FOOTNOTES:[174]Consult Thwaites,Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, (New York, 1904-05) v, p. 347.—Ed.[175]The consensus of modern opinion is, that the Indians worshipped the sun only as a symbol. They were in a stage neither monotheistic nor pantheistic, but recognized all manifestations of the unseen, without a sense of personal unity. Consult on this subject, J. W. Powell, "Mythology of North American Indians," in U. S. Bureau of EthnologyReport, 1879-80, pp. 17-56; D. G. Brinton,Myths of the New World(third edition, Philadelphia, 1896); R. M. Dorman,Origin of Primitive Superstitions among the Aborigines of America(Phila., 1881).—Ed.[176]José de Acosta, a Jesuit historian (1539-1600), born in Spain, was missionary to Peru for many years. Upon his return to Spain he publishedHistoria Natural y Moral de las Indias(Seville, 1590), both in Latin and Spanish. An English translation appeared in 1604.—Ed.[177]Clavigero asserts of the Indians of Mexico, that their first heaven (that of the warriors, &c.) they called "la casa del sol" (the house of the sun), which luminary they worshipped every morning at sunrise.—Gregg.[178]I have since met with the same, in substance, related by Mr. Schoolcraft.—Gregg.Comment by Ed.Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (1793-1864), for many years Indian agent at Mackinac, and a prolific writer on Indian subjects.[179]The Shawnees have four missionary establishments among them, viz. a Methodist, Baptist, Moravian, and Quaker. There are also missionaries of different sects among most of the tribes of the border, the labors of whom have been attended with some degree of success. There is, I believe, but one Catholic Mission upon the frontier, which is among the Potawatomies, about a thousand of whom have embraced this faith. The Catholics, however, appear to have succeeded better than most other denominations, in their missionary efforts. It is so in Mexico, so in Canada, and appears so everywhere else that they have undertaken the Christianization of the heathen. I would not be understood to attribute this to any intrinsic superiority of their religion, but to the peculiarities of its forms and ceremonies. The pageantry of their worship, the palpable representation of the divine mysteries by the introduction of images, better accords with their pristine idolatry, than a more spiritual faith. Catholics, indeed, have had the sagacity to permit the Indians (at least in some countries) to interweave many of their own heathen ceremonies with the sacred Christian rites, forming a singularmêléeof Romish and pagan worship, which is especially the case in Mexico. Also, the less rigid Catholic creed and customs do not debar them from their wonted favorite amusements, not to say vices. It is therefore that whole tribes sometimes simultaneously embrace this imposing creed.—Gregg.[180]See Thwaites,Hennepin's New Discovery(Chicago, 1903), ii, pp. 537, 538.—Ed.[181]Adair, who resided forty years with the southern Indians, previous to 1775, speaks of the same among them all.—Gregg.Comment by Ed.Consult J. Long'sVoyagesin our volume ii, p. 64, note 31.[182]Peter Martyr de Anghiera (1457 (?)-1526) was the first historian of the new world. Born in North Italy, he went to Rome in 1477, in the train of Cardinal Ascanio Sforza. Ten years later he was invited to Spain, where he became tutor to the royal children, and later protonothary and royal historiographer. hisDecades(De Rebus Oceanicis et Novo Orbe Decades) first appearing in 1530, are a prime source for the early history of America, he having known and conversed with the Spanish discoverers.—Ed.[183]Also Clavigero speaks of similar beliefs and practices among the Mexican Indians, particularly in the obsequies of the kings; and adds—"El número de víctimas correspondía á la grandeza del funeral, y, segun algunos autores, llegaban á veces á doscientas."—Gregg.[184]Edition of 1555, translated from the Latin, fol. 181.—In another place, the same author also says they buried corn, etc., with the dead, for their use in the world to come.—Gregg.[185]For Herrera, see our volume xix, p. 258, note 79 (Gregg).—Ed.[186]The Indians often so imposed upon the credulous ancients as to make them believe they had direct communication with Satan. The learned divine, Peter Martyr, has a whole chapter "Of the familiaritie which certeyne of the Indians have with the devyll, and howe they receave answere of hym of thynges to coome:" and very seriously and philosophically concludes, that, "the devyll beynge so auncient an Astronomer, knowethe the tymes of thynges, and seeth howe they are naturally directed:" to which he appends numerous instances of the evil spirit's revelations of the "tymes of thynges to coome" to his ministers, the magi. And even as late as 1721, Father Charlevoix gravely says, an instance he relates, and many others that he "knows, which are equally certain, prove that the Devil is sometimes concerned in the magic of the Savages." The Choctaws, and perhaps some others, used to punish witchcraft with all the rigor of our own ancestors, putting poor creatures to death upon the slightest proof of their tampering with the black art: but this barbarity is now prohibited by their more civilized laws. Yet the more barbarous tribes still have their conjurers and medicine-men, who deal in auguries and mystic ceremonies; which, with their dances, constitute the greater part of their worship.—Gregg.[187]For the early habitat of the Potawatomi, consult Croghan'sJournals, in our volume i, p. 115 note 84.—Ed.[188]Clavigero remarks of the Indians of Mexico, "Estaba severamante prohibido . . . todo enlace matrimonial, entre parientes en primer grado de consanguinidad, ó de afinidad, excepto entre cuñados."—Gregg.[189]The origin of the American Indians has been discussed by too many able writers for me to enter into it here: nor will I attempt to show the general traits of similarity that are to be observed in their various languages: yet it may interest an occasional reader, to be informed of the relations of consanguinity which subsist between many of the different Indian tribes. They may be arranged principally under the following heads: 1. The Dahcotah stock, which is by far the most extensive of those indigenous west of the Mississippi. It embraces the Arkansas (of which the Quapaws are now the only remnant), the Osages, Kansas or Kaws, Iowas, Winnebagoes, Otoes, Missouries, Omahas, Poncas, and the various bands of the Sioux: all of whom speak a language still traceable to the same origin, though some of them have been separated for several centuries. I call these indigenous to the West, because most of them have been so from the period of the earliest explorers on the Mississippi; yet the tradition among them is that they came from about the northern lakes; which appears corroborated by the fact, that the language of the Naudowessies, Assiniboins, and perhaps others in that quarter, shows them to be of the same family.—2. The different bands of the Comanches and Shoshonies or Snakes, constitute another extensive stock, speaking one language.—3. The Blackfeet, Gros Ventres or Minnatarees, Crows and Arrapahoes, speak dialects of another.—4. The Pawnees and Rickaras of the north, and the Wacoes, Wichitas, Towockanoes, Towyash and Keechyes, of Red River, are of the same origin. The Chayennes, originally from near Lake Winnipeg, and the Kiawas (or Caiguas, according to Mexican orthography), appear unallied to any of the foregoing nations.—5. Of those from the north and east, the Algonquin stock appears most extensive,—embracing the Potawatomies, Ottawas, Chippewas, Knisteneaux, Crees, Sacs and Foxes; with whom the Delawares have also been classed, though their language would now appear very distinct.—6. The Wyandots, Senecas, and others of the Six Nations, are of the Huron or Iroquois.—7. The Shawnees and Kickapoos are of one stock.—8. The Kaskaskias, Piorias, Piankeshaws and Weaws, are descendants of the Miamies.—9. The Choctaws and Chickasaws are nearly the same people.—10. The Creeks and Seminoles—though old authors speak of the Creeks as being akin to the Choctaws, yet there is now but little relationship to be traced in their language; while that of the Cherokees appears entirelysui generis.—Gregg.Comment by Ed.On this subject consult J. W. Powell, "Indian Linguistic Families of America north of Mexico" in U. S. Bureau of EthnologyReport, 1885-86. Gregg is unusually correct in his classification, but nevertheless has fallen into a few errors.[190]Thetribesoften take the names of the seceding chiefs who originate them, or are called from some circumstance attending their separation; but frequently they assume a name from an important word in their languages: thusChoctawandChickasaware said to have been the names of chiefs;Seminole(orSeminóleh) andPioriaimply runaways or seceders; whileIllinois, in the language of that ancient tribe, andLunnapáe, by which the Delawares distinguish themselves, signifyman. This last is perhaps most common; for, as each nations holds itself superior to all others, its members call themselvesmen, in contradistinction toboysorsquaws, as they are wont to denominate their enemies.—Gregg.[191]Pressure of the white population upon the southern tribes, induced them to migrate to the west of the Mississippi, a movement which began with detached parties of Choctaw as early as 1805. In 1824 President Monroe recommended their removal, and in 1830 Jackson ordered it. Large bands of these Indians had already received lands in Arkansas; wherefore, in 1832, Indian Territory was set apart for the tribes and removals thither began. The Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Creek made but little difficulty; the Cherokee and Seminole opposed the removal. The former were forcibly ejected (1836-38), and by 1839 were united on their present site in Indian Territory. The Seminole resistance led to the war with that people (1835-42), in which a large portion of the tribesmen perished. The remainder were finally united in Indian Territory in 1846.—Ed.[192]The civilized tribes had been slave-holders before their removal to Indian Territory. At the outbreak of the War of Secession their sympathies were with the Confederacy, with whom the Cherokee made a treaty October 7, 1861. Early in 1863, however, they abolished slavery by law, and the large majority of their regiments went over to the Union side. A constitutional amendment in 1866, forever abolished slavery or involuntary servitude, except for crime. SeeConstitution and Laws of Cherokee Nation.—Ed.[193]Neither of these places has developed into towns of importance, although both are still on the map of Indian Territory. By an act of 1898, towns were to be incorporated, and town sites surveyed. In 1900, the largest town was Ardmore, in the Chickasaw Nation. There were seven towns of more than two thousand population, and twelve more exceeding one thousand.—Ed.[194]Their schools are mostly conducted in English, yet among some tribes they are often taught in their native languages. As in other respects, the Cherokees have made the greatest advancement in a literary point. Their singular system of characters representing syllables, invented by an illiterate native, is no doubt known to most of my readers. In these characters, a considerable number of books have been printed in their vernacular tongue. Many Cherokees, however, as well as Choctaws, have received good English educations. In the language of the latter also a great number of books have been published, but in which the common letter is used. A few books have also been printed in the languages of the Creeks, Wyandots, Potawatomies, and Ottawas, Shawnees, Delawares, and some in the different dialects of Osage, Kansas, Otoes, etc. There is now a printing-office in operation at Park Hill, in the Cherokee Nation, and another among the Shawnees at the Baptist Mission.—Gregg.[195]By the treaty of 1825 with the Choctaw, a fund of six thousand dollars per year for twenty years was to be allotted for the use of schools. The Indians requested that a portion of this fund might be used to educate boys at a distance from home. This was a cherished plan of Colonel Richard M. Johnson, who was chosen sponsor for the new academy, and began the erection of buildings near his home at Great Crossings, in Scott County, Kentucky, where the first boys were received in the autumn of 1825. Baptist co-operation was enlisted, and Rev. Thomas Henderson chosen first principal of Choctaw Academy. At first the school flourished, and Indian boys from many other tribes were sent to Kentucky, until at one time the academy had an enrollment of more than one hundred and fifty lads. In consequence of the dissatisfaction which Gregg here describes the Choctaw and other Southern Indians began to withdraw their boys about 1842, and the school's usefulness terminated. ConsultHouse Ex. Docs., 26 Cong., 2 sess., 109. The civilized tribes now maintain several higher boarding schools and academies in the territory. The Choctaw and Chickasaw each have five; the Cherokee two at Tallequah, in which the nation is much interested.—Ed.[196]By no means the least considerable of the frauds practised upon the frontier Indians, have been by contractors and government agents. The character of these impositions may be inferred from the following instance, as it is told, and very generally believed, upon the southwestern frontier.It had been pretty well known, that some of those who had been in the habit of contracting to furnish with subsistence several of the southern tribes, in the year 1838et seq., had been imposing most grossly upon the Indians as well as the Government, in the way of 'short rations' and other delinquencies, which resulted in the gain of a very large sum to the parties concerned. About the close of their operations, one of theemployés, who was rather more cunning than the principals, took it into his head, on account of some ill-treatment he had suffered, to make anexposéof their transactions. He happened to hold a letter of instructions (which were of course of a confidential character), wherein were set forth the processes by which these frauds were to be practised. And to turn the affair to his particular profit, he threatened the parties with a complete exposure, unless a satisfactorygratificationshould interpose. A compromise being indispensable to the welfare of 'all whom it concerned,' a negotiation was soon set on foot: but the 'noisy customer' was not silenced, until he was paid $13,500 in cash; whereupon he delivered up the obnoxious 'papers,' and agreed to abscond. Some notice of the facts of this case are said to have been brought to the knowledge of the Government; and how it has escaped an investigation—and, more especially, how it escaped the attention of the Superintendent of that immediate district, have been matters of great surprise to those who had a knowledge of the particulars.—Gregg.[197]SeeConstitution and Laws of Cherokee Nation, published at Tallequah. The constitution was signed at the latter place, September 6, 1839.—Ed.[198]These laws have now been changed, and correspond to those of the United States.—Ed.[199]In 1837, the Chickasaw bought an interest in Choctaw lands; but in 1855 they purchased from the latter tribe the right of self-government, and established a Chickasaw Nation. Their constitution, drawn in 1867, is liberal, being closely modelled on that of the United States.—Ed.[200]These Indians call themselvesMuscogeeorMuscóhgeh. They acquired the name ofCreeks, by the whites, from the great number of small streams that intersect the country which they formerly inhabited—being first called, "Indians of the country ofcreeks."—Gregg.[201]The Creeks established a republican government in 1867, modelled upon that of the neighboring tribes.—Ed.[202]This custom seems to have descended from antiquity. Adair, prior to 1775, writes, that "The Muscohge widows are obliged to live a chaste single life for the space of four years; and the Chikkasah women, for the term of three, at the risk of the law of adultery being executed against the recusants." But I have not heard this custom spoken of among the Chickasaws at the present day.—Gregg.[203]The Delaware and Shawnee removed from Kansas in 1866-67, and 1869 respectively, and became incorporated with the Cherokee Nation. The Delaware, however, still maintain a form of tribal autonomy.—Ed.[204]No complete census has been taken of the frontier Indians since their removal; but the aggregate population of those settled west of the border, exclusive of the Osages, Kansas, and others of the north (who are more appropriately ranked among the Prairie Indians), is 76,664, according to the report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for the year 1844. Of these there are reckoned of Cherokees, 25,911; Choctaws, 12,410; Chickasaws, 4,111; Creeks, 24,594; Seminoles, or Florida Indians, 3,136; Senecas from Sandusky, 125; Senecas and Shawnees, 211; Quapaws, 400; Wyandots, 585; Potawatomies, Chippewas and Ottawas, located on the waters of the Osage, 2,028; Kaskaskias and Piorias, 150; Piankeshaws, 98; Weaws, 176; Shawnees, 887; Delawares, 1,059; Stockbridges, Munsees, &c., 278; Kickapoos, 505; In addition to these, there still remain east of the Mississippi, of Cherokees, 1,000; Choctaws, 7,000, (but which are now, January, 1845, in progress of emigration); Chickasaws, 20; Creeks, 744; Potawatomies, &c., 92; Weaws, 30; besides some entire remnant tribes.Many of the foregoing amounts, however, have been standing numbers in the tables of the reports of the Indian Department, ever since the removal of these tribes, and as it is known that most of them have been on the decline, the above aggregate is no doubt excessive. For instance, instead of 25,911, as given in the report for the Cherokees, their very intelligent agent, Governor Butler, reckoned them, in 1842, at only about 18,000: the Creeks in place of 24,594, have, in like manner, been set down at about 20,000; and in the 'Choctaw Almanac' for 1843, I find the population of that nation rated at 12,690, instead of 15,177, as stated in the Commissioner's report for the same year.—Gregg.
[174]Consult Thwaites,Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, (New York, 1904-05) v, p. 347.—Ed.
[174]Consult Thwaites,Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, (New York, 1904-05) v, p. 347.—Ed.
[175]The consensus of modern opinion is, that the Indians worshipped the sun only as a symbol. They were in a stage neither monotheistic nor pantheistic, but recognized all manifestations of the unseen, without a sense of personal unity. Consult on this subject, J. W. Powell, "Mythology of North American Indians," in U. S. Bureau of EthnologyReport, 1879-80, pp. 17-56; D. G. Brinton,Myths of the New World(third edition, Philadelphia, 1896); R. M. Dorman,Origin of Primitive Superstitions among the Aborigines of America(Phila., 1881).—Ed.
[175]The consensus of modern opinion is, that the Indians worshipped the sun only as a symbol. They were in a stage neither monotheistic nor pantheistic, but recognized all manifestations of the unseen, without a sense of personal unity. Consult on this subject, J. W. Powell, "Mythology of North American Indians," in U. S. Bureau of EthnologyReport, 1879-80, pp. 17-56; D. G. Brinton,Myths of the New World(third edition, Philadelphia, 1896); R. M. Dorman,Origin of Primitive Superstitions among the Aborigines of America(Phila., 1881).—Ed.
[176]José de Acosta, a Jesuit historian (1539-1600), born in Spain, was missionary to Peru for many years. Upon his return to Spain he publishedHistoria Natural y Moral de las Indias(Seville, 1590), both in Latin and Spanish. An English translation appeared in 1604.—Ed.
[176]José de Acosta, a Jesuit historian (1539-1600), born in Spain, was missionary to Peru for many years. Upon his return to Spain he publishedHistoria Natural y Moral de las Indias(Seville, 1590), both in Latin and Spanish. An English translation appeared in 1604.—Ed.
[177]Clavigero asserts of the Indians of Mexico, that their first heaven (that of the warriors, &c.) they called "la casa del sol" (the house of the sun), which luminary they worshipped every morning at sunrise.—Gregg.
[177]Clavigero asserts of the Indians of Mexico, that their first heaven (that of the warriors, &c.) they called "la casa del sol" (the house of the sun), which luminary they worshipped every morning at sunrise.—Gregg.
[178]I have since met with the same, in substance, related by Mr. Schoolcraft.—Gregg.Comment by Ed.Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (1793-1864), for many years Indian agent at Mackinac, and a prolific writer on Indian subjects.
[178]I have since met with the same, in substance, related by Mr. Schoolcraft.—Gregg.
Comment by Ed.Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (1793-1864), for many years Indian agent at Mackinac, and a prolific writer on Indian subjects.
[179]The Shawnees have four missionary establishments among them, viz. a Methodist, Baptist, Moravian, and Quaker. There are also missionaries of different sects among most of the tribes of the border, the labors of whom have been attended with some degree of success. There is, I believe, but one Catholic Mission upon the frontier, which is among the Potawatomies, about a thousand of whom have embraced this faith. The Catholics, however, appear to have succeeded better than most other denominations, in their missionary efforts. It is so in Mexico, so in Canada, and appears so everywhere else that they have undertaken the Christianization of the heathen. I would not be understood to attribute this to any intrinsic superiority of their religion, but to the peculiarities of its forms and ceremonies. The pageantry of their worship, the palpable representation of the divine mysteries by the introduction of images, better accords with their pristine idolatry, than a more spiritual faith. Catholics, indeed, have had the sagacity to permit the Indians (at least in some countries) to interweave many of their own heathen ceremonies with the sacred Christian rites, forming a singularmêléeof Romish and pagan worship, which is especially the case in Mexico. Also, the less rigid Catholic creed and customs do not debar them from their wonted favorite amusements, not to say vices. It is therefore that whole tribes sometimes simultaneously embrace this imposing creed.—Gregg.
[179]The Shawnees have four missionary establishments among them, viz. a Methodist, Baptist, Moravian, and Quaker. There are also missionaries of different sects among most of the tribes of the border, the labors of whom have been attended with some degree of success. There is, I believe, but one Catholic Mission upon the frontier, which is among the Potawatomies, about a thousand of whom have embraced this faith. The Catholics, however, appear to have succeeded better than most other denominations, in their missionary efforts. It is so in Mexico, so in Canada, and appears so everywhere else that they have undertaken the Christianization of the heathen. I would not be understood to attribute this to any intrinsic superiority of their religion, but to the peculiarities of its forms and ceremonies. The pageantry of their worship, the palpable representation of the divine mysteries by the introduction of images, better accords with their pristine idolatry, than a more spiritual faith. Catholics, indeed, have had the sagacity to permit the Indians (at least in some countries) to interweave many of their own heathen ceremonies with the sacred Christian rites, forming a singularmêléeof Romish and pagan worship, which is especially the case in Mexico. Also, the less rigid Catholic creed and customs do not debar them from their wonted favorite amusements, not to say vices. It is therefore that whole tribes sometimes simultaneously embrace this imposing creed.—Gregg.
[180]See Thwaites,Hennepin's New Discovery(Chicago, 1903), ii, pp. 537, 538.—Ed.
[180]See Thwaites,Hennepin's New Discovery(Chicago, 1903), ii, pp. 537, 538.—Ed.
[181]Adair, who resided forty years with the southern Indians, previous to 1775, speaks of the same among them all.—Gregg.Comment by Ed.Consult J. Long'sVoyagesin our volume ii, p. 64, note 31.
[181]Adair, who resided forty years with the southern Indians, previous to 1775, speaks of the same among them all.—Gregg.
Comment by Ed.Consult J. Long'sVoyagesin our volume ii, p. 64, note 31.
[182]Peter Martyr de Anghiera (1457 (?)-1526) was the first historian of the new world. Born in North Italy, he went to Rome in 1477, in the train of Cardinal Ascanio Sforza. Ten years later he was invited to Spain, where he became tutor to the royal children, and later protonothary and royal historiographer. hisDecades(De Rebus Oceanicis et Novo Orbe Decades) first appearing in 1530, are a prime source for the early history of America, he having known and conversed with the Spanish discoverers.—Ed.
[182]Peter Martyr de Anghiera (1457 (?)-1526) was the first historian of the new world. Born in North Italy, he went to Rome in 1477, in the train of Cardinal Ascanio Sforza. Ten years later he was invited to Spain, where he became tutor to the royal children, and later protonothary and royal historiographer. hisDecades(De Rebus Oceanicis et Novo Orbe Decades) first appearing in 1530, are a prime source for the early history of America, he having known and conversed with the Spanish discoverers.—Ed.
[183]Also Clavigero speaks of similar beliefs and practices among the Mexican Indians, particularly in the obsequies of the kings; and adds—"El número de víctimas correspondía á la grandeza del funeral, y, segun algunos autores, llegaban á veces á doscientas."—Gregg.
[183]Also Clavigero speaks of similar beliefs and practices among the Mexican Indians, particularly in the obsequies of the kings; and adds—"El número de víctimas correspondía á la grandeza del funeral, y, segun algunos autores, llegaban á veces á doscientas."—Gregg.
[184]Edition of 1555, translated from the Latin, fol. 181.—In another place, the same author also says they buried corn, etc., with the dead, for their use in the world to come.—Gregg.
[184]Edition of 1555, translated from the Latin, fol. 181.—In another place, the same author also says they buried corn, etc., with the dead, for their use in the world to come.—Gregg.
[185]For Herrera, see our volume xix, p. 258, note 79 (Gregg).—Ed.
[185]For Herrera, see our volume xix, p. 258, note 79 (Gregg).—Ed.
[186]The Indians often so imposed upon the credulous ancients as to make them believe they had direct communication with Satan. The learned divine, Peter Martyr, has a whole chapter "Of the familiaritie which certeyne of the Indians have with the devyll, and howe they receave answere of hym of thynges to coome:" and very seriously and philosophically concludes, that, "the devyll beynge so auncient an Astronomer, knowethe the tymes of thynges, and seeth howe they are naturally directed:" to which he appends numerous instances of the evil spirit's revelations of the "tymes of thynges to coome" to his ministers, the magi. And even as late as 1721, Father Charlevoix gravely says, an instance he relates, and many others that he "knows, which are equally certain, prove that the Devil is sometimes concerned in the magic of the Savages." The Choctaws, and perhaps some others, used to punish witchcraft with all the rigor of our own ancestors, putting poor creatures to death upon the slightest proof of their tampering with the black art: but this barbarity is now prohibited by their more civilized laws. Yet the more barbarous tribes still have their conjurers and medicine-men, who deal in auguries and mystic ceremonies; which, with their dances, constitute the greater part of their worship.—Gregg.
[186]The Indians often so imposed upon the credulous ancients as to make them believe they had direct communication with Satan. The learned divine, Peter Martyr, has a whole chapter "Of the familiaritie which certeyne of the Indians have with the devyll, and howe they receave answere of hym of thynges to coome:" and very seriously and philosophically concludes, that, "the devyll beynge so auncient an Astronomer, knowethe the tymes of thynges, and seeth howe they are naturally directed:" to which he appends numerous instances of the evil spirit's revelations of the "tymes of thynges to coome" to his ministers, the magi. And even as late as 1721, Father Charlevoix gravely says, an instance he relates, and many others that he "knows, which are equally certain, prove that the Devil is sometimes concerned in the magic of the Savages." The Choctaws, and perhaps some others, used to punish witchcraft with all the rigor of our own ancestors, putting poor creatures to death upon the slightest proof of their tampering with the black art: but this barbarity is now prohibited by their more civilized laws. Yet the more barbarous tribes still have their conjurers and medicine-men, who deal in auguries and mystic ceremonies; which, with their dances, constitute the greater part of their worship.—Gregg.
[187]For the early habitat of the Potawatomi, consult Croghan'sJournals, in our volume i, p. 115 note 84.—Ed.
[187]For the early habitat of the Potawatomi, consult Croghan'sJournals, in our volume i, p. 115 note 84.—Ed.
[188]Clavigero remarks of the Indians of Mexico, "Estaba severamante prohibido . . . todo enlace matrimonial, entre parientes en primer grado de consanguinidad, ó de afinidad, excepto entre cuñados."—Gregg.
[188]Clavigero remarks of the Indians of Mexico, "Estaba severamante prohibido . . . todo enlace matrimonial, entre parientes en primer grado de consanguinidad, ó de afinidad, excepto entre cuñados."—Gregg.
[189]The origin of the American Indians has been discussed by too many able writers for me to enter into it here: nor will I attempt to show the general traits of similarity that are to be observed in their various languages: yet it may interest an occasional reader, to be informed of the relations of consanguinity which subsist between many of the different Indian tribes. They may be arranged principally under the following heads: 1. The Dahcotah stock, which is by far the most extensive of those indigenous west of the Mississippi. It embraces the Arkansas (of which the Quapaws are now the only remnant), the Osages, Kansas or Kaws, Iowas, Winnebagoes, Otoes, Missouries, Omahas, Poncas, and the various bands of the Sioux: all of whom speak a language still traceable to the same origin, though some of them have been separated for several centuries. I call these indigenous to the West, because most of them have been so from the period of the earliest explorers on the Mississippi; yet the tradition among them is that they came from about the northern lakes; which appears corroborated by the fact, that the language of the Naudowessies, Assiniboins, and perhaps others in that quarter, shows them to be of the same family.—2. The different bands of the Comanches and Shoshonies or Snakes, constitute another extensive stock, speaking one language.—3. The Blackfeet, Gros Ventres or Minnatarees, Crows and Arrapahoes, speak dialects of another.—4. The Pawnees and Rickaras of the north, and the Wacoes, Wichitas, Towockanoes, Towyash and Keechyes, of Red River, are of the same origin. The Chayennes, originally from near Lake Winnipeg, and the Kiawas (or Caiguas, according to Mexican orthography), appear unallied to any of the foregoing nations.—5. Of those from the north and east, the Algonquin stock appears most extensive,—embracing the Potawatomies, Ottawas, Chippewas, Knisteneaux, Crees, Sacs and Foxes; with whom the Delawares have also been classed, though their language would now appear very distinct.—6. The Wyandots, Senecas, and others of the Six Nations, are of the Huron or Iroquois.—7. The Shawnees and Kickapoos are of one stock.—8. The Kaskaskias, Piorias, Piankeshaws and Weaws, are descendants of the Miamies.—9. The Choctaws and Chickasaws are nearly the same people.—10. The Creeks and Seminoles—though old authors speak of the Creeks as being akin to the Choctaws, yet there is now but little relationship to be traced in their language; while that of the Cherokees appears entirelysui generis.—Gregg.Comment by Ed.On this subject consult J. W. Powell, "Indian Linguistic Families of America north of Mexico" in U. S. Bureau of EthnologyReport, 1885-86. Gregg is unusually correct in his classification, but nevertheless has fallen into a few errors.
[189]The origin of the American Indians has been discussed by too many able writers for me to enter into it here: nor will I attempt to show the general traits of similarity that are to be observed in their various languages: yet it may interest an occasional reader, to be informed of the relations of consanguinity which subsist between many of the different Indian tribes. They may be arranged principally under the following heads: 1. The Dahcotah stock, which is by far the most extensive of those indigenous west of the Mississippi. It embraces the Arkansas (of which the Quapaws are now the only remnant), the Osages, Kansas or Kaws, Iowas, Winnebagoes, Otoes, Missouries, Omahas, Poncas, and the various bands of the Sioux: all of whom speak a language still traceable to the same origin, though some of them have been separated for several centuries. I call these indigenous to the West, because most of them have been so from the period of the earliest explorers on the Mississippi; yet the tradition among them is that they came from about the northern lakes; which appears corroborated by the fact, that the language of the Naudowessies, Assiniboins, and perhaps others in that quarter, shows them to be of the same family.—2. The different bands of the Comanches and Shoshonies or Snakes, constitute another extensive stock, speaking one language.—3. The Blackfeet, Gros Ventres or Minnatarees, Crows and Arrapahoes, speak dialects of another.—4. The Pawnees and Rickaras of the north, and the Wacoes, Wichitas, Towockanoes, Towyash and Keechyes, of Red River, are of the same origin. The Chayennes, originally from near Lake Winnipeg, and the Kiawas (or Caiguas, according to Mexican orthography), appear unallied to any of the foregoing nations.—5. Of those from the north and east, the Algonquin stock appears most extensive,—embracing the Potawatomies, Ottawas, Chippewas, Knisteneaux, Crees, Sacs and Foxes; with whom the Delawares have also been classed, though their language would now appear very distinct.—6. The Wyandots, Senecas, and others of the Six Nations, are of the Huron or Iroquois.—7. The Shawnees and Kickapoos are of one stock.—8. The Kaskaskias, Piorias, Piankeshaws and Weaws, are descendants of the Miamies.—9. The Choctaws and Chickasaws are nearly the same people.—10. The Creeks and Seminoles—though old authors speak of the Creeks as being akin to the Choctaws, yet there is now but little relationship to be traced in their language; while that of the Cherokees appears entirelysui generis.—Gregg.
Comment by Ed.On this subject consult J. W. Powell, "Indian Linguistic Families of America north of Mexico" in U. S. Bureau of EthnologyReport, 1885-86. Gregg is unusually correct in his classification, but nevertheless has fallen into a few errors.
[190]Thetribesoften take the names of the seceding chiefs who originate them, or are called from some circumstance attending their separation; but frequently they assume a name from an important word in their languages: thusChoctawandChickasaware said to have been the names of chiefs;Seminole(orSeminóleh) andPioriaimply runaways or seceders; whileIllinois, in the language of that ancient tribe, andLunnapáe, by which the Delawares distinguish themselves, signifyman. This last is perhaps most common; for, as each nations holds itself superior to all others, its members call themselvesmen, in contradistinction toboysorsquaws, as they are wont to denominate their enemies.—Gregg.
[190]Thetribesoften take the names of the seceding chiefs who originate them, or are called from some circumstance attending their separation; but frequently they assume a name from an important word in their languages: thusChoctawandChickasaware said to have been the names of chiefs;Seminole(orSeminóleh) andPioriaimply runaways or seceders; whileIllinois, in the language of that ancient tribe, andLunnapáe, by which the Delawares distinguish themselves, signifyman. This last is perhaps most common; for, as each nations holds itself superior to all others, its members call themselvesmen, in contradistinction toboysorsquaws, as they are wont to denominate their enemies.—Gregg.
[191]Pressure of the white population upon the southern tribes, induced them to migrate to the west of the Mississippi, a movement which began with detached parties of Choctaw as early as 1805. In 1824 President Monroe recommended their removal, and in 1830 Jackson ordered it. Large bands of these Indians had already received lands in Arkansas; wherefore, in 1832, Indian Territory was set apart for the tribes and removals thither began. The Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Creek made but little difficulty; the Cherokee and Seminole opposed the removal. The former were forcibly ejected (1836-38), and by 1839 were united on their present site in Indian Territory. The Seminole resistance led to the war with that people (1835-42), in which a large portion of the tribesmen perished. The remainder were finally united in Indian Territory in 1846.—Ed.
[191]Pressure of the white population upon the southern tribes, induced them to migrate to the west of the Mississippi, a movement which began with detached parties of Choctaw as early as 1805. In 1824 President Monroe recommended their removal, and in 1830 Jackson ordered it. Large bands of these Indians had already received lands in Arkansas; wherefore, in 1832, Indian Territory was set apart for the tribes and removals thither began. The Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Creek made but little difficulty; the Cherokee and Seminole opposed the removal. The former were forcibly ejected (1836-38), and by 1839 were united on their present site in Indian Territory. The Seminole resistance led to the war with that people (1835-42), in which a large portion of the tribesmen perished. The remainder were finally united in Indian Territory in 1846.—Ed.
[192]The civilized tribes had been slave-holders before their removal to Indian Territory. At the outbreak of the War of Secession their sympathies were with the Confederacy, with whom the Cherokee made a treaty October 7, 1861. Early in 1863, however, they abolished slavery by law, and the large majority of their regiments went over to the Union side. A constitutional amendment in 1866, forever abolished slavery or involuntary servitude, except for crime. SeeConstitution and Laws of Cherokee Nation.—Ed.
[192]The civilized tribes had been slave-holders before their removal to Indian Territory. At the outbreak of the War of Secession their sympathies were with the Confederacy, with whom the Cherokee made a treaty October 7, 1861. Early in 1863, however, they abolished slavery by law, and the large majority of their regiments went over to the Union side. A constitutional amendment in 1866, forever abolished slavery or involuntary servitude, except for crime. SeeConstitution and Laws of Cherokee Nation.—Ed.
[193]Neither of these places has developed into towns of importance, although both are still on the map of Indian Territory. By an act of 1898, towns were to be incorporated, and town sites surveyed. In 1900, the largest town was Ardmore, in the Chickasaw Nation. There were seven towns of more than two thousand population, and twelve more exceeding one thousand.—Ed.
[193]Neither of these places has developed into towns of importance, although both are still on the map of Indian Territory. By an act of 1898, towns were to be incorporated, and town sites surveyed. In 1900, the largest town was Ardmore, in the Chickasaw Nation. There were seven towns of more than two thousand population, and twelve more exceeding one thousand.—Ed.
[194]Their schools are mostly conducted in English, yet among some tribes they are often taught in their native languages. As in other respects, the Cherokees have made the greatest advancement in a literary point. Their singular system of characters representing syllables, invented by an illiterate native, is no doubt known to most of my readers. In these characters, a considerable number of books have been printed in their vernacular tongue. Many Cherokees, however, as well as Choctaws, have received good English educations. In the language of the latter also a great number of books have been published, but in which the common letter is used. A few books have also been printed in the languages of the Creeks, Wyandots, Potawatomies, and Ottawas, Shawnees, Delawares, and some in the different dialects of Osage, Kansas, Otoes, etc. There is now a printing-office in operation at Park Hill, in the Cherokee Nation, and another among the Shawnees at the Baptist Mission.—Gregg.
[194]Their schools are mostly conducted in English, yet among some tribes they are often taught in their native languages. As in other respects, the Cherokees have made the greatest advancement in a literary point. Their singular system of characters representing syllables, invented by an illiterate native, is no doubt known to most of my readers. In these characters, a considerable number of books have been printed in their vernacular tongue. Many Cherokees, however, as well as Choctaws, have received good English educations. In the language of the latter also a great number of books have been published, but in which the common letter is used. A few books have also been printed in the languages of the Creeks, Wyandots, Potawatomies, and Ottawas, Shawnees, Delawares, and some in the different dialects of Osage, Kansas, Otoes, etc. There is now a printing-office in operation at Park Hill, in the Cherokee Nation, and another among the Shawnees at the Baptist Mission.—Gregg.
[195]By the treaty of 1825 with the Choctaw, a fund of six thousand dollars per year for twenty years was to be allotted for the use of schools. The Indians requested that a portion of this fund might be used to educate boys at a distance from home. This was a cherished plan of Colonel Richard M. Johnson, who was chosen sponsor for the new academy, and began the erection of buildings near his home at Great Crossings, in Scott County, Kentucky, where the first boys were received in the autumn of 1825. Baptist co-operation was enlisted, and Rev. Thomas Henderson chosen first principal of Choctaw Academy. At first the school flourished, and Indian boys from many other tribes were sent to Kentucky, until at one time the academy had an enrollment of more than one hundred and fifty lads. In consequence of the dissatisfaction which Gregg here describes the Choctaw and other Southern Indians began to withdraw their boys about 1842, and the school's usefulness terminated. ConsultHouse Ex. Docs., 26 Cong., 2 sess., 109. The civilized tribes now maintain several higher boarding schools and academies in the territory. The Choctaw and Chickasaw each have five; the Cherokee two at Tallequah, in which the nation is much interested.—Ed.
[195]By the treaty of 1825 with the Choctaw, a fund of six thousand dollars per year for twenty years was to be allotted for the use of schools. The Indians requested that a portion of this fund might be used to educate boys at a distance from home. This was a cherished plan of Colonel Richard M. Johnson, who was chosen sponsor for the new academy, and began the erection of buildings near his home at Great Crossings, in Scott County, Kentucky, where the first boys were received in the autumn of 1825. Baptist co-operation was enlisted, and Rev. Thomas Henderson chosen first principal of Choctaw Academy. At first the school flourished, and Indian boys from many other tribes were sent to Kentucky, until at one time the academy had an enrollment of more than one hundred and fifty lads. In consequence of the dissatisfaction which Gregg here describes the Choctaw and other Southern Indians began to withdraw their boys about 1842, and the school's usefulness terminated. ConsultHouse Ex. Docs., 26 Cong., 2 sess., 109. The civilized tribes now maintain several higher boarding schools and academies in the territory. The Choctaw and Chickasaw each have five; the Cherokee two at Tallequah, in which the nation is much interested.—Ed.
[196]By no means the least considerable of the frauds practised upon the frontier Indians, have been by contractors and government agents. The character of these impositions may be inferred from the following instance, as it is told, and very generally believed, upon the southwestern frontier.It had been pretty well known, that some of those who had been in the habit of contracting to furnish with subsistence several of the southern tribes, in the year 1838et seq., had been imposing most grossly upon the Indians as well as the Government, in the way of 'short rations' and other delinquencies, which resulted in the gain of a very large sum to the parties concerned. About the close of their operations, one of theemployés, who was rather more cunning than the principals, took it into his head, on account of some ill-treatment he had suffered, to make anexposéof their transactions. He happened to hold a letter of instructions (which were of course of a confidential character), wherein were set forth the processes by which these frauds were to be practised. And to turn the affair to his particular profit, he threatened the parties with a complete exposure, unless a satisfactorygratificationshould interpose. A compromise being indispensable to the welfare of 'all whom it concerned,' a negotiation was soon set on foot: but the 'noisy customer' was not silenced, until he was paid $13,500 in cash; whereupon he delivered up the obnoxious 'papers,' and agreed to abscond. Some notice of the facts of this case are said to have been brought to the knowledge of the Government; and how it has escaped an investigation—and, more especially, how it escaped the attention of the Superintendent of that immediate district, have been matters of great surprise to those who had a knowledge of the particulars.—Gregg.
[196]By no means the least considerable of the frauds practised upon the frontier Indians, have been by contractors and government agents. The character of these impositions may be inferred from the following instance, as it is told, and very generally believed, upon the southwestern frontier.
It had been pretty well known, that some of those who had been in the habit of contracting to furnish with subsistence several of the southern tribes, in the year 1838et seq., had been imposing most grossly upon the Indians as well as the Government, in the way of 'short rations' and other delinquencies, which resulted in the gain of a very large sum to the parties concerned. About the close of their operations, one of theemployés, who was rather more cunning than the principals, took it into his head, on account of some ill-treatment he had suffered, to make anexposéof their transactions. He happened to hold a letter of instructions (which were of course of a confidential character), wherein were set forth the processes by which these frauds were to be practised. And to turn the affair to his particular profit, he threatened the parties with a complete exposure, unless a satisfactorygratificationshould interpose. A compromise being indispensable to the welfare of 'all whom it concerned,' a negotiation was soon set on foot: but the 'noisy customer' was not silenced, until he was paid $13,500 in cash; whereupon he delivered up the obnoxious 'papers,' and agreed to abscond. Some notice of the facts of this case are said to have been brought to the knowledge of the Government; and how it has escaped an investigation—and, more especially, how it escaped the attention of the Superintendent of that immediate district, have been matters of great surprise to those who had a knowledge of the particulars.—Gregg.
[197]SeeConstitution and Laws of Cherokee Nation, published at Tallequah. The constitution was signed at the latter place, September 6, 1839.—Ed.
[197]SeeConstitution and Laws of Cherokee Nation, published at Tallequah. The constitution was signed at the latter place, September 6, 1839.—Ed.
[198]These laws have now been changed, and correspond to those of the United States.—Ed.
[198]These laws have now been changed, and correspond to those of the United States.—Ed.
[199]In 1837, the Chickasaw bought an interest in Choctaw lands; but in 1855 they purchased from the latter tribe the right of self-government, and established a Chickasaw Nation. Their constitution, drawn in 1867, is liberal, being closely modelled on that of the United States.—Ed.
[199]In 1837, the Chickasaw bought an interest in Choctaw lands; but in 1855 they purchased from the latter tribe the right of self-government, and established a Chickasaw Nation. Their constitution, drawn in 1867, is liberal, being closely modelled on that of the United States.—Ed.
[200]These Indians call themselvesMuscogeeorMuscóhgeh. They acquired the name ofCreeks, by the whites, from the great number of small streams that intersect the country which they formerly inhabited—being first called, "Indians of the country ofcreeks."—Gregg.
[200]These Indians call themselvesMuscogeeorMuscóhgeh. They acquired the name ofCreeks, by the whites, from the great number of small streams that intersect the country which they formerly inhabited—being first called, "Indians of the country ofcreeks."—Gregg.
[201]The Creeks established a republican government in 1867, modelled upon that of the neighboring tribes.—Ed.
[201]The Creeks established a republican government in 1867, modelled upon that of the neighboring tribes.—Ed.
[202]This custom seems to have descended from antiquity. Adair, prior to 1775, writes, that "The Muscohge widows are obliged to live a chaste single life for the space of four years; and the Chikkasah women, for the term of three, at the risk of the law of adultery being executed against the recusants." But I have not heard this custom spoken of among the Chickasaws at the present day.—Gregg.
[202]This custom seems to have descended from antiquity. Adair, prior to 1775, writes, that "The Muscohge widows are obliged to live a chaste single life for the space of four years; and the Chikkasah women, for the term of three, at the risk of the law of adultery being executed against the recusants." But I have not heard this custom spoken of among the Chickasaws at the present day.—Gregg.
[203]The Delaware and Shawnee removed from Kansas in 1866-67, and 1869 respectively, and became incorporated with the Cherokee Nation. The Delaware, however, still maintain a form of tribal autonomy.—Ed.
[203]The Delaware and Shawnee removed from Kansas in 1866-67, and 1869 respectively, and became incorporated with the Cherokee Nation. The Delaware, however, still maintain a form of tribal autonomy.—Ed.
[204]No complete census has been taken of the frontier Indians since their removal; but the aggregate population of those settled west of the border, exclusive of the Osages, Kansas, and others of the north (who are more appropriately ranked among the Prairie Indians), is 76,664, according to the report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for the year 1844. Of these there are reckoned of Cherokees, 25,911; Choctaws, 12,410; Chickasaws, 4,111; Creeks, 24,594; Seminoles, or Florida Indians, 3,136; Senecas from Sandusky, 125; Senecas and Shawnees, 211; Quapaws, 400; Wyandots, 585; Potawatomies, Chippewas and Ottawas, located on the waters of the Osage, 2,028; Kaskaskias and Piorias, 150; Piankeshaws, 98; Weaws, 176; Shawnees, 887; Delawares, 1,059; Stockbridges, Munsees, &c., 278; Kickapoos, 505; In addition to these, there still remain east of the Mississippi, of Cherokees, 1,000; Choctaws, 7,000, (but which are now, January, 1845, in progress of emigration); Chickasaws, 20; Creeks, 744; Potawatomies, &c., 92; Weaws, 30; besides some entire remnant tribes.Many of the foregoing amounts, however, have been standing numbers in the tables of the reports of the Indian Department, ever since the removal of these tribes, and as it is known that most of them have been on the decline, the above aggregate is no doubt excessive. For instance, instead of 25,911, as given in the report for the Cherokees, their very intelligent agent, Governor Butler, reckoned them, in 1842, at only about 18,000: the Creeks in place of 24,594, have, in like manner, been set down at about 20,000; and in the 'Choctaw Almanac' for 1843, I find the population of that nation rated at 12,690, instead of 15,177, as stated in the Commissioner's report for the same year.—Gregg.
[204]No complete census has been taken of the frontier Indians since their removal; but the aggregate population of those settled west of the border, exclusive of the Osages, Kansas, and others of the north (who are more appropriately ranked among the Prairie Indians), is 76,664, according to the report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for the year 1844. Of these there are reckoned of Cherokees, 25,911; Choctaws, 12,410; Chickasaws, 4,111; Creeks, 24,594; Seminoles, or Florida Indians, 3,136; Senecas from Sandusky, 125; Senecas and Shawnees, 211; Quapaws, 400; Wyandots, 585; Potawatomies, Chippewas and Ottawas, located on the waters of the Osage, 2,028; Kaskaskias and Piorias, 150; Piankeshaws, 98; Weaws, 176; Shawnees, 887; Delawares, 1,059; Stockbridges, Munsees, &c., 278; Kickapoos, 505; In addition to these, there still remain east of the Mississippi, of Cherokees, 1,000; Choctaws, 7,000, (but which are now, January, 1845, in progress of emigration); Chickasaws, 20; Creeks, 744; Potawatomies, &c., 92; Weaws, 30; besides some entire remnant tribes.
Many of the foregoing amounts, however, have been standing numbers in the tables of the reports of the Indian Department, ever since the removal of these tribes, and as it is known that most of them have been on the decline, the above aggregate is no doubt excessive. For instance, instead of 25,911, as given in the report for the Cherokees, their very intelligent agent, Governor Butler, reckoned them, in 1842, at only about 18,000: the Creeks in place of 24,594, have, in like manner, been set down at about 20,000; and in the 'Choctaw Almanac' for 1843, I find the population of that nation rated at 12,690, instead of 15,177, as stated in the Commissioner's report for the same year.—Gregg.
System of Chiefs — Mode of Warfare — War-Council — The Scalp-dance — The Calumet or Pipe of Peace — Treaties — Public News-criers — Arms of the Indians — Bow and Arrows, etc. — Hunting — Dancing — Language of Signs — Telegraphs — Wigwams or Lodges — Pack-dogs — Costumes — Painting, Tattooing, etc. — Indian Dandies — Manufactures, and Dressing the Buffalo Rug — Indian Diet, Feasting, etc. — Primitive Thomsonians — Their domestic Animals, the Dog and the Horse — Wampum — Their Chronology.toc
Those savage hordes which may be considered as the Prairie Indians proper, have made little or no perceptible progress in civilization. They mostly live by plunder and the chase: a few eke out a subsistence by agriculture. They consist of various distinct tribes, but among whom there is a greater diversity of language than of habitudes. I would not have it understood, however, that all the customs of every band are entirely similar: it is this assumption, together with the practice of setting down as standing customs what they have observed on some particular occasions, that has frequently created such a discrepancy between the accounts of transient travellers.
{277} There is scarcely a prairie tribe, however limited in numbers, but is subdivided into petty bands, each under the immediate control of its own chief. Their systems of government are frequently compounded of the patriarchal and military. The most influential heads of families exercise a petty rule, which often extends beyond their own household to a circle of adherents. Several of these clans, bound by the ties of consanguinity or friendship, are apt to come under the control, by common consent, of some more influential chief, who may have gained celebrity in their wars; but a regular hereditary descent seems rarely established. These petty bands seldom unite under one general leader, except for the common defence, when[p319]threatened with danger. Occasionally there springs up a master spirit—a great brave and a great sage, who is able to unite his whole tribe, in which he is generally aided by a sufficient knack at sorcerous tricks to give him the character of a great 'medicine-man.'
War seems to be the element of the prairie Indians, notwithstanding but few possess much intrinsic bravery. They are, in fact, the most cowardly savages east of the Rocky Mountains, bearing but little similitude in this respect to the aborigines of the interior of the United States. They rarely attack an enemy except with a decided advantage; for the prospect of losing even a single warrior will often deter them from undertaking the most flattering adventure. It is true that, in addition {278} to their timidity, they are restrained by the fact that the loss of a man often casts a gloom upon the most brilliant victory, and throws a whole clan into mourning. On this account they generally attack by surprise, and in the night, when all are presumed to be asleep; having care, if against a formidable enemy, that it be long enough before the morning dawn to allow them to retire beyond reach of pursuit before daylight. When the moon rises at a late hour, just before she appears, is a favorite time; for then they will have a gleam of light by which to collect and drive off the prize of stock which they may be able to frighten away. These prowling parties around a camp sometimes employ a species of signals in imitation of wolves, owls and other nocturnal animals, by which they communicate with each other—mimicking so to the life as not to give alarm to unsuspecting travellers.
War is seldom concluded upon, or even a campaign undertaken, without a general council, in which all the chiefs and most distinguished braves and sages assemble. After all are seated in a circle, the pipe is passed around until their brains are sufficiently soothed to enable them[p320]to consult the Great Spirit, and take freely into advisement the important matters under consideration. Therefore the tobacco smoke is usually blown upwards, as a propitiatory incense to the invoked spirits or genii who dwell 'upon the sky.' In this operation the smoke is generally inhaled into {279} the lungs, and discharged in murky streams from the olfactories. If a council be preparatory to a campaign, the warriors sometimes catch the tobacco smoke in the hand, anointing their bodies with it; which they fancy renders them, if not invulnerable, at least far more secure from the darts of their enemies.
Although in their warfare they employ every wile and stratagem, and faithless subterfuge, to deceive their enemies, and in battle are relentless and cruel in the extreme, yet they seldom resort to those horrid punishments and tortures upon their prisoners which were wont to be inflicted by the savages of the interior of the United States, during their early wars with the whites. The practice of burning their captives alive, said to have prevailed many years ago among some prairie tribes, seems now to have grown quite out of use.
Upon returning from a campaign after a defeat, the village resounds for many days with the lamentations, the shrieks and wailings of the women and children; in which, not only the bereft families, but all the relatives and most of the friends of the deceased join. If, on the contrary, the warriors have been successful, and bring home scalps of their enemies, all join in their most famous festival, the scalp-dance. In this fête the savage trophies are usually elevated upon a pole in the centre of the dance; or perhaps the brave captors retain them in their hands, tossing and swinging them about their heads; at the same time vehemently apostrophizing these ghastly representatives {280} of their enemies, with the most taunting and insulting[p321]bravadoes; branding the nation with cowardice and effeminacy; daring them to come forward and revenge the blood of their slain; then concluding with scoffs and exulting yells at the dastardly silence of their enemies, whom they represent as afraid to whisper a note of vengeance against their superiors and masters, the triumphing conquerors. After the warriors have become fatigued, the squaws and children generally continue the barbarous festivity; in the midst of which some vainglorious brave will rise perhaps, and repeat the apostrophic fanfaronades, representing that the very squaws and papooses hold them in cowering submission, and that henceforth these only will be sent to subdue them; their warriors being reserved for more noble enemies. These brutal rites and rodomontades being concluded, the scalps are handed to their owners, who cure and paint them for future war-dances and other kindred ceremonies.
When a tribe wishes to celebrate a treaty of peace with an enemy, a number of their warriors, as ambassadors, or perhaps a whole band, move to the neighborhood, and send the calumet or pipe of peace, which supplies the place of the flag of truce among civilized nations:[205]though, when the embassy {281} is to the whites, a flag usually accompanies, as they have learned that this is our token of peace. The overture being accepted, the chiefs and principals of each band meet in council, sometimes in a wigwam, if there[p322]be a suitable one, else in the open air, taking their seats, as usual, upon their haunches in a circle proportioned to the number. If there be presents—and these are an indispensable earnest of friendship from the whites—the essence, the seal of the treaty, without which negotiation is vain—these are laid in the centre. A personage in the capacity of an orderly sergeant then lights the calumet, which he hands to a principal chief, who, before smoking, usually points the stem towards the four cardinal points, and towards the heavens and the earth—then takes a certain number of whiffs (generally about three), and passing it to the next, who draws an equal number of whiffs, it thus continues around the circle, in the direction of the sun, each sending fumid {282} currents upward from the nozzle. It seems looked upon as sacrilege for a person to pass before the pipe while the chiefs are smoking; and the heedless or impudent are sometimes severely punished for the act. The 'big talk' follows, and the presents are distributed by a chief who exercises the office of commissary. But in the petty truces among each other, presents are scarcely expected, except they be claimed by the more powerful party as a matter of tribute.
Travellers and hunters are generally obliged to hold a treaty or 'big talk' with every band of prairie Indians they may encounter, if they wish to maintain friendly relations with them. Treaties have also been held, at different periods, with most of the wild tribes, by agents of the U. S.[p323]Government, yet for the most part with but very little effect—they generally forget or disregard them by the time the presents they may have received are consumed.
These treaties, as well as other council deliberations, are generally promulgated by a sort of public crier, who proclaims the stipulations and resolutions from lodge to lodge; and the event is preserved in the memory of the sages to future generations. Among some of the tribes their memory is assisted by the famous 'wampum belt,' which is a list or belt made of wampum beads, so interwoven in hieroglyphic figures as to form a record of important events. Others preserve the same by hieroglyphic paintings on their buffalo rugs, and the like.
{283} Thearmsof the wild Indians are chiefly the bow and arrows, with the use of which they become remarkably expert. A dexterous savage will lay a wager, at short shots, against many riflemen. Indeed, there is hardly any more effective weapon than the bow and arrow in the hands of an expert archer. While the musketeer will load and fire once, the bowman will discharge a dozen arrows, and that, at distances under fifty yards, with an accuracy nearly equal to the rifle. In a charge, they are eminently serviceable; for the Indian seems to discharge his arrows with about as much certainty when running at full speed as when standing.
The usual length of the Indian bow is about three feet, though it is sometimes as much as four. It is generally made of elastic wood, yet elk's horn is occasionally used. Those of the latter are made of two of the longest and straightest shafts, which, being shaved down to the necessary proportions, are united by lapping their ends together and binding them firmly with sinew. Bows have also been made, in the same manner, of a pair of buffalo ribs; but as well these as those of elk-horn, are rather items of[p324]curiosity than of service: at least, they are not equal to bows of the bois-d'arc tree. Even the backs of thewoodenbows are often lined the whole length with a broad strip of sinew, and the whole wrapped with shreds of the same. The arrows are generally about thirty inches long, and pointed with iron, though the primitive {284} flint points are still met with among some of the wildest tribes.
Besides these, the lance or spear, the use of which they may have learned from the Mexicans, is an effective weapon in the charge as well as the chase. Many are also provided with the Northwestern fusil, and some have rifles. Very few, however, have acquired the dexterity of our frontier Indians with this deadly weapon. But no Indian deems his equipage complete without a 'scalping-knife;' yet among the western prairie Indians the tomahawk is but little known. These employ, in its stead, the war-club or 'war-hawk,' which are bludgeons with an encased stone for a head in the former, and with a transverse blade or spike in its place in the latter. Many are provided with shields of raw buffalo or elk skin, upon which are frequently painted some rude hieroglyphical devices representing the enemies they have slain, as well as any other notable exploits of which they can boast. Such as are without these have their titles to renown recorded commonly upon the handles of their hatchets, their war-clubs, or perhaps tattooed upon their breasts or arms.
Besides war,huntingseems the only creditable employment in which a warrior can engage. Every other labor is put upon the squaws; and even when a party of hunters set out, they generally provide themselves with enough of these 'menials' to take charge of the meat: the Indian only deigns to shoot {285} down the game; the squaws not only have it to cure and pack, but to skin and dress.[p325]
Except such tribes as are expert with the rifle, very few of the prairie Indians hunt other game than the buffalo: not, as some have presumed, because they deem all small game too ignoble for them, but because the former is at once easiest taken, and affords the most bounteous supply of food. The antelope is too wild and fleet for their mode of hunting, and is only occasionally taken by stratagem; while the deer, as difficult to take in the chase, is less easily entrapped. But, mounted upon their trained steeds, and with the arrow or lance, they are not to be excelled in the chase. A few of them, let loose among a herd of buffalo, will soon have the plain strewed with their carcasses.
Among the amusements of the Indians generally,dancingis perhaps the most favorite. Besides a war accompaniment, it is practised as a recreation, and often connected with their worship. Their social frolics, in which the squaws are commonly permitted to join, are conducted with less ferocity of manner than their war dances; though even these are accompanied with the wildest and most comical gesticulations, and songs full at once of mirth and obscenity. In these, as well as in the war and scalp dances, a sort of little drum and a shrill squeaking pipe are their common instruments of music.
As so many tongues, entirely different, are spoken by the prairie Indians, a 'language of {286} signs' has become the general medium of communication between the different nations. This system of signs has been brought to such perfection among them, that the most intricate correspondence seems to be intelligibly conducted by such as have acquired a proficiency in this 'dumb language.'
Their systems of telegraphs are very peculiar, and though they might seem impracticable at first, yet so thoroughly are they understood by the savages, that it is availed of[p326]frequently to immense advantage. The most remarkable is by raising smokes, by which many important facts are communicated to a considerable distance—and made intelligible by the manner, size, number or repetition of the smokes, which are commonly raised by firing spots of dry grass. When travelling, they will also pile heaps of stones upon mounds or conspicuous points, so arranged as to be understood by their passing comrades; and sometimes they set up the bleached buffalo heads, which are everywhere scattered over those plains, to indicate the direction of their march, and many other facts which may be communicated by those simple signs.
Almost every tribe has some peculiarity in the construction of their lodges or wigwams, in the manner of arranging their camps, and in the different items of dress, by any or all which peculiarities the experienced traveller is able to recognize the tribe of their owner. If a moccasin, or other article of apparel be {287} found, he at once designates the nation to which it belongs—even a track is often sufficient to identify them.[206]Also by the 'sign,' and especially the remains of fires, he determines the interval elapsed since their departure, with remarkable accuracy.
The lodges are composed of a frame of small poles or rods, covered usually with buffalo skins, which receive but little further preparation than the currying off of the hair. Some give their lodges a round wagon-top shape, as those of the Osages, which commonly consist of a frame of bent rods, resembling wagon-bows, and covered with skins, the bark of trees, or, as is generally the case in their villages, with grass and earth. Again, some dispose the poles in two parallel lines, and incline them against a ridge-pole,[p327]which gives the wigwam the shape of a house-roof: others, planting small rods in a circle, to swine the points together as to resemble, in some degree, when covered, a rounded hay-mow: but by far the most general style, among the wild tribes, of constructing their wigwams, is by planting the lodge-poles so as to enclose a circular area of from ten to twenty feet in diameter (the size depending upon the number of the family); and the tops being brought together, it forms a conical frame, which is closely covered with skins, except an aperture in the apex for the escape of the {288} smoke. This is the style of the Comanches and most other tribes of the great plains. The doors of the lodges being closed with a skin, they are kept very comfortable in winter with but little fire. This is kindled in the centre, and a hole is left in the vertex of the lodge, through which the smoke is discharged so freely, that the interior is but seldom infected by it.
These lodges are always pitched or set up by the squaws, and with such expedition, that, upon the stopping of an itinerant band, a town springs up in a desert valley in a few minutes, as if by enchantment. The lodge-poles are often neatly prepared, and carried along from camp to camp. In conveying them, one end frequently drags on the ground; whereby the trail is known to be that of a band with families, as war parties never carry lodge-poles. The Chayennes, Sioux and some other northern tribes, often employ dogs for carrying and dragging their lodge covers and poles; indeed for conveying most of their light baggage: but, for ordinary travelling purposes and packing their more weighty baggage, they use horses. So few navigable waters traverse the Prairies, that none of the Indians of the high plains have learned the use of canoes or water-craft of any kind.
There is some variety in the dress in vogue among the[p328]different tribes; though they all use moccasins, leggins, flap or breech-clout, and, when not in active pursuits, they generally wrap their bodies in buffalo rugs, blankets or {289} mantles of strouding, according to their wealth or opportunities. Some of the northern tribes display considerable ingenuity and taste in the manufacture of moccasins. But this is the work of the women, who often embroider them with beads and colored porcupine quills, in a most beautiful manner. Thelegginis a buckskin or cloth covering for the leg and thigh, as of the pantaloon. A superfluous list is usually left outside the seam, which, if of skin, is slitted into long tassels, or if of cloth, the wide border remains entire, to dangle and flap upon the exterior of the legs. A strip of strouding (that is, coarse broad-cloth) about a foot in width and a yard or more long, constitutes the most usual flap; which being passed betwixt the legs, the ends are secured under the belt around the waist, whence the leggins are suspended. As the flap is sometimes near two yards long, a surplusage of half a yard or more at each end is sometimes left dangling down before and behind.
The Indians use no head-dress, but support the bleakest rains and hottest suns of those bare plains with naked heads. Nevertheless, their coarse black hair seems 'fertilized' by exposure; for they rarely become gray till an exceeding old age; and I do not recollect to have ever seen a bald Indian. Their eyesight also, they retain in extraordinary vigor, notwithstanding the want of protection even of the eye-lashes and brows (which are plucked out), and in spite of the constant use of apparently deleterious paints around the edges {290} of the lids. Though using no regular head-dress, they sometimes wear, as a temporary ornament, a fantastic cap of skins; and it is not unusual to see a brave with the entire shaggy frontlet of a buffalo,[p329]horns and all, set upon his head—which, with his painted face, imparts a diabolical ferocity to his aspect.
The Indians of the Plains, almost without exception, wear long hair, which dangles in clotted tresses over the shoulders—besmeared with gum, grease and paints, and ornamented with feathers and trinkets. But most of those intermediate tribes nearer our border, trim their hair in a peculiar manner.
Vermillion seems almost indispensable to the Indian's toilet; but in default of this they paint with colored earths. When going to war, they bedaub their bodies with something black—mud, charcoal or gunpowder, which gives them a frightful appearance. But 'ornamental' painting is much more gay and fanciful. The face, and sometimes arms and breast are oddly striped and chequered, interspersed with shades of yellow and white clay, as well as occasional black, though the latter is chiefly appropriated to war. Especial pains are taken to tip the eyelids most gaily with vermillion.
Besides painting, most of the tribes tattoo—some sparingly, while others make their faces, breasts, and particularly their arms, perfectly piebald. This seems practised to some extent by all the savages from the Atlantic {291} to the Pacific. Figures are pierced in the skin with any sharp pointed instrument—often the keen prickles of the cactus—and pulverized charcoal or gunpowder, or sometimes the coloring juice of a plant, is rubbed into the fresh punctures, which leaves a lasting stain.
The most usual female dress is of the style worn by the Comanche squaws, which is described in speaking of that nation. With respect to dress and other ornaments, however, the order of the civilized world is reversed among the Indians. The 'fair sex' paint less than the men—use fewer ornaments generally, and particularly, wear[p330]no pendants in the ears. While a savage beauty pays but little attention to her person, a 'brave' will spend as much time at his toilet as a French belle, in the adjustment of his ornaments—his paint, trinkets, beads and other gewgaws. A mirror is his idol: no warrior is equipped without this indispensable toilet companion, which he very frequently consults. He usually takes it from its original case, and sets it in a large fancifully carved frame of wood, which is always carried about him. He is also rarely without his tweezers, whether of a fold of tin, of hardened wood, or of spirally twisted wire, with which he carefully eradicates, not only his beard, eye-lashes and brows, but every villous particle from his body, as fast as it appears; for everything of the kind is considered as extremely unbecoming a warrior. It is on this account that Indians {292} have frequently been represented as naturally beardless.
All Indians are passionately fond of beads, trinkets and gewgaws of every kind. The men often cut up the rim of the ears in a frightful manner to admit their pendants of beads, plate, shells, etc.; and even strips of lead are sometimes twined around the separated rim, by the weight of which the detached portion of the ear is frequently swagged down some inches. It is not unusual to see near half a pound even of beads and 'jewelry' swung to each ear; and among some tribes, also a large quantity to the nose. The hair is likewise garnished with the same, and the neck with strings of beads, bear's claws, and the like; while the arms are profusely ornamented with bracelets of wire or plated metal. The 'braves' are those who commonly deck themselves with the most gaudy trappings, and would usually be taken by a stranger for the chiefs of the band, who, on the other hand, are often apparelled in the most ordinary manner.[p331]
The squaws are, in every sense of the word the slaves of the men. They are called upon to perform every toilsome service—to carry wood and make fires—to skin and dress the meat and prepare the food—to herd, drive up, saddle and unsaddle their lords' horses—to pitch and strike the lodges—to pack up the baggage, and often indeed to carry heavy loads during travel—in short, everything else pretty much but fight and hunt, which the {293} Indian boasts of, as being his peculiar, if not his sole vocations.
What little of manufacturing is done among the Indians is also the work of the women. They prepare the different articles of apparel. In embroidering moccasins and their leathern petticoats, etc., their greatest skill, particularly among the northern tribes, is exhibited. But the most extensive article of their manufacture is thebuffalo rug, which they not only prepare for their own use, but which constitutes the largest item of their traffic with the Indian traders. These are dressed and cured exclusively by the squaws.
To dress a buffalo rug, the first step is to 'flesh' the skin, or neatly scrape from the inner surface every carneous particle. This is generally done with an instrument of bone, cut something in the shape of a small adz, with a serrate edge. For this operation the skin is sometimes suspended in a frame upon the branch of a tree, or a fork of the lodge—though more commonly, perhaps, stretched with pegs upon the smooth ground, with the flesh-side up. After it dries, the spongy surface of the skin is neatly curried off with another adz-shaped bone or handle of wood, with a flat bit of iron transversely set for the blade, which is edged after the manner of a currier's instrument. The surface is then besmeared with brains (which the Canadians callmettre à la cervelle), and rolled up with the flesh-side in, in which condition it is left for two or three days. The brains of the same {294} animals are generally used; those[p332]of a buffalo being more than sufficient to dress his own hide. The pores of the skin being fully penetrated by the brains, it is again wetted, and softened by continual working and rubbing till it dries. To facilitate this last operation, it is sometimes stretched in a frame and suspended before a fire, when the inner surface is scraped with the serrated adz before mentioned, and finished off by assiduous rubbing with a pumice-stone, if that article can be had; if not, by passing the skin by small sections rapidly back and forth over a slack cord.
Buffalo rugs are often observed with a seam in the middle. This is caused by cutting them in two, partly for convenience in dressing them, and partly to take out the hollow occasioned by the hump, particularly of the bulls. The hump of the cow being less, their skins generally bear dressing without being cut. The hide is frequently split in two, however, in skinning the animal, the Indians preferring to commence on the back.
The buffalo skin is often dressed without the wool. To this end the hide is soaked in water till the hair is loosened, when it is 'curried' and 'brained,' and softened as above. Of these dressed buffalo skins (known among Mexicans asanta blanca) is made a considerable portion of the Indian clothing for both sexes—even the petticoats of the females; though these prefer buckskin when they can procure it.
The chief aliment of the Prairie Indians is {295} flesh, though in default of this they often sustain themselves for weeks together upon roots, herbs and fruits. The buffalo are the common herds of these savages, affording them 'food, raiment and shelter.' It seems there were anciently occasional cannibal tribes[207]in those regions, but not a[p333]vestige of cannibalism, as I believe, now remains; except such an inhuman appetite may be ascribed to some of the more savage warriors, who, as I have heard, in the delirium of exultant victory, have been known to devour the hearts of their bravest victims, at once to satiate their blood-thirsty propensities, and to appropriate to themselves, as they fancy, the valor of the slain enemy.
However, they make food of nearly every animal of their country, and often of insects and even the filthiest vermin. By some tribes, grasshoppers, locusts and the like are collected and dried for future use. Among nearly all the northern tribes, the flesh of the dog[208]is considered as the greatest delicacy; so much so, indeed, that when a favorite visitor is expected to dine, they are sure to have served up for him the choicest pieces from some one of the many fat whelps which pertain to every lodge. In this way travellers have often been {296} constrained to eat Indian dog-meat, and which, prejudice apart, is by no means an unsavory viand; but the flesh of the wolf, and even the American dog, is generally said to be ill-flavored and sometimes insupportable. The polecat is also a favorite food among the Indians; and though the celebrated Irving, during a "Tour on the Prairies," seems to claim a deal of credit for having "plumped into the river" a dressed polecat, whereby he prevented an Osage from "disgracing" their fire by the cooking of it, yet all travellers who have tasted the flesh of this animal have pronounced it fine, and of exquisite relish.[209]"The flesh of the skunk," observes Dr. James, in his account of Maj. Long's Expedition, "we[p334]sometimes had dressed for dinner, and found it remarkably rich and delicate food."
These wild tribes are without other kitchen utensils than an occasional kettle. They sometimes broil their meats, but often eat them raw. A savage will feast upon the warm carcass of the buffalo; selecting bits of the tenderloin, liver, etc., and it is not uncommon to see him use the gall as sauce! Feasting is one of their favorite enjoyments; though their ability to endure hunger almost exceeds belief. They will fast a week and yet retain their strength and vigor: but then when they do procure food again, it seems as if they never would be satiated.
The Indians of the Prairies have become acquainted with the medical virtues of many of their indigenous plants, which are often {297} used in connection with the vapor sweat, and cold bath: wherefore we may consider them as the primitive Thomsonians.[210]After a profuse sweating, assisted by decoctions of sudorific herbs, in a tight lodge filled with vapor by pouring water over heated stones, and while still dripping, they will leap into a pool of cold water, and afterwards wrap themselves in a buffalo rug. This course has proved successful in some diseases, and extraordinary cures have thus been performed: but in other cases, and especially in the small-pox, it has been attended with horrible fatality. They frequently let blood for disease, which is oftenest performed with the keen edge of a flint: and though they sometimes open a vein, they more commonly make their incisions indiscriminately. They have great faith in their 'medicine men,' who pretend to cure the sick with conjurations and charms; and the Comanches and many others often keep up an irksome, monotonous singing over the diseased person, to frighten away[p335]the evil spirit which is supposed to torment him: all of which, from its effect upon the imagination, often tends, no doubt, to hasten recovery.
These Indians keep no domestic animals, except horses, mules, and dogs. With the latter every lodge is abundantly supplied; yet, as has already been shown, they are more useful appendages than the annoying packs which so often infest the country cabins, and frequently the villages, in the United States. {298} Horses, however, constitute the chief wealth of the prairie Indian. These are the incentives to most of their predatory excursions. The tribes of the north in particular, as well as the white trappers, frequently maintain their horses, during winter, upon the tender bark of the sweet cottonwood, thepopulus angulataof the Mississippi valley.
The western savages know nothing of the value of money. The wampum bead, it is true, among a few tribes, somewhat resembles a currency: for, being generally esteemed, it acquires a value in proportion to size, and sometimes passes from hand to hand, in exchange for necessaries. The legitimate wampum is only of shells, and was of aboriginal manufacture; being small long tubes with an ovate surface, or sometimes simply cylindrical; and handsomely polished: but imitations of glass or porcelain seem now the most common. The color is generally white, though sometimes blue or striped.
These Indians have no knowledge of the divisions of time, except by palpable distinctions; as days, moons and years; which last they commonly represent as so many springs, or falls of the leaves, or as often by winters, that is, frosts or snows. Distances are represented by days' journey, which are oftener designated by camps or 'sleeps.' When a day's journey is spoken of in general terms, it is meant that of a band in regular travel, which rarely exceeds twenty miles.
Intermediate Tribes — Their Wigwams and their Hunting Excursions — Dress and Cut of their Hair — The Pawnees — The Osages — Their Roguery — Matrimonial Customs — Accomplished Mourners — Their Superstitions — The Indian Stature — The 'Pawnee Picts' — Wild Tribes — Census — The Comanches — Their Range — Their Sobriety — Their Chiefs, etc. — Female Chastity — Comanche Marriage — Costumes — Horsemanship — Comanche Warfare — Predatory Forays — Martial Ceremonies — Treatment of Captives — Burial and Religious Rites.toc
The tribes inhabiting near the borders of the frontier Indians differ from those that range the far-western prairies in several traits of general character. The former have their fixed villages, and, for the most part, combine the pursuits of agriculture and the chase. They form, indeed, a sort of intermediate class between the frontier and the wild tribes, resembling the one or the other in all important particulars. I will merely notice in this place a few of the characteristics by which the more conspicuous of these tribes are distinguished.
Their village wigwams differ from the lodges of the wilder tribes, in their being {300} much more substantial, and usually covered with grass and earth instead of skins. The Indians commonly remain in their villages during the inclement portion of the winter; yet most of them spend the early spring upon the Prairies in buffalo-hunting; as well as such portions of the summer and autumn as are not occupied in the cultivation and gathering of their crops, which they secure incachestill their return.
In dress they differ but little from the wilder tribes, except that, having more communication with the whites, they make greater use of our fabrics—blankets, coarse cloths, calicoes and the like. Their most striking peculiarity consists in the cut of their hair. Most of them,[p337]instead, like the Indians of the Plains, of wearing the hair long, trim and arrange it in the most fantastic style. In the care bestowed upon this part of their toilet, they cannot be excelled by the mostsoigneuxof civilized dandies. They shave a large portion of the head, but leave a fanciful lock upon the crown as a scalp-crest (an indispensable trophy for the enemy), which is in general gorgeously bedecked with painted feathers and gewgaws.
ThePawnees, who now have their principal village on the Loup Fork of the Platte river, are perhaps the most famous of these tribes. Small bands of their war-parties roam on foot through every portion of the Prairies, often to the Mexican frontier, though they generally contrive to return well mounted. {301} When upon these expeditions, they may properly enough be considered the Ishmaelites of the Prairies—their hands are against every man, and every man's hand is against them. They will skulk about in the vicinity of a prize of mules or horses for several days unsuspected, till a favorable opportunity offers to pounce upon them.
This nation is divided into four principal bands, the Grand Pawnees (orGrand Pans, as called by the Canadians), the Republics, the Mahas or Loups, and the Tapage or Noisy Pawnees. Their relatives, the Rickaras, are now considered a distinct tribe.[211]
TheOsagesare at present the most important western branch of the Dahcotah stock, after the Sioux. There are two bands of them, the Big and Little Osages.[212]Though the Pawnees stand most prominent as prairie marauders, these are unsurpassed in simple rogueries. Expertness at stealing appears indeed to constitute a part[p338]of their faith, and an all-important branch of education, in which degrees are conferred in true 'academic order;' for I have been assured, that, in their councils, the claims of the candidates to the honors of rogueship are duly considered, and to the most proficient is awarded an honorary badge—the right to wear a fancy feather stuck athwart his scalp-crest.
The habitudes of the Osages do not appear to have undergone any material change, notwithstanding the exertions of the government and the missionaries to civilize and to christianize {302} them. Some of their matrimonial customs are very curious and rather peculiar. The eldest daughter seems not only 'heiress apparent,' but, when married, becomes absolute owner of the entire property and household of her parents—family and all. While single, however, she has no authority, but is herself held as a piece of merchantable property, estimated somewhat as in civilized life, in proportion to her 'charms,' and to the value of her 'hereditaments.' She is therefore kept under the strictest watch by her parents, that she may not diminish her worth by any improper conduct.
When some warrior 'beau' has taken a fancy to the heiress and wishes to possess her and her estate of sisters, dogs, rugs and household, he takes his finest horses, (and if she be a 'belle' he need not attempt it unless he have some of the noblest), and tying them at her lodge door departs without saying a word; leaving them, like a slow-match, silently to effect his purpose. After the 'pretender' has disappeared, the matron of the premises and her lord inspect the valuables, the 'demure damsel' barely venturing a sly peep through some crevice of the wigwam. If the offer be found unworthy, the horses are sent back to the owner as silently as they came, or maybe with some apology, provided he be a warrior whom they are afraid of offending.[p339]But if accepted, the father takes instead some of his own horses and ties them at the door of the proposer, as a token of admission. If the {303} parties be without horses, some other valuables are employed in lieu. After this the marriage is solemnized with a joyous fête, and their primitive ceremonies.
But now the son-in-law is fully indemnified for his heavy 'disbursement' in thepurchaseof his bride; for he at once becomes possessor of the entire wealth of his father-in-law—master of the family-lodge and all the household: if there be a dozen younger daughters, they are allde droit—his wives or slaves as we may choose to consider them: in fact, the 'heiress' herself seems in the same predicament, and the wife among them all who may have the tact to gain the husband's affections, generally becomes mistress of the 'harem.' From the refuse of this estate of 'fair ones' the indigent warriors and inferior Indians who are not able to purchase an 'heiress' are apt to supply themselves with wives upon a cheaper scale.[213]
The Osages bury their dead according to the usual Indian mode; and, though it seems always to have been the custom among most {304} savage nations, to keep up a chorus of hideous cries and yells for a long while after the death of a relative, yet the Osages are by far the most accomplished mourners of them all. Being once encamped near a party of them, I was awakened at the dawn of day[p340]by the most doleful, piteous, heart-rending howls and lamentations. The apparently distressed mourners would cry with a protracted expiration till completely out of breath. For some instants he seemed to be in the very last agonies: then he would recover breath with a smothered, gurgling inspiration: and thus he continued for several minutes, giving vent to every variety of hideous and terrific sounds. Looking around, I perceived the weeper standing with his face towards the faint gleam which flitted from the still obscured sun. This was perhaps his idol; else he was standing thus because his deceased relation lay in that direction. A full 'choir' of these mourners (which is always joined by the howls and yelps of their myriads of dogs), imparts the most frightful horror to a wilderness camp.
It is considered among these as well as other 'crying' tribes, quite a merit to be a graceful weeper: it becomes even a profitable vocation to those whose eyes and lungs are most capacious of such things. If you tell an Osage that you have lost a kinsman or friend for whom you wish him to mourn, he will undertake the service for a trifling reward—and acquit himself with more 'credit'—more to the spirit than the best tragic {305} actor. He will mimic every exterior indication of grief and the most heart-felt wailing, till the tears trickle in torrents down his cheeks.[214]
The Osages seem generally to worship a good and evil spirit, and to believe in the most usual Indian paradise. No people can have more implicit faith in witchcraft and all kinds of sorcery and superstitions—such as holding converse with deceased friends or relations—appointing a time to die, etc.: and instances are related of their fancying[p341]themselves thus called to the world of spirits, which would so powerfully affect the imagination as to cause them to pine away, and sometimes die even to the appointed day.
Owing partially, no doubt, to the burdensome life they lead, the squaws of all the tribes are, for the most part, much more inclined to corpulency than the men. They are generally chubby and ill-favored, while the males are usually tall, erect, well-turned and active. For their proverbial straightness, however, the Osages are perhaps more famous than any of the other prairie Indians.
TheWacoes,Witchitasand their kindred tribes on Red River, are, for the most part, a very indigent race. They are chiefly remarkable for their profuse tatooing, whereby they have sometimes acquired the title of 'Pawnee Picts:' the females particularly make a perfect calico of the whole under-jaw, breast and arms, and the mammæ are fancifully ornamented with rings and rays. The tattoo, in fact, seems to constitute the chief female ornament {306} of these tribes; for their only gown consists of about a yard and a half of strouding, or else a small dressed skin, suspended from the waist, and constituting a sort of primitive petticoat. The upper portion of the body remains uncovered, except by a blanket or small skin, thrown loosely over the shoulders. The men are often without any other vesture than the flap, and sometimes a buffalo rug or blanket.
As the remaining tribes of this intermediate class present few or no distinctive characteristics, we will pass at once to the consideration of thewild tribesproper[215]of the Great[p342]Western Prairies. These neither cultivate the soil nor live in fixed villages, but lead a roving life in pursuit of plunder and game, and without ever submitting themselves to that repose—to those fixed habits, which must always precede any progress in civilization. But as theComanchesare the only tribe of these 'wandering Arabs' of the Plains which {307} present any distinguishing features of interest—any prominent points of national character—the remarks that follow will be devoted almost exclusively to them.
The relationship of the Comanches to the Snakes or Shoshonies, shows them to have descended from the north: in fact, it is but half a century since their range was from the Arkansas river northward; but at present this stream is theirultima Thule. Yet they even now acknowledge no boundaries, but call themselves the lords of the entire Prairies—all others are but 'tenants at will.' They lead a wandering sort of life, betaking themselves whithersoever the seasons or the habits of the buffalo, their chief object of pursuit, may lead them. Although during summer they are not unfrequently found as far north as the Arkansas river, their winters they usually pass about the head branches of the Brazos and Colorado rivers of Texas.
In their domestic habits, these Indians, for the most part, resemble the other wild tribes; yet in some respects they differ materially. One of the most interesting traits of difference is to be found in their distaste for ardent[p343]spirits: but few of them can be induced to taste a drop of intoxicating liquors; thus forming an exception, I believe, to the entire race of the 'red man,' who appears to have a constitutional appetite for strong drinks. The frontier as well as the prairie tribes—the Mexican as well as the Mountain Indians—all are equally slaves to their use.
{308} The Comanches are divided into numerous petty bands, each under the control of its own particular chief. When a chief becomes old and care-worn, he exercises but the 'civil authority' of his clan; while his son, if deemed worthy, otherwise some distinguished brave, assumes, by 'common consent,' the functions of war-chief. As is the case with all barbarous tribes, their chiefs assume every judicial and executive authority. Complaints are made to them and sentence summarily pronounced, and often as summarily executed. For most offences, the chief, if he considers his authority sufficiently well established, freely uses the rod upon his subjects. He rarely attempts this, however, upon noted warriors or 'braves,' whose influence and resentment he may have reason to fear. The punishment of murder among these, as among most of the savage nations, devolves upon the bereaved relatives, who are free to pursue and punish the perpetrators according to their own liking, which is seldom short of death. But the offended party, if disposed to compromise, has also the privilege of accepting a commutation and releasing the murderer.
The husband seems to have complete power over the destinies of his wife and children. For adultery, his punishment is most usually to cut off the nose or ears,[216]or {309} both; and he may even take the life of his unfaithful wife[p344]with impunity. The squaw who has been mutilated for such a cause, isipso factodivorced, and, it is said, for ever precluded from marrying again. The consequence is, that she becomes a confirmed harlot in the tribe. Owing in part, no doubt, to such severity in their customs, the Comanche squaws have ever been noted for their chastity. This may result also, in some degree, from the circumstance, that the Comanche husbands, fathers and brothers, seldom or never subject their wives, daughters and sisters, to that debasing traffic practised among so many of the northern nations.
Like other wild tribes, the Comanches tolerate polygamy, the chiefs and braves sometimes taking as many as eight or ten wives at a time. Three is considered the usual number, however, for 'subjects' or common warriors, and nine for the chiefs. Their marriage ceremonies vary in different bands; but the following has been represented as the most usual. Unlike most other tribes, the consent of the maiden has to be obtained. This done, the lover, from apparent delicacy, goes not to the father of his intended, but, in accordance with a custom which prevails among some other tribes, communicates his desire to an uncle or other aged relative, who enters into the marriage contract. The parties, however, are not yet fully betrothed; but, as a test of the submission of the bride to the service of her proposed lord, the latter ties his riding-horse {310} at her lodge door. If she turn him loose, she has resolved finally to reject him; but if she lead him to thecaballada, it is an unequivocal agreement to take the charge of his horses and other property; and the marriage is soon concluded. The 'uncle' now communicates the engagement to the chief, who causes the 'bans' to be published, that no other wooer may interfere. As the horse is with them the type of every important interest, the bridegroom next[p345]proceeds to kill the least valuable one he is possessed of; and, taking out the heart, hangs it at the door of his betrothed, who takes and roasts it, and then dividing it into two parts, each eats a half, which perfects the bond of wedlock. The heart of the buffalo or other animal may perhaps be substituted, if the bridegroom has not a superabundance of horses. Should the circumstances of the parties admit of it, the marriage is usually celebrated with feasting and dances; though, in general, the Comanches are less fond of dancing than most other Indians.
The Comanche dress consists of the usual leggins, moccasins, flap and blanket or robe. Many wear in addition a kind of leathern jerkin, or tight jacket closed before. Their moccasins differ from those of other tribes, by having a lengthy tassel of leathern fringes attached to the heels, which trail the ground as they walk. Instead of this fringe, the tassels sometimes consists of the tail of a polecat or some other animal. When he can procure {311} it, the young warrior is wont to wear a mantle and leggins of strouding. Both of these articles, according to the 'latest fashions,' should be one-half red, the other blue. The bi-colored mantle, as well as the blanket or buffalo rug, is carelessly thrown over the shoulders, and must be long enough to drag the ground; for they seem to have an instinct for the 'regal grandeur of a sweeping gown.'