[1] It may be necessary to inform some of our English readers, that a worm fence is a coarse, zigzag railing, common in the new settlements of America, where timber is plentiful.

[2] AnglicÈ, “Interpreter.”

[3] “Coureur des bois,” an appellation often given to the Canadian and half–breed woodsmen.

[4] Nekimi is the Delaware for “Thunder.”

[5] In the Delaware language this expression seems applicable to any large swift animal, as it is given to the elk, the buffalo, &c.

[6] Among the western hunters, any resting–place for the night, or even where a fire has been made for a midday halt, though it may be by one individual, is commonly called “a camp.” This must be borne in mind throughout the following tale.

[7] Kinne–kinek is a mixture made by the Indians from the inner bark of the willow pounded small, tobacco, and the dried leaves of the sumach: the flavour of this composition is by no means disagreeable: the word itself is Delaware, but the mixture is in common use among many tribes.

[8] The Delawares call themselves Lenni–LenapÉ,—“the ancient or original people.”

[9] Assiniboins—“the stone heaters”—a powerful and warlike branch of the great Dahcotah or Sioux nation.

[10] “By–and–by,” or “soon.”

[11] TassmananÉ: a kind of bread made by the Delawares for long journeys. It is made of maize, powdered very fine, and sweetened with maple sugar.

[12] “Tah–Delamattenos,”—“No, he is a Wyandot.” This tribe occupied the region to the north of Ohio, and the north–west of Pennsylvania; they spoke a dialect of the Iroquois, and are better known by the name of Hurons; they sometimes hunted with the Delaware, by whom they were designated as above.

[13] Southern–men—in the Delaware language Cha–oua–no or Shawano—known to the Americans as “Shawnees.” This powerful tribe were generally in alliance with the LenapÉ, and inhabited the country on their western frontier. About the time of our tale, they were very numerous on the banks of the Muskingum and of the Wabash river.

[14] Mengwe, or Mingoes,—the Delaware name for those Indians who resided chiefly in the northern States of the Union, and who are better known as the “Iroquois.”

[15] “Master Reginald” might well puzzle the chief, as there is no letter r in the Delaware language, though some of them contrive to pronounce it.

[16] “Netis” signifies, in their tongue, “a trusted friend,” “one to whom all secrets are confided.”

[17] The village was called Gnaden–HÜtten—“tents,” or “cabins of grace.”

[18] Every Indian tribe has its peculiar mark or sign; among all the nations of the far–west, the Sioux, or Dahcotahs, are designated by passing the hand across the throat, as if cutting it.

[19] A panther is so called by the western hunters.

[20] In the Western States, the rhododendron is generally called the laurel.

[21] Alluding again to the massacre of the Moravian Delawares at “Gnadenhutten.”

[22] Mestang, a horse bred between the wild and the tame breeds: they are sometimes to be met with among the traders to Santa FÉ.

[23] The Pawnee nations have of late years fixed their winter villages on the banks of the Nebraska, or Platte river, many hundred miles to the N. W. of the spot named in the text; but at the date of our narrative they dwelt on the banks of the Konsas, where the ruins of their principal village are still faintly to be discerned.

[24] The name of Tamenund is doubtless familiar to all Americans who have taken the slightest interest in the history of the Indian tribes, as well as to that more numerous class who have read the graphic and picturesque descriptions penned by the great American novelist: nevertheless, it may be necessary, for the information of some European readers, to state that Tamenund was an ancient LenapÉ chief, whose traditionary fame is so great in the tribe, that they have from time to time given his name to chiefs, and even to white men whom they desired especially to honour. At the time of the revolutionary war, so numerous were the traditions and legends respecting this hero, that he was in some quarters established as the patron saint of America, under the name of St. Tammany; and hence arose the Tammany societies and Tammany buildings in various parts of the Union.—See Heckewalder’s Historical Account of the Indian Nations, chap. xl., and The Last of the Mohicans, vol. iii. p. 152, &c.

[25] The tribe called by white men “the Foxes,” who inhabit chiefly the region between the Upper Mississippi and Lake Michigan.

[26] In describing the manners and distinctions of rank among the Indians of the Missouri plains, it is necessary to adopt the terms in common use among the guides and traders, however vague and unsatisfactory those terms may be. In these tribes the chieftainship is partly hereditary and partly elective: there is usually one Great Chief, and there are also chiefs of a second degree, who are chiefs of different bands in the tribe; next to these in rank are the “Braves,” the leading warriors of the nation; and in order to be qualified for admission into this rank, an Indian must have killed an enemy or given other sufficient evidence of courage and capacity. When a war–council it held, the opinion of the principal Brave is frequently preferred before that of the chief.

[27] “Medicine–men.” This term (commonly used by traders among the Indians beyond the Mississippi) signifies the “priests,” or “mystery–men,” who are set apart for the celebration of all religious rites and ceremonies. They are the same class as those who were described by Charlevoix, and other early French writers, as “Jongleurs,” because they unite medical practice to their sacerdotal office, and, more especially in the former, exercise all manner of absurd mummery. Their dress, character, and habits vary according to the tribe to which they belong; but they are genuine “Jongleurs” throughout.

[28] See Schiller’s “Bride of Messina.”

[29] Every warrior belonging to the LenapÉ, Saukee, and all the branches of the great Chippewyan tribe, believes himself to be under the mysterious guardianship of some spirit, usually represented under the form of an animal. This is called his “totem,” and is held sacred by him: thus, a warrior whose totem is a tortoise, or a wolf, or even a snake, will cautiously abstain from injuring or killing one of those animals.

[30] AnglicÈ, “the pipe.”

[31] An allusion to the fondness of bears for honey occurs more than once in this tale, and will be met with in some shape or other in most works which treat of that animal’s habits and propensities: that such is the case in Europe, as well as in North America, may be gathered from the fact that, in the Russian tongue, a bear is called “Med–vede,” which word is thus formed: med, honey; vede, who knows: “He who knows honey.”

[32] The buffalo robes worn by the Osages, as well as by some other Missouri tribes, are variously ornamented and painted with devices. Some of these refer to war, some to marriage, some to medicine or mystery; these last are generally worn at councils, on which occasions a chief who has some important subject to propose, frequently adds to the paint on his face some streaks corresponding to the devices on his buffalo robe.

[33] In the performance of the war–dance among the Indians of the Missouri, the tread of the dancers is guided by a monotonous chaunt, sung by some of the Medicine–men, and accompanied by the beat of a small drum of the rudest construction, and most barren dismal tone. It is generally nothing more than a dried skin, stretched upon a wooden frame hollowed out with a knife by the squaws.

[34] The Indian names for the rivers now called “Konsas” and “Osage,” both of which fall into the Missouri.

[35] AnglicÈ, Long–knives, or Americans.

[36] MahÉga here alludes to that unfortunate era in the history of the LenapÉ, so pathetically described by Heckelwader, when they permitted themselves to be persuaded by the whites to abandon all their warlike weapons and pursuits, and following those of agriculture, to leave the affairs of war entirely to the northern tribes, who guaranteed their safety. The consequence was such as might have been expected, they were treated with contumely and injustice; and being compelled at length to resume those arms to which they had been for sometime unaccustomed, they suffered repeated defeats and disasters from the “six nations,” and adjoining tribes.

[37] The Mississippi is so called by the Osages.

[38] After their first meeting, in which Reginald had saved the life of War–Eagle, the latter had adopted his new friend, not only as a brother, but as a member of that portion of his tribe who were called UnÂmi, and of which the turtle was the medicine, or sacred symbol; after the ratification of such a covenant of brotherhood, each party is, according to Indian custom, solemnly bound to defend the other, on all occasions, at the risk of his own life.

[39] The Sioux, or Dahcotahs, are so designated by the Missouri tribes.

[40] Wampum, a corruption of the word “wampampea,” small shells strung together, and used by the Indians for barter among themselves; a belt of wampum is the emblem of peace, as the hatchet, or tomahawk, is that of war.

[41] The North Star is often alluded to by the Indian tribes, under this and other similar denominations.

[42] An expression used by the Canadian hunters for an ambush: the “cÂche” is also familiar to all readers of western story, as the place of deposit for peltries, or stores.

[43] The country of the Stone–eaters, or, as they are called in their own language, the Assineboins. This is a branch of the Great Sioux tribe to the northward of the Missouri river; the region is peculiarly wild and broken, and the Indians inhabiting it are famous for their pedestrian activity and endurance.

[44] Pommes de prairie are small roots, somewhat resembling white radishes, that are found in great abundance in the Western wilderness, being in some places the only esculent vegetable within a range of several hundred miles: when eaten raw they are tough, tasteless, and hard of digestion; but if boiled or stewed, are tolerably palatable and wholesome.

[45] A mixture used for smoking by the Indians of the Missouri; it is usually composed of tobacco, dried sumach–leaf, and the inner bark of the white willow, cut small and mixed in nearly equal proportions.

[46] The Indians believe that some persons have the power of injuring, or even of killing others at a distance of many hundred miles, by charms and spells: this belief in witchcraft is constantly noticed by Tanner and others, who have resided long among the Indians, and it seems to have been especially prevalent among the Oggibeways and other northern tribes. In illustration of a similar notion in the eastern hemisphere, see Borrow’s “Zincali, or the Gypsies of Spain,” vol. i. chap. ix. on the Evil Eye.

[47] This method of baffling pursuit is not unfrequently resorted to by the Indian marauders. The reader of Shakespeare (and who that can read is not?) will remember Lear’s—

“It were a delicate stratagem to shoe
A troop of horse with felt!”

[48] One of the most extraordinary specimens of the ingenuity of the tribes who inhabit the Great Missouri wilderness, and who speak many languages, so different that they can have with each other no verbal communication, is the language of Signs, common to them all, by which Pawnees, Dahcotahs, Osages, Black–feet, Upsarokas, or the Crows and other Western nations, can understand each other quite sufficiently for the ordinary purposes of their simple life. The sign for “all right” is made by holding the hand with the palm downwards, in a horizontal position, and waving it slowly outwards.

[49] It is well known that every tribe has its separate war–cry; that of the Dahcotahs resembles the short angry bark of a dog, but they utter it with a piercing shrillness that renders it terrific in the extreme.

[50] This exclamation resembles the English word “How–how,” repeated with a strong aspirate and great rapidity. It seems common to all Indian nations, for the author has heard it used by many different tribes, and it is mentioned by Charlevoix as being constantly uttered by the Natchez, Illinois, and other Indian nations, then dwelling near the banks of the Mississippi.

[51] AricarÁ. This tribe is by descent a branch of the great Pawnee nation, to whose language their own still bears a close resemblance; they are usually known among western travellers by the name of Riccarees, and the French call them “Les Ris;” they are a very predatory, wild, and thievish race.

[52] The Indians in the Missouri constantly carry a short whip of bull or cow–hide suspended from their wrist, with which, when in pursuit of buffalo or any other game, they lash their horses most unmercifully.

[53] Upsaroka, the Indian name of the tribe usually designated in Rocky Mountain travels as the “Crows;” a fierce roving nation, who were then, as they still are, at deadly enmity with their neighbours the Black–feet, and agree with them only in the propensity to plunder or kill white men, whenever opportunity offers.

[54] By this name the milky way is known among some of the Indian tribes.

[55] Merchant of Venice, act v.

[56] In the travels of Major Long and others, who have described the Indians of the Far–western prairies, the “brave” who leads a war–party is usually designated a “partisan.”

[57] It has before been mentioned, that among the roving tribes of the Great Missourian wilderness every one has its distinctive national sign: these are well known to each other, and to white men who are experienced in the life of the Far–west: the sign mentioned in the text is that adopted by the Upsarokas, as they intend, by the motion of their extended arms, to imitate the wings of a crow in flight. The Sioux, Black–feet, Pawnees, Snakes, AricarÁs, Comanches, &c., have all their distinctive national signs; but an enumeration of them would be tedious, and out of place here.

[58] It is unnecessary to inform the reader that neither the date nor the description of this solar eclipse is intended to challenge scientific criticism. Merely the general features are preserved of that kind of solar eclipse which is termed “annular,” and which takes place when the eclipse, though central, is not total, on account of the moon not being near enough to hide the whole of the sun, in which case part of the latter is seen as a bright ring round the part hidden by the moon.

[59] When a trail is made by a party on a march, the grass is of course trodden down in the same direction as that in which they are going. A party travelling along it from the opposite quarter, are said to take the back–foot of the trail. The author heard the expression used by an experienced Western hunter, but is not aware whether it is in common use; at all events it explains its own meaning significantly enough.

[60] The herbs mingled by the Indians with a small proportion of tobacco, are frequently of a light and fragrant flavour; sometimes, too, they have some narcotic properties. In order fully to enjoy their qualities after the Indian fashion, the smoker must inhale the smoke by the mouth and expel it through the nostril, in which operation the nerves and small vessels of the latter experience a pungent sensation, which some consider highly agreeable, and is not unlike that which is caused by a pinch of mild or perfumed snuff.

[61] It may well be supposed that the horses used by the Indians on the prairie are never shod. The palfrey of Olitipa had probably been procured from some Mexican trader.

[62] Among some of the North American tribes it is the custom for an Indian entering into a solemn obligation, to place his hand against the thigh of the party to whom he makes the promise; and this usage has in several instances been triumphantly quoted by those authors who have laboured to prove the descent of the North–American Indians from the lost tribes of Israel: the origin and meaning of the custom, which is as ancient as the time of Abraham (Gen. xxiv. 2), are both involved in great obscurity: sundry explanations have been attempted by learned commentators of different ages and nations; the Jewish writings of the highest authority, such as the Targum of Jerusalem, and that of Jonathan Ben Uzziel, derive it from the covenant of Circumcision, to which they maintain its symbolic analogy by arguments which it is unnecessary here to produce. Adam Clarke, in his Commentary, leans to this view, but does not offer any conclusive reasoning in support of it. Bishop Patrick, following the learned Calmet, describes this usage as an ancient sign of subjection and homage prevalent throughout the East; and Locke mentions it as being “practised by some Indians to this day.”

[63] It is a frequent custom among the Missouri Indians to sketch upon the interior of a bison–robe the various battles in which they have fought and conquered.

[64] As the Great Spirit is designated by the Delawares, Chippeways, SÂkis, and other tribes on this side of the Mississippi by the name of “ManittÓ,” or “Manitoo,” familiar to every reader of Transatlantic travel or romance, so is he known among the Osages, Omahaws, Ioways, and other Missouri tribes, by the designation of Wah–con–da, or “Master of Life.”

[65] The various methods of counting adopted by the western tribes are curious in the extreme; some reckon chiefly by fives, and among these an expression equivalent to “hands and feet” signifies “twenty;” in one language the number eight is expressed by a word meaning six with two; in another by a word signifying ten without two: in fact, some very interesting illustrations of their language and modes of thought might be drawn from an accurate investigation of their numerals, but they would be entirely out of place in a work of fiction.

[66] Tobacco is extremely scarce, and highly valued among the western tribes; at the close of the last century it was probably unknown among the Crows, so that we must suppose that the horse–dealer produced this present from his own stores, and for purposes best known to himself.

[67] Some of the Indian warriors when leading a war–party carry a shrill whistle, wherewith they direct the movements of their followers. These whistles vary as to their form and ornament, according to the tribe to which the leader belongs. Those which the author has seen in most frequent use were made from the bone of the wild turkey’s leg, and were fancifully adorned with stained porcupine quills.

[68] It was at one time currently rumoured among the trappers of the Rocky Mountains, that a Crow warrior had found and killed a white bison–bull, the skin of which he wore as a robe. The story, whether true or false, is adopted here, and assigned to the husband of “Bending–willow.”

[69] “Angry airt,” the quarter whence the angry wind was blowing.

[70] Shelter.

[71] Farm–buildings.

[72] Cry or weep.

[73] Whipped child.

[74] Lark.

[75] Sorrow.

[76] Gossip.

[77] Chatter.

[78] At the date of this tale the use of fire–arms was very little known among the tribes in the neighbourhood of the Rocky Mountains; and in most of their languages, to this day, the words by which they express “a rifle,” signify, usually, “medicine–weapon,” “wonderful fire–weapon,” “fire–tube,” &c. &c.

[79] The Arkansas.

[80] Small–pox.

[81] It has before been mentioned that the division and notation of time vary extremely in the Indian tribes; those who have had much commerce with the whites have coined words answering to what we denominate hours; but the tribes of the Far–western prairies usually express the successive periods of the night by resting the cheek upon the hand in a recumbent posture, and then, holding up the forefinger and thumb in the form of a crescent, they show, by the number of motions which they make in pointing to the sky, the number of hours or watches after nightfall which they wish to indicate.

[82] Xenophon.

[83] To some who have read the descriptions of bear–hunts in Norway and Russia it may appear neither wonderful nor unusual that a single hunter should kill a full–grown bear; but it must be borne in mind, that the bear of the north of Europe bears about the same proportion to a grisly bear of the Rocky Mountains (Ursus horribilis) as a panther does to a Bengal tiger. The grisly bear is not only the largest and most ferocious of his species, but his tenacity of life is so remarkable that he frequently runs a considerable distance and survives some hours after receiving several balls through the lungs, head, and heart. On this account it is never safe for the most experienced marksman to attack him alone, unless there be some tree or place of safety at hand, for the grisly bear cannot or will not climb a tree; and some idea of the animal’s strength may be formed from the fact, attested by many credible witnesses, that, after killing a bison, he will frequently drag the carcase some distance to his lair. For descriptions and anecdotes of the grisly bear, see Lewis’s and Clark’s Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, and Major Long’s ditto. A feat almost similar to that recorded in the text was performed some years ago by an Iroquois, one of the last of his tribe, and who, though grievously wounded, survived. The Author saw this Indian hero arrive at St. Louis in a canoe, containing only himself and a boy, they having descended the Missouri for more than 1500 miles in their frail bark; and having passed in their perilous voyage the villages of Crows, Riccarees, Sioux, Black–feet, and other predatory tribes.

[84] Of all the Indian nations who inhabit the wild regions near the base of the Rocky–Mountain range, the most fierce and powerful are the Black–feet. Few, if any white men have penetrated into the heart of their country, and returned to tell their tale. Very little is known, therefore, either of their customs or language: and it may not be uninteresting for the reader to be informed, that every particular mentioned respecting them in this volume, was obtained direct from a French trader, who had been permitted to marry a Black–foot wife, and had resided nineteen years among them. The construction of their language is very remarkable, and some account of it would doubtless be gladly received by philologists; but such a subject cannot be treated in a work like the present. With respect to the words referred to in the text it will be seen that they show the synthetic nature of the language, “nÂma” being the root, and signifying a weapon. Hence came “suksinÂma,” rifle; literally, “heavy weapon;” “saksinÂma,” pistol; literally, “light–weapon;” “nahtovinÂma,” wonderful, or medicine–weapon; and “nitsi–nÂma,” literally, useless weapon; which latter name has probably been given to the bow, since the Black–feet have learnt the superior efficacy of fire–arms.

[85] It may not be generally known to European readers, that the arrows used by the western Indians are of two sorts. The hunting arrow, which has a head tapering in the form of an acute lozenge, and firmly secured to the shaft, so as to be easily withdrawn from a wound, and the war–arrow, sometimes poisoned, but always barbed like a fish–hook, and having its head so slightly fastened to the shaft, as to remain infixed in the wound when the wood is pulled out.

[86] The name by which the Black–feet are generally known among the Crows is “Echipeta.” In their own tongue they call themselves “Siksikaga;” both words having the signification of Black–feet. They are divided into three bands, the largest of which is called by the generic name above mentioned, as being that of the tribe; the other two bands are called “Piecan” or “Piegan” (the meaning of which word is not known to the author), and “Ka–in–na,” or “Bloody–men,” which last are held to be the most fierce and formidable of the three.

[87] The Missouri is here alluded to, the ancient name of which, “Pekitanoui,” signifies “muddy water” in the language of the Illinois, once a most powerful tribe, dwelling near its confluence with the Mississippi. They have since given a name to one of the states of the Union, but not one of the tribe survives at this day. Some antiquarians think that they were formerly a branch of the great nation of the Delawares (a supposition confirmed by the resemblance of their name, Il–lenni, to that of the Lenni–LenapÉ); one half of which remained on the great prairies bordering the Mississippi, while the other half overran, and finally occupied, the greater portion of country between the Ohio and the Atlantic.—See Charlevoix, &c.

[88] These, and many other particulars respecting the Six Nations, the author had from the lips of a veteran, who was carried off as a child by the Senecas when they sacked Wyoming. He was adopted into their tribe, and lived with them the greater part of his life, during a portion of which he acted for them in the capacity of interpreter and Indian agent; afterwards he retired to spend a vigorous and green old age in the western part of the state of New York. He always spoke with affectionate enthusiasm of his adopted kindred, and it was easy to see that the white man’s blood in his veins circulated through an Indian heart. Those who wish to know more of the early history of the Five Nations are referred to the accurate and interesting account given of them by Colden.

[89] The Minnetarees.

[90] The celebrated “Lettres Edifiantes.”

[91] In the greater number of the Indian languages known on the North American continent, the Supreme Being is designated by a name bearing one of the three following significations:—

1. “Great, or Good Spirit;” such is the “Manitou,” “ManittÓ,” “Kitche–Manitou,” &c., of the Delawares, Chippeways, SÂkis, Pottawatomis, and most of the Algonkin tribes.

2. “The Wonderful, or Wonderful Spirit,” by which name He is designated among most of the tribes resident on the banks of the Missouri; e. g. “Wahcondah” by the Otoes and Omahaws, “Wahcatunca” by the Dahcotahs, “Ma–na–kÔpa” by the Minneterees, &c.

3. “Master of Life,” which is the signification of the name by which the Almighty is recognised among the Pawnees, and many other numerous and powerful tribes. The subject is too comprehensive to be more than briefly alluded to in this place.

[92] See vol. ii. chap. iv. page 81.