Eleven Ojibbeway Indians arrive from London—Their exhibitions in the Author’s Collection—Portraits and description of—Their amusements—Their pledge to sobriety—Chickabobboo explained to them—Birth of a Pappoose—M. Gudin—Indians and the Author dine with him—His kind lady—The Author breakfasts with the Royal Family in the palace at St. Cloud—Two Kings and two Queens at the table—The Author presented to the King and Queen of the Belgians by Louis Philippe, in the salon—Count de Paris—Duc de Brabant—Recollects the Indian pipe and mocassins presented to him by the Author in the Egyptian Hall—Duchess of Orleans—The Princess Adelaide—The King relates anecdotes of his life in America—Washington’s farewell address—Losing his dog in the Seneca village—Crossing Buffalo Creek—Descending the Tioga and Susquehana rivers in an Indian canoe, to Wyoming, the Author’s native valley—The King desires the Author to arrange his whole Collection in the Louvre for the private views of the Royal Family—He also appoints a day to see the Ojibbeways in the Park, at St. Cloud—Great rejoicing of the Indians—A dog-feast—The Indians and the Author dine a second time at M. Gudin’s.

In the midst of my grief, with my little family around me, with my collection still open, and my lease for the Salle Valentino not yet expired, there suddenly arrived from London a party of eleven Ojibbeway Indians, from the region of Lake Huron, in Upper Canada, who had been brought to England by a Canadian, but had since been under the management of a young man from the city of London. They had heard of the great success of the Ioways in Paris, and also of their sudden departure, and were easily prevailed upon to make a visit there. On their arrival, I entered into the same arrangement with them that I had with the two former parties, agreeing with the young man who had charge of them to receive them into my collection, sharing the expenses and receipts as I had done before; he being obligated to pay the Indians a certain sum per month, and bound to return them to London, from whence they came, at his own expense. As my collection was all arranged and prepared, I thought such an arrangement calculated to promote their interest and my own, and in a few days their arrival and exhibitions were announced, they having been quartered in the same apartments which had been occupied by the Ioways before them.

The following are the names of the party, with their respective ages given (see Plate No. 18):—

The chief of this party, Maun-gua-daus, was a remarkably fine man, both in his personal appearance and intellectual faculties. He was a half-caste, and, speaking the English language tolerably well, acted as chief and interpreter of the party.

The War-chief, Say-say-gon, was also a fine and intelligent Indian, full-blooded, and spoke no English. The several younger men were generally good-looking, and exceedingly supple and active, giving great life and excitement to their dances. In personal appearance the party, taken all together, was less interesting than that of the Ioways, yet, at the same time, their dances and other amusements were equally, if not more spirited and beautiful than those of their predecessors. Thus, in the midst of my sorrow, I was commencing anxieties again, and advertised the arrival of the new party, and the commencement of their exhibitions. They began with more limited but respectable audiences, and seemed to please and surprise all who came, by the excitement of their dances and their skill in shooting with the bow and arrows, in the last of which they far surpassed the Ioways. It was impossible, however, by all the advertising that could be done, to move the crowds again that had been excited to see the Ioways; the public seeming to have taken the idea that these were merely an imitation got up to take advantage of their sudden departure. It happened quite curious, that, although the party consisted of eleven when they arrived, about the time of the commencement of their exhibitions the wife of the chief was delivered of a pappoose, which was born in the same room where the poor wife of the Little Wolf had died. This occurrence enabled us to announce the party as twelve—the same number as the Ioways; which, with the name somewhat similar, furnished very strong grounds for many of the Parisians to believe that they were paying their francs to see their own countrymen aping the Indians of America.

It seemed strange that it was so difficult to do away this impression, which operated against them the whole time they were in Paris, though all who saw them but a moment were satisfied and pleased. Their amusements were much like those of the Ioways, but with national differences in the modes of giving them, which were, to the curious, subjects of great interest.

The same hours were adopted for their exhibitions—the same vehicles were contracted for, for their daily exercise and sight-seeing—and their guardian, with Daniel, took charge of all their movements on these occasions. Their daily routine therefore was in most respects the same as that of the Ioways, and it would be waste of valuable time here for me to follow them through all.

We held the council, as we had done in the other cases, before our arrangements were entered upon, and all was placed upon the condition that they were to conduct themselves soberly, and to drink no spirituous liquors. The temperance pledge was therefore given, after I had explained to them that, with the two other parties, ale in England, and vin ordinaire in France, when taken to a moderate degree, were not included in the term “spirituous liquors,” and that they would of course, as the other parties had been indulged, have their regular glass at their dinners, and also after their suppers, and before going to bed; and that they would call it, as the others had done, chickabobboo. This indulgence seemed to please them very much, and, being at a loss to know the meaning of chickabobboo, I took an occasion to give them the history of the word, which they would see was of Ojibbeway origin, and, laughing excessively at the ingenuity of their predecessors, they all resolved to keep up their word, and to be sure at the same time not to drop their custom, of taking the licensed glasses of chickabobboo.

Amongst the kind friends whom this party made in Paris, one of the best was M. Gudin, the celebrated marine painter, in the employment of the King. This most excellent gentleman and his kind lady were frequent visitors to their exhibitions, and several times invited the whole party and myself to dine at their table, and spend the day in the beautiful grounds around his noble mansion (the “Chateau Beaujon”), and, in its present improved condition, little less than a palace.

Not only will the Indians feel bound for life to acknowledge their gratitude to this kind lady and gentleman, but the writer of these notes will feel equally and more so for the kind and unmerited attentions they paid to him during his stay in Paris. It was through the friendly agency of M. Gudin that the King invited my collection to the Louvre, and myself, in company with him, to the royal breakfast-table in the palace at St. Cloud. I take no little satisfaction in recording here these facts, not only for myself, but injustice to one of the most distinguished painters (and one of the best fellows) of the age. On this occasion, the proudest one of my wild and erratic life, we were conducted through several rooms of the palace to the one in which the Royal Family, chiefly all assembled, with their numerous guests, were standing and ready to be seated around a circular table of 15 or 18 feet in diameter, at which, our seats being indicated to us, and the bow of recognition (so far as we were able to recognise acquaintances) having been made, all were seated. This extraordinary occasion of my life was rendered peculiarly memorable and gratifying to me, from the fact that there were two Kings and two Queens at the table, and nearly every member of the Royal Family. The King and Queen of the Belgians, who were at that time on a visit to Paris, with his Royal Highness the little Duc de Brabant, were the unusual Royal guests at the table on the occasion. The number of persons at the table, consisting of the two Royal Families, the King’s aides-de-camp, and orderly officers of the palace, with the invited guests, amounted to about 30 in all; and as Kings and Queens and royal families eat exactly like other people, I see nothing further that need be noticed until their Majesties arose and retired to the salon or drawing-room, into which we all followed. I was there met as I entered, in the most gracious and cordial manner by His Majesty, who presented me to the King of the Belgians, who did me the honour to address me in these words:—“I am very happy, Mr. Catlin, to meet a gentleman whose name is familiar to us all, and who has done so much for science, and also for the poor Indians. You know that the Queen, and myself, and the Duc de Brabant were all subscribers to your valuable work, and we have taken great interest in reading it.”

The two heirs-apparent, the little Count de Paris and His Royal Highness the Duc de Brabant, came to me, and, recognising me, inquired about the Indians. The conversation with her Majesty, and also with the Princess Adelaide, and the Duchess of Orleans, was about the Indians, who they had heard had gone home, and in whom they all seemed to have taken a deep interest.

The little Duc de Brabant recollected the small pipe and mocassins I had presented him when he visited my collection in the Egyptian Hall, under the protection of the Hon. Mr. Murray.

I had a few minutes’ conversation with the King of the Belgians, and also with the graceful and pensive Duchess of Orleans, and our ears were then all turned to the recitals of his Majesty, around whom we had gathered, whilst he was relating several scenes of his early life in America, in company with his two brothers, the Duc de Montpensier and the Count Beaujolais, which it seemed my advent with the Indians had brought up with unusual freshness in his mind.

He commented in the most eloquent terms upon the greatness and goodness of General Washington, and told us that he and his brothers were lucky enough to have been present and heard his farewell address in Philadelphia, which he had been in the habit of reflecting upon as one of the most pleasurable and satisfactory incidents of his life.

He gave us an amusing account of his horse getting mired in crossing Buffalo Creek, and of his paying a visit to the tribe of Seneca Indians, near to the town of Buffalo, on Lake Erie:—

After reciting this amusing incident, his Majesty described to me the route which he and his brothers took from Buffalo to the falls of Niagara, and thence on horseback to Geneva, a small town at the foot of the Seneca Lake, where they sold their horses, and, having purchased a small boat, rowed it 90 miles to Ithaca, at the head of the lake. From thence they travelled on foot, with their luggage carried on their backs, 30 miles to Tioga, on the banks of the Susquehana, where they purchased a canoe from the Indians, and descended in it that romantic and beautiful river, to a small town called Wilkesbarre, in the valley of Wyoming.

From thence, with their knapsacks on their backs, they crossed the Wilkesbarre and Pokono mountains to Easton, and from thence were conveyed in a coach to Philadelphia.

I here surprised his Majesty a little, and his listeners, and seemed to add a fresh interest to his narrative, by informing him that I was a native of Wilkesbarre, in the valley of Wyoming, and that while his Majesty was there I was an infant in my mother’s arms, only a few months old.

He related a number of pleasing recollections of his visit to my native valley, and then gave us an account of an Indian ball-play amongst the Cherokees and Choctaws, where he saw 500 or 600 engaged, during the whole day, before the game was decided; and he pronounced it one of the most exciting and beautiful scenes he had ever beheld.

After an hour or so spent in amusing us with the pleasing reminiscences of his wild life in America, he expressed a wish to see my collection, and requested me to place it in a large hall in the Louvre, for the private views of the Royal Family; and also appointed a day and an hour when he would be glad to see the Ojibbeway Indians at St. Cloud, and desired me to accompany them.

From the Palace, my friend M. Gudin, at the request of the King, proceeded with me to Paris and to the Louvre, with his Majesty’s command to M. de Caillaux, director of the Louvre, to prepare the Salle de SÉance for the reception of my collection, which was ordered to be arranged in it. My return from thence to the Indians, with the information that they were to visit the King, created a pleasing excitement amongst them, and, as the reader can easily imagine, great joy and rejoicing.

This was an excitement and a piece of good news to the poor fellows that could not be passed over without some signal and unusual notice, and the result was, that a dog-feast was to be the ceremony for the next day. Consequently a dog was procured at an early hour, and, according to the custom of their country, was roasted whole, and, when ready, was partaken of with a due observance of all the forms used in their own country on such occasions, it being strictly a religious ceremony.

The same indulgence in seeing the sights of Paris, and of exercise in the open air, was shown to them as to the other party; and the same carriages contracted for, to give them their daily drives; in all of which they were accompanied by their guardian, to whom the sights of Paris were also new and equally entertaining, and they all made the best use of their time in these amusements.

Their good friend M. Gudin appointed another day for the whole party to dine at his house, and having a number of distinguished guests at his table, the scene was a very brilliant and merry one. The orator of the party was the chief Maun-gua-daus, though on this occasion the War-chief, whose name was Say-say-gon (the Hail-storm), arose at the table and addressed M. Gudin and his lady in a very affectionate manner; thanking them for their kindness to them, who were strangers in Paris and a great way from their homes, and at the same time proposing to give to his friend M. Gudin a new name, saying that, whenever the Indians made a new friend whom they loved very much, they liked to call him by a name that had some meaning to it, and he should hereafter call him by the name of Ken-ne-wab-a-min (the Sun that guides us through the Wilderness).

There were several gentlemen of high rank and titles present, and all seemed much entertained with the appearance and conduct of the Indians.