - and sometimes large herds of these animals may be seen grazing in - full view of the village. There are other seasons also when the young - men have ranged about the country as far as they are willing to risk - their lives, on account of their enemies, without finding meat. This - sad intelligence is brought back to the chiefs and doctors, who sit in - solemn council, and consult on the most expedient measures to be taken, - until they are sure to decide upon the old and only expedient which - “never has failed.”</p> - - <p>The chief issues his order to his runners or criers, who proclaim it - through the village—and in a few minutes the dance begins. The place - where this strange operation is carried on is in the public area in the - centre of the village, and in front of the great medicine or mystery - lodge. About ten or fifteen Mandans at a time join in the dance, each - one with the skin of the buffalo’s head (or mask) with the horns on, - placed over his head, and in his hand his favourite bow or lance, with - which he is used to slay the buffalo.</p> - - <p>I mentioned that this dance always had the desired effect, that it - never fails, nor can it, for it cannot be stopped (but is going - incessantly day and night) until “buffalo come.” Drums are beating and - rattles are shaken, and songs and yells incessantly are shouted, and - lookers-on stand ready with masks on their heads, and weapons in hand, - to take the place of each one as he becomes fatigued, and jumps out of - the ring.</p> - - <p>During this time of general excitement, spies or “<em>lookers</em>” are - kept on the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">128</span> hills in the neighbourhood of the village, who, when they - discover buffaloes in sight, give the appropriate signal, by “throwing - their robes,” which is instantly seen in the village, and understood by - the whole tribe. At this joyful intelligence there is a shout of thanks - to the Great Spirit, and more especially to the mystery-man, and the - dancers, <em>who have been the immediate cause of their success</em>! - There is then a brisk preparation for the chase—a grand hunt takes - place. The choicest pieces of the victims are sacrificed to the Great - Spirit, and then a surfeit and a carouse.</p> - - <p>These dances have sometimes been continued in this village two and - three weeks without stopping an instant, until the joyful moment when - buffaloes made their appearance. So they <em>never fail</em>; and they - think they have been the means of bringing them in.</p> - - <p>Every man in the Mandan village (as I have before said) is obliged by - a village regulation, to keep the mask of the buffalo, hanging on a - post at the head of his bed, which he can use on his head whenever he - is called upon by the chiefs, to dance for the coming of buffaloes. - The mask is put over the head, and generally has a strip of the skin - hanging to it, of the whole length of the animal, with the tail - attached to it, which, passing down over the back of the dancer, is - dragging on the ground (<a href="#i_056"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 56</a>). When one becomes fatigued - of the exercise, he signifies it by bending quite forward, and sinking - his body towards the ground; when another draws a bow upon him and hits - him with a blunt arrow, and he falls like a buffalo—is seized by the - bye-standers, who drag him out of the ring by the heels, brandishing - their knives about him; and having gone through the motions of skinning - and cutting him up, they let him off, and his place is at once supplied - by another, who dances into the ring with his mask on; and by this - taking of places, the scene is easily kept up night and day, until the - desired effect has been produced, that of “making buffalo come.”</p> - - <p>The day before yesterday however, readers, which, though it commenced - in joy and thanksgiving to the Great Spirit for the signal success - which had attended their several days of dancing and supplication, - ended in a calamity which threw the village of the Mandans into - mourning and repentant tears, and that at a time of scarcity and great - distress. The signal was given into the village on that morning from - the top of a distant bluff, that a band of buffaloes were in sight, - though at a considerable distance off, and every heart beat with joy, - and every eye watered and glistened with gladness.</p> - - <p>The dance had lasted some three or four days, and now, instead of the - doleful tap of the drum and the begging chaunts of the dancers, the - stamping of horses was heard as they were led and galloped through the - village—young men were throwing off their robes and their shirts,—were - seen snatching a handful of arrows from their quivers, and stringing - their sinewy bows, glancing their eyes and their smiles at their - sweethearts, and mounting their ponies. <span class="gesperrtstar">* * *</span></p> - - <p><span class="gesperrtstar">* *</span> A few minutes there had been of bustle and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">129</span> boasting, whilst - bows were twanging and spears were polishing by running their blades - into the ground—every face and every eye was filled with joy and - gladness—horses were pawing and snuffing in fury for the outset, when - Louison Frénié, an interpreter of the Fur Company, galloped through the - village with his rifle in his hand and his powder-horn at his side; his - head and waist were bandaged with handkerchiefs, and his shirt sleeves - rolled up to his shoulders—the hunter’s yell issued from his lips and - was repeated through the village; he flew to the bluffs, and behind - him and over the graceful swells of the prairie, galloped the emulous - youths, whose hearts were beating high and quick for the onset.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>32</i></div> - <figure id="i_056"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_056.jpg" alt="Buffalo dance"> - <figcaption>56</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>In the village, where hunger had reigned, and starvation was almost - ready to look them in the face, all was instantly turned to joy and - gladness. The chiefs and doctors who had been for some days dealing - out minimum rations to the community from the public crib, now spread - before their subjects the contents of their own private <i lang="fr">caches</i>, - and the last of every thing that could be mustered, that they might eat - a thanksgiving to the Great Spirit for his goodness in sending them a - supply of buffalo meat. A general carouse of banqueting ensued, which - occupied the greater part of the day; and their hidden stores which - might have fed an emergency for several weeks, were pretty nearly used - up on the occasion—bones were half picked, and dishes half emptied and - then handed to the dogs. <em>I</em> was not forgotten neither, in the - general surfeit; several large and generous wooden bowls of pemican and - other palatable food were sent to my painting-room, and I received them - in this time of scarcity with great pleasure.</p> - - <p>After this general indulgence was over, and the dogs had licked the - dishes, their usual games and amusements ensued—and hilarity and mirth, - and joy took possession of, and reigned in, every nook and corner of - the village; and in the midst of this, screams and shrieks were heard! - and echoed everywhere. Women and children scrambled to the tops of - their wigwams, with their eyes and their hands stretched in agonizing - earnestness to the prairie, whilst blackened warriors ran furiously - through every winding maze of the village, and issuing their jarring - gutturals of vengeance, as they snatched their deadly weapons from - their lodges, and struck the reddened post as they furiously passed - it by! Two of their hunters were bending their course down the sides - of the bluff towards the village, and another broke suddenly out of a - deep ravine, and yet another was seen dashing over and down the green - hills, and all were goading on their horses at full speed! and then - came another, and another, and all entered the village amid shouts and - groans of the villagers who crowded around them; the story was told - in their looks, for one was bleeding, and the blood that flowed from - his naked breast had crimsoned his milk white steed as it had dripped - over him; another grasped in his left hand a scalp that was reeking in - blood—and in the other his whip—another grasped nothing, save the reins - in one hand and the mane of the horse in the other, having thrown his - bow and his arrows<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">130</span> away, and trusted to the fleetness of his horse - for his safety; yet the story was audibly told, and the fatal tragedy - recited in irregular and almost suffocating ejaculations—the names - of the dead were in turns pronounced and screams and shrieks burst - forth at their recital—murmurs and groans ran through the village, and - this happy little community were in a moment smitten with sorrow and - distraction.</p> - - <p>Their proud band of hunters who had started full of glee and mirth in - the morning, had been surrounded by their enemy, the Sioux, and eight - of them killed. The Sioux, who had probably reconnoitred their village - during the night, and ascertained that they were dancing for buffaloes, - laid a stratagem to entrap them in the following manner:—Some six - or eight of them appeared the next morning (on a distant bluff, in - sight of their sentinel) under the skins of buffaloes, imitating the - movements of those animals whilst grazing; and being discovered by - the sentinel, the intelligence was telegraphed to the village, which - brought out their hunters as I have described. The masked buffaloes - were seen grazing on the top of a high bluff, and when the hunters had - approached within half a mile or so of them, they suddenly disappeared - over the hill. Louison Frénié, who was leading the little band of - hunters, became at that moment suspicious of so strange a movement, and - came to a halt <span class="gesperrtstar">* * *</span></p> - - <p>* “Look”! (said a Mandan, pointing to a little ravine to the right, and - at the foot of the hill, from which suddenly broke some forty or fifty - furious Sioux, on fleet horses and under full whip, who were rushing - upon them); they wheeled, and in front of them came another band more - furious from the other side of the hill! they started for home (poor - fellows), and strained every nerve; but the Sioux were too fleet for - them; and every now and then, the whizzing arrow and the lance were - heard to rip the flesh of their naked backs, and a grunt and a groan, - as they tumbled from their horses. Several miles were run in this - desperate race; and Frénié got home, and several of the Mandans, though - eight of them were killed and scalped by the way.</p> - - <p>So ended that day and the hunt; but many a day and sad, will last the - grief of those whose hearts were broken on that unlucky occasion.</p> - - <p><em>This</em> day, though, my readers, has been one of a more joyful - kind, for the Great Spirit, who was indignant at so flagrant an - injustice, has sent the Mandans an abundance of buffaloes; and all - hearts have joined in a general thanksgiving to Him for his goodness - and justice.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>33</i></div> - <figure id="i_057"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_057.jpg" alt="Bow training"> - <figcaption>57</figcaption> - </figure> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">131</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_19">LETTER—<abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 19.</h2> - </div> - <div class="subheadc">MANDAN VILLAGE, <i>UPPER MISSOURI</i>.</div> - - <p><span class="smcap">In</span> my last Letter I gave an account of the buffalo dance, and in future - epistles may give some descriptions of a dozen other kinds of dance, - which these people have in common with other tribes; but in the present - Letter I shall make an endeavour to confine my observations to several - other customs and forms, which are very curious and peculiar to the - Mandans.</p> - - <p>Of these, one of the most pleasing is the <em>sham-fight</em> and sham - scalp-dance of the Mandan boys, which is a part of their regular - exercise, and constitutes a material branch of their education. - During the pleasant mornings of the summer, the little boys between - the age of seven and fifteen are called out, to the number of several - hundred, and being divided into two companies, each of which is headed - by some experienced warrior, who leads them on, in the character of - a teacher; they are led out into the prairie at sunrise, where this - curious discipline is regularly taught them (<a href="#i_057"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 57</a>). Their - bodies are naked, and each one has a little bow in his left hand and - a number of arrows made of large spears of grass, which are harmless - in their effects. Each one has also a little belt or girdle around - his waist, in which he carries a knife made of a piece of wood and - equally harmless—on the tops of their heads are slightly attached - small tufts of grass, which answer as scalps, and in this plight, - they follow the dictates of their experienced leaders, who lead them - through the judicious evolutions of Indian warfare—of feints—of - retreats—of attacks—and at last to a general fight. Many manœuvres are - gone through, and eventually they are brought up face to face, within - fifteen or twenty feet of each other, with their leaders at their head - stimulating them on. Their bows are bent upon each other and their - missiles flying, whilst they are dodging and fending them off.</p> - - <p>If any one is struck with an arrow on any vital part of his body, he is - obliged to fall, and his adversary rushes up to him, places his foot - upon him, and snatching from his belt his wooden knife, grasps hold of - his victim’s scalp-lock of grass, and making a feint at it with his - wooden knife, twitches it off and puts it into his belt, and enters - again into the ranks and front of battle.</p> - - <p>This mode of training generally lasts an hour or more in the morning,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">132</span> - and is performed on an empty stomach, affording them a rigid and - wholesome exercise, whilst they are instructed in the important science - of war. Some five or six miles of ground are run over during these - evolutions, giving suppleness to their limbs and strength to their - muscles, which last and benefit them through life.</p> - - <p>After this exciting exhibition is ended, they all return to their - village, where the chiefs and braves pay profound attention to their - vaunting, and applaud them for their artifice and valour.</p> - - <p>Those who have taken scalps then step forward, brandishing them and - making their boast as they enter into the <em>scalp-dance</em> (in which - they are also instructed by their leaders or teachers), jumping and - yelling—brandishing their scalps, and reciting their <em>sanguinary - deeds</em>, to the great astonishment of their tender aged sweethearts, - who are gazing with wonder upon them.</p> - - <p>The games and amusements of these people are in most respects like - those of the other tribes, consisting of ball plays—game of the - moccasin, of the platter—feats of archery—horse-racing, &c.; and they - have yet another, which may be said to be their favourite amusement, - and unknown to the other tribes about them. The game of Tchung-kee, a - beautiful athletic exercise, which they seem to be almost unceasingly - practicing whilst the weather is fair, and they have nothing else - of moment to demand their attention. This game is decidedly their - favourite amusement, and is played near to the village on a pavement - of clay, which has been used for that purpose until it has become as - smooth and hard as a floor. For this game two champions form their - respective parties, by choosing alternately the most famous players, - until their requisite numbers are made up. Their bettings are then - made, and their stakes are held by some of the chiefs or others - present. The play commences (<a href="#i_059"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 59</a>) with two (one from each - party), who start off upon a trot, abreast of each other, and one of - them rolls in advance of them, on the pavement, a little ring of two - or three inches in diameter, cut out of a stone; and each one follows - it up with his “tchung-kee” (a stick of six feet in length, with - little bits of leather projecting from its sides of an inch or more in - length), which he throws before him as he runs, sliding it along upon - the ground after the ring, endeavouring to place it in such a position - when it stops, that the ring may fall upon it, and receive one of the - little projections of leather through it, which counts for game, one, - or two, or four, according to the position of the leather on which the - ring is lodged. The last winner always has the rolling of the ring, - and both start and throw the tchung-kee together; if either fails to - receive the ring or to lie in a certain position, it is a forfeiture - of the amount of the number he was nearest to, and he loses his throw; - when another steps into his place. This game is a very difficult one - to describe, so as to give an exact idea of it, unless one can see it - played—it is a game of great beauty and fine bodily exercise, and these - people become excessively fascinated with it; often gambling away every - thing they possess, and even sometimes, when everything else was gone, - have been known to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">133</span> stake their liberty upon the issue of these games, - offering themselves as slaves to their opponents in case they get - beaten.</p> - - <p><em>Feasting</em> and <em>fasting</em> are important customs observed by - the Mandans, as well as by most other tribes, at stated times and for - particular purposes. These observances are strictly religious and - rigidly observed. There are many of these forms practiced amongst the - Mandans, some of which are exceedingly interesting, and important also, - in forming a correct estimate of the Indian character; and I shall at a - future period take particular pains to lay them before my readers.</p> - - <p><em>Sacrificing</em> is also a religious custom with these people, and - is performed in many different modes, and on numerous occasions. Of - this custom I shall also speak more fully hereafter, merely noticing - at present, some few of the hundred modes in which these offerings - are made to the Good and Evil Spirits. Human sacrifices have never - been made by the Mandans, nor by any of the north western tribes (so - far as I can learn), excepting the Pawnees of the Platte; who have, - undoubtedly, observed such an inhuman practice in former times, though - they have relinquished it of late. The Mandans sacrifice their fingers - to the Great Spirit, and of their worldly goods, the best and the most - costly; if a horse or a dog, it must be the favourite one; if it is - an arrow from their quiver, they will select the most perfect one as - the most effective gift; if it is meat, it is the choicest piece cut - from the buffalo or other animal; if it is anything from the stores of - the Traders, it is the most costly—it is blue or scarlet cloth, which - costs them in this country an enormous price, and is chiefly used for - the purpose of hanging over their wigwams to decay, or to cover the - scaffolds where rest the bones of their departed relations.</p> - - <p>Of these kinds of sacrifices there are three of an interesting nature, - erected over the great medicine-lodge in the centre of the village—they - consist of ten or fifteen yards of blue and black cloth each, purchased - from the Fur Company at fifteen or twenty dollars per yard, which - are folded up so as to resemble human figures, with quills in their - heads and masks on their faces. These singular-looking figures, like - “<em>scare crows</em>” (<a href="#i_047"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 47</a>), are erected on poles about - thirty feet high, over the door of the mystery-lodge, and there are - left to decay. There hangs now by the side of them another, which was - added to the number a few days since, of the skin of a white buffalo, - which will remain there until it decays and falls to pieces.</p> - - <p>This beautiful and costly skin, when its history is known, will - furnish a striking proof of the importance which they attach to these - propitiatory offerings. But a few weeks since, a party of Mandans - returned from the Mouth of the Yellow Stone, two hundred miles - above, with information that a party of Blackfeet were visiting that - place on business with the American Fur Company; and that they had - with them a white buffalo robe for sale. This was looked upon as a - subject of great importance by the chiefs, and one worthy of public - consideration. A white buffalo robe is a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">134</span> great curiosity, even in the - country of buffaloes, and will always command an almost incredible - price, from its extreme scarcity; and then, from its being the most - costly article of traffic in these regions, it is usually converted - into a <em>sacrifice</em>, being offered to the Great Spirit, as the - most acceptable gift that can be procured. Amongst the vast herds of - buffaloes which graze on these boundless prairies, there is not one in - an hundred thousand, perhaps, that is white; and when such an one is - obtained, it is considered great <em>medicine</em> or mystery.</p> - - <p>On the receipt of the intelligence above-mentioned, the chiefs convened - in council, and deliberated on the expediency of procuring the white - robe from the Blackfeet; and also of appropriating the requisite means, - and devising the proper mode of procedure for effecting the purchase. - At the close of their deliberations, eight men were fitted out on eight - of their best horses, who took from the Fur Company’s store, on the - credit of the chiefs, goods exceeding even the value of their eight - horses; and they started for the Mouth of the Yellow Stone, where - they arrived in due time, and made the purchase, by leaving the eight - horses and all the goods which they carried; returning on foot to their - own village, bringing home with them the white robe, which was looked - upon by all eyes of the villagers as a thing that was vastly curious, - and containing (as they express it) something of the Great Spirit. - This wonderful anomaly laid several days in the chief’s lodge, until - public curiosity was gratified; and then it was taken by the doctors or - high-priests, and with a great deal of form and mystery consecrated, - and raised on the top of a long pole over the <em>medicine-lodge</em>; - where it now stands in a group with the others, and will stand as an - offering to the Great Spirit, until it decays and falls to the ground.</p> - - <p>This Letter, as I promised in its commencement, being devoted to some - of the customs peculiar to the Mandans, and all of which will be new - to the world, I shall close, after recording in it an account of a - laughable farce, which was enacted in this village when I was on my - journey up the river, and had stopped on the way to spend a day or two - in the Mandan village.</p> - - <p>Readers, did you ever hear of “<em>Rain Makers</em>?” If not, sit still, - and read on; but laugh not—keep cool and sober, or else you may laugh - in the <em>beginning</em>, and cry at the <em>end</em> of my story. - Well, I introduce to you a new character—not a <em>doctor</em> or a - <em>high-priest</em>, yet a <em>medicine-man</em>, and one of the highest - and most respectable order, a “<em>Rain Maker</em>!” Such dignitaries - live in the Mandan nation, aye, and “<em>rain stoppers</em>” too; and - even those also amongst their <em>conjurati</em>, who, like Joshua of - old, have even essayed to stop the sun in his course; but from the - inefficiency of their medicine or mystery, have long since descended - into insignificance.</p> - - <p>Well, the story begins thus:—The Mandans, as I have said in a former - Letter, raise a great deal of corn; and sometimes a most disastrous - drought will be visited on the land, destructive to their promised - harvest. Such<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">135</span> was the case when I arrived at the Mandan village - on the steam-boat, Yellow-Stone. Rain had not fallen for many a day, - and the dear little girls and the ugly old squaws, altogether (all of - whom had fields of corn), were groaning and crying to their lords, and - imploring them to intercede for rain, that their little respective - patches, which were now turning pale and yellow, might not be withered, - and they be deprived of the pleasure of their customary annual - festivity, and the joyful occasion of the “roasting ears,” and the - “green corn dance.”</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>34</i></div> - <figure id="i_058"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_058.jpg" alt="Wak-a-dah-ha-hee's rain dance"> - <figcaption>58</figcaption> - </figure> - - <figure class="mt2" id="i_059"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_059.jpg" alt="Playing tchung-kee"> - <figcaption>59</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>The chiefs and doctors sympathized with the plaints of the women, and - recommended patience. Great deliberation, they said, was necessary in - these cases; and though they resolved on making the attempt to produce - rain for the benefit of the corn; yet they very wisely resolved that - to begin too soon might ensure their entire defeat in the endeavour; - and that the longer they put it off, the more certain they would feel - of ultimate success. So, after a few days of further delay, when the - importunities of the women had become clamorous, and even mournful, - and almost insupportable, the <em>medicine-men</em> assembled in the - council-house, with all their mystery apparatus about them—with an - abundance of wild sage, and other aromatic herbs, with a fire prepared - to burn them, that their savoury odours might be sent forth to the - Great Spirit. The lodge was closed to all the villagers, except some - ten or fifteen young men, who were willing to hazard the dreadful - alternative of making it rain, or suffer the everlasting disgrace of - having made a fruitless essay.</p> - - <p>They, only, were allowed as witnesses to the <em>hocus pocus</em> and - <em>conjuration</em> devised by the doctors inside of the medicine-lodge; - and they were called up by lot, each one in his turn, to spend a day - upon the top of the lodge, to test the potency of his medicine; or, in - other words, to see how far his voice might be heard and obeyed amongst - the clouds of the heavens; whilst the doctors were burning incense in - the wigwam below, and with their songs and prayers to the Great Spirit - for success, were sending forth grateful fumes and odours to Him “who - lives in the sun and commands the thunders of Heaven.” Wah-kee (the - shield) was the first who ascended the wigwam at sunrise; and he stood - all day, and looked foolish, as he was counting over and over his - string of mystery-beads—the whole village were assembled around him, - and praying for his success. Not a cloud appeared—the day was calm and - hot; and at the setting of the sun, he descended from the lodge and - went home—“his <em>medicine</em> was not good,” nor can he ever be a - <em>medicine-man</em>.</p> - - <p>Om-pah (the elk) was the next; he ascended the lodge at sunrise the - next morning. His body was entirely naked, being covered with yellow - clay. On his left arm he carried a beautiful shield, and a long lance - in his right; and on his head the skin of a raven, the bird that soars - amidst the clouds, and above the lightning’s glare—he flourished his - shield and brandished his lance, and raised his voice, but in vain; for - at sunset the ground<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">136</span> was dry and the sky was clear; the squaws were - crying, and their corn was withering at its roots.</p> - - <p>War-rah-pa (the beaver) was the next; he also spent his breath in vain - upon the empty air, and came down at night—and Wak-a-dah-ha-hee (the - white buffalo’s hair) took the stand the next morning. He is a small, - but beautifully proportioned young man. He was dressed in a tunic and - leggings of the skins of the mountain-sheep, splendidly garnished - with quills of the porcupine, and fringed with locks of hair taken - by his own hand from the heads of his enemies. On his arm he carried - his shield, made of the buffalo’s hide—its boss was the head of the - war-eagle—and its front was ornamented with “red chains of lightning.” - In his left hand he clenched his sinewy bow and one single arrow. The - villagers were all gathered about him; when he threw up a feather to - decide on the course of the wind, and he commenced thus:—“My friends! - people of the pheasants! you see me here a sacrifice—I shall this - day relieve you from great distress, and bring joy amongst you; or I - shall descend from this lodge when the sun goes down, and live amongs - the dogs and old women all my days. My friends! you saw which way the - feather flew, and I hold my shield this day in the direction where the - wind comes—the lightning on my shield will draw a great cloud, and this - arrow, which is selected from my quiver, and which is feathered with - the quill of the white swan, will make a hole in it. My friends! this - hole in the lodge at my feet, shows me the medicine-men, who are seated - in the lodge below me and crying to the Great Spirit; and through it - comes and passes into my nose delightful odours, which you see rising - in the smoke to the Great Spirit above, who rides in the clouds and - commands the winds! Three days they have sat here, my friends, and - nothing has been done to relieve your distress. On the first day was - Wah-kee (the shield), he could do nothing; he counted his beads and - came down—his medicine was not good—his name was bad, and it kept off - the rain. The next was Om-pah (the elk); on his head the raven was - seen, who flies <em>above</em> the storm, and he failed. War-rah-pa (the - beaver) was the next, my friends; the beaver lives <em>under</em> the - <em>water</em>, and he never wants it to rain. My friends! I see you are - in great distress, and nothing has yet been done; this shield belonged - to my father the White Buffalo; and the lightning you see on it is - red; it was taken from a black cloud, and that cloud will come over us - to-day. I am the white buffalo’s hair—and I am the son of my father.”</p> - - <p>In this manner flourished and manœuvred Wak-a-dah-ha-hee (the white - buffalo’s hair), alternately addressing the audience and the heaven—and - holding converse with the winds and the “<i lang="mhq">je-bi</i>” (spirits) that - are floating about in them—stamping his foot over the heads of the - <em>magi</em>, who were involved in mysteries beneath him, and invoking - the spirits of darkness and light to send rain, to gladden the hearts - of the Mandans.</p> - - <p>It happened on this memorable day about noon, that the steam-boat<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">137</span> - Yellow Stone, on her first trip up the Missouri River, approached and - landed at the Mandan Village, as I have described in a former epistle. - I was lucky enough to be a passenger on this boat, and helped to fire - a salute of twenty guns of twelve pounds calibre, when we first came - in sight of the village, some three or four miles below. These guns - introduced a <em>new sound</em> into this strange country, which the - Mandans at first supposed to be thunder; and the young man upon the - lodge, who turned it to good account, was gathering fame in rounds of - applause, which were repeated and echoed through the whole village; - all eyes were centred upon him—chiefs envied him—mothers’ hearts - were beating high whilst they were decorating and leading up their - fair daughters to offer him in marriage, on his signal success. The - medicine-men had left the lodge, and came out to bestow upon him the - envied title of “<em>medicine-man</em>,” or “<em>doctor</em>,” which he - had so deservedly won—wreaths were prepared to decorate his brows, and - eagle’s plumes and calumets were in readiness for him; his friends were - all rejoiced—his enemies wore on their faces a silent gloom and hatred; - and his old sweethearts, who had formerly cast him off, gazed intensely - upon him, as they glowed with the burning fever of repentance.</p> - - <p>During all this excitement, Wak-a-dah-ha-hee kept his position, - assuming the most commanding and threatening attitudes; brandishing his - shield in the direction of the thunder (<a class="smcap" href="#i_058">plate 58</a>), although - there was not a cloud to be seen, until he (poor fellow), being - elevated above the rest of the village, espied, to his inexpressible - amazement, the steam-boat ploughing its way up the windings of the - river below; puffing her steam from her pipes, and sending forth the - thunder from a twelve-pounder on her deck! <span class="gesperrtstar">* * *</span> The White Buffalo’s - Hair stood motionless and turned pale, he looked awhile, and turned to - the chief and to the multitude, and addressed them with a trembling - lip—“My friends, we will get no rain!—there are, you see, no clouds; - but my medicine is great—I have brought a <em>thunder boat</em>! look and - see it! the thunder you hear is out of her mouth, and the lightning - which you see is on the waters!”</p> - - <p>At this intelligence, the whole village flew to the tops of their - wigwams, or to the bank of the river, from whence the steamer was in - full view, and ploughing along, to their utter dismay and confusion.</p> - - <p>In this promiscuous throng of chiefs, doctors, women, children and - dogs, was mingled Wak-a-dah-ha-hee (the white buffalo’s hair), having - descended from his high place to mingle with the frightened throng.</p> - - <p>Dismayed at the approach of so strange and unaccountable an object, the - Mandans stood their ground but a few moments; when, by an order of the - chiefs, all hands were ensconced within the piquets of their village, - and all the warriors armed for desperate defence. A few moments brought - the boat in front of the village, and all was still and quiet as death; - not a Mandan was to be seen upon the banks. The steamer was moored, and - three or four of the chiefs soon after, walked boldly down the bank and - on to her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">138</span> deck, with a spear in one hand and the calumet or pipe of - peace in the other. The moment they stepped on board they met (to their - great surprise and joy) their old friend, Major Sanford, their agent, - which circumstance put an instant end to all their fears. The villagers - were soon apprized of the fact, and the whole race of the beautiful and - friendly Mandans was paraded on the bank of the river, in front of the - steamer.</p> - - <p>The “rain maker,” whose apprehensions of a public calamity brought - upon the nation by his extraordinary <em>medicine</em>, had, for the - better security of his person from apprehended vengeance, secreted - himself in some secure place, and was the last to come forward, and the - last to be convinced that this visitation was a friendly one from the - white people; and that his <em>medicine</em> had not in the least been - instrumental in bringing it about. This information, though received - by him with much caution and suspicion, at length gave him great - relief, and quieted his mind as to his danger. Yet still in his breast - there was a rankling thorn, though he escaped the dreaded vengeance - which he had a few moments before apprehended as at hand; as he had - the mortification and disgrace of having failed in his mysterious - operations. He set up, however (during the day, in his conversation - about the strange arrival), his <em>medicines</em>, as the cause of - its approach; asserting everywhere and to everybody, that he knew - of its coming, and that he had by his magic brought the occurrence - about. This plea, however, did not get him much audience; and in fact, - everything else was pretty much swallowed up in the guttural talk, and - bustle, and gossip about the mysteries of the “thunder-boat;” and so - passed the day, until just at the approach of evening, when the “White - Buffalo’s Hair” (more watchful of such matters on this occasion than - most others) observed that a black cloud had been jutting up in the - horizon, and was almost directly over the village! In an instant his - shield was on his arm, and his bow in his hand, and he again upon the - lodge! ; and braced to the last sinew, he stood, with his face - and his shield presented to the cloud, and his bow drawn. He drew the - eyes of the whole village upon him as he vaunted forth his super-human - powers, and at the same time commanding the cloud to come nearer, that - he might draw down its contents upon the heads and the corn-fields of - the Mandans! In this wise he stood, waving his shield over his head, - stamping his foot and frowning as he drew his bow and threatened the - heavens, commanding it to rain—his bow was bent, and the arrow drawn - to its head, was sent to the cloud, and he exclaimed, “My friends, it - is done! Wak-a-dah-ha-hee’s arrow has entered that black cloud, and - the Mandans will be wet with the water of the skies!” His predictions - were true;—in a few moments the cloud was over the village, and the - rain fell in torrents. He stood for some time wielding his weapons and - presenting his shield to the sky, while he boasted of his power and - the efficacy of his <em>medicine</em>, to those who had been about him, - but were now driven to the shelter of their wigwams. He, at length, - finished his vaunts and his threats, and descended<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">139</span> from his high place - (in which he had been perfectly drenched), prepared to receive the - honours and the homage that were due to one so potent in his mysteries; - and to receive the style and title of “<em>medicine-man</em>.” This is - one of a hundred different modes in which a man in Indian countries - acquires the honourable appellation.</p> - - <p>This man had “made it rain,” and of course was to receive more than - usual honours, as he had done much more than ordinary men could do. - All eyes were upon him, and all were ready to admit that he was - skilled in the magic art; and must be so nearly allied to the Great - or Evil Spirit, that he must needs be a man of great and powerful - influence in the nation, and well entitled to the style of doctor or - <em>medicine-man</em>.</p> - - <p>Readers, there are two facts relative to these strange transactions, - which are infallibly true, and should needs be made known. The first - is, that when the Mandans undertake to make it rain, <em>they never - fail to succeed</em>, for their ceremonies never stop until rain begins - to fall. The second is equally true, and is this:—that he who has - once “<em>made it rain</em>,” never attempts it again; his medicine is - undoubted—and on future occasions of the kind, he stands aloof, who has - once done it in presence of the whole village, giving an opportunity to - other young men who are ambitious to signalize themselves in the same - way.</p> - - <p>During the memorable night of which I have just spoken, the steam-boat - remained by the side of the Mandan village, and the rain that had - commenced falling continued to pour down its torrents until midnight; - black thunder roared, and livid lightning flashed until the heavens - appeared to be lit up with one unceasing and appalling glare. In - this frightful moment of consternation, a flash of lightning buried - itself in one of the earth-covered lodges of the Mandans, and killed a - beautiful girl. Here was food and fuel fresh for their superstitions; - and a night of vast tumult and excitement ensued. The dreams of the - new-made medicine-man were troubled, and he had dreadful apprehensions - for the coming day—for he knew that he was subject to the irrevocable - decree of the chiefs and doctors, who canvass every strange and - unaccountable event, with close and superstitious scrutiny, and let - their vengeance fall without mercy upon its immediate cause.</p> - - <p>He looked upon his well-earned fame as likely to be withheld from him; - and also considered that his life might perhaps be demanded as the - forfeit for this girl’s death, which would certainly be charged upon - him. He looked upon himself as culpable, and supposed the accident - to have been occasioned by his criminal desertion of his post, when - the steam-boat was approaching the village. Morning came, and he soon - learned from some of his friends, the opinions of the wise men; and - also the nature of the tribunal that was preparing for him; he sent - to the prairie for his three horses, which were brought in, and he - mounted the <em>medicine-lodge</em>, around which, in a few moments, the - villagers were all assembled. “My friends! (said he) I see you all - around me, and I am before you; my medicine, you see, is great—it is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">140</span> - <em>too great</em>—I am young, and I was too fast—I knew not when to - stop. The wigwam of Mah-sish is laid low, and many are the eyes that - weep for Ko-ka (the antelope;) Wak-a-dah-ha-hee gives three horses - to gladden the hearts of those who weep for Ko-ka; his medicine was - great—his arrow pierced the black cloud, and the lightning came, and - the <em>thunder-boat</em> also! who says the medicine of Wak-a-dah-ha-hee - is not strong?”</p> - - <p>At the end of this sentence an unanimous shout of approbation ran - through the crowd, and the “Hair of the White Buffalo” descended - amongst them, where he was greeted by shakes of the hand; and amongst - whom he now lives and thrives under the familiar and honourable - appellation of the “<span class="smcap">Big Double Medicine</span>.”</p> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">141</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_20">LETTER—<abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 20.</h2> - </div> - <div class="subheadc">MANDAN VILLAGE, <i>UPPER MISSOURI</i>.</div> - - <p><span class="smcap">This</span> day has been one of unusual mirth and amusement amongst the - Mandans, and whether on account of some annual celebration or not, I - am as yet unable to say, though I think such is the case; for these - people have many days which, like this, are devoted to festivities and - amusements.</p> - - <p>Their lives, however, are lives of idleness and ease, and almost all - their days and hours are spent in innocent amusements. Amongst a people - who have no office hours to attend to—no professions to study, and of - whom but very little time is required in the chase, to supply their - families with food, it would be strange if they did not practice many - games and amusements, and also become exceedingly expert in them.</p> - - <p>I have this day been a spectator of games and plays until I am fatigued - with looking on; and also by lending a hand, which I have done; but - with so little success as only to attract general observation, and - as generally to excite the criticisms and laughter of the squaws and - little children.</p> - - <p>I have seen a fair exhibition of their archery this day, in a favourite - amusement which they call the “<em>game of the arrow</em>” (see <a href="#i_060"><span class="smcap">plate</span> - 60</a>), where the young men who are the most distinguished in - this exercise, assemble on the prairie at a little distance from - the village, and having paid, each one, his “entrance-fee,” such as - a shield, a robe, a pipe, or other article, step forward in turn, - shooting their arrows into the air, endeavouring to see who can get the - greatest number flying in the air at one time, thrown from the same - bow. For this, the number of eight or ten arrows are clenched in the - left hand with the bow, and the first one which is thrown is elevated - to such a degree as will enable it to remain the longest time possible - in the air, and while it is flying, the others are discharged as - rapidly as possible; and he who succeeds in getting the greatest number - up at once, is “best,” and takes the goods staked.</p> - - <p>In looking on at this amusement, the spectator is surprised; not at - the great distance to which the arrows are actually sent; but at - the quickness of fixing them on the string, and discharging them in - succession; which is no doubt, the result of great practice, and - enables the most expert<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">142</span> of them to get as many as eight arrows up - before the first one reaches the ground.</p> - - <p>For the successful use of the bow, as it is used through all this - region of country on horseback, and that invariably at full speed, the - great object of practice is to enable the bowman to draw the bow with - suddenness and instant effect; and also to repeat the shots in the most - rapid manner. As their game is killed from their horses’ backs while - at the swiftest rate—and their enemies fought in the same way; and as - the horse is the swiftest animal of the prairie, and always able to - bring his rider alongside, within a few paces of his victim; it will - easily be seen that the Indian has little use in throwing his arrow - more than a few paces; when he leans quite low on his horse’s side, and - drives it with astonishing force, capable of producing instant death - to the buffalo, or any other animal in the country. The bows which are - generally in use in these regions I have described in a former Letter, - and the effects produced by them at the distance of a few paces is - almost beyond belief, considering their length, which is not often over - three,—and sometimes not exceeding two and a half feet. It can easily - be seen, from what has been said, that the Indian has little use or - object in throwing the arrow to any great distance. And as it is very - seldom that they can be seen shooting at a target, I doubt very much - whether their skill in such practice would compare with that attained - to in many parts of the civilized world; but with the same weapon, - and dashing forward at fullest speed on the wild horse, without the - use of the rein, when the shot is required to be made with the most - instantaneous effect, I scarcely think it possible that any people can - be found more skilled, and capable of producing more deadly effects - with the bow.</p> - - <p>The horses which the Indians ride in this country are invariably the - wild horses, which are found in great numbers on the prairies; and - have, unquestionably, strayed from the Mexican borders, into which they - were introduced by the Spanish invaders of that country; and now range - and subsist themselves, in winter and summer, over the vast plains of - prairie that stretch from the Mexican frontiers to Lake Winnipeg on - the North, a distance of 3000 miles. These horses are all of small - stature, of the pony order; but a very hardy and tough animal, being - able to perform for the Indians a continual and essential service. - They are taken with the <em>laso</em>, which is a long halter or thong, - made of rawhide, of some fifteen or twenty yards in length, and which - the Indians throw with great dexterity; with a noose at one end of it, - which drops over the head of the animal they wish to catch, whilst - running at full speed—when the Indian dismounts from his own horse, and - holding to the end of the laso, choaks the animal down, and afterwards - tames and converts him to his own use.</p> - - <p>Scarcely a man in these regions is to be found, who is not the owner of - one or more of these horses; and in many instances of eight, ten, or - even twenty, which he values as his own personal property.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>35</i></div> - <figure id="i_060"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_060.jpg" alt="Game of the arrow"> - <figcaption>60</figcaption> - </figure> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>36</i></div> - <figure id="i_061"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_061.jpg" alt="Horse-racing"> - <figcaption>61</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">143</span></p> - - <p>The Indians are hard and cruel masters; and, added to their cruelties - is the sin that is familiar in the Christian world, of sporting with - the limbs, and the lives of these noble animals. <em>Horse-racing</em> - here, as in all more enlightened communities, is one of the most - exciting amusements, and one of the most extravagant modes of gambling.</p> - - <p>I have been this day a spectator to scenes of this kind, which have - been enacted in abundance, on a course which they have, just back of - their village; and although I never had the least taste for this cruel - amusement in my own country, yet, I must say, I have been not a little - amused and pleased with the thrilling effect which these exciting - scenes have produced amongst so wild and picturesque a group.</p> - - <p>I have made a sketch of the ground and the group, as near as I could - (<a href="#i_061"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 61</a>); shewing the manner of “starting” and “coming out,” - which vary a little from the customs of the <em>knowing</em> world; but - in other respects, I believe, a horse-race is the same all the world - over.</p> - - <p>Besides these, many have been the amusements of this day, to which I - have been an eye-witness; and since writing the above, I have learned - the cause of this unusual expression of hilarity and mirth; which was - no more nor less than the safe return of a small war-party, who had - been so long out without any tidings having been received of them—that - they had long since been looked upon as sacrificed to the fates of - war and lost. This party was made up of the most distinguished and - desperate young men of the tribe, who had sallied out against the - Riccarees, and taken the most solemn oath amongst themselves never - to return without achieving a victory. They had wandered long and - faithfully about the country, following the trails of their enemy; when - they were attacked by a numerous party, and lost several of their men - and all their horses. In this condition, to evade the scrutiny of their - enemy, who were closely investing the natural route to their village; - they took a circuitous range of the country, to enable them to return - with their lives, to their village.</p> - - <p>In this plight, it seems, I had dropped my little canoe alongside of - them, while descending from the Mouth of Yellow Stone to this place, - not many weeks since; where they had bivouacked or halted, to smoke - and consult on the best and safest mode of procedure. At the time of - meeting them, not knowing anything of their language, they were unable - to communicate their condition to me, and more probably were afraid - to do so even if they could have done it, from apprehension that we - might have given some account of them to their enemies. I rested my - canoe an hour or so with them, during which time they treated us with - an indifferent reserve, yet respectfully; and we passed on our way, - without further information of them or their plans than the sketch that - I there made (<a href="#i_063"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 63</a>), and which I shall preserve and value - as one of the most pleasing groups I ever have had the pleasure to see. - Seated on their buffalo robes, which were spread upon the grass, with - their respective weapons laying about them, and lighting their pipes at - a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">144</span> little fire which was kindled in the centre—the chief or leader of - the party, with his arms stacked behind him, and his long head-dress of - war-eagles’ quills and ermine falling down over his back, whilst he sat - in a contemplative and almost desponding mood, was surely one of the - most striking and beautiful illustrations of a natural hero that I ever - looked upon.</p> - - <p>These gallant fellows got safely home to their village, and the - numerous expressions of joy for their return, which I have this day - witnessed, have much fatigued me that I write brief, and close my - Letter here.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>37</i></div> - <figure id="i_063"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_063.jpg" alt="War-party"> - <figcaption>63</figcaption> - </figure> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">145</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_21">LETTER—<abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 21.</h2> - </div> - <div class="subheadc">MANDAN VILLAGE, <i>UPPER MISSOURI</i>.</div> - - <p><span class="smcap">In</span> a former Letter I gave some account of Mah-to-toh-pa (the four - bears), second chief of the Mandans, whom I said I had painted at - full length, in a splendid costume. I therein said, also, that “this - extraordinary man, though second in office, is undoubtedly the first - and most popular man in the nation. Free, generous, elegant, and - gentlemanly in his deportment—handsome, brave and valiant; wearing a - robe on his back, with the history of all his battles painted on it, - which would fill a book of themselves if they were properly enlarged - and translated.”</p> - - <p>I gave you also, in another epistle, an account of the manner in - which he invited me to a feast in his hospitable wigwam, at the same - time presenting me a beautifully garnished robe; and I promised to - say more of him on a future occasion. My readers will therefore - pardon me for devoting a Letter or two at this time, to a sketch of - this extraordinary man, which I will give in as brief a manner as - possible, by describing the costume in which I painted his portrait; - and afterwards reciting the most remarkable incidents of his life, - as I had them from the Traders and the Indian agents, and afterwards - corroborated by his own words, translated to me as he spoke, whilst I - was writing them down.</p> - - <p>The dress of Mah-to-toh-pa then, the greater part of which I have - represented in his full-length portrait, and which I shall now - describe, was purchased of him after I had painted his picture; and - every article of it can be seen in my Indian Gallery by the side of - the portrait, provided I succeed in getting them home to the civilized - world without injury.</p> - - <p>Mah-to-toh-pa had agreed to stand before me for his portrait at an - early hour of the next morning, and on that day I sat with my palette - of colours prepared, and waited till twelve o’clock, before he could - leave his toilette with feelings of satisfaction as to the propriety of - his looks and the arrangement of his equipments; and at that time it - was announced, that “Mah-to-toh-pa was coming in full dress!” I looked - out of the door of the wigwam, and saw him approaching with a firm and - elastic step, accompanied by a great crowd of women and children, who - were gazing on him with admiration, and escorting him to my room. No - tragedian ever trod the stage, nor gladiator ever entered the Roman - Forum, with more grace and manly dignity than did Mah-to-toh-pa enter - the wigwam, where I was in readiness to receive him. He took his - attitude before me (<a href="#i_064"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 64</a>), and with the sternness of a - Brutus and the stillness of a statue, he stood until the darkness<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">146</span> - of night broke upon the solitary stillness. His dress, which was a - very splendid one, was complete in all its parts, and consisted of a - shirt or tunic, leggings, moccasins, head-dress, necklace, shield, - bow and quiver, lance, tobacco-sack, and pipe; robe, belt, and knife; - medicine-bag, tomahawk, and war-club, or <i lang="mhq">po-ko-mo-kon</i>.</p> - - <p>The shirt, of which I have spoken, was made of two skins of the - mountain-sheep, beautifully dressed, and sewed together by seams which - rested upon the arms; one skin hanging in front, upon the breast, and - the other falling down upon the back; the head being passed between - them, and they falling over and resting on the shoulders. Across each - shoulder, and somewhat in the form of an epaulette, was a beautiful - band; and down each arm from the neck to the hand was a similar one, - of two inches in width (and crossing the other at right angles on the - shoulder) beautifully embroidered with porcupine quills worked on the - dress, and covering the seams. To the lower edge of these bands the - whole way, at intervals of half an inch, were attached long locks of - black hair, which he had taken with his own hand from the heads of - his enemies whom he had slain in battle, and which he thus wore as a - trophy, and also as an ornament to his dress. The front and back of - the shirt were curiously garnished in several parts with porcupine - quills and paintings of the battles he had fought, and also with - representations of the victims that had fallen by his hand. The bottom - of the dress was bound or hemmed with ermine skins, and tassels of - ermines’ tails were suspended from the arms and the shoulders.</p> - - <p>The <em>Leggings</em>, which were made of deer skins, beautifully - dressed, and fitting tight to the leg, extended from the feet to the - hips, and were fastened to a belt which was passed around the waist. - These, like the shirt, had a similar band, worked with porcupine quills - of richest dyes, passing down the seam on the outer part of the leg, - and fringed also the whole length of the leg, with the scalp-locks - taken from his enemies’ heads.</p> - - <p>The <em>Moccasins</em> were of buckskin, and covered in almost every part - with the beautiful embroidery of porcupines’ quills.</p> - - <p>The <em>Head-dress</em>, which was superb and truly magnificent, - consisted of a crest of war-eagles’ quills, gracefully falling back - from the forehead over the back part of the head, and extending quite - down to his feet; set the whole way in a profusion of ermine, and - surmounted on the top of the head, with the horns of the buffalo, - shaved thin and highly polished.</p> - - <p>The <em>Necklace</em> was made of fifty huge claws or nails of the - grizzly bear, ingeniously arranged on the skin of an otter, and worn, - like the scalp-locks, as a trophy—as an evidence unquestionable, that - he had contended with and overcome that desperate enemy in open combat.</p> - - <p>His <em>Shield</em> was made of the hide of the buffalo’s neck, and - hardened with the glue that was taken from its hoofs; its boss was the - skin of a pole-cat, and its edges were fringed with rows of eagles’ - quills and hoofs of the antelope.</p> - - <p>His <em>Bow</em> was of bone, and as white and beautiful as ivory; over - its back<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">147</span> was laid, and firmly attached to it, a coating of deers’ - sinews, which gave it its elasticity, and of course death to all that - stood inimically before it. Its string was three stranded and twisted - of sinews, which many a time had twanged and sent the whizzing death to - animal and to human victims.</p> - - <figure class="mt2 illowp75" id="i_064"> - <div class="plate "><i>38</i></div> - <img src="images/i_064.jpg" alt="Mah-to-toh-pa"> - <figcaption>64</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>The <em>Quiver</em> was made of a panther’s skin and hung upon his back, - charged with its deadly arrows; some were poisoned and some were not; - they were feathered with hawks’ and eagles’ quills; some were clean and - innocent, and pure, and others were stained all over, with animal and - human blood that was dried upon them. Their blades or points were of - flints, and some of steel; and altogether were a deadly magazine.</p> - - <p>The <em>Lance</em> or spear was held in his left hand; its blade was - two-edged and of polished steel, and the blood of several human victims - was seen dried upon it, one over the other; its shaft was of the - toughest ash, and ornamented at intervals with tufts of war-eagles’ - quills.</p> - - <p>His <em>Tobacco-sack</em> was made of the skin of an otter, and - tastefully garnished with quills of the porcupine; in it was carried - his <i lang="mhq">k’nick k’neck</i>, (the bark of the red willow, which is smoked - as a substitute for tobacco), it contained also his flint and steel, - and spunk for lighting——</p> - - <p>His <em>Pipe</em>, which was ingeniously carved out of the red steatite - (or pipe-stone), the stem of which was three feet long and two inches - wide, made from the stalk of the young ash; about half its length was - wound with delicate braids of the porcupine’s quills, so ingeniously - wrought as to represent figures of men and animals upon it. It was - also ornamented with the skins and beaks of wood-peckers’ heads, and - the hair of the white buffalo’s tail. The lower half of the stem was - painted red, and on its edges it bore the notches he had recorded for - the snows (or years) of his life.</p> - - <p>His <em>Robe</em> was made of the skin of a young buffalo bull, with the - fur on one side, and the other finely and delicately dressed; with all - the battles of his life emblazoned on it by his own hand.</p> - - <p>His <em>Belt</em>, which was of a substantial piece of buckskin, was - firmly girded around his waist; and in it were worn his tomahawk and - scalping-knife.</p> - - <p>His <em>Medicine-bag</em> was the skin of a beaver, curiously ornamented - with hawks’ bills and ermine. It was held in his right hand, and his - <i lang="mhq">po-ko-mo-kon</i> (or war-club) which was made of a round stone, tied - up in a piece of rawhide, and attached to the end of a stick, somewhat - in the form of a sling, was laid with others of his weapons at his feet.</p> - - <p>Such was the dress of Mah-to-toh-pa when he entered my wigwam to stand - for his picture; but such I have not entirely represented it in his - portrait; having rejected such trappings and ornaments as interfered - with the grace and simplicity of the figure. He was beautifully and - extravagantly dressed; and in this he was not alone, for hundreds of - others are equally elegant. In plumes, and arms, and ornaments, he is - not singular; but in laurels and wreaths he stands unparalleled. His - breast has been bared and scarred in defence of his country, and his - brows crowned with honours<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">148</span> that elevate him conspicuous above all of - his nation. There is no man amongst the Mandans so generally loved, - nor any one who wears a robe so justly famed and honourable as that of - Mah-to-toh-pa.</p> - - <p>I said his robe was of the skin of a young buffalo bull, and that the - battles of his life were emblazoned on it; and on a former occasion, - that he presented me a beautiful robe, containing all the battles - of his life, which he had spent two weeks’ time in copying from his - original one, which he wore on his shoulders.</p> - - <p>This robe, with his tracings on it, is the chart of his military life; - and when explained, will tell more of Mah-to-toh-pa.</p> - - <p>Some days after this robe was presented, he called upon me with Mr. - Kipp, the trader and interpreter for the Mandans, and gave me of each - battle there pourtrayed the following history, which was interpreted - by Mr. Kipp, from his own lips, and written down by me, as we three - sat upon the robe. Mr. Kipp, who is a gentleman of respectability and - truth; and who has lived with these people ten years, assured me, that - nearly every one of these narrations were of events that had happened - whilst he had lived with them, and had been familiarly known to him; - and that every word that he asserted was true.</p> - - <p>And again, reader, in this country where, of all countries I ever - was in, men are the most jealous of rank and of standing; and in a - community so small also, that every man’s deeds of honour and chivalry - are familiarly known to all; it would not be reputable, or even safe - to life, for a warrior to wear upon his back the representations of - battles he never had fought; professing to have done what every child - in the village would know he never had done.</p> - - <p>So then I take the records of battles on the robe of Mah-to-toh-pa - to be matter of historical fact; and I proceed to give them as I - wrote them down from his own lips. Twelve battle-scenes are there - represented, where he has contended with his enemy, and in which he has - taken fourteen of their scalps. The groups are drawn according to his - own rude ideas of the arts; and I proceed to describe them in turn, as - they were explained to me.</p> - - <h3>ROBE OF MAH-TO-TOH-PA (<a href="#i_065"><span class="smcap">Plate</span> 65</a>).</h3> - - <p>1. Mah-to-toh-pa kills a Sioux chief—the three heads represent the - three Riccarees, whom the Sioux chief had previously killed. The Sioux - chief is seen with war-paint black on his face. Mah-to-toh-pa is seen - with the scalp of the Sioux in one hand, and his knife in the other, - with his bow and quiver lying behind him.<a id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p> - - <p>2. A Shienne chief, who sent word to Mah-to-toh-pa that he wished to - fight him—was killed by Mah-to-toh-pa with a lance, in presence of a - large <span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">149</span>party of Mandans and Shiennes. Mah-to-toh-pa is here known - by his lance with eagles’ quills on it.</p> - - <figure class="mt2 illowp75" id="i_065"> - <div class="plate"><i>39</i></div> - <img src="images/i_065.jpg" alt="Robe of Mah-to-toh-pa"> - <figcaption>65</figcaption> - </figure> - - <figure class="mt2 illowp75"> - <div class="plate"><i>40</i></div> - <img src="images/i_065a.jpg" alt="Robe of Mah-to-toh-pa"> - </figure> - - <figure class="mt2 illowp75"> - <div class="plate"><i>41</i></div> - <img src="images/i_065b.jpg" alt="Robe of Mah-to-toh-pa"> - </figure> - - <p>3. A Shienne killed by Mah-to-toh-pa after Mah-to-toh-pa had been left - by his party, badly wounded and bleeding; the twenty-five or thirty - foot-tracks around, represent the number of Shiennes, who were present - when the battle took place; and the bullets from their guns represented - as flying all around the head of Mah-to-toh-pa.</p> - - <p>4. Shienne chief with war-eagle head-dress, and a beautiful shield, - ornamented with eagles’ quills, killed by Mah-to-toh-pa. In this - battle the wife of the Shienne rushed forward in a desperate manner to - his assistance; but arriving too late, fell a victim. In this battle - Mah-to-toh-pa obtained two scalps.</p> - - <p>5. Mah-to-toh-pa, with a party of Riccarees, fired at by a party of - Sioux; the Riccarees fled—Mah-to-toh-pa dismounted and drove his horse - back, facing the enemy alone and killing one of them. Mah-to-toh-pa is - here represented with a beautiful head-dress of war-eagles’ quills, - and one on his horse’s head of equal beauty; his shield is on his arm, - and the party of Sioux is represented in front of him by the number of - horse tracks.</p> - - <p>6. The brother of Mah-to-toh-pa killed by a Riccaree, who shot him with - an arrow, and then running a lance through his body, left it there. - Mah-to-toh-pa was the first to find his brother’s body with the lance - in it: he drew the lance from the body, kept it four years with the - blood dried on its blade, and then, according to his oath, killed the - same Riccaree with the same lance; the dead body of his brother is here - seen with the arrow and lance remaining in it, and the tracks of the - Riccaree’s horses in front.</p> - - <p>The following was, perhaps, one of the most extraordinary exploits - of this remarkable man’s life, and is well attested by Mr. Kipp, and - several white men, who were living in the Mandan village at the time of - its occurrence. In a skirmish, near the Mandan village, when they were - set upon by their enemies, the Riccarees, the brother of Mah-to-toh-pa - was missing for several days, when Mah-to-toh-pa found the body - shockingly mangled, and a handsome spear left piercing the body through - the heart. The spear was by him brought into the Mandan village, where - it was recognized by many as a famous weapon belonging to a noted brave - of the Riccarees, by the name of Won-ga-tap. This spear was brandished - through the Mandan village by Mah-to-toh-pa (with the blood of his - brother dried on its blade), crying most piteously, and swearing that - he would some day revenge the death of his brother with the same weapon.</p> - - <p>It is almost an incredible fact, that he kept this spear with great - care in his wigwam for the space of four years, in the fruitless - expectation of an opportunity to use it upon the breast of its owner; - when his indignant soul, impatient of further delay, burst forth in the - most uncontroullable frenzy and fury; he again brandished it through - the village, and said, that the blood of his brother’s heart which was - seen on its blade was yet fresh,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">150</span> - and called loudly for revenge. “Let - every Mandan (said he) be silent, and let no one sound the name of - Mah-to-toh-pa—let no one ask for him, nor where he has gone, until you - hear him sound the war-cry in front of the village, when he will enter - it and shew you the blood of Won-ga-tap. The blade of this lance shall - drink the heart’s blood of Won-ga-tap, or Mah-to-toh-pa mingles his - shadow with that of his brother.”</p> - - <p>With this he sallied forth from the village, and over the plains, - with the lance in his hand; his direction was towards the Riccaree - village, and all eyes were upon him, though none dared to speak till he - disappeared over the distant grassy bluffs. He travelled the distance - of two hundred miles entirely alone, with a little parched corn in - his pouch, making his marches by night, and laying secreted by days, - until he reached the Riccaree village; where (being acquainted with - its shapes and its habits, and knowing the position of the wigwam of - his doomed enemy) he loitered about in disguise, mingling himself in - the obscure throng; and at last, silently and alone, observed through - the rents of the wigwam, the last motions and movements of his victim, - as he retired to bed with his wife: he saw him light his last pipe and - smoke it “to its end”—he saw the last whiff, and saw the last curl of - blue smoke that faintly steeped from its bowl—he saw the village awhile - in darkness and silence, and the embers that were covered in the middle - of the wigwam gone nearly out, and the last flickering light which had - been gently playing over them; when he walked softly, but not slyly, - into the wigwam and seated himself by the fire, over which was hanging - a large pot, with a quantity of cooked meat remaining in it; and by - the side of the fire, the pipe and tobacco-pouch which had just been - used; and knowing that the twilight of the wigwam was not sufficient to - disclose the features of his face to his enemy, he very deliberately - turned to the pot and completely satiated the desperate appetite, which - he had got in a journey of six or seven days, with little or nothing - to eat; and then, as deliberately, charged and lighted the pipe, and - sent (no doubt, in every whiff that he drew through its stem) a prayer - to the Great Spirit for a moment longer for the consummation of his - design. Whilst eating and smoking, the wife of his victim, while laying - in bed, several times enquired of her husband, what man it was who was - eating in their lodge? to which, he as many times replied, “It’s no - matter; let him eat, for he is probably hungry.”</p> - - <p>Mah-to-toh-pa knew full well that his appearance would cause no other - reply than this, from the dignitary of the nation; for, from an - invariable custom amongst these Northern Indians, any one who is hungry - is allowed to walk into any man’s lodge and eat. Whilst smoking his - last gentle and tremulous whiffs on the pipe, Mah-to-toh-pa (leaning - back, and turning gradually on his side, to get a better view of the - position of his enemy, and to see a little more distinctly the shapes - of things) stirred the embers with his toes (readers, I had every - word of this from his own lips, and every attitude and gesture acted - out with his own limbs), until he saw his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">151</span> way was clear; at which - moment, with his lance in his hands, he rose and drove it through the - body of his enemy, and snatching the scalp from his head, he darted - from the lodge—and quick as lightning, with the lance in one hand, - and the scalp in the other, made his way to the prairie! The village - was in an uproar, but he was off, and no one knew the enemy who had - struck the blow. Mah-to-toh-pa ran all night, and lay close during the - days; thanking the Great Spirit for strengthening his heart and his - arm to this noble revenge; and prayed fervently for a continuance of - his aid and protection till he should get back to his own village. His - prayers were heard; and on the sixth morning, at sunrise, Mah-to-toh-pa - descended the bluffs, and entered the village amidst deafening shouts - of applause, while he brandished and shewed to his people the blade of - his lance, with the blood of his victim dried upon it, over that of his - brother; and the scalp of Won-ga-tap suspended from its handle.</p> - - <figure class="mt2 illowp75"> - <div class="plate"><i>42</i></div> - <img src="images/i_065c.jpg" alt="Robe of Mah-to-toh-pa"> - </figure> - - <p>Such was the feat represented by Mah-to-toh-pa on his robe—and the - lance, of which I have just spoken, is seen in the hand of his - portrait, which will stand in my Gallery, and of which I have thus - formerly spoken:—“The lance or spear of Mah-to-toh-pa, when he stood - for his portrait, was held in his left hand; its blade was two-edged, - and of polished steel, and the blood of several human victims was - seen dried upon its surface, one over the other; its shaft was of the - toughest ash, and ornamented at intervals with tufts of war-eagle’s - quills.”</p> - - <p>In the portrait, of which I am speaking, there will be seen an eagle’s - quill balanced on the hilt of the lance, severed from its original - position, and loose from the weapon. When I painted his portrait, - he brought that quill to my wigwam in his left hand, and carefully - balancing it on the lance, as seen in the painting; he desired me to be - very exact with it, to have it appear as separate from, and unconnected - with, the lance; and to represent a spot of blood which was visible - upon it. I indulged him in his request, and then got from him the - following explanation:—“That quill (said he) is great <em>medicine</em>! - it belongs to the Great Spirit, and not to me—when I was running out of - the lodge of Won-ga-tap, I looked back and saw that quill hanging to - the wound in his side; I ran back, and pulling it out, brought it home - in my left hand, and I have kept it for the Great Spirit to this day!”</p> - - <p>“Why do you not then tie it on to the lance again, where it came off?”</p> - - <p>“Hush-sh (said he), if the Great Spirit had wished it to be tied on in - that place, it never would have come off; he has been kind to me, and I - will not offend him.”</p> - - <p>7. A Riccaree killed by Mah-to-toh-pa in revenge of the death of a - white man killed by a Riccaree in the Fur Traders’ Fort, a short time - previous.</p> - - <p>8. Mah-to-toh-pa, or four bears, kills a Shienne chief, who challenged - him to single combat, in presence of the two war-parties; they fought - on horseback with guns, until Mah-to-toh-pa’s powder-horn was shot - away; they then fought with bows and arrows, until their quivers were - emptied, when they<span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">152</span> dismounted and fought single-handed. The Shienne - drew his knife, and Mah-to-toh-pa had left his; they struggled for the - knife, which Mah-to-toh-pa wrested from the Shienne, and killed him - with it; in the struggle, the blade of the knife was several times - drawn through the hand of Mah-to-toh-pa, and the blood is seen running - from the wound.</p> - - <p>This extraordinary occurrence also, was one which admits of, and - deserves a more elaborate description, which I will here give as it - was translated from his own lips, while he sat upon the robe, pointing - to his painting of it; and at the same time brandishing the identical - knife which he drew from his belt, as he was shewing how the fatal blow - was given; and exhibiting the wounds inflicted in his hand, as the - blade of the knife was several times drawn through it before he wrested - it from his antagonist.</p> - - <p>A party of about 150 Shienne warriors had made an assault upon the - Mandan village at an early hour in the morning, and driven off a - considerable number of horses, and taken one scalp. Mah-to-toh-pa, - who was then a young man, but famed as one of the most valiant of the - Mandans, took the lead of a party of fifty warriors, all he could at - that time muster, and went in pursuit of the enemy; about noon of the - second day, they came in sight of the Shiennes; and the Mandans seeing - their enemy much more numerous than they had expected, were generally - disposed to turn about and return without attacking them. They started - to go back, when Mah-to-toh-pa galloped out in front upon the prairie, - and plunged his lance into the ground; the blade was driven into the - earth to its hilt—he made another circuit around, and in that circuit - tore from his breast his reddened sash, which he hung upon its handle - as a flag, calling out to the Mandans, “What! have we come to this? - we have dogged our enemy two days, and now when we have found them, - are we to turn about and go back like cowards? Mah-to-toh-pa’s lance, - which is red with the blood of brave men, has led you to the sight of - your enemy, and you have followed it; it now stands firm in the ground, - where the earth will drink the blood of Mah-to-toh-pa! you may all go - back, and Mah-to-toh-pa will fight them alone!”</p> - - <p>During this manœuvre, the Shiennes, who had discovered the Mandans - behind them, had turned about and were gradually approaching, in order - to give them battle; the chief of the Shienne war-party seeing and - understanding the difficulty, and admiring the gallant conduct of - Mah-to-toh-pa, galloped his horse forward within hailing distance, in - front of the Mandans, and called out to know “who he was who had stuck - down his lance and defied the whole enemy alone?”</p> - - <p>“I am Mah-to-toh-pa, second in command of the brave and valiant - Mandans.”</p> - - <p>“I have heard often of Mah-to-toh-pa, he is a great warrior—dares - Mah-to-toh-pa to come forward and fight this battle with me alone, and - our warriors will look on?”</p> - - <p>“Is he a chief who speaks to Mah-to-toh-pa?”</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>43</i></div> - <figure id="i_066"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_066.jpg" alt="Medicine-lodge interior"> - <figcaption>66</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">153</span></p> - - <p>“My scalps you see hanging to my horse’s bits, and here is my lance - with the ermine skins and the war-eagle’s tail!”</p> - - <p>“You have said enough.”</p> - - <p>The Shienne chief made a circuit or two at full gallop on a beautiful - white horse, when he struck his lance into the ground, and left it - standing by the side of the lance of Mah-to-toh-pa, both of which were - waving together their little red flags, tokens of blood and defiance.</p> - - <p>The two parties then drew nearer, on a beautiful prairie, and the - two full-plumed chiefs, at full speed, drove furiously upon each - other! both firing their guns at the same moment. They passed each - other a little distance and wheeled, when Mah-to-toh-pa drew off his - powder-horn, and by holding it up, shewed his adversary that the bullet - had shattered it to pieces and destroyed his ammunition; he then threw - it from him, and his gun also—drew his bow from his quiver, and an - arrow, and his shield upon his left arm! The Shienne instantly did - the same; <em>his</em> horn was thrown off, and his gun was thrown into - the air—his shield was balanced on his arm—his bow drawn, and quick - as lightning, they were both on the wing for a deadly combat! Like - two soaring eagles in the open air, they made their circuits around, - and the twangs of their sinewy bows were heard, and the war-whoop, - as they dashed by each other, parrying off the whizzing arrows with - their shields! Some lodged in their legs and others in their arms; but - both protected their <em>bodies</em> with their bucklers of bull’s hide. - Deadly and many were the shafts that fled from their murderous bows. At - length the horse of Mah-to-toh-pa fell to the ground with an arrow in - his heart; his rider sprang upon his feet prepared to renew the combat; - but the Shienne, seeing his adversary dismounted, sprang from his - horse, and driving him back, presented the face of his shield towards - his enemy, inviting him to come on!—a few shots more were exchanged - thus, when the Shienne, having discharged all his arrows, held up his - empty quiver and dashing it furiously to the ground, with his bow and - his shield; drew and brandished his naked knife!</p> - - <p>“Yes!” said Mah-to-toh-pa, as he threw <em>his</em> shield and quiver to - the earth, and was rushing up—<em>he</em> grasped for his knife, but his - belt had it not; he had left it at home! his bow was in his hand, with - which he parried his antagonist’s blow and felled him to the ground! A - desperate struggle now ensued for the knife—the blade of it was several - times drawn through the right hand of Mah-to-toh-pa, inflicting the - most frightful wounds, while he was severely wounded in several parts - of the body. He at length succeeded however, in wresting it from his - adversary’s hand, and plunged it to his heart.</p> - - <p>By this time the two parties had drawn up in close view of each other, - and at the close of the battle, Mah-to-toh-pa held up, and claimed in - deadly silence, the knife and scalp of the noble Shienne chief.<a id="FNanchor_4" href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p> - - <p>9. Several hundred Minatarees and Mandans attacked by a party of - Assinneboins—all fled but Mah-to-toh-pa, who stood his ground, - fired, and killed one of the enemy, putting the rest of them to - flight, and driving off sixty horses! He is here seen with his lance - and shield—foot-tracks of his enemy in front, and his own party’s - horse-tracks behind him, and a shower of bullets flying around - his head; here he got the name of “<em>the four bears</em>,” as the - Assinneboins said he rushed on like four bears.</p> - - <p>10. Mah-to-toh-pa gets from his horse and kills two Ojibbeway women, - and takes their scalps; done by the side of an Ojibbeway village, where - they went to the river for water. He is here seen with his lance in - one hand and his knife in the other—an eagle’s plume head-dress on his - horse, and his shield left on his horse’s back. I incurred his ill-will - for awhile by asking him, whether it was manly to boast of taking - the scalps of women? and his pride prevented him from giving me any - explanation or apology. The interpreter, however, explained to me that - he had secreted himself in the most daring manner, in full sight of the - Ojibbeway village, seeking to revenge a murder, where he remained six - days without sustenance, and then killed the two women in full view of - the tribe, and made his escape, which entitled him to the credit of a - victory, though his victims were women.</p> - - <p>11. A large party of Assinneboins entrenched near the Mandan - village attacked by the Mandans and Minatarees, who were driven - back—Mah-to-toh-pa rushes into the entrenchment alone—an Indian fires - at him and burns his face with the muzzle of his gun, which burst—the - Indian retreats, leaving his exploded gun, and Mah-to-toh-pa shoots - him through the shoulders as he runs, and kills him with his tomahawk; - the gun of the Assinneboin is seen falling to the ground, and in front - of him the heads of the Assinneboins in the entrenchment; the horse of - Mah-to-toh-pa is seen behind him.</p> - - <p>12. Mah-to-toh-pa between his enemy the Sioux, and his own people, with - an arrow shot through him, after standing the fire of the Sioux for a - long time alone. In this battle he took no scalps, yet his valour was - so extraordinary that the chiefs and braves awarded him the honour of a - victory.</p> - - <p>This feat is seen in the centre of the robe—head-dress of war-eagles’ - quills on his own and his horse’s head—the tracks of his enemies’ - horses are seen in front of him, and bullets flying both ways all - around him. With his whip in his hand, he is seen urging his horse - forward, and an arrow is seen flying, and bloody, as it has passed - through his body. For this wound, and the several others mentioned - above, he bears the honourable scars on his body, which he generally - keeps covered with red paint.</p> - - <p>Such are the battles traced upon the robe of Mah-to-toh-pa or four - bears, interpreted by J. Kipp from the words of the hero while sitting - upon the robe, explaining each battle as represented.</p> - - <div class="footnotes"> - <div class="footnote"> - <a id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="label">[3]</a> The reader will see in <a href="#i_065"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 65</a>, an accurate - drawing of this curious robe, which now hangs in the <span class="smcap">Indian - Gallery</span>, and on the following pages, each group numbered, and - delineated on a larger scale, which are <i>fac-similes</i> of the - drawings on the robe. - </div> - - <div class="footnote"> - <a id="Footnote_4" href="#FNanchor_4" class="label">[4]</a> This celebrated weapon with the blood of several victims - dried upon its blade, now<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">154</span> hangs in the <span class="smcap">Indian Gallery</span>, with - satisfactory certificates of its identity and its remarkable history, - and an exact drawing of it and its scabbard can be seen in <a href="#i_099"><span class="smcap">plate</span> - 99</a>, <i>a</i>. - </div> - </div> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">155</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_22">LETTER—<abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 22.</h2> - </div> - <div class="subheadc">MANDAN VILLAGE, <i>UPPER MISSOURI</i>.</div> - - <p><span class="smcap">Oh!</span> “<i lang="fr">horribile visu—et mirabile dictu!</i>” Thank God, it is over, - that I have seen it, and am able to tell it to the world.</p> - - <p>The <em>annual religious ceremony</em>, of four days, of which I have so - often spoken, and which I have so long been wishing to see, has at last - been enacted in this village; and I have, fortunately, been able to - see and to understand it in most of its bearings, which was more than - I had reason to expect; for no white man, in all probability, has ever - been before admitted to the <em>medicine-lodge</em> during these most - remarkable and appalling scenes.</p> - - <p>Well and truly has it been said, that the Mandans are a strange and - peculiar people; and most correctly had I been informed, that this - was an important and interesting scene, by those who had, on former - occasions, witnessed such parts of it as are transacted out of doors, - and in front of the <em>medicine-lodge</em>.</p> - - <p>Since the date of my last Letter, I was lucky enough to have painted - the <em>medicine-man</em>, who was high-priest on this grand occasion, or - conductor of the ceremonies, who had me regularly installed doctor or - “<em>medicine</em>;” and who, on the morning when these grand refinements - in mysteries commenced, took me by the arm, and led me into the - <em>medicine-lodge</em>, where the Fur Trader, Mr. Kipp, and his two - clerks accompanied me in close attendance for four days; all of us - going to our own quarters at sun-down, and returning again at sun-rise - the next morning.</p> - - <p>I took my sketch-book with me, and have made many and faithful drawings - of what we saw, and full notes of everything as translated to me by - the interpreter; and since the close of that horrid and frightful - scene, which was a week ago or more, I have been closely ensconced - in an earth-covered wigwam, with a fine sky-light over my head, with - my palette and brushes, endeavouring faithfully to put the whole - of what we saw upon canvass, which my companions all agree to be - critically correct, and of the fidelity of which they have attached - their certificates to the backs of the paintings. I have made four - paintings of these strange scenes, containing several hundred figures, - representing the transactions of each day; and if I live to get them - home, they will be found to be exceedingly curious and interesting.</p> - - <p>I shudder at the relation, or even at the thought of these barbarous - and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">156</span> cruel scenes, and am almost ready to shrink from the task of - reciting them after I have so long promised some account of them. I - entered the <em>medicine-house</em> of these scenes, as I would have - entered a church, and expected to see something extraordinary and - strange, but yet in the form of worship or devotion; but alas! little - did I expect to see the interior of their holy temple turned into a - <em>slaughter-house</em>, and its floor strewed with the blood of its - fanatic devotees. Little did I think that I was entering a house of - God, where His blinded worshippers were to pollute its sacred interior - with their blood, and propitiatory suffering and tortures—surpassing, - if possible, the cruelty of the rack or the inquisition; but such the - scene has been, and as such I will endeavour to describe it.</p> - - <p>The “<em>Mandan religious ceremony</em>” then, as I believe it is - very justly denominated, is an annual transaction, held in their - <em>medicine-lodge</em> once a year, as a great religious anniversary, - and for several distinct objects, as I shall in a few minutes describe; - during and after which, they look with implicit reliance for the - justification and approval of the Great Spirit.</p> - - <p>All of the Indian tribes, as I have before observed, are religious—are - worshipful—and many of them go to almost incredible lengths (as will - be seen in the present instance, and many others I may recite) in - worshipping the Great Spirit; denying and humbling themselves before - Him for the same purpose, and in the same hope as we do, perhaps in a - more rational and acceptable way.</p> - - <p>The tribes, so far as I have visited them, all distinctly believe in - the existence of a Great (or Good) Spirit, an Evil (or Bad) Spirit, - and also in a future existence and future accountability, according - to their virtues and vices in this world. So far the North American - Indians would seem to be one family, and such an unbroken theory - amongst them; yet with regard to the manner and form, and time and - place of that accountability—to the constructions of virtues and vices, - and the modes of appeasing and propitiating the Good and Evil Spirits, - they are found with all the changes and variety which fortuitous - circumstances, and fictions, and fables have wrought upon them.</p> - - <p>If from their superstitions and their ignorance, there are oftentimes - obscurities and mysteries thrown over and around their system, yet - these affect not the theory itself, which is everywhere essentially - the same—and which, if it be not correct, has this much to command - the admiration of the enlightened world, that they worship with great - sincerity, and all according to one creed.</p> - - <p>The Mandans believe in the existence of a Great (or Good) Spirit, and - also of an Evil Spirit, who they say existed long before the Good - Spirit, and is far superior in power. They all believe also in a - future state of existence, and a future administration of rewards and - punishments, and (so do all other tribes that I have yet visited) they - believe those punishments are not eternal, but commensurate with their - sins.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">157</span></p> - - <p>These people living in a climate where they suffer from cold in the - severity of their winters, have very naturally reversed our ideas of - Heaven and Hell. The latter they describe to be a country very far - to the north, of barren and hideous aspect, and covered with eternal - snows and ice. The torments of this freezing place they describe as - most excruciating; whilst Heaven they suppose to be in a warmer and - delightful latitude, where nothing is felt but the keenest enjoyment, - and where the country abounds in buffaloes and other luxuries of life. - The Great or Good Spirit they believe dwells in the former place for - the purpose of there meeting those who have offended him; increasing - the agony of their sufferings, by being himself present, administering - the penalties. The Bad or Evil Spirit they at the same time suppose to - reside in Paradise, still tempting the happy; and those who have gone - to the regions of punishment they believe to be tortured for a time - proportioned to the amount of their transgressions, and that they are - then to be transferred to the land of the happy, where they are again - liable to the temptations of the Evil Spirit, and answerable again at a - future period for their new offences.</p> - - <p>Such is the religious creed of the Mandans, and for the purpose of - appeasing the Good and Evil Spirits, and to secure their entrance into - those “fields Elysian,” or beautiful hunting grounds, do the young - men subject themselves to the horrid and sickening cruelties to be - described in the following pages.</p> - - <p>There are other three distinct objects (yet to be named) for which - these religious ceremonies are held, which are as follow:—</p> - - <p><em>First</em>, they are held annually as a celebration of - the event of the subsiding of the Flood, which they call - <i lang="mhq">Mee-nee-ro-ka-ha-sha</i>, (sinking down or settling of the waters.)</p> - - <p><em>Secondly</em>, for the purpose of dancing what they call, - <i lang="mhq">Bel-lohck-na-pic</i> (the bull-dance); to the strict observance of - which they attribute the coming of buffaloes to supply them with food - during the season; and</p> - - <p><em>Thirdly</em> and lastly, for the purpose of conducting all the young - men of the tribe, as they annually arrive to the age of manhood, - through an ordeal of privation and torture, which, while it is supposed - to harden their muscles and prepare them for extreme endurance, - enables the chiefs who are spectators to the scene, to decide upon - their comparative bodily strength and ability to endure the extreme - privations and sufferings that often fall to the lots of Indian - warriors; and that they may decide who is the most hardy and best able - to lead a war-party in case of extreme exigency.</p> - - <p>This part of the ceremony, as I have just witnessed it, is truly - shocking to behold, and will almost stagger the belief of the world - when they read of it. The scene is too terrible and too revolting to - be seen or to be told, were it not an essential part of a whole, which - will be new to the civilized world, and therefore worth their knowing.</p> - - <p>The bull-dance, and many other parts of these ceremonies are - exceedingly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">158</span> grotesque and amusing, and that part of them which has a - relation to the Deluge is harmless and full of interest.</p> - - <p>In the centre of the Mandan village is an open, circular area of 150 - feet diameter, kept always clear, as a public ground, for the display - of all their public feasts, parades, &c. and around it are their - wigwams placed as near to each other as they can well stand, their - doors facing the centre of this public area.</p> - - <p>In the middle of this ground, which is trodden like a hard pavement, - is a curb (somewhat like a large hogshead standing on its end) made - of planks (and bound with hoops), some eight or nine feet high, which - they religiously preserve and protect from year to year, free from - mark or scratch, and which they call the “big canoe”—it is undoubtedly - a symbolic representation of a part of their traditional history of - the Flood; which it is very evident, from this and numerous other - features of this grand ceremony, they have in some way or other - received, and are here endeavouring to perpetuate by vividly impressing - it on the minds of the whole nation. This object of superstition, - from its position, as the very centre of the village is the rallying - point of the whole nation. To it their devotions are paid on various - occasions of feasts and religious exercises during the year; and in - this extraordinary scene it was often the nucleus of their mysteries - and cruelties, as I shall shortly describe them, and becomes an object - worth bearing in mind, and worthy of being understood.</p> - - <p>This exciting and appalling scene, then, which is familiarly (and no - doubt correctly) called the “Mandan religious ceremony,” commences, not - on a particular day of the year, (for these people keep no record of - days or weeks), but at a particular season, which is designated by the - full expansion of the willow leaves under the bank of the river; for - according to their tradition, “the twig that the bird brought home was - a willow bough, and had full-grown leaves on it,” and the bird to which - they allude, is the mourning or turtle-dove, which they took great - pains to point out to me, as it is often to be seen feeding on the - sides of their earth-covered lodges, and which, being, as they call it, - a <em>medicine-bird</em>, is not to be destroyed or harmed by any one, - and even their dogs are instructed not to do it injury.</p> - - <p>On the morning on which this strange transaction commenced, I was - sitting at breakfast in the house of the Trader, Mr. Kipp, when at - sun-rise, we were suddenly startled by the shrieking and screaming - of the women, and barking and howling of dogs, as if an enemy were - actually storming their village.</p> - - <p>“Now we have it!” (exclaimed <em>mine host</em>, as he sprang from the - table,) the grand ceremony has commenced!—“drop your knife and fork, - Monsr. and get your sketch-book as soon as possible, that you may lose - nothing, for the very moment of <em>commencing</em> is as curious as - anything else of this strange affair.” I seized my sketch-book, and all - hands of us were in an instant in front of the medicine-lodge, ready - to see and to hear all that was to take place. Groups of women and - children were gathered on the tops of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">159</span> their earth-covered wigwams, and - all were screaming, and dogs were howling, and all eyes directed to the - prairies in the West, where was beheld at a mile distant, a solitary - individual descending a prairie bluff, and making his way in a direct - line towards the village!</p> - - <p>The whole community joined in the general expression of great alarm, - as if they were in danger of instant destruction; bows were strung and - thrumed to test their elasticity—their horses were caught upon the - prairie and run into the village—warriors were blackening their faces, - and dogs were muzzled, and every preparation made, as if for instant - combat.</p> - - <p>During this deafening din and confusion within the piquets of the - village of the Mandans, the figure discovered on the prairie continued - to approach with a dignified step and in a right line towards the - village; all eyes were upon him, and he at length made his appearance - (without opposition) within the piquets, and proceeded towards the - centre of the village, where all the chiefs and braves stood ready to - receive him, which they did in a cordial manner, by shaking hands with - him, recognizing him as an old acquaintance, and pronouncing his name - <i lang="mhq">Nu-mohk-muck-a-nah</i> (the first or only man). The body of this - strange personage, which was chiefly naked, was painted with white - clay, so as to resemble at a little distance, a white man; he wore a - robe of four white wolf skins falling back over his shoulders; on his - head he had a splendid head-dress made of two ravens’ skins, and in - his left hand he cautiously carried a large pipe, which he seemed to - watch and guard as something of great importance. After passing the - chiefs and braves as described, he approached the <em>medicine</em> or - mystery lodge, which he had the means of opening, and which had been - religiously closed during the year except for the performance of these - religious rites.</p> - - <p>Having opened and entered it, he called in four men whom he appointed - to clean it out, and put it in readiness for the ceremonies, by - sweeping it and strewing a profusion of green willow-boughs over its - floor, and with them decorating its sides. Wild sage also, and many - other aromatic herbs they gathered from the prairies, and scattered - over its floor; and over these were arranged a curious group of buffalo - and human skulls, and other articles, which were to be used during this - strange and unaccountable transaction.</p> - - <p>During the whole of this day, and while these preparations were making - in the <em>medicine-lodge</em>, Nu-mohk-muck-a-nah (the first or only - man) travelled through the village, stopping in front of every man’s - lodge, and crying until the owner of the lodge came out, and asked - who he was, and what was the matter? to which he replied by relating - the sad catastrophe which had happened on the earth’s surface by the - overflowing of the waters, saying that “he was the only person saved - from the universal calamity; that he landed his big canoe on a high - mountain in the west, where he now resides; that he had come to open - the <em>medicine-lodge</em>, which must needs receive a present of some - edged-tool from the owner of every wigwam, that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">160</span> it may be sacrificed - to the water;” for he says, “if this is not done, there will be another - flood, and no one will be saved, as it was with such tools that the big - canoe was made.”</p> - - <p>Having visited every lodge or wigwam in the village, during the day, - and having received such a present at each, as a hatchet, a knife, &c. - (which is undoubtedly always prepared and ready for the occasion), he - returned at evening and deposited them in the <em>medicine-lodge</em>, - where they remained until the afternoon of the last day of the - ceremony, when, as the final or closing scene, they were thrown into - the river in a deep place, from a bank thirty feet high, and in - presence of the whole village; from whence they can never be recovered, - and where they were, undoubtedly, <em>sacrificed</em> to the Spirit of - the Water.</p> - - <p>During the first night of this strange character in the village, no one - could tell where he slept; and every person, both old and young, and - dogs, and all living things were kept within doors, and dead silence - reigned every where. On the next morning at sunrise, however, he made - his appearance again, and entered the <em>medicine-lodge</em>; and at his - heels (in “<em>Indian file</em>,” <i>i. e.</i> single file, one following - in another’s tracks) all the young men who were candidates for the - self-tortures which were to be inflicted, and for the honours that were - to be bestowed by the chiefs on those who could most manfully endure - them. There were on this occasion about fifty young men who entered - the lists, and as they went into the sacred lodge, each one’s body was - chiefly naked, and covered with clay of different colours; some were - red, others were yellow, and some were covered with white clay, giving - them the appearance of white men. Each one of them carried in his right - hand his <em>medicine-bag</em>—on his left arm, his shield of the bull’s - hide—in his left hand, his bow and arrows, with his quiver slung on his - back.</p> - - <p>When all had entered the lodge, they placed themselves in reclining - postures around its sides, and each one had suspended over his head his - respective weapons and <em>medicine</em>, presenting altogether, one of - the most wild and picturesque scenes imaginable.</p> - - <p>Nu-mohk-muck-a-nah (the first or only man) was in the midst of them, - and having lit and smoked his medicine-pipe for their success; and - having addressed them in a short speech, stimulating and encouraging - them to trust to the Great Spirit for His protection during the severe - ordeal they were about to pass through; he called into the lodge an - old medicine or mystery-man, whose body was painted yellow, and whom - he appointed master of ceremonies during this occasion, whom they - denominated in their language <i lang="mhq">O-kee-pah Ka-se-kah</i> (keeper or - conductor of the ceremonies). He was appointed, and the authority - passed by the presentation of the medicine-pipe, on which they consider - hangs all the power of holding and conducting all these rites.</p> - - <p>After this delegated authority had thus passed over to the - medicine-man; Nu-mohk-muck-a-nah shook hands with him, and bade him - good<span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">161</span> bye, saying “that he was going back to the mountains in the west, - from whence he should assuredly return in just a year from that time, - to open the lodge again.” He then went out of the lodge, and passing - through the village, took formal leave of the chiefs in the same - manner, and soon disappeared over the bluffs from whence he came. No - more was seen of this surprising character during the occasion; but I - shall have something yet to say of him and his strange office before I - get through the Letter.</p> - - <p>To return to the lodge,—the medicine or mystery-man just appointed, - and who had received his injunctions from Nu-mohk-muck-a-nah, was left - sole conductor and keeper; and according to those injunctions, it was - his duty to lie by a small fire in the centre of the lodge, with his - medicine-pipe in his hand, crying to the Great Spirit incessantly, - watching the young men, and preventing entirely their escape from the - lodge, and all communication whatever with people outside, for the - space of four days and nights, during which time they were not allowed - to <em>eat</em>, to <em>drink</em>, or to <em>sleep</em>, preparatory to the - excruciating self-tortures which they were to endure on the fourth day.</p> - - <p>I mentioned that I had made four paintings of these strange scenes, - and the first one exhibits the interior of the medicine-lodge at this - moment; with the young men all reclining around its sides, and the - conductor or mystery-man lying by the fire, crying to the Great Spirit - (<a href="#i_066"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 66</a>). It was just at this juncture that I was ushered - into this sacred temple of their worship, with my companions, which - was, undoubtedly, the first time that their devotions had ever been - trespassed upon by the presence of pale faces; and in this instance had - been brought about in the following strange and unexpected manner.</p> - - <p>I had most luckily for myself, painted a full-length portrait of this - great magician or high-priest, but a day previous to the commencement - of the ceremonies (in which I had represented him in the performance of - some of his mysteries), with which he had been so exceedingly pleased - as well as astonished (as “he could see its eyes move”), that I must - needs be, in his opinion, deeply skilled in magic and mysteries, and - well-entitled to a respectable rank in the craft, to which I had been - at once elevated by the unanimous voice of the doctors, and regularly - initiated, and styled <i lang="mhq">Te-ho-pee-nee-wash-ee-waska-pooska</i>, the - <em>white medicine</em> (or Spirit) <em>painter</em>.</p> - - <p>With this very honourable degree which had just been conferred upon me, - I was standing in front of the medicine-lodge early in the morning, - with my companions by my side, endeavouring to get a peep, if possible, - into its sacred interior; when this <em>master of ceremonies</em>, - guarding and conducting its secrets, as I before described, came out - of the door and taking me with a firm <em>professional</em> affection by - the arm, led me into this <i>sanctum sanctorum</i>, which was strictly - guarded from, even a peep or a gaze from the vulgar, by a vestibule - of eight or ten feet in length, guarded with a double screen or door, - and two or three dark and frowning centinels with spears<span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">162</span> or war-clubs - in their hands. I gave the wink to my companions as I was passing in, - and the potency of my <em>medicine</em> was such as to gain them a quiet - admission, and all of us were comfortably placed on elevated seats, - which our conductor soon prepared for us.</p> - - <p>We were then in full view of everything that transpired in the lodge, - having before us the scene exactly, which is represented in the first - of the four pictures. To this seat we returned every morning at - sunrise, and remained until sun-down for four days, the whole time - which these strange scenes occupied.</p> - - <p>In addition to the preparations and arrangements of the interior of - this sanctuary, as above described, there was a curious, though a very - strict arrangement of buffalo and human skulls placed on the floor of - the lodge, and between them (which were divided into two parcels), - and in front of the reclining group of young candidates, was a small - and very delicate scaffold, elevated about five feet from the ground, - made of four posts or crotches, not larger than a gun-rod, and placed - some four or five feet apart, supporting four equally delicate rods, - resting in the crotches; thus forming the frame of the scaffold, which - was completed by a number of still smaller and more delicate sticks, - transversely resting upon them. On the centre of this little frame - rested some small object, which I could not exactly understand from - the distance of twenty or thirty feet which intervened between it and - my eye. I started several times from my seat to approach it, but all - eyes were instantly upon me, and every mouth in the assembly sent forth - a hush—sh—! which brought me back to my seat again; and I at length - quieted my stifled curiosity as well as I could, upon learning the - fact, that so sacred was that object, and so important its secrets or - mysteries, that not <em>I</em> alone, but even the young men, who were - passing the ordeal, and all the village, save the conductor of the - mysteries, were stopped from approaching it, or knowing what it was.</p> - - <p>This little mystery-thing, whatever it was, had the appearance from - where I sat, of a small tortoise or frog lying on its back, with - its head and legs quite extended, and wound and tasselled off with - exceedingly delicate red and blue, and yellow ribbons or tassels, and - other bright coloured ornaments; and seemed, from the devotions paid - to it, to be the very nucleus of their mysteries—the <i>sanctissimus - sanctorum</i>, from which seemed to emanate all the sanctity of - their proceedings, and to which, all seemed to be paying the highest - devotional respect.</p> - - <p>This strange, yet important <em>essence</em> of their mysteries, I made - every enquiry about; but got no further information of, than what I - could learn by my eyes, at the distance at which I saw it, and from - the silent respect which I saw paid to it. I tried with the doctors, - and all of the <em>fraternity</em> answered me, that that was “<em>great - medicine</em>,” assuring me that it “could not be told.” So I quieted - my curiosity as well as I could, by the full conviction that I had - a <em>degree</em> or two yet to take before I could fathom all<span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">163</span> the - arcana of Indian superstitions; and that this little, seemingly - wonderful, relic of antiquity, symbol of some grand event, or “secret - too valuable to be told,” might have been at last nothing but a silly - bunch of strings and toys, to which they pay some great peculiar - regard; giving thereby to some favourite Spirit or essence an ideal - existence, and which, when called upon to describe, they refuse to do - so, calling it “<em>Great Medicine</em>,” for the very reason that there - is nothing in it to reveal or describe.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>44</i></div> - <figure id="i_067"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_067.jpg" alt="The bull-dance"> - <figcaption>67</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>Immediately under the little frame or scaffold described, and on the - floor of the lodge was placed a knife, and by the side of it a bundle - of splints or skewers, which were kept in readiness for the infliction - of the cruelties directly to be explained. There were seen also, in - this stage of the affair, a number of cords of rawhide hanging down - from the top of the lodge, and passing through its roof, with which - the young men were to be suspended by the splints passed through their - flesh, and drawn up by men placed on the top of the lodge for the - purpose, as will be described in a few moments.</p> - - <p>There were also four articles of great veneration and importance - lying on the floor of the lodge, which were sacks, containing in - each some three or four gallons of water. These also were objects of - superstitious regard, and made with great labour and much ingenuity; - each one of them being constructed of the skin of the buffalo’s neck, - and most elaborately sewed together in the form of a large tortoise - lying on its back, with a bunch of eagle’s quills appended to it as a - tail; and each of them having a stick, shaped like a drum-stick, lying - on them, with which, in a subsequent stage of these ceremonies, as - will be seen, they are beaten upon by several of their mystery-men, - as a part of the music for their strange dances and mysteries. By - the side of these sacks which they call <i lang="mhq">Eeh-teeh-ka</i>, are two - other articles of equal importance, which they call <i lang="mhq">Eeh-na-dee</i> - (rattles), in the form of a gourd-shell made also of dried skins, - and used at the same time as the others, in the music (or rather - <em>noise</em> and <em>din</em>) for their dances, &c.</p> - - <p>These four sacks of water have the appearance of very great - antiquity; and by enquiring of my very ingenious friend and patron, - the <em>medicine-man</em>, after the ceremonies were over, he very - gravely told me, that “those four tortoises contained the waters from - the four quarters of the world—that these waters had been contained - therein ever since the settling down of the waters!” I did not think - it best to advance any argument against so ridiculous a theory, and - therefore could not even enquire or learn, at what period they had been - instituted, or how often, or on what occasions, the water in them had - been changed or replenished.</p> - - <p>I made several propositions, through my friend Mr. Kipp, the trader and - interpreter, to purchase one of these strange things by offering them a - very liberal price; to which I received in answer that these, and all - the very numerous articles used in these ceremonies, being a <em>society - property</em> were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">164</span> <em>medicine</em>, and could not be sold for any - consideration; so I abandoned all thoughts of obtaining anything, - except what I have done by the <em>medicine</em> operation of my pencil, - which was applied to everything, and even upon that they looked with - decided distrust and apprehension, as a sort of theft or sacrilege.</p> - - <p>Such then was the group, and such the appearance of the interior of the - medicine-lodge during the three first, and part of the fourth day also, - of the Mandan religious ceremonies. The medicine-man with a group about - him, of young aspirants who were under his sole controul, as was every - article and implement to be used, and the sanctity of this solitary and - gloomy looking place, which could not be trespassed upon by any man’s - presence without his most sovereign permission.</p> - - <p>During the three first days of this solemn conclave, there were - many very curious forms and amusements enacted in the open area - in the middle of the village, and in front of the medicine-lodge, - by other members of the community, one of which formed a material - part or link of these strange ceremonials. This very curious and - exceedingly grotesque part of their performance, which they denominated - <i lang="mhq">Bel-lohck nah-pick</i> (the bull-dance) of which I have before - spoken, as one of the avowed objects for which they held this annual - fête; and to the strictest observance of which they attribute the - coming of buffaloes to supply them with food during the season—is - repeated four times during the first day, eight times on the second - day, twelve times on the third day, and sixteen times on the fourth - day; and always around the curb, or “<em>big canoe</em>,” of which I have - before spoken.</p> - - <p>This subject I have selected for my second picture, and the principal - actors in it were eight men, with the entire skins of buffaloes thrown - over their backs, with the horns and hoofs and tails remaining on; - their bodies in a horizontal position, enabling them to imitate the - actions of the buffalo, whilst they were looking out of its eyes as - through a mask (<a href="#i_067"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 67</a>).</p> - - <p>The bodies of these men were chiefly naked and all painted in the most - extraordinary manner, with the nicest adherence to exact similarity; - their limbs, bodies and faces, being in every part covered, either - with black, red, or white paint. Each one of these strange characters - had also a lock of buffalo’s hair tied around his ancles—in his right - hand a rattle, and a slender white rod or staff, six feet long, in the - other; and carried on his back, a bunch of green willow boughs about - the usual size of a bundle of straw. These eight men, being divided - into four pairs, took their positions on the four different sides of - the curb or big canoe, representing thereby the four cardinal points; - and between each group of them, with the back turned to the big canoe, - was another figure, engaged in the same dance, keeping step with them, - with a similar staff or wand in one hand and a rattle in the other, and - (being four in number) answering again to the four cardinal points. The - bodies of these four young men were chiefly naked, with no other dress - upon them than a beautiful kelt (or quartz-quaw), around the waist, - made of eagles<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">165</span> quills and ermine, and very splendid head-dresses - made of the same materials. Two of these figures were painted entirely - black with pounded charcoal and grease, whom they called the “firmament - or night,” and the numerous white spots which were dotted all over - their bodies, they called “stars.” The other two were painted from - head to foot as red as vermilion could make them; these they said - represented the day, and the white streaks which were painted up and - down over their bodies, were “ghosts which the morning rays were - chasing away.”</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>45</i></div> - <figure id="i_068"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_068.jpg" alt="The cutting scene"> - <figcaption>68</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>These twelve are the only persons actually engaged in this strange - dance, which is each time repeated in the same form, without the - slightest variation. There are, however, a great number of characters - engaged in giving the whole effect and wildness to this strange and - laughable scene, each one acting well his part, and whose offices, - strange and inexplicable as they are, I will endeavour to point out - and explain as well as I can, from what I saw, elucidated by their own - descriptions.</p> - - <p>This most remarkable scene, then, which is witnessed more or less often - on each day, takes place in presence of the whole nation, who are - generally gathered around, on the tops of the wigwams or otherwise, - as spectators, whilst the young men are reclining and fasting in the - lodge as above described. On the first day, this “<em>bull-dance</em>” is - given <em>once</em> to each of the cardinal points, and the medicine-man - smokes his pipe in those directions. On the second day, <em>twice</em> - to each; <em>three times</em> to each on the third day, and <em>four - times</em> to each on the fourth. As a signal for the dancers and other - characters (as well as the public) to assemble, the old man, master - of ceremonies, with the medicine-pipe in hand, dances out of the - lodge, singing (or rather crying) forth a most pitiful lament, until - he approaches the big canoe, against which he leans, with the pipe in - his hand, and continues to cry. At this instant, four very aged and - patriarchal looking men, whose bodies are painted red, and who have - been guarding the four sides of the lodge, enter it and bring out the - four sacks of water, which they place near the big canoe, where they - seat themselves by the side of them and commence thumping on them - with the mallets or drumsticks which have been lying on them; and - another brandishes and shakes the <i lang="mhq">eeh-na-dees</i> or rattles, and - all unite to them their voices, raised to the highest pitch possible, - as the music for the <em>bull-dance</em>, which is then commenced and - continued for fifteen minutes or more in perfect time, and without - cessation or intermission. When the music and dancing stop, which are - always perfectly simultaneous, the whole nation raise the huzza! and a - deafening shout of approbation; the master of ceremonies dances back to - the medicine-lodge, and the old men return to their former place; the - sacks of water, and all rest as before, until by the same method, they - are again called into a similar action.</p> - - <p>The supernumeraries or other characters who play their parts in this - grand spectacle, are numerous and well worth description. By the - side of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">166</span> big canoe are seen two men with the skins of grizzly - bears thrown over them, using the skins as a mask, over their heads. - These ravenous animals are continually growling and threatening to - devour everything before them and interfering with the forms of their - religious ceremony. To appease them, the women are continually bringing - and placing before them dishes of meat, which are as often snatched up - and carried to the prairie, by two men whose bodies are painted black - and their heads white, whom they call bald eagles, who are darting by - them and grasping their food from before them as they pass. These are - again chased upon the plains by a hundred or more small boys, who are - naked, with their bodies painted yellow and their heads white, whom - they call <em>Cabris</em> or antelopes; who at length get the food away - from them and devour it; thereby inculcating (perhaps) the beautiful - moral, that by the dispensations of Providence, his bountiful gifts - will fall at last to the hands of the innocent.</p> - - <p>During the intervals between these dances, all these characters, except - those from the medicine-lodge, retire to a wigwam close by, which they - use on the occasion also as a sacred place, being occupied exclusively - by them while they are at rest, and also for the purpose of painting - and ornamenting their bodies for the occasion.</p> - - <p>During each and every one of these dances, the old men who beat upon - the sacks and sing, are earnestly chanting forth their supplications - to the Great Spirit, for the continuation of his influence in sending - them buffaloes to supply them with food during the year; they are - administering courage and fortitude to the young men in the lodge, - by telling them, that “the Great Spirit has opened his ears in their - behalf—that the very atmosphere all about them is peace—that their - women and children can hold the mouth of the grizzly bear—that they - have invoked from day to day O-kee-hee-de (the Evil Spirit)—that they - are still challenging him to come, and yet he has not dared to make his - appearance!”</p> - - <p>But alas! in the last of these dances, on the fourth day, in the midst - of all their mirth and joy, and about noon, and in the height of all - these exultations, an instant scream burst forth from the tops of the - lodges!—men, women, dogs and all, seemed actually to howl and shudder - with alarm, as they fixed their glaring eye-balls upon the prairie - bluff, about a mile in the west, down the side of which a man was seen - descending at full speed towards the village! This strange character - darted about in a zig-zag course in all directions on the prairie, - like a boy in pursuit of a butterfly, until he approached the piquets - of the village, when it was discovered that his body was entirely - naked, and painted as black as a negro, with pounded charcoal and - bear’s grease; his body was therefore everywhere of a shining black, - except occasionally white rings of an inch or more in diameter, which - were marked here and there all over him; and frightful indentures of - white around his mouth, resembling canine teeth. Added to his hideous - appearance, he gave the most frightful shrieks and screams as he - dashed through the village<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">167</span> and entered the terrified group, which was - composed (in that quarter) chiefly of females, who had assembled to - witness the amusements which were transpiring around the “big canoe.”</p> - - <p>This unearthly looking creature carried in his two hands a wand or - staff of eight or nine feet in length, with a red ball at the end of - it, which he continually slid on the ground a-head of him as he ran. - All eyes in the village, save those of the persons engaged in the - dance, were centred upon him, and he made a desperate rush towards - the women, who screamed for protection as they were endeavouring to - retreat; and falling in groups upon each other as they were struggling - to get out of his reach. In this moment of general terror and alarm - there was an instant check! and all for a few moments were as silent as - death.</p> - - <p>The old master of ceremonies, who had run from his position at the - big canoe, had met this monster of fiends, and having thrust the - <em>medicine-pipe</em> before him, held him still and immoveable under - its charm! This check gave the females an opportunity to get out of - his reach, and when they were free from their danger, though all - hearts beat yet with the instant excitement, their alarm soon cooled - down into the most exorbitant laughter and shouts of applause at his - sudden defeat, and the awkward and ridiculous posture in which he was - stopped and held. The old man was braced stiff by his side, with his - eye-balls glaring him in the face, whilst the medicine-pipe held in its - mystic chains his <em>Satanic</em> Majesty, annulling all the powers of - his magical wand, and also depriving him of the powers of locomotion! - Surely no two human beings ever presented a more striking group than - these two individuals did for a few moments, with their eye-balls - set in direst mutual hatred upon each other; both struggling for the - supremacy, relying on the potency of their medicine or mystery. The one - held in check, with his body painted black, representing (or rather - assuming to be) his sable majesty, O-kee-hee-de (the Evil Spirit), - frowning everlasting vengeance on the other, who sternly gazed him back - with a look of exultation and contempt, as he held him in check and - disarmed under the charm of his sacred mystery-pipe.</p> - - <p>When the superior powers of the medicine-pipe (on which hang all these - annual mysteries) had been thus fully tested and acknowledged, and - the women had had requisite time to withdraw from the reach of this - fiendish monster, the pipe was very gradually withdrawn from before - him, and he seemed delighted to recover the use of his limbs again, - and power of changing his position from the exceedingly unpleasant and - really ridiculous one he appeared in, and was compelled to maintain, - a few moments before; rendered more superlatively ridiculous and - laughable, from the further information, which I am constrained to - give, of the plight in which this demon of terror and vulgarity made - his <i lang="fr">entrée</i> into the midst of the Mandan village, and to the - centre and nucleus of their first and greatest religious ceremony.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">168</span></p> - - <p>Then, to proceed: I said that this strange personage’s body was - naked—was painted jet black with charcoal and bear’s grease, with a - wand in his hands of eight feet in length with a red ball at the end of - it, which he was rubbing about on the ground in front of him as he ran. - In addition to this he had—<i lang="mhq">ung gee ah waheea notch,t oheks teha, ung - gee an ung hutch tow a tow ah ches menny. Ung gee ah to to wun nee, - ahkst to wan ee eigh’ s ta w.</i></p> - - <p>In this plight, in which I have not dared fully to represent him - in the picture, he pursued the groups of females, spreading dismay - and alarm wherever he went, and consequently producing the awkward - and exceedingly laughable predicament in which he was placed by the - sudden check from the medicine-pipe, as I have above stated, when - all eyes were intently fixed upon him, and all joined in rounds of - applause for the success of the magic spell that was placed upon - him; all voices were raised in shouts of satisfaction at his defeat, - and all eyes gazed upon him; of chiefs and of warriors—matrons and - even of their tender-aged and timid daughters, whose education had - taught them to receive the <em>moral</em> of these scenes without the - shock of impropriety, that would have startled a more fastidious and - consequently sensual-thinking people.</p> - - <p>After repeated attempts thus made, and thus defeated in several parts - of the crowd, this blackened monster was retreating over the ground - where the buffalo-dance was going on, and having (apparently, par - accident) swaggered against one of the men placed under the skin of a - buffalo and engaged in the “bull dance,” he started back, and placing - himself in the attitude of a buffalo,—<i lang="mhq">hi ung ee a wahkstia, chee a - nahk s tammee ung s towa; ee ung ee aht gwaht ee o nunghths tcha ho a, - tummee oxt no ah, ughstono ah hi en en ah nahxt gwi aht gahtch gun ne. - Gwee en on doatcht chee en aht gunne how how en ahxst tchu!</i></p> - - <p>After this he paid his visits to three others of the eight, in - succession, receiving as before the deafening shouts of approbation - which pealed from every mouth in the multitude, who were all praying to - the Great Spirit to send them buffaloes to supply them with food during - the season, and who attribute the coming of buffaloes for this purpose - entirely to the strict and critical observance of this ridiculous and - disgusting part of the ceremonies.</p> - - <p>During the half hour or so that he had been jostled about amongst man - and beasts, to the great amusement and satisfaction of the lookers-on, - he seemed to have become exceedingly exhausted, and anxiously looking - out for some feasible mode of escape.</p> - - <p>In this awkward predicament he became the laughing-stock and butt - for the women, who being no longer afraid of him, were gathering in - groups around, to tease and tantalize him; and in the midst of this - dilemma, which soon became a very sad one—one of the women, who stole - up behind him with both hands full of yellow dirt—dashed it into his - face and eyes, and all<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">169</span> over him, and his body being covered with - grease, took instantly a different hue. He seemed heart-broken at this - signal disgrace, and commenced crying most vehemently, when, <i lang="fr">a - l’instant</i>, another caught his <em>wand</em> from his hand, and broke - it across her knee. It was snatched for by others, who broke it still - into bits, and then threw them at him. His power was now gone—his - bodily strength was exhausted, and he made a bolt for the prairie—he - dashed through the crowd, and made his way through the piquets on the - back part of the village, where were placed for the purpose, an hundred - or more women and girls, who escorted him as he ran on the prairie for - half a mile or more, beating him with sticks, and stones, and dirt, - and kicks, and cuffs, until he was at length seen escaping from their - clutches, and making the best of his retreat over the prairie bluffs, - from whence he first appeared.</p> - - <p>At the moment of this signal victory, and when all eyes lost sight of - him as he disappeared over the bluffs, the whole village united their - voices in shouts of satisfaction. The bull-dance then stopped, and - preparations were instantly made for the commencement of the cruelties - which were to take place within the lodge, leaving us to draw, from - what had just transpired, the following beautiful moral:—</p> - - <p>That in the midst of their religious ceremonies, the Evil Spirit - (O-kee-hee-de) made his entrée for the purpose of doing mischief, and - of disturbing their worship—that he was held in check, and defeated by - the superior influence and virtue of the <em>medicine-pipe</em>, and at - last, driven in disgrace out of the village, by the very part of the - community whom he came to abuse.</p> - - <p>At the close of this exciting scene, preparations were made, as above - stated, by the return of the master of ceremonies and musicians to the - medicine-lodge, where also were admitted at the same time a number - of men, who were to be instruments of the cruelties to be inflicted; - and also the chief and doctors of the tribe, who were to look on, and - bear witness to, and decide upon, the comparative degree of fortitude, - with which the young men sustain themselves in this most extreme and - excruciating ordeal. The chiefs having seated themselves on one side - of the lodge, dressed out in their robes and splendid head-dresses—the - band of music seated and arranged themselves in another part; and the - old master of ceremonies having placed himself in front of a small - fire in the centre of the lodge, with his “big pipe” in his hands, - and having commenced smoking to the Great Spirit, with all possible - vehemence for the success of these aspirants, presented the subject - for the third picture, which they call “<i lang="mhq">pohk-hong</i>,” the cutting - scene (<a href="#i_068"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 68</a>). Around the sides of the lodge are seen, - still reclining, as I have before mentioned, a part of the group, - whilst others of them have passed the ordeal of self-tortures, and - have been removed out of the lodge; and others still are seen in the - very act of submitting to them, which were inflicted in the following - manner:—After having removed the <i>sanctissimus sanctorum</i>, or - little scaffold, of which I before spoke, and having<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">170</span> removed also the - buffalo and human skulls from the floor, and attached them to the posts - of the lodge; and two men having taken their positions near the middle - of the lodge, for the purpose of inflicting the tortures—the one with - the scalping-knife, and the other with the bunch of splints (which I - have before mentioned) in his hand; one at a time of the young fellows, - already emaciated with fasting, and thirsting, and waking, for nearly - four days and nights, advanced from the side of the lodge, and placed - himself on his hands and feet, or otherwise, as best suited for the - performance of the operation, where he submitted to the cruelties in - the following manner:—An inch or more of the flesh on each shoulder, - or each breast was taken up between the thumb and finger by the man - who held the knife in his right hand; and the knife, which had been - ground sharp on both edges, and then hacked and notched with the blade - of another, to make it produce as much pain as possible, was forced - through the flesh below the fingers, and being withdrawn, was followed - with a splint or skewer, from the other, who held a bunch of such in - his left hand, and was ready to force them through the wound. There - were then two cords lowered down from the top of the lodge (by men who - were placed on the lodge outside, for the purpose), which were fastened - to these splints or skewers, and they instantly began to haul him up; - he was thus raised until his body was suspended from the ground where - he rested, until the knife and a splint were passed through the flesh - or integuments in a similar manner on each arm below the shoulder (over - the <i>brachialis externus</i>), below the elbow (over the <i>extensor - carpi radialis</i>), on the thighs (over the <i>vastus externus</i>), - and below the knees (over the <i>peroneus</i>).</p> - - <p>In some instances they remained in a reclining position on the ground - until this painful operation was finished, which was performed, in all - instances, exactly on the same parts of the body and limbs; and which, - in its progress, occupied some five or six minutes.</p> - - <p>Each one was then instantly raised with the cords, until the weight of - his body was suspended by them, and then, while the blood was streaming - down their limbs, the bystanders hung upon the splints each man’s - appropriate shield, bow and quiver, &c.; and in many instances, the - skull of a buffalo with the horns on it, was attached to each lower arm - and each lower leg, for the purpose, probably, of preventing by their - great weight, the struggling, which might otherwise have taken place to - their disadvantage whilst they were hung up.</p> - - <p>When these things were all adjusted, each one was raised higher by the - cords, until these weights all swung clear from the ground, leaving - his feet, in most cases, some six or eight feet above the ground. In - this plight they at once became appalling and frightful to look at—the - flesh, to support the weight of their bodies, with the additional - weights which were attached to them, was raised six or eight inches by - the skewers; and their heads sunk forward on the breasts, or thrown - backwards, in a much more frightful condition, according to the way in - which they were hung up.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>46</i></div> - <figure id="i_069"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_069.jpg" alt="Eh-ke-nah-ka-nah-pick, the last race"> - <figcaption>69</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">171</span></p> - - <p>The unflinching fortitude, with which every one of them bore this part - of the torture surpassed credulity; each one as the knife was passed - through his flesh sustained an unchangeable countenance; and several of - them, seeing me making sketches, beckoned me to look at their faces, - which I watched through all this horrid operation, without being able - to detect anything but the pleasantest smiles as they looked me in - the eye, while I could hear the knife rip through the flesh, and feel - enough of it myself, to start involuntary and uncontroullable tears - over my cheeks.</p> - - <p>When raised to the condition above described, and completely suspended - by the cords, the sanguinary hands, through which he had just passed, - turned back to perform a similar operation on another who was - ready, and each one in his turn passed into the charge of others, - who instantly introduced him to a new and improved stage of their - refinements in cruelty.</p> - - <p>Surrounded by imps and demons as they appear, a dozen or more, who seem - to be concerting and devising means for his exquisite agony, gather - around him, when one of the number advances towards him in a sneering - manner, and commences turning him around with a pole which he brings - in his hand for the purpose. This is done in a gentle manner at first; - but gradually increased, when the brave fellow, whose proud spirit - can controul its agony no longer, burst out in the most lamentable - and heart-rending cries that the human voice is capable of producing, - crying forth a prayer to the Great Spirit to support and protect him - in this dreadful trial; and continually repeating his confidence - in his protection. In this condition he is continued to be turned, - faster and faster—and there is no hope of escape from it, nor chance - for the slightest relief, until by fainting, his voice falters, and - his struggling ceases, and he hangs, apparently, a still and lifeless - corpse! When he is, by turning, gradually brought to this condition, - which is generally done within ten or fifteen minutes, there is a close - scrutiny passed upon him among his tormentors, who are checking and - holding each other back as long as the least struggling or tremour can - be discovered, lest he should be removed before he is (as they term it) - “entirely dead.”</p> - - <p>When brought to this alarming and most frightful condition, and the - turning has gradually ceased, as his voice and his strength have given - out, leaving him to hang entirely still, and apparently lifeless; when - his tongue is distended from his mouth, and his <em>medicine-bag</em>, - which he has affectionately and superstitiously clung to with his left - hand, has dropped to the ground; the signal is given to the men on top - of the lodge, by gently striking the cord with the pole below, when - they very gradually and carefully lower him to the ground.</p> - - <p>In this helpless condition he lies, like a loathsome corpse to look - at, though in the keeping (as they call it) of the Great Spirit, whom - he trusts will protect him, and enable him to get up and walk away. - As soon as he is lowered to the ground thus, one of the bystanders - advances, and pulls out the two splints or pins from the breasts and - shoulders, thereby disengaging<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">172</span> him from the cords by which he has been - hung up; but leaving all the others with their weights, &c. hanging to - his flesh.</p> - - <p>In this condition he lies for six or eight minutes, until he gets - strength to rise and move himself, for no one is allowed to assist or - offer him aid, as he is here enjoying the most valued privilege which a - Mandan can boast of, that of “trusting his life to the keeping of the - Great Spirit,” in this time of extreme peril.</p> - - <p>As soon as he is seen to get strength enough to rise on his hands and - feet, and drag his body around the lodge, he crawls with the weights - still hanging to his body, to another part of the lodge, where there is - another Indian sitting with a hatchet in his hand, and a dried buffalo - skull before him; and here, in the most earnest and humble manner, by - holding up the little finger of his left hand to the Great Spirit, he - expresses to Him, in a speech of a few words, his willingness to give - it as a sacrifice; when he lays it on the dried buffalo skull, where - the other chops it off near the hand, with a blow of the hatchet!</p> - - <p>Nearly all of the young men whom I saw passing this horrid ordeal, gave - in the above manner, the little finger of the left hand; and I saw also - several, who immediately afterwards (and apparently with very little - concern or emotion), with a similar speech, extended in the same way, - the <em>fore</em>-finger of the same hand, and that too was struck off; - leaving on the left hand only the two middle fingers and the thumb; - all which they deem absolutely essential for holding the bow, the only - weapon for the left hand.</p> - - <p>One would think that this mutilation had thus been carried quite far - enough; but I have since examined several of the head chiefs and - dignitaries of the tribe, who have also given, in this manner, the - little finger of the right hand, which is considered by them to be a - much greater sacrifice than both of the others; and I have found also - a number of their most famous men, who furnish me incontestible proof, - by five or six corresponding scars on each arm, and each breast, and - each leg, that they had so many times in their lives submitted to this - almost incredible operation, which seems to be optional with them; - and the oftener they volunteer to go through it, the more famous they - become in the estimation of their tribe.</p> - - <p>No bandages are applied to the fingers which have been amputated, nor - any arteries taken up; nor is any attention whatever, paid to them or - the other wounds; but they are left (as they say) “for the Great Spirit - to cure, who will surely take good care of them.” It is a remarkable - fact (which I learned from a close inspection of their wounds from day - to day) that the bleeding is but very slight and soon ceases, probably - from the fact of their extreme exhaustion and debility, caused by want - of sustenance and sleep, which checks the natural circulation, and - admirably at the same time prepares them to meet the severity of these - tortures without the same degree of sensibility and pain, which, under - other circumstances, might result in inflammation and death.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">173</span></p> - - <p>During the whole of the time of this cruel part of these most - extraordinary inflictions, the chiefs and dignitaries of the tribe are - looking on, to decide who are the hardiest and “stoutest hearted”—who - can hang the longest by his flesh before he faints, and who will be - soonest up, after he has been down; that they may know whom to appoint - to lead a war-party, or place at the most honourable and desperate - post. The four old men are incessantly beating upon the sacks of water - and singing the whole time, with their voices strained to the highest - key, vaunting forth, for the encouragement of the young men, the power - and efficacy of the <em>medicine-pipe</em>, which has disarmed the - monster O-kee-hee-de (or Evil Spirit), and driven him from the village, - and will be sure to protect them and watch over them through their - present severe trial.</p> - - <p>As soon as six or eight had passed the ordeal as above described, - they were led out of the lodge, with their weights hanging to their - flesh, and dragging on the ground, to undergo another, and a still - more appalling mode of suffering in the centre of the village, and in - presence of the whole nation, in the manner as follows:—</p> - - <p>The signal for the commencement of this part of the cruelties was - given by the old master of ceremonies, who again ran out as in - the buffalo-dance, and leaning against the big canoe, with his - <em>medicine-pipe</em> in his hand, began to cry. This was done several - times in the afternoon, as often as there were six or eight who had - passed the ordeal just described within the lodge, who were then taken - out in the open area, in the presence of the whole village, with the - buffalo skulls and other weights attached to their flesh, and dragging - on the ground! There were then in readiness, and prepared for the - purpose, about twenty young men, selected of equal height and equal - age; with their bodies chiefly naked, with beautiful (and similar) - head-dresses of war-eagles’ quills, on their heads, and a wreath made - of willow boughs held in the hands between them, connecting them - in a chain or circle in which they ran around the big canoe, with - all possible speed, raising their voices in screams and yelps to - the highest pitch that was possible, and keeping the curb or <em>big - canoe</em> in the centre, as their nucleus.</p> - - <p>Then were led forward the young men who were further to suffer, and - being placed at equal distances apart, and outside of the ring just - described, each one was taken in charge of two athletic young men, - fresh and strong, who stepped up to him, one on each side, and by - wrapping a broad leather strap around his wrists, without tying it, - grasped it firm underneath the hand, and stood prepared for what they - call <i lang="mhq">Eh-ke-nah-ka-nah-pick</i> (the last race, <a href="#i_069"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 69</a>). - This, the spectator looking on would suppose was most correctly named, - for he would think it was the last race they could possibly run in this - world.</p> - - <p>In this condition they stand, pale and ghastly, from abstinence and - loss of blood, until all are prepared, and the word is given, when - all start and run around, outside of the other ring; and each poor - fellow, with his weights<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">174</span> dragging on the ground, and his furious - conductors by his side, who hurry him forward by the wrists, struggles - in the desperate emulation to run longer without “dying” (as they - call it) than his comrades, who are fainting around him and sinking - down, like himself, where their bodies are dragged with all possible - speed, and often with their faces in the dirt. In the commencement of - this dance or race they all start at a moderate pace, and their speed - being gradually increased, the pain becomes so excruciating that their - languid and exhausted frames give out, and they are dragged by their - wrists until they are disengaged from the weights that were attached - to their flesh, and this must be done by such violent force as to - tear the flesh out with the splint, which (as they say) can never be - pulled out endwise, without greatly offending the Great Spirit and - defeating the object for which they have thus far suffered. The splints - or skewers which are put through the breast and the shoulders, take - up a part of the pectoral or trapezius muscle, which is necessary for - the support of the great weight of their bodies, and which, as I have - before mentioned, are withdrawn as soon as he is lowered down—but all - the others, on the legs and arms, seem to be very ingeniously passed - through the flesh and integuments without taking up the muscle, and - even these, to be broken out, require so strong and so violent a force - that most of the poor fellows fainted under the operation, and when - they were freed from the last of the buffalo skulls and other weights, - (which was often done by some of the bystanders throwing the weight of - their bodies on to them as they were dragging on the ground) they were - in every instance dropped by the persons who dragged them, and their - bodies were left, appearing like nothing but a mangled and a loathsome - corpse! At this strange and frightful juncture, the two men who had - dragged them, fled through the crowd and away upon the prairie, as if - they were guilty of some enormous crime, and were fleeing from summary - vengeance.</p> - - <p>Each poor fellow, having thus patiently and manfully endured the - privations and tortures devised for him, and (in this last struggle - with the most appalling effort) torn himself loose from them and his - tormentors, he lies the second time, in the “keeping (as he terms it) - of the Great Spirit,” to whom he issues his repeated prayers, and - entrusts his life: and in whom he reposes the most implicit confidence - for his preservation and recovery. As an evidence of this, and of the - high value which these youths set upon this privilege, there is no - person, not a relation or a chief of the tribe, who is allowed, or who - would dare, to step forward to offer an aiding hand, even to save his - life; for not only the rigid customs of the nation, and the pride of - the individual who has entrusted his life to the keeping of the Great - Spirit, would sternly reject such a tender; but their superstition, - which is the strongest of all arguments in an Indian community, would - alone, hold all the tribe in fear and dread of interfering, when - they consider they have so good a reason to believe that the Great - Spirit has undertaken the special care and protection of his devoted - worshippers.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">175</span></p> - - <p>In this “last race,” which was the struggle that finally closed their - sufferings, each one was dragged until he fainted, and was thus left, - looking more like the dead than the living: and thus each one laid, - until, by the aid of the Great Spirit, he was in a few minutes seen - gradually rising, and at last reeling and staggering, like a drunken - man, through the crowd (which made way for him) to his wigwam, where - his friends and relatives stood ready to take him into hand and restore - him.</p> - - <p>In this frightful scene, as in the buffalo-dance, the whole nation - was assembled as spectators, and all raised the most piercing and - violent yells and screams they could possibly produce, to drown the - cries of the suffering ones, that no heart could even be touched with - sympathy for them. I have mentioned before, that six or eight of the - young men were brought from the medicine-lodge at a time, and when - they were thus passed through this shocking ordeal, the medicine-men - and the chiefs returned to the interior, where as many more were soon - prepared, and underwent a similar treatment; and after that another - batch, and another, and so on, until the whole number, some forty-five - or fifty had run in this sickening circle, and, by leaving their - weights, had opened the flesh for honourable scars. I said <em>all</em>, - but there was one poor fellow though (and I shudder to tell it), who - was dragged around and around the circle, with the skull of an elk - hanging to the flesh on one of his legs,—several had jumped upon it, - but to no effect, for the splint was under the sinew, which could not - be broken. The dragging became every instant more and more furious, and - the apprehensions for the poor fellow’s life, apparent by the piteous - howl which was set up for him by the multitude around; and at last the - medicine-man ran, with his medicine-pipe in his hand, and held them in - check, when the body was dropped, and left upon the ground, with the - skull yet hanging to it. The boy, who was an extremely interesting and - fine-looking youth, soon recovered his senses and his strength, looking - deliberately at his torn and bleeding limbs; and also with the most - pleasant smile of defiance, upon the misfortune which had now fallen to - his peculiar lot, crawled through the crowd (instead of walking, which - they are never again at liberty to do until the flesh is torn out, and - the article left) to the prairie, and over which, for the distance of - half a mile, to a sequestered spot, without any attendant, where he - laid three days and three nights, yet longer, without food, and praying - to the Great Spirit, until suppuration took place in the wound, and - by the decaying of the flesh the weight was dropped, and the splint - also, which he dare not extricate in another way. At the end of this, - he crawled back to the village on his hands and knees, being too much - emaciated to walk, and begged for something to eat, which was at once - given him, and he was soon restored to health.</p> - - <p>These extreme and difficult cases often occur, and I learn that in such - instances the youth has it at his option to get rid of the weight that - is thus left upon him, in such way as he may choose, and some of those - modes are<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">176</span> far more extraordinary than the one which I have just named. - Several of the Traders, who have been for a number of years in the - habit of seeing this part of the ceremony, have told me that two years - since, when they were looking on, there was one whose flesh on the arms - was so strong that the weights could not be left, and he dragged them - with his body to the river by the side of the village, where he set a - stake fast in the ground on the top of the bank, and fastening cords - to it, he let himself half-way down a perpendicular wall of rock, of - twenty-five or thirty feet, where the weight of his body was suspended - by the two cords attached to the flesh of his arms. In this awful - condition he hung for several days, equi-distant from the top of the - rock and the deep water below, into which he at last dropped and saved - himself by swimming ashore!</p> - - <p>I need record no more of these shocking and disgusting instances, - of which I have already given enough to convince the world of the - correctness of the established fact of the Indian’s superior stoicism - and power of endurance, although some recent writers have, from motives - of envy, from ignorance, or something else, taken great pains to cut - the poor Indian short in everything, and in <em>this</em>, even as if it - were a virtue.</p> - - <p>I am ready to accord to them in this particular, the palm; the credit - of outdoing anything and everybody, and of enduring more than civilized - man ever aspired to or ever thought of. My heart has sickened also - with disgust for so abominable and ignorant a custom, and still I - stand ready with all my heart, to excuse and forgive them for adhering - so strictly to an ancient celebration, founded in superstitions and - mysteries, of which they know not the origin, and constituting a - material part and feature in the code and forms of their religion.</p> - - <p>Reader, I will return with you a moment to the medicine-lodge, which is - just to be closed, and then we will indulge in some general reflections - upon what has passed, and in what, and for what purposes this strange - batch of mysteries has been instituted and perpetuated.</p> - - <p>After these young men, who had for the last four days occupied the - medicine-lodge, had been operated on, in the manner above described, - and taken out of it, the old medicine-man, master of ceremonies, - returned, (still crying to the Great Spirit) sole tenant of that sacred - place, and brought out the “edged tools,” which I before said had been - collected at the door of every man’s wigwam, to be given as a sacrifice - to the water, and leaving the lodge securely fastened, he approached - the bank of the river, when all the medicine-men attended him, and all - the nation were spectators; and in their presence he threw them from a - high bank into very deep water, from which they cannot be recovered, - and where they are, correctly speaking, made a sacrifice to the water. - This part of the affair took place just exactly at sun-down, and - closed the scene, being the end or finale of the <em>Mandan religious - ceremony</em>.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>47</i></div> - <figure id="i_070"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_070.jpg" alt="Principal village of the Minatarees"> - <figcaption>70</figcaption> - </figure> - - <figure class="mt2" id="i_071"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_071.jpg" alt="Vapour-bath"> - <figcaption>71</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">177</span></p> - - <p class="hang"><i>The reader will forgive me for here inserting the Certificates which - I have just received from Mr. Kipp, of the city of New York, and two - others, who were with me; which I offer for the satisfaction of the - world, who read the above account.</i></p> - - <p class="mt2">“<i>We hereby certify, that we witnessed, in company with Mr. Catlin, - in the Mandan Village, the ceremonies represented in the four - paintings, and described in his Notes, to which this Certificate - refers; and that he has therein faithfully represented those scenes as - we saw them transacted without any addition or exaggeration.</i></p> - - <div> - <span class="fright">“<span class="smcap">J. Kipp</span>, <i>Agent Amer. Fur Company</i>.</span><br> - <span class="fright" style="margin-right: 5.7em;"><span class="smcap">L. Crawford</span>, <i>Clerk</i>.</span><br> - <span>“<i>Mandan Village, July 20, 1833.</i></span><span class="fright" style="margin-right: 5.9em;"><span class="smcap">Abraham Bogard</span>.”</span> - </div> - - <p class="mt2">The strange country that I am in—its excitements—its accidents and - wild incidents which startle me at almost every moment, prevent me - from any very elaborate disquisition upon the above remarkable events - at present; and even had I all the time and leisure of a country - gentleman, and all the additional information which I am daily - procuring, and daily expect to procure hereafter in explanation of - these unaccountable mysteries, yet do I fear that there would be - that inexplicable difficulty that hangs over most of the customs and - traditions of these simple people, who have no history to save facts - and systems from falling into the most absurd and disjointed fable and - ignorant fiction.</p> - - <p>What few plausible inferences I have as yet been able to draw from the - above strange and peculiar transactions I will set forth, but with - some diffidence, hoping and trusting that by further intimacy and - familiarity with these people I may yet arrive at more satisfactory and - important results.</p> - - <p>That these people should have a tradition of the Flood is by no means - surprising; as I have learned from every tribe I have visited, that - they all have some high mountain in their vicinity, where they insist - upon it the big canoe landed; but that these people should hold an - annual celebration of the event, and the season of that decided by such - circumstances as the full leaf of the willow, and the medicine-lodge - opened by such a man as Nu-mohk-muck-a-nah (who appears to be a white - man), and making his appearance “from the high-mountains in the West;” - and some other circumstances, is surely a very remarkable thing, and - requires some extraordinary attention.</p> - - <p>This Nu-mohk-muck-a-nah (first or only man) is undoubtedly some mystery - or medicine-man of the tribe, who has gone out on the prairie on the - evening previous, and having dressed and painted himself for the - occasion, comes into the village in the morning, endeavouring to keep - up the semblance of reality; for their tradition says, that at a very - ancient period such a man did actually come from the West—that his - body was of the white colour, as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">178</span> this man’s body is represented—that - he wore a robe of four white wolf skins—his head-dress was made of two - raven’s skins—and in his left hand was a huge pipe. He said, “he was at - one time the only man—he told them of the destruction of every thing on - the earth’s surface by water—that he stopped in his <em>big canoe</em> on - a high mountain in the West, where he landed and was saved.”</p> - - <p>“That the Mandans, and all other people were bound to make yearly - sacrifices of some edged-tools to the water, for of such things the - big canoe was made. That he instructed the Mandans how to build - their medicine-lodge, and taught them also the forms of these annual - ceremonies; and told them that as long as they made these sacrifices, - and performed their rites to the full letter, they might be assured of - the fact, that they would be the favourite people of the Almighty, and - would always have enough to eat and drink; and that so soon as they - should depart in one tittle from these forms, they might be assured, - that their race would decrease, and finally run out; and that they - might date their nation’s calamity to that omission or neglect.”</p> - - <p>These people have, no doubt, been long living under the dread of such - an injunction, and in the fear of departing from it; and while they are - living in total ignorance of its origin, the world must remain equally - ignorant of much of its meaning, as they needs must be of all Indian - customs resting on ancient traditions, which soon run into fables, - having lost all their system, by which they might have been construed.</p> - - <p>This strange and unaccountable custom, is undoubtedly peculiar to the - Mandans; although, amongst the Minatarees, and some others of the - neighbouring tribes, they have seasons of abstinence and self-torture, - somewhat similar, but bearing no other resemblance to this than a mere - feeble effort or form of imitation.</p> - - <p>It would seem from their tradition of the willow branch, and the dove, - that these people must have had some proximity to some part of the - civilized world; or that missionaries or others have been formerly - among them, inculcating the Christian religion and the Mosaic account - of the Flood; which is, in this and some other respects, decidedly - different from the theory which most natural people have distinctly - established of that event.</p> - - <p>There are other strong, and almost decisive proofs in my opinion, in - support of the assertion, which are to be drawn from the diversity of - colour in their hair and complexions, as I have before described, as - well as from their tradition just related, of the “<em>first or only - man</em>,” whose body was white, and who came from the West, telling - them of the destruction of the earth by water, and instructing them in - the forms of these mysteries; and, in addition to the above, I will add - the two following very curious stories, which I had from several of - their old and dignified chiefs, and which are, no doubt, standing and - credited traditions of the tribe.</p> - - <p>“The Mandans (people of the pheasants) were the first people created - in the world, and they originally lived inside of the earth; they - raised many<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">179</span> vines, and one of them had grown up through a hole in - the earth, over head, and one of their young men climbed up it until - he came out on the top of the ground, on the bank of the river, where - the Mandan village stands. He looked around, and admired the beautiful - country and prairies about him—saw many buffaloes—killed one with his - bow and arrows, and found that its meat was good to eat. He returned, - and related what he had seen; when a number of others went up the vine - with him, and witnessed the same things. Amongst those who went up, - were two very pretty young women, who were favourites of the chiefs, - because they were virgins; and amongst those who were trying to get up, - was a very large and fat woman, who was ordered by the chiefs not to go - up, but whose curiosity led her to try it as soon as she got a secret - opportunity, when there was no one present. When she got part of the - way up, the vine broke under the great weight of her body, and let her - down. She was very much hurt by the fall, but did not die. The Mandans - were very sorry about this; and she was disgraced for being the cause - of a very great calamity, which she had brought upon them, and which - could never be averted; for no more could ever ascend, nor could those - descend who had got up; but they built the Mandan village, where it - formerly stood, a great ways below on the river; and the remainder of - the people live under ground to this day.”</p> - - <p>The above tradition is told with great gravity by their chiefs and - doctors or mystery-men; and the latter profess to hear their friends - talk through the earth at certain times and places, and even consult - them for their opinions and advice on many important occasions.</p> - - <p>The next tradition runs thus:—</p> - - <p>“At a very ancient period, O-kee-hee-de (the Evil Spirit, the black - fellow mentioned in the religious ceremonies) came to the Mandan - village with Nu-mohk-muck-a-nah (the first or only man) from the West, - and sat down by a woman who had but one eye, and was hoeing corn. Her - daughter, who was very pretty came up to her, and the Evil Spirit - desired her to go and bring some water; but wished that before she - started, she would come to him and eat some buffalo meat. He told her - to take a piece out of his side, which she did and ate it, which proved - to be buffalo-fat. She then went for the water, which she brought, and - met them in the village where they had walked, and they both drank of - it—nothing more was done.</p> - - <p>“The friends of the girl soon after endeavoured to disgrace her, by - telling her that she was <i lang="fr">enciente</i>, which she did not deny. She - declared her innocence at the same time, and boldly defied any man - in the village to come forward and accuse her. This raised a great - excitement in the village, and as no one could stand forth to accuse - her, she was looked upon as <em>great medicine</em>. She soon after went - off secretly to the upper Mandan village, where the child was born.</p> - - <p>“Great search was made for her before she was found; as it was - expected<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">180</span> that the child would also be great <em>medicine</em> or - mystery, and of great importance to the existence and welfare of the - tribe. They were induced to this belief from the very strange manner - of its conception and birth, and were soon confirmed in it from - the wonderful things which it did at an early age. They say, that - amongst other miracles which he performed, when the Mandans were like - to starve, he gave them four buffalo bulls, which filled the whole - village—leaving as much meat as there was before they had eaten; saying - that these four bulls would supply them for ever. Nu-mohk-muck-a-nah - (the first or only man) was bent on the destruction of the child, and - after making many fruitless searches for it, found it hidden in a dark - place, and put it to death by throwing it into the river.</p> - - <p>“When O-kee-hee-de (the Evil Spirit) heard of the death of this child, - he sought for Nu-mohk-muck-a-nah with intent to kill him. He traced - him a long distance, and at length found him at <em>Heart River</em>, - about seventy miles below the village, with the big medicine-pipe - in his hand, the charm or mystery of which protects him from all of - his enemies. They soon agreed, however, to become friends, smoked - the big pipe together, and returned to the Mandan village. The Evil - Spirit was satisfied; and Nu-mohk-muck-a-nah told the Mandans never - to pass Heart River to live, for it was the centre of the world, - and to live beyond it would be destruction to them; and he named it - <i lang="mhq">Nat-com-pa-sa-hah</i> (heart or centre of the world).”</p> - - <p>Such are a few of the principal traditions of these people, which I - have thought proper to give in this place, and I have given them in - their own way, with all the imperfections and absurd inconsistencies - which should be expected to characterize the history of all ignorant - and superstitious people who live in a state of simple and untaught - nature, with no other means of perpetuating historical events, than by - oral traditions.</p> - - <p>I advance these vague stories then, as I have done, and shall do in - other instances, not in support of any theory, but merely as I have - heard them related by the Indians; and preserved them, as I have - everything else that I could meet in the Indian habits and character, - for the information of the world, who may get more time to theorize - than I have at present; and who may consider better than I can, how far - such traditions should be taken as evidence of the facts, that these - people have for a long period preserved and perpetuated an imperfect - knowledge of the Deluge—of the appearance and death of a Saviour—and of - the transgressions of mother Eve.</p> - - <p>I am not yet able to learn from these people whether they have any - distinct theory of the creation; as they seem to date nothing further - back than their own existence as a people; saying (as I have before - mentioned), that they were the first people created; involving the - glaring absurdities that they were the only people on earth before - the Flood, and the only one saved was a white man; or that they were - created inside of the earth, as their tradition says; and that they - did not make their appearance on its<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">181</span> outer surface until after the - Deluge. When an Indian story is told, it is like all other gifts, “to - be taken for what it is worth,” and for any seeming inconsistency in - their traditions there is no remedy; for as far as I have tried to - reconcile them by reasoning with, or questioning them, I have been - entirely defeated; and more than that, have generally incurred their - distrust and ill-will. One of the Mandan doctors told me very gravely - a few days since, that the earth was a large tortoise, that it carried - the dirt on its back—that a tribe of people, who are now dead, and - whose faces were white, used to dig down very deep in this ground to - catch <em>badgers</em>; and that one day they stuck a knife through the - tortoise-shell, and it sunk down so that the water ran over its back, - and drowned all but one man. And on the next day while I was painting - his portrait, he told me there were <em>four tortoises</em>,—one in the - North—one in the East—one in the South, and one in the West; that each - one of these rained ten days, and the water covered over the earth.</p> - - <p>These ignorant and conflicting accounts, and both from the same man, - give as good a demonstration, perhaps, of what I have above mentioned, - as to the inefficiency of Indian traditions as anything I could at - present mention. They might, perhaps, have been in this instance - however the creeds of different sects, or of different priests amongst - them, who often advance diametrically opposite theories and traditions - relative to history and mythology.</p> - - <p>And however ignorant and ridiculous they may seem, they are yet worthy - of a little further consideration, as relating to a number of curious - circumstances connected with the unaccountable religious ceremonies - which I have just described.</p> - - <p>The Mandan chiefs and doctors, in all their feasts, where the pipe - is lit and about to be passed around, deliberately propitiate the - good-will and favour of the Great Spirit, by extending the stem of - the pipe <em>upwards</em> before they smoke it themselves; and also as - deliberately and as strictly offering the stem to the four <em>cardinal - points</em> in succession, and then drawing a whiff through it, passing - it around amongst the group.</p> - - <p>The <em>annual religious ceremony</em> invariably lasts <em>four</em> - days, and the other following circumstances attending these strange - forms, and seeming to have some allusion to the <em>four</em> cardinal - points, or the “four tortoises,” seem to me to be worthy of further - notice. <em>Four</em> men are selected by Nu-mohk-muck-a-nah (as I - have before said), to cleanse out and prepare the medicine-lodge - for the occasion—one he calls from the <em>north</em> part of the - village—one from the <em>east</em>—one from the <em>south</em>, and one - from the <em>west</em>. The <em>four</em> sacks of water, in form of large - tortoises, resting on the floor of the lodge and before described, - would seem to be typical of the same thing; and also the <em>four</em> - buffalo, and the <em>four</em> human skulls resting on the floor of the - same lodge—the <em>four</em> couples of dancers in the “bull-dance,” as - before described, and also the <em>four</em> intervening dancers in the - same dance, and also described</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">182</span></p> - - <p>The bull-dance in front of the medicine-lodge, repeated on the - <em>four</em> days, is danced <em>four</em> times on the first day, - <em>eight</em> times on the second, <em>twelve</em> times on the third, - and <em>sixteen</em> times on the <em>fourth</em>; (adding <em>four</em> - dances on each of the <em>four</em> days,) which added together make - <em>forty</em>, the exact number of days that it rained upon the earth, - according to the Mosaic account, to produce the Deluge. There are - <em>four</em> sacrifices of black and blue cloths erected over the door - of the medicine-lodge—the visits of O-kee-hee-de (or Evil Spirit) - were paid to <em>four</em> of the buffaloes in the buffalo-dance, as - above described; and in every instance, the young men who underwent - the tortures before explained, had <em>four</em> splints or skewers - run through the flesh on their legs—<em>four</em> through the arms and - <em>four</em> through the body.</p> - - <p>Such is a brief account of these strange scenes which I have just been - witnessing, and such my brief history of the Mandans. I might write - much more on them, giving yet a volume on their stories and traditions; - but it would be a volume of fables, and scarce worth recording. A - nation of Indians in their primitive condition, where there are no - historians, have but a temporary historical existence, for the reasons - above advanced, and their history, what can be certainly learned of it, - may be written in a very small compass.</p> - - <p>I have dwelt longer on the history and customs of these people than I - have or shall on any other tribe, in all probability, and that from the - fact that I have found them a very peculiar people, as will have been - seen by my notes.</p> - - <p>From these very numerous and striking peculiarities in their personal - appearance—their customs—traditions and language, I have been led - conclusively to believe that they are a people of decidedly a different - origin from that of any other tribe in these regions.</p> - - <p>From these reasons, as well as from the fact that they are a small and - feeble tribe, against whom the powerful tribe of Sioux are waging a - deadly war with the prospect of their extermination; and who with their - limited numbers, are not likely to hold out long in their struggle for - existence, I have taken more pains to pourtray their whole character, - than my limited means will allow me to bestow upon other tribes.</p> - - <p>From the ignorant and barbarous and disgusting customs just recited, - the world would naturally infer, that these people must be the most - cruel and inhuman beings in the world—yet, such is not the case, and it - becomes my duty to say it; a better, more honest, hospitable and kind - people, as a community, are not to be found in the world. No set of men - that ever I associated with have better hearts than the Mandans, and - none are quicker to embrace and welcome a white man than they are—none - will press him closer to his bosom, that the pulsation of his heart may - be felt, than a Mandan; and no man in any country will keep his word - and guard his honour more closely.</p> - - <p>The shocking and disgusting custom that I have just described, sickens<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">183</span> - the heart and even the stomach of a traveller in the country, and he - weeps for their ignorance—he pities them with all his heart for their - blindness, and laments that the light of civilization, of agriculture - and religion cannot be extended to them, and that their hearts which - are good enough, could not be turned to embrace something more rational - and conducive to their true happiness.</p> - - <p>Many would doubtless ask, whether such a barbarous custom could be - eradicated from these people? and whether their thoughts and tastes, - being turned to agriculture and religion, could be made to abandon the - dark and random channel in which they are drudging, and made to flow in - the light and life of civilization?</p> - - <p>To this query I answer <em>yes</em>. Although this is a custom of long - standing, being a part of their religion; and probably valued as one - of their dearest rights; and notwithstanding the difficulty of making - inroads upon the religion of a people in whose country there is no - severence of opinions, and consequently no division into different - sects, with different creeds to shake their faith; I still believe, - and I <em>know</em>, that by a judicious and persevering effort, this - abominable custom, and others, might be extinguished, and the beautiful - green fields about the Mandan village might be turned into productive - gardens, and the waving green bluffs that are spread in the surrounding - distance, might be spotted with lowing kine, instead of the sneaking - wolves and the hobbled war-horses that are now stalking about them.</p> - - <p>All ignorant and superstitious people, it is a well-known fact, are - the most fixed and stubborn in their religious opinions, and perhaps - the most difficult to divert from their established belief, from the - very fact that they are the most difficult to reason with. Here is - an ignorant race of human beings, who have from time immemorial been - in the habit of worshipping in their own way, and of enjoying their - religious opinions without ever having heard any one to question their - correctness; and in those opinions they are quiet and satisfied, and - it requires a patient, gradual, and untiring effort to convince such - a people that they are wrong, and to work the desired change in their - belief, and consequently in their actions.</p> - - <p>It is decidedly my opinion, however, that such a thing <em>can</em> be - done, and I do not believe there is a race of wild people on earth - where the experiment could be more successfully made than amongst the - kind and hospitable Mandans, nor any place where the Missionary labours - of pious and industrious men would be more sure to succeed, or more - certain to be rewarded in the world to come.</p> - - <p>I deem such a trial of patience and perseverance with these people of - great importance, and well worth the experiment. One which I shall hope - soon to see accomplished, and which, if properly conducted, I am sure - will result in success. Severed as they are from the contaminating and - counteracting vices which oppose and thwart most of the best efforts - of the Missionaries along the frontier, and free from the almost fatal - prejudices which they have<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">184</span> there to contend with; they present a - better field for the labours of such benevolent teachers than they - have yet worked in, and a far better chance than they have yet had of - proving to the world that the poor Indian is not a brute—that he is - a human and humane being, that he is capable of improvement—and that - his mind is a beautiful blank on which anything can be written if the - proper means be taken.</p> - - <p>The Mandans being but a small tribe, of two thousand only, and living - all in two villages, in sight of each other, and occupying these - permanently, without roaming about like other neighbouring tribes, - offer undoubtedly, the best opportunity for such an experiment of any - tribe in the country. The land about their villages is of the best - quality for ploughing and grazing, and the water just such as would - be desired. Their villages are fortified with piquets or stockades, - which protect them from the assaults of their enemies at home; and - the introduction of agriculture (which would supply them with the - necessaries and luxuries of life, without the necessity of continually - exposing their lives to their more numerous enemies on the plains, when - they are seeking in the chase the means of their subsistence) would - save them from the continual wastes of life, to which, in their wars - and the chase they are continually exposed, and which are calculated - soon to result in their extinction.</p> - - <p>I deem it not folly nor idle to say that these people <em>can be - saved</em>, nor officious to suggest to some of the very many excellent - and pious men, who are almost throwing away the best energies of their - lives along the debased frontier, that if they would introduce the - ploughshare and their prayers amongst these people, who are so far - separated from the taints and contaminating vices of the frontier, they - would soon see their most ardent desires accomplished and be able to - solve to the world the perplexing enigma, by presenting a nation of - savages, civilized and christianized (and consequently <em>saved</em>), - in the heart of the American wilderness.</p> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">185</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_23">LETTER—<abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 23.</h2> - </div> - <div class="subheadc">MINATAREE VILLAGE, <i>UPPER MISSOURI</i>.</div> - - <p><span class="smcap">Soon</span> after witnessing the curious scenes described in the former - Letters, I changed my position to the place from whence I am now - writing—to the village of the Minatarees, which is also located on - the west bank of the Missouri river, and only eight miles above the - Mandans. On my way down the river in my canoe, I passed this village - without attending to their earnest and clamorous invitations for me to - come ashore, and it will thus be seen that I am retrograding a little, - to see all that is to be seen in this singular country.</p> - - <p>I have been residing here some weeks, and am able already to say of - these people as follows:—</p> - - <p>The Minatarees (people of the willows) are a small tribe of about 1500 - souls, residing in three villages of earth-covered lodges, on the - banks of Knife river; a small stream, so called, meandering through - a beautiful and extensive prairie, and uniting its waters with the - Missouri.</p> - - <p>This small community is undoubtedly a part of the tribe of Crows, of - whom I have already spoken, living at the base of the Rocky Mountains, - who have at some remote period, either in their war or hunting - excursions, been run off by their enemy, and their retreat having been - prevented, have thrown themselves upon the hospitality of the Mandans, - to whom they have looked for protection, and under whose wing they are - now living in a sort of confederacy, ready to intermarry and also to - join, as they often have done, in the common defence of their country.</p> - - <p>In language and personal appearance, as well as in many of their - customs, they are types of the Crows; yet having adopted and so long - lived under its influence, the system of the Mandans, they are much - like them in many respects, and continually assimilating to the modes - of their patrons and protectors. Amongst their vague and various - traditions they have evidently some disjointed authority for the manner - in which they came here; but no account of the time. They say, that - they came poor—without wigwams or horses—were nearly all women, as - their warriors had been killed off in their flight; that the Mandans - would not take them into their village, nor let them come nearer than - where they are now living, and there assisted them to build their - villages. From these circumstances their wigwams have been constructed - exactly in the same manner as those of the Mandans, which I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">186</span> have - already described, and entirely distinct from any custom to be seen in - the Crow tribe.</p> - - <p>Notwithstanding the long familiarity in which they have lived with the - Mandans, and the complete adoption of most of their customs, yet it is - almost an unaccountable fact, that there is scarcely a man in the tribe - who can speak half a dozen words of the Mandan language; although on - the other hand, the Mandans are most of them able to converse in the - Minataree tongue; leaving us to conclude, either that the Minatarees - are a very inert and stupid people, or that the Mandan language (which - is most probably the case) being different from any other language in - the country, is an exceedingly difficult one to learn.</p> - - <p>The principal village of the Minatarees which is built upon the bank - of the Knife river (<a href="#i_070"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 70</a>), contains forty or fifty - earth-covered wigwams, from forty to fifty feet in diameter, and being - elevated, overlooks the other two which are on lower ground and almost - lost amidst their numerous corn fields and other profuse vegetation - which cover the earth with their luxuriant growth.</p> - - <p>The scenery along the banks of this little river, from village to - village, is quite peculiar and curious; rendered extremely so by the - continual wild and garrulous groups of men, women, and children, who - are wending their way along its winding shores, or dashing and plunging - through its blue waves, enjoying the luxury of swimming, of which - both sexes seem to be passionately fond. Others are paddling about in - their tub-like canoes, made of the skins of buffaloes; and every now - and then, are to be seen their sudatories, or vapour-baths (<a href="#i_071"><span class="smcap">plate</span> - 71</a>), where steam is raised by throwing water on to heated stones; - and the patient jumps from his sweating-house and leaps into the river - in the highest state of perspiration, as I have more fully described - whilst speaking of the bathing of the Mandans.</p> - - <p>The chief sachem of this tribe is a very ancient and patriarchal - looking man, by the name of Eeh-tohk-pah-shee-pee-shah (the black - moccasin), and counts, undoubtedly, more than an hundred <em>snows</em>. - I have been for some days an inmate of his hospitable lodge, where he - sits tottering with age, and silently reigns sole monarch of his little - community around him, who are continually dropping in to cheer his - sinking energies, and render him their homage. His voice and his sight - are nearly gone; but the gestures of his hands are yet energetic and - youthful, and freely speak the language of his kind heart.</p> - - <p>I have been treated in the kindest manner by this old chief; and have - painted his portrait (<a href="#i_072"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 72</a>) as he was seated on the floor - of his wigwam, smoking his pipe, whilst he was recounting over to me - some of the extraordinary feats of his life, with a beautiful Crow robe - wrapped around him, and his hair wound up in a conical form upon his - head, and fastened with a small wooden pin, to keep it in its place.</p> - - <p>This man has many distinct recollections of Lewis and Clarke, who were - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">187</span>the first explorers of this country, and who crossed the Rocky - Mountains thirty years ago. It will be seen by reference to their very - interesting history of their tour, that they were treated with great - kindness by this man; and that they in consequence constituted him - chief of the tribe, with the consent of his people; and he has remained - their chief ever since. He enquired very earnestly for “Red Hair” and - “Long Knife” (as he had ever since termed Lewis and Clarke), from the - fact, that one had red hair (an unexampled thing in his country), and - the other wore a broad sword which gained for him the appellation of - “Long Knife.”</p> - - <figure class="mt2 illowp75" id="i_072"> - <div class="plate"><i>48</i></div> - <img src="images/i_072.jpg" alt="Eeh-tohk-pah-shee-pee-shah"> - <figcaption>72</figcaption> - </figure> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>49</i></div> - <div class="col50"> - <figure id="i_073"> - <img style="width: 99.4%;" src="images/i_073.jpg" alt="Ee-a-chin-che-a"> - <figcaption>73</figcaption> - </figure> - </div> - <div class="col50"> - <figure id="i_074"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_074.jpg" alt="Seet-se-be-a"> - <figcaption>74</figcaption> - </figure> - </div> - - <p>I have told him that “Long Knife” has been many years dead; and that - “Red Hair” is yet living in <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Louis, and no doubt, would be glad to - hear of him; at which he seemed much pleased, and has signified to me - that he will make me bearer of some peculiar dispatches to him.<a id="FNanchor_5" href="#Footnote_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a></p> - - <p>The name by which these people are generally called (Grosventres) is - one given them by the French Traders, and has probably been applied to - them with some degree of propriety or fitness, as contradistinguished - from the Mandans, amongst whom these Traders were living; and who - are a small race of Indians, being generally at or below the average - stature of man; whilst the Minatarees are generally tall and heavily - built. There is no tribe in the western wilds, perhaps, who are better - entitled to the style of warlike, than the Minatarees; for they, unlike - the Mandans, are continually carrying war into their enemies’ country; - oftentimes drawing the poor Mandans into unnecessary broils, and - suffering so much themselves in their desperate war-excursions, that I - find the proportion of women to the number of men as two or three to - one, through the tribe.</p> - - <p>The son of Black Moccasin, whose name is Ee-a-chin-che-a (the red - thunder), and who is reputed one of the most desperate warriors of his - tribe, I have also painted at full length, in his war-dress (<a href="#i_073"><span class="smcap">plate</span> - 73</a>), with his bow in his hand, his quiver slung, and his shield - upon his arm. In this plight, <i>sans</i> head-dress, <i>sans</i> robe, - and <i>sans</i> everything that might be an useless incumbrance—with - the body chiefly naked, and profusely bedaubed with red and black - paint, so as to form an almost perfect disguise, the Indian warriors - invariably sally forth to war; save the chief, who always plumes - himself, and leads on his little band, tendering himself to his enemies - a conspicuous mark, with all his ornaments and trophies upon him; that - his enemies, if they get him, may get a prize worth the fighting for.</p> - - <p>Besides chiefs and warriors to be admired in this little tribe, there - are many beautiful and voluptuous looking women, who are continually - crowding in throngs, and gazing upon a stranger; and possibly shedding - more bewitching<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">188</span> smiles from a sort of necessity, growing out of the - great disparity in numbers between them and the rougher sex, to which I - have before alluded.</p> - - <p>From the very numerous groups of these that have from day to day - constantly pressed upon me, overlooking the operations of my brush; - I have been unable to get more than one who would consent to have - her portrait painted, owing to some fear or dread of harm that might - eventually ensue in consequence; or from a natural coyness or timidity, - which is surpassing all description amongst these wild tribes, when in - presence of strangers.</p> - - <p>The one whom I have painted (<a href="#i_074"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 74</a>) is a descendant from - the old chief; and though not the most beautiful, is yet a fair sample - of them, and dressed in a beautiful costume of the mountain-sheep skin, - handsomely garnished with porcupine quills and beads. This girl was - almost <em>compelled</em> to stand for her picture by her relatives who - urged her on, whilst she modestly declined, offering as her excuse that - “she was not pretty enough, and that her picture would be laughed at.” - This was either ignorance or excessive art on her part; for she was - certainly more than comely, and the beauty of her name, Seet-se-be-a - (the midday sun) is quite enough to make up for a deficiency, if there - were any, in the beauty of her face.</p> - - <p>I mentioned that I found these people raising abundance of corn or - maize; and I have happened to visit them in the season of their - festivities, which annually take place when the ears of corn are of the - proper size for eating. The green corn is considered a great luxury by - all those tribes who cultivate it; and is ready for eating as soon as - the ear is of full size, and the kernels are expanded to their full - growth, but are yet soft and pulpy. In this green state of the corn, - it is boiled and dealt out in great profusion to the whole tribe, who - feast and surfeit upon it whilst it lasts; rendering thanks to the - <em>Great Spirit</em> for the return of this joyful season, which they do - by making sacrifices, by dancing, and singing songs or thanksgiving. - This joyful occasion is one valued alike, and conducted in a similar - manner, by most of the tribes who raise the corn, however remote they - may be from each other. It lasts but for a week or ten days; being - limited to the longest term that the corn remains in this tender and - palatable state; during which time all hunting, and all war-excursions, - and all other avocations, are positively dispensed with; and all join - in the most excessive indulgence of gluttony and conviviality that can - possibly be conceived. The fields of corn are generally pretty well - stripped during this excess; and the poor improvident Indian thanks the - Great Spirit for the indulgence he has had, and is satisfied to ripen - merely the few ears that are necessary for his next year’s planting, - without reproaching himself for his wanton lavishness, which has laid - waste his fine fields, and robbed him of the golden harvest, which - might have gladdened his heart, with those of his wife and little - children, through the cold and dreariness of winter.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>50</i></div> - <figure id="i_075"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_075.jpg" alt="Green corn-dance"> - <figcaption>75</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>The most remarkable feature of these joyous occasion is the <em>green - corn-dance</em><span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">189</span>, which is always given as preparatory to the feast, - and by most of the tribes in the following manner:—</p> - - <p>At the usual season, and the time when from outward appearance of the - stalks and ears of the corn, it is supposed to be nearly ready for - use, several of the old women who are the owners of fields or patches - of corn (for such are the proprietors and cultivators of all crops in - Indian countries, the men never turning their hands to such degrading - occupations) are delegated by the medicine-men to look at the corn - fields every morning at sun-rise, and bring into the council-house, - where the kettle is ready, several ears of corn, the husks of which the - women are not allowed to break open or even to peep through. The women - then are from day to day discharged and the doctors left to decide, - until from repeated examinations they come to the decision that it will - do; when they dispatch <em>runners</em> or <em>criers</em>, announcing to - every part of the village or tribe that the Great Spirit has been kind - to them, and they must all meet on the next day to return thanks for - his goodness. That all must empty their stomachs, and prepare for the - feast that is approaching.</p> - - <p>On the day appointed by the doctors, the villagers are all assembled, - and in the midst of the group a kettle is hung over a fire and filled - with the green corn, which is well boiled, to be given to the Great - Spirit, as a sacrifice necessary to be made before any one can indulge - the cravings of his appetite. Whilst this first kettleful is boiling, - four medicine-men, with a stalk of the corn in one hand and a rattle - (she-she-quoi) in the other, with their bodies painted with white clay, - dance around the kettle, chanting a song of thanksgiving to the Great - Spirit to whom the offering is to be made (<a href="#i_075"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 75</a>). At the - same time a number of warriors are dancing around in a more extended - circle, with stalks of the corn in their hands, and joining also in - the song of thanksgiving, whilst the villagers are all assembled and - looking on. During this scene there is an arrangement of wooden bowls - laid upon the ground, in which the feast is to be dealt out, each one - having in it a spoon made of the buffalo or mountain-sheep’s horn.</p> - - <p>In this wise the dance continues until the doctors decide that the corn - is sufficiently boiled; it then stops for a few moments, and again - assumes a different form and a different song, whilst the doctors are - placing the ears on a little scaffold of sticks, which they erect - immediately over the fire where it is entirely consumed, as they join - again in the dance around it.</p> - - <p>The fire is then removed, and with it the ashes, which together are - buried in the ground, and <em>new fire</em> is originated on the same - spot where the old one was, by friction, which is done by a desperate - and painful exertion by three men seated on the ground, facing each - other and violently drilling the end of a stick into a hard block of - wood by rolling it between the hands, each one catching it in turn - from the others without allowing the motion to stop until smoke, and - at last a spark of fire is seen and caught in a piece of spunk, when - there is great rejoicing in the crowd. With this a fire is kindled,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">190</span> - and the kettleful of corn again boiled for the feast, at which the - chiefs, doctors, and warriors are seated; and after this an unlimited - licence is given to the whole tribe, who surfeit upon it and indulge in - all their favourite amusements and excesses, until the fields of corn - are exhausted, or its ears have become too hard for their comfortable - mastication.</p> - - <p>Such are the general features of the green corn festivity and dance - amongst most of the tribes; and amongst some there are many additional - forms and ceremonies gone through, preparatory to the indulgence in the - feast.</p> - - <p>Some of the southern tribes concoct a most bitter and nauseating - draught, which they call <em>asceola</em> (the black drink), which they - drink to excess for several days previous to the feast; ejecting - everything from their stomachs and intestines, enabling them after this - excessive and painful purgation, to commence with the green corn upon - an empty and keen stomach.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>51</i></div> - <figure id="i_076"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_076.jpg" alt="Crow on horse"> - <figcaption>76</figcaption> - </figure> - - <div class="footnotes"> - <div class="footnote"> - <a id="Footnote_5" href="#FNanchor_5" class="label">[5]</a> About a year after writing the above, and whilst I was in - <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Louis, I had the pleasure of presenting the compliments of this old - veteran to General Clarke; and also of shewing to him the portrait, - which he instantly recognized amongst hundreds of others; saying, that - “they had considered the Black Moccasin quite an old man when they - appointed him chief thirty-two years ago.” - </div> - </div> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">191</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_24">LETTER—<abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 24.</h2> - </div> - <div class="subheadc">MINATAREE VILLAGE, <i>UPPER MISSOURI</i>.</div> - - <p><span class="smcap">Epistles</span> from such a strange place as this, where I have no desk to - write from, or mail to send them by, are hastily scribbled off in my - note-book, as I can steal a little time from the gaze of the wild group - that is continually about me; and instead of <em>sending</em> them, - <em>keeping</em> them to bring with me when I make my retreat from the - country.</p> - - <p>The only place where I can satisfactorily make these entries is in - the shade of some sequestered tree, to which I occasionally resort, - or more often from my bed (from which I am now writing), enclosed by - a sort of curtains made of the skins of elks or buffaloes, completely - encompassing me, where I am reclining on a sacking-bottom, made of the - buffalo’s hide; making my entries and notes of the incidents of the - past day, amidst the roar and unintelligible din of savage conviviality - that is going on under the same roof, and under my own eye, whenever I - feel disposed to apply it to a small aperture which brings at once the - whole interior and all its inmates within my view.</p> - - <p>There are at this time some distinguished guests, besides - <em>myself</em>, in the lodge of the Black Moccasin; two chiefs or - leaders of a party of Crows, who arrived here a few days since, on a - visit to their ancient friends and relatives. The consequence has been, - that feasting and carousing have been the “order of the day” here for - some time; and I have luckily been a welcome participator in their - entertainments. A distinguished chief of the Minatarees, with several - others in company, has been for some months past on a visit to the - Crows and returned, attended by some remarkably fine-looking fellows, - all mounted on fine horses. I have said something of these fine - specimens of the human race heretofore; and as I have been fastening - more of them to the canvass within the few days past, I must use this - occasion to add what follows:—</p> - - <p>I think I have said that no part of the human race could present a - more picturesque and thrilling appearance on horseback than a party - of Crows rigged out in all their plumes and trappings—galloping about - and yelping, in what they call a war-parade, <i>i. e.</i> in a sort of - tournament or sham-fight, passing rapidly through the evolutions of - battle, and vaunting forth the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">192</span> wonderful character of their military - exploits. This is an amusement, of which they are excessively fond; and - great preparations are invariably made for these occasional shows.</p> - - <p>No tribe of Indians on the Continent are better able to produce a - pleasing and thrilling effect in these scenes, nor any more vain, - and consequently better prepared to draw pleasure and satisfaction - from them, than the Crows. They may be justly said to be the most - beautifully clad of all the Indians in these regions, and bringing - from the base of the Rocky Mountains a fine and spirited breed of the - wild horses, have been able to create a great sensation amongst the - Minatarees, who have been paying them all attention and all honours for - some days past.</p> - - <p>From amongst these showy fellows who have been entertaining us and - pleasing themselves with their extraordinary feats of horsemanship, - I have selected one of the most conspicuous, and transferred him and - his horse, with arms and trappings, as faithfully as I could to the - canvass, for the information of the world, who will learn vastly - more from lines and colours than they could from oral or written - delineations.</p> - - <p>I have painted him as he sat for me, balanced on his leaping wild horse - (<a href="#i_076"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 76</a>) with his shield and quiver slung on his back, - and his long lance decorated with the eagle’s quills, trailed in his - right hand. His shirt and his leggings, and moccasins, were of the - mountain-goat skins, beautifully dressed; and their seams everywhere - fringed with a profusion of scalp-locks taken from the heads of his - enemies slain in battle. His long hair, which reached almost to the - ground whilst he was standing on his feet, was now lifted in the air, - and floating in black waves over the hips of his leaping charger. On - his head, and over his shining black locks, he wore a magnificent crest - or head-dress, made of the quills of the war-eagle and ermine skins; - and on his horse’s head also was another of equal beauty and precisely - the same in pattern and material. Added to these ornaments there were - yet many others which contributed to his picturesque appearance, and - amongst them a beautiful netting of various colours, that completely - covered and almost obscured the horse’s head and neck, and extended - over its back and its hips, terminating in a most extravagant and - magnificent crupper, embossed and fringed with rows of beautiful shells - and porcupine quills of various colours.</p> - - <p>With all these picturesque ornaments and trappings upon and about him, - with a noble figure, and the bold stamp of a wild <em>gentleman</em> - on his face, added to the rage and spirit of his wild horse, in time - with whose leaps he issued his startling (though smothered) yelps, as - he gracefully leaned to and fro, leaving his plumes and his plumage, - his long locks and his fringes, to float in the wind, he galloped - about; and felt exceeding pleasure in displaying the extraordinary - skill which a lifetime of practice and experiment had furnished him - in the beautiful art of riding and managing his horse, as well as in - displaying to advantage his weapons and ornaments of dress, by giving - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">193</span>them the grace of motion, as they were brandished in the air and - floating in the wind.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>52</i></div> - <div class="col50"> - <figure id="i_077"> - <img style="width: 99.5%;" src="images/i_077.jpg" alt="Pa-ris-ka-roo-pa"> - <figcaption>77</figcaption> - </figure> - </div> - <div class="col50"> - <figure id="i_078"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_078.jpg" alt="Ee-he-a-duck-chee-a"> - <figcaption>78</figcaption> - </figure> - </div> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>53</i></div> - <figure id="i_079"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_079.jpg" alt="Buffalo hunt"> - <figcaption>79</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>I have also secured the portraits of Ee-he-a-duck-chee-a (he who ties - his hair before, <a href="#i_078"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 78</a>), and Pa-ris-ka-roo-pa (the two - Crows, <a href="#i_077"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 77</a>); fine and fair specimens of this tribe, in - both of which are exhibited the extraordinary instances of the natural - hair reaching to the ground, peculiarities belonging almost exclusively - to this tribe, and of which I have in a former Letter given some - account. In presenting such instances as these, I offer them, (and the - reader will take them of course) as extraordinary and rare occurrences - amongst the tribe, who generally fall short of these in this - peculiarity, and also in elegance of dress and ornament; although many - others from their numbers might be selected of equal extravagance. The - Crows are generally handsome, and comfortably clad; every man in the - nation oils his hair with a profusion of bear’s grease, and promotes - its growth to the utmost of his ability; and the greater part of them - cultivate it down on to the calf of the leg, whilst a few are able to - make it sweep the ground.</p> - - <p>In a former Letter I gave some account of the form of the head peculiar - to this tribe which may well be recorded as a national characteristic, - and worthy of further attention, which I shall give it on a future - occasion. This striking peculiarity is quite conspicuous in the two - portraits of which I have just spoken, exhibiting fairly, as they - are both in profile, the <em>semi-lunar</em> outline of the face of - which I have before spoken, and which strongly characterizes them - as distinct from any relationship or resemblance to, the Blackfeet, - Shiennes, Knisteneaux, Mandans, or other tribes now existing in these - regions. The peculiar character of which I am speaking, like all other - national characteristics, is of course met by many exceptions in the - tribe, though the greater part of the men are thus strongly marked - with a bold and prominent anti-angular nose, with a clear and rounded - arch, and a low and receding forehead; the frontal bone oftentimes - appearing to have been compressed by some effort of art, in a certain - degree approaching to the horrid distortion thus produced amongst the - Flatheads beyond the Rocky Mountains. I learned however from repeated - inquiries, that no such custom is practiced amongst them, but their - heads, such as they are, are the results of a natural growth, and - therefore may well be offered as the basis of a national or tribal - <em>character</em>.</p> - - <p>I recollect to have seen in several publications on the antiquities of - Mexico, many rude drawings made by the ancient Mexicans, of which the - singular profiles of these people forcibly remind me, almost bringing - me to the conclusion that these people may be the descendants of the - race who have bequeathed those curious and inexplicable remains to the - world, and whose scattered remnants, from dire and unknown necessities - of those dark and veiled ages that have gone by, have been jostled and - thrown along through the hideous and almost impenetrable labyrinths of - the Rocky Mountains to the place of their<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">194</span> destination where they now - live. I am stopped, however, from advancing such as a <em>theory</em>, - and much prefer to leave it to other hands, who may more easily get - over difficulties which I should be afraid to encounter in the very - outset, from the very important questions raised in my mind, as to the - correctness of those rude and ignorant outlines, in truly establishing - the looks and character of a people. Amongst a people so ignorant and - so little advanced in the arts as the ancient Mexicans were, from whose - tracings those very numerous drawings are copied, I think it would be - assuming a great deal too much for satisfactory argument, to claim - that such records were to set up to the world the looks and character - of a people who have sunk into oblivion, when the heads of horses and - other animals, drawn by the same hands, are so rude and so much out of - drawing as scarcely to be distinguished, one from the other. I feel - as if such rude outlines should be received with great caution and - distrust, in establishing the character of a people; and for a fair - illustration of the objection I am raising, I would refer the reader - to a number of <em>fac-simile</em> drawings which I have copied from - some of the paintings of the Mandans (on the three plates following - <a href="#i_065"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 65</a>), where most of the figures have the forehead and - nose answering exactly to these Mexican outlines, and strikingly - resembling the <em>living Crows</em>, also, when they have certainly - borrowed nothing from either, nor have they any living outlines like - them in their own tribe to have copied from.</p> - - <p>Since writing the above I have passed through many vicissitudes, and - witnessed many curious scenes worthy of relating, some of which I will - scribble now, and leave the rest for a more leisure occasion. I have - witnessed many of the valued games and amusements of this tribe, and - made sketches of them; and also have painted a number of portraits of - distinguished warriors and braves which will be found in my collection.</p> - - <p>I have just been exceedingly amused with a formal and grave meeting - which was called around me, formed by a number of young men, and even - chiefs and doctors of the tribe, who, having heard that I was <em>great - medicine</em>, and a great chief, took it upon themselves to suppose - that I might (or perhaps must) be, a man of influence amongst the “pale - faces,” and capable of rendering them some relief in a case of very - great grievance, under which they represented that they were suffering. - Several most profound speeches were made to me, setting forth these - grievances, somewhat in the following manner:—They represented, that - about five or six years ago, an unknown, small animal—not far differing - in size from a ground squirrel, but with a long, round tail, shewed - himself slily about one of the chief’s wigwams, peeping out from under - the pots and kettles, and other such things; which they looked upon as - great <em>medicine</em>—and no one dared to kill it; but hundreds came to - watch and look at it. On one of these occasions, one of the spectators - saw this strange animal catching and devouring a small “deer mouse,” - of which little and very destructive animals their lodges contained - many. It was then at once determined that this had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">195</span> been an act of the - Great Spirit, as a means of putting a stop to the spoliations committed - by these little sappers, who were cutting their clothing, and other - manufactures to pieces in a lamentable manner. Councils had been called - and solemn decrees issued for the countenance and protection of this - welcome visitor and its progeny, which were soon ascertained to be - rapidly increasing, and calculated soon to rid them of these thousands - of little depredators. It was soon, however, learned from one of the - Fur Traders, that this distinguished object of their superstition - (which my man Ba’tiste familiarly calls “<em>Monsr. Ratapon</em>”) had, a - short time before, landed himself from one of their keel boats, which - had ascended the Missouri river for the distance of 1800 miles; and had - taken up its residence, without introduction or invitation, in one of - their earth-covered wigwams.</p> - - <p>This information, for a while, curtailed the extraordinary respect they - had for some time been paying to it; but its continual war upon these - little mice, which it was using for its food, in the absence of all - other nutriment, continued to command their respect, in spite of the - manner in which it had been introduced; being unwilling to believe that - it had come from that source, even, without the agency in some way of - the Great Spirit.</p> - - <p>Having been thus introduced and nurtured, and their numbers having - been so wonderfully increased in the few last years, that every wigwam - was infested with them,—that their <i lang="fr">caches</i>, where they bury - their corn and other provisions, were robbed and sacked; and the very - pavements under their wigwams were so vaulted and sapped, that they - were actually falling to the ground; they were now looked upon as a - most disastrous nuisance, and a public calamity, to which it was the - object of this meeting to call my attention, evidently in hopes that - I might be able to designate some successful mode of relieving them - from this real misfortune. I got rid of them at last, by assuring them - of my deep regret for their situation, which was, to be sure, a very - unpleasant one; and told them, that there was really a great deal of - <em>medicine</em> in the thing, and that I should therefore be quite - unwilling to have anything to do with it. Ba’tiste and Bogard, who are - yet my daily and almost hourly companions, took to themselves a great - deal of fun and amusement at the end of this interview, by suggesting - many remedies for the evil, and enjoying many hearty laughs; after - which, Ba’tiste, Bogard and I, took our hats; and I took my sketch-book - in hand, and we started on a visit to the upper town of the Minatarees, - which is half a mile or more distant, and on the other bank of the - Knife River, which we crossed in the following manner:—The old chief, - having learned that we were to cross the river, gave direction to - one of the women of his numerous household, who took upon her head - a skin-canoe (more familiarly called in this country, a bull-boat), - made in the form of a large tub, of a buffalo’s skin, stretched on a - frame of willow boughs, which she carried to the water’s edge; and - placing it in the water, made signs for us three to get into it. When - we were in, and seated flat on its bottom, with scarce room in any - way to adjust<span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">196</span> our legs and our feet (as we sat necessarily facing - each other), she stepped before the boat, and pulling it along, waded - towards the deeper water, with her back towards us, carefully with the - other hand attending to her dress, which seemed to be but a light slip, - and floating upon the surface until the water was above her waist, when - it was instantly turned off, over her head, and thrown ashore; and she - boldly plunged forward, swimming and drawing the boat with one hand, - which she did with apparent ease. In this manner we were conveyed to - the middle of the stream, where we were soon surrounded by a dozen or - more beautiful girls, from twelve to fifteen and eighteen years of age, - who were at that time bathing on the opposite shore.</p> - - <p>They all swam in a bold and graceful manner, and as confidently as so - many otters or beavers; and gathering around us, with their long black - hair floating about on the water, whilst their faces were glowing with - jokes and fun, which they were cracking about us, and which we could - not understand.</p> - - <p>In the midst of this delightful little aquatic group, we three sat in - our little skin-bound tub (like the “three wise men of Gotham, who - went to sea in a bowl,” &c.), floating along down the current, losing - sight, and all thoughts, of the shore, which was equi-distant from us - on either side; whilst we were amusing ourselves with the playfulness - of these dear little creatures who were floating about under the - clear blue water, catching their hands on to the sides of our boat; - occasionally raising one-half of their bodies out of the water, and - sinking again, like so many mermaids.</p> - - <p>In the midst of this bewildering and tantalizing entertainment, in - which poor Ba’tiste and Bogard, as well as myself, were all taking - infinite pleasure, and which we supposed was all intended for our - especial amusement; we found ourselves suddenly in the delightful - dilemma of floating down the current in the middle of the river; and - of being turned round and round to the excessive amusement of the - villagers, who were laughing at us from the shore, as well as these - little tyros, whose delicate hands were besetting our tub on all - sides; and for an escape from whom, or for fending off, we had neither - an oar, or anything else, that we could wield in self-defence, or - for self-preservation. In this awkward predicament, our feelings of - excessive admiration were immediately changed, to those of exceeding - vexation, as we now learned that they had peremptorily discharged - from her occupation our fair conductress, who had undertaken to ferry - us safely across the river; and had also very ingeniously laid their - plans, of which we had been ignorant until the present moment, to - extort from us in this way, some little evidences of our liberality, - which, in fact, it was impossible to refuse them, after so liberal and - bewitching an exhibition on their part, as well as from the imperative - obligation which the awkwardness of our situation had laid us under. I - had some awls in my pockets, which I presented to them, and also a few - strings of beautiful beads, which I placed over their delicate<span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">197</span> necks - as they raised them out of the water by the side of our boat; after - which they all joined in conducting our craft to the shore, by swimming - by the sides of, and behind it, pushing it along in the direction where - they designed to land it, until the water became so shallow, that their - feet were upon the bottom, when they waded along with great coyness, - dragging us towards the shore, as long as their bodies, in a crouching - position, could possibly be half concealed under the water, when they - gave our boat the last push for the shore, and raising a loud and - exulting laugh, plunged back again into the river; leaving us the only - alternative of sitting still where we were, or of stepping out into - the water at half leg deep, and of wading to the shore, which we at - once did, and soon escaped from the view of our little tormentors, and - the numerous lookers-on, on our way to the upper village, which I have - before mentioned.</p> - - <p>Here I was very politely treated by the <em>Yellow Moccasin</em>, - quite an old man, and who seemed to be chief of this band or family, - constituting their little community of thirty or forty lodges, - averaging, perhaps, twenty persons to each. I was feasted in this man’s - lodge—and afterwards invited to accompany him and several others to - a beautiful prairie, a mile or so above the village, where the young - men and young women of this town, and many from the village below, had - assembled for their amusements; the chief of which seemed to be that - of racing their horses. In the midst of these scenes, after I had been - for some time a looker-on, and had felt some considerable degree of - sympathy for a fine-looking young fellow, whose horse had been twice - beaten on the course, and whose losses had been considerable; for - which, his sister, a very modest and pretty girl, was most piteously - howling and crying. I selected and brought forward an ordinary-looking - pony, that was evidently too fat and too sleek to run against his - fine-limbed little horse that had disappointed his high hopes; and I - began to comment extravagantly upon its muscle, &c., when I discovered - him evidently cheering up with the hope of getting me and my pony on - to the turf with him; for which he soon made me a proposition; and - I, having lauded the limbs of my little nag too much to “back out,” - agreed to run a short race with him of half a mile, for three yards - of scarlet cloth, a knife, and half a dozen strings of beads, which I - was willing to stake against a handsome pair of leggings, which he was - wearing at the time. The greatest imaginable excitement was now raised - amongst the crowd by this arrangement; to see a white man preparing to - run with an Indian jockey, and that with a scrub of a pony, in whose - powers of running no Indian had the least confidence. Yet, there was no - one in the crowd, who dared to take up the several other little bets I - was willing to tender (merely for their amusement, and for their final - exultation); owing, undoubtedly, to the bold and confident manner in - which I had ventured on the merits of this little horse, which the - tribe had all overlooked; and needs must have some <em>medicine</em> - about it.</p> - - <p>So far was this panic carried, that even my champion was ready to - withdraw;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">198</span> but his friends encouraged him at length, and we galloped - our horses off to the other end of the course, where we were to start; - and where we were accompanied by a number of horsemen, who were to - witness the “set off.” Some considerable delay here took place, from - a <em>condition</em>, which was then named to me, and which I had not - observed before, that in all the races of this day, every rider was to - run entirely denuded, and ride a naked horse! Here I was completely - balked, and having no one by me to interpret a word, I was quite at a - loss to decide what was best to do. I found however, that remonstrance - was of little avail; and as I had volunteered in this thing to gratify - and flatter them, I thought it best not positively to displease them - in this; so I laid off my clothes, and straddled the naked back of my - round and glossy little pony, by the side of my competitor, who was - also mounted and stripped to the skin, and panting with a restless - anxiety for the start.</p> - - <p>Reader! did you ever imagine that in the <em>middle of a man’s life</em> - there could be a thought or a feeling so <em>new</em> to him, as to throw - him instantly back to infancy; with a new world and a new genius before - him—started afresh, to navigate and breathe the elements of naked and - untasted liberty, which clothe him in their cool and silken robes that - float about him; and wafting their life-inspiring folds to his inmost - lungs? If you never have been inspired with such a feeling, and have - been in the habit of believing that you have thought of, and imagined a - little of every thing, try for a moment, to disrobe your mind and your - body, and help me through feelings to which I cannot give utterance. - Imagine yourselves as I was, with my trembling little horse underneath - me, and the cool atmosphere that was floating about, and ready, more - closely and familiarly to embrace me, as it did, at the next moment, - when we “were off,” and struggling for the goal and the prize.</p> - - <p>Though my little Pegasus seemed to dart through the clouds, and I to - be wafted on the wings of Mercury, yet my red adversary was leaving - me too far behind for further competition; and I wheeled to the left, - making a circuit on the prairie, and came in at the starting point, - much to the satisfaction and exultation of the jockeys; but greatly - to the murmuring disappointment of the women and children, who had - assembled in a dense throng to witness the “coming out” of the “white - medicine-man.” I clothed myself instantly, and came back, acknowledging - my defeat, and the superior skill of my competitor, as well as the - wonderful muscle of his little charger, which pleased him much; and - his sisters’ lamentations were soon turned to joy, by the receipt of a - beautiful scarlet robe, and a profusion of vari-coloured beads, which - were speedily paraded on her copper-coloured neck.</p> - - <p>After I had seen enough of these amusements, I succeeded with some - difficulty, in pulling Ba’tiste and Bogard from amongst the groups of - women and girls, where they seemed to be successfully ingratiating - themselves; and we trudged back to the little village of earth-covered - lodges, which were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">199</span> hemmed in, and almost obscured from the eye, by - the fields of corn and luxuriant growth of wild sun-flowers, and other - vegetable productions of the soil, whose spontaneous growth had reared - their heads in such profusion, as to appear all but like a dense and - formidable forest.</p> - - <p>We loitered about this little village awhile, looking into most of its - lodges, and tracing its winding avenues, after which we recrossed the - river and wended our way back again to head-quarters, from whence we - started in the morning, and where I am now writing. This day’s ramble - shewed to us all the inhabitants of this little tribe, except a portion - of their warriors who are out on a war excursion against the Riccarees; - and I have been exceedingly pleased with their general behaviour and - looks, as well as with their numerous games and amusements, in many of - which I have given them great pleasure by taking a part.</p> - - <p>The Minatarees, as I have before said, are a bold, daring, and warlike - tribe; quite different in these respects from their neighbours the - Mandans, carrying war continually in their enemies’ country, thereby - exposing their lives and diminishing the number of their warriors - to that degree that I find two or three women to a man, through the - tribe. They are bold and fearless in the chase also, and in their eager - pursuits of the bison, or buffaloes, their feats are such as to excite - the astonishment and admiration of all who behold them. Of these scenes - I have witnessed many since I came into this country, and amongst - them all, nothing have I seen to compare with one to which I was an - eye-witness a few mornings since, and well worthy of being described.</p> - - <p>The Minatarees, as well as the Mandans, had suffered for some months - past for want of meat, and had indulged in the most alarming fears, - that the herds of buffaloes were emigrating so far off from them, - that there was great danger of their actual starvation, when it was - suddenly announced through the village one morning at an early hour, - that a herd of buffaloes was in sight, when an hundred or more young - men mounted their horses with weapons in hand and steered their course - to the prairies. The chief informed me that one of his horses was in - readiness for me at the door of his wigwam, and that I had better go - and see the curious affair. I accepted his polite offer, and mounting - the steed, galloped off with the hunters to the prairies, where we - soon descried at a distance, a fine herd of buffaloes grazing, when - a halt and a council were ordered, and the mode of attack was agreed - upon. I had armed myself with my pencil and my sketch-book only, and - consequently took my position generally in the rear, where I could see - and appreciate every manœuvre.</p> - - <p>The plan of attack, which in this country is familiarly called a - “<em>surround</em>,” was explicitly agreed upon, and the hunters who were - all mounted on their “buffalo horses” and armed with bows and arrows or - long lances, divided into two columns, taking opposite directions, and - drew themselves gradually around the herd at a mile or more distance - from them; thus forming a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">200</span> circle of horsemen at equal distances - apart, who gradually closed in upon them with a moderate pace, at a - signal given. The unsuspecting herd at length “got the wind” of the - approaching enemy and fled in a mass in the greatest confusion. To - the point where they were aiming to cross the line, the horsemen were - seen at full speed, gathering and forming in a column, brandishing - their weapons and yelling in the most frightful manner, by which means - they turned the black and rushing mass which moved off in an opposite - direction where they were again met and foiled in a similar manner, - and wheeled back in utter confusion; by which time the horsemen had - closed in from all directions, forming a continuous line around them, - whilst the poor affrighted animals were eddying about in a crowded and - confused mass, hooking and climbing upon each ether; when the work of - death commenced. I had rode up in the rear and occupied an elevated - position at a few rods distance, from which I could (like the general - of a battle field) survey from my horse’s back, the nature and the - progress of the grand mêlée; but (unlike him) without the power of - issuing a command or in any way directing its issue.</p> - - <p>In this grand turmoil (<a href="#i_079"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 79</a>), a cloud of dust was soon - raised, which in parts obscured the throng where the hunters were - galloping their horses around and driving the whizzing arrows or - their long lances to the hearts of these noble animals; which in many - instances, becoming infuriated with deadly wounds in their sides, - erected their shaggy manes over their bloodshot eyes and furiously - plunged forwards at the sides of their assailants’ horses, sometimes - goring them to death at a lunge, and putting their dismounted riders to - flight for their lives; sometimes their dense crowd was opened, and the - blinded horsemen, too intent on their prey amidst the cloud of dust, - were hemmed and wedged in amidst the crowding beasts, over whose backs - they were obliged to leap for security, leaving their horses to the - fate that might await them in the results of this wild and desperate - war. Many were the bulls that turned upon their assailants and met - them with desperate resistance; and many were the warriors who were - dismounted, and saved themselves by the superior muscles of their legs; - some who were closely pursued by the bulls, wheeled suddenly around and - snatching the part of a buffalo robe from around their waists, threw it - over the horns and the eyes of the infuriated beast, and darting by its - side drove the arrow or the lance to its heart. Others suddenly dashed - off upon the prairies by the side of the affrighted animals which had - escaped from the throng, and closely escorting them for a few rods, - brought down their hearts blood in streams, and their huge carcasses - upon the green and enamelled turf.</p> - - <p>In this way this grand hunt soon resolved itself into a desperate - battle; and in the space of fifteen minutes, resulted in the total - destruction of the whole herd, which in all their strength and fury - were doomed, like every beast and living thing else, to fall before the - destroying hands of mighty man.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>54</i></div> - <figure id="i_080"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_080.jpg" alt="Riccaree village"> - <figcaption>80</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">201</span></p> - - <p>I had sat in trembling silence upon my horse, and witnessed this - extraordinary scene, which allowed not one of these animals to escape - out of my sight. Many plunged off upon the prairie for a distance, but - were overtaken and killed; and although I could not distinctly estimate - the number that were slain, yet I am sure that some hundreds of these - noble animals fell in this grand mêlée.</p> - - <p>The scene after the battle was over was novel and curious in the - extreme; the hunters were moving about amongst the dead and dying - animals, leading their horses by their halters, and claiming their - victims by their private marks upon their arrows, which they were - drawing from the wounds in the animals’ sides.</p> - - <p>Amongst the poor affrighted creatures that had occasionally dashed - through the ranks of their enemy, and sought safety in flight upon the - prairie (and in some instances, had undoubtedly gained it), I saw them - stand awhile, looking back, when they turned, and, as if bent on their - own destruction, retraced their steps, and mingled themselves and their - deaths with those of the dying throng. Others had fled to a distance on - the prairies and for want of company, of friends or of foes, had stood - and gazed on till the battle-scene was over; seemingly taking pains to - stay, and hold their lives in readiness for their destroyers, until - the general destruction was over, when they fell easy victims to their - weapons—making the slaughter complete.</p> - - <p>After this scene, and after arrows had been claimed and recovered, a - general council was held, when all hands were seated on the ground, and - a few pipes smoked; after which, all mounted their horses and rode back - to the village.</p> - - <p>A deputation of several of the warriors was sent to the chief, who - explained to him what had been their success; and the same intelligence - was soon communicated by little squads to every family in the village; - and preparations were at once made for securing the meat. For this - purpose, some hundreds of women and children, to whose lots fall all - the drudgeries of Indian life, started out upon the trail, which - led them to the battle-field, where they spent the day in skinning - the animals, and cutting up the meat, which was mostly brought into - the villages on their backs, as they tugged and sweated under their - enormous and cruel loads.</p> - - <p>I rode out to see this curious scene; and I regret exceedingly that I - kept no memorandum of it in my sketch-book. Amidst the throng of women - and children, that had been assembled, and all of whom seemed busily at - work, were many superannuated and disabled nags, which they had brought - out to assist in carrying in the meat; and at least, one thousand - semi-loup dogs, and whelps, whose keen appetites and sagacity had - brought them out, to claim their shares of this abundant and sumptuous - supply.</p> - - <p>I staid and inspected this curious group for an hour or more, - during which time, I was almost continually amused by the clamorous - contentions<span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">202</span> that arose, and generally ended, in desperate combats; - both amongst the dogs and women, who seemed alike tenacious of their - local and recently acquired rights; and disposed to settle their claims - by “tooth and nail”—by manual and brute force.</p> - - <p>When I had seen enough of this I rode to the top of a beautiful prairie - bluff, a mile or two from the scene, where I was exceedingly amused by - overlooking the route that laid between this and the village, which - was over the undulating green fields for several miles, that laid - beneath me; over which there seemed a continual string of women, dogs - and horses, for the rest of the day, passing and repassing as they - were busily bearing home their heavy burthens to their village, and in - their miniature appearance, which the distance gave them, not unlike - to a busy community of ants as they are sometimes seen, sacking and - transporting the treasures of a cupboard, or the sweets of a sugar - bowl.</p> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">203</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_25">LETTER—<abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 25.</h2> - </div> - <div class="subheadc">LITTLE MANDAN VILLAGE, <i>UPPER MISSOURI</i>.</div> - - <p><span class="smcap">In</span> speaking of the Mandans, in a former Letter, I mentioned that they - were living in two villages, which are about two miles apart. Of their - principal village I have given a minute account, which precludes the - necessity of my saying much of their smaller town, to which I descended - a few days since, from the Minatarees; and where I find their modes - and customs, precisely the same as I have heretofore described. This - village contains sixty or eighty lodges, built in the same manner as - those which I have already mentioned, and I have just learned that - they have been keeping the annual ceremony here, precisely in the same - manner as that which I witnessed in the lower or larger town, and have - explained.</p> - - <p>I have been treated with the same hospitality here that was extended - to me in the other village; and have painted the portraits of several - distinguished persons, which has astonished and pleased them very much. - The operation of my brush always gains me many enthusiastic friends - wherever I go amongst these wild folks; and in this village I have - been unusually honoured and even <em>afflicted</em>, by the friendly - importunities of one of these reverencing parasites, who (amongst - various other offices of hospitality and kindness which he has been - bent upon extending to me), has insisted on, and for several nights - been indulged in, the honour as he would term it, of offering his body - for my pillow, which <em>I</em> have not had the heart to reject, and of - course <em>he</em> has not lacked the vanity to boast of, as an act of - signal kindness and hospitality on his part, towards a <em>great</em> and - <em>a distinguished stranger</em>!</p> - - <p>I have been for several days suffering somewhat with an influenza, - which has induced me to leave my bed, on the side of the lodge, and - sleep on the floor, wrapped in a buffalo robe, with my feet to the - fire in the centre of the room, to which place the genuine politeness - of my constant and watchful friend has as regularly drawn him, where - his irresistible importunities have brought me, night after night, to - the only alternative of using his bedaubed and bear-greased body for a - pillow.</p> - - <p>Being unwilling to deny the poor fellow the satisfaction he seemed to - be drawing from this singular freak, I took some pains to inquire into - his character; and learned that he was a Riccaree brave, by the name of - Pah-too-ca-ra (he who strikes), who is here with several others of his - tribe, on a friendly visit (though in a hostile village), and living - as they are, unprotected,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">204</span> except by the mercy of their enemies. I - think it probable, therefore, that he is ingeniously endeavouring thus - to ingratiate himself in my affections, and consequently to insure my - guardianship and influence for his protection. Be this as it may, he is - rendering me many kind services, and I have in return traced him on my - canvass for immortality (<a href="#i_083"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 83</a>).</p> - - <p>By the side of him (<a href="#i_084"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 84</a>), I have painted a beautiful - little girl of the same tribe, whose name is Pshan-shaw (the - sweet-scented grass), giving a very pretty specimen of the dress and - fashion of the women in this tribe. The inner garment, which is like - a slip or a frock, is entire in one piece, and beautifully ornamented - with embroidery and beads, with a row of elks’ teeth passing across - the breast, and a robe of the young buffalo’s skin, tastefully and - elaborately embroidered, gracefully thrown over her shoulders, and - hanging down to the ground behind her.</p> - - <p><a href="#i_082"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 82</a> gives a portrait of one of the chiefs of this tribe - by the name of Stan-au-pat (the bloody hand), and (<a href="#i_081"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 81</a>) - of Kah-beck-a (the twin), a good-looking matron, who was painted a few - weeks since in the principal Mandan village.</p> - - <p>The dresses in both of these portraits are very beautiful, and I have - procured them, as well as the one before spoken of, for my collection.</p> - - <p><a href="#i_080"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 80</a>, gives a view of the Riccaree village, which is - beautifully situated on the west bank of the river, 200 miles below the - Mandans; and built very much in the same manner; being constituted of - 150 earth-covered lodges, which are in part surrounded by an imperfect - and open barrier of piquets set firmly in the ground, and of ten or - twelve feet in height.</p> - - <p>This village is built upon an open prairie, and the gracefully - undulating hills that rise in distance behind it are everywhere covered - with a verdant green turf, without a tree or a bush anywhere to be - seen. This view was taken from the deck of the steamer when I was on my - way up the river; and probably it was well that I took it then, for so - hostile and deadly are the feelings of these people towards the <em>pale - faces</em>, at this time, that it may be deemed most prudent for me to - pass them on my way down the river, without stopping to make them a - visit. They certainly are harbouring the most resentful feelings at - this time towards the Traders, and others passing on the river; and no - doubt, that there is great danger of the lives of any white men, who - unluckily fall into their hands. They have recently sworn death and - destruction to every white man, who comes in their way; and there is no - doubt, that they are ready to execute their threats.</p> - - <p>When Lewis and Clarke first visited these people thirty years since, - it will be found by a reference to their history, that the Riccarees - received and treated them with great kindness and hospitality; but - owing to the system of trade, and the manner in which it has been - conducted in this country, they have been inflicted with real or - imaginary abuses, of which they are themselves, and the Fur Traders, - the best judges; and for which they are<span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">205</span> now harbouring the most - inveterate feelings towards the whole civilized race.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>55</i></div> - <div class="col50"> - <figure id="i_081"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_081.jpg" alt="Kah-beck-a"> - <figcaption>81</figcaption> - </figure> - </div> - <div class="col50"> - <figure id="i_082"> - <img style="width: 99.2%;" src="images/i_082.jpg" alt="Stan-au-pat"> - <figcaption>82</figcaption> - </figure> - </div> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>56</i></div> - <div class="col50"> - <figure id="i_083"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_083.jpg" alt="Pah-too-ca-ra"> - <figcaption>83</figcaption> - </figure> - </div> - <div class="col50"> - <figure id="i_084"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_084.jpg" alt="Pshan-shaw"> - <figcaption>84</figcaption> - </figure> - </div> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>57</i></div> - <figure id="i_085"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_085.jpg" alt="Fort Pierre"> - <figcaption>85</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>The Riccarees are unquestionably a part of the tribe of Pawnees, living - on the Platte River, some hundreds of miles below this, inasmuch - as their language is nearly or quite the same; and their personal - appearance and customs as similar as could be reasonably expected - amongst a people so long since separated from their parent tribe, and - continually subjected to innovations from the neighbouring tribes - around them; amongst whom, in their erratic wanderings in search of a - location, they have been jostled about in the character, alternately, - of friends and of foes.</p> - - <p>I shall resume my voyage down the river in a few days in my canoe; and - I may, perhaps, stop and pay these people a visit, and consequently, be - able to say more of them; or, I may be <em>hauled in</em>, to the shore, - and my boat plundered, and my “<em>scalp danced</em>,” as they have dealt - quite recently with the <em>last trader</em>, who has dared for several - years past, to continue his residence with them, after they had laid - fatal hands on each one of his comrades before him, and divided and - shared their goods.</p> - - <p>Of the Mandans, who are about me in this little village, I need say - nothing, except that they are in every respect, the same as those - I have described in the lower village—and in fact, I believe this - little town is rather a <em>summer residence</em> for a few of the noted - families, than anything else; as I am told that none of their wigwams - are tenanted through the winter. I shall leave them in the morning, - and take up my residence a few days longer with my hospitable friends - Mr. Kipp, Mah-to-toh-pa, &c. in the large village; and then with my - canvass and easel, and paint-pots in my canoe; with Ba’tiste and Bogard - to paddle, and my own oar to steer, wend my way again on the mighty - Missouri towards my native land, bidding everlasting farewell to the - kind and hospitable Mandans.</p> - - <p>In taking this final leave of them, which will be done with some - decided feelings of regret, and in receding from their country, I shall - look back and reflect upon them and their curious and peculiar modes - with no small degree of pleasure, as well as surprise; inasmuch as - their hospitality and friendly treatment have fully corroborated my - fixed belief that the North American Indian in his primitive state is - a high-minded, hospitable and honourable being—and their singular and - peculiar customs have raised an irresistible belief in my mind that - they have had a different origin, or are of a different compound of - character from any other tribe that I have yet seen, or that can be - probably seen in North America.</p> - - <p>In coming to such a conclusion as this, the mind is at once filled with - a flood of enquiries as to the source from which they have sprung, - and eagerly seeking for the evidence which is to lead it to the most - probable and correct conclusion. Amongst these evidences of which there - are many, and forcible ones to be met with amongst these people, and - many of which I have named in my former epistles, the most striking - ones are those which go, I think, decidedly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">206</span> to suggest the existence - of looks and of customs amongst them, bearing incontestible proofs of - an amalgam of civilized and savage; and that in the absence of all - proof of any recent proximity of a civilized stock that could in any - way have been engrafted upon them.</p> - - <p>These facts then, with the host of their peculiarities which stare - a traveller in the face, lead the mind back in search of some more - remote and rational cause for such striking singularities; and in - this dilemma, I have been almost disposed (not to advance it as a - <em>theory</em>, but) to enquire whether here may not be found, yet - existing, the remains of the <em>Welsh colony</em>—the followers of - Madoc; who history tells us, if I recollect right, started with ten - ships, to colonize a country which he had discovered in the Western - Ocean; whose expedition I think has been pretty clearly traced to the - mouth of the Mississippi, or the coast of Florida, and whose fate - further than this seems sealed in unsearchable mystery.</p> - - <p>I am travelling in this country as I have before said, not to advance - or to prove <em>theories</em>, but to see all that I am able to see, - and to tell it in the simplest and most intelligible manner I can - to the world, for their own conclusions, or for theories I may feel - disposed to advance, and be better able to defend after I get out of - this singular country; where all the powers of ones faculties are - required, and much better employed I consider, in helping him along and - in gathering materials, than in stopping to draw too nice and delicate - conclusions by the way.</p> - - <p>If my indefinite recollections of the fate of that colony, however, - as recorded in history be correct, I see no harm in suggesting the - inquiry, whether they did not sail up the Mississippi river in their - ten ships, or such number of them as might have arrived safe in its - mouth; and having advanced up the Ohio from its junction, (as they - naturally would, it being the widest and most gentle current) to a - rich and fertile country, planted themselves as agriculturalists - on its rich banks, where they lived and flourished, and increased - in numbers, until they were attacked, and at last besieged by the - numerous hordes of savages who were jealous of their growing condition; - and as a protection against their assaults, built those numerous - <em>civilized</em> fortifications, the ruins of which are now to be - seen on the Ohio and the Muskingum, in which they were at last all - destroyed, except some few families who had intermarried with the - Indians, and whose offspring, being half-breeds, were in such a manner - allied to them that their lives were spared; and forming themselves - into a small and separate community, took up their residence on the - banks of the Missouri; on which, for the want of a permanent location, - being on the lands of their more powerful enemies, were obliged - repeatedly to remove; and continuing their course up the river, have in - time migrated to the place where they are now living, and consequently - found with the numerous and almost unaccountable peculiarities of which - I have before spoken, so inconsonant with the general character of the - North American Indians; with complexions of every shade; with hair<span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">207</span> of - all the colours in civilized society, and many with hazel, with grey, - and with blue eyes.</p> - - <p>The above is a suggestion of a <em>moment</em>; and I wish the reader to - bear it in mind, that if I ever advance such as a <em>theory</em>, it - will be after I have collected other proofs, which I shall take great - pains to do; after I have taken a vocabulary of their language, and - also in my transit down the river in my canoe, I may be able from my - own examinations of the ground, to ascertain whether the shores of the - Missouri bear evidences of their former locations; or whether amongst - the tribes who inhabit the country below, there remain any satisfactory - traditions of their residences in, and transit through their countries.</p> - - <p>I close here my book (and probably for some time, my remarks), on the - friendly and hospitable Mandans.</p> - - <blockquote> - <p><span class="smcap">Note</span>—Several years having elapsed since the above account - of the Mandans was written, I open the book to convey to the - reader the melancholy intelligence of the <em>destruction</em> of - this interesting tribe, which happened a short time after I left - their country; and the manner and causes of their misfortune - I have explained in the Appendix to the Second Volume of this - Work; as well as some further considerations of the subject just - above-named, relative to their early history, and the probable fate - of the followers of <em>Madoc</em>, to which I respectfully refer the - reader before he goes further in the body of the Work. See Appendix A.</p> - </blockquote> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">208</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_26">LETTER—<abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 26.</h2> - </div> - <div class="subheadc">MOUTH OF TETON RIVER, <i>UPPER MISSOURI</i>.</div> - - <p><span class="smcap">Since</span> writing the above Letter I have descended the Missouri, a - distance of six or seven hundred miles, in my little bark, with - Ba’tiste and Bogard, my old “<i lang="fr">compagnons du voyage</i>,” and have - much to say of what we three did and what we saw on our way, which will - be given anon.</p> - - <p>I am now in the heart of the country belonging to the numerous tribe - of Sioux or Dohcotas, and have Indian faces and Indian customs in - abundance around me. This tribe is one of the most numerous in North - America, and also one of the most vigorous and warlike tribes to be - found, numbering some forty or fifty thousand, and able undoubtedly - to muster, if the tribe could be moved simultaneously, at least eight - or ten thousand warriors, well mounted and well armed. This tribe - take vast numbers of the wild horses on the plains towards the Rocky - Mountains, and many of them have been supplied with guns; but the - greater part of them hunt with their bows and arrows and long lances, - killing their game from their horses’ backs while at full speed.</p> - - <p>The name Sioux (pronounced <i>see-oo</i>) by which they are familiarly - called, is one that has been given to them by the French traders, the - meaning of which I never have learned; their own name being, in their - language, Dah-co-ta. The personal appearance of these people is very - fine and prepossessing, their persons tall and straight, and their - movements elastic and graceful. Their stature is considerably above - that of the Mandans and Riccarees, or Blackfeet; but about equal to - that of the Crows, Assinneboins and Minatarees, furnishing at least one - half of their warriors of six feet or more in height.</p> - - <p>I am here living with, and enjoying the hospitality of a gentleman - by the name of <i>Laidlaw</i>, a Scotchman, who is attached to the - American Fur Company, and who, in company with Mr. M‘Kenzie (of whom - I have before spoken) and Lamont, has the whole agency of the Fur - Company’s transactions in the regions of the Upper Missouri and the - Rocky Mountains.</p> - - <p>This gentleman has a finely-built Fort here, of two or three hundred - feet square, enclosing eight or ten of their factories, houses and - stores, in the midst of which he occupies spacious and comfortable - apartments, which are well supplied with the comforts and luxuries of - life and neatly and respectably conducted by a fine looking, modest, - and dignified Sioux<span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">209</span> woman, the kind and affectionate mother of his - little flock of pretty and interesting children.</p> - - <figure class="illowp75 mt2" id="i_086"> - <div class="plate"><i>58</i></div> - <img src="images/i_086.jpg" alt="Ha-wan-je-tah"> - <figcaption>86</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>This Fort is undoubtedly one of the most important and productive - of the American Fur Company’s posts, being in the centre of the - great Sioux country, drawing from all quarters an immense and almost - incredible number of buffalo robes, which are carried to the New York - and other Eastern markets, and sold at a great profit. This post - is thirteen hundred miles above <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Louis, on the west bank of the - Missouri, on a beautiful plain near the mouth of the Teton river which - empties into the Missouri from the West, and the Fort has received - the name of Fort Pierre, in compliment to Monsr. Pierre Chouteau, who - is one of the partners in the Fur Company, residing in <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Louis; and - to whose politeness I am indebted, as I have before mentioned, for my - passage in the Company’s steamer, on her first voyage to the Yellow - Stone; and whose urbane and gentlemanly society, I have before said, I - had during my passage.</p> - - <p>The country about this Fort is almost entirely prairie, producing along - the banks of the river and streams only, slight skirtings of timber. - No site could have been selected more pleasing or more advantageous - than this; the Fort is in the centre of one of the Missouri’s most - beautiful plains, and hemmed in by a series of gracefully undulating, - grass-covered hills, on all sides; rising like a series of terraces, - to the summit level of the prairies, some three or four hundred feet - in elevation, which then stretches off in an apparently boundless - ocean of gracefully swelling waves and fields of green. On my way - up the river I made a painting of this lovely spot, taken from the - summit of the bluffs, a mile or two distant (<a href="#i_085"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 85</a>), - shewing an encampment of Sioux, of six hundred tents or skin lodges, - around the Fort, where they had concentrated to make their spring - trade; exchanging their furs and peltries for articles and luxuries of - civilized manufactures.</p> - - <p>The great family of Sioux who occupy so vast a tract of country, - extending from the banks of the Mississippi river to the base of - the Rocky Mountains, are everywhere a migratory or roaming tribe, - divided into forty-two bands or families, each having a chief who - all acknowledge a superior or head chief, to whom they all are held - subordinate. This subordination, however, I should rather record as - their <em>former</em> and <em>native</em> regulation, of which there exists - no doubt, than an <em>existing</em> one, since the numerous innovations - made amongst these people by the Fur Traders, as well as by the - proximity of civilization along a great deal of their frontier, which - soon upset and change many native regulations, and particularly those - relating to their government and religion.</p> - - <p>There is one principal and familiar division of this tribe into what - are called the <em>Mississippi</em> and <em>Missouri</em> Sioux. Those - bordering on the banks of the Mississippi, concentrating at Prairie du - Chien and Fort Snelling, for the purposes of trade, &c., are called the - Mississippi Sioux. These are somewhat advanced towards civilization, - and familiar with white people, with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">210</span> whom they have held intercourse - for many years, and are consequently excessive whiskey drinkers, though - constituting but a meagre proportion, and at the same time, but a very - unfair and imperfect sample of the great mass of this tribe who inhabit - the shores of the Missouri, and fearlessly roam on the vast plains - intervening between it and the Rocky Mountains, and are still living - entirely in their primitive condition.</p> - - <p>There is no tribe on the Continent, perhaps, of finer looking men than - the Sioux; and few tribes who are better and more comfortably clad, and - supplied with the necessaries of life. There are no parts of the great - plains of America which are more abundantly stocked with buffaloes and - wild horses, nor any people more bold in destroying the one for food, - and appropriating the other to their use. There has gone abroad, from - the many histories which have been written of these people, an opinion - which is too current in the world, that the Indian is necessarily a - poor, drunken, murderous wretch; which account is certainly unjust - as regards the savage, and doing less than justice to the world for - whom such histories have been prepared. I have travelled several years - already amongst these people and I have not had my scalp taken, nor a - blow struck me; nor had occasion to raise my hand against an Indian; - nor has my property been stolen, as yet to my knowledge, to the value - of a shilling; and that in a country where no man is punishable by - law for the crime of stealing; still some of them steal, and murder - too; and if white men did not do the same, and that in defiance of - the laws of God and man, I might take satisfaction in stigmatizing - the Indian character as thievish and murderous. That the Indians in - their <em>native state</em> are “<em>drunken</em>,” is false; for they are - the only temperance people, literally speaking, that ever I saw in my - travels, or ever expect to see. If the civilized world are startled at - this, it is the <em>fact</em> that they must battle with, not with me; - for these people manufacture no spirituous liquor themselves, and know - nothing of it until it is brought into their country and tendered to - them by Christians. That these people are “<em>naked</em>” is equally - untrue, and as easily disproved; for I am sure that with the paintings - I have made amongst the Mandans and Crows, and other tribes; and with - their beautiful costumes which I have procured and shall bring home, I - shall be able to establish the fact that many of these people dress, - not only with clothes comfortable for any latitude, but that they also - dress with some considerable taste and elegance. Nor am I quite sure - that they are entitled to the name of “<em>poor</em>,” who live in a - boundless country of green fields, with good horses to ride; where they - are all joint tenants of the soil, together; where the Great Spirit - has supplied them with an abundance of food to eat—where they are all - indulging in the pleasures and amusements of a lifetime of idleness - and ease, with no business hours to attend to, or professions to - learn—where they have no notes in bank or other debts to pay—no taxes, - no tithes, no rents, nor beggars to touch and tax the sympathy of their - souls at every step they go. Such might be poverty in the Christian - world, but<span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">211</span> is sure to be a blessing where the pride and insolence of - comparative wealth are unknown.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>59</i></div> - <div class="col50"> - <figure id="i_087"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_087.jpg" alt="Shoo-de-ga-cha"> - <figcaption>87</figcaption> - </figure> - </div> - <div class="col50"> - <figure id="i_088"> - <img style="width: 96.6%;" src="images/i_088.jpg" alt="Hee-la’h-dee"> - <figcaption>88</figcaption> - </figure> - </div> - - <p>I mentioned that this is the nucleus or place of concentration of - the numerous tribe of the Sioux, who often congregate here in great - masses to make their trades with the American Fur Company; and that - on my way up the river, some months since, I found here encamped, - six hundred families of Sioux, living in tents covered with buffalo - hides. Amongst these there were twenty or more of the different bands, - each one with their chief at their head, over whom was a <em>superior - chief</em> and leader, a middle-aged man, of middling stature, with - a noble countenance, and a figure almost equalling the Apollo, and - I painted his portrait (<a href="#i_086"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 86</a>). The name of this chief - is Ha-wan-je-tah (the one horn) of the Mee-ne-cow-e-gee band, who - has risen rapidly to the highest honours in the tribe, from his own - extraordinary merits, even at so early an age. He told me that he - took the name of “One Horn” (or shell) from a simple small shell that - was hanging on his neck, which descended to him from his father, and - which, he said, he valued more than anything he possessed; affording - a striking instance of the living affection which these people often - cherish for the dead, inasmuch as he chose to carry this name through - life in preference to many others and more honourable ones he had - a right to have taken, from different battles and exploits of his - extraordinary life. He treated me with great kindness and attention, - considering himself highly complimented by the signal and unprecedented - honour I had conferred upon him by painting his portrait, and that - before I had invited any other. His costume was a very handsome one, - and will have a place in my <span class="smcap">Indian Gallery</span> by the side of - his picture. It is made of elk skins beautifully dressed, and fringed - with a profusion of porcupine quills and scalp-locks; and his hair, - which is very long and profuse, divided into two parts, and lifted up - and crossed, over the top of his head, with a simple tie, giving it - somewhat the appearance of a Turkish turban.</p> - - <p>This extraordinary man, before he was raised to the dignity of chief, - was the renowned of his tribe for his athletic achievements. In the - chase he was foremost; he could run down a buffalo, which he often had - done, on his own legs, and drive his arrow to the heart. He was the - fleetest in the tribe; and in the races he had run, he had always taken - the prize.</p> - - <p>It was proverbial in his tribe, that Ha-wan-je-tah’s bow never was - drawn in vain, and his wigwam was abundantly furnished with scalps that - he had taken from his enemies’ heads in battle.</p> - - <p>Having descended the river thus far, then, and having hauled out - my canoe, and taken up my quarters for awhile with mine hospitable - host, Mr. Laidlaw, as I have before said; and having introduced my - readers to the country and the people, and more particularly to the - chief dignitary of the Sioux; and having promised in the beginning of - this Letter also, that I should give them some amusing and curious - information that we picked up,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">212</span> and incidents that we met with, on - our voyage from the Mandans to this place; I have again to beg that - they will pardon me for withholding from them yet awhile longer, the - incidents of that curious and most important part of my Tour, the - absence of which, at this time, seems to make a “hole in the ballad,” - though I promise my readers they are written, and will appear in the - book in a proper and appropriate place.</p> - - <p>Taking it for granted then, that I will be indulged in this freak, I am - taking the liberty of presuming on my readers’ patience in proposing - another, which is to offer them here an extract from my Notes, which - were made on my journey of 1300 miles from <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Louis to this place, - where I stopped, as I have said, amongst several thousands of Sioux; - where I remained for some time, and painted my numerous portraits of - their chiefs, &c.; one of whom was the head and leader of the Sioux, - whom I have already introduced. On the long and tedious route that lies - between <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Louis and this place, I passed the Sacs and Ioways—the - Konzas—the Omahaws, and the Otoes (making notes on them all, which are - reserved for another place), and landed at the Puncahs, a small tribe - residing in one village, on the west bank of the river, 300 miles below - this, and 1000 from <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Louis.</p> - - <p>The Puncahs are all contained in seventy-five or eighty lodges, made of - buffalo skins, in the form of tents; the frames for which are poles of - fifteen or twenty feet in length, with the butt ends standing on the - ground, and the small ends meeting at the top, forming a cone, which - sheds off the rain and wind with perfect success. This small remnant - of a tribe are not more than four or five hundred in numbers; and I - should think, at least, two-thirds of those are women. This disparity - in numbers having been produced by the continual losses which their - men suffer, who are penetrating the buffalo country for meat, for - which they are now obliged to travel a great way (as the buffaloes - have recently left their country), exposing their lives to their more - numerous enemies about them.</p> - - <p>The chief of this tribe, whose name is Shoo-de-ga-cha (smoke), I - painted at full length (<a href="#i_087"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 87</a>), and his wife also, a young - and very pretty woman (<a href="#i_088"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 88</a>), whose name is Hee-la’h-dee - (the pure fountain); her neck and arms were curiously tattooed, which - is a very frequent mode of ornamenting the body amongst this and some - other tribes, which is done by pricking into the skin, gunpowder and - vermilion.</p> - - <p>The chief, who was wrapped in a buffalo robe, is a noble specimen of - native dignity and philosophy. I conversed much with him; and from his - dignified manners, as well as from the soundness of his reasoning, I - became fully convinced that he deserved to be the sachem of a more - numerous and prosperous tribe. He related to me with great coolness - and frankness, the poverty and distress of his nation; and with the - method of a philosopher, predicted the certain and rapid extinction of - his tribe, which he had not the power to avert. Poor, noble chief; who - was equal to, and worthy of a greater empire! He sat upon the deck of - the steamer, overlooking the little<span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">213</span> cluster of his wigwams mingled - amongst the trees; and, like Caius Marius, weeping over the ruins - of Carthage, shed tears as he was descanting on the poverty of his - ill-fated little community, which he told me “had once been powerful - and happy; that the buffaloes which the Great Spirit had given them - for food, and which formerly spread all over their green prairies, had - all been killed or driven out by the approach of white men, who wanted - their skins; that their country was now entirely destitute of game, - and even of roots for their food, as it was one continued prairie; - and that his young men penetrating the countries of their enemies - for buffaloes, which they were obliged to do, were cut to pieces and - destroyed in great numbers. That his people had foolishly become fond - of <em>fire-water</em> (whiskey), and had given away everything in their - country for it—that it had destroyed many of his warriors, and soon - would destroy the rest—that his tribe was too small, and his warriors - too few to go to war with the tribes around them; that they were met - and killed by the Sioux on the North, by the Pawnees on the West; and - by the Osages and Konzas on the South; and still more alarmed from the - constant advance of the pale faces—their enemies from the East, with - whiskey and small-pox, which already had destroyed four-fifths of his - tribe, and soon would impoverish, and at last destroy the remainder of - them.”</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>60</i></div> - <div class="col50"> - <figure id="i_089"> - <img style="width: 98.7%;" src="images/i_089.jpg" alt="Mong-shong-shaw"> - <figcaption>89</figcaption> - </figure> - </div> - <div class="col50"> - <figure id="i_090"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_090.jpg" alt="Hongs-kay-de"> - <figcaption>90</figcaption> - </figure> - </div> - - <p>In this way did this shrewd philosopher lament over the unlucky destiny - of his tribe; and I pitied him with all my heart. I have no doubt of - the correctness of his representations; and I believe there is no tribe - on the frontier more in want, nor any more deserving of the sympathy - and charity of the government and Christian societies of the civilized - world.</p> - - <p>The son of this chief, a youth of eighteen years, and whose portrait - I painted (<a href="#i_090"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 90</a>), distinguished himself in a singular - manner the day before our steamer reached their village, by taking to - him <em>four wives in one day</em>! This extraordinary and unprecedented - freak of his, was just the thing to make him the greatest sort of - <em>medicine</em> in the eyes of his people; and probably he may date - much of his success and greatness through life, to this bold and - original step, which suddenly raised him into notice and importance.</p> - - <p>The old chief Shoo-de-ga-cha, of whom I have spoken above, considering - his son to have arrived to the age of maturity, fitted him out for - house-keeping, by giving him a handsome wigwam to live in, and nine - horses, with many other valuable presents; when the boy, whose name - is Hongs-kay-de (the great chief), soon laid his plans for the proud - and pleasant epoch in his life, and consummated them in the following - ingenious and amusing manner.</p> - - <p>Wishing to connect himself with, and consequently to secure the - countenance of some of the most influential men in the tribe, he had - held an interview with one of the most distinguished; and easily - (being the son of a chief), made an arrangement for the hand of his - daughter, which he was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">214</span> to receive on a certain day, and at a certain - hour, for which he was to give two horses, a gun, and several pounds - of tobacco. This was enjoined on the father as a profound secret, and - as a condition of the espousal. In like manner he soon made similar - arrangements with three other leading men of the tribe, each of whom - had a young and beautiful daughter, of marriageable age. To each of - the fathers he had promised two horses, and other presents similar - to those stipulated for in the first instance, and all under the - same injunctions of secrecy, until the hour approached, when he had - announced to the whole tribe that he was to be married. At the time - appointed, they all assembled, and all were in ignorance of the fair - hand that was to be placed in his on this occasion. He had got some - of his young friends who were prepared to assist him, to lead up - the eight horses. He took two of them by the halters, and the other - presents agreed upon in his other hand, and advancing to the first of - the parents, whose daughter was standing by the side of him, saying - to him, “you promised me the hand of your daughter on this day, for - which I was to give you two horses.” The father assented with a “ugh!” - receiving the presents, and giving his child; when some confusion - ensued from the simultaneous remonstrances, which were suddenly made by - the other three parents, who had brought their daughters forward, and - were shocked at this sudden disappointment, as well as by the mutual - declarations they were making, of similar contracts that each one had - entered into with him! As soon as they could be pacified, and silence - was restored, he exultingly replied, “You have all acknowledged in - public your promises with me, which I shall expect you to fulfil. I am - here to perform all the engagements which I have made, and I expect - you all to do the same”—No more was said. He led up the two horses for - each, and delivered the other presents; leading off to his wigwam his - four brides—taking two in each hand, and commenced at once upon his new - mode of life; reserving only one of his horses for his own daily use.</p> - - <p>I visited the wigwam of this young installed <em>medicine-man</em> - several times, and saw his four modest little wives seated around the - fire, where all seemed to harmonize very well; and for aught I could - discover, were entering very happily on the duties and pleasures of - married life. I selected one of them for her portrait, and painted it - (<a href="#i_089"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 89</a>), Mong-shong-shaw (the bending willow), in a very - pretty dress of deer skins, and covered with a young buffalo’s robe, - which was handsomely ornamented, and worn with much grace and pleasing - effect.</p> - - <p>Mr. Chouteau of the Fur Company, and Major Sanford, the agent for the - Upper Missouri Indians, were with me at this time; and both of these - gentlemen, highly pleased with so ingenious and <em>innocent</em> a - freak, felt disposed to be liberal, and sent them many presents from - the steamer.</p> - - <p>The ages of these young brides were probably all between twelve and - fifteen years, the season of life in which most of the girls in this - wild country contract marriage.</p> - - <figure class="illowp75 mt2" id="i_091"> - <div class="plate"><i>61</i></div> - <img src="images/i_091.jpg" alt="Ee-ah-sa-pa"> - <figcaption>91</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">215</span></p> - - <p>It is a surprising fact, that women mature in these regions at that - early age, and there have been some instances where marriage has taken - place, even at eleven; and the juvenile mother has been blest with her - first offspring at the age of twelve!</p> - - <p>These facts are calculated to create surprise and almost incredulity - in the mind of the reader, but there are circumstances for his - consideration yet to be known, which will in a manner account for these - extraordinary facts.</p> - - <p>There is not a doubt but there is a more early approach to maturity - amongst the females of this country than in civilized communities, - owing either to a natural and constitutional difference, or to the - exposed and active life they lead. Yet there is another and more - general cause of early marriages (and consequently apparent maturity), - which arises out of the modes and forms of the country, where most - of the marriages are contracted with the parents, hurried on by the - impatience of the applicant, and prematurely accepted and consummated - on the part of the parents, who are often impatient to be in receipt - of the presents they are to receive as the price of their daughters. - There is also the facility of dissolving the marriage contract in this - country, which does away with one of the most serious difficulties - which lies in the way in the civilized world, and calculated greatly - to retard its consummation, which is not an equal objection in Indian - communities. Education and accomplishments, again, in the fashionable - world, and also a time and a season to flourish and show them off, - necessarily engross that part of a young lady’s life, when the poor - Indian girl, who finds herself weaned from the familiar embrace of her - parents, with her mind and her body maturing, and her thoughts and her - passions straying away in the world for some theme or some pleasure - to cling to, easily follows their juvenile and ardent dictates, - prematurely entering on that system of life, consisting in reciprocal - dependence and protection.</p> - - <p>In the instance above described, the young man was in no way censured - by his people, but most loudly applauded; for in this country polygamy - is allowed; and in this tribe, where there are two or three times the - number of women that there are of men, such an arrangement answers a - good purpose, whereby so many of the females are provided for and taken - care of; and particularly so, and to the great satisfaction of the - tribe, as well as of the parties and families concerned, when so many - fall to the lot of a chief, or the son of a chief, into whose wigwam it - is considered an honour to be adopted, and where they are the most sure - of protection.</p> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">216</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_27">LETTER—<abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 27.</h2> - </div> - <div class="subheadc">MOUTH OF TETON RIVER, <i>UPPER MISSOURI</i>.</div> - - <p><span class="smcap">When</span> we were about to start on our way up the river from the village - of the Puncahs, we found that they were packing up all their goods and - preparing to start for the prairies, farther to the West, in pursuit - of buffaloes, to dry meat for their winter’s supplies. They took down - their wigwams of skins to carry with them, and all were flat to the - ground and everything packing up ready for the start. My attention - was directed by Major Sanford, the Indian Agent, to one of the most - miserable and helpless looking objects that I ever had seen in my life, - a very aged and emaciated man of the tribe, who he told me was to be - <em>exposed</em>.</p> - - <p>The tribe were going where hunger and dire necessity compelled them - to go, and this pitiable object, who had once been a chief, and a man - of distinction in his tribe, who was now too old to travel, being - reduced to mere skin and bones, was to be left to starve, or meet - with such death as might fall to his lot, and his bones to be picked - by the wolves! I lingered around this poor old forsaken patriarch for - hours before we started, to indulge the tears of sympathy which were - flowing for the sake of this poor benighted and decrepit old man, - whose worn-out limbs were no longer able to support him; their kind - and faithful offices having long since been performed, and his body - and his mind doomed to linger into the withering agony of decay, and - gradual solitary death. I wept, and it was a pleasure to weep, for the - painful looks, and the dreary prospects of this old veteran, whose - eyes were dimmed, whose venerable locks were whitened by an hundred - years, whose limbs were almost naked, and trembling as he sat by a - small fire which his friends had left him, with a few sticks of wood - within his reach and a buffalo’s skin stretched upon some crotches over - his head. Such was to be his only dwelling, and such the chances for - his life, with only a few half-picked bones that were laid within his - reach, and a dish of water, without weapons or means of any kind to - replenish them, or strength to move his body from its fatal locality. - In this sad plight I mournfully contemplated this miserable remnant - of existence, who had unluckily outlived the fates and accidents of - wars to die alone, at death’s leisure. His friends and his children - had all left him, and were preparing in a little time to be on the - march. He had told<span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">217</span> them to leave him, “he was old,” he said, “and too - feeble to march.” “My children,” said he, “our nation is poor, and it - is necessary that you should all go to the country where you can get - meat,—my eyes are dimmed and my strength is no more; my days are nearly - all numbered, and I am a burthen to my children—I cannot go, and I wish - to die. Keep your hearts stout, and think not of me; I am no longer - good for anything.” In this way they had finished the ceremony of - <em>exposing</em> him, and taken their final leave of him. I advanced to - the old man, and was undoubtedly the last human being who held converse - with him. I sat by the side of him, and though he could not distinctly - see me, he shook me heartily by the hand and smiled, evidently aware - that I was a white man, and that I sympathized with his inevitable - misfortune. I shook hands again with him, and left him, steering my - course towards the steamer which was a mile or more from me, and ready - to resume her voyage up the Missouri.<a id="FNanchor_6" href="#Footnote_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a></p> - - <p>This cruel custom of exposing their aged people, belongs, I think, to - all the tribes who roam about the prairies, making severe marches, - when such decrepit persons are totally unable to go, unable to ride or - to walk,—when they have no means of carrying them. It often becomes - absolutely necessary in such cases that they should be left; and they - uniformly insist upon it, saying as this old man did, that they are - old and of no further use—that they left their fathers in the same - manner—that they wish to die, and their children must not mourn for - them.</p> - - <p>From the Puncah village, our steamer made regular progress from day - to day towards the mouth of the Teton, from where I am now writing; - passing the whole way a country of green fields, that come sloping down - to the river on either side, forming the loveliest scenes in the world.</p> - - <p>From day to day we advanced, opening our eyes to something new and - more beautiful every hour that we progressed, until at last our boat - was aground; and a day’s work of sounding told us at last, that there - was no possibility of advancing further, until there should be a rise - in the river, to enable the boat to get over the bar. After laying in - the middle of the river about a week, in this unpromising dilemma, Mr. - Chouteau started off twenty men on foot, to cross the plains for a - distance of 200 miles to Laidlaw’s Fort, at the mouth of Teton river. - To this expedition, I immediately attached myself; and having heard - that a numerous party of Sioux were there encamped, and waiting to see - the steamer, I packed on the backs, and in the hands of several of the - men, such articles for painting, as I might want; canvass, paints, and - brushes, with my sketch-book slung on my back, and my rifle in my hand, - and I started off with them.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">218</span></p> - - <p>We took leave of our friends on the boat, and mounting the green - bluffs, steered our course from day to day over a level prairie, - without a tree or a bush in sight, to relieve the painful monotony, - filling our canteens at the occasional little streams that we passed, - kindling our fires with dried buffalo dung, which we collected on the - prairie, and stretching our tired limbs on the level turf whenever we - were overtaken by night.</p> - - <p>We were six or seven days in performing this march; and it gave me a - good opportunity of testing the muscles of my legs, with a number of - half-breeds and Frenchmen, whose lives are mostly spent in this way, - leading a novice, a cruel, and almost killing journey. Every rod of our - way was over a continuous prairie, with a verdant green turf of wild - grass of six or eight inches in height; and most of the way enamelled - with wild flowers, and filled with a profusion of strawberries.</p> - - <p>For two or three of the first days, the scenery was monotonous, - and became exceedingly painful from the fact, that we were (to use - a phrase of the country) “out of sight of land,” <i>i. e.</i> out - of sight of anything rising above the horizon, which was a perfect - straight line around us, like that of the blue and boundless ocean. The - pedestrian over such a discouraging sea of green, without a landmark - before or behind him; without a beacon to lead him on, or define his - progress, feels weak and overcome when night falls; and he stretches - his exhausted limbs, apparently on the same spot where he has slept - the night before, with the same prospect before and behind him; the - same grass, and the same wild flowers beneath and about him; the same - canopy over his head, and the same cheerless sea of green to start - upon in the morning. It is difficult to describe the simple beauty - and serenity of these scenes of solitude, or the feelings of feeble - man, whose limbs are toiling to carry him through them—without a hill - or tree to mark his progress, and convince him that he is not, like a - squirrel in his cage, after all his toil, standing still. One commences - on peregrinations like these, with a light heart, and a nimble foot, - and spirits as buoyant as the very air that floats along by the side - of him; but his spirit soon tires, and he lags on the way that is - rendered more tedious and intolerable by the tantalizing <em>mirage</em> - that opens before him beautiful lakes, and lawns, and copses; or by - the <em>looming</em> of the prairie ahead of him, that seems to rise in - a parapet, and decked with its varied flowers, phantom-like, flies and - moves along before him.</p> - - <p>I got on for a couple of days in tolerable condition, and with some - considerable applause; but my half-bred, companions took the lead at - length, and left me with several other novices far behind, which gave - me additional pangs; and I at length felt like giving up the journey, - and throwing myself upon the ground in hopeless despair. I was not - alone in my misery, however, but was cheered and encouraged by looking - back and beholding several of our party half a mile or more in the rear - of me, jogging along, and suffering more agony in their new experiment - than I was suffering myself. Their loitering and my murmurs, at length, - brought our leaders to a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">219</span> halt, and we held a sort of council, in which - I explained that the pain in my feet was so intolerable, that I felt as - if I could go no further; when one of our half-breed leaders stepped - up to me, and addressing me in French, told me that I must “<em>turn my - toes in</em>” as the Indians do, and that I could then go on very well. - We halted a half-hour, and took a little refreshment, whilst the little - Frenchman was teaching his lesson to the rest of my fellow-novices, - when we took up our march again; and I soon found upon trial, that by - turning my toes in, my feet went more easily through the grass; and by - turning the weight of my body more equally on the toes (enabling each - one to support its proportionable part of the load, instead of throwing - it all on to the joints of the big toes, which is done when the toes - are turned out); I soon got relief, and made my onward progress very - well. I rigidly adhered to this mode, and found no difficulty on the - third and fourth days, of taking the lead of the whole party, which I - constantly led until our journey was completed.<a id="FNanchor_7" href="#Footnote_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a></p> - - <p>On this journey we saw immense herds of buffaloes; and although we - had no horses to <em>run</em> them, we successfully <em>approached</em> - them on foot, and supplied ourselves abundantly with fresh meat. After - travelling for several days, we came in sight of a high range of blue - hills in distance on our left, which rose to the height of several - hundred feet above the level of the prairies. These hills were a - conspicuous landmark at last, and some relief to us. I was told by our - guide, that they were called the Bijou Hills, from a Fur Trader of that - name, who had had his trading-house at the foot of them on the banks of - the Missouri river, where he was at last destroyed by the Sioux Indians.</p> - - <p>Not many miles back of this range of hills, we came in contact with an - immense saline, or “salt meadow,” as they are termed in this country, - which turned us out of our path, and compelled us to travel several - miles out of our way, to get by it; we came suddenly upon a great - depression of the prairie, which extended for several miles, and as - we stood upon its green banks, which were gracefully sloping down, we - could overlook some hundreds of acres of the prairie which were covered - with an incrustation of salt, that appeared the same as if the ground - was everywhere covered with snow.</p> - - <p>These scenes, I am told are frequently to be met with in these regions, - and certainly present the most singular and startling effect, by the - sudden<span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">220</span> - and unexpected contrast between their snow-white appearance, and the - green fields that hem them in on all sides. Through each of these - meadows there is a meandering small stream which arises from salt - springs, throwing out in the spring of the year great quantities of - water, which flood over these meadows to the depth of three or four - feet; and during the heat of summer, being exposed to the rays of the - sun, entirely evaporates, leaving the incrustation of <em>muriate</em> - on the surface, to the depth of one or two inches. These places are - the constant resort of buffaloes, which congregate in thousands about - them, to lick up the salt; and on approaching the banks of this place - we stood amazed at the almost incredible numbers of these animals, - which were in sight on the opposite banks, at the distance of a mile or - two from us, where they were lying in countless numbers, on the level - prairie above, and stretching down by hundreds, to lick at the salt, - forming in distance, large masses of black, most pleasingly to contrast - with the snow white, and the vivid green, which I have before mentioned.</p> - - <p>After several days toil in the manner above-mentioned, all the way - over soft and green fields, and amused with many pleasing incidents - and accidents of the chase, we arrived, pretty well jaded, at Fort - Pierre, mouth of Teton River, from whence I am now writing; where for - the first time I was introduced to Mr. M‘Kenzie (of whom I have before - spoken), to Mr. Laidlaw, mine host, and Mr. Halsey, a chief clerk in - the establishment; and after, to the head chief and dignitaries of the - great Sioux nation, who were here encamped about the Fort, in six or - seven hundred skin lodges, and waiting for the arrival of the steamer, - which they had heard, was on its way up the river, and which they had - great curiosity to see.</p> - - <p>After resting a few days, and recovering from the fatigues of my - journey, having taken a fair survey of the Sioux village, and explained - my views to the Indians, as well as to the gentlemen whom I have - above named; I commenced my operations with the brush, and first of - all painted the portrait of the head-chief of the Sioux (the one - horn), whom I have before spoken of. This truly noble fellow sat for - his portrait, and it was finished before any one of the tribe knew - anything of it; several of the chiefs and doctors were allowed to see - it, and at last it was talked of through the village; and of course, - the greater part of their numbers were at once gathered around me. - Nothing short of hanging it out of doors on the side of my wigwam, - would in any way answer them; and here I had the peculiar satisfaction - of beholding, through a small hole I had made in my wigwam, the high - admiration and respect they all felt for their chief, as well as - the very great estimation in which they held me as a painter and a - magician, conferring upon me at once the very distinguished appellation - of Ee-cha-zoo-kah-ga-wa-kon (the medicine painter).</p> - - <p>After the exhibition of this chief’s picture, there was much excitement - in the village about it; the doctors generally took a decided and noisy - stand against the operations of my brush; haranguing the populace, and - predicting<span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">221</span> bad luck, and premature death, to all who submitted to so - strange and unaccountable an operation! My business for some days was - entirely at a stand for want of sitters; for the doctors were opposing - me with all their force; and the women and children were crying, with - their hands over their mouths, making the most pitiful and doleful - laments, which I never can explain to my readers; but for some just - account of which, I must refer them to my friends M‘Kenzie and Halsey, - who overlooked with infinite amusement, these curious scenes and are - able, no doubt, to give them with truth and effect to the world.</p> - - <p>In this sad and perplexing dilemma, this noble chief stepped forward, - and addressing himself to the chiefs and the doctors, to the braves and - to the women and children, he told them to be quiet, and to treat me - with friendship; that I had been travelling a great way to see them, - and smoke with them; that I was great <em>medicine</em>, to be sure; that - I was a great chief, and that I was the friend of Mr. Laidlaw and Mr. - M‘Kenzie, who had prevailed upon him to sit for his picture, and fully - assured him that there was no harm in it. His speech had the desired - effect, and I was shaken hands with by hundreds of their worthies, many - of whom were soon dressed and ornamented, prepared to sit for their - portraits.<a id="FNanchor_8" href="#Footnote_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a></p> - - <p>The first who then stepped forward for his portrait was Ee-ah-sa-pa - (the Black Rock) chief of the Nee-caw-wee-gee band (<a href="#i_091"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 91</a>), - a tall and fine looking man, of six feet or more in stature; in a - splendid dress, with his lance in his hand; with his pictured robe - thrown gracefully over his shoulders, and his head-dress made of - war-eagles’ quills and ermine skins, falling in a beautiful crest over - his back, quite down to his feet, and surmounted on the top with a pair - of horns denoting him (as I have explained in former instances) head - leader or war-chief of his band.</p> - - <p>This man has been a constant and faithful friend of Mr. M‘Kenzie and - others of the Fur Traders, who held him in high estimation, both as an - honourable and valiant man, and an estimable companion.</p> - - <p>The next who sat to me was Tchan-dee, tobacco (<a href="#i_092"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 92</a>), - a desperate warrior, and represented to me by the traders, as one - of the most respectable and famous chiefs of the tribe. After him - sat Toh-ki-ee-to, the stone with horns (<a href="#i_092"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 93</a>), chief - of the Yanc-ton band, and reputed the principal and most eloquent - <em>orator</em> of the nation. The neck, and breast, and shoulders - of this man, were curiously tattooed, by pricking in gunpowder and - vermilion, which in this extraordinary instance, was put on in - such elaborate profusion as to appear at a little distance like a - beautifully embroidered dress. In his hand he held a handsome pipe, - the stem of which was several feet long, and all the way wound with - ornamented braids of the porcupine quills. Around his body was wrapped - a valued robe, made of the skin of the grizzly bear, and on his neck - several strings of <em>wampum</em>, an ornament seldom seen amongst the - Indians in the Far West and the North.<a id="FNanchor_9" href="#Footnote_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> I was much amused with the - excessive vanity and egotism of this notorious man, who, whilst sitting - for his picture, took occasion to have the interpreter constantly - explaining to me the wonderful effects which his oratory had at - different times produced on the minds of the chiefs and people of his - tribe.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>62</i></div> - <figure id="i_092"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_092.jpg" alt="Tchan-dee and Toh-ki-ee-to"> - <figcaption><span class="col50">92</span><span class="col50">93</span></figcaption> - </figure> - - <figure class="mt2" id="i_094"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_094.jpg" alt="Wi-looh-tah-eeh-tchah-ta-mah-nee and Tchon-su-mons-ka"> - <figcaption><span class="col50">94</span><span class="col50">95</span></figcaption> - </figure> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>63</i></div> - <figure id="i_096"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_096.jpg" alt="Tent semi-circle"> - <figcaption>96</figcaption> - </figure> - - <figure class="mt2" id="i_097"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_097.jpg" alt="Looking at the sun"> - <figcaption>97</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">223</span></p> - - <p>He told me, that it was a very easy thing for him to set all the women - of the tribe to crying: and that all the chiefs listened profoundly to - his voice before they went to war; and at last, summed up by saying, - that he was “the greatest orator in the Sioux nation,” by which he - undoubtedly meant the greatest in the <em>world</em>.</p> - - <p>Besides these <i lang="fr">distingués</i> of this great and powerful tribe, I - painted in regular succession, according to their rank and standing, - Wan-ee-ton, chief of the <em>Susseton band</em>; Tah-zee-kah-da-cha - (the torn belly), a brave of the <em>Yancton band</em>; Ka-pes-ka-day - (the shell), a brave of the <em>O-gla-la band</em>; Wuk-mi-ser (corn), - a warrior of the <em>Nee-cow-ee-gee band</em>; Cha-tee-wah-nee-chee - (no heart), chief of the <em>Wah-nee-watch-to-nee-nah band</em>; - Mah-to-ra-rish-nee-eeh-ee-rah (the grizzly bear that runs without - regard), a brave of the <em>Onc-pa-pa band</em>; Mah-to-chee-ga (the - little bear), a distinguished brave; Shon-ka (the dog), chief of the - <em>Ca-za-zhee-ta</em> (bad arrow points) <em>band</em>; Tah-teck-a-da-hair - (the steep wind), a brave of the same band; Hah-ha-ra-pah (the elk’s - head), chief of the <em>Ee-ta-sip-shov band</em>; Mah-to-een-nah-pa (the - white bear that goes out), chief of the <em>Blackfoot Sioux band</em>; - Shon-ga-ton-ga-chesh-en-day (the horse dung), chief of a band, a great - conjuror and magician.</p> - - <p>The portraits of all the above dignitaries can be always seen, as large - as life, in my very numerous Collection, provided I get them safe - home; and also the portraits of two very pretty Sioux women (<a href="#i_094"><span class="smcap">plate</span> - 94</a>), Wi-looh-tah-eeh-tchah-ta-mah-nee (the red thing that touches - in marching), and (<a href="#i_094"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 95</a>), Tchon-su-mons-ka (the sand bar). - The first of these women<span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">224</span> - (<a href="#i_094"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 94</a>), is the daughter of the famous chief called - Black Rock, of whom I have spoken, and whose portrait has been given - (<a href="#i_091"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 91</a>). She is an unmarried girl, and much esteemed by the - whole tribe, for her modesty, as well as beauty. She was beautifully - dressed in skins, ornamented profusely with brass buttons and beads. - Her hair was plaited, her ears supported a great profusion of curious - beads—and over her other dress she wore a handsomely garnished buffalo robe.</p> - - <p>So highly was the Black Rock esteemed (as I have before mentioned), and - his beautiful daughter admired and respected by the Traders, that Mr. - M‘Kenzie employed me to make him copies of their two portraits, which - he has hung up in Mr. Laidlaw’s trading-house, as valued ornaments and - keepsakes.<a id="FNanchor_10" href="#Footnote_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a></p> - - <p>The second of these women (<a href="#i_094"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 95</a>) was very richly dressed, - the upper part of her garment being almost literally covered with brass - buttons; and her hair, which was inimitably beautiful and soft, and - glossy as silk, fell over her shoulders in great profusion, and in - beautiful waves, produced by the condition in which it is generally - kept in braids, giving to it, when combed out, a waving form, adding - much to its native appearance, which is invariably straight and - graceless.</p> - - <p>This woman is at present the wife of a white man by the name of - Chardon, a Frenchman, who has been many years in the employment of the - American Fur Company, in the character of a Trader and Interpreter; - and who by his bold and daring nature, has not only carried dread and - consternation amongst the Indian tribes wherever he has gone; but - has commanded much respect, and rendered essential service to the - Company in the prosecution of their dangerous and critical dealings - with the Indian tribes. I have said something of this extraordinary - man heretofore, and shall take future occasion to say more of him. - For the present, suffice it to say, that <span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">225</span>although from his continual - intercourse with the different tribes for twenty-five or thirty years, - where he had always been put forward in the front of danger—sent as - a sacrifice, or <em>forlorn hope</em>; still his cut and hacked limbs - have withstood all the blows that have been aimed at them; and his - unfaltering courage leads him to “beard the lion in his den,” whilst - his liberal heart, as it always has, deals out to his friends (and even - to strangers, if friends are not by) all the dear earnings which are - continually bought with severest toil, and at the hazard of his life.</p> - - <p>I acknowledge myself a debtor to this good hearted fellow for much - kindness and attention to me whilst in the Indian country, and also for - a superb dress and robe, which had been manufactured and worn by his - wife, and which he insisted on adding to my <span class="smcap">Indian Gallery</span> - since her death, where it will long remain to be examined.<a id="FNanchor_11" href="#Footnote_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a></p> - - <div class="footnotes"> - <div class="footnote"> - <a id="Footnote_6" href="#FNanchor_6" class="label">[6]</a> When passing by the site of the Puncah village a few - months after this, in my canoe, I went ashore with my men, and found - the poles and the buffalo skin, standing as they were left, over the - old man’s head. The firebrands were lying nearly as I had left them, - and I found at a few yards distant the skull, and others of his bones, - which had been picked and cleaned by the wolves; which is probably all - that any human being can ever know of his final and melancholy fate. - </div> - - <div class="footnote"> - <a id="Footnote_7" href="#FNanchor_7" class="label">[7]</a> On this march we were all travelling in moccasins, which - being made without any soles, according to the Indian custom, had - but little support for the foot underneath; and consequently, soon - subjected us to excruciating pain, whilst walking according to the - civilized mode, with the toes turned out. From this very painful - experience I learned to my complete satisfaction, that man in a state - of nature who walks on his naked feet, <em>must</em> walk with his - toes turned in, that each may perform the duties assigned to it in - proportion to its size and strength; and that civilized man <em>can</em> - walk with his toes turned out if he chooses, if he will use a stiff - sole under his feet, and will be content at last to put up with an - acquired deformity of the big toe joint which too many know to be a - frequent and painful occurrence. - </div> - - <div class="footnote"> - <a id="Footnote_8" href="#FNanchor_8" class="label">[8]</a> Several years after I painted the portrait of this - extraordinary man, and whilst I was delivering my Lectures in the - City of New York, I first received intelligence of his death, in the - following singular manner:—I was on the platform in my Lecture-room, - in the Stuyvesant Institute, with an audience of twelve or fourteen - hundred persons, in the midst of whom were seated a delegation of - thirty or forty Sioux Indians under the charge of Major Pilcher, their - agent; and I was successfully passing before their eyes the portraits - of a number of Sioux chiefs, and making my remarks upon them. The Sioux - instantly recognized each one as it was exhibited, which they instantly - hailed by a sharp and startling yelp. But when the portrait of this - chief was placed before them, instead of the usual recognition, each - one placed his hand over his mouth, and gave a “hush—sh—” and hung - down their heads, their usual expressions of grief in case of a death. - From this sudden emotion, I knew instantly, that the chief must be - dead, and so expressed my belief to the audience. I stopped my Lecture - a few moments to converse with Major Pilcher who was by my side, and - who gave me the following extraordinary account of his death, which I - immediately related to the audience; and which being translated to the - Sioux Indians, their chief arose and addressed himself to the audience, - saying that the account was true, and that Ha-wan-je-tah was killed but - a few days before they left home. - - <p>The account which Major Pilcher gave was nearly as follows:—</p> - - <p>“But a few weeks before I left the Sioux country with the delegation, - Ha-wan-je-tah (the one horn) had in some way been the accidental cause - of the death of his only son, a very fine youth; and so great was the - anguish of his mind at times, that he became frantic and insane. In one - of these moods he mounted his favourite war-horse with his bow and his - arrows in his hand, and dashed off at full speed upon the prairies, - repeating the most solemn oath, ‘that he would slay the first living - thing that fell in his way, be it man or beast, or friend or foe.’</p> - - <p>“No one dared to follow him, and after he had been absent an hour - or two, his horse came back to the village with two arrows in its - body, and covered with blood! Fears of the most serious kind were - now entertained for the fate of the chief, and a party of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">222</span> warriors - immediately mounted their horses, and retraced the animal’s tracks to - the place of the tragedy, where they found the body of their chief - horribly mangled and gored by a buffalo bull, whose carcass was - stretched by the side of him.</p> - - <p>“A close examination of the ground was then made by the Indians, who - ascertained by the tracks, that their unfortunate chief, under his - unlucky resolve, had met a buffalo bull in the season when they are - very stubborn, and unwilling to run from any one; and had incensed - the animal by shooting a number of arrows into him, which had brought - him into furious combat. The chief had then dismounted, and turned - his horse loose, having given it a couple of arrows from his bow, - which sent it home at full speed, and then had thrown away his bow and - quiver, encountering the infuriated animal with his knife alone, and - the desperate battle resulted as I have before-mentioned, in the death - of both. Many of the bones of the chief were broken, as he was gored - and stamped to death, and his huge antagonist had laid his body by the - side of him, weltering in blood from an hundred wounds made by the - chief’s long and two-edged knife.”</p> - - <p>So died this elegant and high-minded nobleman of the wilderness, whom I - confidently had hoped to meet and admire again at some future period of - my life. (<i>Vide</i> <a href="#i_086"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 86</a>).</p> - </div> - - <div class="footnote"> - <a id="Footnote_9" href="#FNanchor_9" class="label">[9]</a> <em>Wampum</em> is the Indian name of ornaments - manufactured by the Indians from vari-coloured shells, which they get - on the shores of the fresh water streams, and file or cut into bits - of half an inch, or an inch in length, and perforate (giving to them - the shape of pieces of broken pipe stems), which they string on deers’ - sinews, and wear on their necks in profusion; or weave them ingeniously - into war-belts for the waist. - - <p>Amongst the numerous tribes who have formerly inhabited the Atlantic - Coast, and that part of the country which now constitutes the principal - part of the United States, wampum has been invariably manufactured, and - highly valued as a circulating medium (instead of coins, of which the - Indians have no knowledge); so many strings, or so many hands-breadth, - being the fixed value of a horse, a gun, a robe, &c.</p> - - <p>In treaties, the wampum belt has been passed as the pledge of - friendship, and from time immemorial sent to hostile tribes, as the - messenger of peace; or paid by so many fathoms length, as tribute to - conquering enemies, and Indian kings.</p> - - <p>It is a remarkable fact, and worthy of observation in this place, that - after I passed the Mississippi, I saw but very little wampum used; and - on ascending the Missouri, I do not recollect to have seen it worn at - all by the Upper Missouri Indians, although the same materials for its - manufacture are found in abundance through those regions. I met with - but very few strings of it amongst the Missouri Sioux, and nothing of - it amongst the tribes north and west of them. Below the Sioux, and - along the whole of our Western frontier, the different tribes are found - loaded and beautifully ornamented with it, which they can now afford - to do, for they consider it of little value, as the Fur Traders have - ingeniously introduced a spurious imitation of it, manufactured by - steam or otherwise, of porcelain or some composition closely resembling - it, with which they have flooded the whole Indian country, and sold at - so reduced a price, as to cheapen, and consequently destroy, the value - and meaning of the original wampum, a string of which can now but very - rarely be found in any part of the country.</p> - </div> - - <div class="footnote"> - <a id="Footnote_10" href="#FNanchor_10" class="label">[10]</a> Several years after I left the Sioux country, I saw - Messrs. Chardon and Piquot, two of the Traders from that country, who - recently had left it, and told me in <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Louis, whilst looking at the - portrait of this girl, that while staying in Mr. Laidlaw’s Fort, the - chief, Black Rock, entered the room suddenly where the portrait of - his daughter was hanging on the wall, and pointing to it with a heavy - heart, told Mr. Laidlaw, that whilst his band was out on the prairies, - where they had been for several months “making meat,” his daughter - had died, and was there buried. “My heart is glad again,” said he, - “when I see her here alive; and I want the one the medicine-man made - of her, which is now before me, that I can see her, and talk to her. - My band are all in mourning for her, and at the gate of your Fort, - which I have just passed, are ten horses for you, and Ee-ah-sa-pa’s - wigwam, which you know is the best one in the Sioux nation. I wish you - to take down my daughter and give her to me.” Mr. Laidlaw, seeing the - <em>unusually</em> liberal price that this nobleman was willing to pay - for a portrait, and the true grief that he expressed for the loss of - his child, had not the heart to abuse such noble feeling; and taking - the painting from the wall, placed it into his hands; telling him that - it of right belonged to him, and that his horses and wigwam he must - take back and keep them, to mend, as far as possible, his liberal - heart, which was broken by the loss of his only daughter. - </div> - - <div class="footnote"> - <a id="Footnote_11" href="#FNanchor_11" class="label">[11]</a> Several years since writing the above, I made a visit - with my wife, to the venerable parent of Mr. Chardon, who lives in her - snug and neat mansion, near the City of Philadelphia, where we were - treated with genuine politeness and hospitality. His mother and two - sisters, who are highly respectable, had many anxious questions to ask - about him; and had at the same time, living with them, a fine-looking - half-breed boy, about ten years old, the son of Monsr. Chardon and - his Indian wife, whom I have above spoken of. This fine boy who had - received the name of Bolivar, had been brought from the Indian country - by the father, and left here for his education, with which they were - taking great pains. - </div> - </div> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">226</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_28">LETTER—<abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 28.</h2> - </div> - <div class="subheadc">MOUTH OF TETON RIVER, <i>UPPER MISSOURI</i>.</div> - - <p><span class="smcap">Whilst</span> painting the portraits of the chiefs and braves of the Sioux, - as described in my last epistle, my painting-room was the continual - rendezvous of the worthies of the tribe; and I, the “lion of the day,” - and my art, the <i lang="fr">summum</i> and <i lang="fr">ne plus ultra</i> of mysteries, - which engaged the whole conversation of chiefs and sachems, as well - as of women and children. I mentioned that I have been obliged to - paint them according to rank, as they looked upon the operation as a - very great honour, which I, as “a great chief and medicine-man,” was - conferring on all who sat to me. Fortunate it was for me, however, that - the honour was not a sufficient inducement for all to overcome their - fears, which often stood in the way of their consenting to be painted; - for if all had been willing to undergo the operation, I should have - progressed but a very little way in the “<em>rank and file</em>” of their - worthies; and should have had to leave many discontented, and (as they - would think) neglected. About one in five or eight was willing to be - painted, and the rest thought they would be much more sure of “sleeping - quiet in their graves” after they were dead, if their pictures were - not made. By this lucky difficulty I got great relief, and easily got - through with those who were willing, and at the same time decided by - the chiefs to be worthy, of so signal an honour.</p> - - <p>After I had done with the chiefs and braves, and proposed to paint a - few of the women, I at once got myself into a serious perplexity, being - heartily laughed at by the whole tribe, both by men and by women, for - my exceeding and (to them) unaccountable condescension in seriously - proposing to paint a woman; conferring on her the same honour that I - had done the chiefs and braves. Those whom I had honoured, were laughed - at by hundreds of the jealous, who had been decided unworthy the - distinction, and were now amusing themselves with the <em>very enviable - honour</em> which the <em>great white medicine-man</em> had conferred, - <em>especially</em> on <em>them</em>, and was now to confer equally upon - the <em>squaws</em>!</p> - - <p>The first reply that I received from those whom I had painted, was, - that if I was to paint women and children, the sooner I destroyed - <em>their</em> pictures, the better; for I had represented to them - that I wanted their pictures to exhibit to white chiefs, to shew who - were the most distinguished and worthy of the Sioux; and their women - had never taken scalps, nor did anything<span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">227</span> better than make fires and - dress skins. I was quite awkward in this dilemma, in explaining to - them that I wanted the portraits of the women to hang <em>under</em> - those of their husbands, merely to shew how their women <em>looked</em>, - and how they <em>dressed</em>, without saying any more of them. After - some considerable delay of my operations, and much deliberation on - the subject, through the village, I succeeded in getting a number of - women’s portraits, of which the two above introduced are a couple.</p> - - <p>The vanity of these men, after they had agreed to be painted was beyond - all description, and far surpassing that which is oftentimes immodest - enough in civilized society, where the sitter generally leaves the - picture, when it is done to speak for, and to take care of, itself; - while an Indian often lays down, from morning till night, in front of - his portrait, admiring his own beautiful face, and faithfully guarding - it from day to day, to save it from accident or harm.</p> - - <p>This <em>watching</em> or <em>guarding</em> their portraits, I have - observed during all of my travels amongst them as a very curious thing; - and in many instances, where my colours were not dry, and subjected - to so many accidents, from the crowds who were gathering about them, - I have found this peculiar guardianship of essential service to - me—relieving my mind oftentimes from a great deal of anxiety.</p> - - <p>I was for a long time at a loss for the true cause of so singular - a peculiarity, but at last learned that it was owing to their - superstitious notion, that there may be life to a certain extent in the - picture; and that if harm or violence be done to it, it may in some - mysterious way, affect their health or do them other injury.</p> - - <p>After I had been several weeks busily at work with my brush in this - village, and pretty well used to the modes of life in these regions—and - also familiarly acquainted with all the officers and clerks of the - Establishment, it was announced one day, that the steamer which we had - left, was coming in the river below, where all eyes were anxiously - turned, and all ears were listening; when, at length, we discovered the - puffing of her steam; and, at last, heard the thundering of her cannon, - which were firing from her deck.</p> - - <p>The excitement and dismay caused amongst 6000 of these wild people, - when the steamer came up in front of their village, was amusing in the - extreme. The steamer was moored at the shore, however; and when Mr. - Chouteau and Major Sanford, their old friend and agent, walked ashore, - it seemed to restore their confidence and courage; and the whole - village gathered in front of the boat, without showing much further - amazement, or even curiosity about it.</p> - - <p>The steamer rested a week or two at this place before she started on - her voyage for the head-waters of the Missouri; during which time, - there was much hilarity and mirth indulged in amongst the Indians, as - well as with the hands employed in the service of the Fur Company. The - appearance of a steamer in this wild country was deemed a wonderful - occurrence, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">228</span> the time of her presence here, looked upon, and used - as a holiday. Some sharp encounters amongst the trappers, who come - in here from the mountains, loaded with packs of furs, with sinews - hardened by long exposure, and seemingly impatient for a <em>fight</em>, - which is soon given them by some bullying fisticuff-fellow, who steps - forward and settles the matter in a ring, which is made and strictly - preserved for <em>fair play</em>, until hard raps, and bloody noses, and - blind eyes “<em>settle the hash</em>,” and satisfy his trappership to lay - in bed a week or two, and then graduate, a sober and a civil man.</p> - - <p>Amongst the Indians we have had numerous sights and - amusements to entertain and some to shock us. Shows of - dances—ball-plays—horse-racing—foot-racing, and wrestling in abundance. - Feasting—fasting, and prayers we have also had; and penance and - tortures, and almost every thing short of self-immolation.</p> - - <p>Some few days after the steamer had arrived, it was announced that - a grand feast was to be given to the <em>great white chiefs</em>, who - were visitors amongst them; and preparations were made accordingly - for it. The two chiefs, Ha-wan-je-tah and Tchan-dee, of whom I have - before spoken, brought their two tents together, forming the two into a - semi-circle (<a href="#i_096"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 96</a>), enclosing a space sufficiently large - to accommodate 150 men; and sat down with that number of the principal - chiefs and warriors of the Sioux nation; with Mr. Chouteau, Major - Sanford, the Indian agent, Mr. M‘Kenzie, and myself, whom they had - invited in due time, and placed on elevated seats in the centre of the - crescent; while the rest of the company all sat upon the ground, and - mostly cross-legged, preparatory to the feast being dealt out.</p> - - <p>In the centre of the semi-circle was erected a flag-staff, on which - was waving a white flag, and to which also was tied the calumet, both - expressive of their friendly feelings towards us. Near the foot of the - flag-staff were placed in a row on the ground, six or eight kettles, - with iron covers on them, shutting them tight, in which were prepared - the viands for our <em>voluptuous</em> feast. Near the kettles, and on - the ground also, bottomside upwards, were a number of wooden bowls, in - which the meat was to be served out. And in front, two or three men, - who were there placed as waiters, to light the pipes for smoking, and - also to deal out the food.</p> - - <p>In these positions things stood, and all sat, with thousands climbing - and crowding around, for a peep at the grand pageant; when at length, - Ha-wan-je-tah (the one horn), head chief of the nation, rose in front - of the Indian agent, in a very handsome costume, and addressed him - thus:—“My father, I am glad to see you here to-day—my heart is always - glad to see my father when he comes—our Great Father, who sends him - here is very rich, and we are poor. Our friend Mr. M‘Kenzie, who - is here, we are also glad to see; we know him well, and we shall - be sorry when he is gone. Our friend who is on your right-hand we - all know is very rich; and we<span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">229</span> have heard that he owns the great - <em>medicine-canoe</em>; he is a good man, and a friend to the red men. - Our friend the <em>White Medicine</em>, who sits with you, we did not - know—he came amongst us a stranger, and he has made me very well—all - the women know it, and think it very good; he has done many curious - things, and we have all been pleased with him—he has made us much - amusement—and we know he is great medicine.</p> - - <figure class="illowp75 mt2" id="i_098"> - <div class="plate"><i>64</i></div> - <img src="images/i_098.jpg" alt="Pipes"> - <figcaption>98</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>“My father, I hope you will have pity on us, we are very poor—we offer - you to-day, not the best that we have got; for we have a plenty of good - buffalo hump and marrow—but we give you our hearts in this feast—we - have killed our faithful dogs to feed you—and the Great Spirit will - seal our friendship. I have no more to say.”</p> - - <p>After these words he took off his beautiful war-eagle head-dress—his - shirt and leggings—his necklace of grizzly bears’ claws and his - moccasins; and tying them together, laid them gracefully down at the - feet of the agent as a present; and laying a handsome pipe on top of - them, he walked around into an adjoining lodge, where he got a buffalo - robe to cover his shoulders, and returned to the feast, taking his seat - which he had before occupied.</p> - - <p>Major Sanford then rose and made a short speech in reply, thanking - him for the valuable present which he had made him, and for the very - polite and impressive manner in which it had been done; and sent to the - steamer for a quantity of tobacco and other presents, which were given - to him in return. After this, and after several others of the chiefs - had addressed him in a similar manner; and, like the first, disrobed - themselves, and thrown their beautiful costumes at his feet, one of the - three men in front deliberately lit a handsome pipe, and brought it to - Ha-wan-je-tah to smoke. He took it, and after presenting the stem to - the North—to the South—to the East, and the West—and then to the Sun - that was over his head, and pronounced the words “How—how—how!” drew - a whiff or two of smoke through it, and holding the bowl of it in one - hand, and its stem in the other, he then held it to each of our mouths, - as we successively smoked it; after which it was passed around through - the whole group, who all smoked through it, or as far as its contents - lasted, when another of the three waiters was ready with a second, and - at length a third one, in the same way, which lasted through the hands - of the whole number of guests. This smoking was conducted with the - strictest adherence to exact and established form, and the feast the - whole way, to the most positive silence. After the pipe is charged, and - is being lit, until the time that the chief has drawn the smoke through - it, it is considered an evil omen for any one to speak; and if any one - break silence in that time, even in a whisper, the pipe is instantly - dropped by the chief, and their superstition is such, that they would - not dare to use it on this occasion; but another one is called for - and used in its stead. If there is no accident of the kind during the - smoking, the waiters then proceed to distribute the meat, which is soon - devoured in the feast.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">230</span></p> - - <p>In his case the lids were raised from the kettles, which were all - filled with dogs’ meat alone. It being well-cooked, and made into a - sort of a stew, sent forth a very savoury and pleasing smell, promising - to be an acceptable and palatable food. Each of us civilized guests had - a large wooden bowl placed before us, with a huge quantity of dogs’ - flesh floating in a profusion of soup, or rich gravy, with a large - spoon resting in the dish, made of the buffalo’s horn. In this most - difficult and painful dilemma we sat; all of us knowing the solemnity - and good feeling in which it was given, and the absolute necessity of - falling to, and devouring a little of it. We all tasted it a few times, - and resigned our dishes, which were quite willingly taken, and passed - around with others, to every part of the group, who all ate heartily of - the <em>delicious viands</em>, which were soon dipped out of the kettles, - and entirely devoured; after which each one arose as he felt disposed, - and walked off without uttering a word. In this way the feast ended, - and all retired silently, and gradually, until the ground was left - vacant to the charge of the waiters or officers, who seemed to have - charge of it during the whole occasion.</p> - - <p>This feast was unquestionably given to us, as the most undoubted - evidence they could give us of their friendship; and we, who knew - the spirit and feeling in which it was given, could not but treat it - respectfully, and receive it as a very high and marked compliment.</p> - - <p>Since I witnessed it on this occasion, I have been honoured with - numerous entertainments of the kind amongst the other tribes, which I - have visited towards the sources of the Missouri, and all conducted in - the same solemn and impressive manner; from which I feel authorized - to pronounce the <em>dog-feast</em> a truly religious ceremony, wherein - the poor Indian sees fit to sacrifice his faithful companion to bear - testimony to the sacredness of his vows of friendship, and invite his - friend to partake of its flesh, to remind him forcibly of the reality - of the sacrifice, and the solemnity of his professions.</p> - - <p>The dog, amongst all Indian tribes, is more esteemed and more valued - than amongst any part of the civilized world; the Indian who has more - time to devote to his company, and whose untutored mind more nearly - assimilates to that of his faithful servant, keeps him closer company, - and draws him nearer to his heart; they hunt together, and are equal - sharers in the chase—their bed is one; and on the rocks, and on their - coats of arms they carve his image as the symbol of fidelity. Yet, with - all of these he will end his affection with this faithful follower, and - with tears in his eyes, offer him as a sacrifice to seal the pledge he - has made to man; because a feast of venison, or of buffalo meat, is - what is due to every one who enters an Indian’s wigwam; and of course, - conveys but a passive or neutral evidence, that generally goes for - nothing.</p> - - <p>I have sat at many of these feasts, and never could but appreciate - the moral and solemnity of them. I have seen the master take from the - bowl the head of his victim, and descant on its former affection and - fidelity with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">231</span> tears in his eyes. And I have seen guests at the same - time by the side of me, jesting and sneering at the poor Indian’s folly - and stupidity; and I have said in my heart, that they never deserved a - name so good or so honourable as that of the poor animal whose bones - they were picking.</p> - - <p>At the feast which I have been above describing, each of us tasted a - little of the meat, and passed the dishes on to the Indians, who soon - demolished everything they contained. We all agreed that the meat was - well cooked, and seemed to be a well-flavoured and palatable food; and - no doubt, could have been eaten with a good relish, if we had been - hungry, and ignorant of the nature of the food we were eating.</p> - - <p>The flesh of these dogs, though apparently relished by the Indians, - is, undoubtedly, inferior to the venison and buffalo’s meat, of which - feasts are constantly made where friends are invited, as they are in - civilized society, to a pleasant and convivial party; from which fact - alone, it would seem clear, that they have some extraordinary motive, - at all events, for feasting on the flesh of that useful and faithful - animal; even when, as in the instance I have been describing, their - village is well supplied with fresh and dried meat of the buffalo. The - dog-feast is given, I believe, by all tribes in North America; and - by them all, I think, this faithful animal, as well as the horse, is - sacrificed in several different ways, to appease offended Spirits or - Deities, whom it is considered necessary that they should conciliate in - this way; and when done, is invariably done by giving the best in the - herd or the kennel.</p> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">232</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_29">LETTER—<abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 29.</h2> - </div> - <div class="subheadc">MOUTH OF TETON RIVER, <i>UPPER MISSOURI</i>.</div> - - <p><span class="smcap">Another</span> curious and disgusting scene I witnessed in the after part of - the day on which we were honoured with the dog feast. In this I took no - part, but was sufficiently near to it, when standing some rods off, and - witnessing the cruel operation. I was called upon by one of the clerks - in the Establishment to ride up a mile or so, near the banks of the - Teton River, in a little plain at the base of the bluffs, where were - grouped some fifteen or twenty lodges of the Ting-ta-to-ah band, to see - a man (as they said) “<em>looking at the sun</em>!” We found him naked, - except his breech-cloth, with splints or skewers run through the flesh - on both breasts, leaning back and hanging with the weight of his body - to the top of a pole which was fastened in the ground, and to the upper - end of which he was fastened by a cord which was tied to the splints. - In this position he was leaning back, with nearly the whole weight - of his body hanging to the pole, the top of which was bent forward, - allowing his body to sink about half-way to the ground (<a href="#i_097"><span class="smcap">plate</span> - 97</a>). His feet were still upon the ground, supporting a small part - of his weight; and he held in his left hand his favourite bow, and in - his right, with a desperate grip, his medicine-bag. In this condition, - with the blood trickling down over his body, which was covered with - white and yellow clay, and amidst a great crowd who were looking on, - sympathizing with and encouraging him, he was hanging and “looking at - the sun,” without paying the least attention to any one about him. - In the group that was reclining around him, were several mystery-men - beating their drums and shaking their rattles, and singing as loud as - they could yell, to encourage him and strengthen his heart to stand - and look at the sun, from its rising in the morning ’till its setting - at night; at which time, if his heart and his strength have not failed - him, he is “cut down,” receives the liberal donation of presents (which - have been thrown into a pile before him during the day), and also the - name and the style of a doctor, or <em>medicine-man</em>, which lasts - him, and ensures him respect, through life.</p> - - <p>This most extraordinary and cruel custom I never heard of amongst any - other tribe, and never saw an instance of it before or after the one I - have just named. It is a sort of worship, or penance, of great cruelty; - disgusting and painful to behold, with only one palliating circumstance - about it, which is, that it is a voluntary torture and of very rare - occurrence. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_233">233</span> poor and ignorant, misguided and superstitious man who - undertakes it, puts his everlasting reputation at stake upon the issue; - for when he takes his stand, he expects to face the sun and gradually - turn his body in listless silence, till he sees it go down at night; - and if he faints and falls, of which there is imminent danger, he loses - his reputation as a brave or mystery-man, and suffers a signal disgrace - in the estimation of the tribe, like all men who have the presumption - to set themselves up for braves or mystery-men, and fail justly to - sustain the character.</p> - - <p>The Sioux seem to have many modes of worshipping the Great or Good - Spirit, and also of conciliating the Evil Spirit: they have numerous - fasts and feasts, and many modes of sacrificing, but yet they seem - to pay less strict attention to them than the Mandans do, which may - perhaps be owing in a great measure to the wandering and predatory - modes of life which they pursue, rendering it difficult to adhere so - rigidly to the strict form and letter of their customs.</p> - - <p>There had been, a few days before I arrived at this place, a great - medicine operation held on the prairie, a mile or so back of the - Fort, and which, of course, I was not lucky enough to see. The poles - were still standing, and the whole transaction was described to me by - my friend Mr. Halsey, one of the clerks in the Establishment. From - the account given of it, it seems to bear some slight resemblance to - that of the <em>Mandan religious ceremony</em>, but no nearer to it - than a feeble effort by so ignorant and superstitious a people, to - copy a custom which they most probably have had no opportunity to see - themselves, but have endeavoured to imitate from hearsay. They had an - awning of immense size erected on the prairie which is yet standing, - made of willow bushes supported by posts, with poles and willow boughs - laid over; under the centre of which there was a pole set firmly in the - ground, from which many of the young men had suspended their bodies by - splints run through the flesh in different parts, the numerous scars of - which were yet seen bleeding afresh from day to day, amongst the crowds - that were about me.</p> - - <p>During my stay amongst the Sioux, as I was considered by them to be - great <em>medicine</em>, I received many pipes and other little things - from them as presents, given to me in token of respect for me, and - as assurances of their friendship; and I, being desirous to collect - and bring from their country every variety of their manufactures, of - their costumes, their weapons, their pipes, and their mystery-things, - purchased a great many others, for which, as I was “medicine” - and a “great white chief!” I was necessarily obliged to pay very - <em>liberal</em> prices.</p> - - <p>Of the various costumes (of this, as well as of other tribes), that I - have collected, there will be seen fair and faithful representations in - the numerous portraits; and of their war-clubs, pipes, &c. I have set - forth in the following illustrations, a few of the most interesting of - the very great numbers of those things which I have collected in this - and other tribes which I have visited.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_234">234</span></p> - - <p>The luxury of smoking is known to all the North American Indians, - in their primitive state, and that before they have any knowledge - of tobacco; which is only introduced amongst them by civilized - adventurers, who teach them the use and luxury of whiskey at the same - time.</p> - - <p>In their native state they are excessive smokers, and many of them (I - would almost venture the assertion), would seem to be smoking one-half - of their lives. There may be two good reasons for this, the first - of which is, that the idle and leisure life that the Indian leads, - (who has no trade or business to follow—no office hours to attend - to, or profession to learn), induces him to look for occupation and - amusement in so innocent a luxury, which again further tempts him - to its excessive use, from its feeble and harmless effects on the - system. There are many weeds and leaves, and barks of trees, which are - narcotics, and of spontaneous growth in their countries, which the - Indians dry and pulverize, and carry in pouches and smoke to great - excess—and which in several of the languages, when thus prepared, is - called <i lang="mhq">k’nick k’neck</i>.</p> - - <p>As smoking is a luxury so highly valued by the Indians, they have - bestowed much pains, and not a little ingenuity, to the construction - of their pipes. Of these I have procured a collection of several - hundreds, and in <a href="#i_098"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 98</a>, have given fac-simile outlines of - a number of the most curious. The bowls of these are generally made of - the red steatite, or “pipe-stone” (as it is more familiarly called in - this country), and many of them designed and carved with much taste - and skill, with figures and groups in <i>alto relievo</i>, standing or - reclining upon them.</p> - - <p>The red stone of which these pipe bowls are made, is, in my estimation, - a great curiosity; inasmuch as I am sure it is a variety of steatite - (if it be steatite), differing from that of any known European - locality, and also from any locality known in America, other than the - one from which all these pipes come; and which are all traceable I have - found to one source; and that source as yet unvisited except by the - red man who describes it, everywhere, as a place of vast importance to - the Indians—as given to them by the Great Spirit, for their pipes, and - strictly forbidden to be used for anything else.</p> - - <p>The source from whence all these pipes come, is, undoubtedly, somewhere - between this place and the Mississippi River; and as the Indians all - speak of it as a great <em>medicine</em>-place, I shall certainly lay my - course to it, ere long, and be able to give the world some account of - it and its mysteries.</p> - - <p>The Indians shape out the bowls of these pipes from the solid stone, - which is not quite as hard as marble, with nothing but a knife. The - stone which is of a cherry red, admits of a beautiful polish, and the - Indian makes the hole in the bowl of the pipe, by drilling into it a - hard stick, shaped to the desired size, with a quantity of sharp sand - and water kept constantly in the hole, subjecting him therefore to a - very great labour and the necessity of much patience.</p> - - <figure class="illowp75 mt2" id="i_099"> - <div class="plate"><i>65</i></div> - <img src="images/i_099.jpg" alt="Weapons "> - <figcaption>99</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">235</span></p> - - <p>The shafts or stems of these pipes, as will be seen in <a href="#i_098"><span class="smcap">plate</span> - 98</a>, are from two to four feet long, sometimes round, but most - generally flat; of an inch or two in breadth, and wound half their - length or more with braids of porcupines’ quills; and often ornamented - with the beaks and tufts from the wood-pecker’s head, with ermine skins - and long red hair, dyed from white horse hair or the white buffalo’s - tail.</p> - - <p>The stems of these pipes will be found to be carved in many ingenious - forms, and in all cases they are perforated through the centre, quite - staggering the wits of the enlightened world to <em>guess how</em> the - holes have been <em>bored</em> through them; until it is simply and - briefly explained, that the stems are uniformly made of the stalk of - the young ash, which generally grows straight, and has a small pith - through the centre, which is easily burned out with a hot wire or a - piece of hard wood, by a much slower process.</p> - - <p>In <a href="#i_098"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 98</a>, the pipes marked <i>b</i> are ordinary - pipes, made and used for the <em>luxury</em> only of smoking; and - for this purpose, every Indian designs and constructs his own - pipe. The <em>calumet</em>, or pipe of peace (<a href="#i_098"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 98</a> - <i>a</i>), ornamented with the war-eagle’s quills, is a sacred - pipe, and never allowed to be used on any other occasion than that - of <em>peace-making</em>; when the chief brings it into treaty, and - unfolding the many bandages which are carefully kept around it—has - it ready to be mutually smoked by the chiefs, after the terms of - the treaty are agreed upon, as the means of <em>solemnizing</em> or - <em>signing</em>, by an illiterate people, who cannot draw up an - instrument, and sign their names to it, as it is done in the civilized - world.</p> - - <p>The mode of solemnizing is by passing the sacred stem to each chief, - who draws one breath of smoke only through it, thereby passing the most - inviolable pledge that they can possibly give, for the keeping of the - peace. This sacred pipe is then carefully folded up, and stowed away in - the chief’s lodge, until a similar occasion calls it out to be used in - a similar manner.</p> - - <p>There is no custom more uniformly in constant use amongst the poor - Indians than that of smoking, nor any other more highly valued. His - pipe is his constant companion through life—his messenger of peace; - he pledges his friends through its stem and its bowl—and when its - care-drowning fumes cease to flow, it takes a place with him in his - solitary grave, with his tomahawk and war-club, companions to his long - fancied, “mild and beautiful hunting-grounds.”</p> - - <p>The weapons of these people, like their pipes, are numerous, and mostly - manufactured by themselves. In a former place (<a href="#i_018"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 18</a>) I - have described a part of these, such as the bows and arrows, lances, - &c., and they have yet many others, specimens of which I have collected - from every tribe; and a number of which I have grouped together in - <a href="#i_099"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 99</a>; consisting of knives, war-clubs, and tomahawks. I - have here introduced the most general and established forms that are - in use amongst the different tribes, which are all strictly copied - from amongst the great variety of these articles to be found in my - Collection.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_236">236</span></p> - - <p>The scalping-knives <i>a</i> and <i>b</i>, and tomahawks <i>e</i> - <i>e</i> <i>e</i> <i>e</i> are of civilized manufacture, made expressly - for Indian use, and carried into the Indian country by thousands - and tens of thousands, and sold at an enormous price. The scabbards - of the knives and handles for the tomahawks, the Indians construct - themselves, according to their own taste, and oftentimes ornament them - very handsomely. In his rude and unapproached condition, the Indian - is a stranger to such weapons as these—he works not in the metals; - and his untutored mind has not been ingenious enough to design or - execute anything so <em>savage</em> or destructive as these civilized - <em>refinements on Indian barbarity</em>. In his native simplicity - he shapes out his rude hatchet from a piece of stone, as in letter - <i>f</i>, heads his arrows and spears with flints; and his knife is a - sharpened bone, or the edge of a broken silex. The war-club <i>c</i> is - also another civilized refinement, with a blade of steel, of eight or - ten inches in length, and set in a club, studded around and ornamented - with some hundreds of brass nails.</p> - - <p>Their primitive clubs <i>d</i> are curiously carved in wood, and - fashioned out with some considerable picturesque form and grace; are - admirably fitted to the hand, and calculated to deal a deadly blow with - the spike of iron or bone which is imbedded in the ball or bulb at the - end.</p> - - <p>Two of the tomahawks that I have named, marked <i>e</i>, are what - are denominated “pipe-tomahawks,” as the heads of them are formed - into bowls like a pipe, in which their tobacco is put, and they smoke - through the handle. These are the most valued of an Indian’s weapons, - inasmuch as they are a matter of luxury, and useful for cutting his - fire-wood, &c. in time of peace; and deadly weapons in time of war, - which they use in the hand, or throw with unerring and deadly aim.</p> - - <p>The scalping-knife <i>b</i> in a beautiful scabbard, which is carried - under the belt, is the form of knife most generally used in all - parts of the Indian country, where knives have been introduced. It - is a common and cheap butcher knife with one edge, manufactured at - Sheffield, in England, perhaps, for sixpence; and sold to the poor - Indian in these wild regions for a horse. If I should live to get - home, and should ever cross the Atlantic with my Collection, a curious - enigma would be solved for the English people, who may enquire for a - scalping-knife, when they find that every one in my Collection (and - hear also, that nearly every one that is to be seen in the Indian - country, to the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean) bears on its - blade the impress of G.R., which they will doubtless understand.</p> - - <p>The huge two-edged knife, with its scabbard of a part of the skin of a - grizzly bear’s head, letter <i>a</i>, is one belonging to the famous - chief of the Mandans, of whom I have before said much. The manufacture - of this knife is undoubtedly American; and its shape differs altogether - from those which are in general use.<a id="FNanchor_12" href="#Footnote_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a></p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>66</i></div> - <figure id="i_100"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_100.jpg" alt="the dance of the chiefs"> - <figcaption>100</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_237">237</span></p> - - <p>The above weapons, as well as the bow and lance, of which I have before - spoken, are all carried and used on horseback with great effect. The - Indians in this country of green fields, all <em>ride</em> for their - enemies, and also for their game, which is almost invariably killed - whilst their horses are at full-speed. They are all cruel masters - for their horses; and in war or the chase goad them on with a heavy - and cruel whip (<a href="#i_099"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 99</a> <i>g</i>), the handle of which is - generally made of a large prong of the elk’s horn or of wood, and the - lashes of rawhide are very heavy; being braided, or twisted, or cut - into wide straps. These are invariably attached to the wrist of the - right arm by a tough thong, so that they can be taken up and used at - any moment, and dropped the next, without being lost.</p> - - <p>During the time that I was engaged in painting my portraits, I was - occasionally inducing the young men to give me their dances, a great - variety of which they gave me by being slightly paid; which I was glad - to do, in order to enable me to study their character and expression - thoroughly, which I am sure I have done; and I shall take pleasure in - shewing them to the world when I get back. The dancing is generally - done by the young men, and considered undignified for the chiefs or - doctors to join in. Yet so great was my <em>medicine</em>, that chiefs - and medicine-men turned out and agreed to compliment me with a dance - (<a href="#i_100"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 100</a>). I looked on with great satisfaction; having been - assured by the Interpreters and Traders, that this was the highest - honour they had ever known them to pay to any stranger amongst them.</p> - - <p>In this dance, which I have called “the dance of the chiefs,” for want - of a more significant title, was given by fifteen or twenty chiefs and - doctors; many of whom were very old and venerable men. All of them came - out in their head-dresses of war-eagle quills, with a spear or staff in - the left hand, and a rattle in the right. It was given in the midst of - the Sioux village, in front of the head chief’s lodge; and beside the - medicine-man who beat on the drum, and sang for the dance, there were - four young women standing in a row, and chanting a sort of chorus for - the dancers; forming one of the very few instances that I ever have - met, where the women are allowed to take any part in the dancing, or - other game or amusement, with the men.</p> - - <p>This dance was a very spirited thing, and pleased me much, as well as - all the village, who were assembled around to witness what most of them - never before had seen, their aged and venerable chiefs united in giving - a dance.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">238</span></p> - - <p>As I have introduced the <em>scalping-knife</em> above, it may be well - for me to give some further account in this place of the custom and the - mode of taking the scalp; a custom practiced by all the North American - Indians, which is done when an enemy is killed in battle, by grasping - the left hand into the hair on the crown of the head, and passing the - knife around it through the skin, tearing off a piece of the skin with - the hair, as large as the palm of the hand, or larger, which is dried, - and often curiously ornamented and preserved, and highly valued as a - trophy. The scalping is an operation not calculated of itself to take - life, as it only removes the skin, without injuring the bone of the - head; and necessarily, to be a genuine scalp, must contain and show the - crown or centre of the head; that part of the skin which lies directly - over what the phrenologists call “self-esteem,” where the hair divides - and radiates from the centre; of which they all profess to be strict - judges, and able to decide whether an effort has been made to produce - two or more scalps from one head. Besides taking the scalp, the victor - generally, if he has time to do it without endangering his own scalp, - cuts off and brings home the rest of the hair, which his wife will - divide into a great many small locks, and with them fringe off the - seams of his shirt and his leggings, as will have been seen in many of - the illustrations; which also are worn as trophies and ornaments to the - dress, and then are familiarly called “<em>scalp-locks</em>.” Of these - there are many dresses in my Collection, which exhibit a continuous row - from the top of each shoulder, down the arms to the wrists, and down - the seams of the leggings, from the hips to the feet, rendering them - a very costly article to buy from the Indian who is not sure that his - success in his military exploits will ever enable him to replace them.</p> - - <p>The scalp, then, is a patch of the skin taken from the head of an enemy - killed in battle, and preserved and highly appreciated as the record of - a death produced by the hand of the individual who possesses it; and - may oftentimes during his life, be of great service to a man living - in a community where there is no historian to enrol the names of the - famous—to record the heroic deeds of the brave, who have gained their - laurels in mortal combat with their enemies; where it is as lawful - and as glorious to slay an enemy in battle, as it is in Christian - communities, and where the poor Indian is bound to keep the record - himself, or be liable to lose it and the honour, for no one in the - tribe will keep it for him. As the scalp is taken then as the evidence - of a death, it will easily be seen, that the Indian has no business or - inclination to take it from the head of the living; which I venture to - say is never done in North America, unless it be, as it sometimes has - happened, where a man falls in the heat of battle, stunned with the - blow of a weapon or a gunshot, and the Indian, rushing over his body, - snatches off his scalp, supposing him dead, who afterwards rises from - the field of battle, and easily recovers from this superficial wound - of the knife, wearing a bald spot on his head during the remainder - of his life, of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_239">239</span> which we have frequent occurrences on our Western - frontiers. The scalp must be from the head of <em>an enemy</em> also, or - it subjects its possessor to disgrace and infamy who carries it. There - may be many instances where an Indian is justified in the estimation - of his tribe in taking the life of one of his own people; and their - laws are such, as oftentimes make it his imperative duty; and yet no - circumstances, however aggravating, will justify him or release him - from the disgrace of taking the scalp.</p> - - <figure class="illowp75 mt2" id="i_101"> - <div class="plate"><i>67</i></div> - <img src="images/i_101.jpg" alt="Scalping"> - <figcaption>101</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>There is no custom practised by the Indians, for which they are - more universally condemned, than that of taking the scalp; and, at - the same time, I think there is some excuse for them, inasmuch as - it is a general custom of the country, and founded, like many other - apparently absurd and ridiculous customs of these people, in one of - the necessities of Indian life, which necessities we are free from in - the civilized world, and which customs, of course, we need not and do - not practice. From an ancient custom, “time out of mind,” the warriors - of these tribes have been in the habit of going to war, expecting to - take the scalps of their enemies whom they may slay in battle, and all - eyes of the tribe are upon them, making it their duty to do it; so from - custom it is every man’s right, and his duty also, to continue and keep - up a regulation of his society, which it is not in his power as an - individual, to abolish or correct, if he saw fit to do it.</p> - - <p>One of the principal denunciations against the custom of taking the - scalp, is on account of its alleged <em>cruelty</em>, which it certainly - has not; as the cruelty would be in the <em>killing</em>, and not in the - act of cutting the skin from a man’s head after he is dead. To say the - most of it, it is a disgusting custom, and I wish I could be quite sure - that the civilized and Christian world (who kill hundreds, to where the - poor Indians kill one), do not often treat their <em>enemies dead</em>, - in equally as indecent and disgusting a manner, as the Indian does by - taking the scalp.</p> - - <p>If the reader thinks that I am taking too much pains to defend the - Indians for this, and others of their seemingly abominable customs, - he will bear it in mind, that I have lived with these people, until I - have learned the necessities of Indian life in which these customs are - founded; and also, that I have met with so many acts of kindness and - hospitality at the hands of the poor Indian, that I feel bound, when I - can do it, to render what excuse I can for a people, who are dying with - broken hearts, and never can speak in the civilized world in their own - defence.</p> - - <p>And even yet, reader, if your education, and your reading of Indian - cruelties and Indian barbarities—of scalps, and scalping-knives, and - scalping, should have ossified a corner of your heart against these - unfortunate people, and would shut out their advocate, I will annoy - you no longer on this subject, but withdraw, and leave you to cherish - the very beautiful, humane and parental moral that was carried out by - the United States and British Governments during the last, and the - revolutionary wars, when they mutually employed thousands of their - “<em>Red children</em>,” to aid and to bleed, in fighting<span class="pagenum" id="Page_240">240</span> their battles, - and paid them, according to contract, so many pounds, shillings and - pence or so many dollars and cents for every “<em>scalp</em>” of a “red” - or a “blue coat” they could bring in!</p> - - <p>In <a href="#i_101"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 101</a>, there will be seen the principal modes in which - the scalps are prepared, and several of the uses to which they are - put. The most usual way of preparing and dressing the scalp is that - of stretching it on a little hoop at the end of a stick two or three - feet long (letter <i>a</i>), for the purpose of “dancing it,” as they - term it; which will be described in the <em>scalp-dance</em>, in a few - moments. There are many again, which are small, and not “dressed;” - sometimes not larger than a crown piece (letter <i>c</i>), and hung to - different parts of the dress. In public shows and parades, they are - often suspended from the bridle bits or halter when they are paraded - and carried as trophies (letter <i>b</i>). Sometimes they are cut out, - as it were into a string, the hair forming a beautiful fringe to line - the handle of a war-club (letter <i>e</i>). Sometimes they are hung at - the <em>end</em> of a club (<em>letter d</em>), and at other times, by the - order of the chief, are hung out, over the wigwams, suspended from a - pole, which is called the “<em>scalp-pole</em>.” This is often done by - the chief of a village, in a pleasant day, by his erecting over his - wigwam a pole with all the scalps that he had taken, arranged upon it - (letter <i>f</i>); at the sight of which all the chiefs and warriors of - the tribe, who had taken scalps, “follow suit;” enabling every member - of the community to stroll about the village on that day and “count - scalps,” learning thereby the standing of every warrior, which is - decided in a great degree by the number of scalps they have taken in - battles with their enemies. Letters <i>g</i>, <i>g</i>, shew the usual - manner of taking the scalp, and (letter <i>h</i>), exhibits the head of - a man who had been scalped and recovered from the wound.</p> - - <p>So much for scalps and scalping, of which I shall yet say more, unless - I should unluckily <em>lose one</em> before I get out of the country.</p> - - <figure class="illowp75 mt2" id="i_101a"> - <div class="plate"><i>68</i></div> - <img src="images/i_101a.jpg" alt="Manufactured items"> - <figcaption>101½</figcaption> - </figure> - - <div class="footnotes"> - <div class="footnote"> - <a id="Footnote_12" href="#FNanchor_12" class="label">[12]</a> This celebrated knife is now in my <span class="smcap">Indian - Museum</span>, and there is no doubt, from its authentic history, that - it has been several times plunged to the hearts of his enemies by the - hand of Mah-to-toh-pa, who wielded it. Several years after I left that - country, and one year after the destruction of the Mandans, I received - the following letter from Mr. M‘Kenzie, accompanying the knife and - other things sent to me by him from that country: <span class="smcap">Extract</span>—“The - poor Mandans are gone, and amongst them your old friend, Mah-to-toh-pa. - I have been able to send you but a very few things, as the Riccarees - immediately took possession of everything they had. Amongst the - articles I have been able to procure, I send you the war-knife of - Mah-to-toh-pa, which is now looked upon as the greatest <em>medicine</em> - in this country; and as you will recollect it, it will be highly - appreciated by you.” - </div> - </div> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_241">241</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_30">LETTER—<abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 30.</h2> - </div> - <div class="subheadc">MOUTH OF TETON RIVER, <i>UPPER MISSOURI</i>.</div> - - <p><span class="smcap">In</span> the last letter I gave an account of many of the weapons and other - manufactures of these wild folks; and as this has been a day of - <em>packing</em> and <em>casing</em> a great many of these things, which - I have obtained of the Indians, to add to my <i lang="fr">Musée Indienne</i>, - I will name a few more, which I have just been handling over; some - description of which may be necessary for the reader in endeavouring - to appreciate some of their strange customs and amusements, which I am - soon to unfold. In <a href="#i_101a"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 101½</a>, letters <i>a</i> and <i>b</i>, - will be seen the <em>quiver</em> made of the fawn’s skin, and the Sioux - <em>shield</em> made of the skin of the buffalo’s neck, hardened with - the glue extracted from the hoofs and joints of the same animal. The - process of “<em>smoking the shield</em>” is a very curious, as well as - an important one, in their estimation. For this purpose a young man - about to construct him a shield, digs a hole of two feet in depth, in - the ground, and as large in diameter as he designs to make his shield. - In this he builds a fire, and over it, a few inches higher than the - ground, he stretches the raw hide horizontally over the fire, with - little pegs driven through holes made near the edges of the skin. This - skin is at first, twice as large as the size of the required shield; - but having got his particular and best friends (who are invited on - the occasion,) into a ring, to dance and sing around it, and solicit - the Great Spirit to instil into it the power to protect him harmless - against his enemies, he spreads over it the glue, which is rubbed and - dried in, as the skin is heated; and a second busily drives other and - other pegs, inside of those in the ground, as they are gradually giving - way and being pulled up by the contraction of the skin. By this curious - process, which is most dexterously done, the skin is kept tight whilst - it contracts to one-half of its size, taking up the glue and increasing - in thickness until it is rendered as thick and hard as required (and - his friends have pleaded long enough to make it arrow, and almost ball - proof), when the dance ceases, and the fire is put out. When it is - cooled and cut into the shape that he desires, it is often painted with - his <em>medicine</em> or <em>totem</em> upon it, the figure of an eagle, - an owl, a buffalo or other animal, as the case may be, which he trusts - will guard and protect him from harm; it is then fringed with eagles’ - quills, or other ornaments he may have chosen, and <em>slung</em> with a - broad leather strap that crosses his breast. These shields are carried - by all the warriors in these regions, for their protection in battles, - which are almost invariably fought from their horses’ backs.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_242">242</span></p> - - <p>Of <em>pipes</em>, and the custom of smoking, I have already spoken; and - I then said, that the Indians use several substitutes for tobacco, - which they call <i>K’nick K’neck</i>. For the carrying of this - delicious weed or bark, and preserving its flavour, the women construct - very curious pouches of otter, or beaver, or other skins (letters - <i>c</i>, <i>c</i>, <i>c</i>,), which are ingeniously ornamented with - porcupine quills and beads, and generally carried hanging across the - left arm, containing a quantity of the precious <em>narcotic</em>, with - flint and steel, and spunk, for lighting the pipe.</p> - - <p>The <em>musical instruments</em> used amongst these people are few, and - exceedingly rude and imperfect, consisting chiefly of rattles, drums, - whistles, and lutes, all of which are used in the different tribes.</p> - - <p>In <a href="#i_101a"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 101½</a> (letters <i>d</i>, <i>d</i>,) will be seen - the <em>rattles</em> (or She-she-quois) most generally used, made of - rawhide, which becomes very hard when dry, and charged with pebbles - or something of the kind, which produce a shrill noise to mark the - time in their dances and songs. Their <em>drums</em> (letters <i>e</i>, - <i>e</i>,) are made in a very rude manner, oftentimes with a mere - piece of rawhide stretched over a hoop, very much in the shape of a - tambourin; and at other times are made in the form of a keg, with a - head of rawhide at each end; on these they beat with a drum-stick, - which oftentimes itself is a rattle, the bulb or head of it being made - of rawhide and filled with pebbles. In other instances the stick has, - at its end, a little hoop wound and covered with buckskin, to soften - the sound; with which they beat on the drum with great violence, as - the chief and <em>heel-inspiring</em> sound for all their dances, and - also as an accompaniment for their numerous and never-ending songs of - amusement, of thanksgiving, and <em>medicine</em> or <em>metai</em>. The - <em>mystery whistle</em>, (letter <i>f</i>,) is another instrument of - their invention, and very ingeniously made, the sound being produced - on a principle entirely different from that of any wind instrument - known in civilized inventions; and the notes produced on it, by the - sleight or trick of an Indian boy, in so simple and successful a - manner, as to baffle entirely all civilized ingenuity, even when it - is seen to be played. An Indian boy would stand and blow his notes on - this repeatedly, for hundreds of white men who might be lookers-on, not - one of whom could make the least noise on it, even by practising with - it for hours. When I first saw this curious exhibition, I was charmed - with the peculiar sweetness of its harmonic sounds, and completely - perplexed, (as hundreds of white men have no doubt been before me, to - the great amusement and satisfaction of the women and children,) as to - the mode in which the sound was produced, even though it was repeatedly - played immediately before my eyes, and handed to me for my vain and - amusing endeavours. The sounds of this little simple toy are liquid and - sweet beyond description; and, though here only given in harmonics, - I am inclined to think, might, by some ingenious musician or musical - instrument-maker, be modulated and converted into something very - pleasing.</p> - - <p>The <em>War-whistle</em> (letter <i>h</i>,) is a well known and valued - little instrument,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_243">243</span> of six or nine inches in length, invariably made - of the bone of the deer or turkey’s leg, and generally ornamented with - porcupine quills of different colours which are wound around it. A - chief or leader carries this to battle with him, suspended generally - from his neck, and worn under his dress. This little instrument has - but two notes, which are produced by blowing in the ends of it. The - note produced in one end, being much more shrill than the other, gives - the signal for battle, whilst the other sounds a retreat; a thing that - is distinctly heard and understood by every man, even in the heat and - noise of battle, where all are barking and yelling as loud as possible, - and of course unable to hear the commands of their leader.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>69</i></div> - <figure id="i_102"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_102.jpg" alt="Bear-dance"> - <figcaption>102</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>There is yet another wind instrument which I have added to my - Collection, and from its appearance would seem to have been borrowed, - in part, from the civilized world (letter <i>g</i>). This is what is - often on the frontier called a “<em>deer-skin flute</em>,” a “Winnebago - courting flute,” a “tsal-eet-quash-to,” &c.; it is perforated with - holes for the fingers, sometimes for six, at others for four, and in - some instances for three only, having only so many notes with their - octaves. These notes are very irregularly graduated, showing clearly - that they have very little taste or ear for melody. These instruments - are blown in the end, and the sound produced much on the principle of a - whistle.</p> - - <p>In the vicinity of the Upper Mississippi, I often and familiarly heard - this instrument, called the Winnebago courting flute; and was credibly - informed by traders and others in those regions, that the young men - of that tribe meet with signal success, oftentimes, in wooing their - sweethearts with its simple notes, which they blow for hours together, - and from day to day, from the bank of some stream—some favourite rock - or log on which they are seated, near to the wigwam which contains the - object of their tender passion; until her soul is touched, and she - responds by some welcome signal, that she is ready to repay the young - <em>Orpheus</em> for his pains, with the gift of her hand and her heart. - How true these representations may have been made, I cannot say, but - there certainly must have been some ground for the present cognomen by - which it is known in that country.</p> - - <p>From these rude and exceedingly defective instruments, it will at once - be seen, that music has made but little progress with these people; and - the same fact will be still more clearly proved, to those who have an - opportunity to hear their vocal exhibitions, which are daily and almost - hourly serenading the ears of the traveller through their country.</p> - - <p>Dancing is one of the principal and most frequent amusements of all - the tribes of Indians in America; and, in all of these, both vocal and - instrumental music are introduced. These dances consist in about four - different steps, which constitute all the different varieties: but the - figures and forms of these scenes are very numerous, and produced by - the most violent jumps and contortions, accompanied with the song and - beats of the drum, which are given in exact time with their motions. - It has been said by some travellers, that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_244">244</span> the Indian has neither - harmony or melody in his music, but I am unwilling to subscribe to such - an assertion; although I grant, that for the most part of their vocal - exercises, there is a total absence of what the musical world would - call melody; their songs being made up chiefly of a sort of violent - chaunt of harsh and jarring gutturals, of yelps and barks, and screams, - which are given out in perfect time, not only with “method (but with - harmony) in their madness.” There are times too, as every traveller - of the Indian country will attest, if he will recall them to his - recollection, when the Indian lays down by his fire-side with his drum - in his hand, which he lightly and almost imperceptibly touches over, as - he accompanies it with his stifled voice of dulcet sounds that might - come from the most tender and delicate female.</p> - - <p>These quiet and tender songs are very different from those which are - sung at their dances, in full chorus and violent gesticulation; and - many of them seem to be quite rich in plaintive expression and melody, - though barren of change and variety.</p> - - <p><em>Dancing</em>, I have before said, is one of the principal and most - valued amusements of the Indians, and much more frequently practised by - them than by any civilized society; inasmuch as it enters into their - forms of worship, and is often their mode of appealing to the Great - Spirit—of paying their usual devotions to their <em>medicine</em>—and of - honouring and entertaining strangers of distinction in their country.</p> - - <p>Instead of the “giddy maze” of the quadrille or the country dance, - enlivened by the cheering smiles and graces of silkened beauty, the - Indian performs his rounds with jumps, and starts, and yells, much to - the satisfaction of his own exclusive self, and infinite amusement - of the gentler sex, who are always lookers on, but seldom allowed so - great a pleasure, or so signal an honour, as that of joining with - their lords in this or any other entertainment. Whilst staying with - these people on my way up the river, I was repeatedly honoured with - the dance, and I as often hired them to give them, or went to overlook - where they were performing them at their own pleasure, in pursuance - of their peculiar customs, or for their own amusement, that I might - study and correctly herald them to future ages. I saw so many of their - different varieties of dances amongst the Sioux, that I should almost - be disposed to denominate them the “<em>dancing Indians</em>.” It would - actually seem as if they had dances for every thing. And in so large a - village, there was scarcely an hour in any day or night, but what the - beat of the drum could somewhere be heard. These dances are almost as - various and different in their character as they are numerous—some of - them so exceedingly grotesque and laughable, as to keep the bystanders - in an irresistible roar of laughter—others are calculated to excite his - pity, and forcibly appeal to his sympathies, whilst others disgust, - and yet others terrify and alarm him with their frightful threats and - contortions.</p> - - <p>All the world have heard of the “<em>bear-dance</em>,” though I doubt - whether more than a very small proportion have ever seen it; here it - is (<a href="#i_102"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 102</a>).<span class="pagenum" id="Page_245">245</span> The Sioux, like all the others of these - western tribes, are fond of bear’s meat, and must have good stores - of the “bear’s-grease” laid in, to oil their long and glossy locks, - as well as the surface of their bodies. And they all like the fine - pleasure of a bear hunt, and also a participation in the bear dance, - which is given several days in succession, previous to their starting - out, and in which they all join in a song to the <em>Bear Spirit</em>; - which they think holds somewhere an invisible existence, and must be - consulted and conciliated before they can enter upon their excursion - with any prospect of success. For this grotesque and amusing scene, - one of the chief medicine-men, placed over his body the entire skin - of a bear, with a war-eagle’s quill on his head, taking the lead in - the dance, and looking through the skin which formed a masque that - hung over his face. Many others in the dance wore masques on their - faces, made of the skin from the bear’s head; and all, with the motions - of their hands, closely imitated the movements of that animal; some - representing its motion in running, and others the peculiar attitude - and hanging of the paws, when it is sitting up on its hind feet, - and looking out for the approach of an enemy. This grotesque and - amusing masquerade oftentimes is continued at intervals, for several - days previous to the starting of a party on the bear hunt, who would - scarcely count upon a tolerable prospect of success, without a strict - adherence to this most important and indispensible form!</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>70</i></div> - <figure id="i_103"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_103.jpg" alt="Beggar’s dance"> - <figcaption>103</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>Dancing is done here too, as it is oftentimes done in the enlightened - world, to get favours—to buy the world’s goods; and in both countries - danced with about equal merit, except that the Indian has surpassed - us in honesty by christening it in his own country, the “<em>beggar’s - dance</em>.” This spirited dance (<a href="#i_103"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 103</a>), was given, not by - a set of <em>beggars</em> though, literally speaking, but by the first - and most independent young men in the tribe, beautifully dressed, - (<i>i. e.</i> not dressed at all, except with their breech clouts or - <em>kelts</em>, made of eagles’ and ravens’ quills,) with their lances, - and pipes, and rattles in their hands, and a medicine-man beating the - drum, and joining in the song at the highest key of his voice. In this - dance every one sings as loud as he can halloo; uniting his voice with - the others, in an appeal to the Great Spirit, to open the hearts of - the bystanders to give to the poor, and not to themselves; assuring - them that the Great Spirit will be kind to those who are kind to the - helpless and poor.</p> - - <p>Of <em>scalps</em>, and of the modes and objects of scalping, I have - before spoken; and I therein stated, “that most of the scalps were - stretched on little hoops for the purpose of being used in the - scalp-dance, of which I shall say more at a future time.”</p> - - <p>The <em>Scalp-dance</em> (<a href="#i_104"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 104</a>) is given as a celebration - of a victory; and amongst this tribe, as I learned whilst residing - with them, danced in the night, by the light of their torches, and - just before retiring to bed. When a war party returns from a war - excursion, bringing home with them the scalps of their enemies, they - generally “dance them” for fifteen nights in succession,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_246">246</span> vaunting - forth the most extravagant boasts of their wonderful prowess in war, - whilst they brandish their war weapons in their hands. A number of - young women are selected to aid (though they do not actually join in - the dance), by stepping into the centre of the ring, and holding up the - scalps that have been recently taken, whilst the warriors dance (or - rather <em>jump</em>), around in a circle, brandishing their weapons, - and barking and yelping in the most frightful manner, all jumping on - both feet at a time, with a simultaneous stamp, and blow, and thrust - of their weapons; with which it would seem as if they were actually - cutting and carving each other to pieces. During these frantic leaps, - and yelps, and thrusts, every man distorts his face to the utmost of - his muscles, darting about his glaring eye-balls and snapping his - teeth, as if he were in the heat (and actually breathing through his - inflated nostrils the very hissing death) of battle! No description - that can be written, could ever convey more than a feeble outline of - the frightful effects of these scenes enacted in the dead and darkness - of night, under the glaring light of their blazing flambeaux; nor could - all the years allotted to mortal man, in the least obliterate or deface - the vivid impress that one scene of this kind would leave upon his - memory.</p> - - <p>The precise object for which the scalp is taken, is one which is - definitely understood, and has already been explained; but the motive - (or motives) for which this strict ceremony is so scrupulously held - by all the American tribes, over the scalp of an enemy, is a subject, - as yet not satisfactorily settled in my mind. There is no doubt, but - one great object in these exhibitions is public exultation; yet there - are several conclusive evidences, that there are other and essential - motives for thus formally and strictly displaying the scalp. Amongst - some of the tribes, it is the custom to bury the scalps after they - have gone through this series of public exhibitions; which may in a - measure have been held for the purpose of giving them notoriety, and of - awarding public credit to the persons who obtained them, and now, from - a custom of the tribe, are obliged to part with them. The great respect - which seems to be paid to them whilst they use them, as well as the - pitying and mournful song which they howl to the <em>manes</em> of their - unfortunate victims; as well as the precise care and solemnity with - which they afterwards bury the scalps, sufficiently convince me that - they have a superstitious dread of the spirits of their slain enemies, - and many conciliatory offices to perform, to ensure their own peace; - one of which is the ceremony above described.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>71</i></div> - <figure id="i_104"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_104.jpg" alt="Scalp-dance"> - <figcaption>104</figcaption> - </figure> - - <hr class="chap"> - <div class="chapter"> - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_247">247</span> - <h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_31">LETTER—<abbr title="Number">No.</abbr> 31.</h2> - </div> - <div class="subheadc">MOUTH OF TETON RIVER, <i>UPPER MISSOURI</i>.</div> - - <p><span class="smcap">In</span> former Letters I have given some account of the <em>Bisons</em>, - or (as they are more familiarly denominated in this country) - <em>Buffaloes</em>, which inhabit these regions in numerous herds; and of - which I must say yet a little more.</p> - - <p>These noble animals of the ox species, and which have been so well - described in our books on Natural History, are a subject of curious - interest and great importance in this vast wilderness; rendered - peculiarly so at this time, like the history of the poor savage; and - from the same consideration, that they are rapidly wasting away at the - approach of civilized man—and like him and his character, in a very few - years, to live only in books or on canvass.</p> - - <p>The word buffalo is undoubtedly most incorrectly applied to these - animals, and I can scarcely tell why they have been so called; for - they bear just about as much resemblance to the Eastern buffalo, as - they do to a zebra or to a common ox. How nearly they may approach to - the bison of Europe, which I never have had an opportunity to see, and - which, I am inclined to think, is now nearly extinct, I am unable to - say; yet if I were to judge from the numerous engravings I have seen - of those animals, and descriptions I have read of them, I should be - inclined to think, there was yet a wide difference between the bison - of the American prairies, and those in the North of Europe and Asia. - The American bison, or (as I shall hereafter call it) buffalo, is the - largest of the ruminating animals that is now living in America; and - seems to have been spread over the plains of this vast country, by the - Great Spirit, for the use and subsistence of the red men, who live - almost exclusively on their flesh, and clothe themselves with their - skins. The reader, by referring back to <span class="smcap">plates</span> <a href="#i_007">7</a> and <a href="#i_008">8</a>, in the - beginning of this Work, will see faithful traces of the male and female - of this huge animal, in their proud and free state of nature, grazing - on the plains of the country to which they appropriately belong. Their - colour is a dark brown, but changing very much as the season varies - from warm to cold; their hair or fur, from its great length in the - winter and spring, and exposure to the weather, turning quite light, - and almost to a jet black, when the winter coat is shed off, and a new - growth is shooting out.</p> - - <p>The buffalo bull often grows to the enormous weight of 2000 pounds, and - shakes a long and shaggy black mane, that falls in great profusion and - <em>confusion</em>,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_248">248</span> over his head and shoulders; and oftentimes falling - down quite to the ground. The horns are short, but very large, and have - but one turn, <i>i. e.</i> they are a simple arch, without the least - approach to a spiral form, like those of the common ox, or of the goat - species.</p> - - <p>The female is much smaller than the male, and always distinguishable - by the peculiar shape of the horns, which are much smaller and more - crooked, turning their points more in towards the centre of the - forehead.</p> - - <p>One of the most remarkable characteristics of the buffalo, is the - peculiar formation and expression of the eye, the ball of which is - very large and white, and the iris jet black. The lids of the eye seem - always to be strained quite open, and the ball rolling forward and - down; so that a considerable part of the iris is hidden behind the - lower lid, while the pure white of the eyeball glares out over it in an - arch, in the shape of a moon at the end of its first quarter.</p> - - <p>These animals are, truly speaking, gregarious, but not migratory—they - graze in immense and almost incredible numbers at times, and roam about - and over vast tracts of country, from East to West, and from West to - East, as often as from North to South; which has often been supposed - they naturally and habitually did to accommodate themselves to the - temperature of the climate in the different latitudes. The limits - within which they are found in America, are from the 30th to the 55th - degrees of North latitude; and their extent from East to West, which is - from the border of our extreme Western frontier limits, to the Western - verge of the Rocky Mountains, is defined by quite different causes, - than those which the degrees of temperature have prescribed to them - on the North and the South. Within these 25 degrees of latitude, the - buffaloes seem to flourish, and get their living without the necessity - of evading the rigour of the climate, for which Nature seems most - wisely to have prepared them by the greater or less profusion of fur, - with which she has clothed them.</p> - - <p>It is very evident that, as high North as Lake Winnepeg, seven or eight - hundred miles North of this, the buffalo subsists itself through the - severest winters; getting its food chiefly by browsing amongst the - timber, and by pawing through the snow, for a bite at the grass, which - in those regions is frozen up very suddenly in the beginning of the - winter, with all its juices in it, and consequently furnishes very - nutritious and efficient food; and often, if not generally, supporting - the animal in better flesh during these difficult seasons of their - lives, than they are found to be in, in the 30th degree of latitude, - upon the borders of Mexico, where the severity of winter is not known, - but during a long and tedious autumn, the herbage, under the influence - of a burning sun, is gradually dried away to a mere husk, and its - nutriment gone, leaving these poor creatures, even in the dead of - winter, to bask in the warmth of a genial sun, without the benefit of a - green or juicy thing to bite at.</p> - - <p>The place from which I am now writing, may be said to be the very heart - or<span class="pagenum" id="Page_249">249</span> nucleus of the buffalo country, about equi-distant between the two - extremes; and of course, the most congenial temperature for them to - flourish in. The finest animals that graze on the prairies are to be - found in this latitude; and I am sure I never could send from a better - source, some further account of the death and destruction that is dealt - among these noble animals, and hurrying on their final extinction.</p> - - <p>The Sioux are a bold and desperate set of horsemen, and great hunters; - and in the heart of their country is one of the most extensive - assortments of goods, of whiskey, and other saleable commodities, as - well as a party of the most indefatigable men, who are constantly - calling for every robe that can be stripped from these animals’ backs.</p> - - <p>These are the causes which lead so directly to their rapid destruction; - and which open to the view of the traveller so freshly, so vividly, and - so familiarly, the scenes of archery—of lancing, and of death-dealing, - that belong peculiarly to this wild and shorn country.</p> - - <p>The almost countless herds of these animals that are sometimes met with - on these prairies, have been often spoken of by other writers, and may - yet be seen by any traveller who will take the pains to visit these - regions. The “<em>running season</em>,” which is in August and September, - is the time when they congregate into such masses in some places, as - literally to blacken the prairies for miles together. It is no uncommon - thing at this season, at these gatherings, to see several thousands - in a mass, eddying and wheeling about under a cloud of dust, which - is raised by the bulls as they are pawing in the dirt, or engaged in - desperate combats, as they constantly are, plunging and butting at each - other in the most furious manner (<a href="#i_105"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 105</a>). In these scenes, - the males are continually following the females, and the whole mass are - in constant motion; and all bellowing (or “roaring”) in deep and hollow - sounds; which, mingled altogether, appear, at the distance of a mile or - two, like the sound of distant thunder.</p> - - <p>During the season whilst they are congregated together in these dense - and confused masses, the remainder of the country around for many - miles, becomes entirely vacated; and the traveller may spend many a - toilsome day, and many a hungry night, without being cheered by the - sight of one; where, if he retraces his steps a few weeks after, he - will find them dispersed, and grazing quietly in little families and - flocks, and equally stocking the whole country. Of these quiet little - herds, a fair representation will be seen in <a href="#i_106"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 106</a>, where - some are grazing, others at play, or lying down, and others indulging - in their “wallows.” “A bull in his wallow” is a frequent saying in this - country; and has a very significant meaning with those who have ever - seen a buffalo bull performing <em>ablution</em>, or rather endeavouring - to cool his heated sides, by tumbling about in a mud puddle.</p> - - <p>In the heat of summer, these huge animals, which, no doubt, suffer very - much with the great profusion of their long and shaggy hair or fur, - often graze on the low grounds in the prairies, where there is a little - stagnant<span class="pagenum" id="Page_250">250</span> water lying amongst the grass, and the ground underneath - being saturated with it, is soft, into which the enormous bull, lowered - down upon one knee, will plunge his horns, and at last his head, - driving up the earth, and soon making an excavation in the ground, into - which the water filters from amongst the grass, forming for him in a - few moments, a cool and comfortable bath, into which he plunges like a - hog in his mire.</p> - - <p>In this <em>delectable</em> laver, he throws himself flat upon his side, - and forcing himself violently around, with his horns and his huge hump - on his shoulders presented to the sides, he ploughs up the ground by - his rotary motion, sinking himself deeper and deeper in the ground, - continually enlarging his pool, in which he at length becomes nearly - immersed; and the water and mud about him mixed into a complete mortar, - which changes his colour, and drips in streams from every part of him - as he rises up upon his feet, a hideous monster of mud and ugliness, - too frightful and too eccentric to be described!</p> - - <p>It is generally the leader of the herd that takes upon him to make - this excavation; and if not (but another one opens the ground), the - leader (who is conqueror) marches forward, and driving the other from - it plunges himself into it; and having cooled his sides, and changed - his colour to a walking mass of mud and mortar; he stands in the pool - until inclination induces him to step out, and give place to the next - in command, who stands ready; and another, and another, who advance - forward in their turns, to enjoy the luxury of the wallow; until the - whole band (sometimes an hundred or more) will pass through it in turn; - each one throwing his body around in a similar manner; and each one - adding a little to the dimensions of the pool, while he carries away in - his hair an equal share of the clay, which dries to a grey or whitish - colour, and gradually falls off. By this operation, which is done, - perhaps, in the space of half an hour, a circular excavation of fifteen - or twenty feet in diameter, and two feet in depth, is completed, and - left for the water to run into, which soon fills it to the level of the - ground.</p> - - <p>To these sinks, the waters lying on the surface of the prairies, are - continually draining, and in them lodging their vegetable deposits; - which, after a lapse of years, fill them up to the surface with a rich - soil, which throws up an unusual growth of grass and herbage; forming - conspicuous circles which arrest the eye of the traveller, and are - calculated to excite his surprise for ages to come.</p> - - <p>Many travellers who have penetrated not quite far enough into the - Western country to see the habits of these animals, and the manner - in which these <em>mysterious</em> circles are made; but who have seen - the prairies strewed with their bleached bones, and have beheld - these strange circles, which often occur in groups, and of different - sizes—have come home with beautiful and ingenious theories (which - <em>must needs be made</em>), for the origin of these singular and - unaccountable appearances, which, for want of a rational<span class="pagenum" id="Page_251">251</span> theory, - have generally been attributed to <em>fairy feet</em>, and gained the - appellation of “<em>fairy circles</em>.”</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>72</i></div> - <figure id="i_105"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_105.jpg" alt="buffaloes fighting"> - <figcaption>105</figcaption> - </figure> - - <figure class="mt2" id="i_106"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_106.jpg" alt="buffalo herd"> - <figcaption>106</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>Many travellers, again, have supposed that these rings were produced - by the dances of the Indians, which are oftentimes (and in fact - most generally) performed in a circle; yet a moment’s consideration - disproves such a probability, inasmuch as the Indians always select the - ground for their dancing near the sites of their villages, and that - always on a dry and hard foundation; when these “fairy circles” are - uniformly found to be on low and wet ground.</p> - - <p>As my visit to these parts of the “<em>Great Far West</em>” has brought - me into the heart of the buffalo country, where I have had abundant - opportunities of seeing this noble animal in all its phases—its habits - of life, and every mode of its death; I shall take the liberty of being - yet a little more particular, and of rendering some further accounts of - scenes which I have witnessed in following out my sporting propensities - in these singular regions.</p> - - <p>The chief hunting amusement of the Indians in these parts consists in - the chase of the buffalo, which is almost invariably done on horseback, - with bow and lance. In this exercise, which is highly prized by them, - as one of their most valued amusements, as well as for the principal - mode of procuring meat for their subsistence, they become exceedingly - expert; and are able to slay these huge animals with apparent ease.</p> - - <p>The Indians in these parts are all mounted on small, but serviceable - horses, which are caught by them on the prairies, where they are often - running wild in numerous bands. The Indian, then, mounted on his little - wild horse, which has been through some years of training, dashes off - at full speed amongst the herds of buffaloes, elks, or even antelopes, - and deals his deadly arrows to their hearts from his horse’s back. The - horse is the fleetest animal of the prairie, and easily brings his - rider alongside of his game, which falls a certain prey to his deadly - shafts, at the distance of a few paces.</p> - - <p>In the chase of the buffalo, or other animal, the Indian generally - “strips” himself and his horse, by throwing off his shield and quiver, - and every part of his dress, which might be an encumbrance to him in - running; grasping his bow in his left hand, with five or six arrows - drawn from his quiver, and ready for instant use. In his right hand (or - attached to the wrist) is a heavy whip, which he uses without mercy, - and forces his horse alongside of his game at the swiftest speed.</p> - - <p>These horses are so trained, that the Indian has little use for the - rein, which hangs on the neck, whilst the horse approaches the animal - on the right side (<a href="#i_107"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 107</a>), giving his rider the chance - to throw his arrow to the left; which he does at the instant when the - horse is passing—bringing him opposite to the heart, which receives the - deadly weapon “to the feather.” When pursuing a large herd, the Indian - generally rides close in the rear, until he selects the animal he - wishes to kill, which he separates from the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_252">252</span> throng as soon as he can, - by dashing his horse between it and the herd, and forcing it off by - itself; where he can approach it without the danger of being trampled - to death, to which he is often liable by too closely escorting the - multitude.</p> - - <p>In <a href="#i_107"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 107</a>, I have fairly represented the mode of - <em>approaching</em>, at the instant the arrow is to be thrown; and the - striking disparity between the size of a huge bull of 2000 pounds - weight, and the Indian horse, which, it will be borne in mind, is but a - pony.</p> - - <p>No bridle whatever is used in this country by the Indians, as they have - no knowledge of a bit. A short halter, however, which answers in place - of a bridle, is in general use; of which they usually form a noose - around the under jaw of the horse, by which they get great power over - the animal; and which they use generally to <em>stop</em> rather than - <em>guide</em> the horse. This halter is called by the French Traders in - the country, <i lang="fr">l’arrêt</i>, the stop, and has great power in arresting - the speed of a horse; though it is extremely dangerous to use too - freely as a guide, interfering too much with the freedom of his limbs, - for the certainty of his feet and security of his rider.</p> - - <p>When the Indian then has directed the course of his steed to the animal - which he has selected, the training of the horse is such, that it knows - the object of its rider’s selection, and exerts every muscle to give it - close company; while the halter lies loose and untouched upon its neck, - and the rider leans quite forward, and off from the side of his horse, - with his bow drawn, and ready for the deadly shot, which is given - at the instant he is opposite to the animal’s body. The horse being - instinctively afraid of the animal (though he generally brings his - rider within the reach of the end of his bow), keeps his eye strained - upon the furious enemy he is so closely encountering; and the moment - he has approached to the nearest distance required, and has passed the - animal, whether the shot is given or not, he gradually sheers off, to - prevent coming on to the horns of the infuriated beast, which often - are instantly turned, and presented for the fatal reception of its - too familiar attendant. These frightful collisions often take place, - notwithstanding the sagacity of the horse, and the caution of its - rider; for in these extraordinary (and inexpressible) exhilarations of - chase, which seem to drown the prudence alike, of instinct and reason, - both horse and rider often seem rushing on to destruction, as if it - were mere pastime and amusement.<a id="FNanchor_13" href="#Footnote_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a></p> - - <p>I have always counted myself a prudent man, yet I have often - <em>waked</em> (as it were) out of the delirium of the chase (into which - I had fallen, as into an agitated sleep, and through which I had passed - as through a delightful dream), where to have died would have been but - to have remained, riding on, without a struggle or a pang.</p> - - <p>In some of these, too, I have arisen from the prairie, covered with - dirt and <span class="pagenum" id="Page_253">253</span>blood, having severed company with gun and horse, the one - lying some twenty or thirty feet from me with a broken stalk, and the - other coolly brousing on the grass at half a mile distance, without - man, and without other beast remaining in sight.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>73</i></div> - <figure id="i_107"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_107.jpg" alt="Approaching buffalo"> - <figcaption>107</figcaption> - </figure> - - <figure class="mt2" id="i_108"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_108.jpg" alt="Buffalo hunt"> - <figcaption>108</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>For the novice in these scenes there is much danger of his limbs and - his life, and he finds it a hard and a desperate struggle that brings - him in at <em>the death</em> of these huge monsters, except where it has - been produced by hands that have acquired more sleight and tact than - his own.</p> - - <p>With the Indian, who has made this the every day sport and amusement of - his life, there is less difficulty and less danger; he rides without - “losing his breath,” and his unagitated hand deals <em>certainty</em> in - its deadly blows.</p> - - <p>In <a href="#i_108"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 108</a>, I have represented a party of Indians in chase - of a herd some of whom are pursuing with lance and others with bows and - arrows. The group in the foreground shews the attitude at the instant - after the arrow has been thrown and driven to the heart; the Indian at - full speed, and the <em>laso</em> dragging behind his horse’s heels. The - laso is a long thong of rawhide, of ten or fifteen yards in length, - made of several braids or twists, and used chiefly to catch the wild - horse, which is done by throwing over their necks a noose which is made - at the end of the <em>laso</em>, with which they are “choked down.” In - running the buffaloes, or in time of war, the <em>laso</em> drags on the - ground at the horse’s feet, and sometimes several rods behind, so that - if a man is dismounted, which is often the case, by the tripping or - stumbling of the horse, he has the power of grasping to the laso, and - by stubbornly holding on to it, of stopping and securing his horse, on - whose back he is instantly replaced, and continuing on in the chase.</p> - - <p>In the dead of the winters, which are very long and severely cold in - this country, where horses cannot be brought into the chase with any - avail, the Indian runs upon the surface of the snow by the aid of his - snow shoes, which buoy him up, while the great weight of the buffaloes, - sinks them down to the middle of their sides, and completely stopping - their progress, ensures them certain and easy victims to the bow or - lance of their pursuers, as in <a href="#i_109"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 109</a>. The snow in these - regions often lies during the winter, to the depth of three and four - feet, being blown away from the tops and sides of the hills in many - places, which are left bare for the buffaloes to graze upon, whilst - it is drifted in the hollows and ravines to a very great depth, and - rendered almost entirely impassable to these huge animals, which, when - closely pursued by their enemies, endeavour to plunge through it, - but are soon wedged in and almost unable to move, where they fall an - easy prey to the Indian, who runs up lightly upon his snow shoes and - drives his lance to their hearts. The skins are then stripped off, to - be sold to the Fur Traders, and the carcasses left to be devoured by - the wolves. This is the season in which the greatest number of these - animals are destroyed for their robes—they are most easily killed at - this time, and their hair or fur being longer and more abundant, gives - greater value to the robe.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_254">254</span></p> - - <p>The Indians generally kill and dry meat enough in the fall, when it - is fat and juicy, to last them through the winter; so that they have - little other object for this unlimited slaughter, amid the drifts - of snow, than that of procuring their robes for traffic with their - Traders. The snow shoes are made in a great many forms, of two and - three feet in length, and one foot or more in width, of a hoop or - hoops bent around for the frame, with a netting or web woven across - with strings of rawhide, on which the feet rest, and to which they are - fastened with straps somewhat like a skate.<a id="FNanchor_14" href="#Footnote_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> With these the Indian - will glide over the snow with astonishing quickness, without sinking - down, or scarcely leaving his track where he has gone.</p> - - <p>The poor buffaloes have their enemy <em>man</em>, besetting and beseiging - them at all times of the year, and in all the modes that man in his - superior wisdom has been able to devise for their destruction. They - struggle in vain to evade his deadly shafts, when he dashes amongst - them over the plains on his wild horse—they plunge into the snow-drifts - where they yield themselves an easy prey to their destroyers, and they - also stand unwittingly and behold him, unsuspected under the skin of - a white wolf, insinuating himself and his fatal weapons into close - company, when they are peaceably grazing on the level prairies, and - shot down before they are aware of their danger (<a href="#i_110"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 110</a>).</p> - - <p>There are several varieties of the wolf species in this country, the - most formidable and most numerous of which are white, often sneaking - about in gangs or families of fifty or sixty in numbers, appearing in - distance, on the green prairies like nothing but a flock of sheep. - Many of these animals grow to a very great size, being I should think, - quite a match for the largest Newfoundland dog. At present, whilst the - buffaloes are so abundant, and these ferocious animals are glutted - with the buffalo’s flesh, they are harmless, and everywhere sneak away - from man’s presence; which I scarcely think will be the case after - the buffaloes are all gone, and they are left, as they must be, with - scarcely anything to eat. They always are seen following about in the - vicinity of herds of buffaloes and stand ready to pick the bones of - those that the hunters leave on the ground, or to overtake and devour - those that are wounded, which fall an easy prey to them. While the herd - of buffaloes are together, they seem to have little dread of the wolf, - and allow them to come in close company with them. The Indian then has - taken advantage of this fact, and often places himself under the skin - of this animal, and crawls for half a mile or more on his hands and - knees, until he approaches within a few rods of the unsuspecting group, - and easily shoots down the fattest of the throng.</p> - - <p>The buffalo is a very timid animal, and shuns the vicinity of man - with the <span class="pagenum" id="Page_255">255</span>keenest sagacity; yet, when overtaken, and harassed or - wounded, turns upon its assailants with the utmost fury, who have only - to seek safety in flight. In their desperate resistance the finest - horses are often destroyed; but the Indian, with his superior sagacity - and dexterity, generally finds some effective mode of escape, as in - <a href="#i_111"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 111</a>.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>74</i></div> - <figure id="i_109"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_109.jpg" alt="Buffalo hunt in snow"> - <figcaption>109</figcaption> - </figure> - - <figure class="mt2" id="i_110"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_110.jpg" alt="Buffalo hunt"> - <figcaption>110</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>During the season of the year whilst the calves are young, the male - seems to stroll about by the side of the dam, as if for the purpose - of protecting the young, at which time it is exceedingly hazardous - to attack them, as they are sure to turn upon their pursuers, who - have often to fly to each others assistance (<a href="#i_112"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 112</a>). The - buffalo calf, during the first six months is red, and has so much the - appearance of a red calf in cultivated fields, that it could easily be - mingled and mistaken amongst them. In the fall, when it changes its - hair it takes a brown coat for the winter, which it always retains. - In pursuing a large herd of buffaloes at the season when their calves - are but a few weeks old, I have often been exceedingly amused with the - curious manœuvres of these shy little things. Amidst the thundering - confusion of a throng of several hundreds or several thousands of - these animals, there will be many of the calves that lose sight - of their dams; and being left behind by the throng, and the swift - passing hunters, they endeavour to secrete themselves, when they are - exceedingly put to it on a level prairie, where nought can be seen but - the short grass of six or eight inches in height, save an occasional - bunch of wild sage, a few inches higher, to which the poor affrighted - things will run, and dropping on their knees, will push their noses - under it, and into the grass, where they will stand for hours, with - their eyes shut, imagining themselves securely hid, whilst they are - standing up quite straight upon their hind feet and can easily be seen - at several miles distance. It is a familiar amusement for us accustomed - to these scenes, to retreat back over the ground where we have just - escorted the herd, and approach these little trembling things, which - stubbornly maintain their positions, with their noses pushed under - the grass, and their eyes strained upon us, as we dismount from our - horses and are passing around them. From this fixed position they are - sure not to move, until hands are laid upon them, and then for the - shins of a novice, we can extend our sympathy; or if he can preserve - the skin on his bones from the furious buttings of its head, we know - how to congratulate him on his signal success and good luck. In these - desperate struggles, for a moment, the little thing is conquered, - and makes no further resistance. And I have often, in concurrence - with a known custom of the country, held my hands over the eyes of - the calf, and breathed a few strong breaths into its nostrils; after - which I have, with my hunting companions, rode several miles into our - encampment, with the little prisoner busily following the heels of my - horse the whole way, as closely and as affectionately as its instinct - would attach it to the company of its dam!</p> - - <p>This is one of the most extraordinary things that I have met with - in the habits of this wild country, and although I had often heard - of it, and felt<span class="pagenum" id="Page_256">256</span> unable exactly to believe it, I am now willing to - bear testimony to the fact, from the numerous instances which I have - witnessed since I came into the country. During the time that I resided - at this post, in the spring of the year, on my way up the river, I - assisted (in numerous hunts of the buffalo, with the Fur Company’s - men,) in bringing in, in the above manner, several of these little - prisoners, which sometimes followed for five or six miles close to - our horses’ heels, and even into the Fur Company’s Fort, and into the - stable where our horses were led. In this way, before I left for the - head waters of the Missouri, I think we had collected about a dozen, - which Mr. Laidlaw was successfully raising with the aid of a good milch - cow, and which were to be committed to the care of Mr. Chouteau to be - transported by the return of the steamer, to his extensive plantation - in the vicinity of <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Louis.<a id="FNanchor_15" href="#Footnote_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a></p> - - <p>It is truly a melancholy contemplation for the traveller in this - country, to anticipate the period which is not far distant, when the - last of these noble animals, at the hands of white and red men, will - fall victims to their cruel and improvident rapacity; leaving these - beautiful green fields, a vast and idle waste, unstocked and unpeopled - for ages to come, until the bones of the one and the traditions of the - other will have vanished, and left scarce an intelligible trace behind.</p> - - <p>That the reader should not think me visionary in these contemplations, - or romancing in making such assertions, I will hand him the following - item of the extravagancies which are practiced in these regions, and - rapidly leading to the results which I have just named.</p> - - <p>When I first arrived at this place, on my way up the river, which was - in the month of May, in 1832, and had taken up my lodgings in the Fur - Company’s Fort, Mr. Laidlaw, of whom I have before spoken, and also his - chief clerk, Mr. Halsey, and many of their men, as well as the chiefs - of the Sioux, told me, that only a few days before I arrived, (when an - immense herd of buffaloes had showed themselves on the opposite side of - the river, almost blackening the plains for a great distance,) a party - of five or six hundred Sioux Indians on horseback, forded the river - about mid-day, and spending a few hours amongst them, recrossed the - river at sun-down and came into the Fort with <em>fourteen hundred fresh - buffalo tongues</em>, which were thrown down in a mass, and for which - they required but a few gallons of whiskey, which was soon demolished, - indulging them in a little, and harmless carouse.</p> - - <p>This profligate waste of the lives of these noble and useful animals, - when, from all that I could learn, not a skin or a pound of the - meat (except the tongues), was brought in, fully supports me in - the seemingly extravagant <span class="pagenum" id="Page_257">257</span>predictions that I have made as to - their extinction, which I am certain is near at hand. In the above - extravagant instance, at a season when their skins were without fur and - not worth taking off, and their camp was so well stocked with fresh and - dried meat, that they had no occasion for using the flesh, there is a - fair exhibition of the improvident character of the savage, and also of - his recklessness in catering for his appetite, so long as the present - inducements are held out to him in his country, for its gratification.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>75</i></div> - <figure id="i_111"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_111.jpg" alt="Buffalo hunt"> - <figcaption>111</figcaption> - </figure> - - <figure class="mt2" id="i_112"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_112.jpg" alt="Buffalo hunt"> - <figcaption>112</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>In this singular country, where the poor Indians have no laws or - regulations of society, making it a vice or an impropriety to drink to - excess, they think it no harm to indulge in the delicious beverage, as - long as they are able to buy whiskey to drink. They look to white men - as wiser than themselves, and able to set them examples—they see none - of these in their country but sellers of whiskey, who are constantly - tendering it to them, and most of them setting the example by using it - themselves; and they easily acquire a taste, that to be catered for, - where whiskey is sold at sixteen dollars per gallon, soon impoverishes - them, and must soon strip the skin from the last buffalo’s back that - lives in their country, to “be dressed by their squaws” and vended to - the Traders for a pint of diluted alcohol.</p> - - <p>From the above remarks it will be seen, that not only the red men, but - red men and white, have aimed destruction at the race of these animals; - and with them, <em>beasts</em> have turned hunters of buffaloes in this - country, slaying them, however, in less numbers, and for far more - laudable purpose than that of selling their skins. The white wolves, of - which I have spoken in a former epistle, follow the herds of buffaloes - as I have said, from one season to another, glutting themselves on the - carcasses of those that fall by the deadly shafts of their enemies, - or linger with disease or old age to be dispatched by these sneaking - cormorants, who are ready at all times kindly to relieve them from the - pangs of a lingering death.</p> - - <p>Whilst the herd is together, the wolves never attack them, as they - instantly gather for combined resistance, which they effectually make. - But when the herds are travelling, it often happens that an aged or - wounded one, lingers at a distance behind, and when fairly out of sight - of the herd, is set upon by these voracious hunters, which often gather - to the number of fifty or more, and are sure at last to torture him - to death, and use him up at a meal. The buffalo, however, is a huge - and furious animal, and when his retreat is cut off, makes desperate - and deadly resistance, contending to the last moment for the right of - life—and oftentimes deals death by wholesale, to his canine assailants, - which he is tossing into the air or stamping to death under his feet - (<a href="#i_113"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 113</a>).</p> - - <p>During my travels in these regions, I have several times come across - such a gang of these animals surrounding an old or a wounded bull, - where it would seem, from appearances, that they had been for several - days in attendance, and at intervals desperately engaged in the - effort to take his life. But a short time since, as one of my hunting - companions and myself were returning<span class="pagenum" id="Page_258">258</span> to our encampment with our horses - loaded with meat, we discovered at a distance, a huge bull, encircled - with a gang of white wolves; we rode up as near as we could without - driving them away, and being within pistol shot, we had a remarkably - good view, where I sat for a few moments and made a sketch in my - note-book (<a href="#i_114"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 114</a>); after which, we rode up and gave the - signal for them to disperse, which they instantly did, withdrawing - themselves to the distance of fifty or sixty rods, when we found, to - our great surprise, that the animal had made desperate resistance, - until his eyes were entirely eaten out of his head—the grizzle of his - nose was mostly gone—his tongue was half eaten off, and the skin and - flesh of his legs torn almost literally into strings. In this tattered - and torn condition, the poor old veteran stood bracing up in the midst - of his devourers, who had ceased hostilities for a few minutes, to - enjoy a sort of parley, recovering strength and preparing to resume - the attack in a few moments again. In this group, some were reclining, - to gain breath, whilst others were sneaking about and licking their - chaps in anxiety for a renewal of the attack; and others, less lucky, - had been crushed to death by the feet or the horns of the bull. I rode - nearer to the pitiable object as he stood bleeding and trembling before - me, and said to him, “Now is your time, old fellow, and you had better - be off.” Though blind and nearly destroyed, there seemed evidently - to be a recognition of a friend in me, as he straightened up, and, - trembling with excitement, dashed off at full speed upon the prairie, - in a straight line. We turned our horses and resumed our march, and - when we had advanced a mile or more, we looked back, and on our left, - where we saw again the ill-fated animal surrounded by his tormentors, - to whose insatiable voracity he unquestionably soon fell a victim.</p> - - <p>Thus much I wrote of the buffaloes, and of the accidents that befall - them, as well as of the fate that awaits them; and before I closed my - book, I strolled out one day to the shade of a plum-tree, where I laid - in the grass on a favourite bluff, and wrote thus:—</p> - - <p>“It is generally supposed, and familiarly said, that a man - ‘<em>falls</em>’ into a rêverie; but I seated myself in the shade a few - minutes since, resolved to <em>force</em> myself into one; and for this - purpose I laid open a small pocket-map of North America, and excluding - my thoughts from every other object in the world, I soon succeeded in - producing the desired illusion. This little chart, over which I bent, - was seen in all its parts, as nothing but the green and vivid reality. - I was lifted up upon an imaginary pair of wings, which easily raised - and held me floating in the open air, from whence I could behold - beneath me the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans—the great cities of the - East, and the mighty rivers. I could see the blue chain of the great - lakes at the North—the Rocky Mountains, and beneath them and near - their base, the vast, and almost boundless plains of grass, which were - speckled with the bands of grazing buffaloes!</p> - - <p>“The world turned gently around, and I examined its surface; continent - <span class="pagenum" id="Page_259">259</span>after continent passed under my eye, and yet amidst them all, I saw - not the vast and vivid green, that is spread like a carpet over the - Western wilds of my own country. I saw not elsewhere in the world, the - myriad herds of buffaloes—my eyes scanned in vain, for they were not. - And when I turned again to the wilds of my native land, I beheld them - all in motion! For the distance of several hundreds of miles from North - to South, they were wheeling about in vast columns and herds—some were - scattered, and ran with furious wildness—some lay dead, and others - were pawing the earth for a hiding-place—some were sinking down and - dying, gushing out their life’s blood in deep-drawn sighs—and others - were contending in furious battle for the life they possessed, and - the ground that they stood upon. They had long since assembled from - the thickets, and secret haunts of the deep forest, into the midst of - the treeless and bushless plains, as the place for their safety. I - could see in an hundred places, amid the wheeling bands, and on their - skirts and flanks, the leaping wild horse darting among them. I saw - not the arrows, nor heard the twang of the sinewy bows that sent them; - but I saw their victims fall!—on other steeds that rushed along their - sides I saw the glistening lances, which seemed to lay across them; - their blades were blazing in the sun, till dipped in blood, and then - I lost them! In other parts (and there were many), the vivid flash of - <em>fire-arms</em> was seen—<em>their</em> victims fell too, and over their - dead bodies hung suspended in air, little clouds of whitened smoke, - from under which the flying horsemen had darted forward to mingle again - with, and deal death to, the trampling throng.</p> - - <div class="plate mt2"><i>76</i></div> - <figure id="i_113"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_113.jpg" alt="Wolves attacking buffalo"> - <figcaption>113</figcaption> - </figure> - - <figure class="mt2" id="i_114"> - <img class="illowp100" src="images/i_114.jpg" alt="Wolves attacking buffalo"> - <figcaption>114</figcaption> - </figure> - - <p>“So strange were men mixed (both red and white) with the countless - herds that wheeled and eddyed about, that all below seemed one vast - extended field of battle—whole armies, in some places, seemed to - blacken the earth’s surface;—in other parts, regiments, battalions, - wings, platoons, rank and file, and “<em>Indian-file</em>”—all were in - motion; and death and destruction seemed to be the watch-word amongst - them. In their turmoil, they sent up great clouds of dust, and with - them came the mingled din of groans and trampling hoofs, that seemed - like the rumbling of a dreadful cataract, or the roaring of distant - thunder. Alternate pity and admiration harrowed up in my bosom and my - brain, many a hidden thought; and amongst them a few of the beautiful - notes that were once sung, and exactly in point: ‘<i lang="la">Quadrupedante - putrem sonitu quatit ungula campum.</i>’ Even such was the din amidst - the quadrupeds of these vast plains. And from the craggy cliffs of the - Rocky Mountains also were seen descending into the valley, the myriad - Tartars, who had not horses to ride, but before their well-drawn bows - the fattest of the herds were falling. Hundreds and thousands were - strewed upon the plains—they were flayed, and their reddened carcasses - left; and about them bands of wolves, and dogs, and buzzards were - seen devouring them. Contiguous, and in sight, were the distant and - feeble smokes of wigwams and villages, where the skins were dragged, - and dressed for white man’s luxury! where they were all sold for - <em>whiskey</em>, and the poor<span class="pagenum" id="Page_260">260</span> Indians laid drunk, and were crying. - I cast my eyes into the towns and cities of the East, and there I - beheld buffalo robes hanging at almost every door for traffic; and I - saw also the curling smokes of a thousand <em>Stills</em>—and I said, - ‘Oh insatiable man, is thy avarice such! wouldst thou tear the skin - from the back of the last animal of this noble race, <em>and rob thy - fellow-man of his meat, and for it give him poison</em>!’” <span class="gesperrtstar">* * * * * * * * * * *</span></p> - - <p>Many are the rudenesses and wilds in Nature’s works, which are destined - to fall before the deadly axe and desolating hands of cultivating man; - and so amongst her ranks of <em>living</em>, of beast and human, we - often find noble stamps, or beautiful colours, to which our admiration - clings; and even in the overwhelming march of civilized improvements - and refinements do we love to cherish their existence, and lend our - efforts to preserve them in their primitive rudeness. Such of Nature’s - works are always worthy of our preservation and protection; and the - further we become separated (and the face of the country) from that - pristine wildness and beauty, the more pleasure does the mind of - enlightened man feel in recurring to those scenes, when he can have - them preserved for his eyes and his mind to dwell upon.</p> - - <p>Of such “rudenesses and wilds,” Nature has no where presented more - beautiful and lovely scenes, than those of the vast prairies of the - West; and of <em>man</em> and <em>beast</em>, no nobler specimens than - those who inhabit them—the <em>Indian</em> and the <em>buffalo</em>—joint - and original tenants of the soil, and fugitives together from the - approach of civilized man; they have fled to the great plains of the - West, and there, under an equal doom, they have taken up their <em>last - abode</em>, where their race will expire, and their bones will bleach - together.</p> - - <p>It may be that <em>power</em> is <em>right</em>, and <em>voracity</em> a - <em>virtue</em>; and that these people, and these noble animals, are - <em>righteously</em> doomed to an issue that <em>will</em> not be averted. - It can be easily proved—we have a civilized science that can easily do - it, or anything else that may be required to cover the iniquities of - civilized man in catering for his unholy appetites. It can be proved - that the weak and ignorant have no <em>rights</em>—that there can be no - virtue in darkness—that God’s gifts have no meaning or merit until they - are appropriated by civilized man—by him brought into the light, and - converted to his use and luxury. We have a mode of reasoning (I forget - what it is called) by which all this can be proved, and even more. The - <em>word</em> and the <em>system</em> are entirely of <em>civilized</em> - origin; and latitude is admirably given to them in proportion to - the increase of civilized wants, which often require a <em>judge</em> - to overrule the laws of nature. I say that <em>we</em> can prove such - things; but an <em>Indian</em> cannot. It is a mode of reasoning unknown - to him in his nature’s simplicity, but admirably adapted to subserve - the interests of the enlightened world, who are always their own - judges, when dealing with the savage; and who, in the present refined - age, have many appetites that can only be lawfully indulged, by proving - God’s laws defective.</p> - - <p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_261">261</span></p> - - <p>It is not enough in this polished and extravagant age, that we get from - the Indian his lands, and the very clothes from his back, but the food - from their mouths must be stopped, to add a new and useless article to - the fashionable world’s luxuries. The ranks must be thinned, and the - race exterminated, of this noble animal, and the Indians of the great - plains left without the means of supporting life, that white men may - figure a few years longer, enveloped in buffalo robes—that they may - spread them, for their pleasure and elegance, over the backs of their - sleighs, and trail them ostentatiously amidst the busy throng, as - things of beauty and elegance that had been made for them!</p> - - <p>Reader! listen to the following calculations, and forget them not. - The buffaloes (the quadrupeds from whose backs your beautiful robes - were taken, and whose myriads were once spread over the whole country, - from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean) have recently fled - before the appalling appearance of civilized man, and taken up their - abode and pasturage amid the almost boundless prairies of the West. - An instinctive dread of their deadly foes, who made an easy prey of - them whilst grazing in the forest, has led them to seek the midst of - the vast and treeless plains of grass, as the spot where they would be - least exposed to the assaults of their enemies; and it is exclusively - in those desolate fields of silence (yet of beauty) that they are to - be found—and over these vast steppes, or prairies, have they fled, - like the Indian, towards the “setting sun;” until their bands have - been crowded together, and their limits confined to a narrow strip of - country on this side of the Rocky Mountains.</p> - - <p>This strip of country, which extends from the province of Mexico to - lake Winnepeg on the North, is almost one entire plain of grass, which - is, and ever must be, useless to cultivating man. It is here, and - here chiefly, that the buffaloes dwell; and with, and hovering about - them, live and flourish the tribes of Indians, whom God made for the - enjoyment of that fair land and its luxuries.</p> - - <p>It is a melancholy contemplation for one who has travelled as I have, - through these realms, and seen this noble animal in all its pride and - glory, to contemplate it so rapidly wasting from the world, drawing the - irresistible conclusion too, which one must do, that its species is - soon to be extinguished, and with it the peace and happiness (if not - the actual existence) of the tribes of Indians who are joint tenants - with them, in the occupancy of these vast and idle plains.</p> - - <p>And what a splendid contemplation too, when one (who has travelled - these realms, and can duly appreciate them) imagines them as they - <em>might</em> in future be seen, (by some great protecting policy of - government) preserved in their pristine beauty and wildness, in a - <em>magnificent park</em>, where the world could see for ages to come, - the native Indian in his classic attire, galloping his wild horse, - with sinewy bow, and shield and lance, amid the fleeting herds of elks - and buffaloes. What a beautiful and thrilling specimen for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_262">262</span> America to - preserve and hold up to the view of her refined citizens and the world, - in future ages! A <em>nation’s Park</em>, containing man and beast, in - all the wild and freshness of their nature’s beauty!</p> - - <p>I would ask no other monument to my memory, nor any other enrolment of - my name amongst the famous dead, than the reputation of having been the - founder of such an institution.</p> - - <p>Such scenes might easily have been preserved, and still could be - cherished on the great plains of the West, without detriment to - the country or its borders; for the tracts of country on which the - buffaloes have assembled, are uniformly sterile, and of no available - use to cultivating man.</p> - - <p>It is on these plains, which are stocked with buffaloes, that the - finest specimens of the Indian race are to be seen. It is here, that - the savage is decorated in the richest costume. It is here, and here - only, that his wants are all satisfied, and even the <em>luxuries</em> of - life are afforded him in abundance. And here also is he the proud and - honourable man (before he has had teachers or laws), above the imported - wants, which beget meanness and vice; stimulated by ideas of honour and - virtue, in which the God of Nature has certainly not curtailed him.</p> - - <p>There are, by a fair calculation, more than 300,000 Indians, who are - now subsisted on the flesh of the buffaloes, and by those animals - supplied with all the luxuries of life which they desire, as they - know of none others. The great variety of uses to which they convert - the body and other parts of that animal, are almost incredible to - the person who has not actually dwelt amongst these people, and - closely studied their modes and customs. Every part of their flesh is - converted into food, in one shape or another, and on it they entirely - subsist. The robes of the animals are worn by the Indians instead of - blankets—their skins when tanned, are used as coverings for their - lodges, and for their beds; undressed, they are used for constructing - canoes—for saddles, for bridles—l’arrêts, lasos, and thongs. The horns - are shaped into ladles and spoons—the brains are used for dressing the - skins—their bones are used for saddle trees—for war clubs, and scrapers - for graining the robes—and others are broken up for the marrow-fat - which is contained in them. Their sinews are used for strings and backs - to their bows—for thread to string their beads and sew their dresses. - The feet of the animals are boiled, with their hoofs, for the glue - they contain, for fastening their arrow points, and many other uses. - The hair from the head and shoulders, which is long, is twisted and - braided into halters, and the tail is used for a fly brush. In this - wise do these people convert and use the various parts of this useful - animal, and with all these luxuries of life about them, and their - numerous games, they are happy (God bless them) in the ignorance of the - disastrous fate that awaits them.</p> - - <p>Yet this interesting community, with its sports, its wildnesses, its - languages, and all its manners and customs, could be perpetuated, and - also the buffaloes, whose numbers would increase and supply them with - food for ages and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_263">263</span> centuries to come, if a system of non-intercourse - could be established and preserved. But such is not to be the case—the - buffalo’s doom is sealed, and with their extinction must assuredly sink - into real despair and starvation, the inhabitants of these vast plains, - which afford for the Indians, no other possible means of subsistence; - and they must at last fall a prey to wolves and buzzards, who will have - no other bones to pick.</p> - - <p>It seems hard and cruel, (does it not?) that we civilized people with - all the luxuries and comforts of the world about us, should be drawing - from the backs of these useful animals the skins for our luxury, - leaving their carcasses to be devoured by the wolves—that we should - draw from that country, some 150 or 200,000 of their robes annually, - the greater part of which are taken from animals that are killed - expressly for the robe, at a season when the meat is not cured and - preserved, and for each of which skins the Indian has received but a - pint of whiskey!</p> - - <p>Such is the fact, and that number or near it, are annually destroyed, - in addition to the number that is necessarily killed for the - subsistence of 300,000 Indians, who live entirely upon them. It may - be said, perhaps, that the Fur Trade of these great western realms, - which is now limited chiefly to the purchase of buffalo robes, is of - great and national importance, and should and must be encouraged. To - such a suggestion I would reply, by merely enquiring, (independently - of the poor Indians’ disasters,) how much more advantageously would - such a capital be employed, both for the weal of the country and for - the owners, if it were invested in machines for the manufacture of - <em>woollen robes</em>, of equal and superior value and beauty; thereby - encouraging the growers of wool, and the industrious manufacturer, - rather than cultivating a taste for the use of buffalo skins; which is - just to be acquired, and then, from necessity, to be dispensed with, - when a few years shall have destroyed the last of the animals producing - them.</p> - - <p>It may be answered, perhaps, that the necessaries of life are given in - exchange for these robes; but what, I would ask, are the necessities - in Indian life, where they have buffaloes in abundance to live on? The - Indian’s necessities are entirely artificial—are all created; and when - the buffaloes shall have disappeared in his country, which will be - within <em>eight</em> or <em>ten</em> years, I would ask, who is to supply - him with the necessaries of life then? and I would ask, further, (and - leave the question to be answered ten years hence), when the skin shall - have been stripped from the back of the last animal, who is to resist - the ravages of 300,000 starving savages; and in their trains, 1,500,000 - wolves, whom direst necessity will have driven from their desolate and - gameless plains, to seek for the means of subsistence along our exposed - frontier? God has everywhere supplied man in a state of Nature, with - the necessaries of life, and before we destroy the game of his country, - or teach him new desires, he has no wants that are not satisfied.</p> - - <p>Amongst the tribes who have been impoverished and repeatedly removed, - the necessaries of life are extended with a better grace from the - hands of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_264">264</span> civilized man; 90,000 of such have already been removed, and - they draw from Government some 5 or 600,000 dollars annually in cash; - <em>which money passes immediately into the hands of white men</em>, and - for it the necessaries of life <em>may be</em> abundantly furnished. But - who, I would ask, are to furnish the Indians who have been instructed - in this unnatural mode—living upon <em>such</em> necessaries, and even - luxuries of life, extended to them by the hands of white men, when - those annuities are at an end, and the skin is stripped from the last - of the animals which God gave them for their subsistence?</p> - - <p>Reader, I will stop here, lest you might forget to answer these - important queries—these are questions which I know will puzzle the - world—and, perhaps it is not right that I should ask them. <span class="gesperrtstar">* * * * * * * * *</span></p> - - <p><span class="gesperrtstar">* *</span> Thus much I wrote and painted at this place, whilst on my way up - the river: after which I embarked on the steamer for the Yellow Stone, - and the sources of the Missouri, through which interesting regions I - have made a successful Tour; and have returned, as will have been seen - by the foregoing narrations, in my canoe, to this place, from whence - I am to descend the river still further in a few days. If I ever get - time, I may give further Notes on this place, and of people and their - doings, which I met with here; but at present, I throw my note-book, - and canvass, and brushes into my canoe, which will be launched - to-morrow morning, and on its way towards <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Louis, with myself at - the steering-oar, as usual; and with Ba’tiste and Bogard to paddle, of - whom, I beg the readers’ pardon for having said nothing of late, though - they have been my constant companions. Our way is now over the foaming - and muddy waters of the Missouri, and amid snags and drift logs (for - there is a sweeping freshet on her waters), and many a day will pass - before other Letters will come from me; and possibly, the reader may - have to look to my biographer for the rest. Adieu.</p> - - <div class="footnotes"> - <div class="footnote"> - <a id="Footnote_13" href="#FNanchor_13" class="label">[13]</a> The reader will be further instructed on this subject, by - referring back to <a href="#i_009"><span class="smcap">plate</span> 9</a>, in the beginning of the book. - </div> - - <div class="footnote"> - <a id="Footnote_14" href="#FNanchor_14" class="label">[14]</a> The readers will look forward to - <span class="smcap">plates</span> 240 and 243, in the Second Volume, for snow shoes. - </div> - - <div class="footnote"> - <a id="Footnote_15" href="#FNanchor_15" class="label">[15]</a> The fate of these poor little prisoners, I was informed - on my return to <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Louis a year afterwards, was a very disastrous - one. The steamer having a distance of 1600 miles to perform, and lying - a week or two on sand bars, in a country where milk could not be - procured, they all perished but one, which is now flourishing in the - extensive fields of this gentleman. - </div> - </div> - -<div class="center small mt5">END OF VOL. I.</div> - - <div class="transnote mt5"> - <div class="large center"><b>Transcriber’s Notes:</b></div> - <ul class="spaced"> - <li>Blank pages have been removed.</li> - <li>Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected.</li> - <li>All illustrations are attributed to <i>G. Catlin</i>.</li> - <li>There is no illustration 23, and some are out of sequence.</li> - </ul> - </div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE MANNERS, CUSTOMS, & CONDITION OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS, VOL. 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