Mouth of the Konzas—Arrival at Wolf River—Journey by land from Fort Osage to the village of the Konzas.
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Wishing to extend our examinations between Fort Osage and the Konzas river, also between that river and the Platte, a party was detached from the steam-boat, with[pg172] instructions to cross the Konzas at the Konza village, thence to traverse the country by the nearest route to the Platte, and to descend that river to the Missouri. The party consisted of Mr. Say, to whom the command was entrusted, Messrs. Jessup, Peale, and Seymour, Cadet Swift, Mr. J. Dougherty, and five soldiers. They were furnished with three pack-horses, and a supply of provisions for ten days. Thus organized and equipped, they commenced their march on the afternoon of August 6th, accompanied by Major Biddle and his servant.
After their departure, the steam-boat was delayed a few days at Fort Osage. On the ninth, a part of the troops destined for the Missouri service arrived in keel-boats. Colonel Chambers, with the principal part of his regiment, were still at Fort Osage, awaiting the arrival of supplies of provisions now daily expected.
On the following day we resumed our journey, and were accompanied about ten miles by Mr. Sibley, agent of Indian affairs, and his lady, to whom the gentlemen of the party were indebted for numerous hospitable attentions during their stay at Fort Osage; also by Captain Bissel, and Lieutenant Pentland,[139] of the rifle regiment, who returned in a skiff. Our progress was much impeded by shoals and rapids in the {101} river, but we succeeded in passing these without warping, and anchored at sunset, having ascended eighteen miles.
Between Fort Osage and the mouth of the Konzas river, a distance of about fifty-two miles, are many rapid places[pg173] in the Missouri. We were able to ascend all these, except one, without towing. It was with some difficulty we supplied our furnace with wood of a suitable quality. The forests of the Missouri, though limited in extent, are deep and shady, and though the atmosphere is perceptibly less humid than in the forests of the Mississippi, fallen trees, whose wood is soft and porous like that of the linden and cotton tree, absorb much moisture from the ground. It was only when we were so fortunate as to find a dry mulberry, ash, or cotton-wood still standing, that we could procure fuel well adapted to our purpose. Much time was of necessity expended in cutting and bringing on board our supplies of this article, and the additional delay occasioned by the numerous obstacles to the easy navigation of the river, made our ascent somewhat tedious.
The mouth of the Konzas river was so filled with mud, deposited by the late flood in the Missouri, as scarcely to admit the passage of our boat, though with some difficulty we ascended that river about a mile, and then returning dropped anchor opposite its mouth. The spring freshets subside in the Konzas, the Osage, and all those tributaries that do not derive their sources from the Rocky Mountains, before the Missouri reaches its greatest fulness; consequently the waters of the latter river, charged with mud, flow into the mouths of its tributaries, and there becoming nearly stagnant, deposit an extensive accumulation of mud and slime. The Konzas river has a considerable resemblance to the Missouri; but its current is more moderate, and the water less turbid, except at times of high floods. Its valley, like that of the Missouri, has a deep and fertile soil, bearing similar {102} forests of cotton-wood, sycamore, &c., interspersed with meadows; but, in ascending, trees[pg174] become more and more scattered, and at length disappear almost entirely, the country, at its sources, being one immense prairie.[140]
We sailed from the mouth of the Konzas on the 13th of August. Numerous sand-bars occur in the Missouri above that point, and these occasioned us some delay. The water having fallen several feet, we had less velocity of current to contend against, but found it more necessary to keep in the channel, and could not so often take advantage of the eddy currents below the points and along the shore.
A party of white hunters were encamped on the Missouri, not far above the Konzas. In the rudeness of their deportment and dress, they appeared to us to surpass the savages themselves. They are usually the most abandoned and worthless among the whites who adopt the life of wandering hunters: frequently they are men whose crimes have excluded them from society.
Eighteen miles above the Konzas river, and five above the Little Platte, is a large island, which, from its rhombic form, has received the name of Diamond island. The principal channel is on the north side. It is difficult to pass, being much obstructed by sand-bars. Four miles above this is a small group, called the Three Islands; and two miles further another cluster, known as the Four Islands, and by the French as the Isles des Parcs, or Field Islands. At each of these places, as in the neighbourhood of islands generally, the navigation is difficult.[141]
[pg175]
The site of an old village of the Konzas, and the remains of a fortification erected by the French, were pointed out a few miles below Isle au Vache. This island, which lies about one hundred miles above Fort Osage, was the wintering post of Capt. Martin's detachment, destined to proceed in advance of the troops ordered to the Missouri. Captain Martin, {103} with three companies of the rifle regiment, left Bellefontain in September 1818, and arrived at Isle au Vache in October, with the expectation of resuming his march as early in the following spring as the weather would permit. But not having received the necessary supplies of provisions as anticipated, they had been compelled to remain till the time of our arrival, subsisting themselves principally by hunting. Fortunately this part of the country afforded so much game, that a competent supply was easily obtained. Between two and three thousand deer, beside great numbers of bears, turkies, &c., had been taken. The arrival of the boats, laden with provisions, now furnished them the means of continuing their ascent, and they had the prospect of departing within a few days.[142]
[pg176]
Previous to our departure from Fort Osage, Major O'Fallon, the Indian agent who accompanied us, had sent a messenger across the country by land to the Konzas nation of Indians, residing on the Konzas river, summoning their chiefs to a council, to be held at Isle au Vache, on the arrival of the Western Engineer.[143] Agreeably to the message sent by an interpreter, the Indians had been expected on the 18th, but did not arrive until the 23d of August, having been absent, when the messenger reached their village, on a hunting excursion. As soon as they received the invitation, they repaired with all convenient speed to the appointed place, having sent runners before, to apprise us of their approach.
The interpreter, who returned with them, brought intelligence of the safe arrival of Mr. Say and his party, and of their kind reception at the Konza village. We were sorry to learn that Mr. Say had been in ill health, and had not entirely recovered.
On the 24th, the chiefs and principal men of the Konzas, to the number of one hundred and fifty, assembled under an arbour prepared for their reception. The Indian agent addressed them in a speech {104} adapted to the occasion, setting forth the causes of complaint which they had given[pg177] by their repeated insults and depredations upon the whites, giving them notice of the approach of a military force, of sufficient strength to chastise their insolence, and advising them to seize the present opportunity of averting the vengeance they deserved by proper concessions, and by their future good behaviour to conciliate those, whose friendship they would have so much occasion to desire.
The replies of the chiefs were simple and short, expressive of their conviction of the justice of the complaints made against them, and of their acquiescence in the terms of reconciliation proposed by the agent. There were present at this council one hundred and sixty-one Konzas, including chiefs and warriors, and thirteen Osages. The most distinguished men were Na-he-da-ba, or Long Neck, one of the principal chiefs. Ka-he-ga-wa-ta-ning-ga, Little Chief, second in rank. Shon-ga-ne-ga, who had been one of the principal chiefs, but had resigned his authority in favour of Ka-he-ga-wa-ta-ning-ga. Wa-ha-che-ra, Big Knife, a partizan or leader of war parties. Wom-pa-wa-ra, He who scares all men, more commonly known to the whites as Plume Blanche, or White Plume, a man rising rapidly in importance, and apparently destined to become the leader of the nation.[144] In addition to the Indians, the officers of the garrison and a few gentlemen were present at the council. The ceremonies were commenced by a discharge of ordnance from the steamboat; the flags were hoisted in their appropriate places, a council flag being placed near the chair occupied by the agent. The Indians appeared gratified at the displays[pg178] made on the occasion, but their attention was more particularly aroused by the exhibition of a few rockets and shells, fired for their entertainment. At our departure, which, on account of the Indians, was delayed until the 25th of August, many {105} of them were present, and manifested some surprise at witnessing the operations of the steam-boat.[145]
It was thought advisable to make some addition to our force at Isle au Vache, as we should soon be in advance of the troops on the Missouri, and might be exposed to insults and depredations, from some of the numerous tribes of Indians. Accordingly, on application to Colonel Morgan, a boat and fifteen men, under the command of Lieutenant Fields, were detailed for this duty, and directed to regulate their movements agreeably to the orders of the commanding officer of the exploring expedition.[146] These men were[pg179] furnished with provisions for sixty days, and having embarked on board a keel-boat, called the General Smith, they sailed in company with the Western Engineer. A favourable wind springing up, we proceeded in the course of the day about twenty-three miles, and encamped at night near the entrance of a small stream, called Independence Creek. A little above, and on the south side of the river, is the site of an old Konza town, formerly called the village of the Twenty-four.[147] Above Cow Island the Missouri is more serpentine in direction than below, and the difficulties of the navigation we found by no means diminished as we ascended. The bed of the river in many places is broad, and the water distributed into small channels separated by sand-bars. About fifty miles above Cow Island we passed a spot that had lately been occupied as a hunting camp by Captain Martin, who had been here to procure the requisite provisions for the subsistence of his party.
At the Yellow Banks we found the bluffs elevated about one hundred and fifty feet above the surface of the valley.[148] Barometric observations, several times repeated, gave nearly the same result at some points below. One hundred[pg180] and fifty feet may, therefore, be assumed as the medium depth of the immediate valley of the Missouri; its aggregate width, for the {106} first five hundred miles above the Mississippi, may be estimated at about three miles. The corresponding appearances in the strata of the opposite sides of this valley, as well as its entire form and character, indicate it to have been formed by the river. But far more than that vast body of soil and of rocky strata, which formerly filled the space now occupied by the immediate valley of the river, has been removed by the Missouri. From the summit of the bluffs there is a sloping ascent towards the interior of the country; and it is probable the aggregate elevation of the great plains is not less than three hundred feet above the surface of the river. If we admit that this great valley, with its numerous ramifications, has resulted from the operation of currents, wearing down and transporting to the ocean the solid materials of the earth's surface, it would appear necessary still farther to acknowledge that this channel was once much deeper than at present, for we usually meet with thick alluvial depositions covering the rocks that line the bottom of the Missouri valley. The manifest tendency of the operation of the Mississippi, at this time, upon its valley, is to fill up rather than to excavate; but it may be doubted whether this is equally, or even to any degree, the case with the Missouri. The aggregate mass of alluvion within the valley of the Missouri is, undoubtedly, moving downwards, with considerable rapidity; for the quantity of earthy matter carried into the Mississippi is, at all times, very great. In their descent the alluvial substances are alternately deposited and swept away, as by the variations in the direction of the current any particular point is, from time[pg181] to time, either exposed to, or sheltered from, the action of the stream.
About eighty-seven miles above Cow Island is the mouth of the Nodowa, a river of some importance, being about seventy yards wide, and navigable to some distance. It is not usually seen in passing, being {107} concealed by the island called the Great Nodowa, which is about five miles long, and covered with heavy forests. The lands on the Nodowa are of an excellent quality.[149]
On the 1st of September, we were under the necessity of remaining encamped near the mouth of Wolf river,[150] that some repairs might be made to the steam engine. Here we sent out some persons to hunt, who after a short time returned, having taken a deer, a turkey, and three swarms of bees, which afforded us about half a barrel of honey. On the trees which margin the river, we frequently observed a fine species of squirrel, which possesses all the graceful activity of the common gray squirrel, as it leaps from bough to bough.[151] After our machinery was adjusted,[pg182] we resumed our ascent, and had proceeded a short distance, when we were hailed from shore by Mr. Dougherty, who had accompanied Mr. Say's party across the country. We were not a little surprised at this unexpected meeting, and were apprehensive some disaster had befallen the detachment.
Mr. Dougherty being received on board, informed us that Mr. Peale, Mr. Swift, Mr. Seymour, Chaboneau the Indian interpreter,[152] and one of the soldiers, were at a little distance in the rear, having accompanied him across the country, from Cow Island, where they had arrived five days after our departure. Mr. Say and Mr. Jessup had been left sick at Cow Island. We encamped immediately, to give those who were near an opportunity of joining us. It will now be necessary to return to the time of Mr. Say's[pg183] departure from Fort Osage, and briefly to trace the progress of his detachment to the place where a rencontre with a war-party of Pawnees frustrated their design, and made it necessary for them to rejoin the steam-boat.
Mr. Say's detachment, consisting of twelve men and a boy, furnished with three pack-horses for the {108} transportation of baggage, departed from Fort Osage on the evening of August 6th. Their route lay westward across the woodless plains about the sources of the Hay Cabin, Blue Water, and Warreruza Creek. The cliffs along the Blue Water are naked perpendicular rocks. In the vallies numerous Indian encampments occurred, which appeared not long since to have been occupied. These were most frequently seen at the points, where the streams making almost a complete circuit, and nearly enclosing a small tract of ground, afforded an important protection against the approach of an enemy. The prairies about the head waters of the Warreruza abound in game. Here ravens were first seen by the party, and numbers of large banded rattlesnakes were killed. The blowing flies swarmed in inconceivable numbers, attacking not only the provision of the party, but depositing their eggs upon the blankets, clothing, and even on the furniture of the horses. On the 11th of August they arrived at some elevated ridges, from which they overlooked an extensive country, and could trace the whole course of the Wahrengeho, or Full Creek, diverging slightly from the Konzas, and could readily perceive timber upon several of its head branches. The lands between the head waters of Full Creek and the Konzas are not so good as those about the sources of the Warreruza, and produce less timber. The settlement of this region will be much retarded[pg184] on account of the want of trees, these being confined to the margins of the watercourses, while tracts of valuable soil, of many miles in extent, have not a single tree or bush upon them. The soil is, however, well adapted to the culture of some of our most valuable forest trees. The sugar-maple, and several of the most important species of carya, the oaks, the tulip-tree, and the linden, would unquestionably succeed.[153]
In consequence of the excessive heat of the weather, the great fatigues of the party, and their constant {109} exposure in the open plains, the health of several of them began to be impaired. The high and coarse grasses, which now covered the plains, greatly impeded their progress, and very rapidly destroyed their clothing and mockasins. Their journey was, therefore, slow and laborious. On the night of the 13th they encamped on the bank of the Konzas, having travelled some distance parallel to the course of[pg185] that river. The next day several of the party, already much debilitated, began to be afflicted with dysentery; some accidents also occurred to retard their progress, and on that and the following day they advanced only two miles. On the 16th they marched about fifteen miles, and encamped on the bank of the Konzas. Being now in doubt as to the situation of the Konza village, and the illness of some of the party continuing, they determined to remain encamped, while some persons should be sent out to reconnoitre the country, and discover, if possible, whether that part of the river at which they had arrived, was above or below the village they designed to visit.[154] The Konzas river, in this part, bears the closest resemblance to the Missouri, both in the turbulence and rapidity of its current, and the aspect of the country along its banks; it is, however, so shoal as at almost any point to admit of being forded without difficulty.
Willow islands, moving sand-bars, and falling-in banks, are as frequent as in the Missouri. The line of forest which skirts the banks, including the bed of the river, is about half a mile wide, but not entirely uninterrupted.[pg186] The course of the river is remarkably serpentine, forming woodland points alternately on both sides.
After crossing and recrossing the river, and extending their search in every direction, they had the satisfaction at last to fall in with a beaten path leading up the river, and which their guide and interpreter was confident would conduct them to the Konza village.
{110} On the morning of the 19th, they passed across a wide and fertile prairie to the Vermillion, a stream which enters the Konzas from the north-west. It is four feet deep, and about twenty yards wide.[155] Here they halted in the middle of the day, and dined on the flesh of a black wolf, the only game they were able to procure.
About Vermillion Creek are some open forests of oak, not extending far on either side. The trees are from fifteen to twenty-five feet high, and from one foot to eighteen inches in diameter, standing at a considerable distance from each other.
On the day following, the Konza village was descried at a distance. The detachment immediately halted to arrange their dress, and inspect their firearms. This was thought the more necessary, as no party of whites had visited the village since a number of the Konzas had received a whipping at Isle au Vache, and it was a matter of doubt, whether the party would meet a friendly reception.
As they approached the village, they perceived the tops of the lodges red with the crowds of natives; the chiefs and warriors came rushing out on horseback, painted and decorated, and followed by great numbers on foot. Mr.[pg187] Say and his party were received with the utmost cordiality, and conducted into the village by the chiefs, who went before and on each side, to protect them from the encroachments of the crowd. On entering the village the crowd readily gave way before the party, but followed them into the lodge assigned to them, and completely and most densely filled the spacious apartment, with the exception only of a small space opposite to the entrance, where the party seated themselves on the beds, still protected from the pressure of the crowd by the chiefs, who took their seats on the ground immediately before them. After the ceremony of smoking with the latter, the object which the party had in view in passing through their territories was explained to them, and {111} seemed to be perfectly satisfactory. At the lodge of the principal chief they were regaled with jerked bison meat and boiled corn, and were afterwards invited to six feasts in immediate succession. Chaboneau and the old Frenchman, who had been despatched from Fort Osage, to summon the Konzas to meet the agent at Isle au Vache, had arrived some days previous; but the nation being at that time absent on a hunting excursion, the interpreters, after reaching the village, had proceeded immediately into the plains in pursuit of them. At the time of the arrival of our detachment, the village was in confusion, the hunters having lately returned, and being then engaged in preparations for the journey to Isle au Vache. Two runners were despatched to give notice to Major O'Fallon, that his summons had been received; and at the same time the chiefs and principal warriors departed for the place appointed. Before his departure, the principal chief was careful to appoint a fit person to attend Mr. Say's party, and arrangements were made to promote[pg188] their comfort and convenience, while they should remain at the village.
Many reports had been circulated among the Konzas respecting the invitation to council their chiefs had received. They were conscious of having recently offended, by firing on Major O'Fallon, and by insulting and plundering several soldiers of Captain Martin's command. For these offences they had been in some measure punished at the time, Major O'Fallon having returned their fire from his boat, and not entirely without effect, as was supposed; several also had been flogged by the orders of Captain Martin; yet they did not consider themselves secure from the vengeance of the whites. Many believed that at the time of the anticipated council, barrels of gunpowder were to be placed in the earth to destroy them at once. The two runners, who had been despatched, quarrelled before they had gone far; one saying, all {112} the things that had been told them by the interpreters were lies, for which assertion he was struck to the ground by his companion. In this situation they were found by the advancing chiefs. Finally, a dispute happened between the chiefs themselves respecting rank, in consequence of which ten or twelve of them returned to the village.
Mr. Say, who spent some time among the Konzas, gives, in his notes, the following account of that nation:
"The approach to the village is over a fine level prairie of considerable extent; passing which, you ascend an abrupt bank of the height of ten feet to a second level, on which the village is situate in the distance, within about one-fourth of a mile of the river. It consists of about a hundred and twenty lodges, placed as closely together as convenient, and destitute of any regularity of arrangement. The ground[pg189] area of each lodge is circular, and is excavated to the depth of from one to three feet, and the general form of the exterior may be denominated hemispheric.
"The lodge in which we reside is larger than any other in the town, and being that of a grand chief, it serves as a council-house for the nation. The roof is supported by two series of pillars, or rough vertical posts, forked at top for the reception of the transverse connecting pieces of each series; twelve of these pillars form the outer series, placed in a circle; and eight longer ones the inner series, also describing a circle; the outer wall, of rude frame-work, placed at a proper distance from the exterior series of pillars, is five or six feet high. Poles, as thick as the leg at base, rest with their butts upon the wall, extending on the cross-pieces, which are upheld by the pillars of the two series, and are of sufficient length to reach nearly to the summit. These poles are very numerous, and, agreeably to the position which we have indicated, they are placed all round in a radiating {113} manner, and support the roof like rafters. Across these are laid long and slender sticks or twigs, attached parallel to each other by means of bark cord; these are covered by mats made of long grass, or reeds, or with the bark of trees; the whole is then covered completely over with earth, which, near the ground, is banked up to the eaves. A hole is permitted to remain in the middle of the roof to give exit to the smoke. Around the walls of the interior, a continuous series of mats are suspended; these are of neat workmanship, composed of a soft reed united by bark cord, in straight or undulated lines, between which lines of black paint sometimes occur. The bedsteads are elevated to the height of a common seat from the ground, and are about six feet wide; they extend[pg190] in an uninterrupted line around three-fourths of the circumference of the apartment, and are formed in the simplest manner of numerous sticks, or slender pieces of wood resting at their ends on cross pieces, which are supported by short notched or forked posts, driven into the ground; bison-skins supply them with a comfortable bedding. Several medicine or mystic bags are carefully attached to the mats of the wall; these are cylindrical, and neatly bound up; several reeds are usually placed upon them, and a human scalp serves for their fringe and tassels. Of their contents we know nothing.
"The fire-place is a simple shallow cavity, in the centre of the apartment, with an upright and a projecting arm for the support of the culinary apparatus. The latter is very simple in kind, and limited in quantity, consisting of a brass kettle, an iron pot, and wooden bowls and spoons; each person, male as well as female, carries a large knife in the girdle of the breech cloth behind, which is used at their meals, and sometimes for self-defence. During our stay with these Indians they ate four or five times each day, invariably supplying us with the best pieces, or choice {114} parts, before they attempted to taste the food themselves.
"They commonly placed before us a sort of soup, composed of maize of the present season, of that description which, having undergone a certain preparation, is appropriately named sweet corn, boiled in water, and enriched with a few slices of bison meat, grease, and some beans, and to suit it to our palates, it was generally seasoned with rock salt, which is procured near the Arkansa river.
"This mixture constituted an agreeable food; it was served up to us in large wooden bowls, which were placed[pg191] on bison robes or mats, on the ground; as many of us as could conveniently eat from one bowl sat round it, each in as easy a position as he could contrive, and in common we partook of its contents by means of large spoons made of bison horn. We were sometimes supplied with uncooked dried meat of the bison, also a very agreeable food, and to our taste and reminiscence, far preferable to the flesh of the domestic ox. Another very acceptable dish was called leyed corn; this is maize of the preceding season shelled from the cob, and first boiled for a short time in a ley of wood-ashes until the hard skin, which invests the grains, is separated from them; the whole is then poured into a basket, which is repeatedly dipped into clean water, until the ley and skins are removed; the remainder is then boiled in water until so soft as to be edible. They also make much use of maize roasted on the cob, of boiled pumpkins, of musk-melons, and water-melons, but the latter are generally pulled from the vine before they are completely ripe.
"Ca-ega-wa-tan-ninga, or the Fool Chief, is the hereditary principal chief, but he possesses nothing like monarchical authority, maintaining his distinction only by his bravery and good conduct. There are ten or twelve inferior chieftains, or persons who aspire to such dignity, but these do not appear to {115} command any great respect from the people. Civil as well as military distinction arises from bravery or generosity. Controversies are decided amongst themselves; they do not appeal to their chief, excepting for counsel. They will not marry any of their kindred, however remote. The females, before marriage, labour in the fields, and serve their parents, carry wood and water, and attend to the culinary duties; when the eldest[pg192] daughter marries, she commands the lodge, the mother, and all the sisters; the latter are to be also the wives of the same individual. When a young man wishes to marry a particular female, his father gives a feast to a few persons, generally old men, and acquaints them with his design; they repair to the girl, who generally feigns an unwillingness to marry, and urges such reasons as her poverty, youth, &c.—the old men are often obliged to return six or seven times before they can effect their object. When her consent is obtained, the parents of the young man take two or three blankets and some meat to the parents of the female that they may feast, and immediately return to their lodge. The parents put on the meat to cook, and place the same quantity of meat and merchandize on two horses, and dress their daughter in the best garments they can afford; she mounts one of the horses, and leads the other, and is preceded by a crier announcing, with a loud voice, the marriage of the young couple, naming them, to the people; in this way she goes to the habitation of her husband, whose parents take from her every thing she brings, strip her entirely naked, dress her again in clothes as good as she brought, furnish her with two other horses, with meat and merchandize, and she returns with her crier to her parents. These two horses she retains as her own, together with all the articles she brings back with her. Her parents then make a feast, to which they invite the husband, his parents and friends; the young couple are seated together, and {116} all then partake of the good cheer, after which the father of the girl makes a harangue, in which he informs the young man that he must now assume the command of the lodge, and of every thing belonging to him and his daughter. All the merchandize which the bride returned with, is distributed[pg193] in presents from herself to the kindred of her husband in their first visit. The husband then invites the relatives of his wife to a feast. Whatever peltries the father possesses are at the disposal of the son to trade with on his own account; and in every respect the parents, in many instances, become subservient to the young man.
"After the death of the husband the widow scarifies herself, rubs her person with clay, and becomes negligent of her dress, until the expiration of a year, when the eldest brother of the deceased takes her to wife without any ceremony, considers her children as his own, and takes her and them to his house; if the deceased left no brother, she marries whom she pleases. They have, in some instances, four or five wives; but these are mostly sisters; if they marry into two families the wives do not harmonize well together, and give the husband much inquietude; there is, however, no restriction in this respect, except in the prudence of the husband. The grandfather and grandmother are very fond of their grandchildren, but these have very little respect for them. The female children respect and obey their parents; but the males are very disobedient, and the more obstinate they are, and the less readily they comply with the commands of their parents, the more the latter seem to be pleased, saying, 'He will be a brave man, a great warrior; he will not be controlled.'
"The attachment of fraternity is as strong, if not stronger, than with us. The niece has great deference for the uncle. The female calls her mother's sister mother, and her mother's brother uncle. The male calls his father's brother father, his father's sister [106] aunt, his mother's sister mother, and his mother's brother uncle.[pg194] Thirteen children have occurred in one family. A woman had three children at a birth; all lived.
"The young men are generally coupled out as friends; the tie is very permanent, and continues often throughout life.
"They bear sickness and pain with great fortitude, seldom uttering a complaint; bystanders sympathize with them, and try every means to relieve them. Insanity is unknown; the blind are taken care of by their friends and the nation generally, and are well dressed and fed. Drunkenness is rare, and is much ridiculed; a drunken man is said to be bereft of his reason, and is avoided. As to the origin of the nation, their belief is, that the Master of life formed a man, and placed him on the earth; he was solitary, and cried to the Master of life for a companion, who sent him down a woman; from the union of these two proceeded a son and daughter, who were married, and built themselves a lodge distinct from that of their parents; all the nations proceeded from them, excepting the whites, whose origin they pretend not to know. When a man is killed in battle, the thunder is supposed to take him up, they do not know where. In going to battle each man traces an imaginary figure of the thunder on the soil; and he who represents it incorrectly is killed by the thunder. A person saw this thunder one day on the ground, with a beautiful mockasin on each side of it; having much need of a pair, he took them and went his way; but on his return, by the same spot, the thunder took him off, and he has not been since heard of. They seem to have vague notions of the future state. They think that a brave warrior, or good hunter, will walk in a good path; but a bad man, or coward, will find a[pg195] bad path. Thinking the deceased has far to travel, they bury with his body mockasins, some articles of food, &c. {118} to support him on the journey. Many persons, they believe, have become reanimated, who had been, during their apparent death, in strange villages; but as the inhabitants used them ill, they returned. They say they have never seen the Master of life, and therefore cannot pretend to personify him; but they have often heard him speak in the thunder; they wear often a shell which is in honour, or in representation of him, but they do not pretend that it resembles him, or has any thing in common with his form, organization, or dimensions.
"This nation having been at profound peace with the Osages, since the year 1806,[156] have intermarried freely with them, so that in stature, features, and customs, they are more and more closely approaching that people. They are large and symmetrically well formed, with the usual high cheek bones, the nose more or less aquiline, colour reddish coppery, the hair black and straight. Their women are small and homely, with broad faces. We saw but a single squaw in the village who had any pretensions to beauty; she was recently married to an enterprizing warrior, who invited us to a feast, apparently in order to exhibit his prize to us. The ordinary dress of the men is a breech cloth of blue or red cloth, secured in its place by a girdle; a pair of leggings, made of dressed deer-skin, concealing the leg, excepting a small portion of the upper part of the thigh; a pair of mockasins made of[pg196] dressed deer, elk, or bison-skin, not ornamented; and a blanket to cover the upper part of the body, often thrown over one arm in hot weather, leaving that part naked; or it is even entirely thrown aside. The outer cartilage of the ear is cut through in three places, and upon the rims, thus separated, various ornaments are suspended, such as wampum, string beads, silver or tin trinkets, &c. The hair of most of their chiefs and warriors is scrupulously removed from the head; being careful, however, to leave enough, as in honour {119} they are bound to do, to supply their enemy with a scalp, in case they should be vanquished. This residuum consists of a portion on the back of the head, of about the breadth of the hand, rounded at its upper termination near the top of the head, the sides rectilinear, and nearly parallel, though slightly approaching each other towards the origin of the neck, where it abruptly terminates; on the exterior margin, the hair is somewhat longer and erect; this strip of hair is variously decorated; it is sometimes coloured on the margin with vermilion, sometimes a tail feather of the war eagle is attached transversely with respect to the head; this feather is white at base, and black at tip; but the principal ornament, which appears to be worn by some of their chief warriors, and which is, at the same time, by far the most handsome, is the tail of the common deer; this is attached by the base near to the top of the patch of hair, the back of it resting on the hair, and the tip secured near the termination of the patch; the bristly hair of the tail is dyed red by a beautiful permanent colour, and parted longitudinally in the middle by a broad silver plate, which is attached at top, and suffered to hang loose. Many of them are tattooed on different parts of the body. The[pg197] young boys are entirely naked, with the exception of a girdle, generally of cloth, round their protruding abdomen. This part of the body in the children of this nation is remarkably prominent; it is more particularly so when they are very young, but gradually subsides as they advance in age. In hot weather the men, whilst in the village, generally use fans, with which they cool themselves, when in the shade, and protect their heads from the sun whilst walking out; they are made of the wing or tail of the turkey. The women rarely use them. The dress of the female is composed of a pair of mockasins, leggings of blue or red cloth, with a broad projecting border on the outside, and covering the leg to the knee, or a {120} little above; many, however, and perhaps almost a majority of them, do not in common wear this part of the dress. Around the waist, secured by a belt or cestus, is wrapped a piece of blue cloth, the sides of which meet, or come nearly in contact on the outside of the right thigh, and the whole extends downward as far as the knee, or to the mid-leg; around the left shoulder is a similar piece of cloth, which is attached, by two of the corners, at the axilla of the right arm, and extends downward as far as the waist. This garment is often laid aside, when the body, from the waist upward, is entirely exposed. Their hair is suffered to grow long; it is parted longitudinally on the top of the head, and flows over the shoulders, the line of separation being coloured with vermilion. The females, like those of other aborigines, cultivate the maize, beans, pumpkins, and water-melons; gather and prepare the two former, when ripe, and pack them away in skins, or in mats, for keeping; prepare the flesh of the bison, by drying, for preservation; attend to all the cooking; bring wood and[pg198] water; and in other respects manage the domestic concerns, and appear to have over them absolute sway. These duties, as far as we could observe, they not only willingly performed as a mere matter of duty, but they exhibited in their deportment a degree of pride and ambition to acquit themselves well; in this respect resembling a good housewife amongst the civilized fair. Many of them are tattooed.
"Both sexes of all ages bathe frequently, and enter the water indiscriminately. The infant is washed in cold water soon after its birth, and the ablution is frequently repeated; the mother also bathes with the same fluid soon after delivery. The infant is tied down to a board, after the manner of many of the Indian tribes.
"The chastity of the young females is guarded by the mother with the most scrupulous watchfulness, {121} and a violation of it is a rare occurrence, as it renders the individual unfit for the wife of a chief, a brave warrior, or good hunter. To wed her daughter to one of these, each mother is solicitous; as these qualifications offer the same attractions to the Indian mother as family and fortune exhibit to the civilized parent.
"The men carefully pluck from their chins, axilla of the arms, eye-brows, &c. every hair of beard that presents itself: this is done with a spiral wire, which, when used, is placed with the side upon the part, and the ends are pressed towards each other so as to close the spires upon the hairs, which can then be readily drawn out; this instrument we observed to be an article of dress of the chiefs, who departed to attend the council at the Isle au Vache." [pg199]
