In his lodge, the Indian is indolent, sedate, and apparently callous; but in hunting, or in quest of an enemy, he is keen, indefatigable, persevering: on the field of battle, he seems an infuriated demon: so different are his appearances in different circumstances. The victorious party bury their dead, or cover them with bushes or stones. They remove their wounded in litters, borne on men’s shoulders; or, if they have horses, on a car of two shafts, with a buffalo skin stretched between them. They return rapidly to their village, and commonly halt on some elevated ground in its vicinity. Their friends, eager to be informed of the particulars of the expedition, hasten to meet them. The party enters the village with savage pomp, ostentatiously exhibiting the scalps which they have taken, raised on poles. Many of the warriors bear the mark indicative of having drunk the blood of an enemy. This consists in rubbing the hand all over with vermilion, and then pressing it on the face and mouth, so as to leave a complete impression. On those occasions, the wives of the warriors who have been engaged in the enterprise, attire themselves in the dress of their husbands, and, with rods in their hands, to which the scalps that have been taken are attached, dance round a large red post, and, in concert with the young warriors, sing the war and scalp songs. This barbarous dance, which is repeated every night for some weeks, is charming to the squaws; a circumstance which shows how far the human character may be perverted by fashion and habit.
The Indians dance and sing at the same time: they have, however, but little grace or variety in their movements, and little music in their notes. Their musical instruments are a sort of drum, and a rattle, or skin bag, with small shot or pebbles in it, which makes a noise when shaken.
It is dangerous to meet a disappointed or defeated war party on its return, as the warriors are apt to indemnify themselves for any disappointment, defeat, or loss they may have sustained, by taking the property and scalps of the first weak or unguarded party they may encounter.
No offence against society is inquired into by the chiefs: stealing from one of their own tribe, which is very rare, exposes the thief to contempt; but cowardice is marked by the highest reprobation. When they go to war, they keep a watchful eye on such of the young men as are making their first essay in arms. If they display the necessary qualifications, they are in due time admitted to the rank of warriors, or, as they express it, of brave men. But if any give clear indications of cowardice, on the return of the party, they are treated with neglect and contempt. A coward is at times punished even with death.
The female prisoners are made slaves, a condition scarcely worse than that of the other squaws. The young male prisoners are often adopted by the families of the tribe which have taken them, and supply the place of the members that have fallen in the expedition. Sometimes, on returning to their village, the party show their prisoner a painted red post, distantfrom twenty to forty yards, and bid him run and lay hold of it. On each side of his course stand men and women with axes, sticks, and other offensive weapons, ready to strike him as he passes. If he instantly spring forward with agility, he may perhaps reach the post without receiving a stroke, and is then safe, till a general council of the warriors determine his fate; but if he fall, he is probably despatched.
If the prisoner be rejected by the family to which he is offered, he is then put to death with every circumstance of cruelty; and the constancy and fortitude of the sufferer are as remarkable as the barbarity of his murderers. The victim, fastened to a stake, sings his death song, insults his tormentors, bears with unshrinking firmness the most dreadful tortures, and expires without a groan. He triumphs in his fortitude, not merely as a personal virtue, but chiefly as a national characteristic. We are to seek the cause of this patient endurance of the most excruciating pains, not in any nervous insensibility, any constitutional apathy, any muscular rigidity of the Indian, but in the sentiments which he has imbibed and the habits to which he has been trained. He has been taught, from infancy, to consider courage and fortitude as the glory of man; to endure privations and pain without a murmur, and with an unsubdued heart, and to despise tortures and death; and, in his last moments, he proves the efficacy of the education which he has received. In these tragical scenes, the women always take an active part; and their inhumanity, like the fortitude of the men, springs from education.
Previous to their intercourse with Europeans, the arms of the Indians were bows and arrows, spears, tomahawks, scalping knives, and war clubs. Most of them, however, are now provided with fire arms; and, being eager to procure them, their quantity is continually increasing. But the use of these original weapons is far from being entirely superseded.
At times, the bow is formed of pieces of horn neatly spliced; but it is more commonly made of wood. Formerly, the arrow was pointed with flint or bone, but now generally with iron: the spear is pointed in a similar manner. The tomahawk is a hatchet or war axe. The scalping knife is used to cut and tear off the scalp, or integuments of the upper part of the skull with the hair, of their fallen enemies, which the Indians display as trophies of their victory, with as much exultation as ancient heroes manifested in showing the arms of their vanquished foes. The head of the war club is globular, and at times hollow, inclosing pieces of metal, which make a gingling noise when a stroke is given. Occasionally, the blade of a knife, or some other sharp instrument, is fastened to the end of it at right angles. The tribes who dwell in the depth of the forest have no bucklers, but shelter themselves behind trees: those, however, who live in an open country, as on the banks of the Missouri, use bucklers or shields of a circular form, about two feet and a half in diameter, and composed of three or four folds of buffalo’s skin, dried in the sun and hardened. These shields are proof against arrows, but not against ball.
In all their acts of devotion, and on all occasions where their confidence is to be won or their friendship secured, smoking is regarded as an inviolable token of sincerity.
The pipe or calumet, as some have called it, is the symbol of peace and the pledge of friendship. Among the rude dwellers of the desert, it servesthe same purposes as a flag of truce in the armies of more civilized communities. The pipe is about four feet long; the bowl made of stone or clay, and the stem of a light wood. It is differently ornamented in different nations. The bearer of this sacred symbol of friendship is seldom treated with disrespect, because they believe the Great Spirit would not allow such an iniquity to escape with impunity.