THE
NORTEAMERICAN
INDIANS
AL
190
CATLIN

1817
ARTES
SCIENTIA
VERITAS
LIBRARY
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
QUSTUS
TUEBOR
SI QUERIS PENINSULAM AMOENAM
CIRCUMSPICE
US
MUSEUM

Museum
77
.C 365
1926


NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS
a

All rights reserved

M

LTUS
AH
G. Catiin.
The Author painking a Chiet at the base of the Rocky Mountains.
UNIO

North American Indians
BEING LETTERS AND NOTES ON THEIR
MANNERS, CUSTOMS, AND CONDITIONS,
WRITTEN DURING EIGHT YEARS' TRAVEL
AMONGST THE WILDEST TRIBES OF
INDIANS IN NORTH AMERICA, 1832-1839
By GEORGE CATLIN
IN TWO VOLUMES-VOL. I.
WITH THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY ILLUSTRATIONS, CAREFULLY ENGRAVED
FROM THE AUTHOR'S ORIGINAL PAINTINGS
5
EDINBURGH: JOHN GRANT
31 GEORGE IV. BRIDGE
1926

PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY
OLIVER AND BOYD, EDINBURGH

Museum
Antherpology
Union library
3-12-32
25800
2 vol.
CONTENTS
PAGR
FRONTISPIECE :—The Author painting a Chief in an Indian Village.
Map of Indian LOCALITIES embraced within the Author's Travels.
LETTER—No. 1
1
Wyöming, birth-place of the Author. 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. Design of form-
ing a National Gallery. Numbers of Tribes visited, and number of
Paintings and other things collected. Probable extinction of the
Indians. Former and present numbers of. The proper mode of
approaching them, and estimating their character.
CERTIFICATES of Government Officers, Indian Agents, and others, as to the
fidelity of the Portraits and other Paintings.
LETTER—No. 2
15
Mouth of Yellow Stone. Distance from St 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.
19
any e 8-t180
LETTER- No. 3, Mouth of Yellow STONE .
Character of Missouri River. Beautiful prairie shores. Picturesque clay
bluffs. First appearance of a steamer at the Yellow Stone, and curious
a
conjectures of the Indians about it. Fur Company's Establishment at
the mouth of the Yellow Stone. M'Kenzie. His table and polite-
ness. Indian tribes in this vicinity.
26
LETTER—No. 4, MOUTH OF YELLOW STONE.
Upper Missouri Indians. General character. Buffaloes. Description of.
Modes of killing them. Buffalo-hunt. Chardon's Leap. Wounded
bull. Extraordinary feat of Mr M‘Kenzie. Return from the chase.
33
.
LETTER—No. 5, Mouth OF YELLOW STONE .
Author's painting-room, and characters in it. Blackfoot chief. Other
Blackfoot chiefs, and their costumes. Blackfoot woman and child.
Scalps, and objects for which taken. Red pipes, and pipe-stone
quarry. Blackfoot bows, shields, arrows, and lances. Several dis-
tinguished Blackfeet.
a 2

vi
PAGE
40
-
LETTER—No. 6, Mouth or Yellow STONE .
Medicines or mysteries. Medicine-bag. Origin of the word medicine.
Mode of forming the medicine-bag. Value of the medicine-bag to
the Indian, and materials for their construction. Blackfoot doctor or
medicine-man. His mode of curing the sick. Different offices and
importance of medicine-men.
48
LETTER—No. 7, Mouth of Yellow STONE .
Crows and Blackfeet. General character and appearance. Killing and
drying meat. Crow lodge or wigwam. Striking their tents and en-
campment moving. Mode of dressing and smoking skins. Crows.
Beauty of their dresses. Horse-stealing or capturing. Reasons why
they are called rogues and robbers of the first order, etc.
56
.
LETTER—No. 8, Mouth OF YELLOW STONE .
Further remarks on the Crows. Extraordinary length of hair. Peculi-
arities of the Crow head, and several portraits. Crow and Blackfeet
women. Their modes of dressing and painting. Differences between
the Crow and Blackfoot languages. Different bands. Different
languages, and numbers of the Blackfeet. Knisteneaux. Assinne-
boins, and Ojibbeways. Assinneboins a part of the Sioux. Their
mode of boiling meat. Pipe-dance. Wi-jun-jon (a chief) and wife.
His visit to Washington. Dresses of women and children of the
Assinneboins. Knisteneaux (or Crees). Character and numbers, and
several portraits. Ojibbeways. Chief and wife,
67
LETTER—No. 9, Mouth Of Yellow STONE .
Contemplations of the Great Far West and its customs. Old acquaint-
March and effects of civilisation. The “Far West.” The
Author in search of it. Meeting with “Ba'tiste," a free trapper.
75
LETTER—No. 10, Mandan Village, UPPER MISSOURI
A strange place. Voyage from Mouth of Yellow Stone down the river to
Mandans. Commencement. Leave M.Kenzie's Fort. Assinneboins
.
encamped on the river. Wi-jun-jon lecturing on the customs of white
people. Mountain-sheep. War-eagles. Grizzly bears. Clay bluffs,
“ brick-kilns," volcanic remains. Red pumice stone. A wild stroll.
Mountaineer's sleep. Grizzly bear and cubs. Courageous attack.
Canoe robbed. Eating our meals on a pile of drift-wood. Encamp-
ing in the night. Voluptuous scene of wild flowers, buffalo bush and
berries. Adventure after an elk. War-party discovered. Magnifi-
cent scenery in the “Grand Détour.” Stupendous clay bluffs.
Table land. Antelope shooting. “Grand Dome.”
“Grand Dome.” Prairie dogs.
Village. Fruitless endeavours to shoot them. Pictured bluff and the
Three Domes. Arrival at the Mandan village.
91
LETTER—No. 11, Mandan Village
Location. Village. Former locations, fortification of their village.

vii
PAGE
Description of village and mode of constructing their wigwams.
Description of interior. Beds. Weapons. Family groups. Indian
garrulity. Jokes. Fire-side fun and story-telling. Causes of Indian
taciturnity in civilised society.
99
LETTER—No. 12, Mandan Village
Bird's-eye view of the village. The “
The “big canoe.” Medicine-lodge. A
strange medley. Mode of depositing the dead on scaffolds. Respect
to the dead. Visiting the dead. Feeding the dead. Converse with
the dead. Bones of the dead.
104
LETTER—No. 13, MANDAN VILLAGE
The wolf-chief. Head-chief of the tribe. Several portraits. Personal
appearance. Peculiarities. Complexion. “Cheveux gris.” Hair of
.
the men. Hair of the women. Bathing and swimming Mode of
swimming. Sudatories or vapour baths.
LETTER—No. 14, MANDAN VILLAGE
113
Costumes of the Mandans. High value set upon them. Two horses for
a head-dress. Made of war-eagle's quills and ermine. Head-dresses
with horns. A Jewish custom,
LETTER—No. 15, Mandan Village
119
Astonishment of the Mandans at the operation of the Author's brush.
The Author installed medicine or medicine-man. Crowds around the
Author. Curiosity to see and to touch him. Superstitious fears for
those who were painted. Objections raised to being painted. The
Author's operations opposed by a Mandan doctor, or Medicine-man,
and how brought over.
127
.
LETTER—No. 16, Mandan Village
An Indian beau or dandy. A fruitless endeavour to paint one. Mah-
to-toh-pa (the four bears), second chief of the tribe. The Author
feasted in his wigwam. Viands of the feast. Pemican and marrow-
fat. Mandan pottery. Robe presented.
LETTER—No. 17, MANDAN VILLAGE
133
Polygamy. Reasons and excuses for it. Marriages, how contracted.
Wives bought and sold. Paternal and filial affection. Virtue and
modesty of women. Early marriages. Slavish lives and occupations
of the Indian women. Pomme blanche.
Pomme blanche. Dried meat. Caches.
Modes of cooking, and times of eating. Attitudes in eating. Separa-
tion of males and females in eating. The Indians moderate eaters.
Some exceptions. Curing meat in the sun, without smoke or salt.
The wild Indians eat no salt.

viii
PAGE
142
.
LETTER—No. 18, MANDAN VILLAGE
Indian dancing. " Buffalo dance.” Discovery of buffaloes. Prepara-
tions for the chase. Start. A decoy. A retreat.
A retreat. Death and scalp-
ing
148
-
LETTER—No. 19, MANDAN VILLAGE
Sham fight and sham scalp dance of the Mandan boys. Game of Tchung-
kee. Feasting. Fasting and sacrificing. White buffalo robe. Its
value. Rain makers and rain stoppers.
Rain making “The
thunder boat.” The big double medicine.
159
LETTER—No. 20, MANDAN VILLAGE
Mandan archery. “Game of the arrow.
“Game of the arrow.” Wild horses. Horse-racing.
Foot war-party in council.
163
LETTER—No. 21, Mandan Village, Upper Missouri
Mah-to-toh-pa (the four bears). His costume and his portrait. The
robe of Mah-to-toh-pa, with all the battles of his life painted on it.
175
LETTER—No. 22, MANDAN VILLAGE
Mandan religious ceremonies. Mandan religious creed. Three objects
of the ceremony. Place of holding the ceremony. Big canoe.
Season of commencing, and manner. Opening the medicine lodge.
Sacrifices to the water. Fasting scene for four days and nights.
Bel-lohck-nah-pick (the bull dance). Pohk-hong (the cutting or
.
torturing scene). Eh-ke-nah-ka-nah-pick (the last race). Extra-
ordinary instances of cruelty in self-torture. Sacrificing to the water.
Certificates of the Mandan ceremonies. Inferences drawn from these
horrible cruelties, with traditions. Tradition of O-kee-hee-de (the
Evil Spirit). Mandans can be civilised.
209
LETTER—No. 23, MinatAREE VILLAGE
Location and numbers. Origin. Principal village. Vapour baths. Old
chief, Black Moccasin. Two portraits, man and woman. Green corn
dance.
215
LETTER—No. 24, MINATAREE VILLAGE
Crows, in the Minataree village. Crow chief on horseback, in full dress.
Peculiarities of the Crows. Long hair. Semi-lunar faces. Rats in the
Minataree village. Crossing Knife River in “ bull boat.” Swimming
of Minataree girls. Horse-racing. A banter. Riding a “naked
horse.” Grand buffalo surround. Cutting up and carrying in meat.
228
LETTER—No. 25, LITTLE MANdan Village, Upper Missouri
An Indian offering himself for a pillow. Portraits of Riccarees. Riccaree
village. Origin of the Mandans. Welsh colony.
Welsh colony. Expedition of
Madoc.

ix
PAGE
233
.
LETTER—No. 26, Mouth or TETON RIVER
Sioux or (Dah-co-ta). Fort Pierre. Mississippi and Missouri Sioux. Ha-
wan-je-tah (chief) Puncahs, Shoo-de-ga-cha (chief) and wife. Four
wives taken at once. Portrait of one of the wives. Early marriages.
Causes of.
243
.
.
LETTER—No. 27, Mouth of Teton River
Custom of exposing the aged. A tedious march on foot. Level prairies.
“Out of sight of land.” Mirage. Looming of the prairies. Turning
the toes in. Bijou hills. Salt meadows. Arrive at Fort Pierre.
Great assemblage of Sioux. Paint the portrait of the chief. Super-
stitious objections. Opposed by the doctors. Difficulty settled.
Death of Ha-wan-je-tah (the chief). Mode of. Portraits of other
.
Sioux chiefs. Wampum. Beautiful Sioux women. Daughter of
Black Rock, Chardon, his Indian wife,
254
LETTER—No. 28, Mouth OF TETON RIVER.
Difficulty of painting Indian women. Indian vanity. Watching their
portraits. Arrival of the first steamer amongst the Sioux. Dog-feast.
261
LETTER—No. 29, Mouth of TETON RIVER.
Voluntary torture, “ looking at the sun." Religious ceremony. Smoking
“k’nick-k'neck." Pipes. Calumets or pipes of peace. Tomahawks
and scalping knives. Dance of the chiefs. Scalps. Mode of taking,
and object. Modes of carrying and using the scalps.
271
LETTER—No. 30, Mouth OF TETON RIVER.
Indian weapons and instruments of music. Quiver and shield. Smoking
the shield. Tobacco pouches. Drums. Rattles. Whistles. Lutes.
Bear dance. Beggars' dance. Scalp dance.
278
LETTER—No. 31, Mouth OF TETON RIVER
Bisons (or buffaloes) description of. Habits of.
. Bulls' fighting. Buffalo
wallows. Fairy circles. Running the buffaloes, and throwing the
.
,
Buffalo chase. Use of the lasso. Hunting under mask of
white wolf skins. Horses destroyed in buffalo hunting. Buffalo calf.
Mode of catching and bringing in. Immense and wanton destruction
of buffaloes. 1400 killed. White wolves attacking buffaloes. Con-
templations on the probable extinction of buffaloes and Indians.
arrow.


LIST OF PLATES IN VOL. I.
.
The Author painting a Chief in an Indian Village
Frontispiece
Map of Indian Localities embraced within the Author's Travels to face page 1
PAGE
.
PAGE
to face 14
22
26
30
82
to face 166
166
166
.
.
99
.
182
184
34
190
196
.
38
38
99
.
38
36
9
.
46
210
210
212
214
216
216
224
9
50
99
.
9
.
48
56
.
99
64
62
66
66
228
228
228
234
PLATES
3. Figs. 3, 4,
4. Figs. 5, 6,
5. Figs. 7, 8,
6. Figs. 9, 10,
7. Fig. 11,
8. Figs. 12, 13, .
9. Fig. 14,
10. Fig. 15,
11. Figs. 16, 17,
12. Fig. 18,
13. Fig. 19,
14. Fig. 20,
15. Figs. 21, 22, .
16. Figs. 24, 25, 26, 27, .
17. Figs. 28, 29, 30, 31, .
18. Fig. 32,
19. Figs. 33, 34, .
20. Figs. 35, 36, .
21. Figs. 37, 38, .
22. Figs. 39, 40,
23. Figs. 41, 42, .
24. Figs. 43, 44, .
25. Figs. 45, 46, .
26. Figs. 47, 48, .
27. Fig. 49,
28. Figs. 50, 51, 52, 53, .
29. Fig. 54,
30. Fig. 55,
31. Fig. 62,
32. Fig. 56,
33. Fig. 57,
34. Figs. 58, 59,
35. Fig. 60,
36. Fig. 61,
37. Fig. 63,
38. Fig. 64,
39. Fig. 65,
78
PLATES
40. (1, 2, 3, 4,)
41. (5, 6, 7, 12,)
42. (8, 9, 10, 11,).
43. Fig. 66,
44. Fig. 67,
45. Fig. 68,
46. Fig. 69,
47. Figs. 70, 71, .
48. Fig. 72,
49. Figs. 73, 74,
50. Fig. 75,
51. Fig. 76,
52. Figs. 77, 78,
53. Fig. 79,
54. Fig. 80,
55. Figs. 81, 82, .
56. Figs. 83, 84, .
57. Fig. 85,
58. Fig. 86,
59. Figs. 87, 88,.
60. Figs. 89, 90,
61. Fig. 91,
62. Figs. 92, 93, 94, 95, .
63. Figs. 96, 97, .
64. Fig. 98,
65. Fig. 99,
66. Fig. 100,
67. Fig. 101,
68. Fig. 1013,
69. Fig. 102,
70. Fig. 103,
71. Fig. 104,
72. Figs. 105, 106,
73. Figs. 107, 108,
74. Figs. 109, 110,
75. Figs. 111, 112,
76. Figs. 113, 114,
236
238
9
.
84
86
240
9
250
.
•
88
90
98
250
.
9
99
.
256
264
104
104
266
266
106
99
124
130
144
")
9
148
270
272
274
276
276
280
282
.
148
158
9
99
160
162
164
284
286
290
99
166
99



2
50
45
35
30
25
HUDSONS
ЛА.
Blood Indians
LAKE
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М. А.
Ojibbeways
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Knisleneux or Crees
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UPPER CANADA
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all
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50
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R
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AMA
Flatheads
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A Minatarees
A SMandan
LAKE SUPERIOR
Yellow
St.Marys
Thilts
A
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Black Poof Indians
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Mackinaw
Chippeways
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cannor Ball
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Columbia
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Ottawas
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Albany
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Plattek.
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AA
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Rutowatomies,
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Shawnees
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Kaskaskids
MA
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Kickapoos
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worlash R
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SALT LAX
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Shoshokies
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Shoshokies
Richmond
Osages
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Monterey
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A Santa Feer
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Arapahoes
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W
NORTH
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LXX
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A.
TENNESSEE
ARKANS
Raleigh
CAROLINA
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Wicos
Pawnee Picts
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C. Hateras
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Arkangas
Tennessbe
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AL
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c. Lookout
C.Fear
_Mል :
Quapaws
Washita
M
Chickasaws
CAROLINA
HAAL
(Upper Creeks
OUTLINE MAP
OF
INDIAN LOCALITIES
in 1833.
Rio del Norte
GEORGIA
M
Navahoes
Red R
Charleston
A
Caddoes
S
Choetaws
T
E
ALABAMA
Camar chees
АА.
AS s
LOUISIANA
Nalthes
MISSISIPPT
in Vol.2. see Map of
LOCALITIES in 1840.
since all the tribes have
been removed from the States
W of the Missisippi.
ATLANTIC
Mobile
Lower Creeks
(Pensacola
T
7S I NORA
E
X
A
S
of CALIFORNIA
Seminoles
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A St.Augustine
FLORIDA
buchees
0
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Buffalo Range :
Μ Ε Χ
French
GULF
MEXICO
OR
722
102
9715
92
87
812
Long. 77 W from Greenwich
G. Catlin.

LETTERS AND NOTES
ON THE
NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS
LETTER_No. 1
As 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.
If it be necessary to render any apology for beginning thus uncere-
moniously, 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.
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.
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.
Leaving my readers, therefore, to find out what is in the book,
3
VOL. I.
A

2
-
without promising them anything, I proceed to say--of myself, that
I was born in Wyoming, in North America, some thirty or forty
years since, of parents who entered that beautiful and famed valley
soon after the close of the revolutionary war, and the disastrous event
of the “Indian massacre.”
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-
а
pole firmly and affectionately grasped in the other.
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 Nimrodical
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.
I there closely applied my hand to the labours of the art for
years; during which time my mind was continually reaching
for some branch or enterprise of the art, on which to devote a whole
lifetime 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!
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.
Black and blue cloth and civilisation 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
several
a
-
a

3
-
the history and customs of such a people, preserved by pictorial
illustrations, are themes worthy the lifetime of one man, and nothing
short of the loss of my life, shall prevent me from visiting their
country, and of becoming their historian.
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 in the city, without the
remotest prospect of again contributing to my amusement.
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.
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 per-
petuating it, as a fair and just monument, to the memory of a truly
lofty and noble race.
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 familiarise myself with their superstitions and
mysteries, which are the keys to Indian life and character.
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; describ-
ing only such glowing or curious scenes and events as passed under
my immediate observation ; leaving their early history, and many of

4
their traditions, language, etc., for a subsequent and much more
elaborate work, for which I have procured the materials, and which
I may eventually publish.
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, etc., and full notes on their character
and history. I designed, also, to procure their costumes, and a com-
plete collection of their manufactures and weapons, and to perpetu-
ate them in a Gallery unique, for the use and instruction of future
ages.
I claim whatever merit there may have been in the originality of
such a 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.
have, as yet, by no means visited all the tribes; but I have
progressed a very great way with the enterprise, and with far
greater and more complete success than I expected.
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 exten-
sive 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.
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 “CATLIN'S NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN GALLERY,”
will find nearly every scene and custom which is described in this
work, as well as many others, carefully and correctly delineated, and
-
<

5
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.
So much of myself and of my works, which is all that I wish to
say at present.
Of the INDIANS, 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. .
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 civilised world; rendered
more particularly so in this age, from their relative position to, and
their rapid declension from, the civilised 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 civilised man within the short space
of 250 years—twelve millions of whose bodies have fattened the
soil in the meantime; who have fallen victims to whiskey, the
small-pox and the bayonet; leaving at this time but a meagre pro-
portion to live a short time longer, in the certain apprehension of
soon sharing a similar fate.
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 living, 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 neces-
sity, to the honesty and punctuality of their enemies.
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.

6
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 intro-
duction (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.
The world know generally, that the Indians of North America are
copper-coloured, that their eyes and their hair are black, etc.; that
they are mostly uncivilised, and consequently unchristianised; that
they are nevertheless human beings, with features, thoughts, reason,
and sympathies like our own; but few yet know how they live, how
they dress, how they worship, what are their actions, their customs,
their religion, their amusements, etc., as they practise them in the
uncivilised regions of their uninvaded country, which it is the main
object of this work, clearly and distinctly to set forth.
It would be impossible at the same time, in a book of these
dimensions, to explain all 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 little too highly coloured, I trust the
world will be ready to extend to me that pardon which it is custom-
ary 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 for me
the censure of those critics, who sometimes, unthinkingly, or un-
mercifully, 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, conse-
quently, they are unable to believe.
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
-

7
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 miser-
able 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.
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 theirs alone) as we can see them transacted, are
native, and such as I have wished to fix and preserve for future ages.
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.
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 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.
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 civilised 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

8
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.
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 civilised 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.
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 entrusted to his
enemy.
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 of justice, whenever it is meted to the
poor Indian, it comes invariably too late, or is administered at an

9 9
ineffectual distance; and that too when his enemies are continually
about him, and effectually applying the means of his destruction.
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 his
existence of a higher order than that of the brutes :—whilst others
have given them a high rank, as I feel myself authorised to do, as
honourable and highly-intellectual beings, and others, both friends
and foes to the red man, have spoken of them as an "anomaly in
nature !”
In this place I have no time or inclination to reply to so un-
accountable 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.
From what I have seen of these people I feel authorised 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 familiarise 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 con-
clusion: that the North American Indian in his native state is an
honest, hospitable, faithful, brave, warlike, cruel, revengeful, relent-
less, yet honourable, contemplative and religious being.
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 civilised
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 civilised 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.
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.
There is no difficulty in approaching the Indian and getting
a
A 2

10
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 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 may see him
and smoke his friendly pipe, which is 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.
But so the mass of the world, most assuredly will not 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.
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 wild, or wild man; 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 civilised world apply the word savage, as
expressive of the most ferocious, cruel, and murderous character that
can be described.
The grisly 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 showed 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.
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.
I have roamed about from time to time during seven or eight
years, visiting and associating with some three or four hundred

11
thousand of these people, under an almost infinite variety of circum-
stances; 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 gene-
rally 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; 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.
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 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.
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, un-
avoidably, 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.
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.
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

12
a
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 dead game,-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.
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 “strange anomaly” of man in
the simple elements of his nature, undissolved or compounded into
the mysteries of enlightened and fashionable life.
NOTE
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 reader; 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:
CERTIFICATES
“I hereby certify, that the persons whose signatures are affixed to the certifi-
cates used below, by Mr Catlin, 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, etc., exhibited by him in his INDIAN GALLERY,' are
entitled to full credit.
“J. R. POINSETT, Secretary of War, Washington.”
“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, etc., of Mr CatLin's INDIAN
GALLERY ; 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.
“C. A. HARRIS, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Washington.”
“I have seen Mr Catlin's Collection of Portraits of Indians, east of the Rocky
Mountains, many of which were familiar to me, and painted in my presence : and

13
as far as they have included Indians of my acquaintance, the likenesses are easily
recognised, bearing the most striking resemblance to the originals, as well as
faithful representations of their costumes.
“W. CLARK, Superintendent of Indian Affairs, St Louis."
“I have examined Mr Carlin's 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 recognised. And I consider the costumes, as painted
by him, to be the only correct representations I have ever seen.
“JOHN F. A. SANFORD,
“U. SS. Indian Agent for Mandans, Rickarees, Minatarees,
Crows, Knisteneaux, Assineboins, Blackfeet, etc.”
“We have seen Mr Catlin's Portraits of Indians east of the Rocky Mountains,
many of which are familiar to us; the likenesses are easily recognised, bearing a
strong resemblance to the originals, as well as a faithful representation of their
costumes.
“J. DOUGHERTY, Indian Agent.
“ November 27th, 1837.
J. GANTT.”
“We hereby certify, that the Portraits of the Grand Pawnees, Republican
Pawnees, Pawnee Loups, Tappage Pawnees, Otoes, Omahaws, and Missouries,
which are in Mr CatLIN'S INDIAN GALLERY, were painted from life by Mr GEO.
CATLIN, and that the individuals sat to him in the costumes precisely in which they
are painted. “J. DOUGHERTY, I. A. for Pawnees, Omahaws, and Otoes.
“ J. GANTT.
“New York, 1837.”
“I have seen Mr Catlin's 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 recognised ; also
his sketches of their manners and customs, I think, are excellent; and the landscape
views on the Missouri and Mississippi, are correct representations.
“K. M‘KENZIE, of the Am. Fur Co. Mouth of Yellow Stone.”
“ We hereby certify that the Portraits of Seminoles and Euchees, in Mr
CATLIN'S GALLERY 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. MORRISON, Capt. 4th Inft. H. WHARTON, 2d Lieut. 6th Inft.
J. S. HATHAWAY, 2d Lieut. 1st Art. F. WEEDON, Assistant Surgeon.
“ Fort Moultrie, January 26th, 1838.”
“Having examined Mr CATLIN's 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.
“J. L. BEAN, S. Agent for Indian Affairs."
“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 Catlin's Collection; and it gives me great
pleasure to assure the world, that on looking them over, I found the likenesses of

14
G
my old friends easily to be recognised ; and his sketches of Manners and Customs
to be pourtrayed with singular truth and correctness.
“J. PILCHER, Agent for Upper Missouri Indians."
“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 Catlin's 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.
“H. SCHOOLCRAFT, Indian Agent for Wisconsin Territory.'
“Having lived and dealt with the Blackfeet Indians for five years past, I was
enabled to recognise every one of the Portraits of those people, and of the Crows
also, which Mr Catlin has in his Collection, from the faithful likenesses they bore to
the originals.
“St Louis, 1835.
“J. E. BRAZEAU.”
“Having spent sixteen years in the continual acquaintance with the Indians of
the several tribes of the Missouri, represented in Mr Catlin's Gallery of Indian
Paintings, I was enabled to judge of the correctness of the likenesses, and I
instantly recognised every one of them, when I looked them over, from the striking
resemblance they bore to the originals-so also, of the Landscapes on the Missouri.
“ HONORE PICOTTE."
“ The Portraits, in the possession of Mr CATLIN, of Pawnee Picts, Kioways,
Camanches, Wecos, and Osages, were painted by him from life, when on a tour to
their country, with the United States Dragoons. The likenesses are good, very
easily to be recognised, and the costumes faithfully represented.
“ HENRY DODGE, Col. of Drag. D. PERKINS, Capt. of Drag.
R. H. MASON, Major of Ditto. M. DUNCAN, Ditto.
D. HUNTER, Capt. Ditto. T. B. WHEELOCK, Lieut. Drag."
• The Landscapes, Buffalo-Hunting scenes, etc., 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 recognised 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. “WM. CLARK, Superintendent of Indian Affairs.”
“ The Landscape Views on the Missouri, Buffalo Hunts, and other scenes, taken
by my friend Mr CATLIN, 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 Catlin visited that country.
“JOHN F. A. SANFORD, U. SS. Indian Agent.”
“ 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 CATLIN, 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 St Louis and the grand bend of the Missouri.
“J. L. BEAN, S. Agent of Indian Affairs."
“I have examined a series of paintings by Mr CATLIN, representing Indian
Buffalo Hunts, Landscapes, etc., and from an acquaintance of twenty-seven years
with such scenes as are represented, I feel qualified to judge them, and do unhesitat-
ingly pronounce them good and unexaggerated representations.
“JNO. DOUGHERTY, Indian Agent for Pawnees, Omahaws, and Otoes."

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LETTER–No. 2
MOUTH OF YELLOW STONE, UPPER MISSOURI, 1832
,
I ARRIVED at this place yesterday in the steamer Yellow Stone, after
a voyage of nearly three months from St 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 voyageur 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 St Louis to this place, and I had also the pleasure of his
company, with that of Major Sanford, the government agent for the
Missouri Indians.
The American Fur Company have erected here, for their protec-
tion against the savages, a very substantial Fort, 300 feet square,
with bastions armed with ordnance (Fig. 3); 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 am witness-
ing; 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 luxurious, for this is truly the land of Epicures ;
we are invited by the savages to feasts of dogs' meat, 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
That enthusiasm alone has brought me into this remote
my art.
15

16
I am
region, 3500 miles from my native soil; the last two thousand of
which have furnished me with almost unlimited models, both in land-
scape and the human figure, exactly suited to my feelings.
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 contempla-
tion 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 sur-
rounded 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 accom-
plished world. This feeling, together with the desire to study my
art, independently of the embarrassments which the ridiculous
fashions of civilised society have thrown in its way, has led me to the
wilderness for a while, as the true school of the arts.
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.
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 deal-
a

17
ing 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.
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 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, melt-
ing away at the approach of civilisation. 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 plough-share turning the sod over their graves,
and
I have flown to their rescue—not of their lives or of their race (for
they are “ doomed” 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, phoenix-like, they may rise from the
“stain on a painter's palette," and live again upon canvas, 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 procur-
ing 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, etc.,
with anecdotes, traditions, and history of their respective nations.
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 noble race
of beings, who require but a few years more of the march of civilisa-
tion 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 under-
taking. 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
- VOL. I.
a
B

18
sciences of physiognomy and phrenology, of their manners and
customs, rites, ceremonies, etc.; 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 in-
teresting information, which I shall take equal pleasure in communi-
cating by an occasional Letter in my clumsy way.
Wat

LETTER_No. 3
MOUTH OF YELLOW STONE
SINCE 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.
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 St Louis to this place; over which distance one
is obliged to pass, before he can reach this wild and lovely spot.
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 this 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.
For the distance of 1000 miles above St Louis, the shores of this
river (and, in many places, the whole bed of the stream) are filled
19

20
with snags and raft, formed of trees of the largest size, which have
been undermined by the 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 Fig. 4.)
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
bids positive defiance to keel-boats and steamers, on their way up
the river.
With what propriety this “Hell of waters” might be denominated
the “River Styx," I will not undertake to decide; but nothing could
be more appropriate or innocent than to call it the River of Sticks.
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 has been washed out from underneath
them, and is with the rolling current mixed, and on its way to the
ocean.
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.
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.

21
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 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.
From St 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.
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 (Fig. 5); 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.
These strange and picturesque appearances have been produced
by the rains and frosts, which are continually changing the dimen-
sions, and varying the thousand shapes of these denuded hills, by
washing down their sides and carrying them into the river.
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

22
-
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 porticoes, 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 embedded in the clay of which they are formed (Fig. 6).
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 realise unless he travels here and looks upon it.
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, to whom the sides and slopes of these bluffs (around
which they fearlessly bound) are nearly inaccessible.
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.
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 St 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.
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 floating saw-mill—and they had no name for it—so it was, like
everything else (with them), which is mysterious and unaccountable,
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23
ground,
called medicine (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 con-
fusion and amazement—some of them threw their faces to the
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.
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, 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 medicine (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.”
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 me
with in this voyage; for we met many, and some of them were really
laughable.
The Fort in which I am now residing was built by Mr M‘Kenzie,
who now occupies it; and it is the largest and best-built establish-
ment 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.

24
a
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.
Mr M‘Kenzie is a kind-hearted and high-minded Scotchman;
and seems to have charge of all the Fur Company's 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.
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 sans coffee, sans 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.
At the hospitable board of this gentleman I found also another,
who forms a happy companion for mine host ; and whose intellectual
and polished society has added not a little to my pleasure and
amusement since I arrived here.
The gentleman of whom I am speaking is an Englishman, by the
name of Hamilton, of the most pleasing and entertaining conversa-
tion, 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 give 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.
We three bons vivants 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 consider-
able part of which, this gentleman has brought with great and
precious care from his own country.
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
There are now here, and encamped about the Fort, a great
many, and I am continually at work with my brush; we have now
around us the Knisteneaux, Crows, Assinneboins, and Blackfeet, and
in a few days are to have large accessions.
a mass.

25
The finest specimen 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 Ojibbe-
ways, the Assinneboins, Knisteneaux, Blackfeet, Crows, Shiennes,
Grosventres, Mandans, and others; of whom and their customs, their
history, traditions, costumes, etc., I shall in due season, give you
further and minute accounts,
B 2

LETTER_No. 4
MOUTH OF YELLOW STONE
The 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 primi-
tive rudeness and 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.
As far as my travels have yet led me into the Indian country, I
have more than realised my former predictions; that those Indians
who could be found most entirely in a state of nature, with the least
knowledge of civilised 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, etc., and every
thing but the Indian himself, to prove to the world the assertions
which I have made above.
Every one of these red sons of the forest (or rather of the prairie)
is a knight and a 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
a
26

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G. Catlin.
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27
sinewy bow, which he seldom bends in vain, to drive deep to life's
fountain the whizzing arrow.
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 bisom) 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, etc. 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 (Fig. 7). The cow is less in stature, and less ferocious;
though not much less wild and frightful in her appearance (Fig. 8).
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 canvas.
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.
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.
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

28
a
favourite buffalo horse (i.e. 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.
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, 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.
As we were mounted and ready to start, M'Kenzie called up
some four or five of his men, and told them to start 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 sleep-
ing; 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 "strip-
ping," as it is termed (i.e. every man strips himself and his horse of
every extraneous and unnecessary appendage of dress, etc., that
might be an incumbrance in running): hats are laid off, and coats—
and bullet pouches; sleeves are rolled up, a handkerchief tied lightly
around the head, and another around the waist-cartridges are pre-
pared and placed in the waistcoat pocket, or a half dozen bullets
“throwed into the mouth,” etc., etc., 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 their riders themselves. While “strip-
ping” and mounting, they exhibit the most restless impatience; and

29
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 dis-
covering us, wheeled and laid their course in a mass. At this instant
we started ! (and all must 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 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 trophy; 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 hocked, 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 (Fig. 9), and almost under
my horse's heels. I wheeled
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
hic-
-no--no, I believe not.
Oh! this is not much, Mons. Cataline—this is nothing new_but
this is a damned hard piece of ground here—hic—oh, hic !” At this
the poor fellow fainted, but in a few moments arose, picked up his
a
-10,---

30
,
gun, took his horse by the bit; which then opened its eyes, and he
with a hic, and a ugh—UGHK ! sprang upon his 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.
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.
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 looks alone, almost to
annihilate me; (Fig. 10) 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 com-
menced taking his likeness. He stood stiffened up, and swelling
with awful 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.
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.
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 that 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.
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

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"
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 pack-
horses, loaded with the choicest parts which were cut from the
animals, and the remainder of the carcasses left a prey for the
wolves.
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.
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, etc., 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 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
was) the most distinguished of all the white men who had flourished
in those regions, in the pursuit and death of the buffalo.
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

32
soon moistened, and good cheer ensued. Ba'tiste, Défonde, Chardon,
etc., 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 pro-
cession. The door of the ice-house was thrown open, the meat was
discharged into it, and I being fatigued went to sleep.

7 13
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11
G. Callin.
OF
UNIL


LETTER—No. 5
MOUTH OF YELLOW STONE
In my former epistle I told you there were encamped about the
Fort a host of wid, 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 canvas, 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 mysteries 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.
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 (Fig. 11); 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 dis-
tinguished 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
VOL. I.
а.
33
с

34
war-cry will be raised, and their deadly bows will again be drawn on
each other.
The name of this dignitary, of whom I have just spoken, is Stu-
mick-o-sucks (the buffalo's back fat), i.e. the “hump" or "fleece,” the
most delicious part of the buffalo's flesh. I have also painted, of the
Blackfeet, 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.
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 costli-
ness 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 recognised, 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.
The wife (or squaw) of this dignitary Eeh-nis-kim (the crystal
stone), I have also placed upon my canvas (Fig. 13); her counten-
ance 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, ,
a

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35
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 (Fig. 12), 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 pro-
tection, until he shall arrive at the proper age to take the office to
which he is to succeed, and to protect himself.
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.e. 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.
In the chief's dress, which I am describing, there are his mocca-
sins, made also of buckskin, and ornamented in a corresponding
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 representa-
tions. 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 some-
where between this place and the Falls of St Anthony, on the head
waters of the Mississippi.
manner.

36
This curious stone has many peculiar qualities, and has, un-
doubtedly, 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.
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 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.
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 can
easily destroy
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 gene-
rally about three feet, and sometimes not more than two and a half
(Fig. 18, a). 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 part 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

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18
OF
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37
There are
a
a
inseparably attached to it, and give it great elasticity.
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.
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 wit-
nessed 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.
Their bows are often made of bone and sinews, and their arrows
headed with flints or with bones, of their own construction (Fig. 18, c),
or with steel, as they are now chiefly furnished by the Fur Traders
quite to the Rocky Mountains (Fig. 18, d). The quiver, which is
,
uniformly carried on the back, and made of the panther or otter skins
(Fig. 18, e), is a magazine of these deadly weapons, and generally
contains two varieties.
The one to be drawn upon an enemy, gene-
rally poisoned, and with long flukes or barbs, which are designed to
hang the blade in the wound after the shaft is withdrawn, in which

38
a
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 future
occasions.
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 right side, enabling his rider to throw
his arrows to the left; he runs and approaches without the use of the
halter, which is hanging loose upon his neck, bringing his 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.
An Indian, therefore, mounted on a fleet and well-trained horse,
with his bow in his hand, and his quiver slung on his back, contain-
ing 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 (Fig. 18, 5), 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 (Fig. 18). 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.
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 bulls' hides; sometimes single, some-
times 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 same were also used by
the Ancient Britons; and such exactly are now in use amongst the
Arabs and the North American Indians.
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

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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 medicine and mystery.
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 (Fig. 14). 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.
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.
Besides the chiefs and warriors above-named, I have also trans-
ferred to my canvas the “looks and very resemblance” of an aged
chief, who combines with his high office, the envied title of mystery
or medicine-man, i.e. doctor-magician-prophet—soothsayer-jong-
leur—and high priest, all combined in one person, who necessarily is
looked upon as “Sir Oracle” of the nation.
"
The name of this dis-
tinguished functionary is Wun-nes-tou, the white buffalo (Fig. 15);
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.
And there is also In-ne-o-cose, the iron horn (Fig. 16), 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 (Fig. 17), in a
beautiful dress of the mountain-goats' skin, and her robe of the young
buffalo's hide.
>
-

LETTER_No. 6
MOUTH OF YELLOW STONE
6
a
Now for medicines or mysteries—for doctors, high priests, for hocus
pocus, witchcraft, and animal magnetism !
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.
I must needs stop here-my painting and everything else, until
I can explain the word “medicine,” and “medicine-bag ;” and also
some medicine operations, 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 superstition.
The word medicine, in its common acceptation here, means
mystery, and nothing else; and in that sense I shall use it very
frequently in my notes on Indian manners and customs.
The Fur Traders in this country, are nearly all French; and in
their language, a doctor or physician, is called “Medecin."
” 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 medicine-men, 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
40

41
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
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.
The Indians do not use the word medicine, however; but in each
tribe they have a word of their own construction, synonymous with
mystery or mystery-man.
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 of Indian life and Indian character. These bags are con-
structed of the skins of animals, of birds, or of reptiles, and orna-
mented 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.
This curious custom has principally been done away with along
the frontier, where white men laugh at the Indian for the observ-
ance 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.
The manner in which this curious and important article is
C 2

42
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 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
Spirit, 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.
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 medicine-bag 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 “medicine honourable."
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
«

43
lose it, that he may restore it, and his reputation also, while he is
desperately contending for the protection of his community.
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 buy 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.
These curious appendages to the persons or wardrobe of an
Indian (Fig. 18, 9), are sometimes made of the skin of an otter, a
beaver, a musk-rat, a weazel, a racoon, a polecat, 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.
Such then is the medicine-bag-—such its meaning and import-
ance; and when its owner dies, it is placed in his grave and decays
with his body.
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 conjurations,
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.”
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

44
and
otherwise, for, according to a regulation of the Fort, their arms
weapons were all locked up by M'Kenzie in his “arsenal," for
the purpose of preserving the peace amongst these fighting-cocks.
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 Black-
feet 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 returned into the
Fort, and then, I saw what I never before saw in my life—I saw a
“medicine-man” 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
medicine-man must needs be called (for such a personage they had
in their party), and hocus pocus applied to him, as the dernier resort,
when all drugs and all specifics were useless, and after all possi-
bility of recovery was extinct !
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

45
a
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 “medicine” or mystery;
and for this purpose, each one of them has a strange and unaccount-
able dress, conjured up and constructed during a life-time of
practice, in the wildest fancy imaginable, in which he arrays him-
self, 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 in-
genious son of Indian 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 reputa-
tion 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.
Such was the case, and such the extraordinary means resorted to
in the instance I am now relating. Several hundred spectators, in-
cluding Indians and traders, were assembled around the dying man,
when it was announced that the “medicine-man" 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 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.
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-

46
a
yes, and even more: you must see the magic dress 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.
His entrée and his garb were somewhat thus :—he approached
the ring with his body in a crouching position (Fig 19), 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 ankles; 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 gutteral 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.
.
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.
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,
medicine; 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.
Such is a medicine-man or a physician, and such is one of his
wild and ridiculous manquvres, which I have just witnessed in this
strange country.
These men, as I before remarked, are valued as dignitaries in the
tribe, and the greatest respect is paid to them by the whole

23
4
) دو۔ اور ان کے
19
G. Catlin
ONIL
OR
Eier


47
community; not only 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.

LETTER_No. 7
MOUTH OF YELLOW STONE
THE 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 dis-
cussed; which I will now endeavour to do, beginning just where I
left (or digressed) off.
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 canvas. 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 spear 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.
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.
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.e. 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.
The Crows who live on the head waters of Yellow Stone, and
48

75
21
ན-
དཀའ་
جن کا
| པ
22
G. Catlin
UNTY
OF
/ Q ༽ཉི །


49
extend from this neighbourhood also to the base of the Rocky
Mountains, are similar in the above respects to the Blackfeet; roam-
ing about a great part of the year—and seeking their enemies
wherever they can find them.
They are a much smaller tribe than the Blackfeet, with whom
they are 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.
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 calcu-
lation 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 buffalo on the plains for food, where their lives are
exceedingly exposed.
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
(Fig. 22), 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 embedded 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
VOL. I.
D

50
the timber, and dwell in them during the winter months; but more
frequently cut logs and make a miserable and rude sort of a 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.
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 it is com-
posed 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
(Fig. 20), 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.
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 employ-
ment) 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.
For this strange cavalcade, preparation is made in the following

14
اسمش )
20
7( ////
به
V14
۱۱۱۰ ۱۱۱۱۱۱۰۰
G. Cautun.
OF
mien


51
.
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 him, with
a tremendous pack upon her own back; and at others she sits
astride of his 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.
In this way five or six hundred wigwams, with all their furniture
(Fig. 21), 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 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
“Catching at little bits of fun and glee
That's played on dogs enslaved by dog that's free.”
The Crows, like the Blackfeet, are beautifully costumed, and
perhaps with somewhat more of taste and elegance; inasmuch as
(with their dresses and with their lodges), the skins of which they
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 civilised world in the beauty of their skin-dress-
ing. The art of tanning is unknown to them, so far as civilised

52
habits and arts have not been taught them; yet the art of dressing
skins, so far as we have it in the civilised world, has been (like
hundreds of other ornamental and useful customs which we are
practising) borrowed from the savage; without our ever stopping
to inquire from whence they come, or by whom invented.
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.
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; 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 practised in my own country; and for
the lack of which, all of our dressed skins when once wet, are, I
think, chiefly ruined.
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.
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,

53
a
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.
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.
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, etc.; 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
capturing, 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 practised off upon these rightful owners of the
soil, by acquisitive white men, I consider the infliction, or retalia-
tion, 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 of a much severer one; which they could easily practise
upon the few white men in their country, without rendering them-
selves amenable to any law.
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 con-
sidered them the finest Indians of his acquaintance.
I recollect whilst in St Louis, and other places at the East, to
have heard it often said, that the Crows were a rascally and thiev-

54
ing set of vagabonds, highway robbers, etc., etc.; 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 Crooke 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.
These gentlemen, with their party, were crossing the Crow
country with a large stock of goods, of guns, and ammunition, of
knives, and spears, arrow-heads, etc.; 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, etc. (accord-
ing to their 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 these gentlemen refused to take, persist-
ing 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.
I have conversed often and much with Messrs Sublette and

55
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.
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.

LETTER_No. 8
MOUTH OF YELLOW STONE
SINCE 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 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.
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 to cut it short off.
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.
The present chief of the Crows, who is called "Long-hair," and
56

16
okay
M
Diss
Pen
مکمل
24
25
©
stoles
26
27
G. Callin
OF
ICH


57
a
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 told me they had lived in his
hospitable lodge, with him 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.
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.
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.
Amongst the Crows of distinction now at this place, I have
painted the portraits of several, who exhibit some striking peculi-
arities. Amongst whom is Chah-ee-chopes, the four wolves (Fig. 24);
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.
Duhk-pits-a-ho-shee, the red bear (Fig. 26), a distinguished
warrior; and 00-je-en-a-he-ah, the woman who lives in the bear's
den (Fig. 25). I have also painted Pa-ris-ka-roo-pa (two crows) the
younger (Fig. 27), 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
D 2

58
from his extraordinary sagacity as a councillor and orator, even at an
early stage of his life.
There is something very uncommon in this outline, and sets forth
the striking peculiarity of the Crow tribe, though rather in an exag-
gerated 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.
The Crow women (and Blackfeet also) are not handsome, and I
shall at present say but little of them. They are, like all other
Indian women, the slaves of their husbands: being obliged to per-
form 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.
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.
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.
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.
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

59
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.
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 form-
ing 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 enterprise, 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 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 lose 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 it has done 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.
The Blackfeet, therefore, having been less traded with, and less
seen by white people than most of the other tribes, are more imper-
fectly 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 30,000 Indians (all together),
who range under the general denomination of Blackfeet.
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 appella-
tion of "Blackfeet.” Such, for instance, are the “Grosventres de
Prairie” and Cotonnés, neither of which speak the Blackfeet

60
3
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 practising their
own customs.
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.
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; Circes, of 220
lodges, and Cotonnés, of 250 lodges, with language also distinct from
either. *
There is in this region a rich and interesting field for the linguist
or 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 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 informa-
tion, which I have got from other persons acquainted with these
tribes, I am fully convinced of the correctness of his statements.
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.
The Knisteneaux are of small stature, but well-built for strength
* 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
St 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.

61
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
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 Winnipeg; 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.
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.
The Assinneboins are a part of the Dohcotas, or Sioux,
undoubtedly; for their personal appearance as well as their language
is very similar.
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.
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

62
a
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.
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.
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.
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 INDIAN GALLERY, if I live, and they can be pre-
served until I get home.
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 move-
ments; 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 danc-
ing; some one of which, they seem to be almost continually practis-
ing, and of all of which I shall hereafter give the reader (as well as
of many others of their amusements) a minute account.
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 pipe-dance, and was as follows :-On a hard trodden
pavement in front of their village, which place is used for all their

18
32
G. Cattin
OF
SICH
3
UNIL


63
a
public meetings, and many of their amusements; the young men
who were to compose the dance had gathered themselves around a
small fire (Fig. 32), and each one seated on a buffalo-robe spread
upon the ground. In the centre and by the fire, was seated a digni-
tary, 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 satis-
faction, 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 join-
ing 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 gesticula-
tions and yells that seemed almost to make the earth quake under
our feet. This strange manoeuvre, which I did but partially under-
stand, 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.
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.
I have just painted the portrait of a very distinguished young
man, and son of the chief (Fig. 28); his dress is a very handsome
one, and in every respect answers well to the descriptions I have

64
a
given above. The name of this man is Wi-jun-jon (the pigeon's egg
head), and by the side of him (Fig. 29) 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.
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 fashion-
ables in the polished circles of civilised society. And I can assure
you, readers, that his entrée amongst his own people, in the dress
and with the airs of a civilised beau, was one of no ordinary occur-
rence; 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.
On his way home from St 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 en
militaire, 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 rela-
tions; 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

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65
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.
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 character; valued, cherished, and practised, 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.
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 set-
ting him down as a liar and impostor. 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.
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.
The women of this tribe are often comely, and sometimes pretty;
in Fig. 34, 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.
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 Winnipeg; and even much
further in a north-westerly direction, towards, and even through, a
great part of the Rocky Mountains.
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 civilised habits have been as yet success-
fully 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
VOL. I.
E

66
a
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 shown themselves
equal in sinew, and not less successful in mortal combats.
Amongst the foremost and most renowned of their warriors, is
Bro-cas-sie, the broken arm (Fig. 30), in a handsome dress; and by
the side of him (Fig. 31), his wife, a simple and comely looking
woman. In Fig. 33, will be seen the full-length portrait of a young
woman with a child on her back, showing fairly the fashion of
cutting and ornamenting the dresses 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.
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.
The chief of that part of the Ojibbeway tribe who inhabit these
northern regions (Fig. 35), 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 (Fig. 36), is
seen represented by his side.
I have much to see of these people yet, and much consequently
to write; so for the present I close my book.

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LETTER_No. 9
MOUTH OF YELLOW STONE
SINCE 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
j
at this fairy land and its amusements.
A traveller on his tour through such a country as this, has no
time to write, and scarcely time enough to moralise. It is as much
as he can well do to “look out for his scalp," and "for something to
eat.” 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 shorn 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 silence 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?
It is but to paint a vast country of green fields, where the men
are all red—where meat is the staff of life—where no laws, but those
a
-
67

68
-
of honour, are known—where the oak and the pine give way to the
cotton-wood and peccan—where the buffalo range, the elk, mountain-
sheep, and the fleet-bounding antelope—where the magpie and chat-
tering 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 sun and rats alone (of all the list of old
acquaintance), could be recognised in this country of strange meta-
morphose. 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 savage in his
look.
In traversing the immense regions of the classic 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 civilised atmosphere, through the different grades of
civilisation, 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 civilised society. Through this dark and sunken vale of wretched-
ness 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 civilised 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 restrained, and frequently subdued,
by the noblest traits of honour and magnanimity,—a race of men
who live and enjoy life and its luxuries, and practise 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 blasting frontier 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,

69
applied; for all those numerous tribes which I have visited, and are
yet uncorrupted by the vices of civilised 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 have not “fled to the
West;”—that they are not to be found here—that they have been
blasted by the fire which has passed over them—have sunk into their
graves, and everything but their names travelled into oblivion.
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.
It is for these inoffensive and unoffending people, yet unvisited
by the vices of civilised 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
civilised 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.
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.
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
civilised 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 everlast-
ing miseries on mankind from the beginning of the world; if refined
and intellectual pains increase in proportion to our intellectual

70
a
a
-
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 agonising 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 ask) can look without admir-
ing, 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 civilised society for
awhile, with all its intellectual refinements, to such a tribunal, and
then write down the degradation of the “lawless savage,” and our
transcendent virtues.
As these people have no laws, the sovereign right of summary re-
dress 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.
If
you think me enthusiast, 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 these,
and visits to those, filled the earliest page of my juvenile impressions.
The tablet has stood, and I am an enthusiast for God's works as
He left them.
The sad tale of my native “valley,”* 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.
A journey of 4000 miles from the Atlantic shore, regularly reced-
ing from the centre of civilised 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
Wyoming
*

71
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 knowing 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 civilised 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.
In the commencement of my Tour, several of my travelling com-
panions 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 steamboat 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 St Louis, 1400 miles west of New York, my landlady assured
me that I would be pleased with her boarders, for they were nearly
all merchants from the “West.” I there asked,—“Whence come
those steamboats, laden with pork, honey, hides, etc. ?”
From the West.
Whence those ponderous bars of silver, which those men have
been for hours shouldering and putting on board that boat ?
They come from Santa Fee, from the West.
Whence goes this steamboat so richly laden with dry-goods,
steam engines, etc. ?
She goes to Jefferson city.
Jefferson city ?—Where is that?
Far to the West.
And where goes that boat laden down to her gunnels, the Yellow
Stone?
She goes still farther to the West—“Then,” said I, “I'll go to the
West.”
I went on the Yellow Stone-
Two thousand miles on her, and we were
at the mouth of Yellow Stone river, at the West. What! invoices,
bills of lading, etc., a wholesale establishment so far to the West !
And those strange looking, long-haired gentlemen, who have just
*
*
*

72
*
*
*
*
*
arrived, and are relating the adventures of their long and tedious
journey. Who are they?
Oh! they are some of our merchants just arrived from the West.
And that keel-boat, that Mackinaw-boat, and that formidable
caravan, all of which are richly laden with goods.
These, Sir, are outfits starting for the West.
Going to the West, ha ? “Then,” said I, “I'll try it again. I will
try and see if I can go to the West.”
What, a Fort here, too?
Oui, Monsieur—oui, Monsieur (as a dauntless and semibarbarian-
looking, jolly fellow, dashed forth in advance of his party on his wild
horse to meet me).
What distance are you west of Yellow Stone here, my good fellow?
Comment ?
What distance ?—(stop)—quel distance ?
Pardón, Monsieur, je ne sais pas, Monsieur.
Ne parlez vous l'Anglais ?
Non, Monsr. I speaks de French and de Americaine; mais je ne
parle pas l'Anglais.
“Well, then, my good fellow, I will speak English, and you may
speak Americaine."
Pardón, pardón, Monsieur.
Well, then, we will both speak Americaine.
Val, sare, je suis bien content, pour for I see dat you speaks putty
coot Americaine.
What
may
I call
your name?
Ba'tiste, Monsieur.
What Indians are those so splendidly dressed, and with such fine
horses, encamped on the plain yonder ?
Ils sont Corbeaux.
Crows, ha ?
Yes, sare, Monsieur.
We are then in the Crow country?
Non, Monsieur, not putty éxact; we are in de coontrae of de dam
Pieds noirs.
Blackfeet, ha ?
Oui.
What blue mountain is that which we see in the distance yonder ?
Ha, quel Montaigne ? cela est la Montaigne du (pardón).
Du Rochers, I suppose ?
Oui, Monsieur, de Rock Montaigne.
You live here, I suppose ?

73
Non, Monsieur, I comes fair from de West.
What, from the West! Where under the heavens is that?
Wat, diable! de West? well you shall see, Monsieur, he is putty
fair off, súppose. Monsieur Pierre Chouteau can give you the
histoire de ma vie—il bien sait que je prends les castors, very fair
in de West!
You carry goods, I suppose, to trade with the Snake Indians
beyond the mountains, and trap beaver also ?
Oui, Monsieur.
Do you see anything of the “Flat-heads” in your country?
Non, Monsieur, ils demeurent very, very fair to de West.
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 employ-
ment of the American Fur Company, I suppose ?
Non, Monsieur, not quite exact; mais, suppose, I am “ free
trappare,” free, Mons. free!
Free trapper, what's that? I don't understand you, Ba'tiste.
.
Well, Mons. 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
St 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, Mons. 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 alone on de leet rivares pour
prendre les castors. Sometime six months—sometime five month,
and I come back to Yel Stone, et Mons. M-Kenzie is give me coot
price pour all.
So Mr M-Kenzie fits you out, and takes your beaver off you at a
certain price?
Oui, Monsr. oui.
What price does he pay you for your beaver, Ba'tiste?
Ha ! suppose one dollare pour one beavare.
A dollar a skin, ha?
Oui.
Well, you must live a lonesome and hazardous sort of life; can
you make anything by it?
Oh, oui, Monsr. putty coot, mais if it is not pour for de dam
rascalité Rickarree et de dam Pieds noirs, de Blackfoot Ingin, I am
make
very
much monair, mais (sacré), I am rob-rob-rob too much!
E 2

74
What, do the Blackfeet rob you of your furs?
?
Oui, Monsr. rob, súppose, five time! I am been free trappare
seven year, and 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!
Well, Ba'tiste, this then is what you call being a free trapper is it?
Oui, Mons. "free trappare,” free!
You seem to be going down towards the Yellow Stone, and
probably have been out on a trapping excursion.
Oui, Monsr. c'est vrai.
Have you been robbed this time, Ba'tiste ?
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
St Louis.
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 St 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?
Avec tout mon cour, Mons. remercie, remercie.
It's a bargain then, Ba'tiste; I will see you at the mouth of
Yellow Stone.
Oui, Monsr. in de Yel Stone, bon soir, bon soir, Monsr.
But stop, Ba'tiste, you told me those were Crows encamped
yonder.
Oui, Monsieur, oui, des Corbeaux.
And I suppose you are their interpreter ?
Non, Monsieur.
But you speak the Crow language ?
Ouis, Monsieur.
Well then, turn about; I am going to pay them a visit, and you
can render me a service. Bien, Monsieur, allons.

LETTER_No. 10
MANDAN VILLAGE, UPPER MISSOURI
Soon 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.
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 affec-
tionate 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,
of the beautiful green fields, and hills, and dales, and prairie
bluffs, that encompass the enchanting shores of the Yellow Stone.
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.
Besides which, and ourselves, our little craft carried several packs
of Indian dresses and other articles, which I had purchased of the
for ever,
75

76
.
Indians; and also my canvas and easel, and our culinary articles,
which were few and simple; consisting of three tin cups, a coffee-pot
-one plate—a frying-pan—and a tin-kettle.
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 St Louis, which was 2000 miles below us, with nought inter-
vening, save the wide-spread and wild regions, inhabited by the roam-
ing savage.
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.
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 ex-
haustion, the marvellous scenes which he had witnessed amongst the
white people, on his tour to Washington City.
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.
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 un-
exampled liar.
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 every-
where had the appearance of an old and highly-cultivated country,
with houses and fences removed.
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, present-
ing itself in an exceedingly rough and picturesque form, to the shore
of the river; sloping down from the summit level of the prairies
a

77
a
above, which sweep off from the brink of the precipice, almost level,
to an unknown distance.
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 coil; and at the roots each horn is,
in some instances, from five to six inches in breadth.
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.
We landed our canoe, and endeavoured to shoot one of these
sagacious animals; and after he had lead 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
I
my sight.
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.”
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 head and dresses
of the 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 to say to what variety it
belongs; but I am sure it is not to be seen in any of our museums;

78
a
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.
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
a
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 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.
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.
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.
To this group of clay bluffs, which line the river for many miles
in distance, the voyageurs have very appropriately given the name of

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79
“ the Brick-kilns;” owing to their red appearance, which may be
discovered in a clear day at the distance of many leagues.
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 pro-
duced by the action of waters; which have carried away the interven-
ing earth, and left them in the picturesque shapes in which they are
now seen.
A similar formation (or deformation) 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 depth of fifteen feet, of red pumice;
terminating at its bottom, in a layer of several feet of sedimentary
deposit, which is formed into endless conglomerates of basaltic
crystals.
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.
As will be seen in the drawings (Fig. 37, a near view, and Fig. 38,
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 super-
incumbent 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.
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 paint-
ing, where their colours are faithfully given, or they lose their pictur-

80
esque 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.
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.
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.
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 Caleb (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 “fix,” 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
and saw that everything had been pawed out of it, and all eatables
from us;

81
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 raw-hide 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 laying down is medicine 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.
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 in-
duced, 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 empathic 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 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
moment before, had passed our most prudent resolve.
During the rest of this day, we passed on rapidly, gazing on 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.
The scene was one of enchantment the whole way; our chief
VOL. I.
«
)
F

82
a
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 after-
noon; 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.
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.
The scenery of this day's travel, as I have before said, was exceed-
ingly 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.
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, some-
times for miles together; forming almost impassable hedges, so
loaded with the weight of their fruit, that their boughs were every-
where gracefully bending down and resting on the ground.
This last shrub (shepperdia), 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

83
a
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 frosts 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.
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 produc-
ing 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 constructed a mackinaw-boat, capable of carrying fifty
or a hundred casks; and I had been a good hunter, capable of supply-
ing 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 St Louis when we
arrived there?”
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 enter-
prise, 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 majority
in this strange and singular wilderness.
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
-

84
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 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.
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.
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 of 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
a

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85
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 :-
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 canvas to the top of a huge
mound, where they left me at my work; and I painted my picture
(Fig. 39), 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.
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 super 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 shown in the painting.
The fact, that there 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 paralysed 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.
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 remain,
a

86
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 deposit, com-
posed 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.
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.
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.
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
(Fig. 40), 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.
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

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87
already been described, our attention was more than usually excited
by the stupendous scene (Fig. 41), called by the voyageurs "the
Grand Dome,” which was lying in full view before us.
Our canoe was here hauled ashore, and a day whiled away again,
amongst these clay-built ruins.
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.
I have subjoined a sketch (Fig. 42) of one of these sub-terra com-
munities; 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 dis-
similarity.
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 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.
The size of these curious little animals is not far from that of a
very large rat, and they are not unlike them 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 the 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.
In the present instance, we made many fruitless endeavours to

88
shoot them; but found our efforts to be entirely in vain. As we
were approaching them at a distance, every one seemed to be perched
up on his hind feet, on his appropriate domicile, 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 limits of their safety), they sprang down into their
holes, and instantly turning their bodies, showed 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 them-
selves, 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.
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.
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, 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.
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
a

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;
I have formerly described, that are so often met with on the banks
of this mighty river.
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 appear-
ance 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 pro-
duced 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.
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; hav-
ing 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 (Fig. 43), 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 canvas.
In the after part of this day we passed another extraordinary
scene which is denominated “the Three Domes” (Fig. 44), forming an
exceedingly pleasing group, though requiring no further description
for the reader, who is now sufficiently acquainted with these scenes
to understand them.
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
F 2

90
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.

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LETTER_No. 11
MANDAN VILLAGE, UPPER MISSOURI
I SAID 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; or 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.
The Mandans (or See-pohs-ka-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 first people created on earth. Their
existence in these regions has, undoubtedly, 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.
This tribe is at present located on the west bank of the Missouri,
about 1800 miles above St 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
(Fig. 45), 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
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
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be seen rising from the ground, and towards the heavens, domes--
(not “of gold,” but) of dirt—and the thousand spears (not “spires ")
and scalp-poles, etc., etc., of the semi-subterraneous village of the
hospitable and gentlemanly Mandans.
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 tradi-
tions, that their numbers were much greater than at the present day.
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 deduc-
tion 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.
There are many remains on the river below this place (and, in
fact, to be seen nearly as low down as St Louis), which show 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.
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 civilised modes of fortifications) 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.
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
a

93
a
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 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.
The floors of these dwellings are of earth, but so hardened by use,
and swept so clean, and tracked by bare and moccasined feet, that
they have almost a polish, and would scarcely soil the whitest linen.
In the centre, and immediately under the sky-light (Fig. 46) is the

94
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 connections. 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 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 porcupines'
quills and picture writings or hieroglyphics.
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 a figure of his protecting medicine (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
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95
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.
This arrangement of beds, of arms, etc., 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) con-
versational, garrulous, story-telling and happy, though ignorant and
untutored groups, that are smoking their pipes—wooing their sweet-
hearts, 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.
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.
As I have before observed, there is no subject that I know of,
within the scope and reach of human wisdom, on which the civilised
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
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.
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

96
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.
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 civilised 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.
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 would be also strange, if a life-time of indul-
gence and practice in so innocent and productive a mode of amuse-
ment, 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 civilised 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 civilised world; and
are yet far a-head of us (in my opinion) in the real and uninterrupted
enjoyment of their simple natural faculties.
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
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97
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.
With minds thus unexpanded and uninfluenced by the thousand
passions and ambitions of civilised 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
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.
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
inquire 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 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.
A wild Indian, to reach the civilised 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
а.
VOL. I.
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98
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.
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 presump-
tion that we come to trade or barter; applying to us all, indiscrimi-
nately, the epithet of “liars” or Traders.
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 civilised world) that the historian who would record
justly and correctly the character and customs of a people, must go
and live among them.

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LETTER–No. 12
MANDAN VILLAGE, UPPER MISSOURI
In 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.
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 (Fig. 47), 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.
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, etc.; 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 everything
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
scaffolds.
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,
upon
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6
wrapped in their painted robes, with their heads decked and plumed
with quills of the war-eagle; extending their long arms to 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 occupa-
tions, 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.
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, shows 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.
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.
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 anything 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 extra-
ordinary 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.
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,

101
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 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.
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 deposit for the dead, is just back of the
village, on a level prairie (Fig. 48); and with all its appearances,
history, forms, ceremonies, etc., is one of the strangest and most
interesting objects to be described in the vicinity of this peculiar
race.
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.
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.

102
a
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 civilisation ; but that the
Great Spirit has given them to man in his native state; and that the
spices and improvements of the enlightened world have never refined
upon them.
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
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.
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 a 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 (Fig. 48).
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 rests 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.

103
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.
Every 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.
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 more or less of these women may be seen sitting
or lying 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.
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.
The great variety of shapes and characters exhibited in these
groups of crania, render them a very interesting study for the cranio-
logist 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.

LETTER_No. 13
MANDAN VILLAGE, UPPER MISSOURI
In 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 (Fig. 49).
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 hold 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 shows 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.
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.
The next and second chief of the tribe, is Mah-to-toh-pa (the four
bears). This extraordinary man, though second in office is un-
doubtedly 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 noble-
men; and I shall certainly tell you more of him anon.
After him, there are Mah-tahp-ta-ha, he who rushes through the
middle (Fig. 50); Seehk-hee-da, the mouse-coloured feather (Fig. 51);
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 (Fig. 53); and the
104

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105
little grey-haired Sha-ko-ka, mint (Fig. 52); and fifty others, who
are famous for their conquests, not with the bow or the javelin, but
with their small black eyes, which shoot out from under their un-
fledged brows, and pierce the boldest, fiercest chieftain to the heart.
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, show 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 per-
manent village, which is strongly fortified, and ensures their pre-
servation. 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 there-
fore familiarly (and correctly) denominated, by the Traders and
others, who have been amongst them, “the polite and friendly
Mandans.”
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 civilised race.
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
personal appearance alone, independent of their modes and customs,
pronounces them at once, as more or less, than savage.
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.”
There are a great many of these people whose complexions appear
G2

106
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.
Why this diversity of complexion I cannot tell, nor can they
themselves 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.
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.
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.
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 inquiry, 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
-
a

29
(2) Doux
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OF
54
G. Catlin.


107
--
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.
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.
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 ;—whose doom is fixed to live just long enough
to be imperfectly known, and then to fall before the fell disease or
sword of civilising devastation.
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.
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 (Fig.
54), 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.
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,”

108
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.
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.
When a man mourns for the death of a near relation the case is
quite different; his long, valued tresses, are of much greater import-
ance, 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.
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 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.
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.
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,

109
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 semicircle 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.
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.
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.
There are many times also, when out upon their long marches in
the prosecution of their almost continued warfare, when it becomes
necessary to 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.
The mode of swimming amongst the Mandans, as well as amongst
most of the other tribes, is quite different from that practised in
those parts of the civilised 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
a
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

110
grace that
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.
By this bold and powerful mode of swimming, which may want
the
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.
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 ex-
posures and vicissitudes of life to which they are continually liable.
I allude to their vapour baths, or sudatories, 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.
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 reclin-
ing 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.
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 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 Fig. 71). 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 pur-

111
pose; 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 appear-
ance 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.
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 head-
long 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.
Such is the sudatory or the vapour bath of the Mandans, and, as
I before observed, it is resorted to both as an everyday 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. 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

112
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 practised 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—extermi-
nation
-

LETTER–No. 14
MANDAN VILLAGE, UPPER MISSOURI
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 distin-
guish 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.
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 argu-
ment 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 posses-
sion 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, etc., of the
different tribes.
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
VOL. I.
113
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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 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.
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 "rara
avis," 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 oppor-
tunities of learning the great value which these people sometimes
attach to such articles of dress and ornament, as I have been pur-
chasing a great many, which I intend to place 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.
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-eagle's 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.
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a
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 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 Figs. 14, 64, and 91, of
three different tribes.
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
comprehensions, or because we do not stop to inquire or learn their
uses or meaning
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 inquiring world for ever.
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 civilised 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
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116
-
The civilised 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 head to foot, cleanses and purifies the body, and pro-
tects his skin from the bite of mosquitoes, and at the same time pre-
serves him from colds and coughs which are usually taken through
the pores of the skin.
At the same time, an Indian looks among the civilised world, no
doubt, with equal, if not much greater, astonishment, at our appar-
ently, as well as really, 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 criti-
cisms upon the learned world, who are a rich and just theme for
Indian criticism and Indian gossip.
An Indian will not ask a white man the reason why he does not
oil his skin with bear's 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 wiil 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.
A wild Indian thrown into the civilised atmosphere will see a
man occasionally moving in society, wearing a cocked hat; and an-
other with a laced coat and gold or silver epaulettes upon his
shoulders, without knowing or inquiring the meaning of them, or the
objects for which they are worn. Just so a white man travels

117
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amongst a wild and untaught tribe of Indians, and sees occasionally
one of them parading about their village, with a head-dress of eagle's
quills and ermine, and elevated above it a pair of beautifully
polished buffalo horns; and just as ignorant is he also, of their mean-
ing or importance; and more so, for the first will admit the pre-
sumption that epaulettes and cocked hats amongst the civilised
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.
This brings us to the "corned crest” again, and if the poor Indian
scans epaulettes and cocked hats, without inquiring 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 trade, but to herald the Indian and his dying customs
to posterity.
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 the dignitaries who are very high in authority, and
whose exceeding valour, worth, and power is admitted by all the
nation.
He may wear them, however, who is not a chief ; 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 power as great.
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 celebra-
tion of a victory, at public festivals, etc., 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.
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 back-
ز

118
>
ward 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 Jewish customs,
to the kerns (or keren, in Hebrew), the horns worn by the Abyssinian
chiefs and Hebrews, as a symbol of power and command; worn at
great parades and celebrations of victories.
“The false prophet Zedekiah, made him horns of iron ” (1 Kings
xxii. 11). "Lift not your horns on high; speak not with a stiff
neck” (Ps. lxxv. 5).
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 practised 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.
The reader will see this custom exemplified in the portrait of
Mah-to-toh-pa (Fig. 64). 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.

LETTER–No. 15
MANDAN VILLAGE, UPPER MISSOURI
A WEEK or more has elapsed since the date of my last Letter, and
nothing as yet of the great and curious event—of the Mandan
religious ceremony.
There is evidently much preparation making
for it, however; and from what I can learn, no one in the nation,
save the medicine-men, 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.
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.
.
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 pre-
served several anecdotes, some of which I must relate.
Perhaps nothing ever more completely astonished these people
than the operations of my brush. 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
medicine 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 recognising 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
119

120
very much); looking attentively upon the portraits and myself, and
upon the palette and colours with which these unaccountable effects
had been produced.
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-pro-
nounced the words “te-ho-pe-nee Wash-ee !” and walked off.
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.
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 recognised in that short sentence as a "great
medicine white man ;” and since that time, have been regularly
installed medicine 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.
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 pass-
port already to many strange and mysterious places; and has put
me in possession of a vast deal of curious and interesting informa-
tion, 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 medicine-lodge by the doctors, who
are the sole conductors of this great source and fountain of all
priestcraft and conjuration in this country.
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,
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121
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.
During this time, not a man made his appearance about the
premises—after awhile, however, they could be seen, folded in their
,
robes, gradually siding up towards the lodge, with a silly look upon
their faces, which confessed at 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 soldiers (braves with spears in
their hands) at the door, admitting no one, but such as were allowed
by the chiefs, to come in.
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, speak-
ing 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 recognise
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 recognised, 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, indig-
nant, drove their spears frightfully into the ground, and some threw
a reddened arrow at the sun, and went home to their wigwams.
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.
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
a
*
*
*
*
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122
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 by-
standers 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 showed that they looked
upon me as some strange and unaccountable being. They pronounced
me the greatest medicine-man in the world; for they said I had made
living beings,—they said they could see their chiefs alive, in two
places—those that I had made were a little 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 some life in them.
The squaws generally agreed, that they had discovered life enough
in them to render my medicine too great for the Mandans; saying
that such an 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.
This curtailing of the natural existence, for the purpose of in-
stilling life into the secondary one, they decided to be an useless and
destructive operation, and one which was calculated to do great mis-
chief 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.”
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 practising; and which had far exceeded their original expecta-
tions. I finally got admittance to their sacred conclave, and assured
9)

123
a
them that I was but a man like themselves,—that my art had no
medicine 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 con-
tinual 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
“ white medicine.”
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 com-
menced 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); and so they continued to
pass the pipe around until the portrait was completed.
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 compli-
menting 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 give me and my art
the stamp of respectability at once.
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.e. in the
best manner which this country affords; and being led by the arm,
and welcomed to them by gentlemen of high and exalted feelings,
rendered them in my estimation truly elegant.
I was waited upon in due form and ceremony by the medicine-men,
who received me upon the old adage, “Similis simili gaudet.” I was
invited to a feast, and they presented me a she-shee-quoi, 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

124
wild sage and bat's wings—and perfumed withal with the choice and
savoury 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
Conjurati.
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.
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 in-
stances 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 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 walk around the room “the
eyes of the portrait followed them.” With these unfortunate gentle-
men, 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.
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125
I had trouble brewing also the other day from another source;
one of the “medicines” commenced howling and haranguing around
my domicile, 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 how-
ever 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 practised my hand long enough upon the others, to get the stiff-
ness 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 your 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 made alive 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 canvas and palette 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.
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-hah,
the old bear (Fig. 55), with a train of his own profession, who seated
themselves around him; and also a number of boys, whom it was

126
requested should remain with him, and whom I supposed it possible
might have been pupils, whom he was instructing in the mysteries of
materia medica and hoca poca. 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 medicine 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.
There is yet to be described another sort of personage, that is
often seen stalking about in all Indian communities, a kind of nonde-
script, with whom I have been somewhat annoyed, and still more
amused, since I came to this village, of whom (or of which) I shall
give some account in my next epistle.
a

LETTER—No. 16
MANDAN VILLAGE, UPPER MISSOURI
BESIDES 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 beau or dandy. Such
personages may be seen on every pleasant day, strutting and parad-
ing 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 them-
selves 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.
These clean and elegant gentlemen, who are very few in each
tribe, are held in very little estimation by the chiefs and braves; in-
asmuch 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, how-
ever, 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.
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
>
a
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128
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 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 amuse-
ments;—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.
Whilst I have been painting, from day to day, there have been
two or three of these fops continually strutting and taking their atti-
tudes 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 in-
viting 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 canvas. 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 honour-
able 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 im-
mortal, 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 paint-
ing, and greasing, and dressing, and standing alternately on one leg
and the other at the door of my premises.
Well, I placed him before me, and a canvas 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

129
a
-
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.
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.”
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, how-
ever lavishly Nature may have bestowed her master touches upon
him, who has not the pride and noble bearing of a warrior.
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
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.
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
I
VOL. I.

130
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 an-
other 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 (Fig. 62).
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
pem-i-can and marrow-fat; 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 "pomme blanche,” 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 civilised
countries use dried currants, which they very much resemble.
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 pro-
nouncing the words "Ho-pe-ne-chee wa-pa-shee” (meaning a medicine
sacrifice), threw it into the fire.
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 alone, 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; deliber-

37
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OF
UNIL
OFERT
THULE
G.Catlun
62
RICH


131
ately 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. To 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 “castor,” 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 panto-
mimic signs and gesticulations.
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 bread in the civilised 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 civilised 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.
I spoke also of the earthen dishes or bowls in which these viands
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132
a
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 service-
able, 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 Museum 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.
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.
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 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.

LETTER–No. 17
MANDAN VILLAGE, UPPER MISSOURI
I MENTIONED 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.
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 four-
teen 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.
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 civilised 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 enter-
tainment 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 con-
133

134
sidered 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 of civilised manufacture, who has at the
year's end the greatest number of robes to vend to the Fur Company.
The manual labour amongst savages is all done by the women;
and as there are no daily labourers or persons who will “hire out” 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 legalising
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.
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 civilised world), actually
becomes his wealth, as the results of their labour abundantly secure
to him all the necessaries and luxuries of life.
There are other and very rational grounds on which the propriety
of such a custom may be urged, one of which is as follows:
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 com-
munity to an evident relief from a cruel and prodigious calamity.
The instances of which I have above spoken, are generally
confined to the chiefs and medicine-men; though there is no regula-
tion 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
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135
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.
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 eight living under one roof, and all
apparently quiet and contented; seemingly harmonising, and enjoy-
ing the modes of life and treatment that falls to their lot.
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 civilised world. Yet even
in such cases, the marriage is never consummated without the necessary
form of making presents to the father of the girl.
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 connections,
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 connection, 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.
These connections, however, can scarcely be called marriages, for
I believe they are generally entered into without the form or
solemnising 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 practise 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
a

136
a
who they deem abundantly able to pay liberally for so delightful a
commodity
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
connection 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, etc., which he can easily command at her
second espousal.
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 unharmonis-
ing materials; and consequently destitute of the fine, reciprocal
feelings and attachments which flow from the domestic relations in
the civilised 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.
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.
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.
The girls of this tribe, like those of most of these North-Western
.

137
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 occupa-
tions are almost continual, and they seem to go industriously at them,
as if from choice or inclination, without a murmur.
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, and the remainder is gathered and dried on
the cob, before it has ripened, and packed away in “caches” (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 caches, being packed tight around the
sides, with prairie grass, and effectually preserved through the
severest winters.
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 pommes blanches, 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.
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 com-
putation, something like 250,000 Indians in these western regions,
who live almost exclusively on the flesh of these animals, through
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138
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, etc.; 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 civilised
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
any one 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 stigmatised with the disgraceful epithet of a
poltroon and a beggar.
The Mandans, like all other tribes, sit at their meals cross-
legged, or rather with their ankles 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 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.
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.
These women, however, although graceful and civil, and ever so
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with the men while at their meals. So far as I have yet travelled in
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 gormandise
and glut themselves to an enormous extent, though the men very
seldom do.
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 practise
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 sold 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.
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 civilised
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.
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 get nothing to eat; and at such times (their habits

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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.
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
civilised population of equal numbers, that I ever travelled amongst.
Their mode of curing and preserving the buffalo meat is some-
what 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 “across the grain," 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.
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 steppes or prairies, lying at and near the base of
the Rocky Mountains.
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.
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.
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The Indians cook their meat more than the civilised 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.
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-civilised, 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.

LETTER-No. 18
MANDAN VILLAGE, UPPER MISSOURI
a
THE Mandans, like all other tribes, lead lives of idleness and leisure;
and of course, devote a great deal of time to their sports and amuse-
ments, 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.
These exercises are exceedingly grotesque in their appearance,
and to the eye of a traveller who knows not their meaning or import-
ance, 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 often-
times, 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
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.
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.
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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 past been peculiarly engrossed, and my senses almost
confounded with the stamping, and grunting, and bellowing of the
buffalo dance, which closed a few days since at sunrise (thank Heaven),
and which I must needs describe to you.
Buffaloes, it is known, are a sort of roaming creatures, congregat-
ing 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 often-
times 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.
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."
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.
I mentioned that this dance always had the desired effect, that it

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never fails, nor can it, for it cannot be stopped (but is going inces-
santly 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
During this time of general excitement, spies or lookers are kept
on the 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, who have been the immediate cause of their success!
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.
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 never fail; and they
think they have been the means of bringing them in.
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 (Fig. 56). 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 bystanders,
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.”
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 suppli-
cation, ended in a calamity which threw the village of the Mandans
into mourning and repentant tears, and that at a time of scarcity and

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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.
The dance had lasted some three or four days, and now, instead of
the doleful tap of the drum and the begging chants 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.
A few minutes there had
been of bustle and 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 his 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.
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
caches, and the last of everything 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 banquet-
ing 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. I 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.
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
VOL. I.
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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 agonising 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 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.
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
“Look !”
(said a Mandan, pointing to a little ravine to the right, and at the foot
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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.
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.
This 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.

LETTER–No. 19
MANDAN VILLAGE, UPPER MISSOURI
In 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 observa-
tions to several other customs and forms, which are very curious and
peculiar to the Mandans.
Of these, one of the most pleasing is the sham-fight 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 char-
acter of a teacher; they are led out into the prairie at sunrise,
where this curious discipline is regularly taught them (Fig. 57).
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
manoeuvres 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.
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
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his wooden knife, twitches it off and puts its into his belt, and enters
again into the ranks and front of battle.
This mode of training generally lasts an hour or more in the
morning, and is performed on an empty stomach, affording them a
rigid and wholesome exercise, whilst they are instructed in the im-
portant 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.
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.
Those who have taken scalps then step forward, brandishing them
and making their boast as they enter into the scalp-dance (in which
they are also instructed by their leaders or teachers), jumping and
yelling—brandishing their scalps, and reciting their sanguinary
deeds, to the great astonishment of their tender-aged sweethearts,
who are gazing with wonder upon them.
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, etc.; 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 practising 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 (Fig. 59) 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
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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 everything they possess, and even sometimes,
when everything else was gone, have been known to stake their
liberty upon the issue of these games, offering themselves as slaves to
their opponents in case they get beaten.
Feasting and fasting are important customs observed by the Man-
dans, as well as by most other tribes, at stated times and for parti-
cular purposes. These observances are strictly religious, and rigidly
observed. There are many of these forms practised 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.
Sacrificing 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 sacri-
fice 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.
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
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151
per yard, which are folded up so as to resemble human figures, with
quills on their heads and masks on their faces. These singular-
looking figures, like "scare crows” (Fig. 47), 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.
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 great curiosity, even
in the country of buffaloes, and will always command an almost in-
credible price, from its extreme scarcity; and then, from its being
the most costly article of traffic in these regions, it is usually con-
verted into a sacrifice, 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
a hundred thousand, perhaps, that is white; and when such an one is
obtained, it is considered great medicine or mystery.
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 effect-
ing the purchase. At the close of their deliberations, eight men were
fitted out on eight of their best horses, who took from the Fur Com-
pany'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 pur-
chase, 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 lay 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

152
-
pole over the medicine-lodge; 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.
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.
Readers, did you ever hear of “Rain Makers ?” If not, sit still,
and read on; but laugh not—keep cool and sober, or else you may
laugh in the beginning, and cry at the end of my story. Well, I in-
troduce to you a new character—not a doctor or a high-priest, yet a
medicine-man, and one of the highest and most respectable order, a
" Rain Maker !” Such dignitaries live in the Mandan nation, ay,
and "rain stoppers” too; and even those also amongst their conjurati
who, like Joshua of old, have even essayed to stop the sun in his
course; but, from the inefficiency of their medicine or mystery, havo
long since descended into insignificance.
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 was the case when I arrived at the Mandan
village on the steamboat Yellow Stone. Rain had not fallen for
many a day, and the dear little girls and the ugly old squaws, alto-
gether (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 cus-
tomary annual festivity, and the joyful occasion of the “roasting
ears," and the "green corn dance."
The chiefs and doctors sympathised 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 cer-
tain 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 medicine-
men assembled in the council-house, with all their mystery apparatus
about them—with an abundance of wild sage, and other aromatic

153
a
a
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.
They, only, were allowed as witnesses to the hocus pocus and con-
juration 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 sun-
rise; 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 medicine was not
good," nor can he ever be a medicine-man.
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 was dry and the sky was
clear; the squaws were crying, and their corn was withering at its
roots.
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
K 2

154
a
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 amongst 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 above
the storm, and he failed. War-rah-pa (the beaver) was the next, my
friends; the beaver lives under the water, 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.”
In this manner flourished and manoeuvred Wak-a-dah-ha-hee (the
white buffalo's hair), alternately addressing the audience and the
heavens—and holding converse with the winds and the "je-bi”
(Spirits) that are floating about in them—stamping his foot over the
heads of the magi, 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.
It happened on this memorable day about noon, that the steam-
boat 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.
introduced a new sound 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
These guns

155
success.
*
*
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
The medicine-men had left the lodge, and came out to
bestow upon him the envied title of “medicine-man” or
or "doctor,"
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.
During all this excitement, Wak-a-dah-ha-hee kept his position,
assuming the most commanding and threatening attitudes; brandish-
ing his shield in the direction of the thunder (Fig. 58), 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 steamboat 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 !
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
thunder-boat ! look and see it! the thunder you hear is out of her
mouth, and the lightning which you see is on the waters !”
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.
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.
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 deck, with a

156
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
apprised 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.
The “rain maker," whose apprehensions of a public calamity
brought upon the nation by his extraordinary medicine, 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 medicine 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 medicines, 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 pret , 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! stiffened 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
superhuman 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

157
with the water of the skies !” His predictions were true ;—in a fow
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 medicine 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 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 “medicine-man.” This is one of a
hundred different modes in which a man in Indian countries acquires
this honourable appellation.
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 medicine-man.
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, they never
fail to succeed, for their ceremonies never stop until rain begins to
fall. The second is equally true, and is this :—that he who has once
made it rain, never attempts it again; his medicine is una dubted-
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 signalise themselves in the
same way
During the memorable night of which I have just spoken, the
steamboat 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
a
a

158
superstitious scrutiny, and let their vengeance fall without mercy
upon its immediate cause.
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 deser-
tion of his post, when the steamboat 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 medicine-lodge, 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 too great—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 thunder-boat also ! who
says the medicine of Wak-a-dah-ha-hee is not strong ?”
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 “Big DOUBLE MEDICINE."

35
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OF
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60
С. і т.
LICH


LETTER-NO. 20
MANDAN VILLAGE, UPPER MISSOURI
This 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.
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.
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 observa-
tion, and as generally to excite the criticisms and laughter of the
squaws and little children.
I have seen a fair exhibition of their archery this day, in a
favourite amusement which they call the game of the arrow (see Fig.
60), 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.
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
159

160
a
a
succession; which is, no doubt, the result of great practice, and
enables the most expert of them to get as many as eight arrows up
before the first one reaches the ground.
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 civilised 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 instan-
taneous effect, I scarcely think it possible that any people can be
found more skilled, and capable of producing more deadly effects
with the bow.
The horses which the Indians ride in this country are invariably
he 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 lasso, which is a long
halter or thong, made of raw-hide, of some fifteen or twenty yards in
length, and which the Indians throw with great dexterity; with a

36
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SANN
6
G. Catlin.
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161
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 dis-
mounts from his own horse, and holding to the end of the lasso, chokes
the animal down, and afterwards tames and converts him to his own
use.
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
The Indians are hard and cruel masters; and, added to their
cruelties is the sin that is familiar in the Christian world, of sport-
ing with the limbs and the lives of these noble animals. Horse-racing
here, as in all more enlightened communities, is one of the most
exciting amusements, and one of the most extravagant modes of
gambling
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
I have made a sketch of the ground and the group, as near as I
could (Fig. 61). Showing the manner of “starting” and “coming
out,” which vary a little from the customs of the knowing world; but
in other respects, I believe, a horse-race is the same all the world
over.
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
VOL. I.
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162
range of the country, to enable them to return with their lives, to
their village.
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 respect-
fully; and we passed on our way, without further information of
them or their plans than the sketch that I there made (Fig. 63), 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
lying about them, and lighting their pipes at a 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-eagle's 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. .
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 so much fatigued me that I write brief, and close
my Letter here.

37
Who
63
G Canton
UNIL


LETTER–No. 21
MANDAN VILLAGE, UPPER MISSOURI
In a former Letter I gave some account of Mah-to-toh-pa (the four
I
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; wear-
ing 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.”
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
mo 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.
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 civilised
world without injury.
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
163

164
crowd of women and children, who were gazing on him with admira-
tion, 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
(Fig. 64), and with the sternness of a Brutus and the stillness of a
statue, he stood until the darkness 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 po-ko-mo-kon.
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 orna-
ment 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 ermine's tails were sus-
pended from the arms and the shoulders.
The Leggings, 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.
The Moccasins were of buckskin, and covered in almost every
part with the beautiful embroidery of porcupine's quills.
The Head-dress, which was superb and truly magnificent, con-

38
64
G. Catlin.
OF
View


165
,
sisted of a crest of war-eagle's 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.
The Necklace 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.
His Shield 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 eagle's
quills and hoofs of the antelope.
His Bow was of bone, and as white and beautiful as ivory; over
its back was laid, and firmly attached to it, a coating of deer's 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.
The Quiver 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 hawk's and eagle's 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.
The Lance 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-eagle's
quills.
His Tobacco-sack was made of the skin of an otter, and tastefully
garnished with quills of the porcupine ; in it was carried his k'nick-
k'neck (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-
His Pipe, which was ingeniously carved out of the red steatite
(or pipestone), 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 quills, so ingeniously
wrought as to represent figures of men and animals upon
it.
It was

166
a
also ornamented with the skins and beaks of wood-pecker's 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.
His Robe 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.
His Belt, which was of a substantial piece of buckskin, was firmly
girded around his waist; and in it were worn his tomahawk and
scalping-knife.
His Medicine-bag was the skin of a beaver, curiously ornamented
with hawk's bills and ermine. It was held in his right hand, and his
po-ko-mo-kon (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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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

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167
been familiarly known to him; and that every word that he asserted
was true.
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 representa-
tions of battles he never had fought; professing to have done what
every child in the village would know he never had done.
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 repre-
sented, 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.
ROBE OF MAH-TO-TOH-PA (FIG. 65).
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, and his bow and quiver lying behind him.*
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 party of Mandans and Shiennes. Mah-to-toh-pa
is here known by his lance with eagle's quills on it.
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.
4. Shienne chief with war-eagle head-dress, and a beautiful shield,
ornamented with eagle's 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.
5. Mab-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
;
* The reader will see in Fig. 65, an accurate drawing of this curious robe, and on
the following pages, each group numbered, and delineated on a larger scale, which
are facsimiles of the drawings on the robe.

168
a
a
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-eagle's
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.
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,
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 recognised 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.
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 uncontrollable 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, and called loudly for
revenge. " “Let every Mandan (said he) be silent, and let no
one sound the
of Mah-to-toh-pa — let no 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 show 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.”
With this he sallied forth from the village, and over the plains,
name
-
one

169
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 lying 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 play-
ing 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 dis-
close 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 con-
summation of his design. Whilst eating and smoking, the wife of his
victim, while lying in bed, several times inquired 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.”
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
Ꮎ
acted out with his own limbs), until he saw his way was clear; at
which moment, with his lance in his hands, he rose and drove it
L 2

170
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 strengthen-
ing 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
showed 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 !
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.”
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 uncon-
nected 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 medi-
cine! 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 !”
“Why do you not then tie it on to the lance again, where it came
off ?”
“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."
-

171
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.
8. Mah-to-toh-pa, or four bears, kills a Shienne chief, who chal-
lenged 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 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.
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 showing 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.
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 Man-
dans, 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 gal-
loped 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 an-
other 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
and Mah-to-toh-pa will fight them alone!”
go back,

172
During this manoeuvre, 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 ?”
"I am Mah-to-toh-pa, second in command of the brave and
valiant Mandans.”
“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 ?”
“Is he a chief who speaks to Mah-to-toh-pa ?”
“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 !”
“You have said enough.”
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.
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, showed 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; his 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 bodies 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
a

173
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 dash-
ing it furiously to the ground, with his bow and his shield, drew and
brandished his naked knife.
“Yes !” said Mah-to-toh-pa, as he threw his shield and quiver to
the earth, and was rushing up—he 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, in-
flicting 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!
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.
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 "the four bears," as the Assinneboins said he
rushed on like four bears.
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 a while 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, how-
ever, 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.
11. A large party of Assinneboins entrenched near the Mandan

174
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.
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.
This feat is seen in the centre of the robe-head-dress of war-
eagle's 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.
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.
a

LETTER_No. 22
MANDAN VILLAGE, UPPER MISSOURI
Ou: “horribile visu—et mirabile dictu !” Thank God, it is over, that
I have seen it, and am able to tell it to the world.
The annual religious ceremony, 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 medicine-lodge during these most
remarkable and appalling scenes.
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 medicine-lodge.
Since the date of my last Letter, I was lucky enough to have
painted the medicine-man, who was high-priest on this grand occasion,
or conductor of the ceremonies, who had me regularly installed doctor
or "medicine ;” and who, on the morning when these grand refine-
ments in mysteries commenced, took me by the arm, and led me into
the medicine-lodge, 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.
I took my sketch-book with me, and have made many and faith-
ful 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 canvas, 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
a
175

176
get them home, they will be found to be exceedingly curious and
interesting
I shudder at the relation, or even at the thought of these
barbarous and 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 medicine-house 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
slaughter-house, 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.
The Mandan religious ceremony” then, as I believe it is very
justly denominated, is an annual transaction, held in their medicine-
lodge 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.
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.
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.
If from their superstitions and their ignorance, there are often-
times 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

177
the admiration of the enlightened world, that they worship with
great sincerity, and all according to one creed.
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 punish-
ments, and (as do all other tribes that I have yet visited) they believe
those punishments are not eternal, but commensurate with their sins.
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.
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.
There are other three distinct objects (yet to be named) for which
these religious ceremonies are held, which are as follows:-
First, they are held annually as a celebration of the event of the
subsiding of the Flood, which they call Mee-nee-ro-ka-ha-sha (sinking
down or settling of the waters).
Secondly, for the purpose of dancing what they call, Bel-lohck-na-
pick (the bull-dance); to the strict observance of which they attribute
the coming of buffaloes to supply them with food during the season;
and
Thirdly and lastly, for the purpose of conducting all the young
VOL. I.
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178
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.
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 civilised world, and therefore worth their knowing.
The bull-dance, and many other parts of these ceremonies are
exceedingly grotesque and amusing, and that part of them which has
a relation to the Deluge is harmless and full of interest.
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, etc., 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.
In the middle of this ground, which is trodden like a hard pave-
ment, 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.
This exciting and appalling scene, then, which is familiarly (and
no doubt correctly) called the “Mandan religious ceremony,” com-
mences, 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 desig-
nated by the full expansion of the willow leaves under the bank of

179
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 medicine-bird, is not to be destroyed or
harmed by any one, and even their dogs are instructed not to do it
injury.
On the morning on which this strange transaction commenced, I
was sitting at breakfast in the house of the Trader, Mr Kipp, when
at sunrise, 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.
“Now we have it ! (exclaimed mine host, 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 commencing 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 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 !
The whole community joined in the general expression of great
alarm, as if they were in danger of instant destruction; bows were
strung and thrummed 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.
During this deafening din and confusion within the piquets of
the village of the Mandans, the figure discovered on the prairie con-
tinued 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, recognising him as an old acquaintance,
and pronouncing his name Nu-mohk-muck-a-nah (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
a
a

180
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 medicine 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.
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.
During the whole of this day, and while these preparations were
making in the medicine-lodge, 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 relat-
ing 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 medicine-lodge, which must needs receive a
present of some edged-tool from the owner of every wigwam, that 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."
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, etc. (which is undoubtedly always prepared and ready for the
occasion), he returned at evening and deposited them in the medicine-
lodge, 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, sacrificed to the Spirit
of the Water.
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,

181
9
and dogs, and all living things were kept within doors, and dead
silence reigned everywhere. On the next morning at sunrise, how-
ever, he made his appearance again, and entered the medicine-lodge ;
,
and at his heels (in “Indian file,” i.e. 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 medicine-bag-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.
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 medicine, presenting altogether,
one of the most wild and picturesque scenes imaginable.
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 O-kee-pah
Ka-se-kah (keeper or conductor of the ceremonies).
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.
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-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.
To return to the lodge,—the medicine or mystery-man just
He was

182
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 eat, to drink, or to sleep, preparatory
to the excruciating self-tortures which they were to endure on the
fourth day.
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 (Fig. 66). 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 unex-
pected manner.
I had, most luckily for myself, painted a full-length portrait of
this great magician or high-priest, but a day previous to the com-
mencement 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 Te-ho-pee-nee-wash-
ee-waska-pooska, the white medicine (or Spirit) painter.
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 master of cere-
monies, guarding and conducting its secrets, as I before described,
came out of the door and taking me with a firm professional affection
by the arm, led me into this sanctum sanctorum, 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 sentinels with spears or war-
clubs in their hands. I gave the wink to my companions as I was
passing in, and the potency of my medicine was such as to gain them

!
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de
G. Callin
66
30


183
a quiet admission, and all of us were comfortably seated on elevated
seats, which our conductor soon prepared for us.
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 morn-
ing at sunrise, and remained until sundown for four days, the whole
time which these strange scenes occupied.
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 inter-
vened 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 I 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.
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 sanctissi-
mus sanctorum, from which seemed to emanate all the sanctity of
their proceedings, and to which all seemed to be paying the highest
devotional respect.
This strange, yet important essence of their mysteries, I made
every inquiry 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,

184
a
and all of the fraternity answered me, that that was a great medicine,"
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 degree or two
yet to take before I could fathom all the arcana of Indian super-
stitions; and that this little, seemingly wonderful, relic of antiquity,
symbol of some grand event, or
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 “Great Medicine,"
for the very reason that there is nothing in it to reveal or describe.
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.
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 Een-teen-ka, are two other
articles of equal importance, which they call Eeh-na-dee (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 noise and din) for
their dances, etc.
These four sacks of water have the appearance of very great
antiquity; and by inquiring of my very ingenious friend and patron,
the medicine-man, 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
a
а

44
.
OF
UNIL
67
G. Callin
W
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185
to advance any argument against so ridiculous a theory, and there-
fore could not even inquire 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.
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 an answer that
these, and all the very numerous articles used in these ceremonies,
being a society property were medicine, and could not be sold for any
consideration; so I abandoned all thoughts of obtaining anything,
except what I have done by the medicine 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.
Such then was the group, and such the appearence 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 control,
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.
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 exceed-
ingly grotesque part of their performance, which they denominated
Bel-lohck-nah-pick (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 “big canoe,” of which I have before spoken.
This subject I have selected for my second picture, and the princi-
pal 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 (Fig. 67).
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,
M 2

186
either with black, red, or white paint. Each one of these strange
characters had also a lock of buffalo's hair tied around his ankles-
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 eagle's 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.”
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 char-
acters 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.
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
“bull-dance” is given once to each of the cardinal points, and the
medicine-man smokes his pipe in those directions. On the second
day, twice to each; three times to each on the third day, and four
times 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

187
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 eeh-na-dees
or rattles, and all unite to them their voices, raised to the highest
pitch possible, as the music for the bull-dance, which is then com-
menced 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 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.
The supernumeraries or other characters who play their parts
in this grand spectacle, are numerous, and well worth description.
By the side of the 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 ceromony. 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 called 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
Cabris 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.
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.
During each and every one of these dances, the old men who

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a
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 !”
"
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 hody 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 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.”
This unearthly-looking creature carried in 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 ahead 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.
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
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189
medicine-pipe before him, held him still and immovable 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 Satanic Majesty, annulling all the
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 direct 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.
When the superior powers of the medicine-pipe (on which hang
all these annual mysteries) had been thus fully tested and acknow-
ledged, 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 entrée into the midst
of the Mandan village, and to the centre and nucleus of their first
and greatest religious ceremony.
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—ung gee ah waheea notch,
toheks tcha, 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.
In this plight, in which I have not dared fully to represent him
in the picture, he pursued the groups of females, spreading dismay

190
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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 moral of these scenes
without the shock of impropriety, that would have startled a more
fastidious and consequently sensual-thinking people.
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—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 tehu !
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.
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 looked out for some feasible mode of escape.
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 tantalise 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 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, alinstant, another caught his wand from
his hand, and broke it across her knee. It was snatched for by

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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.
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:
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 medicine-pipe, and at last,
driven in disgrace out of the village, by the very part of the com-
munity whom he came to abuse.
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 them-
selves 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
“pohk-hong,” the cutting scene (Fig. 68). 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

192
seen in the very act of submitting to them, which were inflicted in
the following manner:- After having removed the sanctum sanctorum,
or little scaffold, of which I before spoke, and having 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 sub-
mitted 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 just 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 brachialis externus), below the elbow (over the extensor carpi
radialis), on the thighs (over the vastus externus), and below the knees
(over the peroneus).
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.
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, etc.; 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 pre-
venting by their great weight, the struggling, which might otherwise
take place to their disadvantage whilst they were hung up.
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193
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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.
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, with-
out 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 uncon-
trollable tears over my cheeks.
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.
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 control 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 con-
fidence 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 tremor
VOL. I.
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194
can be discovered, lest he should be removed before he is (as they
term it) “entirely dead.”
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 medicine-bag,
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.
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 him from the cords by which he has
been hung up; but leaving all the others with their weights, etc.,
hanging to his flesh.
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.
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 !
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 fore-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.
One would think that this mutilation had thus been carried quite
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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.
No bandages are applied to the fingers which have been ampu-
tated, 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.
During the whole of the time of this cruel part of these most extra-
ordinary 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 medicine-pipe, which has disarmed the
monster O-kee-he-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.
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:-
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
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196
buffalo-dance, and leaning against the big canoe, with his medicine-pipe
in his hand, began to cry. This was done several times in the after-
noon, 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-
eagle's 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 big canoe in the centre, as their
nucleus.
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 Eh-ke-na-ka-nah-pick (the last race, Fig. 69). 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.
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 dragging on the ground, and his furious con-
ductors 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.

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The splints or skewers which are put through the breast and the
shoulders, take up a part of the pectoral or trapegius 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, appear-
ing 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.
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 issued his repeated prayers, and
entrusted his life: and in whom he reposes the most implicit confid-
ence 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 nor 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 super-
stition, which is the strongest of all arguments in an Indian com-
munity, 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.
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
lay, 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

198
-
wigwam, where his friends and relatives stood ready to take him into
hand and restore him.
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 medi-
cine-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 leav-
ing their weights, had opened the flesh for honourable scars. I said
all, 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 lay three days and three nights, yet longer, with-
out 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.
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 far more extraordinary than the one which I have

199
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 !
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 this, even as if it
were a virtue.
I am ready to accord to them in this particular, the palm; the
credit of outdoing anything and everybody, and of enduring more
than civilised 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 super-
stitions and mysteries, of which they know not the origin, and con-
stituting a material part and feature in the code and forms of their
religion.
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.
After these young men, who had for the last four days occupied
the medicine-lodge, had been operated on, in the manner above de-
scribed, and taken out of it, the old medicine-man, master of cere-
monies 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

200
cannot be recovered, and where they are, correctly speaking, made a
sacrifice to the water. This part of the affair takes place just exactly
at sundown, and closes the scene, being the end or finale of the
Mandan religious ceremony.
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.
“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 trunsacted,
without any addition or exaggeration.
“J. KIPP, Agent Amer. Fur Company.
Mandan Village,
L. CRAWFORD, Clerk.
July 20, 1833.
ABRAHAM BOGARD.”
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.
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.
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

201
9
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.
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 this man's
body is represented—that he wore a robe of four white wolf skins—
his head-dress was made of two ravens' 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 big canoe on a high mountain in the
West, where he landed and was saved."
"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.”
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.
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.
It would seem from their tradition of the willow branch, and the
dove, that these people must have had some proximity to some part
N 2

202
of the civilised 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.
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 “first or only man,"
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.
“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 vines, and one of them had grown up through a
hole in the earth, over head, and one of their young men clumb 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.”
The above tradition is told with great gravity by their chiefs and
doctors or mystery-men; and the latter profess to hear their friends
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203
talk through the earth at certain times and places, and even consult
them for their opinions and advice on many important occasions.
The next tradition runs thus :-
“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.
“The friends of the girl soon after endeavoured to disgrace her
by telling her that she was enciente, 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.
orward 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 great medicine. She soon after went off
secretly to the upper Mandan village, where the child was born.
“Great search was made for her before she was found; as it was
expected that the child would also be great medicine 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.
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 Heart
River, 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

204
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 Nat-com-pa-sa-hah (heart or centre of the world).”
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 incon-
sistencies which should be expected to characterise 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.
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 theorise 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 appear-
ance and death of a Saviour—and of the transgressions of Mother
Eve.
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 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 tradi-
tions 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 badgers;
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
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205
one man. And on the next day while I was painting his portrait, he
told me there were four tortoises,—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.
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.
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.
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
upwards before they smoke it themselves; and also as deliberately
and as strictly offering the stem to the four cardinal points in succes-
sion, and then drawing a whiff through it, passing it around amongst
.
The annual religious ceremony invariably lasts four days, and the
other following circumstances attending these strange forms, and
seeming to have some allusion to the four cardinal points, or the
"four tortoises," seem to me to be worthy of further notice. Four
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 north part of the village—one from the east-one from
the south, and one from the west. The four 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 four buffalo,
and the four human skulls resting on the floor of the same lodge-
the four couples of dancers in the “bull-dance,” as before described;
and also the four intervening dancers in the same dance, and also
described.
The bull-dance in front of the medicine-lodge, repeated on the
four days, is danced four times on the first day, eight times on the
second, twelve times on the third, and sixteen times on the fourth;
(adding four dances on each of the four days,) which added together
make forty, the exact number of days that it rained upon the earth,
according to the Mosaic account, to produce the Deluge. There are
the group

206
a
four sacrifices of black and blue cloths erected over the door of the
medicine-lodge—the visits of Oh-kee-hee-de (or Evil Spirit) were paid
to four of the buffaloes in the buffalo-dance, as above described; and
in
every instance, the young men who underwent the tortures before
explained, had four splints or skewers run through the flesh on their
legs—four through the arms and four through the body.
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 record-
ing. 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.
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.
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 those regions.
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 wag-
ing 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.
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.
The shocking and disgusting custom that I have just described,
sickens the heart and even the stomach of a traveller in the country,
a

207
and he weeps for their ignorance—he pities them with all his heart
for their blindness, and laments that the light of civilisation, of
agriculture and religion, cannot be extended to them, and that their
hearts which are good enough, could not be turned to embrace some-
thing more rational and conducive to their true happiness.
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 drudg-
ing, and made to flow in the light and life of civilisation ?
To this query I answer yes. 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
severance of opinions, and consequently no division into different
sects, with different creeds to shake their faith; I still believe, and
I know, 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 surround-
ing distance, might be spotted with lowing kine, instead of the
sneaking wolves and the hobbled war-horses that are now stalking
about them.
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.
It is decidedly my opinion, however, that such a thing can 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.
I deem such a trial of patience and perseverance with these
people of great importance, and well worth the experiment. One
a

208
a
a
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 contracting 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 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.
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 stock-
ades, 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.
I deem it not folly nor idle to say that these people can be saved,
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 plough-
share and their prayers amongst these people, who are so far separ-
ated 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, civilised and christianised (and consequently saved), in
the heart of the American wilderness.

LETTER–No. 23
MINATAREE VILLAGE, UPPER MISSOURI
Soon 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 retrograd-
ing a little, to see all that is to be seen in this singular country.
I have been residing here some weeks, and am able already to
say of these people as follows:-
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.
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.
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
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VOL. I.
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village, nor let them come nearer than where they are now living,
and there assisted them to build their villages. From these circum-
stances their wigwams have been constructed exactly in the same
manner as those of the Mandans, which I have already described,
and entirely distinct from any custom to be seen in the Crow tribe.
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 con-
clude, 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.
The principal village of the Minatarees which is built upon the
bank of the Knife river (Fig. 70), 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.
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 tublike canoes, made of the skins of buffaloes;
and every now and then, are to be seen their sudatories, or vapour-
baths (Fig. 71), 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.
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 snows.
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.

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I have been treated in the kindest manner by this old chief; and
have painted his portrait (Fig. 72) 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.
This man has many distinct recollections of Lewis and Clarke,
who were 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 inquired 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.”
I have told him that "Long Knife” has been many years dead;
and that “Red Hair” is yet living in St 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. *
The name by which these people are generally called (Gros-
ventres) 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.
* About a year after writing the above, and whilst I was in St Louis, I had the
pleasure of presenting the compliments of this old veteran to General Clarke, and
also of showing to him the portrait, which he instantly recognised 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.”

212
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
(Fig. 73), with his bow in his hand, his quiver slung, and his shield
upon his arm.
his arm. In this plight, sans head-dress, sans robe, and sans
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.
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 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.
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.
The one whom I have painted (Fig. 74) 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 compelled 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.
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
a

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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 Great Spirit, for the return of this joyful season, which they
do by making sacrifices, by dancing, and singing songs of thanks-
giving. 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.
The most remarkable feature of these joyous occasions is the green
corn-dance, which is always given as preparatory to the feast, and by
most of the tribes in the following manner :-
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 degrad-
ing 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 runners or criers, 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.
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
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214
a
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 (Fig. 75). 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 thanks-
giving, 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.
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 immedi-
ately over the fire where it is entirely consumed, as they join again
in the dance around it.
The fire is then removed, and with it the ashes, which together
are buried in the ground, and new fire 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, 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.
Such are the general features of the green corn festivity and dance
amongst most of the tribes; and amongst some there are many addi-
tional forms and ceremonies gone through, preparatory to the indul-
gence in the feast.
Some of the southern tribes concoct a most bitter and nauseating
draught, which they call asceola (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 ap
empty and keen stomach.

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LETTER_No. 24
MINATAREE VILLAGE, UPPER MISSOURI
EPISTLES 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 sending them, keeping
thein to bring with me when I make my retreat from the country.
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 con-
viviality 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.
There are at this time some distinguished guests, besides myself,
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 com-
pany, 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 speci-
mens of the human race heretofore; and as I have been fastening
more of them to the canvas within the few days past, I must use this
occasion to add what follows:-
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.e. in a sort of
tournament or sham-fight, passing rapidly through the evolutions of
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216
battle, and vaunting forth the 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.
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 beauti-
fully 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 Mina-
tarees, who have been paying them all attention and all honours for
some days past.
From amongst these showy fellows who have been entertaining
us and pleasing themselves with their extraordinary feats of horse-
manship, 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 canvas, for the information of the world, who will learn vastly
more from lines and colours than they could from oral or written
delineations.
I have painted him as he sat for me, balanced on his leaping wild
horse (Fig. 76) 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.
With all these picturesque ornaments and trappings upon and
about him, with a noble figure, and the bold stamp of a wild gentleman
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

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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 them the grace of motion, as they were brandished in the air
and floating in the wind.
I have also secured the portraits of Ee-he-a-duck-chee-a (he who
ties his hair before, Fig. 78), and Pa-ris-ka-roo-pa (the two Crows,
Fig. 77); 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 pre-
senting 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 he
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.
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 semi-lunar outline of the face of
which I have before spoken, and which strongly characterises them
as distinct from any relationship or resemblance to, the Blackfeet,
Shiennies, 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
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218
a
practised 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 character.
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 descend-
ants 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 destination where they now live. I am stopped, however,
from advancing such as a theory, 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
facsimile drawings which I have copied from some of the paintings
of the Mandans (on the three Figs. following Fig. 65), where most
of the figures have the forehead and nose answering exactly to these
Mexican outlines, and strikingly resembling the living Crows, 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.
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.

219
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 great medicine, 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, showed 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 medicine,
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 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
Ba'tiste familiarly calls “Monsr. .
Ratapon”) 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.
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.
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 caches, where
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220
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 medicine 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
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.
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

221
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,” etc.), 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.
In the midst of this bewildering and tantalising 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 under-
taken 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 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 alter-
native of sitting still where we were, or of stepping out into the

222
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.
Here I was very politely treated by the Yellow Moccasin, quite an
old man, and who seemed to be chief of this band or family, consti-
tuting 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 con-
siderable 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,
etc., 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 medicine about it.
So far was this panic carried, that even my champion was ready
to withdraw; but his friends encouraged him at length, and we gal-
loped 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

223
a
took place, from a condition, 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.
Reader ! did you ever imagine that in the middle of a man's life
there could be a thought or a feeling so new 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 in-
most 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.
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 sister's 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.
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

224
themselves; and we trudged back to the little village of earth-covered
lodges, which were 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.
We loitered about this little village awhile, looking into most
of its lodges, and tracing its winding avenues, after which we re-
crossed 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 showed 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.
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.
The Minatarees, as well as the Mandans, had suffered for some
months past for want of meat, and had indulged in the most alarm-
ing 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

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225
a
pencil and my sketch-book only, and consequently took my position
generally in the rear, where I could see and appreciate every
manoeuvre.
The plan of attack, which in this country is familiarly called a
surround,” 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 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 other; 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.
In this grand turmoil (Fig. 79), 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 blood-shot eyes and furiously plunged
forward 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
VOL, I.
P

226
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

227
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.
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.
I stayed and inspected this curious group for an hour or more,
during which time, I was almost continually amused by the clamorous
contentions 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.
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 lay between this and the
village, which was over the undulating green fields for several miles,
that lay 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.

LETTER–No. 25
LITTLE MANDAN VILLAGE, UPPER MISSOURI
In 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 pre-
cludes 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 hereto-
fore 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.
I have been treated with the same hospitality here that was ex-
tended 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 enthusi-
astic friends wherever I go amongst these wild folks; and in this
village I have been unusually honoured and even afflicted, 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 I have not had the heart to reject, and
of course he has not lacked the vanity to boast of, as an act of signal
kindness and hospitality on his part, towards a great and a distinguished
stranger !
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.
Being unwilling to deny the poor fellow the satisfaction he seemed
228

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229
a
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, 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 hip
on my canvas for immortality (Fig. 83).
By the side of him (Fig. 84), 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.
Fig. 82 gives a portrait of one of the chiefs of this tribe by the
name of Stan-au-pat (the bloody hand), and (Fig. 81) of Kah-beck-a
(the twin), a good-looking matron, who was painted a few weeks since
in the principal Mandan village.
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.
Fig. 80 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.
This village is built upon an open prairie, and the gracefully undu-
lating 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
pale faces, 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 feel-
ings at this time towards the Traders, and others passing on the river ;

230
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.
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 hos-
pitality; 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 now harbouring the
most inveterate feelings towards the whole civilised race.
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.
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 con-
sequently, be able to say more of them; or, I may be hauled in, to the
I
shore, and my boat plundered, and my "scalp danced,” as they have
dealt quite recently with the last trader, 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.
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 summer residence 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, etc., in the large village; and then with my canvas
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.
In taking this final leave of them, which will be done with some

231
а
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.
In coming to such a conclusion as this, the mind is at once filled
with a flood of inquiries 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 to suggest the
existence of looks and of customs amongst them, bearing incontestible
proofs of an amalgam of civilised and savage; and that in the absence
of all proof of any recent proximity of a civilised stock that could in
any way have been engrafted upon them.
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 national cause for such striking singularities; and in
this dilemma, I have been almost disposed (not to advance it as a
theory, but) to inquire whether here may not be found, yet exist-
ing, the remains of the Welsh colony—the followers of Madoc; who
history tells us, if I recollect right, started with ten ships, to colonise
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.
I am travelling in this country, as I have before said, not to advance
or to prove theories, 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 one's 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.
If my indefinite recollections of the fate of that colony, however,
as recorded in history be correct, I see no harm in suggesting the

232
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 agriculturists 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 pro-
tection against their assaults, built those numerous civilised fortifica-
tions, 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 off-
spring, 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 char-
acter of the North American Indians; with complexions of every
shade; with hair of all the colours in civilised society, and many
with hazel, with grey, and with blue eyes.
The above is a suggestion of a moment; and I wish the reader
to bear it in mind, that if I ever advance such as a theory, 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 satis-
factory traditions of their residences in, and transit through their
countries.
I close here my book (and probably for some time, my remarks),
on the friendly and hospitable Mandans.
NOTE-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
destruction 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 considera-
tions of the subject just above-named, relative to their early history, and the
probable fate of the followers of Madoc, to which I respectfully refer the reader
before he goes further in the body of the Work. See Appendix A.

LETTER-NO. 26
MOUTH OF TETON RIVER, UPPER MISSOURI
SINCE 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 “compagnons du voyage," and have much
to
say of what we three did and what we saw on our way, which
will be given anon.
I am now in the heart of the country belonging to the numerous
tribe of Sioux or Dahcotas, 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.
The name Sioux (pronounced see-oo) 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
fine and prepossessing, their persons tall and straight,
and their movements elastic and graceful. Their stature is con-
siderably 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.
I am here living with, and enjoying the hospitality of a
gentleman by the name of Laidlaw, a Scotchman, who is attached
to the American Fur Company, and who, in company with Mr
MʻKenzie (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.
This gentleman has a finely-built Fort here, of two or three
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234
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 woman, the kind and affectionate mother
of his little flock of pretty and interesting children.
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 St 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 St Louis; and to whose politeness I am
indebted, as I have before mentioned, for my passage in the Com-
pany'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.
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
(Fig. 85), showing 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 civilised manufactures.
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

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as their former and native regulation, of which there exists no doubt,
than an existing one, since the numerous innovations made amongst
these people by the Fur Traders, as well as by the proximity of
civilisation along a great deal of their frontier, which soon upset
and change many native regulations, and particularly those relating
to their government and religion.
There is one principal and familiar division of this tribe into
what are called the Mississippi and Missouri Sioux. Those bordering
on the banks of the Mississippi, concentrating at Prairie du Chien
and Fort Snelling, for the purposes of trade, etc., are called the
Mississippi Sioux. These are somewhat advanced towards civilisa-
tion, and familiar with white people, with 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 fear-
lessly roam on the vast plains intervening between it and the
Rocky Mountains, and are still living entirely in their primitive
condition.
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 destroy-
ing 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
stigmatising the Indian character as thievish and murderous. That
the Indians in their native state are “drunken," 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 civilised world are

236
,
startled at this, it is the fact 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 “naked ”
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 pro-
cured 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 "poor," 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, nor 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 is sure to be a blessing where the pride and insolence of
comparative wealth are unknown.
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 superior chief 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 (Fig. 86). 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
a

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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
INDIAN GALLERY 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.
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.
? 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.
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, 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.
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
Notes, which were made on my journey of 1300 miles from St 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, etc.; one of whom was the
head and leader of the Sioux, whom I have already introduced.
my

238
success.
On the long and tedious route that lies between St Louis and this
place, I passed the Sacs and Ioways—the Konzas—the Omahaws, and
the Ottoes (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 St Louis.
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
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.
The chief of this tribe, whose name is Shoo-de-ga-cha (smoke), I
painted at full length (Fig. 87), and his wife also, a young and very
pretty woman (Fig. 88), 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.
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
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
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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 fire-water (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."
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
I
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 civilised world.
The son of this chief, a youth of eighteen years, and whose
portrait I painted (Fig. 90), distinguished himself in a singular
manner the day before our steamer reached their village, by taking
to him four wives in one day! This extraordinary and unprecedented
freak of his, was just the thing to make him the greatest sort of
medicine 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.
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.
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 to receive on a certain day, and at a certain
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240
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 com-
menced at once upon his new mode of life; reserving only one of
his horses for his own daily use.
I visited the wigwam of this young installed medicine-man several
times, and saw his four modest little wives seated around the fire,
where all seemed to harmonise 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
(Fig. 89), 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.
Mr Chouteau of the Fur Company, and Major Sanford, the agent
for the Upper Missouri Indians, were with me at this time; and

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a
a
both of these gentlemen, highly pleased with so ingenious and
innocent a freak, felt disposed to be liberal, and sent them many
presents from the steamer.
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.
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!
!
These facts are calculated to create surprise and almost incredulity
in the mind of the reader, but there are circumstances for his con-
sideration yet to be known, which will in a manner account for these
extraordinary facts.
There is not a doubt but there is a more early approach to maturity
amongst the females of this country than in civilised communities,
owing either to a natural and constitutional difference, or to the ex-
posed 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 civilised 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, prema-
turely entering on that system of life, consisting in reciprocal depen-
dence and protection.
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 arrange-
ment answers a good purpose, whereby so many of the females are
VOL. I.
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242
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 con-
cerned, 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.

LETTER—No. 27
MOUTH OF TETON RIVER, UPPER MISSOURI
WHEN 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 exposed.
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 flow-
ing 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
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-
-
had all left him, and were preparing in a little time to be on the
march. He had told 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 exposing 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 sympathised 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.*
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.
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.
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 lying in the middle of the river about a week, in
* 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, stand-
ing 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
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245
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; canvas, paints, and brushes, with my
sketch-book slung on my back, and my rifle in my hand, and I
started off with them.
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 when-
ever we were overtaken by night.
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.
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.e., 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,

246
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
tantalising mirage that opens before him beautiful lakes, and lawns,
and copses; or by the looming 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.
I got on for a couple of days in tolerable condition, and with
some considerable applause; but my half-breed 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 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 “turn my toes in
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.*
* 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 under-
neath ; and consequently, soon subjected us to excruciating pain, whilst walking
according to the civilised 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, must walk with his toes turned in, that each may
perform the duties assigned to it in proportion to its size and strength; and that
civilised man can 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.
1

247
On this journey we saw immense herds of buffaloes; and although
we had no horses to run them, we successfully approached 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.
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.
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 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 muriate 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.
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,

248
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.
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).
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 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.
In this sad and perplexing dilemma, this noble chief stepped for-
ward, 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

249
me with friendship; that I had been travelling a great way to see
them, and smoke with them; that I was great medicine, 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.*
The first who then stepped forward for his portrait was Ee-ah-sa-pa
* 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 pass-
ing before their eyes the portraits of a number of Sioux chiefs, and making my
remarks upon them. The Sioux instantly recognised 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.
The account which Major Pilcher gave was nearly as follows:-
“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.'
“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 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.
“A close examination of the ground was then made by the Indians, who ascer-
tained 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, encounter-
ing 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
a
22

250
(the Black Rock) chief of the Nee-caw-wee-gee band (Fig. 91), 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 grace-
fully over his shoulders, and his head-dress made of war-eagle's 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.
This man has been a constant and faithful friend of Mr MʻKenzie
and others of the Fur Traders, who held him in high estimation, both
as an honourable and valiant man, and an estimable companion.
The next who sat to me was Tchan-dee, tobacco (Fig. 92), 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 (Fig. 93), chief of the Yanc-ton band, and
reputed the principal and most eloquent orator 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 beautiful 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 wampum, an ornament seldom seen
amongst the Indians in the Far West and the North* I was much
a
a
his body by the side of him, weltering in blood from an hundred wounds made by
the chief's long and two-edged knife.”
So died this elegant and high-minded nobleman of the wilderness, whom I con-
fidently had hoped to meet and admire again at some future period of my life.
(Vide Fig. 86.)
* Wampum 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 deer's sinews,
and wear on their necks in profusion; or weave them ingeniously into war-belts for
the waist.
Amongst the numerous tribes who have formerly inhabitated 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 cir-
culating 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, etc.
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.
It is a remarkable fact, and worthy of observation in this place, that after I passed

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251
amused with the excessive vanity and egotism of this notorious man,
who, whilst sitting for his picture, took occasion to have the inter-
preter 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.
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 pro-
foundly 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 world.
Besides these distingués of this great and powerful tribe, I
,
painted in regular succession, according to their rank and standing,
Wan-ee-ton, chief of the Susseton band; Tah-zee-kah-da-cha (the
torn belly), a brave of the Yancton band; Ka-pes-ka-day (the shell),
a brave of the O-gla-la band ; Wuk-mi-ser (corn), a warrior of the
Nee-cow-ee-gee band; Cha-tee-wah-nee-chee (no heart), chief of the
Wah-nee-watch-to-nee-nah band ; Mah-to-ra-rish-nee-eeh-ee-rah (the
grizzly bear that runs without regard), a brave of the Onc-pa-pa
band ; Mah-to-chee-ga (the little bear), a distinguished brave; Shon-
ka (the dog), chief of the Ca-za-zhee-ta (bad arrow points) band ;
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 Ee-ta-sip-shov band ;
Mah-to-een-nah-pa (the white bear that goes out), chief of the
Blackfoot Sioux band ; Shon-ga-ton-ga-chesh-en-day (the horse dung),
chief of a band, a great conjuror and magician.
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
(Fig. 94), Wi-looh-tah-eeh-tchah-ta-mah-nee (the red thing that
touches in marching), and (Fig. 95), Tchon-su-mons-ka (the sand
bar). The first of these women (Fig. 94) is the daughter of the
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 orna-
mented 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, manu-
factured 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.

252
famous chief called Black Rock, of whom I have spoken, and
whose portrait has been given (Fig. 91). 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.
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. *
The second of these women (Fig. 95) 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.
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 em-
ployment 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
* 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 St
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 unusually 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 be-
longed 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.

253
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 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 forlorn hope; 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.
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
INDIAN
GALLERY since her death, where it will long remain to be examined.*
* 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 educa
tion, with which they were taking great pains,

LETTER—No. 28
MOUTH OF TETON RIVER, UPPER MISSOURI
WHILST 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 summum and ne plus ultra of mysteries, which en-
gaged 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 con-
ferring 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“ rank and file” 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.
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 per-
plexity, being heartily laughed at by the whole tribe, both by men
and by women, for my exceeding and (to them) unaccountable con-
descension 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 amus-
ing themselves with the very enviable honour which the great white
medicine-man had conferred, especially on them, and was now to
confer equally upon the squaws !
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
254

255
their pictures, the better; for I had represented to them that I wanted
their pictures to exhibit to white chiefs, to show who were the most
distinguished and worthy of the Sioux; and their women had never
taken scalps, nor did anything 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 under those of their hus-
bands, merely to show how their women looked, and how they dressed,
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.
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 civilised 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.
This watching or guarding 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.
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.
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.
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
-

256
courage; and the whole village gathered in front of the boat, without
showing much further amazement, or even curiosity about it.
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 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 im-
patient for a fight, 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 fair play, until hard raps, and bloody
,
noses, and blind
eyes “settle the hash," and satisfy his trappership to
lie in bed a week or two, and then graduate a sober and a civil
man.
Amongst the Indians we have had numerous sights and amuse-
ments to entertain, and some to shock us. Shows of dances-ball-
plays-horse-racing-foot-racing, and wrestling in abundance. Feast-
ing-fasting, and prayers we have also had; and penance and
tortures, and almost every thing short of self-immolation.
Some few days after the steamer had arrived, it was announced
that a grand feast was to be given to the great white chiefs, 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 (Fig. 96), enclosing a space sufficiently large to accommo-
date 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.
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 voluptuous 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

63
ها با مورد
کار را
Piz
96
97
G. Cutlin.
UNIG


257
-
were there placed as waiters, to light the pipes for smoking, and also
to deal out the food.
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 have
heard that he owns the great medicine-canoe ; he is a good man, and a
friend to the red men. Our friend the White Medicine, 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.
“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.”
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.
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 present-
ing 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
VOL. I.
a
-
R

258
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.
In this 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 civilised 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 delicious viands, 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.
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.
Since I witnessed it on this occasion, I have been honoured with
numerous entertainments of the kind amongst the other tribes, which

259
I have visited towards the sources of the Missouri, and all conducted
in the same solemn and impressive manner; from which I feel author-
ised to pronounce the dog-feast 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 sacri-
fice, and the solemnity of his professions.
The dog, amongst all Indian tribes, is more esteemed and more
valued than amongst any part of the civilised 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 to-
gether, 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.
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 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.
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.
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 civilised society, to a pleasant and convivial party; from
which fact alone, it would seem clear, that they have some extra-
ordinary motive, at all events, for feasting on the flesh of that
useful and faithful animal; even when, as in the instance I have

260
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.

LETTER–No. 29
MOUTH OF TETON RIVER, UPPER MISSOURI
ANOTHER 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) “looking at the sun !”
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. 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, sympathising 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 medicine-man, which
lasts him, and ensures him respect, through life.
This most extraordinary and cruel custom I never heard of
amongst any other tribe, and never saw an instance of it before or
261

262
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 poor and ignorant, mis-
guided 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 them-
selves up for braves or mystery-men, and fail justly to sustain the
character.
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.
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 Mandan religious ceremony, 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.
During my stay amongst the Sioux, as I was considered by them
to be great medicine, 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

263
а.
costumes, their weapons, their pipes, and their mystery-things, pur-
chased a great many others, for which, as I was “medicine” and a
“great white chief!” I was necessarily obliged to pay very liberal
prices.
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, etc. 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.
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 civilised adven-
turers, who teach them the use and luxury of whiskey at the same time.
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 occupa-
tion 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 pulverise, and carry in pouches and smoke
to great excess—and which in several of the languages, when thus
prepared, is called K'nick-k'neck.
As smoking is a luxury so highly valued by the Indians, they
have bestowed much pains, and not a little ingenuity, to the construc-
tion of their pipes. Of these I have procured a collection of several
hundreds, and in Fig. 98, have given facsimile 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 alto relievo, standing or reclining upon them.
The red stone of which these pipe bowls are made, is, in my esti-
mation, 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 im-

264
а
portance to the Indians—as given to them by the Great Spirit, for
their pipes, and strictly forbidden to be used for anything else.
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 medicine-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.
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.
The shafts or stems of these pipes, as will be seen in Fig. 98, 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 porcupine's 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.
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 guess
how the holes have been bored 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.
.
In Fig. 98, the pipes marked b are ordinary pipes, made and used
for the luxury only of smoking; and for this purpose, every
Indian designs and constructs his own pipe. The calumet, or pipe
of peace (Fig. 98 a), ornamented with the war-eagle's quills, is a
sacred pipe, and never allowed to be used on any other occasion than
that of peace-making; 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 solemnising or signing,
by an illiterate people, who cannot draw up an instrument, and
sign their names to it, as it is done in the civilised world.
The mode of solemnising 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
-

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265
2)
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.
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, com-
panions to his long fancied, “mild and beautiful hunting-grounds."
The weapons of these people, like their pipes, are numerous, and
mostly manufactured by themselves. In a former place (Fig. 18)
I have described a part of these, such as the bows and arrows,
lances, etc., 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 Fig. 99; 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.
The scalping-knives a and b, and tomahawks e e e e are of civilised
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 savage or destructive as these civilised refinements on
Indian barbarity. In his native simplicity he shapes out his rude
hatchet from a piece of stone, as in letter f, heads his arrows
and spears with flints; and his knife is a sharpened bone, or the
edge of a broken silex. The war-club c is also another civilised
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.
Their primitive clubs d 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.
R 2

266
Two of the tomahawks that I have named, marked e, 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, etc., in time of peace; and deadly weapons in
time of war, which they use in the hand, or throw with unerring and
deadly aim.
The scalping-knife 6 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
inquire 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.
The huge two-edged knife, with its scabbard of a part of the skin
of a grizzly bear's head, letter a, 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.
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 ride 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
(Fig. 99 g), the handle of which is generally made of a large prong
of
* This celebrated knife is now in my INDIAN MUSEUM, 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: EXTRACT—"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 medicine in this country;
and as you will recollect it, it will be highly appreciated by you.'
*

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G. Catlon.


267
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 invari-
ably 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.
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 showing 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 medicine, that
chiefs and medicine-men turned out and agreed to compliment me
with a dance (Fig. 100). 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.
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.
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.
As I have introduced the scalping-knife 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 practised 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

268
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
scalp-locks.” 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.
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 which we have frequent occurrences on our
Western frontiers. The scalp must be from the head of an enemy
also, or it subjects its possessor to disgrace and infamy who carries it.
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269
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.
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 civilised world, and which customs, of course, we need not and do
not practise. From an ancient custom “time out of mind,” the
warriors of these tribes have been in the habit of going to war, ex-
pecting 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.
One of the principal denunciations against the custom of taking
the scalp, is on account of its alleged cruelty, which it certainly has
not; as the cruelty would be in the killing, 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 civilised and Christian world (who kill hundreds, to where the
poor Indians kill one), do not often treat their enemies' dead, in equally
as indecent and disgusting a manner, as the Indian does by taking
the scalp
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 civilised world
in their own defence.
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 un-
fortunate 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
a

270
"
the United States and British Governments during the last, and the
revolutionary wars, when they mutually employed thousands of their
“Red children,” to aid and to bleed, in fighting their battles, and paid
them, according to contract, so many pounds, shillings, and pence or
so many dollars and cents for every "scalp" of a “red” or a “blue
coat” they could bring in!
In Fig. 101, 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 a), for the purpose of “dancing it," as they term it; which
will be described in the scalp-dance, in a few moments. There are
many again, which are small, and not“ dressed ;” sometimes not larger
than a crown piece (letter c), 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 b).
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 e). Some-
times they are hung at the end of a club (letter d), and at other times,
by the order of the chief, are hung out, over the wigwams, suspended
from a pole, which is called the “scalp-pole.” This is often done by
the chief of a village, in a pleasant day, by his erecting over his wig-
wam a pole with all the scalps that he had taken, arranged upon
it
(letter f); 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 g, g, show the usual manner of taking
the scalp, and (letter h), exhibits the head of a man who had been
scalped and recovered from the wound.
So much for scalps and scalping, of which I shall yet say more,
unless I should unluckily lose one before I get out of the country.
a

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LETTER_No. 30
MOUTH OF TETON RIVER, UPPER MISSOURI
In 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 packing and casing a great many of these things, which I
have obtained of the Indians, to add to my Musée Indienne, I will
name a few more, which I have just been handling over; some de-
scription 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 Fig. 1011, letters a and b, will be seen
the quiver made of the fawn's skin, and the Sioux shield 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
smoking the shield” 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 rawhide 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 contrac-
tion 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
medicine or totem upon it, the figure of an eagle, an owl, a buffalo,
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or other animal, as the case may be, which he trusts will guard and
protect him from harm; it is then fringed with eagle's quills, or
other ornaments he may have chosen, and slung 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.
Of pipes, and the custom of smoking, I have already spoken; and
I then said, that the Indians used several substitutes for tobacco,
which they called K’nick-K neck. 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 c, c, c),
which are ingeniously ornamented with porcupine quills and beads,
and generally carried hanging across the left arm, containing a
quantity of the precious narcotic, with flint and steel, and spunk,
for lighting the pipe.
The musical instruments 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.
In Fig. 1011 (letters d, d) will be seen the rattles (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
Their drums (letters e, e) 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 heel-
inspiring sound for all their dances, and also as an accompaniment
for their numerous and never-ending songs of amusement, of thanks-
giving, and medicine or metai. The mystery whistle (letter ) 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 civilised 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
civilised 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
and songs.
a

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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 modu-
lated and converted into something very pleasing.
The War-whistle (letter h) is a well known and valued little
instrument, 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.
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 civilised world (letter g). This is what
is often on the frontier called a “deer-skin flute,” a “Winnebago
courting flute," a "tsal-eet-quash-to, etc.; 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.
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
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274
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 Orpheus 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.
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.
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 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 chant 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 lies 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.
These quiet and tender songs are very different from those
which are sung at their dances, in full chorus and violent gesticula-
tion; and many of them seem to be quite rich in plaintive expression
and melody, though barren of change and variety.
Dancing, 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 civilised society; inasmuch as it

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enters into their forms of worship, and is often their mode of
appealing to the Great Spirit—of paying their usual devotions to
their medicine—and of honouring and entertaining strangers of
distinction in their country.
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 amuse-
ment 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 “dancing
Indians.” 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.
All the world have heard of the "bear-dance,” though I doubt
whether more than a very small proportion have ever seen it; here
it is (Fig. 102). 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 Bear Spirit; 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 mask that hung over his face. Many others

276
a
in the dance wore masks 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 indispensable form!
Dancing is done here too, as it is oftentimes done in the en-
lightened 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
“beggar's dance." This spirited dance (Fig. 103) was given, not by a
set of beggars though, literally speaking, but by the first and most
independent young men in the tribe, beautifully dressed (i.e. not
dressed at all, except with their breech clouts or kelts, made of eagle's
and raven's 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.
Of scalps, 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.”
The Scalp-dance (Fig. 104) 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, 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 jump), 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

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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 con-
vey 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.
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
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 manes 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.

LETTER—No. 31
MOUTH OF TETON RIVER, UPPER MISSOURI
In former Letters I have given some account of the Bisons, or (as
they are more familiarly denominated in this country) Buffaloes, which
inhabit these regions in numerous herds; and of which I must say
yet a little more.
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; ren-
dered 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 civilised man-and like him and his character, in
a very few years, to live only in books or on canvas.
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 Figs. 7 and 8, 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,
a
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and almost to a jet black, when the winter coat is shed off, and a new
growth is shooting out.
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 confusion, 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.e. they are a simple arch, without the
least approach to a spiral form, like those of the common ox, or of the
goat species.
The female is much smaller than the male, and always distinguish-
able 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.
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.
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 them-
selves 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.
It is very evident that, as high North as Lake Winnipeg, 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

280
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.
The place from which I am now writing, may be said to be the
very heart or nucleus of the buffalo country, about equi-distant
between the two extremes; and of course, the most congenial tempera-
ture 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.
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 animal's
backs.
These are the causes which lead so directly to their rapid destruc-
tion; 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.
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 "running season,” which is in August and Sep-
tember, 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 (Fig. 105). 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.
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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 Fig. 106, 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 ablution, or rather endeavouring
to cool his heated sides, by tumbling about in a mud puddle.
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 water lying amongst the grass, and the ground under-
neath 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.
In this delectable 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 !
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
S 2

282
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. Ву
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.
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.
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 mysterious 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
must needs be made), for the origin of these singular and unaccount-
able appearances, which, for want of a rational theory, have generally
been attributed to fairy feet, and gained the appellation of "fairy
circles.
Many travellers, again, have supposed that these rings were pro-
duced 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.
As my visit to these parts of the “Great Far West” 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 pro-
pensities in these singular regions.
The chief hunting amusement of the Indians in these parts con-
sists 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

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a
become exceedingly expert; and are able to slay these huge animals
with apparent ease.
The Indians in these parts are all mounted on small, but service-
able 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 train-
ing, 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.
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 with-
out
mercy, and forces his horse alongside of his game at the swiftest
speed.
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 (Fig. 107), 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 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.
In Fig. 107, I have fairly represented the mode of approaching, 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.
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 stop rather
than guide the horse. This halter is called by the French Traders in
the country, l'arrêt, the stop, and has great power in arresting the
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284
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.
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 gener-
ally 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 in-
furiated 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 inexpres-
sible) 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.*
I have always counted myself a prudent man, yet I have often
waked (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.
In some of these, too, I have arisen from the prairie, covered with
dirt and 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 browsing on the grass at half a mile distance, without
man, and without other beast remaining in sight.
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 the death of these huge monsters, except where it has been
produced by hands that have acquired more sleight and tact than
his own.
With the Indian, who has made this the every day sport and
amusement of his life, there is less difficulty and less danger; he
* The reader will be further instructed on this subject, by referring back to Fig
9, in the beginning of the book.

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rides without “losing his breath,” and his unagitated hand deals
certainty in its deadly blows.
In Fig. 108, 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 shows the attitude at the
instant after the arrow has been thrown and driven to the heart;
the Indian at full speed, and the lasso dragging behind his horse's
heels. The lasso 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 lasso, with which they are “choked
down.” In running the buffaloes, or in time of war, the lasso 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 lasso,
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.
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 Fig. 109. 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 ren-
dered 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 abun-
dant, gives greater value to the robe.
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.

286
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.* With these the Indian will
glide over the snow with astonishing quickness, without sinking
down, or scarcely leaving his track where he has gone.
The poor buffaloes have their enemy man, besetting and besieging
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 (Fig. 110).
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 him-
self 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.
The buffalo is a very timid animal, and shuns the vicinity of
man with the keenest sagacity; yet, when overtaken, and harassed
or wounded, turns upon its assailants with the utmost fury, who
* The reader will look forward to Figs. 240 and 243, in the Second Volume,
for snow shoes.
а
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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 Fig. 111.
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 other's assistance (Fig.
112). 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 manoeuvres 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 accus-
tomed 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 sym-
pathy; 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

288
In this way,
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 !
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 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 lead.
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 St Louis.*
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 in-
telligible trace behind.
That the reader should not think me visionary in these contem-
plations, or romancing in making such assertions, I will hand him
the following item of the extravagances which are practised in
these regions, and rapidly leading to the results which I have
just named.
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
The fate of these poor little prisoners, I was informed on my return to St
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.
*

289
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 fourteen hundred fresh buffalo tongues, 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.
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 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.
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.
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, beasts 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 them-
selves on the carcasses of those that fall by the deadly shafts of their
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290
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.
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 desper-
ate and deadly resistance, contending to the last moment for the right
of life-and oftentimes deals death by wholesale, to his canine assail-
ants, which he is tossing into the air or stamping to death under his
feet (Fig. 113).
During my travels in these regions, I have several times como
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 hunt-
ing companions and myself were returning 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 (Fig. 114); 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 reclin-
ing, 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
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to be a recognition of & 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.
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 lay in the grass on a favourite bluff, and wrote thus :-
“It is generally supposed, and familiarly said that a man 'falls'
into a rêverie; but I seated myself in the shade a few minutes since,
resolved to force myself into one; and for this purpose I laid open a
I
small pocket-map of North America, and excluding my thoughts from
Ꮎ 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 !
“The world turned gently around, and I examined its surface; con-
tinent 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 wild-
ness—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
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292
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,
I
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 fire-arms was seen—their 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.
a
“So strange were men mixed (both red and white) with the count-
less herds that wheeled and eddied 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 ' Indian-file'—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: 'Quadrupedante
putrem sonitu quatit ungula campum. 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 buz-
zards 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 whiskey, and the poor Indians lay 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 Stills—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, and rob thy fellow-man
of his meat, and for it give him poison !'”
*
*
*
*
*
Many are the rudenesses and wilds in Nature's works, which
are destined to fall before the deadly axe and desolating hands of

293
cultivating man; and so amongst her ranks of living, of beast and
human, we often find noble stamps, or beautiful colours, to which our
admiration clings, and even in the overwhelming march of civilised
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.
Of such “rudenesses and wilds,” Nature has nowhere presented
more beautiful and lovely scenes, than those of the vast prairies of the
West; and of man and beast, no nobler specimens than those who
inhabit them—the Indian and the buffalo-joint and original tenants
of the soil, and fugitives together from the approach of civilised man;
they have fled to the great plains of the West, and there, under an
equal doom, they have taken up their last abode, where their race
will expire, and their bones will bleach together.
It may be that power is right, and voracity a virtue; and that
these people, and these noble animals, are righteously doomed to an
issue that will not be averted. It can be easily proved—we have a
civilised science that can easily do it, or anything else that may be
required to cover the inquities of civilised man in catering for his
unholy appetites. It can be proved that the weak and ignorant have
no rights—that there can be no virtue in darkness—that God's gifts
have no meaning or merit until they are appropriated by civilised
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 word and the
system are entirely of civilised origin; and latitude is admirably
given to them in proportion to the increase of civilised wants, which
often require a judge to overrule the laws of nature. I say that we
can prove such things; but an Indian cannot. It is a mode of reason-
ing 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.
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
-
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294
>
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 a thing of beauty and elegance that had been made for
them!
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 civilised 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.
This strip of country, which extends from the province of Mexico
to Lake Winnipeg 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.
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, draw-
ing 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.
And what a splendid contemplation too, when one (who has
travelled these realms, and can duly appreciate them) imagines them
as they might in future be seen (by some great protecting policy of
government) preserved in their pristine beauty and wildness, in a
magnificent park, where the world could see for ages to come, the
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295
sinewy bow, and shield and lance, amid the fleeting herds of elks and
buffaloes. What a beautiful and thrilling specimen for America to
preserve and hold up to the view of her refined citizens and the world,
in future ages! A nation's Park, containing man and beast, in all the
wild and freshness of their nature's beauty!
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.
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.
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 luxuries 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 im-
ported wants, which beget meanness and vice; stimulated by ideas
of honour and virtue, in which the God of Nature has certainly not
curtailed him.
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 con-
verted 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, lassos, 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,
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296
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.
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 centuries to come, if a system of non-inter-
course 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.
It seems hard and cruel (does it not ?), that we civilised 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!
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 inquiring (indepen-
dently 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 manu-
facture of woollen robes, of equal and superior value and beauty;
thereby encouraging the growers of wool, and the industrious manu-
facturer, 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.
It may be answered, perhaps, that the necessaries of life are
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297
necessities in Indian life, where they have buffaloes in abundance
to live on? The Indians' necessities are entirely artificial—are
all created; and when the buffaloes shall have disappeared in his
country, which will be within eight or ten 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.
Amongst the tribes who have been impoverished and repeatedly
removed, the necessaries of life are extended with a better
the hands of civilised man; 90,000 of such have already been removed,
and they draw from Government some 5 or 600,000 dollars annually
in cash; which money passes immediately into the hands of white men,
and for it the necessaries of life may be abundantly furnished. But
who, I would ask, are to furnish the Indians who have been instructed
in this unnatural mode—living upon such 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 ?
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.
a
grace from
*
*
*
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 canvas, and
brushes into my canoe, which will be launched to-morrow morning,
and on its way towards St Louis, with myself at the steering-oar, as
usual; and with Ba'tiste and Bogard to paddle, of whom, I beg the
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298
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.
END OF VOLL
PRINTED BY OLIVER AND BOYD, EDINBURON



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