The most attractive sight which we had yet met with upon this voyage, now presented itself to our view. The steamboat lay to close to the willow thicket, and we saw, immediately before us, the numerous, motley, gaily painted, and variously ornamented crowd of the most elegant Indians on the whole course of the Missouri. The handsomest and most robust persons, of both sexes and all ages, in highly original, graceful, and characteristic costumes, appeared, thronged together, to our astonished eye; and there was, all at once, so much to see and to observe, that we anxiously profited by every moment to catch only the main features of this unique picture. The Manitaries are, in fact, the tallest and best formed Indians on the Missouri, and, in this respect, as well as in the elegance of their costume, the Crows alone approach them, whom they, perhaps, even surpass in the latter particular. Their faces were, in general, painted red, in which the North Americans agree with the Brazilians, and many other South Americans; their long hair hung in broad flat braids down their backs; on the side of each eye, they had hanging, from the forehead, a string of white and blue beads, alternating with tooth shells, and their heads were adorned with feathers, stuck in the hair.
The expression of their remarkable countenances, as they gazed at us, was very various; in some, it was cold and disdainful; in others, intense curiosity; in others, again, good-nature and simplicity. The upper parts of their bodies were, in general, naked, and the fine brown skin of their arms adorned with broad, bright bracelets of a white metal. In their hands they carried their musket, bow and battle-axe; their quivers, of otter skin, elegantly decorated, were slung over their backs; their leggins were trimmed with tufts of the hair of the enemies whom they had killed, with dyed horse-hair of different colours, and with a profusion of leather fringe, and beautifully embroidered with stripes of dyed porcupine quills, or glass beads, of the most brilliant colours. These handsome, robust men, showing their remarkably fine white teeth as they smiled, gave free expression to their feelings; and the unnatural and ugly fashions, as well as the different costumes of the white people, probably afforded ample matter for satirical observations, for which these children of nature have a peculiar turn. All these Indians were dressed in their very finest clothes, and they completely attained their object; for they made, at least upon us strangers, a very lively impression. Many of them were distinguished by wearing leather shirts, of exquisite workmanship, which they obtain by barter from the Crows. Several tall, athletic men were on horseback, and managed their horses, which were frightened by the noise of the steam-boats, with an ease which afforded us pleasure. Urging them with their short whips in the manner of the Cossacks, with the bridle fastened to the lower jaw, they, at length, pushed the 180 light, spirited animals through the willow thicket, till they reached the river, where these fine bold horsemen, resembling the Circassians, with their red-painted countenances, were regarded with great admiration. Many of them wore the large valuable necklace, made of long bears' claws, and their handsomely-painted buffalo robe was fastened round the waist by a girdle. In general they had no stirrups, but sat very firmly on the naked backs of the horses, and several rode on a saddle resembling the Hungarian saddle. Among the young women we observed some who were very pretty, the white of whose sparkling hazel eyes formed a striking contrast with the vermilion faces. I regret that it is impossible, by any description, to give the reader a distinct idea of such a scene, and there was not sufficient time for Mr. Bodmer to make a drawing of it. The following winter, however, afforded us an opportunity, in some measure, to supply this deficiency.
A Blackfoot musical instrument
The chiefs of the Manitaries came on board for a short time; among them were old Addi-Hiddisch (the road maker), Péhriska-Rúhpa (the two ravens), Lachpizí-Sihrish (the yellow bear), and several others, and with them the Blackfoot Kiasax, in his best dress, who was to make the voyage along with us. He was accompanied by his Manitari wife, who carried a little child, wrapped in a piece of leather, fastened with straps. She wept much at parting from her husband, and the farewell scene was very interesting. While this was going on, an Indian, on the shore, was employed in keeping off the crowd with a long willow rod, which he laid about the women and children with a right hearty good will, when, by their curiosity, they hindered our engagés and crew in loosening the vessel from the shore. The vessel, however, was ready to start; Mr. Kipp, Charbonneau, the interpreter, and the Manitari chiefs, took leave, and hastened to land, on which the Assiniboin proceeded rapidly up the Missouri. The Indians followed us, for a time, along the bank; about thirty of them formed an interesting group on horseback, two sometimes sitting on the same beast. As the willow thickets on the banks ceased, we had a good view of the prairie, where many Indian horsemen were galloping about; herds of horses fled from the noise of the vessel. The friends and relations of Kiasax and Matsokui—for we had taken another Blackfoot on board—followed the vessel longer than any of the others; they frequently called to them, and nodded farewell, to which Kiasax answered with a long wooden pipe, upon which he played a wretched piece of music.[336] This Mandan pipe, which the Indians, on the Upper Missouri, frequently use, is from two and a half to three feet long, rather wider at the lower end, and has a hole on the upper side, which is alternately opened and shut with the finger. By way of ornament, an eagle's feather is fastened 181 to the end of the instrument with a string, which is generally a medicine or talisman of the owner. Kiasax set a high value on his pipe, which he held constantly in his hand, and would not sell on any terms. A violent storm, accompanied by heavy rain, compelled us to lay to, for ten minutes, on the left bank, where the river is bounded by steep high hills. At this spot Major Pilcher had formerly established a trading post for the Crows and Assiniboins.[337] There were, at that time, no such posts further up the Missouri, but it has since been abandoned, and no trace of it is now to be seen. Before us was a fine extensive view of romantic gradations of the tongues of land, singular mountain tops and cones; and, on the grey chain of hills, we again saw the black horizontal parallel strata of the bituminous coal, which accompany, without interruption, the course of the Missouri. This black fossil has often been examined, with the hope that it might be employed as fuel, but it is unserviceable, has a very bad smell, and is of no use even for blacksmiths' work.[338] These black strata have evidently undergone, in former times, the action of fire; and we everywhere observed, on the ridges of the hills, clay or clay-slate formations, either in the shape of cones, or angular, like fortifications. Many of these pyramids are perfectly regular, and stand on a broad basis, furrowed by the water; some are square, and others regularly flattened. The strata of bituminous coal extend along the base of most of them; all these singularly-formed rocks have, doubtless, been elevated by the action of subterraneous fire. The evening sun illumined the grotesque pyramidal hills, and their shadows gave us a clear idea of their forms. The northern declivity of the mountains was partly covered with bushes; the southern, almost always naked and bare. Towards nightfall we passed the winter village of the Manitaries,[339] situated in a forest, which, at this time, was without inhabitants, and then came to a tongue of land on the right hand, with a high, steep, rocky bank, on which Mr. Sandford once found, in the month of April, great numbers of serpents, which he estimated at several thousands. They appear to have consisted of two species only, which, by their description, were, doubtless, the Col. sirtalis and flaviventris of Say. All the holes and pits in the sides of the rock, and between the blocks of stone on the bank, are said to have been full of them. In one small ravine they lay coiled up in balls; several hundreds of them were killed, the Americans, in general, having an antipathy to these animals. Bradbury, too, mentions large heaps of serpents, under stones, along the Missouri, but at another season of the year. That serpents must abound in these parts, seems to be proved by the name of a small stream, which is called Snake Creek. Half a mile from this place, the Miry Creek flows, from a flat meadow;[340] on the hills beyond we saw some antelopes.
On the following morning, the 20th of June, we perceived, in a forest on the bank, fifteen Indians, and soon afterwards four large elks, which would have been a welcome prey to the hunters, had they been aware of their being so near. One of the strata of black coal on the generally flat hills of this part of the country had lately been on fire; we did not, however, perceive any smoke.
182 After ten o'clock, having taken in fuel, we came to singular hills, flattened at the top, which are called L'Ours qui Danse, because it is said the Indians here celebrate the bear dance, a medicine feast, in order to obtain success in the chase.[341] At noon there was a high cold wind while the thermometer was at 70°. The country was rather flat, and the river was bordered by green forests; on the right bank, in particular, the wood was beautiful, lofty, and dark. Here we observed many traces of beavers, such as gnawed trees and paths leading to the water's edge. Our hunters gradually returned to the bank; they had shot two Virginian deer, an antelope, and a prairie hen. Mr. Bodmer, who returned to the vessel much fatigued and heated, brought with him a stone[342] of the shape of a battle-axe, which had been found in the prairie.[343]
