from the same den. It had become familiar with the hunter and his family, but was shy towards strangers. When fed on meat, the ferocity of his disposition manifested itself in attempts to bite the children. It was ordinarily fed on bread and milk.

"This man had been settled here two years, but had not made a crop," having subsisted himself and his family by hunting, wherein he had been very successful. In the preceding autumn he had killed seventy deer and fifty bears. He took great pleasure in relating his hunting adventures, particularly his engagements with bears. One bear which he had killed, he said, weighed seven hundred pounds; but in this instance he was probably mistaken. He had seen in the winter of 1818, a large herd of bisons near the Grand Pass; but they had been driven down by the severity of the weather, and were not ordinarily to be found within the limits of his hunting excursions. During the severe wintry weather, he affirmed that bears make for themselves a shelter of brushwood, into which they creep to secure themselves from the cold.

"From May until July the female of the common deer conceals her young whilst she goes to feed. It is at this time that the hunters take advantage of the maternal feelings of the animal to secure their prey. They conceal themselves and imitate the cry of the fawn. The solicitude of the parent animal for her young overcomes her usual care for her own safety; and believing she hears the cries of her offspring in distress, she hurries toward the spot

where the hunter lies concealed, and falls an easy prey.”

From Fort Osage, August 6, a party under Mr. Say was despatched to explore the country towards the Konzas river, and between that river and the Platte, while the steam-boat soon after pursued its upward course in the Missouri. A hundred and sixtyone Indians, including chiefs and warriors and thirteen Osages, came to hold a council with the Americans. Here they were threatened by their encroaching neighbours, but no immediate consequence ensued. On the return of Mr. Say's party, he gave an account of his journey to the Konza village.

"The approach to the village is over a fine level prairie of considerable extent; passing which, you ascend an abrupt bank of the height of ten feet to a second level, on which the village is situate in the distance, within about onefourth of a mile of the river. It consists of about a hundred and twenty lodges, placed as closely together as convenient, and destitute of any regularity of arrangement. The ground area of each lodge is circular, and is excavated to the depth of from one to three feet, and the general form of the exterior may be denominated hemispheric. - - - A hole is permitted to remain in the middle of the roof, to give exit to the smoke.

Several medicine or mystic bags are carefully attached to the mats of the wall; these are cylindrical, and neatly bound up; several reeds are usually placed upon them, and a human scalp serves for their fringe and tassels. Of their contents we know nothing.

"Ca-ega-wa-tan-ninga, or the Fool Chief, is the hereditary principal chief; but he possesses nothing like monarchical authority, maintaining his distinction only by his bravery and good conduct. There are ten or twelve inferior chieftains, or persons who aspire to such dignity; but these do not appear to command any great respect from the people. Civil as well as military distinction arises from bravery or generosity. Controversies are decided amongst themselves; they do not appeal to their chief, excepting for counsel. They will not marry any of their kindred, however remote. The females, before marriage, labour in the fields, and serve their parents, carry wood and water, and attend to the culinary duties; when the eldest daughter marries, she commands the lodge, the mother, and all the sisters; the latter are to be also the wives of the same individual.

"After the death of the husband the widow sacrifices herself, rubs her person with clay, and becomes negligent of her dress, until the expiration of a year, when the eldest brother of the deceased takes her to wife without any ce remony, considers her children as his own, and takes her and them to his house if the deceased left no brother, she marries whom she pleases. They have, in some instances, four or five wives; but these are mostly sisters: if they marry into two families, the wives do not harmonize well together, and give the husband much inquietude: there is, however, no restriction in this respect, except in the prudence of the husband.

A Council was held with the Otoes, Ioways, and other tribes.

"The principal chiefs advanced before their people, and upon invitation seated themselves. After a short interval of silence, Shongatonga, the Big Horse, a large portly Indian of a commanding presence, arose and said, My father, your children have come to dance before your tent, agreeably to our custom of honouring brave or distinguished persons.'

"After a suitable reply, by Major O'Fallon, the amusement of dancing was commenced by the striking up of their rude instrumental and vocal music; the former consisting of a gong made of a large keg, over one of the ends of which a skin was stretched, which was struck by a small stick; and another instrument, consisting of a stick of firm wood, notched like a saw, over the teeth of which a smaller stick was rubbed forcibly backward and forward: with these, rude as they were, very good time was preserved with the vocal performers who sat around them, and by all the natives as they sat, in the inflection of their bodies, or the movements of their limbs. After the lapse of a little time, three individuals leaped up and danced around for a few minutes; then, at a concerted signal from the master of the ceremonies, the music ceased, and they retired to their seats uttering a loud noise, which, by patting the mouth rapidly with the hand, was broken into a succession of similar sounds, somewhat like the hurried barking of a dog. Several sets of dancers succeeded, each terminating as the first. In the intervals of the dances, a warrior would step forward and strike a flag-staff they had erected with a stick, whip, or

other

other weapon, and recount his martial deeds. This ceremony is called striking the post, and whatever is then said may be relied upon as rigid truth, being delivered in the presence of many a jealous warrior and witness, who could easily detect and would immediately disgrace the striker for exaggeration or falsehood. This is called the beggars' dance, during which some presents are always expected by the performers, as tobacco, whisky, or trinkets. But on this occasion, as none of those articles were immediately offered, the amusement was not at first distinguished by much activity. The master of the ceremonies continually called aloud to them to exert themselves; but still they were somewhat dull and backward. Ietan now stepped forward and lashed a post with his whip, declaring that he would thus punish those who did not dance: this threat, from one whom they had vested with authority for this occasion, had a manifest effect upon his auditors, who were presently highly wrought up by the sight of two or three little mounds of tobacco-twist which were now laid before them, and appeared to infuse new life.

"After lashing the post and making his threat, letan went on to narrate his martial exploits. He had stolen horses seven or eight times from the Konzas; he had first struck the bodies of three of that nation slain in battle. He had stolen horses from the Ietan nation, and had struck one of their dead. He had stolen horses from the Pawnees, and struck the body of one Pawnee Loup. He had stolen horses several times from the Omawhaws, and once

from the Puncas. He had struck the bodies of two Sioux. On a war party, in company with the Pawnees, he had attacked the Spaniards and penetrated into one of their camps; the Spaniards, excepting a man and boy, fled; himself being at a distance before his party, he was shot at and missed by the man, whom he immediately shot down and struck. This, my father,' said he, is the only martial act of my life that I am ashamed of.' After several rounds of dancing, and of striking at the post by the warriors, Mi-ake-ta, or the Little Soldier, a warworn veteran, took his turn to strike the post. He leaped actively about, and strained his voice to its utmost pitch whilst he pourtrayed some of the scenes of blood in which he had acted. He had struck dead bodies of individuals of all the red nations around, Osages, Konzas, Pawnee Loups, Pawnee Republicans, Grand Pawnees, Puncas, Omawhaws, and Sioux, Padoucas, La Plais or Bald Heads, Ietans, Sauks, Foxes, and Ioways; he had struck eight of one nation, seven of another, &c. He was proceeding with his account when Ietan ran up to him, put his hand upon his mouth, and respectfully led him to his seat.. This act was no trifling compliment paid to the well-known brave. It indicated that he had still so many glorious acts to speak of, that he would occupy so much time as to prevent others from speaking, and put to shame the other warriors by the contrast of his actions with theirs."

Their dances, sometimes, are sorts of pantomimes of their exploits. Thus, for instance: "Wa-sa-ba-jing-ga, or Little Black

Black Bear, after a variety of gestures, threw several arrows in succession over his head, thereby indicating his familiarity with the flight of such missiles: he at the same time covered his eyes with his hand, to indicate that he was blind to danger. Others represented their manoeuvres in battle, seeking their enemy, discharging at him their guns or arrows, &c." Major Long and others, leaving their friends settled for the winter, returned to Philadelphia. The Pawnee tribes, having been summoned to answer for their offences, came to the rendezvous.

"In the evening (the author says), accompanied by several gentlemen of the party, we visited the camp of the Pawnees, whom we found sitting round their fires, smoking their pipes in silence. Some were employed in making bows, having found plenty of hickory, and hop horn beam wood here, which are not to be procured in the vicinity of their villages. Their mules were tied to trees, feeding on the bark of the cotton wood. The three tribes were seated around different fires. We sat down in the group of Grand Pawnees, and smoked with their chief, Tar-ra-re-ca-wa-o, or Long Hair. This is an hereditary chief, of a lofty and rather haughty mien; his mouth is, perhaps through habit, drawn down a little at the corners. He has the appearance and character of an intrepid man, although not distinguished as a warrior, having, during his life, killed but a single man, who was a Spaniard. He is, however, artful and politic, and has performed some laudable actions. The following anecdote may serve in part to illustrate the

more amiable traits of his character. Dorion, a Mestizo, on a trading expedition, had accumulated a considerable quantity of peltry at the Pawnce republican village, when it was situated on the Republican fork of the Konza river. As he had no horses to transport his merchandize, he requested the chief of that village to assist him in conveying it to the Grand Pawnees on the Platte, as he intended to descend that river to trade with the Otoes, on his way to St. Louis; the chief directly ordered horses to be brought, the furs were packed upon them, and they departed on the journey: but owing to some alleged misconduct on the part of Dorion, the chief, when half way, ordered the goods to be taken from the horses and to be left on the plain. He then, with his followers, returned to his village. The trader, after bewailing his unfortunate condition, at length resolved to go to the Grand Pawnee village and solicit the aid of Long Hair. Having arrived at the residence of the chief, he related to him in what manner he had been used by the Republican chief, and concluded by requesting assistance to bring in his goods. Long Hair, without reply, ascended to the top of his lodge, and called out to his people to bring him one hundred horses. Taking the best of these, and a sufficient number of attendants, he accompanied Dorion, and assisted him to transport all his peltries, and did not cease with his good offices until he had aided him in building a skin canoe, and had packed all the merchandize aboard, although previously told by Dorion that he had nothing to reward him with, having, as he