Early Western Travels
1748-1846
Volume XV

Early Western Travels
1748-1846

A Series of Annotated Reprints of some of the best
and rarest contemporary volumes of travel, descriptive
of the Aborigines and Social and
Economic Conditions in the Middle
and Far West, during the Period
of Early American Settlement
Edited with Notes, Introductions, Index, etc., by
Reuben Gold Thwaites, LL.D.
Editor of "The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents," "Original
Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition," "Hennepin's
New Discovery," etc.
Volume XV
Part II of James's Account of S. H. Long's Expedition
1819-1820

Cleveland, Ohio
The Arthur H. Clark Company
1905

Copyright 1905, by
THE ARTHUR H. CLARK COMPANY
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
The Lakeside Press
R. R. DONNELLEY & SONS COMPANY
CHICAGO

CONTENTS OF VOLUME XV

ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOLUME XV

Part II of James's Account of S. H. Long's
Expedition, 1819—1820

Reprinted from Volumes I and II of London edition, 1823

EXPEDITION FROM PITTSBURGH TO THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS
[PART II]

{209} CHAPTER I {XI}[1]

Further Account of the Omawhaws—Of their Marriages—Of Infancy, and the Relationship of Parents and Children—Their Old Age.

In the Omawhaw nation, numbers of the females are betrothed in marriage from their infancy; and as polygamy is extremely common, the individual who weds the eldest daughter, espouses all the sisters successively, and receives them into his house when they arrive at a proper age.

During her early youth, the daughter continues under the controul of her parents, with whom she resides, and donations are occasionally made to her by the lover, which are received by the parents, and appropriated to their own use, if the addresses of the individual are favourably received; but should an alliance with him, or with his family not to be desirable, his presents are rejected, and the application is not renewed.

Between the age of nine and twelve years, the young wife is occasionally an invited visitant at the lodge of her husband, in order that she may become familiarized with his company and his bed. But her permanent residence is still at the house of her parents, where she continues until the age of thirteen or fourteen, when the parents give notice to their son-in-law, that their daughter is of sufficient age to partake of his bed. The husband then receives his bride without any formality, and leaving his other wives at home, departs with her upon a journey of a few days, during which time the marriage is consummated. On their return, the young wife again dwells in the lodge of her parents, occasionally {210} visited by her husband, until a general hunt calls the nation from the village.

During this hunt the husband again takes possession of his bride, whose parents constantly pitch their lodge near that of the son-in-law.

The husband, previously to introducing his new wife to his lodge, endeavours to obtain the consent of his other wives; for this purpose he speaks kindly to them, states the necessity of providing them with a helpmate to alleviate their burthens, and thus succeeds in his wishes.

The new matrimonial alliance is at first productive of no discord in the family; but at length the decided partiality, displayed by the husband in favour of his recent acquisition, engenders much jealousy in the minds of his elder wives. Quarrels often succeed, which are sometimes terminated by the natural weapons of the wives, who, after the liberal use of their voluble tongues, apply for more strenuous aid to the agency of their teeth and nails, or to the somewhat more formidable array of tomahawks, clubs, and missiles.

During combats of this nature, the husband remains perfectly neutral, sitting with his robe drawn over his head. Should the wives succeed in expelling the recent intruder, who takes refuge in the house of her parents, the husband endeavours to soothe their anger, and to point out to them the impropriety of their conduct.

A lecture of this description, to women elated with victory, is not always received in the same conciliatory disposition with that which dictated the advice; but sometimes results in another quarrel, which is terminated by the administration of a few blows on the persons of his refractory squaws. These will then depart from his lodge, declaring their determination to live with him no longer; a resolution which, however, fails with their anger, and they seek a reconciliation. Their friends apply to the husband in {211} their favour, and are informed that he was angry when he flogged them, and that he is now sorry for it. Thus matters are with but little difficulty adjusted; the wives return home, and are harangued by the husband, after which they proceed harmoniously together in their domestic employments, until some new feud arises to disturb the repose of the family.

On the general hunting expeditions, in which the nation separates into distinct bands, the husband takes with him his favourite wife, whilst the others accompany the bands in which are their parents. Sometimes, during a temporary encampment, the husband leaves his favourite for a few days, on pretence of business, in order to visit one of his wives in another band. On his return, he perceives the brow of his favourite to lower with evident displeasure; if his dog approaches her, she knocks him over with a club, and her child is repulsed with violence from her side; she kicks the fire about, pulls about the bed, and exhibits other signs of anger. The husband affects not to notice her inquietude, but suffers her to proceed in her own way, until the violence of her anger appears to be in some measure dissipated; he will then, perhaps, venture to request her to repair his mockasins for the morrow's hunt. "Take them to your dear wife in the other band," will most probably be the reply to his solicitation.

Such is sometimes the violence of the displeasure of his squaw, that he is obliged, through prudential motives, to take refuge in a neighbouring lodge, where he solaces himself with the pipe, until he supposes there is no longer danger of being provoked beyond endurance, so as to be tempted to chastise her; a discipline which she seems rather to solicit than avoid, that she may have a sufficient excuse for wreaking her vengeance on her rival, and for giving free vent to her sentiments and opinions upon her husband, in language of the most superlatively indecent and opprobrious nature.

{212} When he retires to repose, he invites her to his bed, but receives a positive refusal: she rolls herself in her covering alone; but generally, during the night, she becomes pacific, and a negociation ensues, which restores harmony between them.

The far greater portion of their matrimonial quarrels arise from jealousy, though many affect to treat this passion with ridicule, or with indifference.

"Were you ever jealous?" said Sans Oreille,[2] an Oto chief, to Mr. Dougherty; "I was once fool enough to be jealous, but the passion did not long torment me; I recollected that women are often alone, their husband being necessarily often absent a hunting, and even when the husband is at home, the squaw is under the necessity of going to a distance for the purpose of bringing water, or collecting wood, when frequent opportunities occur of being unobserved in the company of other men; and I am not so silly as to believe that a woman would reject a timely offer. Even this squaw of mine, who sits by my side, would, I have no doubt, kindly accede to the opportune solicitations of a young, handsome, and brave suitor." His squaw laughed heartily, but did not affect to repel the imputation.

Many husbands will take no cognizance whatever of the breach of conjugal fidelity on the part of the wife; and the offer of one of their wives for company during the night, though it might call upon our politeness for a return of thanks, was no cause of surprise to us during our stay at their villages.[3]

A husband of a different temperament of mind, on detecting his wife in an adulterous act, will rarely endeavour to maim her paramour, or otherwise seriously injure him by killing his horses or dogs; but {213} his attention will be chiefly or exclusively directed to his wife, whom he punishes by cutting off her hair, rarely her ears or nose; sometimes he resorts to a different punishment, and scarifies her face and head with his knife, after which she is repudiated, and becomes a common prostitute.

An inexorable man, thus circumstanced, has been known to abandon his frail partner, after subjecting her to a punishment very similar to that inflicted on the incontinent Roman matron, under the authority of the Emperors.[4]

Mr. Dougherty, being in Ong-pa-ton-ga's lodge, heard the loud voice of supplication from an unhappy father, whose daughter had been recently taken in adultery by her husband. "O, great Ong-pa-ton-ga!" said he, "whose nose is like that of a mule, and who art greater than the Wahconda himself, condescend to intercede for my daughter with her cruel husband; do not permit her face to be disfigured, her nose to be cut off, or the disgrace of the punishment of the prairie to be inflicted upon her."

A brave, who detected his wife in the commission of adultery, offered her no indignity, but immediately transferred her to the object of her preference, and accompanied the gift with a horse, and sundry articles of merchandize.

Even a very remote degree of consanguinity is an insuperable barrier to the marriage union. This state on the part of the man, seems to be the result of love for the woman; on that of the squaw, of convenience, or acquiescence in the will of her parents. On some occasions, however, an Indian marries through ambitious motives; he is, for instance, aspiring to the acquisition of a particular dignity; he will then endeavour to quiet the opposition of some powerful individual, by intermarrying in his family.

Their connubial attachments are often very strong. {214} An Omawhaw and his squaw, on a solitary hunting expedition, were discovered at a distance from their temporary lodge, by a Sioux war-party. They endeavoured to escape from the enemy, but the squaw was soon overtaken, struck to the ground, and subjected to the terrible operation of scalping. The husband, although at this time beyond the reach of the balls and arrows of the Sioux, seeing his squaw in their hands, immediately turned upon them, and drawing his knife, the only weapon he had, furiously rushed amongst them, in order to revenge the death of his squaw, even with the inevitable sacrifice of his own life; but he was almost immediately despatched, without having accomplished his heroic purpose.

In the young squaw, the catamenia, and consequent capability for child-bearing, we were informed, takes place about the twelfth or thirteenth year, and the capacity to bear children seems to cease about the fortieth year; but as superstitious notions prevent these Indians from taking any note of their ages, these periods are stated with some hesitation.

When the married squaw perceives that the catamenia does not recur at the expected period, she attaches a small leathern string to her girdle, and ties a knot in it, to note the incipient state of pregnancy, and another knot is added at termination of each successive moon, as a register of its progress.

When the squaw perceives the approach of this depurating process, she retires from her family, and erects a little shelter of bark or grass, supported by sticks, properly arranged, where she makes a fire, and cooks her victuals alone. She is thus compelled by custom to absent herself until the expiration of four days, when she returns to her lodge. During this time she must not approach or touch a horse, as the {215} Indians believe that such contamination would impoverish that animal. They sometimes retire, and build their little shelter under a false pretext, when the real object is to favour the approach of some esteemed lover, to whom the vigilance of the husband has denied any other means of obtaining a stolen interview.

The squaw has no need of propitiating the goddess Manageneta,[5] but during pregnancy continues her usual avocations, and even in its most advanced stage, she neither bears a lighter burden on her back, nor walks a shorter distance in a day, than she otherwise would; neither does she expose herself the less on that account to the inclemencies of the weather.

If, on a march, a pregnant woman feels the pains of parturition, she retires to the bushes, throws the burden from her back, and, without any aid, brings her infant into the world. After washing in water, if at hand, or in melted snow, both herself and the infant, she immediately replaces the burden upon her back, weighing, perhaps, between sixty and an hundred pounds, secures her child upon the top of it, protected from the cold by an envelop of bison robe, and then hurries on to overtake her companions.

It is only at the delivery of the first child that any difficulty is ever anticipated; and, on this occasion, as there are no professed midwives, the young wife calls in some friendly matron to assist in case of need. The aid which these temporary midwives afford, seems to be limited to the practice of tying a belt firmly about the waist of the patient, and shaking her, generally in a vertical direction, with considerable violence. In order to facilitate the birth, a vegetable decoction is sometimes administered; and the rattle of the rattle-snake is also given with, it is said, considerable effect. The singular appendages of this animal are bruised by pounding, or comminuted by {216} friction between the hands, mixed with warm water; and about the quantity of two segments constitutes a dose.

The art of turning does not appear to be known, neither is blood-letting practised in their obstetrics. We heard of no case of retention of the placenta after parturition, nor of the affection of longing, or of nausea of the stomach during pregnancy.

On the delivery of her first child, the young mother, who appears to be but little enfeebled by the process, arises almost immediately, and attends to the ordinary housework; but she does not, in general, undergo any laborious occupation, such as cutting and carrying wood, until the lapse of two or three days. The second child is brought forth without difficulty, and the parent, after bathing, ties it to a board, after their usual manner, then proceeds with her daily work, as if nothing extraordinary had occurred.

Mammary abscess is very rare; a squaw of the Sioux nation died with this complaint.

Sterility, although it does occur, is not frequent, and seems to be mostly attributable to the husband, as is evinced by subsequent marriages of the squaws.

The usual number of children may be stated at from four to six in a family, but in some families are ten or twelve. Of these the mother has often two at the breast simultaneously, of which one may be three years of age. At this age, however, and sometimes rather earlier, the child is weaned by the aid of ridicule, in which the parents are assisted by visitors.

The catalogue of the diseases, of both children and adults, probably bears a similar proportion to that of the white people, and is far less extensive and appalling. The summer complaint, so destructive to children in our region, appears to be uncommon with the Omawhaw infants; but, during their first year, they suffer more from constipation of the bowels {217} than from any other complaint, but which is occasionally remedied by passing a small piece of soap (which is obtained from the traders,) cut into the proper shape, into the rectum.

Dentition seems to be productive of no great distress; the gums are never cut, but the teeth are permitted to force their way through. The shedding of the teeth is also accomplished without much difficulty; the milk-teeth, being forced out by the permanent ones, either fall from the mouth, or are gently extracted by the fingers of the parent.

Monstrous births sometimes occur, though rarely; and it is not known that infants are ever destroyed by their parents in consequence of deformity, unless the degree of malformation is excessive. The Indians mention two monsters which were born in their village; one of these they represent as resembling a white bear, and the other a cray-fish; they were both destroyed. The husband of the squaw, who gave birth to the former, said that she must have had connection with a white bear; but she asserted that the production of the monster was occasioned by a fright, which she received at seeing her husband suddenly, whilst he was personating that animal both in dress and gesture.

The magi affect to converse with the fœtus in utero, when the mother perceives it to be uneasy; they also sometimes venture to predict its sex.

Abortion is effected, agreeably to the assertions of the squaws, by blows with the clenched hand, applied upon the abdomen, or by repeated and violent pressure upon that part, or by rolling on the stump of a tree, or other hard body. The pregnant squaw is induced thus to procure abortion, in consequence of the jealousy of her husband, or in order to conceal her illicit amours, to which all the married squaws, with but few exceptions, are addicted.

The infant, when recently born, is of a reddish-brown colour; but in a short time it becomes whitish, {218} though never so pure a white as that of the children of white people. The change to the national complexion is then gradual, and independent of exposure; inasmuch as those parts of their bodies, which are perpetually concealed from the light, change simultaneously with the face.

The abdomen of the children protrudes very considerably; and the sole article of dress, which the younger boys wear during the warm season, is a small belt of cloth around the middle of the abdomen, leaving every other part of the body perfectly naked. In wintry weather they have the addition of leggings, mockasins, and a small robe.

The female children are furnished with a short piece of cloth, in imitation of a petticoat, but destitute of a seam, belted round the loins, and depending as low as the knees. Their hair, when dressed, is parted longitudinally on the top of the head, and collected on each side behind the ear, into a vertical cylindric form, of the length of five or six inches, decorated with silver and brass rings and ribands; the line of separation of the hair is coloured with vermilion.

This disposition of the hair into two rolls is generally observed in the girls, and is often continued one or two years after their residence with a husband.

The girl is kept in a state of considerable subjection; she habitually conforms to all the commands of the mother, and is obliged to assist her in her ordinary occupations; if she is refractory, she receives a blow upon the head or back from the hand of the mother, but hardly ever from the father. At the age of four or five years, she is taught the use of the hoppas, and is gradually familiarised to carry burdens. They are trained up to industry, and are taught to cut wood, to cultivate maize, to perform the scalp dance, and are early informed of the sexual relations of men and women, and warned against the arts which will be aimed at the subjugation of their virtue.

{219} The experienced parent, however, in addition to these salutary counsels, keeps a vigilant eye to the deportment of her unmarried daughter, and so sedulously guards her steps, that the arts of seduction, notwithstanding the free use of the licentiousness of language, appear to be more rarely triumphant over the Omawhaw maid, than over the civilized fair.

Hence a prostitute, who has never been married, is of exceedingly rare occurrence. Yet, notwithstanding the vigilance of the parent, the daughter sometimes elopes with a favoured lover, but not until she has ascertained that his intentions are perfectly honourable.

The girl displays the most affectionate regard for her parents, and grand parents.

Whilst the deportment of the sister is thus trenched and guarded, the brother roams at large, almost uncontrolled. Should his conduct be at any time flagrantly outrageous, he will, perhaps, in the anger of his parents, receive a harsh reproof; but an ill-judged affection soon prompts them to assuage his grief, and dry his tears, by presents and soothing expressions. At a very early age he is furnished with a bow and arrows, with the use of which he delights to employ himself, that he may be qualified for a hunter and warrior.

From the age of about five years to that of ten or twelve, custom obliges the boy to ascend to a hill-top, or other elevated position, fasting, that he may cry aloud to the Wahconda. At the proper season, his mother reminds him that "the ice is breaking up in the river, the ducks and geese are migrating, and it is time for you to prepare to go in clay." He then rubs his person over with a whitish clay, and is sent off to the hill-top at sunrise, previously instructed by his mother what to say, and how to demean himself in the presence of the Master of life. From this elevation he cries out to the great Wahconda, humming a melancholy tune, and calling on him to have pity on him, and make him a great hunter, {220} horse-stealer, and warrior. This is repeated once or twice a week, during the months of March and April.

It is only when his pride is concerned, that the boy is obedient to the injunctions of his parents; on other occasions he disregards them, or replies only with ridicule. A boy in anger discharged an arrow at his mother, which penetrated her thigh; when, instead of chastising him for the act, she applauded his spirit, declaring him to be a gallant fellow, the early promise of a great warrior. But though he does not scruple thus to insult his parents, he would unhesitatingly revenge an indignity offered them by another.

He soon becomes ambitious of martial distinction, in consequence of frequently hearing the old warriors narrate their feats of arms, and eagerly anticipates the age which will justify his enrolling himself in the ranks of a war-party.

At the age of twelve or thirteen, having received every instruction respecting their mode of warfare, his wishes are gratified, and he is accepted as a volunteer in the path of honour.

As an instance of high chivalric ideas sometimes instilled into the mind of the Indian, which in some cases almost supersede the feelings of nature, and which are eminently calculated to excite a degree of enthusiasm in the youthful warrior, the following anecdote may be narrated.

The Osage nation a few years since marched to attack the Konza village. They encamped unobserved at a moderate distance from the village, and despatched two of their warriors with pipes to the Konzas to invite all their chiefs to a pretended peace conference, and to inform them that presents of horses and merchandize would be made to them, to compensate for two individuals of their nation whom the Osages had killed.

The Konzas, suspecting the treachery intended, {221} at first proposed to put the messengers to death, but on further consideration, supposing them sincere, the chiefs determined to accompany them. On the following morning, however, when they were about to set out for the Osage camp, a chief arose and harangued them, stating that he had had a dream in the night, from the interpretation of which, he was confident that the Wahconda was averse to their proposed visit.

This information deterred all from going, with the exception of two, who mounted their horses and followed the messenger, saying, that whatever might be the event, the Osages should not be led to believe that every individual of the nation was afraid to rely upon their faith.

They were, however, soon undeceived. The enemy, who had placed themselves in ambuscade on each side of the path at a suitable position, fired on the Konzas, one of whom was killed, and the other escaped to his people.

The Osages, who had hoped by this ruse de guerre to slaughter all the chiefs without any loss to themselves, finding their scheme abortive, rushed on to attack the village.

They were met by about one half their number of Konzas, who, after an obstinate encounter, repulsed them with considerable loss.

After the action, some one informed Son-ja-nin-ga that his son was among the slain. "Did he die with his face to the enemy?" said the father. "He did so," replied the other. "Then he perished nobly," rejoined Son-ja-nin-ga, exultingly, and "I will not lament his fall." This resolution, however, was so much at variance with his sensibility, that it could not long be maintained. He mounted on the top of his lodge, and harangued his people on the subject of the martial deeds of his son, who had already become a distinguished warrior; but when he spoke of his {222} final scene, he was so absolutely overpowered by grief, that he precipitated himself from his elevated situation to the earth; receiving, however, but little injury, he immediately assumed the state of mourning with its utmost rigours.

At the age of fourteen or fifteen, it is not uncommon for the young Omawhaw to elope with a married woman, and fly for protection to the Puncaws.

The home of the young man, until he marries, is his father's house; but after he thus changes his condition, he repairs to the house of his father-in-law, until the birth of the first child, when he returns with his little family to his father's dwelling, where he continues to reside. On national hunts he provides a separate skin lodge for his family.

When more advanced in age, and of some little consequence or influence amongst the people, he unites with two or three families in the building of a permanent dirt lodge in the village, similar to those already described of the Konzas.

The labour of erecting this edifice devolves almost exclusively upon the squaws. The interior is readily furnished; the indispensable requisites being only a kettle, a wooden bowl, and a couple of horn spoons, a few skins for a bed and covering, a pillow made of leather stuffed with hair, and a bison's stomach, instead of a bucket, for carrying water.

On the death of the husband, the squaws exhibit the sincerity of their grief by giving away to their neighbours every thing they possess, excepting only a bare sufficiency of clothing to cover their persons with decency. They go out from the village, and build for themselves a small shelter of grass or bark; they mortify themselves by cutting off their hair, scarifying their skin, and, in their insulated hut, they lament incessantly. If the deceased has left a brother, he takes the widow to his lodge after a proper interval, and considers her as his wife, without any {223} preparatory formality.[6] If the deceased has not left a brother, the relations of his squaw take her to their lodges. This lamentation and mortification, which the squaws impose upon themselves, continue for a period of six or eight months, or even a year.

Many circumstances tend to show that the squaw is susceptible of the most tender and permanent attachment to an individual of the opposite sex, and that on the cessation of all hope of a union with the beloved object, the consequences have sometimes been fatal. Several instances came to our knowledge, of a young female committing the act of suicide after marriage with a person, in obedience to the will of her parents, whilst her affections were devoted to another.

The maternal fondness appears also to be not less exquisite than we perceive it to be with civilized mothers. The following anecdote may be cited in support of this observation.

In the year 1814, a trader married a beautiful squaw of one of the most distinguished families in the Omawhaw nation. This match, on the part of the husband, was induced by the following circumstances. Being an active, intelligent, and enterprising man, he had introduced the American trade to the Missouri Indians, and had gained great influence amongst them by his bravery and ingenuous deportment. But he at length perceived that his influence was gradually declining in consequence of the presence and wiles of many rival traders, to whom his enterprise had opened the way, and that his customers were gradually forsaking him.

{224} Thus circumstanced, in order to regain the ground he had lost, he determined to seek a matrimonial alliance with one of the most powerful families of the Omawhaws. In pursuance of this resolution, he selected a squaw whose family and friends were such as he desired. He addressed himself to her parents agreeably to the Indian custom, and informed them that he loved their daughter, that he was sorry to see her in the state of poverty common to her nation, and although he possessed a wife among the white people, yet he wished to have one also of the Omawhaw nation. If they would transfer their daughter to him in marriage, he would obligate himself to treat her kindly; and as he had commenced a permanent trading establishment in their country, he would dwell during a portion of the year with her, and the remainder with the white people, as the nature of his occupation required. His establishment should be her home, and that of her people during his life, as he never intended to abandon the trade. In return, he expressed his expectation, that, for this act, the nation would give him the refusal of their peltries, in order that he might be enabled to comply with his engagement to them. He further promised, that if the match proved fruitful, the children should be made known to the white people, and would probably be qualified to continue the trade after his death.

The parents replied with thanks for his liberal offers, and for his disposition to have pity on them; they would not object to the connection, and hoped that their daughter would accept of him as her husband.

The parents then retired, and opened the subject to the daughter. They assured her that her proposed husband was a great man, greater than any of the Omawhaws; that he would do much for her and for them, and concluded by requesting her to acquiesce in the wishes of the white man. She replied, that all {225} they said was, without doubt, true, and that agreeably to his request, she was willing to become his wife.

The agreement being thus concluded, the trader made presents, agreeably to the custom of the nation, and conducted his interesting prize to his house.

The succeeding spring the trader departed for the settlements, leaving her of course at his trading house.

The ensuing autumn she had the pleasure to see him return, having now conceived for him the most tender attachment. Upon his visit the following season, she presented him with a fine daughter, born during his absence, and whom she had nursed with the fondest attention. With the infant in her arms, she had daily seated herself on the bank of the river, and followed the downward course of the stream, with her eye, to gain the earliest notice of his approach. Thus time passed on. The second year the father greeted a son, and obtained his squaw's reluctant consent to take their daughter with him on his return voyage to the country of the white people. But no sooner had he commenced his voyage, and although she had another charge upon which to lavish her caresses, than her maternal fondness overpowered her, and she ran crying and screaming along the river side in pursuit of the boat, tearing out her long flowing hair, and appearing to be almost bereft of reason. On her return home she gave away every thing she possessed, cut off her hair, went into deep mourning, and remained inconsolable. She would often say that she well knew that her daughter would be better treated than she could be at home, but she could not avoid regarding her own situation to be the same as if the Wahconda had taken away her offspring for ever.

One day, in company with six other squaws, she was engaged in her agricultural labours, her infant boy being secured to his cradle-like board, which she {226} had carefully reclined against a tree at a short distance. They were discovered by a war-party of Sioux, who rushed towards them, with the expectation of gratifying their vengeance by securing all their scalps. An exclamation from her companions directed her attention to the common enemy, and in her fright she fled precipitately, but suddenly recollecting her child, she swiftly returned full in the face of the Sioux, snatched her child from the tree, and turned to save its life, more precious than her own. She was closely pursued by one of the enemy, when she arrived at a fence which separated her from the field of the trading house. A moment's hesitation here would have been fatal; and, exerting all her strength, she threw the child, with its board, as far as she could on the opposite side.

Four of the squaws were tomahawked, and the others escaped, of which number the mother was one, having succeeded in bearing off her child uninjured.

The trader, on his arrival at the settlements, learned that his white or civilized wife had died during his absence, and after a short interval devoted to the usual formalities of mourning, he united his destinies with another, and highly amiable lady. The second season his wife accompanied him on his annual voyage up the Missouri, to his trading house, the abode of his squaw.

Previously to his arrival, however, he dispatched a messenger to his dependents, at the trading-house, directing them to prevent his squaw from appearing in the presence of his wife. She was accordingly sent off to the village of her nation, a distance of sixty or seventy miles. But she could not long remain there, and soon returned with her little boy on her back, and accompanied by some of her friends, she encamped near her husband's residence. She sent her son to the trader, who treated him affectionately. On the succeeding day the trader sent for his squaw, and {227} after making her some presents, he directed her to accompany her friends who were then on their way to their hunting grounds.

She departed without a murmur, as it is not unusual with the Omawhaws to send off one of their wives, on some occasions, while they remain with the favourite one.

About two months afterwards the trader recalled her. Overjoyed with what she supposed to be her good fortune, she lost no time in presenting herself before the husband whom she tenderly loved. But great was her disappointment, when her husband demanded the surrender of the child, and renounced for the future any association with herself, directing her to return to her people, and to provide for her future wellbeing in any way she might choose.

Overpowered by her feelings, on this demand and repudiation, she ran from the house, and finding a periogue on the river shore, she paddled over to the opposite side and made her escape into the forest with her child. The night was cold, and attended with a fall of snow and hail. Reflecting upon her disconsolate condition, she resolved to return again in the morning, and with the feelings of a wife and mother to plead her cause before the arbiter of her fate, and endeavour to mitigate the cruel sentence.

Agreeably to this determination, she once more approached him, upon whom she believed she had claims paramount to those of any other individual. "Here is our child," said she: "I do not question your fondness for him, but he is still more dear to me. You say that you will keep him for yourself, and drive me far from you. But no, I will remain with him; I can find some hole or corner into which I may creep, in order to be near him and sometimes to see him. If you will not give me food, I will, nevertheless, remain until I starve before your eyes."

The trader then offered her a considerable present, desiring her at the same time to go, and leave the {228} child. But she said, "Is my child a dog, that I should sell him for merchandize? You cannot drive me away; you may beat me, it is true, and otherwise abuse me, but I will still remain. When you married me, you promised to use me kindly as long as I should be faithful to you; that I have been so, no one can deny. Ours was not a marriage contracted for a season, it was to terminate only with our lives. I was then a young girl, and might have been united to an Omawhaw chief; but I am now an old woman, having had two children, and what Omawhaw will regard me? Is not my right paramount to that of your other wife; she had heard of me before you possessed her. It is true her skin is whiter than mine, but her heart cannot be more pure towards you, nor her fidelity more rigid. Do not take the child from my breast, I cannot bear to hear it cry, and not be present to relieve it;[7] permit me to retain it until the spring, when it will be able to eat, and then, if it must be so, take it from my sight, that I may part with it but once."

Seeing her thus inflexible, the trader informed her that she might remain there if she pleased, but that the child should be immediately sent down to the settlements.

The affectionate mother had thus far sustained herself during the interview with the firmness of conscious virtue, and successfully resisted the impulse of her feelings; but nature now yielded, the tears coursed rapidly over her cheeks, and clasping her hands, and bowing her head, she burst into an agony of grief, exclaiming, "Why did the Wahconda hate me so much, as to induce me to put my child again into your power?"

The feelings of the unhappy mother were, however, soon relieved. Mr. Dougherty communicated {229} the circumstances of the case to Major O'Fallon, who immediately and peremptorily ordered the restoration of the child to its mother, and informed the trader that any future attempt to wrest it from her should be at his peril.

As in civilized communities, so amongst the Indians, quarrels sometimes occur. There being no legal tribunal to appeal to, amongst the Missouri Indians, individuals often terminate their animosity by resorting to arms, and relying upon their own valour or address. This extremity is, however, sometimes obviated, by the soothing interference of relatives and friends, or by the violent interposition of a warrior.

Pugilism they despise, regarding it entirely beneath the dignity, even of an ordinary man, saying that it is only fit for the decision of the quarrels of children and squaws, and that when a man is called upon to decide a question by force, he ought to resort to the aid of mortal weapons.

Hard heart, chief of the Ioways, quarrelled with a trader, near the mouth of the Platte, and challenged him immediately to single combat, with any weapons he might choose, either agreeably to the manner of the whites, or to the usual Indian mode, of either combatant availing himself of opportunity or stratagem. The trader refusing to fight, Hard heart departed, declaring he would come again in the morning, in order to put him to death as a coward; "and," said he, "the Wahconda himself will not be able to save you." The trader, for security, assembled around his hut several Oto warriors as a guard, so that when the chief returned agreeably to his promise, to execute his threat, he could not gain admittance. After waiting a long time in vain, he at length sent word to the trader that he forgave him and would not injure him. The trader on receiving this information, having sufficient confidence in his good faith, dismissed his guards; and some time {230} afterward, we observed them riding together, on their return from the Pawnee villages, to which they had accompanied the Oto nation.

About a twelvemonth before our arrival at Engineer Cantonment, Hashea (the Cut-nose) and the Brave, two highly distinguished warriors of the Oto nation, had a very serious quarrel, which their friends could not perfectly adjust, but only succeeded in preventing a personal combat. Since our departure for the Rocky Mountains, Major O'Fallon informs us, that this hostility, still further aggravated by another incident, has terminated fatally. The nephew of the Brave grossly insulted, by his pertinacious addresses, the wife of Hashea, whilst the latter warrior was absent on a war excursion. On his return, being informed of the indignity offered to his wife, he sought the offender, knocked him down with his war club, and beat him with great severity. The Brave was summoned by his friends, who seeing the bruised condition of his relative, vowed revenge. He provided a large sharp-pointed knife, and throwing his bison robe over his arm, by way of shield, he sallied out and passed twice through the village, uttering occasionally, with a loud voice, a challenge to Hashea to come forth, and decide their old quarrel by means of the knife. Hashea feared no man, and would have presented himself before his old enemy at the first call, but was prevented by some friends who were with him in his lodge; these, however, after the lapse of a short time, he contrived to elude, and swiftly sought the Brave. He threw down his blanket, and exclaimed, "You and I cannot live in the same nation; the time has arrived when one of us must die." They then closed in fight. The Brave had much the advantage; he was a large man, and his person was effectually protected by his robe, which received the thrusts of his adversary's knife, whilst at every blow the weapon of the Brave was sheathed in the naked body of the interesting Hashea. {231} The latter was soon despatched, but as he staggered backwards under the grasp of death, he aimed a final blow at his antagonist, and had the gratification to see his blade enter his neck and pass far downward; at which he uttered a shout of exultation and died. The Brave's wound was mortal, but he lived long enough to see the features of Ietan, the friend of Hashea, bent in sternness upon him, and to hear him lament that the conqueror of his friend, should die without the agency of his arm. The deceased warriors belonged to the two most powerful bands of the nation. Hashea was a near kinsman of the Crenier, leader of one band, and the Brave was a brother of Shongotonga, leader of the other, and principal chief of the Otos. The consequence of the quarrel involved the whole nation, and to avoid farther hostilities the bands separated from each other, into distinct villages, in which situation they now remain.

The designations by which the Omawhaws distinguish their various degrees of consanguinity are somewhat different in meaning from ours. Children universally address their father's brother by the title of father, and their mother's brother by that of uncle; their mother's sister is called mother, and their father's sister aunt. The same relative designations extend to the step-parents, relatives, and to those of the grand-parents. The children of brothers and sisters address each other by the titles of brother and sister. Step-parents treat their step-children with as much kindness and attention as their own; and a stranger in the family would not perceive any partiality shown to the latter; indeed the natural parent exacts such a course of conduct from the other, and a separation would probably ensue, from an opposite course being obstinately persevered in, as a parent will on no account suffer his or her offspring to be abused.

Natural children are generally retained by the {232} mother; but if she is willing to part with them, or at her death, they are received into the family of the father, where they experience the same kindness and attention as his other children; but an Indian will consider himself insulted, if he is told that he had no proper father or mother.

Some mothers of natural children will not permit them to visit the father, while she can controul them; they generally remain with the mother, and support her.

A man applies the title of We-hun-guh, or sister-in-law, to his wife's sister, until he takes her as his wife; he also calls his wife's brother's daughter Wehunguh, and may in like manner take her to wife: thus the aunt and the niece marry the same man.

A man distinguishes his wife's brother by the title of Tahong, or brother-in-law, and his son also by the same designation. He calls the wife of his brother-in-law Cong-ha, or mother-in-law.

A woman calls her husband's brother Wish-e-a, or brother-in-law, and speaks of his children as her own. Her husband's sister she distinguishes by the title of relationship, Wish-e-cong, or sister-in-law. Men who marry sisters address each other by the title of brother. All women who marry the same individual, even though not previously related, apply to each other the title of sister.

Remote degrees of consanguineous alliance are distinguished by their various appellatives, and are universally acknowledged.

It is a great singularity in the manners of the Omawhaws that neither the father-in-law nor mother-in-law will hold any direct conversation with their son-in-law; nor will he, on any occasion, or under any consideration, converse immediately with them, although no ill-will exists between them; they will not, on any account, mention each other's name in company, nor look in each other's faces; any conversation {233} that passes between them is conducted through the medium of some other person.

The Big Elk, Ongpatonga otherwise named Ar-re-cat-ta-wa-ho, which means Big Elk in the Pawnee language, married the daughter of Me-chah-pa, or the Horse-head. One day, on a visit to his wife, he entered the lodge of her father unobserved by him, who was busily engaged in playing with his dog, rubbing him with his hand, and frequently repeating his name, which unfortunately happened to be the same with that of the Big Elk in Pawnee. Mechahpa's wife, hearing her husband repeat this name in the presence of the son-in-law, after making many winks and signs without effect, arose from her seat and struck him violently with her fist upon the back, exclaiming, "You old fool! have you no eyes to see who is present? you had better jump upon his neck, (meaning that of the Big Elk) and ride him about like a dog." "Wah!" ejaculated Mechahpa, in surprise, at the sudden and emphatical salutation, and understanding the meaning of the address, he ran out of the lodge in confusion.

This extraordinary formality is carried to a great length, and is very rigidly observed. If a person enters a dwelling in which his son-in-law is seated, the latter turns his back, covers his head with his robe, and avails himself of the first opportunity to leave the presence. If a person visit his wife, during her residence at the lodge of her father, the latter averts himself, and conceals his head with his robe, and his hospitality is extended circuitously by means of his daughter, by whom the pipe is transferred to her husband to smoke. Communications or queries intended for the son-in-law are addressed aloud to the daughter, who receives the replies of her husband. The same formality is observed by the mother-in-law; if she wishes to present him with food, it is invariably handed to the daughter for him, or if she happens to be absent for the moment, it is placed on {234} the ground, and she retires from the lodge, that he may take it up and eat it. A ten year's separation will not change this custom. The Pawnees have no such formality, and on that account are said to be great fools.

A Frenchman, married and resident with the Omawhaws, one day inadvertently mentioned the name of his father-in-law, in presence of several people, who immediately declared him to be as great a fool as a Pawnee, thus to have so little respect for his father-in-law, as to treat him with as little ceremony as he would a dog.

The more distinguished and respectable the parties are, the more rigidly is this rule observed; and if either of the parties should be treated otherwise, the departure from the observance would be regarded as a mark of disrespect for a trifling fellow.

Fraternal affection is very strong and permanent. The chief and almost exclusive sources of infraction of this natural bias, are adultery with each other's wives, and conflicting intrigues for the attainment of the honour of a chieftain.

Two Omawhaw brothers had stolen a squaw from an individual of their nation, and were on their journey to seek a refuge in the Puncaw village. But they had the misfortune, in a large prairie, to meet with a war-party of Sioux, their implacable enemies. They immediately concealed themselves in a deep ravine, which at bottom was covered with dry reed grass. The Sioux surrounded this spot, and set fire to the windward side of the reeds, in order to drive them out. When the conflagration had nearly reached the fugitives, one of the brothers remarked, that the Wahconda had certainly not created him to be smoked out like a racoon; (the Indians smoke this animal out of hollow trees by kindling a fire at the root;) he urged his brother to attempt his escape in one direction, whilst he would attract the attention of the enemy, by sallying out upon them alone, and {235} endeavouring to destroy as many of them as possible, in anticipated revenge for that death which he considered as inevitable; "One or both of us," said he, "must certainly be sacrificed; save yourself if you can; I will be the victim, and may fortunately receive a death-blow in the conflict, and thus escape the disgrace of captivity." He then rushed forth amongst the Sioux, shot one, and with his knife wounded several before he was dispatched. His brother availing himself of the abstracted attention of the enemy, effected his escape, but the squaw was burned to death. In this magnanimous self-devotion, the gallant brother exhibits an instance of chivalric heroism which would have immortalized a Roman warrior.

The young men are generally coupled out as friends; this tie is very strongly knit in youth, but is usually enfeebled by matrimony or the concerns of more advanced age; yet it is sometimes as lasting as the life of the individuals.

The Omawhaws, as we before observed, preserve no account of their ages; they think that some evil will attend the numbering of their years. Me-chah-pa the Horse-head, who is an intelligent medicine man, asked one of our party, whom he was informed was an eminent medicine man of the white people, amongst many other questions, how old he was; he was answered, about forty-five, at which he expressed his regret that he had lived so long in the world, and to so little purpose.

Old age amongst the Omawhaws is generally loquacious, but it does not seem to be distinguished, as in civilized life, by an accumulation of maladies. Aged Indians, whether male or female, generally continue in apparent good health to the last, and the visitation of death is most frequently sudden and unexpected; an instance of this has already been related, which occurred to old Loutre, an individual of the Missouri nation.

{236} They become bowed and very much wrinkled with age, and their joints become less flexible. But their hair does not so generally change to gray as that of men in a state of civilization. The hair of the sides of the head, which is so frequently shorn or extracted, often assumes the gray appearance at a comparatively early age, and is almost universally of that tint in aged persons; whilst that of the top and back of the head, which is always permitted to attain a moderate length, is simply interspersed with a few grey hairs. Many aged squaws preserve the hair of the usual youthful colour; in others we observe an intermixture of gray, and it may be remarked that the aged of this sex are more frequently gray-haired than the men.

We saw a middle aged woman whose hair had pretty generally changed to gray; but this appearance at her age was so unusual, that the Indians attributed it to her having infracted the injunctions of her medicine by eating forbidden food.[8]

In proportion as persons of either sex approach to the state of superannuation, the respect of their family and acquaintances is withdrawn from them, and they are finally regarded as useless burdens upon the community. They are subjected to the pranks and ridicule of the young people, which, however, they seem rather to invite by drollery, jokes, and stories, than to discourage by a repulsive demeanour.

The aged men contrive to render themselves useful by assisting the squaws in their culinary operations, and by haranguing; a service for which their loquacity eminently qualifies them.

The aged squaws can generally assist in light employments, such as making and mending mockasins, leggings, stringing beads, &c.; but during the rigours of winter they are generally seated near the door of the travelling lodge, partially defended from the cold by an old ragged robe, and occupied with {237} the menial service of pushing up the half-burned pieces of wood to the fire, and driving out the dogs; in this situation they are more exposed to the weather than any other inmate of the tenement.

Though thus neglected, the aged are not permitted to suffer from hunger, when in the village, if food can be obtained. But when they become helpless on a march, and the transporting of them is attended with much difficulty, it is considered unavoidable to abandon them to their fate; with this view a small grass shelter is erected for them, in which some food is deposited, together with wood and water. When thus abandoned by all that is dear to them, their fortitude does not forsake them, and the inflexible passive courage of the Indian sustains them against despondency. They regard themselves as entirely useless, and as the custom of the nation has long led them to anticipate this mode of death, they attempt not to remonstrate against the measure, which is, in fact, frequently the consequence of their earnest solicitation.

In this situation the devoted man sings his war-songs to the Wahconda, narrating the martial exploits of his youth, and finally chaunts his death-song.

If on the return of the nation from the hunt, he is still living, his family or friends take him with them to the village, and guard him from want until the succeeding general expedition.

{238} CHAPTER II {XII}

Diseases—Medical and Surgical Knowledge—Drunkenness, and other Vices—Ideas of God, and of a Future State—Superstition, and Practice of the Magi—Expiatory Tortures.

The Omawhaws endure sickness and pain with great fortitude; most of them, when thus afflicted, rarely uttering a murmur. Their catalogue of diseases, and morbid affections, is infinitely less extensive than that of civilized men.

Rheumatism is rare, and gout appears to be unknown. No case of phthisis or jaundice fell under our observation. King's-evil is not uncommon, and although they have no reliance on the sanative touch of a king or chief, yet, as their practice seems confined to an inefficacious ablution with common water, many fall victims to the disease. Many are also afflicted with ulcers, which sometimes terminate fatally. Decayed teeth are rare. Plica polonica is unknown. Baldness seems to be also unknown, the hair being always retained, however advanced the age of the individual.

Nymphomania occurred in the person of a widow, who was thus afflicted about two months; her symptoms were attended with an effusion of blood from the nose. On her recovery, she attributed the disorder to the operation of some potent mystic medicine.

Hypochondriasis seems to be unknown. Canine madness also appears to be without an example, their dogs not having yet been visited by the disease. [239] They are rarely afflicted with dysentery, though children are sometimes subject to it in consequence of eating unripe fruits, such as plums, grapes, and maize. They are never known to be subject to the coup de soleil,[9] although they travel for days and even weeks over the unsheltered prairies, without any covering whatever for the head, which is consequently exposed to the full radiance of the sun, both in a state of activity and quiescence. White men residing with them, and who have partaken in their hunts, and consequent insolation, have been visited with this distressing affection, although their heads were protected invariably by hats or handkerchiefs.

The cuticle of these Indians is not known to have been acted upon by contact with poisonous plants, though white men travelling with them have experienced the effects of the usual deleterious properties of the poison vine (rhus radicans,) which is, to a certainty, abundant in proper situations in the Missouri country. What effects would result from the application of this plant to the only part of the body of the Indian which is never exposed to the direct influence of external causes, is a subject deserving of experimental inquiry.

The hare-lip sometimes occurs, but it may be properly considered as still more rare than amongst white people.

Frosted limbs are treated by immersion in cold water, so as gradually to restore the lost temperature of the part. The magi also perform over them their mystic rites, amongst which the only topical application is made by chewing some roots and blowing the fragments, and accompanying saliva violently upon the part, with many antic capers.

Goiture and wens are not known. Fevers, and fever and ague, are exceedingly rare. Ophthalmic diseases, and casualties affecting the eye, are frequent. The eyes of children are sometimes injured or destroyed by missiles, in incautious play or juvenile {240} rencontres. But blindness is more frequently the effect of the gradual operation of disease. The eyes become sore and the lids inflamed; white opake maculæ, after some time, appear in the eye, which enlarge until they cover it entirely, and prevent the ingress of light. It is probable that they possessed no rational remedy for this evil previously to their acquaintance with the traders, excepting the extracting of blood from the temple by their process of cupping; the traders, however, have taught them to remove the opacity, by blowing burnt alum into the eye through a quill, a remedy so familiar in the veterinary art. To this disease children as well as adults are obnoxious.

Another ophthalmia, which also results in the destruction of the faculty of vision, commences with a superabundant secretion of the fluid of the lachrymal duct, succeeded by inflammation of the lids; the sight becomes gradually debilitated, until at length the pupil assumes an opake white appearance; probably fistula lachrymalis.

Temporary blindness, which sometimes eventuates in permanent loss of sight, occurs during the winter to incautious travellers who pass over the prairies covered with snow, from which the solar light is so brilliantly reflected. A party that accompanied Mr. Dougherty on a journey, being thus exposed, became unable to distinguish objects, and had not his sight been preserved, they might never have regained their stockade.

The blind are not neglected by their family and friends; on the contrary, we had several opportunities of observing them to be well clothed and fed, and much at their ease. When superannuated, however, they are not exempted from the fate attendant on that state.

An affection, or pain in the breast, distinguished by the name of Mong-ga-ne-a, seems to be the consequence of excessive indulgence in tobacco, and the {241} habitual inhaling of the smoke of it into the lungs. In their attempts to alleviate this complaint, the magi affect to extract from the part, by suction, balls and pellets of hair, and other extraneous substances, which they had previously concealed in their mouths for the purpose of deceiving the patient.

An individual applied to one of our party to cure him of this pain, but being advised to desist from the indulgence of tobacco smoking, he appeared rather willing to bear with his disease.

They sometimes say that their liver pains them, a disorder which they call Ta-pe-ne-a.

They are not exempt from catarrhs, the consequence of great exposure to sudden vicissitudes of temperature; a disease similar to the influenza is sometimes prevalent, and known by the name of Hoh-pa.

A deaf and dumb boy occurred in the Oto nation; an adult with a curved spine; and another with an inflexible knee, the leg forming a right angle with the thigh. But we have not observed any one of them with either eye deviating from the true line of vision.

The medical and surgical knowledge of the Omawhaws is very inconsiderable, and what there is, is so much blended with ceremonies, which to us appear superstitious, inert, and absurd, that it would seem, that, with the exception of a few instances, they have no reasonable mode of practice.

Sweating-baths are much in estimation, and are used for the cure of many ailments. These are temporary constructions, generally placed near the edge of a water-course; they are formed of osiers, or small pliant branches of trees, stuck into the soil in a circular arrangement, bent over at top so as to form a hemispherical figure, and covered in every part with bison robes. They are of different sizes, some are calculated to contain but a single individual, whilst others afford space for five or six at once. The invalid enters with a kettle of water and some heated {242} stones, on which the water is sprinkled until the steam produced is sufficient for his purpose. When they conceive that his perspiration has been as profuse as necessary, he is taken out and plunged into the water, and even if the stream be covered with ice, this is broken to admit the patient. He is not subjected a second time to the action of the steam, but covers himself with his robe and returns home.

We did not learn that they possessed any knowledge of cathartic or emetic medicines. But as a substitute for the latter, a feather is thrust down the throat, until its irritating effect produces vomiting.

For the cure of cholic, warm topical applications are made, and the abdomen is kneaded with the fist.

They have no substitute whatever for opium, and we do not know that they have any for mercury.

For the alleviation of an internal local pain, a severe remedy is sometimes resorted to. A portion of the medullary substance of a plant, is attached to the skin over the part affected, by means of a little spittle; it is then touched with fire, and burns slowly down to the skin, upon which a vesication is soon produced, and accomplishes the object intended, of removing, at least for a time, the internal pain to the surface. This seems to be the only species of actual cautery made use of.

The Indians, who reside in the upper regions of the Missouri, practise bleeding for various ailments. This operation is sometimes performed with a knife or arrow point. At other times, and not unusually, a sharp stone is placed upon the part from which blood is to be drawn, and it is then struck with a stick, much in the same manner that veterinarians operate with the phlegm. They thus bleed in the arm, thigh, leg, &c.

They never dissect the human body, expressly for the purpose of acquiring a knowledge of its structure; but they have a general idea of the position of the vitals and viscera, acquired upon the field of battle, {243} by their custom of hacking the carcasses of the slain; a knowledge which teaches them on what part of the body of an enemy to strike, in order that the wound may be mortal.

Gun-shot wounds are administered to by the magi, who powwow over them, rattle their gourds and sing, whilst they chew roots and blow out the fragments and saliva on the part. But the efficient practice in cases of wounds of this nature, is their system of depuration by means of suction; they apply their lips to the wound, and draw out the pus as it is secreted; by this mode of treatment they seem to be very successful in the cure of gun-shot wounds.

Amputation of limbs is not practised in their surgery.

The wound produced by the arrow, is treated much in the same manner with that of the gun-shot, after the weapon is thrust through the part, in the direction in which it entered; or, if this cannot be accomplished, the arrow is withdrawn, and the head or point being very slightly attached to the shaft, remains in the body, unless the wound is superficial, in which case it is cut out with a knife.

A broken limb is extended to its place, and enveloped with a leathern strap; the union generally takes place promptly, but the member usually remains more or less bent or crooked.

They have no rational mode of treating the scalp wound. A squaw who had been scalped, covered the part, after its edges had healed, with a peruke made of bison hair, until the hair on the other parts of her head became of sufficient length to conceal the deformity.

Dislocated members are reduced by extension, but with so little art, that they are frequently unsuccessful, and the limb remains permanently disjointed.

The Omawhaws are entirely destitute of all condiments, with the exception of salt, which, however, in their eating, they rarely use.

{244} Confirmed insanity appears to be unknown.

Every person, in any degree conversant with Indian manners and customs, is struck with their proneness to that most abominable and degrading of all vices, intoxication from the use of spirituous liquors. The Missouri Indians, collectively, form no exception to this general trait. A member of the Pawnee war party, which we so unfortunately encountered near the Konza village, was more solicitous to obtain a draft of this pernicious beverage, than to possess any other article within his view. We, however, persisted in refusing it to him, although he fell upon his knees, and laid his hands convulsively upon his breast and stomach, crying out, with a voice and manner of earnest supplication, "Whiskey, whiskey." The vice of drunkenness is yet, however, extremely rare in the Pawnee, as well as the Konza nation. But the Omawhaws are much addicted to it, and, with the exception of the chiefs, the indulgence does not, in any very considerable measure, degrade them in the estimation of their countrymen, who regard it as a delightful frolick; unless, indeed, the indulgence is permitted to grow into a habit.

To this cause, more especially than to any other, is perhaps attributable the depreciation of the influence of Ongpatonga, notwithstanding the efforts of his comparatively superior intellectual abilities.

The greatest offences and insults are overlooked if committed in this state, and even murder is palliated by it. The actions of drunken Indians, are as ridiculous and puerile as those of civilized drunkards; chiefs, warriors, and common men, roll indiscriminately on the earth together, or dance, caper, laugh, cry, shout, fight, or hug and kiss, and rub each other with their hands, in the most affectionate or stupid manner. If in the vicinity of white people, they appoint some of their number to remain sober, in order to prevent injury or insult being offered to them.

{245} The squaws sometimes tie them with cords, in order to preserve the peace, and are thanked for their precaution, when the subjects return to the dignity of reason.

Squaws, however, will themselves get drunk on certain occasions, and children are frequently intoxicated with liquor given them by the parents.

Whiskey, which is the only spirituous liquor they are acquainted with, is furnished to them freely by the traders; and the existing law of the United States, prohibiting the sale of it to the natives, is readily evaded, by presenting it to them with a view of securing their custom, not in direct, although implied exchange for their peltries. Nor is this greatest of evils in the power of the agent to remedy; and until traders are effectually interdicted, by law, from taking any whiskey into the country, even for their own consumption, it must, in defiance of his authority, continue to exist.

Whiskey is distinguished by the appellation of Pa-je-ne, or fire-water, the letter j having the French sound in pronunciation. The state of intoxication is called Ta-ne, a word which has a singular affinity with that by which they distinguish meat broth, or meat water; so great indeed is the similarity in sound between them, that to our ear they appear identical.

Intoxicating drinks do not appear to be ever made use of by the Omawhaws, for superstitious purposes.

This people believe firmly in an existence after death; but they do not appear to have any definite notions as to the state in which they shall then be. And although they say that many reappear after death to their relatives, yet such visitants communicate no information respecting futurity. They consist of those only who have been killed either in battle with the enemy, or in quarrels with individuals of their own nation, and their errand is to solicit vengeance on the perpetrators of the deed.

{246} Futurity has no terrors to the dying Omawhaw. as he has no idea of actual punishment beyond his present state of existence. He, however, regrets the parting from his family and friends, and sometimes expresses his fears that the former will be impoverished, when his exertions for their support shall be withdrawn.

The Wahconda is believed to be the greatest and best of beings, the creator and preserver of all things, and the fountain of mystic medicine. Omniscience, omnipresence, and vast power are attributed to him, and he is supposed to afflict them with sickness, poverty, or misfortune, for their evil deeds. In conversation he is frequently appealed to as an evidence of the truth of their asseverations, in the words Wahconda-wa-nah-kong, the Wahconda hears what I say; and they sometimes add Mun-ekuh-wa-nah-kong, the earth hears what I say.

Whatever may be the notions of other Indian nations, we did not learn that the Omawhaws have any distinct ideas of the existence of the devil; or at least we always experienced much difficulty and delay, when obtaining vocabularies of this and some other languages in ascertaining corresponding words for Devil and Hell: the Indians would consult together, and in one instance the interpreter told us they were coining a word.

They say that after death, those who have conducted themselves properly in this life, are received into the Wa-noch-a-te, or town of brave and generous spirits; but those who have not been useful to the nation or their own families, by killing their enemies, stealing horses, or by generosity, will have a residence prepared for them in the town of poor and useless spirits; where, as well as in the good town, their usual avocations are continued.

Their Wahconda seems to be a Protean god; he is supposed to appear to different persons under different forms. All those who are favoured with his {247} presence become medicine men or magicians, in consequence of thus having seen and conversed with the Wahconda, and of having received from him some particular medicine of wondrous efficacy.

He appeared to one in the shape of a grizzly bear, to another in that of a bison, to a third in that of a beaver, or owl, &c., and an individual attributed to an animal, from which he received his medicine, the form and features of the elephant.

All the magi, in the administration of their medicine to the sick or afflicted, mimic the action and voice, variously exaggerated and modified, of the animal, which, they say, is their respective medicine, or in other words, that in which the Wahconda appeared to them.

When a magician is called to attend a sick person, he makes preparations for the visit by washing and painting with red clay; some of them dress fantastically, but others retain their ordinary apparel, which does not distinguish them from their neighbours; they take with them a dried gourd or skin, in which are some pebbles or plumstones, to make a rattling noise; the medicine bag is also an indispensable requisite, not for the active properties of its contents, but for the mystic virtues ascribed to them.

When in presence of his patient, he assumes the proper gravity of deportment, and commences his operations by smoking his pipe, and talking to his Wahconda; after this preparatory ceremony, the medicine bag is opened, and the contents displayed, consisting of white and red earth, herbs entire or pulverized, &c. Portions of these are mixed with warm water, in small wooden cups, with which he is provided. Then, with a due degree of solemnity, he advances to his patient, and inquires into the nature of his ailment; he feels the part affected with his hand, and in case of local pain, he scarifies the part with a flint, and proceeds to suck out the blood, {248} having previously taken a small quantity of water in his mouth. He applies his lips to the wound, and sucks with great force, drawing a considerable quantity of blood, which he occasionally ejects into a bowl, in which some dirt or ashes had been previously sprinkled.

He makes much noise in the operation, by inhaling and expelling the air forcibly through his nostrils, and at the same time jerks his head from side to side, tugging at the part to facilitate the process. The depletion produced by this method, is sometimes so considerable that the patient becomes relaxed and pallid.

It has been remarked, that those practitioners have very tumid lips, and this remark is verified in those of Mon-cha-wahconda, or medicine grizzly bear, whom we have frequently seen.

If the patient has no local pain, the magician administers some of his simples, sometimes internally, but generally by friction between his warmed hands, and the breast or abdomen of the patient. At intervals during this operation, and after the termination of it, he rattles his gourd with violence, singing to it with great vehemence, and throwing himself into grotesque attitudes. All this is sometimes daily repeated, until the convalescence or death of the patient.

A wealthy man, when sick, will sometimes send to a great distance for a celebrated practitioner, who, if not already engaged, removes with his family and lodge to the vicinity of the afflicted.

The compensation for all this attendance and powwowing, is proportioned to the violence and duration of the complaint, and to the wealth of the individual; it is frequently exorbitant, and consists of horses, kettles, blankets, &c., which, although they are never demanded, yet the magician does not fail to allude to some of them as objects of his wishes, and {249} the gratitude of the patient seldom fails on this occasion. If the patient dies, notwithstanding all this necromancy, he is said to be summoned by the Wahconda, and the fee or present to the magician is made by the relatives or friends of the deceased.

These men sometimes pretend to the spirit of prophecy. One of them ventured to predict, that two squaws who had recently married white men, would die in the course of a very short time, which he specified. The squaws being much alarmed at the prospect of approaching death, took with them some tobacco and other presents, and went in search of the prophet in order to prevail upon him to intercede for them with the Wahconda, and avert their doom. The husband of one of the squaws, a citizen of the United States, hearing of the occurrence, went to the lodge of the magician. He was surprised to see there the squaws perfectly naked before the magician, who had provided himself with a large kettle of warm water, and was himself engaged in squirting the water from his mouth over their persons. The husband, incensed at what appeared to him to be nonsense and imposition, kicked over the kettle of holy water, and drove the squaws home to their lodges; but the magician, having received the presents, which were the objects of his swindling cunning, pretended that his incantation had had the desired effect with the Wahconda, inducing him to spare their lives.

Many are the impostures which these priests practise on the credulity of the people. And although they are frequently defeated in their attempts to deceive, and justly punished for their hypocritical villainy, yet the advantage of experience seems to profit them little, and deception, practised under a new garb, often attains its ends. How can we wonder at this facility, with which a simple people are blinded, through the medium of their superstitious faith, when we know that infinitely more {250} monstrous absurdities obtain the inconsiderate assent, or excite the fears of thousands of civilized men, in the most populous and enlightened cities of Europe and America, and that the horse-shoe, even at this day, is frequently seen attached to the threshold of a door, as a security against the entrance of a witch?

One of these magi acquired a high repute in several of the Missouri nations, by impressing them with the belief, that his body was indestructible to human power, and that if cut into a thousand fragments, and scattered to the winds, these portions would all promptly assemble together again, and become revivified, so that he would receive no injury from the operation. Trusting to his fame, on some slight provocation, he killed a squaw in the midst of her own people, and with the most unbounded confidence, surrendered himself to her exasperated relatives, declaring with exultation that they possessed not the power to harm him.

Unexpectedly, however, they put his vaunted supernatural constitution to the test, by dividing his body into pieces, and scattering them about the vicinity of the village.

They are so entirely habituated to practising the arts of deception, that it would seem they sometimes persuade themselves that what was at first only feigned, is in truth reality, and that their magic absolutely possesses its attributed healing virtue. One of these men, being on a visit to the Pawnee villages, was present at a kind of grand incantation, during which many extraordinary feats were exhibited. He there saw, for the first time, the mountebank trick, of appearing to cut off the tongue, and afterwards replacing the severed portion without a wound. "There," said Katterfelto, "your medicine is not strong enough to enable you to perform this operation." The stranger, jealous of his national honour, and unwilling to be exceeded, unhesitatingly {251} drew forth his knife, and actually cut off nearly the whole of his tongue, and bled to death before their eyes.

In the country of the Crow Indians, (Up-sa-ro-ka,)[10] Mr. Dougherty saw a singular arrangement of the magi. The upper portion of a cotton-wood tree was implanted with its base in the earth, and around it was a sweat house, the upper part of the top of the tree arising through the roof. A gray bison skin, extended with oziers on the inside so as to exhibit a natural appearance, was suspended above the house, and on the branches were attached several pairs of children's mockasins and leggings, and from one of the limbs of the tree, a very large fan made of war eagle's feathers was dependent.

The Missouri Indians believe earthquakes to be the effect of supernatural agency, connected, like the thunder, with the immediate operations of the Master of Life. The earthquakes which, in the year 1811, almost destroyed the town of New Madrid of the Mississippi, were very sensibly felt on the upper portion of the Missouri country, and occasioned much superstitious dread amongst the Indians. During that period, a citizen of the United States resided in the village of the Otos, trading for the produce of their hunts. One day he was surprised by a visit of a number of Otos in anger. They said that a Frenchman, who was also trading in the village, had informed them, that the Big-knives had killed a son of the Master of Life; that they had seen him riding on a white horse in a forest country, and being of a sanguinary disposition, they had waylaid and shot him. And it was certainly owing to this act that the earth was now trembling before the anger of the great Wahconda. They believed the story implicitly, and it was with no little difficulty that the trader divested his own nation of the singular crimination.[11]

{252} As connected with the superstitions of the Missouri Indians, we may mention some anecdotes that came to our knowledge. First, of the Me-ma-ho-pa or medicine stone of the Gros ventres, or Minnetarees.[12] This is a large, naked, and insulated rock, situate in the midst of a small prairie, at the distance of about two days' journey, southwest of the village of that nation. In shape it resembles the steep roof of a house. The Minnetarees resort to it, for the purpose of propitiating their Man-ho-pa or Great Spirit, by presents, by fasting, and lamentation, during the space of from three to five days.

An individual, who intends to perform this ceremony, takes some presents with him, such as a gun, horse, or strouding, and also provides a smooth skin, upon which hieroglyphics may be drawn, and repairs to the rock accompanied by his friends and magi. On his arrival, he deposits the presents there, and after smoking to the rock, he washes a portion of the face of it clean, and retires with his fellow devotees to a specified distance. During the principal part of his stay, he cries aloud to his god to have pity on him; to grant him success in war and in hunting; to favour his endeavours to take prisoners, horses, and scalps from the enemy. When the appointed time for lamentation and prayer has elapsed, he returns to the rock; his presents are no longer there, and he believes them to have been accepted and carried off by the Manhopa himself. Upon the part of the rock, which he had washed, he finds certain hieroglyphics traced with white clay, of which he can generally interpret the meaning, particularly when assisted by some of the magi, who were no doubt privy to the whole transaction. These representations are supposed to relate to his future fortune, or to that of his family or nation; he copies them off with pious care {253} and scrupulous exactness upon the skin which he brought for the purpose, and returns to his home, to read from them to the people, the destiny of himself or of them. If a bear be represented, with its head directed towards the village, the approach of a war party, or the visitation of some evil, is apprehended. If, on the contrary, the tail of the bear be towards the village, nothing but good is anticipated, and they rejoice. They say that an Indian, on his return from the rock, exhibited to his friends, on his hieroglyphical chart, the representation of a strange building, as erected near the village; they were all much surprised and did not perfectly comprehend its meaning; but four months afterwards, the prediction was, as it happened, verified, and a stockade trading house was erected there, by the French trader Jessaume.[13]

Lewis and Clark inform us that the Mandans have a similar oracle.

At the distance of the journey of one day and a half from Knife-creek,[14] which divides the larger and smaller towns of the Minnetarees from each other, are situate two conical hills, separated by about the distance of a mile. One of these hills was supposed to impart a prolific virtue to such squaws as resorted to it for the purpose of crying and lamenting, for the circumstance of their having no male issue.

A person one day walking near the other mount, fancied he observed upon the top of it, two very small children. Thinking they had strayed from the village, he ran towards them to induce them to return home; but they immediately fled from him, nor could his utmost speed overtake them, and in a short time they eluded his sight. Returning to the village, the relation of his story excited much interest, and an Indian set out next day, mounted on a fleet horse, to take the little strangers. On the approach of this individual to the mount, he also saw the children, who ran away as before, and although he endeavoured to overtake them by lashing the horse into {254} his utmost swiftness, the children left him far behind. But these children are no longer to be seen, and the hill once of singular efficacy in rendering the human species prolific, has lost this remarkable property—A change, which the magi attribute to the moral degeneracy of the present generation of the Gros ventres. Thus, like many of the asserted supernatural occurrences in the civilized world, these are referred back, in their obscure tradition, "out of harm's way."

Lewis and Clark, however, inform us, that the Sioux have a belief somewhat similar, respecting a hill near Whitestone River,[15] which they fable to be at present occupied by a small and dangerous race of people, about eighteen inches high, and with remarkably large heads, who, having killed three Omawhaws a few years since, have inspired all the neighbouring Indians with a superstitious dread. Although these intrepid travellers visited the haunted hill, they were happy enough to escape the vengeance of its Lilliputian inhabitants.

With this absurd, but somewhat poetical fable, may be classed the asserted discovery of Lilliputian skeletons of men on the banks of the Merameg river, and the osteological acumen of the discoverers of those relics, may derive all the support which their theory is susceptible of receiving, from the story of these visionary beings.

Annually, in the month of July, the Minnetarees celebrate their great medicine dance, or dance of penitence, which may well be compared with the Currack-pooja of the expiatory tortures of the Hindoos, so often celebrated at Calcutta. On this occasion a considerable quantity of food is prepared, which is well cooked, and served up in their best manner. The devotees then dance and sing to their music at intervals, for three or four days together in full view of the victuals, without attempting to taste of them. But they do not, even at this time, forego {255} their accustomed hospitality. And if a stranger enters, he is invited to eat, though no one partakes with him. On the third or fourth day, the severer expiatory tortures commence, to which the preceding ceremonies were but preludes. An individual presents himself before one of the officiating magi, crying and lamenting, and requests him to cut a fillet of skin from his arm, which he extends for that purpose. The devout operator thrusts a sharp instrument through the skin near the wrist, then introduces the knife, and cuts out a piece of the required length, sometimes extending the excision entirely to the shoulder. Another will request bands of skin to be cut from his arm. A third will have his breast flayed, so as to represent a full moon or crescent. A fourth submits to the removal of concentric arcs of skin from his breast. A fifth prays the operator to remove small pieces of skin from various indicated parts of his body; for this purpose an iron bodkin is thrust through the skin, and the piece is cut off, by passing the knife under the instrument.

Various are the forms of suffering which they inflict upon themselves. An individual requests the operator to pierce a hole through the skin of each of his shoulders, and after passing a long cord through each of these holes, he repairs to a Golgotha at some distance from the village, and selects one of the bison skulls collected there. To the chosen cranium he affixes the ends of his cords, and drags it in this painful manner to the lodge, round which he must go with his burden, before he can be released from it. No one is permitted to assist him, neither dares he to put his own hands to the cords, to alleviate his sufferings. If it should so happen that the horns of the cranium get hooked under a root or other obstacle, he must extricate it in the best manner he can, by pulling different ways, but he must not touch the rope or the head with his hands, or in any respect attempt to relieve the painful strain upon his wounds, until his complete task is performed.

{256} Some of the penitents have arrows thrust through various muscular parts of their bodies, as through the skin and superficial muscles of the arm, leg, breast, and back.

A devotee caused two stout arrows to be passed through the muscles of his breast, one on each side, near the mammæ. To these arrows cords were attached, the opposite ends of which were affixed to the upper part of a post, which had been firmly implanted in the earth for the purpose. He then threw himself backward, into an oblique position, his back within about two feet of the soil, so as to depend with the greater portion of his weight by the cords. In this situation of excruciating agony, he continued to chaunt and to keep time to the music of the gong, until, from long abstinence and suffering, he fainted. The bystanders then cried out, "Courage, courage," with much shouting and noise; after a short interval of insensibility he revived, and proceeded with his self-inflicted tortures as before, until nature being completely exhausted, he again relapsed into insensibility, upon which he was loosed from the cords, and carried off amidst the acclamations of the whole assembly.

Another Minnetaree, in compliance with a vow he had made, caused a hole to be perforated through the muscles of each shoulder; through these holes cords were passed, which were, at the opposite ends, attached by way of a bridle to a horse, that had been penned up three or four days without food or water. In this manner, he led the horse to the margin of the river. The horse, of course, endeavoured to drink, but it was the province of the Indian to prevent him, and that only by straining at the cords with the muscles of the shoulder, without resorting to the assistance of his hands. And notwithstanding all the exertions of the horse to drink, his master succeeded in preventing him, and returned with him to his lodge, having accomplished his painful task.

{257} The Wolf chief,[16] one of the most eminent of the warriors of the upper village of the Minnetarees, on one occasion, sat five days, singing and lamenting, without food, on a small insulated and naked rock in the Missouri river. And it is firmly believed that he did not even palliate his urgent wants by tasting the water during this long probation.

Many of the Minnetarees believe that the bones of those bisons, which they have slain and divested of flesh, rise again clothed with renewed flesh, and quickened with life, and become fat, and fit for slaughtering the succeeding June. They assert that some of their nation, who were formerly on a hunting excursion, lost one of their party, a boy, and returned to the village lamenting his loss, and believing him to have been killed by the Sioux nation, with whom they were then at war. Some time afterward, a war party was assembled, that departed to revenge the supposed murder of the boy. During their journey, they espied a bison, which they pursued and killed. When lo! on opening the abdomen of the animal, what was their astonishment to observe the long-lost boy, alive and well, after having been imprisoned there one entire year. Relieved from his animated prison-house, he informed them, that, when he left his hunting companions, he proceeded onward a considerable distance, until he was so fortunate as to kill this bison. He removed the flesh from one side of the animal, and as a rainy inclement night was approaching, he concluded to take shelter within the body of the animal, in place of the viscera, which he had taken out. But during the night, whilst he slept, the flesh of the bison that he had cut off, grew over the side again, and effectually prevented his getting out, and the animal being restored to life, he had thus been pent up ever since.

Such anecdotes, however puerile and absurd they may be, if characteristic, lead us to a more accurate {258} and complete knowledge of the manners and habits of the people, than still more copious general remarks and reflections.

The Minnetarees, in common with several other nations of our Indians, have the strange tradition of their origin, that they formerly lived underground. "Two boys," say they, "strayed away from them, and absented themselves several days. At length they returned and informed the nation that they had discovered another world, situate above their present residence, where all was beautiful and light. They saw the sun, the earth, the Missouri, and the bison. This account so delighted the people, that they immediately abandoned their subterranean dwelling, and, led by the boys, arrived on the surface of the earth, at the spot which their villages now occupy, and where they have dwelt ever since.

"Soon after they had established themselves in this new world, a party of strange men appeared mounted on horses. They attacked these wonderful Centaurs with their bows and arrows, and succeeded in killing one of them, on which the others fled. Not at first perceiving that the man and horse were two distinct animals, they were surprised to see the former fall to the earth, as if one part of the compound animal was dead and the other part still active, having received no injury. They at length succeeded in securing the horse, and after admiring the beauty of his form, and becoming familiar with him, they proceeded to tie one of their young men upon his back with cords, that he might not fall off; the horse was then led cautiously by the bridle, until finally he became sufficiently fearless to ride alone."

They seem to have full faith in the notion that, at their death, they will be restored to the mansions of their ancestors under ground, from which they are intercepted by a large and rapid watercourse. Over this river, which may be compared to the Styx of the ancients, they are obliged to pass on a very narrow {259} footway. Those Indians who have been useful to the nation, such as brave warriors or good hunters, pass over with ease, and arrive safely at the A-pah-he, or ancient village. But the worthless Indians slip off from the bridge or footway, into the stream that foams beneath in the swiftness of its course, which hurries them into oblivion, or Lethe. The Mandans, according to Lewis and Clarke, have a tradition somewhat similar, and it strongly reminds us of the Alsirat of Mahomet, over which, it was supposed, that great leader was to conduct his Moslems to the bliss of futurity, whilst the unworthy were precipitated into the gulf which yawned beneath it.[17]

CHAPTER III {I}[18]

Death—Mourning for the Deceased—Physical Character—Senses—Manufactures and Arts—Domestic and Warlike Implements—War.

When an Omawhaw dies, his kinsmen and friends assemble around his body, and bewail their loss with loud lamentation, weeping, and clapping of hands. Ong-pa-ton-ga, being once on a visit to St. Louis, observed a number of cattle gathering about a spot, where one of their kind had been recently slaughtered, smelling the blood, and pawing the earth; he said they behaved very like his own people, on the death of a relative.

They suffer the deceased to remain but a short time previously to interment, and often bear the body to the grave, before the warmth of vitality is entirely dissipated. The body is enveloped in a bison robe, or blanket, which is secured by a cord. It is then carried to the grave on the shoulders of two or three men, and followed by the greater portion of the mourners, without any order. The grave is an oblong square, of sufficient length, and four or five feet deep. The body is placed in the grave, and {2} with it a pair or two of mockasins, some meat for food, and many little articles and comforts, the gifts of affection, to be used on the long journey which the deceased is supposed to be about to perform, in order to arrive at the Wa-noch-a-te, or town of brave and generous spirits. The grave is then filled with earth, and a small tumulus is raised over it, proportioned in magnitude to the dignity of the deceased. The relatives bedaub their persons with white clay, scarify themselves with a flint, cut out pieces of their skin and flesh, pass arrows through their skin; and, if on a march, they walk barefoot at a distance from their people, in testimony of the sincerity of their mourning.

For a considerable time, they nightly visit the grave of the deceased, to lament over it. A sorrowing relative may be seen, of a bleak wintry night, bending over the grave, clad in a scanty robe, which scarcely conceals the middle of the back, as an additional self-punishment and unequivocal manifestation of grief.

For the death of a brave warrior, or of a chief, the lamentation is more general, and many of those who visit the body previous to its removal, present to it blankets, bison robes, breech-cloths, and mockasins, which are sometimes thus accumulated in considerable numbers; of these presents, part is retained by the orphans, if any, but the greater number is entombed with the body. Over the grave of a person of this description, a kind of roof or shelter is constructed, of pieces of wood reared against each other, and secured at top, then sodded over with grass sod.

The season prescribed by custom for mourning, is a period of from seven to twelve months; during this time the violent expressions of their grief gradually diminish, and towards the expiration of the allotted season, the state of mourning is only manifested by the coating of white clay, and even this, like the black apparel of civilized mourners, is at length {3} dispensed with, and with the same decorous gradation.

A cruel proof of heartfelt grief, is exhibited by some of the natives, on the upper parts of the Missouri; they cut off joints of their fingers; the individual cuts the skin and ligaments of the joint with his common eating knife, then places the joint between his teeth, and twists it off with violence, the teeth performing at the same time the offices of a wedge and a vice.

In form, the Missouri Indian is symmetrical and active, and in stature, equal, if not somewhat superior, to the ordinary European standard; tall men are numerous. The active occupations of war and hunting, together perhaps with the occasional privations, to which they are subjected, prevents that unsightly obesity, so often a concomitant of civilization, indolence, and serenity of mental temperament.

From this representation of the physical man, it is obvious that our observations do not correspond with those of Humboldt, regarding the natives of Canada, Florida, and New Spain, in as far as he represents them with the "squat body."

The forehead retires remarkably backward, and the posterior part of the head (occiput) has a flatness of appearance, attributable, perhaps, to the circumstance of its having rested so constantly during infancy, on the surface of a board, or on the scarcely less yielding interposed pad or pillow. Yet that organ, to which, in the phrenological system, the seat of amativeness is referred, although not usually very prominent, is still marked and distinct.

The facial angle of the cranium has been represented by Blumenbach at 73 degrees, an obliquity which induced him to place the American Indian in his series of the varieties of the human race, as the fourth in number.

But his observations were made upon the cranium of a Carib, than which people, as Humboldt justly {4} remarks, "there is no race on the globe in which the frontal bone is more depressed backwards, or which has a less projecting forehead." This observation will not rigidly apply to the western Indian, who certainly possesses a greater verticality of profile. Agreeably to the mensurations of Doctor Harlan,[19] a cranium, which we obtained on the plains of the Platte, exhibits an angle of 78 degrees—A Wabash male 78°, female 80°, and a Cherokee only 75°.

The hair is coarse, black, glossy, and dense upon the head, sparse and slender upon the chin, independently of the custom of extirpating it, but although the hair is certainly oval in its transverse section, yet we could not perceive, that, in this respect, its proportions exceeded our own.

The line of the direction of their eyes is nearly rectilinearly transverse, being in this respect intermediate between the arcuated line of the eyes of the white man, and that of the Indians of New Spain, who, according to Humboldt, have the corner of the eye directed upward towards the temples.

The nose is generally prominent, and either aquiline or Roman, with the wings not more dilated than those of white men. This form of nose is so prevalent, as to be regarded as the most beautiful; it is no small compliment to tell a person that his nose is like that of a mule; and beauty is indicated in their language of signs, by placing an arcuated finger upon the face in imitation of the aquiline curve. The pug-nose, and the more common form of the noses of the white Americans, of a concave outline, are regarded as remote from the standard of beauty.

The lips are more tumid than those of the white American, but very far less so than those of the negro.

The lower jaw is large and robust; the teeth are very strong, with broad crowns. The chin is well formed.

{5} The cheekbones are prominent, but not angular like those of the Mongul, and stamp a peculiarity on the contour of the face, characteristic of the American Indian.

The expression of the countenance is austere, often ferocious.[20]

Very few of them are left-handed, perhaps even a smaller number of them use the left hand in preference to the right, than is observable among white men.

The squaw differs from the males, in having a more squat figure, or is shorter and more thick bodied, with a much broader face.

The colour of the Indian is, according to Volney, that of the skin of smoked bacon ham. It is sufficiently obvious that this colour is independent of climate; those parts of the body, which are, and, agreeably to their representations, always have been, perfectly shielded from the action of the rays of the sun, from their youth upward, are, notwithstanding, of the same tint with the face, which is never covered.

In walking they preserve a perfectly upright carriage of the person, without any thing of the swinging gait so universal with the white people, which is regarded by them as excessively awkward, and which they imitate in their sports to excite the merriment of the spectators, though not in the presence of those whom they thus ridicule.

In stepping the feet are universally placed upon the ground in a parallel manner with each other; they say that turning out the toes in walking, as well as turning them inward, is a very disadvantageous mode of progression, in high grass or in narrow pathways.

The peculiar odour diffused by the body of the Indian, seems to be caused, not so much by the cutaneous transpiration, as by the custom of rubbing themselves with odoriferous plants, and with bison {6} grease. They also sometimes make necklaces of a sort of sweet-scented grass, and suspend small parcels of it about their persons. The various kinds of pigments, with which they overspread their persons, may also be partially operative in producing this effect; and the ninnegahe, which they are so constantly habituated to smoke, is doubtless another agent.

The odour of the Indian is rather agreeable than otherwise to many, and that diffused by the persons of the Pawnee war party near the Konza village, increased by a profuse perspiration from the violence of their exercise in running, was rather pleasant to most of the members of our party. The Upsaroka or Crow Indians, are said to anoint themselves with castor.

To the acute sense of smelling of the Indian, the odour of the white man is far from pleasant, and is often particularly remarked by the squaw to be offensive.

Their sense of hearing is remarkably acute; ordinary conversation amongst the men, as we have before observed, is conducted in a low tone of voice; often when you suppose from the compass of the speaker's voice, that he is addressing a person at his elbow, he is, in reality, directing his discourse to one on the opposite side of the room, or at a considerable distance. The ordinary conversation of the women is in a much louder tone than that of the men. Partial deafness, however, is not uncommon.

The memory of the Omawhaw is exceedingly retentive.

The Omawhaw seldom renders himself unhappy with gloomy anticipations of the future, but almost literally takes "no care for the morrow." He will say to his squaw, "cook what meat you have, for the Wahconda will give us more to-morrow, and if not to-morrow, next day, and if never, let us eat what we have got."

{7} They have but little mechanical ingenuity, but an individual of this nation, who is now no more, without acquiring any knowledge of the white people, as far as we could learn, mended the guns and traps of his countrymen, when not too seriously injured. But they have not attempted to repair either, since his death.

They rarely construct skin canoes; they make war-clubs, rude saddles, hair ropes, stone pipes, wooden bowls, horn spoons, and many personal ornaments.

The squaws make mockasins and leggings variously ornamented; and handsome necklaces, wrought with beads of different colours, which are symmetrically strung upon red silk, or thread coloured with vermillion. In the manufacture of this common, and much admired article of dress, ten double threads are attached by one end to a small wang or shred of leather, which is firmly stretched and fixed transversely to the work; each double thread is placed at such a distance from the adjoining ones, as to give room for the beads. These are then strung on, one upon each double thread; by this operation a transverse row of beads is formed upon the work, parallel to the wang; this being done, the left hand double thread is passed to the right, not over and under, but through all the other double threads, parallel to, and in contact with the row of beads, and in this position occupies the situation of woof or filling; but its extremity is continued along on the right side of the work, so as to resume, in that portion of its length, the character of warp or chain. Another row of beads is now put on; after which the next left hand double thread is passed through each of the others to the right of the work, as the previous one had been.

They also make handsome garters for supporting the leggings below the knee, of the breadth of the hand; they are formed of beads strung on worsted yarn.

{8} Their art of painting is very rude, yet they manage to give some idea of a battle, by graphic representations in colour, on a bison robe. In the same manner are depicted the various animals, which are the objects of their hunts. These robes are also decorated with blue, red, and black broad lines, forming various designs; indeed it is very common to see a robe thus ornamented, worn by an Omawhaw.

The art of sculpture is also in its rudest state, and is almost limited to the ornamenting of the war-club with indented lines, forming different angular figures.

Their persons are often neatly tattooed in straight lines, and in angles on the breast, neck, and arms. The daughters of chiefs, and those of wealthy Indians, generally are denoted by a small round spot, tattooed on the forehead. The process of tattooing is performed by persons, who make it a business of profit. Their instrument consists of three or four needles, tied to the truncated and flattened end of a stick, in such an arrangement that the points may form a straight line; the figure desired is traced upon the skin, and some dissolved gunpowder, or pulverized charcoal, is pricked in with this instrument, agreeably to the figure. The operator must be well paid, and hence it is not every one that can conveniently sustain the expense of having this distinguishing mark placed on the forehead of his children.

Their astronomical knowledge is very limited. They distinguish the north star (Polaris), and are aware of its being apparently stationary, while the others seem to revolve. Venus is known by the name of Me-ka-ka-tun-guh, or big star. The constellation of the seven stars (Pleiades), is called Tapa, or deer's head. The constellation of the great bear (Ursa major), is distinguished by the term Wa-ba-ha, or car for transporting sick or wounded {9} persons on a march. The galaxy is called Wahconda-o-jun-ga, or the path of the Master of Life. When the moon is eclipsed, they say Me-om-bottsa, or the moon is dead; and when the sun is eclipsed, they say the sun is dead. A comet they denominate Me-ka-ka-nare, or blazing star; this name, at least, was given to the comet of 1811; they regarded it as portending the death of some great chief; and as it happened, one of the great Pawnee chiefs did die the same year, which confirmed them in their notion. The three stars of Orion's belt, are called Me-huh-se, or the goose-foot.

Wangewaha, the Hard Heart, chief of the Ioways, has made himself considerably acquainted with the manners of the white people; he surprised Mr. Dougherty one day by inquiring, if it is true that the earth revolves round the sun; he was of course answered in the affirmative; when a sarcastic Indian of a group sitting near, was overheard to say in a low voice, that it was indeed a pretty story to tell them, when any person could see the sun rise there, pass along in that direction, and set there (pointing with his finger to the apparent course of the luminary).

The day is divided into morning, noon, evening, and night; and respectively indicated by the words, Cas-aht-te, Me-o-kons-ka, Paz-za, and Hon-da. Any particular hour of the day is denoted by pointing to the apparent place of the sun at the specified time. The years are denoted by the number of winters, and the months by lunations.

Their geographical knowledge of the country over which they roam is remarkably exact. They know intimately every river and creek in the vicinity of the Missouri, from Grand river up to the Arickaree nation, on the left side of the river, and as far down as the Osage river on the right, and south as far as the Black Hills, together with their courses and distances.

{10} Mr. Dougherty, accompanied with two or three young Indians, arrived at an Omawhaw hunting encampment, late in the evening, and, after inquiring at several of the lodges, at length entered the one in which he intended to remain. Being asked by which way he had come, he pointed out, as he thought, the true direction; at this his fellow travellers smiled, and told him he was mistaken. He was not undeceived till he went out of the lodge to observe the direction they had indicated, when he became satisfied of their correctness. They had, however, been less frequently in that part of the country than he had been; but they had, without doubt, instinctively noted all the changes of the direction which they had made in winding through the temporary village, for they could not avail themselves of previous local knowledge.

But although they are remarkably accurate in their knowledge of the proper direction in which to travel, in order to reach a given point, yet they are often lost during foggy days, or during heavy snow storms.

Their culinary utensils are few in number, and simple in kind. The original earthenware pots are now rarely used by the nations on the lower part of the Missouri, being substituted by brass kettles, which they procure from the traders in exchange for their peltries. The Pawnees, however, whose intercourse with the whites has been less considerable than that of the nations bordering more closely on the Missouri, still employ earthen vessels, and yet continue the limited manufacture of them. These vessels are not glazed, and resemble in composition the antique fragments of Indian earthenware, found in various parts of the United States; the mementos of a numerous people, that have been destroyed by obscure causes, as well as by the avaricious policy, and cruelly unjust and barbarous encroachments of {11} a people, professing the mild doctrines of "peace on earth and good will to men."

Food is served up in wooden bowls, of a very wide and simple form, and of various sizes, generally carved, with much patient application, out of a large knot or protuberance of the side of a tree. The spoon is made of bison horn, and is of a large size; the handle, variously ornamented by notching and other rude carving, is elevated into an angle of fifty or sixty degrees with its bowl, which is about three inches wide, by about five in length; a size which, in civilised life, would be inadmissible.

The only implement of husbandry is the hoe; if they have not an iron one, they substitute the scapula of a bison, attached to a stick in such a manner as to present the same form. The traders supply them with axes of iron.

The weapons used in hunting are bows and arrows, and guns. The bow is about four feet long, of a simple form, composed of hickory, or hop-horn beam wood, (ostrya virginica,) or bow-wood,(maclura aurantiaca of Nuttall,) the latter being greatly preferred. The cord is of twisted bison, or elk sinew. The hunting arrow is generally made of arrow-wood, (viburnum,) about two feet in length, of the usual cylindric form, and armed with elongate-triangular spear-head, made of sheet iron, of which the shoulders are rounded, instead of the ordinary barbed form; it is firmly affixed to the shank by deer sinew, and its flight is equalised by three half webs of the feathers of a turkey, neatly secured near its base, in the usual manner. The war arrow differs from that used for hunting, in having a barbed spear-head, very slightly attached to the wood, so that if it penetrate the body of an enemy, it cannot be withdrawn without leaving the point in the wound.

The arrows are contained in a quiver, which is slung obliquely across the back, and which is generally made of Cougar skin, with the tail of the {12} animal dangling down from the upper extremity; attached to this quiver is also a skin case for the bow, when not in use. To bend the bow requires the exertion of considerable force, dexterously applied; for this purpose three fingers are placed upon the string, whilst the thumb and index finger grasp the base of the arrow, where it rests on the string; the wrist is defended from the percussion of the string by a guard of leather. The smooth bored gun is preferred to the rifle, the latter being too heavy for their use. Those called Mackinaw guns are greatly preferred to those which they more commonly procure from our traders, being far more substantial and serviceable.

They make use of no traps, excepting those for catching beaver, which they obtain from the traders chiefly on loan. The hooks which they use in fishing are bought of the traders. They have no fishing nets.

We saw no other domestic animals in the Indian villages than horses, mules, asses, and dogs. The first are by no means elegantly formed, but they are hardy and serviceable. The Indians are generally cruel horse masters, perhaps in a great measure through necessity; the backs of their horses are very often sore and ulcerated, from the friction of the rude saddle, which is fashioned after the Spanish manner, being elevated at the pummel and croup, and resting on skin saddle cloths without padding. They ride extremely well, and make great use of the whip and the heel. The former is attached to the wrist by a broad band, which passes through a hole perforated near the end of the handle. The handle is about fifteen inches long only, and very stout; that of the whip of Hashea, the Oto warrior, is the section of a gun-barrel. The lash is composed of two thongs of bison skin, from one-fourth to half an inch wide. These are alternately passed through small longitudinal slits cut in each, and, when {13} finished, exhibit, on a cursory view, the appearance of a flat plait, thick, and longer than the handle.

The dogs of the Konzas are generally of a mixed breed, between our dogs with pendant ears, and the native dogs, whose ears are universally erect; the Indians of this nation seek every opportunity to cross the breed. These mongrel dogs are less common with the Omawhaws; while the dogs of the Pawnees generally have preserved their original form.

No regular sentinels are appointed to watch during the night; but many of the young men, who are moving about the greater part of the night on their errands of love, often singing and hallooing to excite the attention of their mistresses, are the only guards of the safety of the village from surprise. If, however, the nation have reason to believe that the enemy is near at hand, or that there is a probability of an attack, they are necessarily vigilant; young warriors volunteer to look out at different points, or are requested to do so by the chiefs.

Wars generally originate in the stealing of horses, and the elopement of squaws; they are sometimes the consequence of infringing on each other's hunting grounds. Hostilities are generally conducted by small predatory parties, which are originated and formed under the influence of some approved warrior. An individual of this description, having determined to endeavour to assemble a war party, as a first step, paints himself over with white clay; he then passes through the camp or village, crying aloud to the Wahconda, and requesting the young warriors of the nation to have pity on him, and accompany him to strike at the enemy; he then ascends some hill or elevation, or repairs to the woods, and there continues for some time his ejaculations. The following day he gives a feast to all such as are willing to accompany him; and it is distinctly understood, that all of those who partake of his hospitality on this occasion are enlisted for the {14} excursion. He occasionally repeats this crying and feasting, until a convenient period can be assigned for their departure. During this interval he also occupies himself in making medicine, hanging out his medicine bags, &c. At his feasts he harangues his men, telling them that they must endeavour to make themselves known to the nation by their warlike deeds.

This leader the French distinguish by the name of partizan, and the Omawhaws No-doh-hun-guh; his medicine parcel, upon which much reliance is placed, for the successful termination of their adventure, contains, almost always, the skin of a sparrow hawk (Falco sparverius), and many small articles, such as wampum, beads, and tobacco, all attached to a belt, but carefully and neatly enveloped in bark, and tied around by strips of the same material, forming a cylindrical figure, of about twelve inches in length.

This is suspended upon the back or shoulders of the partizan, by its belt, which passes round his neck.

Having their mockasins, leggings, guns, bows and arrows, spears, war clubs, and scalping knives prepared, each man furnishes himself with some provisions, and they all depart silently during the night, led by the partizan.

On their route towards the enemy they proceed with great caution, and constantly send forward runners, or spies, to reconnoitre. When encamped, some individuals are vigilant during the night, but if they suppose themselves to be distant from the enemy, they keep no watch.

The medicine bag is not permitted to touch the ground; accordingly on encamping, it is carefully suspended to a forked stick, which is stuck firmly in the soil; the ceremony of smoking to it, is then performed, the stem of the pipe being occasionally directed towards it, the heavens and the earth. After this ceremony, if the party is in the vicinity of the {15} enemy, the partizan places the medicine bag about the neck of one of his trusty warriors, and, whispering in his ear, directs him to take two or three men, and look carefully about for signs of the enemy.

On the return of this messenger the partizan runs to meet him, receives his report in a whisper, takes the important charge from his neck, and whilst returning it to its place, communicates the intelligence he has received to his party; "no sign of the enemy has yet been discovered, but have patience, my brave young men, the Wahconda will soon have pity on us, and show us the enemy we so anxiously seek." If, on the contrary, the enemy is discovered, his position and numbers are reconnoitred, and the party prepares to attack them. The sacred medicine bag is now opened by the partizan; the envelop is rejected, and the remainder is suspended from his neck, with the bird skin, wampum, &c. hanging down before from the belt. This is a signal, indicating that a blow must be struck. The party then paint themselves, and smoke if time admits of it. The partizan at length gives the wished for order, and the whole move onward, with slow and cautious steps, in order to surprise the enemy; but if discovered, they rush on with impetuosity, and without any regular order. If the scene of the contest lies in the forest, they shield themselves behind trees of small diameter, when at the proper distance, from whence they discharge their missiles. If the attack is made in the open plain, where no shelter offers, they leap about from one side to another, and preserve a constant state of activity, for the purpose of preventing any steady aim from being taken at them by their adversaries.

It is not the mere shooting down of an enemy that confers great honour upon a warrior; this, the Indians say, can be done by any person, however cowardly he may be. But high distinction is due to the gallant soul, that advances upon the field of {16} battle, and captures an enemy, or who first strikes, or even touches the body of a fallen enemy, in presence of the friends of the deceased, who are generally watching their opportunity to revenge his death.

This is, indeed, an extraordinary proof of courage, as the act is not to be accomplished without the greatest hazard of life; the adventurer is obliged to expose himself, often, to a great number of assailants, besides the danger of falling into an ambush, in attempting to strike the decoy. It is this striking, that is numbered amongst their war feats by the warriors, at their dances.

The capture of a prisoner confers the highest honour on the captor. Striking an enemy, whilst active, appears to be the second in rank, of their great martial achievements. Striking his dead, or disabled body, confers the third honour. Capturing a horse may be regarded as the fourth; presenting a horse to any person, the fifth, and the shooting, or otherwise killing an enemy, by a missile, is the sixth in point of rank of military deeds, in the estimation of the Omawhaws. The taking of a scalp is merely an evidence of what has been done, and, of itself, seems to confer no honour.

The prisoners are well guarded, and not roughly treated, unless a strong party of the enemy are in pursuit, when they are put to death.

On the battle ground, the wounded of the vanquished are killed, and their dead are cut and hacked by the victors; but if it should chance to be accessible to the squaws, they perform the chief part in this tragedy. They sever the limbs from the bodies, and attaching them to strings, drag them about with vociferous exultation: etiam genitalia excidunt, and tying them about the necks of their dogs, they drive them before them, with much shouting, laughter, noise, and obscene expressions.

{17} A war party, after having struck a blow upon the enemy, return with rapidity towards their village.

They leave the mutilated carcasses of the slain upon the contested field, a prey to the wolves and vultures. Their own dead are covered with wood or stones, and their wounded are transported on litters, on the shoulders of others, or if they have horses with them, upon cars of a very simple construction. Two poles are attached to the neck of the horse, in the manner of shafts, which trail upon the ground behind. These are so connected behind the horse, with cross pieces lashed on, that a bison robe can be suspended to them, for the reception of the wounded person.

If the attack is made during the night, or if the party has only captured horses unobserved by the enemy, a mockasin or arrow is left in a conspicuous situation, to inform the enemy of the nation to which the aggressors belong.

Large war parties sometimes divide into smaller parties, in order to attack simultaneously at different points. Each of these parties on its return, at its different encampments, inserts small painted sticks in the soil, pointing to the route they have taken. They also peel off a portion of the bark from a tree, and on the trunk thus denuded and rendered conspicuous, they delineate hieroglyphics with vermillion or charcoal, indicative of the success or misfortune of the party in their proceedings against the enemy. These hieroglyphics are rudely drawn, but are sufficiently significant, to convey the requisite intelligence to another division of the party that may succeed them. On this rude chart, the combatants are generally represented by small straight lines, each surmounted by a head-like termination, and are readily distinguishable from each other; the arms and legs are also represented, when necessary to record the performance of some particular act, or to exhibit a wound. Wounds are indicated by the representation of the {18} dropping of blood from the part; an arrow wound, by adding a line for the arrow, from which the Indian is able, to estimate with some accuracy, its direction, and the depth to which it entered. The killed are represented by prostrate lines; equestrians are also particularized, and if wounded or killed, they are seen to spout blood, or to be in the act of falling from their horses. Prisoners are denoted by their being led, and the number of captured horses is made known by the number of lunules, representing their track. The number of guns taken may be ascertained by bent lines, on the angle of which is something like the prominences of the lock. Women are portrayed with short petticoats and prominent breasts, and unmarried females by the short queues at the ears, before described.

A war party, on its return, generally halts upon some elevated ground within sight of the village; and if they have been successful, they sit down and smoke their pipes. The villagers on discovering them rush out to meet them, and receive a brief relation of the events that have occurred during the expedition.

All then return to the village, exhibiting by the way the greatest demonstrations of joy, by discharging their guns, singing war-songs, &c. The scalps stretched upon hoops, and dried, are carried upon rods of five or six feet in length.

Arrived at the village, some of the squaws, wives to the warriors of the party, assume the dress of their husbands, and, with the rods bearing the scalps in their hands, dance around a large post, reddened with vermillion, and, in concert with the young warriors, sing the war and scalp songs; the young warriors occasionally step into the ring of the dancers, and all keep time, with dance and song, to the loud beat of the gong. Into this dance are also admitted the relatives of the war party.

This barbarous dance appears to delight them, {19} and particularly the squaws, who are the principal actors, more than almost any other of their enjoyments.

Indeed, it is to the squaws that many of these excursions are attributable, as those whose husbands have not been successful in war, frequently murmur, saying, "You have had me for a wife a long time, and have never yet gratified me with the scalp dance."

Those squaws, whose husbands or relatives have been killed during the excursions of the party, take no part in this blissful dance, but rub themselves with clay, and lament.

This dance is repeated every night for two or three weeks, after which it is renewed occasionally for a twelvemonth. The scalps are often cut into slips, that many of the dancers may be accommodated with them; but this was never done with an intention to deceive, respecting the actual number of the enemy killed. After the termination of this ceremony, the scalps are either thrown away, or are used to decorate the leggings of the warrior, or to suspend from his medicine-bag, or from the bridle of his horse.

Soon after the return of the party, the principal warriors are invited to feasts by different villagers, where they recount the events that have transpired during their absence. They narrate the mode of approaching the enemy, the onset, the battle, all the little particulars of which are detailed: but they seem to dwell with particular pleasure on the conduct of individuals of the enemy, as it appeared immediately before they received the death blow; if there was any movement of the body, or emotion exhibited upon the countenance of the victim, that betrayed a want of firmness, or fear of death, at that awful juncture, the account excites much laughter in the audience. If the disabled individual was so imbecile as to shrink from a blow of the tomahawk {20} or war-club, he is ridiculed as a coward. If he is said to have cried for quarter, or begged for mercy, or to have held up the palm of his hand towards the victor to appease his vengeance, the account is received with ridicule and laughter, at the expense of the deceased. If, on the contrary, he is said to have perished with that stoicism and contempt of death, which is regarded as worthy of the Indian warrior, the auditors, although they may smile with pleasure at the death of an enemy, yet pay due honour to his manes, saying he was a brave fellow; and they do not fail to applaud the bravery of his victor also.

All those of the party who have first struck a body, or taken a prisoner, paint themselves black, and if any strangers are in the village, they put on their crow, and appear before them, or near them, and sing their war-song in which their exploits are detailed.

The prisoners are differently treated according to their sex, age, and qualifications. Of the squaws they make slaves, or rather servants, though these are sometimes advantageously married. To the young men the task of tending horses is commonly assigned; but the children are generally adopted into their families, and are treated in every respect as their own offspring; when arrived at maturity they are identified with the nation, and it would be an insult to apply the name of their own countrymen to them.

{21} CHAPTER IV {II}