They are habitually at war with all the nations of the Missouri; indeed, martial occurrences in which they were interested with those enemies formed the chief topic of their conversation with our interpreters. They were desirous to know of them the names of particular individuals whom they had met in battle, and whom they described; how many had been present at a particular engagement, and who were killed or wounded. The late battle, which we have before spoken of, with the Loup Pawnees, also occupied their inquiries; they denied that they were on that occasion aided by the Spaniards, as we understood [54] they had been, but admitted their great numerical superiority, and the loss of many in killed and wounded. Their martial weapons are bows and arrows, lances, war-clubs, tomahawks, scalping-knives, and shields.[98]
Tobacco being very scarce, they do not carry with them a pouch for the convenience of having it always at hand, an article of dress invariably attendant on the Missouri Indian. Bijeau informed us, that the smoking of tobacco was regarded as a pleasure so sacred and important, that the females were accustomed to depart from the interior of a lodge when the men indulged themselves with the pipe. The Shienne chief, in consequence of a vow he had made against using the pipe, abstained from smoking whilst at our council, until he had the good fortune to find a small piece of paper which some one of our party had rejected; with this he rolled up a small quantity of tobacco fragments into the form of a segar, after the manner of the Spaniards, and thus contented himself with infringing the spirit of his vow, whilst he obeyed it to the letter.
The rain having ceased, our guest and his attendants took their leave.
These Indians might readily be induced to hunt the beaver, which are so extremely abundant in their country; but as yet, these peltries seem not to have entered amongst the items of their trade.
In the afternoon we struck our tents and continued our journey; we were soon overtaken by a thunder-storm, which poured down upon us a deluge of rain, which continued with partial intermissions during the night.
Saturday, 29th. The sun arose with renewed splendour, and ushered in another sultry day. Two of the horses which had been presented by the chiefs ran off, and were soon observed to rise the bluffs, and disappear; men were despatched in pursuit of them, who, after a long and fatiguing chase, returned about [55] noon unsuccessful. We reconciled ourselves as we might to this privation, and after dining proceeded onward. The alluvial margins of the river are gradually dilating as we descend, and the mosquitoes, which have of late visited our camp but sparingly, are now increasing in number. A fine species of toad (bufo)[99] inhabits this region. It resembles the common toad (B. musicus daud.), but differs in the arrangement of the colours, and in the proportional length of the groove of the head, which in that species extends to the nose; it is destitute of large verrucose prominences intervening between the verrucæ behind the eyes, and of the large irregular black dorsal spots edged with white, observable upon the musicus. In the arrangement of the cinereous lines, it presents a general resemblance to B. fuscus saur. as represented on pl. 96. of the Encycl. Method. It thus resides in a country almost destitute of timber, where, as well as a variety of the musicus, it is very much exposed to the direct rays of the sun.
[56] CHAPTER X [IV]
Arrapaho War-party—Tabanus—Rattlesnakes—Burrowing Owl—Departure of Bijeau and Ledoux for the Pawnee Villages—Scarcity of Timber—Great Herds of Bisons—Wolves.