5. Tschantoga (les gens des bois). They live near the Fort des Prairies, not far from Saskatschawan River.[364]
6. Watópachnato (les gens de l'age).
7. Tanintauei (les gens des osayes).[365]
8. Chábin (les gens des montagnes).[366]
In their personal appearance the Assiniboins differ little from the true Sioux; those whom we saw were, perhaps, on the whole, not so tall and slender as the Sioux. Their faces are broad, with high cheeks, and broad maxillary bones. They frequently do not wear their hair so long as the Sioux; many of them have it scarcely hanging down to the shoulders; some, however, let it grow to a great length, and braid it in two or three tails; nay, some let it hang like a lion's mane over their faces and about their heads. Several wore round white leather caps, others feathers in their hair, or a narrow strip of skin fastened over the crown. A remarkable head-dress is that with two horns, of which I shall have to speak in the sequel. They paint their faces red, or reddish-brown, and, when they have killed an enemy, quite black: the hair in front is often daubed with clay; the upper part of the body is seldom naked in winter time, when they wear leather shirts, with a large round rosette on the breast, which is embroidered with dyed porcupine quills, of the most vivid colours; and they have often another exactly similar ornament on their back. The sleeves of these leather shirts are adorned with tufts of their enemies' hair. The outer seam of the leggins, as among all the other tribes, has an embroidered stripe of coloured porcupine quills, and trimmed in the same manner with human or dyed horsehair. In the summer time the upper part of the body is often naked, and the feet bare, but they are never without the large buffalo robe, which is often curiously painted. Their necklaces and other ornaments are similar to those of the other nations which have already been described. They, however, very frequently wear the collar of the bears' claws, but not the long strings of beads 195 and dentalium shells, which are used by the Manitaries. Most of the Assiniboins have guns,[367] the stocks of which they ornament with bright yellow nails, and with small pieces of red cloth on the ferrels for the ramrod. Like all the Indians, they carry, besides, a separate ramrod in their hand, a large powder-horn, which they obtain from the Fur Company, and a leather pouch for the balls, which is made by themselves, and often neatly ornamented, or hung with rattling pieces of lead, and trimmed with coloured cloth. All have bows and arrows; many have these only, and no gun. The case for the bow and the quiver are of the skin of some animal, often of the otter, fastened to each other; and to the latter the tail of the animal, at full length, is appended. The bow is partly covered with elk horn, has a very strong string of twisted sinews of animals, and is wound round in different places with the same, to strengthen it. The bow is often adorned with coloured cloth, porcupine quills, and white strips of ermine, but, on the whole, this weapon does not differ from that of the Sioux. Most of them carry clubs in their hands, of various shapes, and the fan of eagles' or swans' wings is indispensable to an elegant dandy.
The Assiniboins being hunters, live in movable leather tents, with which they roam about, and never cultivate the ground. Their chief subsistence they derive from the herds of buffaloes, which they follow in the summer, generally from the rivers, to a distance in the prairie; in the winter, to the woods on the banks of the rivers, because these herds, at that time, seek for shelter and food among the thickets. They are particularly dexterous in making what are called buffalo parks, when a tract is surrounded with scarecrows, made of stones, branches of trees, &c., and the terrified animals are driven into a narrow gorge, in which the hunters lie concealed, as represented and described by Franklin, in his first journey to the Frozen Ocean.[368] There was such a park ten miles from Fort Union, where I was told there were great numbers of the bones of those animals. On such occasions the Indians sometimes kill 700 or 800 buffaloes. Of the dried and powdered flesh, mixed with tallow, the women prepare the well-known pemmican, which is an important article of food for these people in their wanderings. These Indians frequently suffer hunger, when the chase or other circumstances are unfavourable; this is particularly the case of the northern nations, the Crees, the Assiniboins, the Chippeways, and others, as may be seen in Tanner,[369] Captain Franklin, and other writers, when they consider dead dogs as a delicacy. In the north, entire families perish from hunger. They eat every kind of animals, except serpents; horses and dogs are very frequently killed for food, which is the reason why they keep so many, particularly of the latter.
In comparison with the other nations, the Assiniboins have not many horses; their bridles and saddles are like those of the Manitaries. The rope of buffalo hair, which is fastened to the 196 lower jaw as a bridle, is always very long, and trails on the grass when the animal is not tied up. Many have large parchment stirrups in the shape of shoes, and all carry a short whip in their hand, generally made of the end of an elk's horn, and gaily ornamented. Their dogs are of great help to the women in their heavy work; and they are loaded with the baggage in the same manner as among the Manitaries.
In general, the Assiniboins have the customs as well as the superstitious notions of the Sioux; for an account of which, Major Long's "Expedition to St. Peter's River," may be consulted. They keep on good terms with the Fur Company, for their own interest; they are, however, horse-stealers, and not to be trusted; and when one meets them alone in the prairie, there is great danger of being robbed. Smoking is a favourite enjoyment with them, but, as they live at a distance from the red pipe clay, the bowls of their pipes are generally made of a blackish stone, or black clay, and are different in shape from those of the Dacotas.[370] The pipe tube is ornamented like those of the other tribes.[371] They generally smoke the herb kinikenick, which we have before mentioned, or the leaves of the bear-berry (Arbutus uva ursi), mixed with genuine tobacco. To clean their pipes they make use of a painted stick, bound round with quills, dyed of various colours, and with a neat tassel at the end of it,[372] which is generally stuck in their hair.
